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His call to Zac was brief, the words coming too quickly, piling on top of each other until it probably drove the younger man crazy. He'd probably be able to catch the gist of what Ever was saying: attacked by senshi, sister following him, people recognized her so easily, and now they'd likely recognize him, too, as Ammolite-nee-Lyra's 'friend'. They wouldn't know civs, of course, but that made him a prime target, didn't it? Oh and by the way they needed to talk anyway and he was hungry and...

Well, it was babbling. It wasn't helpful. An in-person meeting was more useful. When Zac cut him off he shut up and hung up the phone and settled near the door to his apartment to wait. Still shaky with energy, he paced and circled, went inside briefly to grab some garlic knots before realizing that was a bad idea -- he could miss Zac -- and returning out front.

By the time Zac did arrive, he'd have a little pile of crushed cigarettes at his feet, one still loose in his hand, and only most of it worn out of him.

Ever blinked down at Zac, silent at last, and then made a face down at him -- wanting nothing more than to drag him in closer and, well, work out the excess energy. But he was bright enough to know that doing so would make Zac run off at best and would be the end of things at worst and, well, he had enough sense not to do that. Just yet.

"...uh. Well, see..." He worked back toward his frenzy, tapping of the cigarette and spreading his hands, fingers still in a fine tremble. There was still blood on his cheek, even if the scratches underneath had healed down to almost nothing.

"There was a senshi, MuCephei, and she jumped me, and she threw blood at me which was pretty ******** up, and then she threatened to do worse if I didn't give up the energy but ******** her man so I ate it instead. Which was actually a pretty good move, because it meant we could haul a** really fast out of there..."

"I got some garlic knots." And, sure enough, he did smell like garlic this close up -- something which made him pull a face, ducking his head to take one last drag on the cigarette before he stomped it out. Drawing in a deep breath, he tried to cool off, rolling his shoulders and closing his eyes to count to ten.

"...the thing is, she stepped in to intervene. And said, you know, all noble teenaged girl, 'stop hurting my friend' or something like that...so, ah." He opened them again, blinking down at Zac, and rather obviously fought the urge to steal a garlicy kiss. "So, you know, they know we're...connected."

"I know she's...I know, no one can recognize me like this, but I go out like that a lot. I mean, a lot." Most nights, nowadays, though rarely for the whole night. He drew in another breath, mouth twitching down toward a grimace, and shrugged again at Zac, both hands disappearing into his pockets so he wouldn't do something stupid.

"...it'll probably seem less, um, urgent, tomorrow..." but for now, with his heart still beating too fast as it was, it added to the panic of the moment. Ever shook his head, licking the corner of his mouth and going properly quiet at last.

"I'd do it again." He shifted, fidgeted, fighting down the distant urge to drape an arm across Zac. Annoying; he could see the way the young man tensed up when he got to close, and he didn't have the wits about him to reply to that properly, just now, to worry about what that meant in the long run...

"Eating it, I mean. To spite her." Definitely worth it. Ever shrugged, walking too fast. If Zac didn't trot to keep up, he'd move a few paces and then draw to a halt, back and forth, bobbing restlessly. "That was pretty satisfying."

That got a pause, a blink, and then a laugh, Ever's attention turned down onto him in a surprised and baffled sort of way. Personal objectives? Did Zac remember exactly who he was talking to? When he'd met Ever...well, Zac might not have known he'd been sleeping in the subway or the back of the library, but...

"Uh, no. Mostly to stay alive. And to keep your sister alive, I guess." He shook away the question; that wasn't the sort of thing Ever thought about. He was more immediate than that. Still wasn't good at the fighting part of things, but that would come with time, assuming he didn't die...

He shook his head. "I'm fine. I mean, I'm okay. Better than usual, I guess." And this last came with a brief, hopeful flash of smile.

"Oh, yeah, read the whole thing, cover to cover." It was blaise, absent, except for the flash of a grin that chased it. Now that Zac was here, his jittery nerves had melted to something brightly excited, instead. Dimmed, more like coffee than crack. Probably a good thing.

"...of course, I didn't understand any of it, but..." Ever might have been joking, except for a lingering edge of confidence. He shrugged. He seemed pretty sure he'd get it eventually.

"Oh, I still think you wasted all that time." He shook his head a little, but it was teasing much more than it was honestly reproachful. Ever's eyes were bright, and he finally caved in, an arm draping absently down around Zac. He couldn't quite seem to help himself.

"Has anyone else ever tried to look at your notebooks? Anyone? Or was I the first to set off the trap...?" It wasn't digging or anything other than a comfortable moment, on his end.