Hug!!! And tiny little upset noises.

Elesse would like in on this hug action, actually.

Well, not much trouble for her to sit - and Anakin's the perfect size so Elesse and her mama can both hug her while her mama also hugs Elesse.

Yeah. That's good.

Snuggle. 

(She... Can't be a Sith right now. Can't be tough or strong. She can't.)

She wraps Anakin in her shields, a soft lullaby of I've got you, letting Anakin in a little - and she reaches out to her Elesse.

'Thank you. I'm sorry.'

(Grief, stress, worry. For them, for Elesse, for that dark Anakin, for their Anakin.)

(She knows exactly what sorts of fears Elesse might have. She's been there. She's nearly lost control at someone a lot more helpless and injured than a traumatized adult darksider. She knows what reassurance she'd need.)

'If you ever draw your lightsaber on our Anakin, I'll stop you.'

'...I don't want you to have to.'

'But thank you.'

'I know.' Viscerally. Terribly. (Flashes of memory of her first years trying to raise Danni. How hard it was. How it made her want to change.)

(A lot is visible to her Elesse, right now.)

'We can work together. To avoid it.'

'We will.'

Tiny flicker of wry amusement. 'From both our ends.'

'I - my alt probably. Hurt that Anakin. From how she - acted.'

'Badly, too.'

'...Very badly.'

There are a very limited number of options for 'dark version of Anakin who attacked her on sight,' and most of them involve - 

Well.

There's only one person Lylí would attack on sight with that sort of terrified rage. Another two she'd hate the alts of no matter what. 

(Lylí didn't become a mirror of those who raised her. But it was - very close.)

Hug.

Tight hug.

...Comforting as this is, they probably can't do it forever.

...No, not really. 

Not least because Anakin starts squirming before too long. 

Up, then? 

Up.

Hopefully they're feeling better now?

Anakin is! Mostly. Kinda. 

"Why did that me attack mama?"

"She was reminded of someone who had hurt her very much."

"Oh..."

"Mama gets scared sometimes. When she's reminded of bad stuff. Usually she goes and hides until she's less scared and then hugs me a lot, though. Is someone hugging the other me?"

"Yes. Two someones, in fact."

"Twice the hug!"

"Indeed."