While he looks, Lisa figures she'll eat her pancakes before they go cold; critically acclaimed worst in the world or not, he'd worked hard and bothered to bring her here, to a nominally safe place, for them, so the least she could do would be to try and enjoy them. That would be easier if her hands were steady; after making a face at them, she takes a long, deep breath in, and lets it out slowly, eyes closed for a second, and while she doesn't exactly feel calmer, it's enough that the shaking's settled, more or less. Deciding not to risk the actually sharp thing, she just pours some syrup on top and cuts them with her fork, leaning over the plate so she doesn't drip everywhere - she's visiting, it'd be terrible to leave a mess on top of being a mess.
...she chews slowly, and blinks. They're actually not even too bad, and now that she's had a bite, she's hungry despite herself. "You make good terrible pancakes," she observes softly, before returning her attention to them. She can feel that something inside her loosening a little more, between Elliott's quiet presence and just being able to relax for a second without her thoughts pressing in on her. It's enough that, when he gets her attention again a minute or two later, she calmly sets her fork down and manages to not shake or jump or anything, to her surprise.
The method itself, though, is a bit surprising. Still, worth a try. She'll take anything if it works. It almost sounds like the kind of thing you'd use if you're dissociating or something... which doesn't sound that far off the mark. The strangeness of the exercise makes her tone a little tight. "Um. Pancakes." Deep breath in, slow out. "Pillow." Deep breath in, slow out. "Fish tank." Despite half this stuff being connected to her being a ball of tension a minute ago, she's feeling... okay-ish now? "Fork." She sounds calmer, too, a lot less wound up than she'd been. "You." Deep breath in, and as she lets it out this time, she smiles, more warmly than she's managed today. "Okay, that's... kinda better. I can think straight, and that's a really good start."
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...she chews slowly, and blinks. They're actually not even too bad, and now that she's had a bite, she's hungry despite herself. "You make good terrible pancakes," she observes softly, before returning her attention to them. She can feel that something inside her loosening a little more, between Elliott's quiet presence and just being able to relax for a second without her thoughts pressing in on her. It's enough that, when he gets her attention again a minute or two later, she calmly sets her fork down and manages to not shake or jump or anything, to her surprise.
The method itself, though, is a bit surprising. Still, worth a try. She'll take anything if it works. It almost sounds like the kind of thing you'd use if you're dissociating or something... which doesn't sound that far off the mark. The strangeness of the exercise makes her tone a little tight. "Um. Pancakes." Deep breath in, slow out. "Pillow." Deep breath in, slow out. "Fish tank." Despite half this stuff being connected to her being a ball of tension a minute ago, she's feeling... okay-ish now? "Fork." She sounds calmer, too, a lot less wound up than she'd been. "You." Deep breath in, and as she lets it out this time, she smiles, more warmly than she's managed today. "Okay, that's... kinda better. I can think straight, and that's a really good start."