X has seen emotional choke-holds before. He's felt emotional choke-holds before. He knows generally what causes them, if not necessarily how to unblock them, and he definitely knows what they look like when he sees them.

Zephyr has it worse than Szandor did, and that's saying something. Szandor would vanish into the surrounding air the moment someone brought up anything resembling friendship. Zephyr would do exactly the same thing, X suspects, if he were able to. What a pair they would make.

Szandor acted like this because he didn't see himself as worthy of friendship, after betraying his friends.

Zephyr's mentioned having close friends, but was otherwise reluctant to talk about them.

Hm.

"Thank you," X says gratefully when Zephyr returns with the water. He finishes half the cup without trying, gulping it down quickly, and then peers at Zephyr, trying to decide if it's something to talk about now.

It probably isn't. "What's been happening in Aifaran?" he asks instead, and his voice already sounds better than it did before. "What have I missed?"