Cyril's rage had been abruptly cut off by Zane's interruption, though it seemed to roil just below the surface of his skin, still up on the balls of his feet. Still itching for a fight. He shot a look back at Null when the man spoke, and he scowled as he felt that tug once more. "God--god, okay, just..." Cyril ran his hands through his dark curls and grit his teeth, gripping at his hair as he tried to focus. "Why don't... why don't we just..." Cyril blinked, realizing Null was inching towards Cody and Zane, and Cyril snarled slightly. He did
not want to be anywhere near those two.
"Come here," Cyril snapped, reaching for the man's collar once more and dragging him slightly. His brows raised in genuine surprise. "Damn, you're light," he murmured, face blank for a few moments, before he blinked out of it and eyed the flush on Null's cheeks. He glanced up at where the man was looking--Zane--then rolled his eyes and shook his head with a 'tsk.' Zane's effortless charm was one that Cyril found horrendously irritating, if only for how little Zane seemed to actually use it to his advantage. "Let's ask the person in charge here. Surely they might know what happened. Could be part of this whole place's shtick."
Cody grinned as Kosok hopped off, giving a small wave to the creature. He wondered if Ava experienced that sort of thing with Pierre... that cat was a cute one, though he'd never been fond of Cody. Dog person--it was a curse, for sure. He blinked at Dahlia's offer to take the phone book back, and a pang of nervous guilt hit him. "O-oh, you don't have... to..."
Suddenly, he was alone with Zane--or as 'alone' as one could be, in a crowded tavern. Zane glanced down at the boy with a soft expression on his face, the hand on Cody's shoulder moving to rub at his upper back. "Hey," he offered softly, scooting to sit down on the chair next to Cody's.
Cody snuck a glance at Zane's face, his hands in his lap, wrung tight together. "H-hey," he managed softly, looking back down at the table, before he let the air seep out of his lungs in a soft sigh. "I'm sorry. A-about the... plate, and... f-for just running off."
Zane blinked, his face breaking into a sympathetic smile. "You scared me," he admitted. "The running off part. The plate thing... well, we don't even use plates that often, y'know? I've been so busy with finals that takeout has been the game plan for weeks now, haha," Zane cringed, trying to make light of things, before he sobered slightly and let go of Cody for a moment to take the boy's hand, gently pulling it away from the other. The tense white of Cody's knuckles lessened as a result. "I'm not mad," he said, voice just loud enough to hear over the din of the tavern. Cody looked up, staring at Zane with eyes that threatened to rim with tears once more. Zane drew in a breath, his heart clenching, and he squeezed Cody's hand. "I'm
not."
Cody's eyes searched Zane's, sniffing, and slowly raised their joined hands to rest against his lips, blinking tears away. "Okay," he mumbled behind their hands, nodding and absently kissing Zane's knuckles. Zane felt a wash of relief come over him, a grin appearing on his face to see Cody relax a little bit. Cyril's voice barked above the noise, suddenly, and Cody visibly tensed. Zane's brows knit together, and he angled his head off in Cyril and Null's direction, his expression darkening slightly. "Hey, Cody," he said, turning back to the blonde boy, his expression serious, but encouraging. "Dahlia and Kosok seem super cool. Do you wanna stay with them a little longer? I think... I need to go chase Cyril off. He's kind of terrorizing some guy. I'll come join you as soon as things smooth over, yeah? And then we can go home whenever you want," he added with a pat to Cody's hand. They could talk back at home. For now, Zane was just glad the other boy was safe and sound, and in good hands for the time he'd been gone.
"O-oh dear," Cody mumbled, catching Zane's drift. Geez, everyone was giving Cyril what-for today. First Dahlia, and now Zane. "P-please be careful," Cody added, a tiny smirk tugging his mouth, and he planted a proper kiss on Zane's fingers before standing up and breathing in a deep breath of air to steady himself. He waved at Dahlia and Kosok, and pointed over towards the table she'd indicted, wordlessly telling her he'd sit down and take her up on that offer.
Zane, meanwhile, turned his smiling face back to the situation at hand, correcting his expression into something a little more impassive. He walked up to Null and Cyril, his hands moving to rest at his hips as he regarded them both. "So--I don't know what's going on here, but I'm pretty sure fighting isn't gonna fly here," he said, then looked pointedly at Null, offering a friendly smile. "What's the problem between you two?" he asked, recognizing fear on a face as easily as anything. Plus, even if Ava swore by Cyril's kindness, Zane could tell he didn't treat everyone with that kindness. "I'm Zane, by the way. Friend of Cyril's," he said, pointing a thumb at the dark-haired man, who at this point just looked exhausted and very much wanting to go home.
[Claiming Day 3!]