Even from where I sit, I can feel your mind drifting. [ Halsin says this softly, even with a measured level of empathy with his own experiences that have long gone unsaid. It doesn't take a tadpole link or mind reading magic for him to notice a troubled mind. He doesn't expect Astarion to elaborate and neither will he ask him to, but he obviously will listen if the other wishes to share. Otherwise, today is not the day for him to satiate his own curiosity with questions. ]

Let it wander as much as you wish, as much as you need for it to. [ It's here that one hand reaches up to resume combing through Astarion's already immaculate hair while Halsin's other arm wraps around his waist, not constricting but simply holding. ] Know that I will still be here when it returns.