Ford had to struggle not to wince at the laughter, which surprised him with how sudden and sharp it was. That couldn't possibly be good, laughter. He was realizing just how far in over his head he'd accidentally gotten himself by continuing to push Darrow, because now he had pushed him far enough that he didn't even know where they were anymore. Yes, Darrow's wand was forgotten, but for a moment while he yelled that honestly seemed like the least of Ford's worries. Magic was one thing, but at least it was a known thing — Darrow himself was an unknown, and that was dangerous because Ford didn't know what he was going to do.
And if that was what he was thinking before Darrow started crying, the tears only made it worse. At first Ford was only confused by them. He thought maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him (impossible: Darrow was only a foot or so away, so he couldn't have mistaken it for anything else) or that there might have been some other motivation behind them than what might have been the case when a normal person cried (possible, but: did Darrow have any motivation behind anything he did? presumably, but Ford had yet to discover it). It wasn't until Darrow finished talking and let out that sob that it really fully hit Ford: he'd just made Darrow cry.
He was a little ashamed of himself, despite everything. Yes, Darrow had tackled him and chased him and taken his wand. Yes, he'd tied him up and cast some as-yet-unidentified magic on him. Yes, he kept making threatening comments and was currently sort of holding Ford hostage. And yes, he had obviously had quite a bit of internal stuff going on before Ford had said anything; it wasn't like this had come out of nowhere and he'd been twitchy from the beginning of their interactions. Still, the fact remained. Ford had just bullied another man until he cried, and now, despite everything else, he felt vaguely responsible for this.
"You're not a monster," Ford agreed, voice much softer than it had been at any previous point in their conversation. He couldn't have said, in the moment, whether this was part of some strategy to get out of this situation by appealing to Darrow's need for validation — the need that he had just created, with his taunting — or whether it was a genuine effort to try and repair some of the damage he'd just done. Most of the conversation in the past ten minutes had been more instinct than strategy, anyway, and he'd only been rationalizing it and trying to plan after the fact — which made him even more ashamed of himself, because it implied that maybe deep down he was a bully, and all it took to bring that out in him was a sufficient amount of pressure. (To be fair, a significant amount of pressure, but — still).
"No one's going to think that," he continued, gently reassuring. "I'm going to help you. It's going to be alright."
Set by Lady!
And if that was what he was thinking before Darrow started crying, the tears only made it worse. At first Ford was only confused by them. He thought maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him (impossible: Darrow was only a foot or so away, so he couldn't have mistaken it for anything else) or that there might have been some other motivation behind them than what might have been the case when a normal person cried (possible, but: did Darrow have any motivation behind anything he did? presumably, but Ford had yet to discover it). It wasn't until Darrow finished talking and let out that sob that it really fully hit Ford: he'd just made Darrow cry.
He was a little ashamed of himself, despite everything. Yes, Darrow had tackled him and chased him and taken his wand. Yes, he'd tied him up and cast some as-yet-unidentified magic on him. Yes, he kept making threatening comments and was currently sort of holding Ford hostage. And yes, he had obviously had quite a bit of internal stuff going on before Ford had said anything; it wasn't like this had come out of nowhere and he'd been twitchy from the beginning of their interactions. Still, the fact remained. Ford had just bullied another man until he cried, and now, despite everything else, he felt vaguely responsible for this.
"You're not a monster," Ford agreed, voice much softer than it had been at any previous point in their conversation. He couldn't have said, in the moment, whether this was part of some strategy to get out of this situation by appealing to Darrow's need for validation — the need that he had just created, with his taunting — or whether it was a genuine effort to try and repair some of the damage he'd just done. Most of the conversation in the past ten minutes had been more instinct than strategy, anyway, and he'd only been rationalizing it and trying to plan after the fact — which made him even more ashamed of himself, because it implied that maybe deep down he was a bully, and all it took to bring that out in him was a sufficient amount of pressure. (To be fair, a significant amount of pressure, but — still).
"No one's going to think that," he continued, gently reassuring. "I'm going to help you. It's going to be alright."
Set by Lady!