X pulls back in surprise -- not all the way, certainly not enough to give Zephyr any room to leave, just enough to make it clear that the face Zephyr presents to him is not the face X expected. Not the face X expected at all. It's... worse than he thought.

Was Zephyr trying to run because that was the role mysterious compulsions forced him into? Or was the reason much more personal than that? X quickly runs through all the things he knows about Zephyr: kind-hearted, protective, reluctant to discuss his past, probably older than Valdis. None of it, on its own, points to an answer.

"You're changing," X replies quietly. "And you're scared. What kind of a friend would I be if I let you go and hide yourself away out of misery?"