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As Kazuki took the first still somewhat unsteady steps back towards the tavern, Alja overtook him with a few long strides, cutting off his path. She didn't know in [i]exact[/i] detail what had been eating him the past few days—she hadn't been there—but from his reaction to Graves' furious words after the ill-fated raid, she could guess. She'd been down in the rat dungeon for long enough that she'd hoped it had scabbed over. [color=d1fffc][i]Stupid, you should've [/i]known[i] that was BS.[/i][/color] She'd just been in denial. She'd been upset. She was scared, and so she'd lashed out, been selfish, ignored it. Of course it hadn't scabbed. It had stayed open beneath the surface and gone rancid. And the longer a wound like this festered—the longer the guilt crawled through him—the worse it would become. A flash of recognition as cold and quick as a knife passed through her, and she laid a hand on his thin shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. When she spoke, her voice—like her grip—was gentle but firm. "[color=d1fffc]Kazuki, you need to stop.[/color]"

She heard something echo in the back of her mind, a half-remembered woman's voice that spoke along with hers, as she grabbed his second shoulder as well. "[color=d1fffc]If you keep on like this, you are going to [i]destroy yourself.[/i][/color]" Even as she said it, she already knew it wouldn't do a damn thing. She knew full well how futile it was to just...[i]tell[/i] someone to stop feeling that crushing weight. It would be easier to dam the ocean. 

So instead, keeping her grip, she shoved him out to arm's length, voice still calm and level. "[color=d1fffc]I'm not Seele, so I can't treat you like she would.[/color]" [i][color=dc918e]And all the words in the whole bloody world couldn't do a thing for you right now.[/color][/i] "[color=d1fffc]But I also can't stand by and watch your tear yourself apart over what happened, because [i]nothing[/i] down there was your fault. So here's what we're gonna do.[/color]" She let go of his shoulders, crossing her arms. "[color=d1fffc]We're all four gonna walk into the Mystic Prophecy guildhall together, like you damn well deserve. And if Luci—if [i]anybody[/i] blames you for a [i]god damn thing[/i] when we're in there, you leave it to me.[/color]" 

She gave him a soft smile. "[color=d1fffc]I'm not gonna let you run away from your problems and hide away from the world. You're stronger than that. You're [i]better[/i] than that. So c'mon. I'm behind ya all the way.[/color]"