"Solitude isn't a solution, Castus."

It was hardly her place to give him the lecture. Inez lived most, if not all, of her days in circles kept thin and few. She could count all her friends on all her ten fingers. But she was taller, older, firmer. Being picked on by the offspring of some moneybag could be forgotten in a day. Yet, for a child like Castus, the matter wasn't so light. His heart led him by the hand, centred and foremost on the frontline. Justifying, compensating for the gaps of others. It made it all the more simple for his heart to be struck first.

Castus gave a callous swipe at his nose.

"You said it yourself. You can't make other people do what you want—they're "not you"."

Castus did as he far told, pushing hard on Nasir’s wound to stem the flow of blood. 

He still barely knew what had happened. All that was clear was the building had caved in. Was it earthquake or bomb or something else entirely? He had not clue but whilst Agron looked unharmed but shaken and Cas only covered in superficial  wounds, Nasir and many overly were hurt badly. 

Some kind of debris had hit him in the side, the only blessing was that he’d been knocked on the head too and so was unconscious and not actively experiencing pain as they worked on him. 

“Where are the medics? Where are the fucking ambulances?” He said, just desperate. Nasir was Agron’s and he’s accepted that but it didn’t mean that he wasn’t in love with the man. He was terrified of losing him, of watching him die.