#tw foster

"M' dad used to braid my hair." Loxley mumbled quietly. The two of them stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Loxley only talked in his sleep, and it was normally not very clear or very nice. Catelyn composed herself long before Dona, who sat at the stool next to the kitchen bench, half her hair in puffs of coarse, curly hair, and half of it braided neatly. He sat with them most of the time, taking everything in with dark, sad eyes, but he perked up at braiding time. He liked the smells of the little pots of various potions to help with their hair. Hair seemed like an important ritual to them and he never wanted to intrude, but he couldn't help being curious. Cat never pushed him to participate in anything they did, but she always encouraged his curiosity.

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"Do you want to go next?" She asked casually, trying not to make it seem like the big deal that it was. Loxley nodded eagerly. Dona made a small excited squeak before Cat could click her tongue at her. It was best not to make a big deal, or he might get scared off.

Like a wounded animal, Loxley bristled when Cat first brushed her fingers through his hair. He felt a pang of guilt, of shame, of mourning. He missed his dad. Not his mum. More guilt. She still shouldn't have had to die like that... maybe. He felt a bit sick, but Dona pulled a chair right up next to him and sat with her knees touching his. "Can we match?" She asked her mother. The hair at the front of her head ran in rows to meet with two perfect puffballs in the back. Cat laughed before she could catch herself.

"Uh, no. Loxley's hair won't do that, sadly. He has a little curl, but nothing like that." Dona's shoulders sagged, but Loxley was undeterred. His braids had never looked like Dona's anyway. Cat played with Loxley's hair for a couple of minutes, brushed a few different things into it, and gave a small frustrated sigh. He looked back at her with a curious frown, and both Dona and Cat knew how to read his expressions by then.

"Oh, I've only ever braided black women's hair before honey, I'm just not sure what to do." She explained to him slowly, choosing her words carefully so he wouldn't scurry away. But by then, his trust was built. He snapped his fingers in the direction of Cat's phone, and Dona retrieved it faithfully. He started typing, "how to do a crown braid on straight hair." A video came up. Dona had shown him YouTube tutorials for months by then. Cat beamed. "Of course!"

He beamed with pride, his shoulders back, and stayed very still while they learned a new way to show love. He even wore a bonnet like Dona and Cat did, but it still didn't last very long. Loxley came to Cat in the morning of the third day, his blonde curls falling around his face. He was pulled into a tight hug while his foster mum tried not to cry with him. "It's okay! It's okay, I promise. It just means we can do it again! It's okay." She brushed tears from his eyes and Loxley felt little arms grab him around the waist, her head tucked against his back. "Can I have a turn braiding?" Dona piped up.

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