[Kaveh had a whole speech prepared, about expecting a higher standard of behavior from Alhaitham because he knows him best, and also needing to determine what the hell happened here before he can decide what to do about it. That speech vanishes to the wind as that wash of fear hits him.
It's not as though Kaveh's unfamiliar with fear--he's intimately acquainted with it, actually--and for an ugly moment the image of silver hair vanishing under dark water flickers through his mind. But this isn't his--there's no reason it should be his, and he knows that.
Knowing that doesn't help much.
So he pulls Sidestep further away from the table and Alhaitham with Mehrak, depositing them back in their chair (perhaps not as gently as he'd have liked, but he's a little panicked) and turns, grabbing for Alhaitham's hands, trying to ground himself. Remind himself that Alhaitham is here and dry, and not sinking beneath the waters (it would have been Kaveh's fault). Mehrak's grip loosens a little as Kaveh's concentration wavers, but he's hardly paying attention to that right now.]
no subject
It's not as though Kaveh's unfamiliar with fear--he's intimately acquainted with it, actually--and for an ugly moment the image of silver hair vanishing under dark water flickers through his mind. But this isn't his--there's no reason it should be his, and he knows that.
Knowing that doesn't help much.
So he pulls Sidestep further away from the table and Alhaitham with Mehrak, depositing them back in their chair (perhaps not as gently as he'd have liked, but he's a little panicked) and turns, grabbing for Alhaitham's hands, trying to ground himself. Remind himself that Alhaitham is here and dry, and not sinking beneath the waters (it would have been Kaveh's fault). Mehrak's grip loosens a little as Kaveh's concentration wavers, but he's hardly paying attention to that right now.]
What--what is--Haitham?
[He's still here, right? Kaveh isn't alone?]