Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck
an unexpected encounter
“Nel-chan?!” she repeated, still in a bit of shock from what she’d just witnessed. The little Arrancar had just… fallen out of her closet… and must have been terribly frightened since she must have been the one making the noise, and—
Oh goodness, she’d left her in there, hadn’t she?
Overcome with guilt, the redhead quickly scooped the little girl into her arms, patting her back soothingly as she tried to comfort her.
“There, there, Nel-chan— it’s all right now!” she cooed. Orihime still had her own share of questions for Nel, like what was she doing here? And why was she back in her child form?
Nel continues to sob into Orihime’s shoulder, releasing all of her fear into the soft fabric until there was nothing left.
After several minutes and one final sniffle, she leans back, wiping her face with the green sleeve of her little tunic.
“Nel’s sorry, Hime-chan, I was just scared.”
She manages a goofy grin, tugging on a lock of her friend’s red hair, ”But everything’s ok now, cus you saved Nel~!”
She pulled away, still a bit stunned by the situation, but even more so by the little Arrancar’s recovery from being locked in a dark closet for an hour— maybe even longer, since she’d only technically been awake and actively banging on the door during that time.
“No, no— it’s okay, Nel-chan— you don’t need to apologize for anything!” she reassured the Arrancar as she gently pat the top of her head. —Or well, she would have pat the top of Nel’s head if it weren’t for her mask, so she merely settled for patting the bone fragment in a comforting manner.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” At Nel’s smile, Orihime cracks one of her own, though worry still colors her tone.
The little arrancar nods, “Nel feelth jutht fine now that Nel’th not alone.”
A true enough statement. Though her previous fears were all but gone, it the majority of her anxiety was greatly lessened while in the company of others. She was even more fortunate to have the ‘other’ in question as a close friend.
She leans away from her red-headed friend, scoping her surroundings with wide hazel eyes. In the room, there was a bed, a dim lamp, a modest dresser. On the walls were brightly colored posters of various foods and oddly dressed men that seemed to be laughing at something utterly hilarious.
“Hime-chan, ith thith your room?” Probably mot the best question for this situation, but her mind is less than at its clearest at the moment.
Nonetheless, she returns her attention to her confused companion and dons a goofy grin, “It’th tho pwetty!”
