Regan sighed and shook her head at him. When he met her gaze, she tried a small smile to him, to show that she wasn't too upset... more worried that he'd been hurt, and that she was thankful that something worse hadn't happened. "Tyler, you're alright, are you not?" She whispered, her thumb gently running along his cheek as she tried to comfort him. "It was stupid, but nothing worse than a cut on your arm happened... you're safe, and that's what matters, yeah?" She whispered to him quietly. "We'll be leaving soon, anyway," she promised before moving up the tree, leaning against the trunk of the tree. She patted her lap for him to come and rest his head on... hopefully, he'd rest better somewhere soft to rest his head. "I want to make sure no one gets up here... and you're going to need to rest, Tyler," she told him quietly.

"Yes, I am fine." Tyler assured Regan, though he still mostly looked down. The only thing that hurt now was his heart... and his head, because he was busy yelling at himself in his mind. "Correct." Was all Tyler said, confirming what Regan whispered. He knew that's all that mattered, but he still felt bad. Tyler glanced up as Regan crawled away, shaking his head slowly. "Nothing about you but I prefer to rest on the bark." Tyler commented slowly, trying to think of a good way to put that. He was pretty much saying that he wasn't going to put his head in her lap because he was stubborn.. nicely.

Regan huffed out a breath to him before rolling her eyes. "Tyler, you make things really difficult to be nice to you, sometimes," she murmured quietly. She was trying. It was little things she was trying to do, to show she cared about him. To show that she wanted to look after him in the only ways she could. She couldn't protect him, no matter how much she wanted to. She could barely comfort him with her words, and he'd barely let her touch him. She wanted to mother him, give him a hug, make sure he'd eaten and rested and he wouldn't let her. "Do I make you uncomfortable or something?" She asked quietly. That had to be it... right? She shouldn't be upset, it was normal... he'd just said it didn't have anything to do with her, but got some reason it got hurt. She just sighed and crawled back into her branch, curling up under the blanket. She thought they got along. That they were friends, but it seemed more like they were just acquaintances. Hell, he wouldn't even let her put her arm around him while he was sleepy the day prior while watching the sunset. It was just a bit... disheartening.

Tyler practically wilted as he thought about it. He was just so unused to someone actually caring for him... he did everything on his own and he let no one touch him or help him. It was just his way of living. Tyler could tell that Regan was getting frustrated and sad, and he felt very bad about it. It wasn't her at all... it was him. Every time his father touched him it was because he was going to hurt him. Every time his mother touched him it was cleaning up the wound shis father made. Tyler had learned that he didn't get hurt if he stayed away from people. Now with Regan... that trauma kept kicking back in. Tyler had trained his brain to not like it when people touch him, and it was very hard to... untrain. He was trying to be kind, but it was hard when all he wanted to do was flinch away and not let anyone near him. "No, Regan, it;s not you... I'm not lying," Tyler said very quietly. "it's me..." He finished, his shoulders sagging.

Regan nodded quietly and just shook her head. She knew she shouldn't feel bad about it... she knew he didn't mean to be like this to her. She knew he didn't mean to be quiet, or lightly. He didn't try and get into fights, or cause them issues... it was just... him. And she wouldn't want to change him, but she did wish she could wrap her arms around him every now and then. Hug him, poke him, mess with his hair just be a bit more relaxed rather than having to constantly remind herself that he just didn't like it. She supposed she was trying to treat him the way she'd treated her siblings. But, he wasn't a sibling. They still barely know one another. But she should deal with it. She didn't to drive him off. But, she did hope he was right. That they could find someone else to team up with, kind of. Someone they could both be happy with. "It's just... never mind. Go to sleep, Tyler," she told him quietly, settling down as she curled up under the blankets a little bit tighter as she tried to get comfortable, tough was kind of watching over the tree still.

Tyler deflated even more at this, and decided then and there to try even harder then his hardest to be more open wiith Regan. He wasn't going to make her try to remember not to touch him every moment, and he knew Regan saw him as a brother. Mostly. Tyler watched her for a second, his brow creased as he thought of what to do. He wanted to be open with her, wanted to be near her. He just felt... unsafe. -Push that feeling away, then- Tyler commanded himself in his mind. If he could do everything else, he could push that feeling away easily. Right? Tyler doubted himself for a moment, but quickly cleared that thought. When Regan spoke again he snapped back to the future, listening. -oh brother...- Tyler thought with a slight wince as he moved his arm. "No.. I'm not going to sleep yet. I'm much too stubborn for that. Regan... I am going to try to *get better*. I know I shouldn't live like this, always wanting to stay away from other people because I'm scared of getting hurt again. You can hep me fix that, so I'm going to let you." Tyler said quietly, and his voice quavered just slightly in the beginning, but it soon got firm

Regan sat quietly as she listened to him. She didn't want him to do that. He didn't need to *get better*. There was nothing wrong with him. He just wasn't comfortable with people, and that was fine. She shouldn't be upset about it. She was used to people always wanting to be around her, to chat and joke... but he had boundaries, and she just had to respect those. And she did. She'd just have to deal with it until she could find someone who genuinely wanted to be around her. "You don't have to do that," she told him quietly. "You're fine the way you are," she told him gently, not really wanting to look back at him. "You don't have to 'get better' you're fine. If I get too much for you, you just need to say so, and it's all alright," she then told him quietly.

Tyler sighed. He was pretty sure Regan didn't understand... okay yes, he had been a little vauge. "I don't think you get exactly what I'm saying. I love being around you, and I always want to be around you. I understand if I have borderlines at the moment, but I want to change that. I guess I'm saying that you might be able to be the sister I never really had, if you want." Tyler said quietly, his voice dropping off a little at the end. He did have a sister, granted she was probably dead now... but they were never connected like that. There was too much unhappiness in their small home, no one relaxed. No one played with each others hair, no one hugged anyone. Tyler wanted... that. He just needed to make sure Regan wanted the same thing.

Regan just shook her head at him, though it wasn't like he could see it. She didn't know what she was wanting right then. She wanted to be able to treat him similarly to the way she would have with her siblings, she wanted to treat him as a friend... but she couldn't do that if she knew it made him uncomfortable. She couldn't do that to him, she'd hate herself for it, even if it was what he said he wanted. "I know what you're saying, Tyler," she told him quietly. "And you can still be around me without pushing yourself to do things you're not comfortable doing, I don't mind," she told him gently. "I enjoy being around you the way it is, too. It's really just fine," she then continued, fiddling with a bit of hair as she did so. She was just... nervous about it. They might, at some point, be more comfortable... he might trust her without being scared of being hurt or something. But they didn't have to rush it. She didn't want him to feel like he had to do anything... because he really, really, didn't.

Tyler was finally deciding to give up for now. He couldn't keep presenting his point, and he was getting tired. Plus his arm was getting more and more sore, and it was annoying. He just nodded at what she said and let his head fall back against the tree, staring at the leaves for a moment before closing his eyes with a quiet sigh. Tyler, being the person he was, still put the hat over his head. It helped him sleep, keeping the moonlight out of his eyes. Though lately he hadn't really been wearing it... the hat just hung in the tree till dark.