Compared to hell, this is a paradise, so if Alec does fail to return, it won't be the worst thing that has ever happened to Zack. And this new friend might well be a capricious creature of chaos, but it's the person Zack trusts. He can only take it that the personality inside the creature actually likes him enough not to do him harm. He can't do much else. He could have done, at first, could have just done the work, returned to Antillioch, and not have accepted an invitation to eat.

But he did. And that's free will in action. Of a sort.

When somebody speaks, Zack's gut reaction would be to turn and snarl. He's already told himself he won't though, but he does turn wary eyes to the newcomer. Zack isn't ready to make friends yet. He'd rather eat, drink, observe. Sitting in a corner somewhere and assessing people would be his main strategy, before actually speaking.

Being socially awkward too, it seems a good policy.

The warmth though... it calls to him. The odd disjointed memories of sitting on his pa's shoulders, or being cradled after waking in tears over some bogeyman or other - all resonate. It's still in Zack's nature not to be trusting though, even if his own beloved parents walked into the bar... Not that he'd recognise them.

"New. Yeah," he grunts, his hand tightening around the glass of water. "M'here with the Everstorm of Chaos," he adds, just in case. It's probably not cool to hide behind Alec, but fuck it. He'll apologise later.

It's all new and weird, and Zack is feral. He's been dealt enough blows to remain paranoid.