Vax stopped mid-tug as his deft hands set to free one of Percy's soggy feet, and he looked up at the white-haired man with a stark expression. When he realized he'd done it, Vax eased it off the rest of the way, and set the boot aside.

"No," he said, his whisper slightly raspy. "Maybe not." Vax started on the next boot, but his hands stopped again before he'd got to it really. "How'd the fight go? Before..." Before Percy had died, he guessed. Again.