The independence Riley was holding onto was shattered when Tendou plopped down. Riley never could hold is own cool well. He could hold it indefinitely, but only until a gust of wind knocked him down. Tendou's arm around him was the gust of wind this time. Riley broke into tears all over again, leaning into him and burying his face into the side of Tendou's chest. If he was more aware of what he was doing he might have held back from it, but he couldn't help it. His need to be held overwhelmed anything bit of sense he had.
Riley loosely held onto Tendou's shirt, crying softly as he listened to what he had to say. He didn't say much of anything at first, the only noises he made were small sobs. After a minute he finally mumbled, "I'm so sorry..." Riley could only think about how Tendou had been through all of this all over again. He knew it was hard to move away, he'd felt the pain and awkwardness when he moved to Eerie from Madeline. He left all of his cousins and his grandmother and all his friends. It hurt and it felt so lonely, but he could still contact them all. Here? He was cut off. How could he had never considered the pain all of his friends had felt when they were ripped from home? Some were definitely more excited about the new world than others, but all of them must have felt the pain.
Riley went quiet again for a moment before he finally sat up, pulling away from Tendou. He tucked his legs against his chest. He wiped his eyes with one hand while his other reached for the seal skin on his pillow. Riley pulled it over his shoulders and around his head like a hood. It strangely seemed almost... perfect for him. Like the most natural thing for him to wear in the world. It wrapped around his shoulders and hid his face perfectly. "I never thought about how lonely the world traveling is... I mean, I did. I always did, I wanted to make sure each and every being that came to Clio was welcomed." He started to talk from where he was burying his face into his knees, "But I didn't think it was this lonely... and... and I feel so guilty." His voice waivered and cracked. His fingers gripped the shawl tighter, "I'm so excited to be here, I've always wanted to travel and see the whole world... And when you guys showed up, I wanted to see each and every world you described... But... I've never been this far from home... Back home I've been to the mainland, but only for trips or competitions, never like this. It... it's terrifying being so far from my col.... my family..." Riley trembled, the idea that he was by himself scared him to his core. It didn't matter he wasn't a child anymore, he could absolutely defend himself, but the deep rooted fear of being alone struck him not matter what justification he could give.
Riley started to tremble harder, now shaking. "I'm so scared... I don't know what to do...." His voice was barely a whisper. His whole life he'd had his family or the rest of the local seal colony to hang out with when he didn't want his friends. Being alone from them felt like shark bait. He finally understood his grandmother's obsession with the sea and her incessant lessons about never loosing your coat. Despite not having it for most of his life, he'd always been around seals and in the ocean.
I'm not alone... You're not alone Riley... Stop it... Tendou had said that. He knew he'd said it, but he still felt so scared.