Nyx turns around, scowling; he's just got back from gate duty again and is in no mood to deal with Tredd Fucking Furia after dealing with that asshole Fortis most of the day.
Except Tredd looks...
Well, angry, that's nothing new. But there's always been shapes to Tredd's rage, and this isn't flames. This is ice.
He's never seen Tredd turn to ice in all the years he's known him.
"You okay?" he asks, despite the anger still lurking in his chest after yesterday.
Tredd shakes his head. "Come by my place after you eat something. Don't bring Ostium."
Nyx opens his mouth to refuse, to snap at him, but there's something else in Tredd's eyes that silences him.
"...fine," he says shortly, and walks away.
It's nearly three hours later when Nyx finds Tredd's apartment building. He's fed, showered, and considered three times not going at all. Except he keeps remembering Tredd's face. Whatever this is about, it has to be important. More important than their differences of opinion, more important than yesterday's blatant cruelty.
Nyx realises suddenly he hasn't seen Arra's kids all day, and a chill goes down his spine.
"Are the kids okay?" he blurts as soon as Tredd opens the door.
The question clearly shocks Tredd, who answers, "What? Yeah, they're in Galdin, I just--"
He stops, and Nyx wonders why the fuck the Arra kids are in Galdin Quay.
"Just get inside," Tredd says, and pulls him through the door without waiting for an answer. He slams it shut and locks it, and then flips on the light.
Nyx's angry "What the hell?" dies on his tongue as he sees Crowe lying on Tredd's bed, pale as death.
He doesn't remember crossing the room to her, though the way his knees hurt means he stopped by falling on them. Her hand is between two of his, and he's watching the shallow rise and fall of her chest, the bloodstained bandage on her gut. "What happened?" he asks, or thinks he asks. The voice sounds odd to his own ears, as though it's coming from far away.
"I don't know," Tredd says, equally distant. "A coeurl damn near ran me off the road and I found her there."
