"I understand that the hospital needs the supplies, but it will do them no good if you rush and break everything!" Loqi snapped.

Sweet Shiva, this nurse was being asinine.

…Asinine. Oh, he'd been spending far too much time around the elder Fleuret.

The nurse scowled. "I have literally every city leader breathing down my neck to get these! I don't need everything right now – just enough for one patient! No one else is in as critical condition."

All of the leadership? No wonder she was being so obnoxious.

Who had been injured to warrant that reaction?

Evan cast an uncomfortable look at the woman, seeming very much like he wanted to remain unnoticed as he unloaded a pack from the back of his chocobo.

"What's in that?" the nurse demanded, making Evan flinch back in a rather good imitation of the bird he was next to.

"Chocobo feed." Loqi cut between them. "And your need does not change the fact that these supplies are primarily in glass casings," Loqi groused. He very much did not appreciate being hassled so after all his efforts just getting the damn trade route running in the first place. "Me and my men will have everything to you faster if you stop bothering us!"

"Evaaaaaaaan!"

Oh. Terrific. The oldest Argentum – a second headache to bother him.

All Loqi wanted to do was finish getting the supplies offloaded, check in with the leaders, and take a damned nap before he had to load things back up and ride off again.

This work was not as easy as it looked. Just because chocobos were soft didn't mean the rnearly endless riding wasn't exhausting. His rear end and back hated him right now. He felt twenty years older than he was.

But at least this headache meant Evan and the other boys were happy. They certainly did love their older brother.

Delilah's chocobo trotted up beside him as she dismounted.

Ah, so she'd finally caught up after taking her detour to speak with her fellow Glaive.

"What's going on here?" she asked with a frown as she spotted the impatient nurse.

Excellent. He could dispose of this responsibility.

"It appears the medical staff of Lestallum take issue with how long it takes us to unload glass bottles after traversing the continent," Loqi said dryly.

Oh, was that Highwind as well? Interesting. She didn't usually meet them when they first arrived. Come to think of it, none of the leaders did anymore. They made too many runs too often to receive an excited welcome every time now. So why the visit from Prompto and Highwind both now? And why were they rounding up the boys?

"Delilah, could you deal with this?" He gestured at the nurse, not even bothering to wait for a reply before he was on the move.

"Highwind, Argentum." Loqi moved over so he was standing next to Evan before he shifted his stance and crossed his arms. "I do have supplies that need unloading here. Whatever this is, can it not wait?"

"No," Aranea and Argentum barked in unison.

…Well, then. Someone was a bit on edge. Snap at him and then ignore him? How ill-mannered. He expected as such from Highwind, but Argentum?

"Ev…" Argentum snagged his brother's arm in a soft grip. "It's Iggy. We… He…"

"He's alive, kid," Highwind interrupted.

Oh, so they'd made that little discovery. That was… likely unfortunate. Given what they'd discussed when Loqi had met him, he doubted the man was discovered because he wanted to be.

Evan sucked in a sharp gasp, a thousand levels of shock flickering across his face in a mere moment or two.

"Alive?" the boy's voice cracked, and he pulled out of the elder Argentum's grip to snag the front of his shirt instead, gripping there as though it were a lifeline. "Truly?"

"Yeah! Yeah… For reals." Argentum patted his brother on the shoulder.

Loqi smiled softly. He'd seen the emotional tole this life took on Evan every day. This would do him well. Loqi hadn't enjoyed keeping him in the dark since he'd met Scientia. "Finally…" This was a load off of his shoulders.

"Finally?" Highwind said sharply, zeroing in on Loqi.

Oh, shit. He shouldn't have said that. He really shouldn't have said that.

"…Finally time for some good news?" Loqi tried to cover lamely as all three of them looked at him.

"Oh, no you don't." Highwind jabbed a finger at him. "I'm not falling for that shitty backtrack! You knew! You and Ravus both!"

"Dude, what the hell!" Argentum said, his grip on Evan's shoulder tightening.

