Originally Posted by mc.soldier

It was a very dangerous thing for Travis to drown himself in awful thoughts of death and disaster. Memories of years past would come flooding back to him soon and he didn't think that was a good idea at the moment. The place was crowded. Too crowded. And the buzz of hundreds of conversation threatened to overwhelm him.

Surely the exit of the Great Hall hadn't been that far away? On the edge of panicking, Travis tried to walk more quickly but his legs weren't responding properly.

Irial.

Travis' nearly transparent gray eyes avoided the Hufflepuff table, he didn't wish for Caitlin to see how bad he was doing at the moment. He didn't want to worry her more than she already was. He had to be brave for her. And he had to trust that Irial would come back to them soon. He promised.

Your mother had promised, too.

His heart clenched and if he walked any faster, the students would notice. Quite suddenly, a voice registered in his brain and he stopped mid-step.

"Pardon?" Travis asked softly, not trusting his voice much at the moment. He rested his eyes on a girl not much older than him, wearing heels. The food? I barely even touched the food. "Oh, um, the food was well enough." He tried for a smile. "I'm quite alright, actually. Um, the noise was getting to me." Travis tapped a slim finger to ear.

It wasn't a lie. The noise really was getting to him. His too-sensitive ears began to hurt when it got loud.