The first rule of being held is that it feels good.
That is what no one says out loud.
It feels good to have someone arrive before you ask. To have a presence stay after the crying stops. To have fear answered with hands that know where to rest and voices that promise not to leave.
By the end of the week, Candle volunteers are everywhere.
They don’t wear uniforms. They don’t carry weapons. They wear soft colors and patient expressions and speak in the language of relief.
We’re just here to help.
You don’t have to decide right now.
Rest. We’ll keep watch.
The city exhales into it.
Kael watches the shift happen in real time.
Not dramatic. Not sudden.
Incremental.
A watcher steps back when a Candle pair arrives first.
A family waves them inside instead of filing a request.
A dis