Six, he hoped Evan would understand the reasoning behind keeping him out of the loop. He of all people had experienced the dangers of Ardyn's control.

"Secrecy was required at the time to ensure that–"

"I am gonna beat your ass, you knee-high waste of rations!"

Loqi would never admit it to someone outside the group currently present, but he absolutely jumped back when Aranea lunged towards him.

Well, this was how he died, then…

"Oi!"

Dino and Echo cut between the both of them, Echo hissing up a storm at Aranea as he stared her down.

That boy was braver than Loqi himself at this point.

"Wha's goin' on?" Dino asked, he hands out in pacifying gestures towards them both as he stood almost exactly halfway between them.

"Ask him!" Aranea growled, ignoring Echo entirely.

It really wouldn't matter to Dino. He'd never known Scientia, just of him. Loqi didn't need to defend himself to him.

"Evan," Loqi said calmly. "I promise you, I would never had withheld something so important to you from you without a damned good reason."

Evan's expression was oddly blank as he shook off his brother's hold for a second time. His walk over to Loqi felt much longer than it was, and Loqi almost held his breath as the boy approached him.

Evan stopped just before him, staring at the ground.

Loqi needed to be careful about his wording as to not hurt Evan more. But what were the right words?

"Evan, Scientia–"

Pain. Lot's of pain. So much pain. In his face.

What…

Loqi expected physical maiming from Highwind. Not Evan.

It took the sting of Loqi's rear end to make him realize that he was on the ground, but his focus was more on his face and the torrent of blood gushing down it.

"Evan!" Argentum squeaked in shock.

"Bloody 'ell, Ev!" Dino said.

"Oh, that's my boy!" Highwind cheered.

Loqi blinked hard, his hands pressed to his face and muffling his groans. His nose was completely broken. Crunched. Shattered.

Dear Six, did that boy actually have the strength of an MT?

"I want to see him," Evan said completely normally, like he hadn't just decked someone and left them incapacitated in the middle of the street.

"We all would." Aranea said. "But he's not in the best shape right now. We need those supplies you brought."

Of course they did. They'd hounded that nurse into hounding him.

…How bad off was Scientia if they needed supplies that desperately? Surely they hadn't run out of potions. Curatives were usually in high demand, but Loqi had never seen the rationing so poorly managed that Lestallum had run out.

Evan was already digging in his pockets. "I have potion–"

"He needs an antidote," Aranea interrupted, but not unkindly.

Ah, okay. That was less concerning in terms of supplies, then.

Loqi certainly would have liked that potion Evan was offering, but he wasn't going to try asking for it. He didn't want to get further maimed.

At least Echo and Dino were still on his side – Dino was already tugging on Loqi's arm to try and help him up, and Echo… Echo was scowling at Evan, seeming confused as to whether he should be hissing or not.

Loqi would have been amused had his entire face not been in agony.

"You okay?" Dino asked as Loqi staggered back to his feet, his hand still cupped over his face and his gloves slowly soaking with blood.

Loqi groaned, tilting his head back. "Just… keep doing your job. I'll survive."

Looked like he was going to be heading for the hospital before the rest of them. Maybe he'd even see Scientia first.

Ugh. Now even getting sleep would be next to impossible with his face hurting this much. Maybe he'd get lucky and the hospital would drug him into a nap as long as the Chosen's. Six new he could use the rest. And some painkillers.

He couldn't find it within himself to be mad at Evan, but that wouldn't mean he'd be getting over his physical problems any faster.

When he'd thought that the eldest Argentum showing up would give him a headache, this wasn't what he'd had in mind.

Now he wished he had a headache from someone chattering. It definitely would have been an improvement on feeling like his skull had been fractured.

What a joyous visit to the city this was bound to be.

Given the involvement of Evan, Aranea, and Amicitia, Loqi was probably going to end up a bloody pulp in a hospital bed between Scientia and Ravus'.