Little John reached up to soothe the troubled crease in Elaine's brow. Had there been a better way to phrase everything, a gentler way to break what was, after all, ungentle information? Perhaps, or not. Could be that a minor breakdown was always going to happen, like reality had cracked round them and they had to crack a little too in order to remake themselves to fit a new shape. Not that he was going to say that out loud, though. Not that he was going to interrupt this hug at all, with his own thoughts.
Lyra gripped Rosario in return, making no move to let go. To think, even last night, they'd been so shaky. That just a few nights ago they'd been throwing bitch and failure and attention-seeker at each other. That was no fairy tale; storybook best friends wouldn't be so quick to grab for words as weapons, right? But now she had Rosario, and Rosario had her back and their fight just made her more grateful for how vital this hug felt, right now.
"Goddamn right," Lyra underlined it all with a final whisper as she squeezed Rosario, then pulled back, casting a glance toward the basket Elaine had prepared. Maybe she was right, they should take the basket and Elaine's (and Lyra's father's) contact details and go somewhere that was just the two of them and try to process.
"This's been a lot," she said honestly, still holding Rosario's hand as she looked across the table at the others. "But I 'ppreciate it, a lot. Knowing we ain't... well, knowing we got someone to try explain some of this, it means a lot, too. We definitely gonna hit you up with more questions, I think. Maybe when it's all a bit less fresh."
"I think that's a good idea," Little John smiled at them both, a warm one. It was a lot, she wasn't wrong. "Like Elaine said," he reiterated the promise, "we're not going anywhere."