After that whole mess Zelos, for the most part, keeps to himself.
Mithos struck a cord of discordance in Zelos' carefully adapted and tuned mind. He cannot help being tense and restless, but he can avoid being a burden as their travel group presses on and makes distance with Tethe'alla, steadily on their way to the border. Zelos doesn't voice it, tries his damn hardest to ignore it and hide it, but the Aegis' words and presence are like nails digging into his skin, the constant discomfort a reminder of that day under the rain no matter how much time passes.
In his avoidance of it, Zelos tries to play along; he doesn't cause any scenes, doesn't bother anyone outside of normal interaction, feeds neutrality into the emotional link. He keeps quiet at night and offers to take watch more often than not, seeking to be alone with his own thoughts when he's not playing a mental game of chess in his conversations with the others, steering everything away from his mental state. His nerves right now are much like a viper, anyway; coiled and ready to attack if anyone dares come close.
He just needs time, he guesses. Enough time to ignore this and go back to normal, whatever normal even is for someone like him.
Ah.
Time passes, and soon enough the closest Sylvaranti-Tethe'allan border checkpoint comes into view. Though Zelos is uncomfortable with the decision to come here, he bites his tongue and decides not to argue against it; it's logical, anyway, that they'd want to save as much time as possible by pressing onward to Sylvarant, and trying to avoid a checkpoint with their current trajectory will only double the time spent. So, he's just gonna have to sit down and let the humans handle this.
The plan is simple, at first glance: keep the Aegises out of sight, and meanwhile, let Kratos, Anna, and Sheena walk in to provide a distraction and incapacitate the humans inside while guiding everyone else through to avoid detection. Quick entry and exit without any stops.
Simple. Easy.
Fast.
Which is exactly why Zelos' anxiety spikes in his chest when the emotional bleed between him and Sheena goes from taut and busy to completely slack.
The Aegis abruptly rises from where he's sitting, dread pooling in his core as he approaches the only person here he'd trust to understand him--the only other blade in their group whose driver isn't here. "Ah, Malos?" Zelos asks once he's close enough, voice steady, but carrying an open look of concern on his face. He then points at his own core crystal, saying nothing else.
TIME TO SKIP ALONG
Mithos struck a cord of discordance in Zelos' carefully adapted and tuned mind. He cannot help being tense and restless, but he can avoid being a burden as their travel group presses on and makes distance with Tethe'alla, steadily on their way to the border. Zelos doesn't voice it, tries his damn hardest to ignore it and hide it, but the Aegis' words and presence are like nails digging into his skin, the constant discomfort a reminder of that day under the rain no matter how much time passes.
In his avoidance of it, Zelos tries to play along; he doesn't cause any scenes, doesn't bother anyone outside of normal interaction, feeds neutrality into the emotional link. He keeps quiet at night and offers to take watch more often than not, seeking to be alone with his own thoughts when he's not playing a mental game of chess in his conversations with the others, steering everything away from his mental state. His nerves right now are much like a viper, anyway; coiled and ready to attack if anyone dares come close.
He just needs time, he guesses. Enough time to ignore this and go back to normal, whatever normal even is for someone like him.
Ah.
Time passes, and soon enough the closest Sylvaranti-Tethe'allan border checkpoint comes into view. Though Zelos is uncomfortable with the decision to come here, he bites his tongue and decides not to argue against it; it's logical, anyway, that they'd want to save as much time as possible by pressing onward to Sylvarant, and trying to avoid a checkpoint with their current trajectory will only double the time spent. So, he's just gonna have to sit down and let the humans handle this.
The plan is simple, at first glance: keep the Aegises out of sight, and meanwhile, let Kratos, Anna, and Sheena walk in to provide a distraction and incapacitate the humans inside while guiding everyone else through to avoid detection. Quick entry and exit without any stops.
Simple. Easy.
Fast.
Which is exactly why Zelos' anxiety spikes in his chest when the emotional bleed between him and Sheena goes from taut and busy to completely slack.
The Aegis abruptly rises from where he's sitting, dread pooling in his core as he approaches the only person here he'd trust to understand him--the only other blade in their group whose driver isn't here. "Ah, Malos?" Zelos asks once he's close enough, voice steady, but carrying an open look of concern on his face. He then points at his own core crystal, saying nothing else.