"What are you going to try first?" Alec asked, willingly following Daizi's lead.
"Good boy, Enkidu," Xander told him and put on his collar and leash. They headed out for a walk. Xander warmed them both up and then started running. He needed to move! To work out physically what was getting him all wrapped up mentally. He was angry! Angry at what? Dark. He was angry with Dark. Why? He felt like Dark was hiding something. Was he? Or was it Xander making stuff up in his own paranoia? It might be that. Yet, he was certain Dark wasn't telling them everything. Like his rib. Xander had been watching him, and Dark was good, very good, but sometimes he'd have tiny reactions to indicate he'd done something to hurt his side. Bruised ribs hurt, but not to that degree, and Xander knew it had to be bad to make it through Dark's masks. Why would he lie about an injury? To make them feel better? They weren't little children. They could handle things like that. Yes, Xander did feel a squirm of guilt that Dark was hurt because of something that happened because of them, but he blamed Dax more than he blamed himself. Dax was to blame for all of this, he was sure of it. Except... why was Dark acting so weird? It was kind of like watching Alec when he was determined to pretend like everything was okay, except different and worse. He thought back to the blood on the table. What did it mean? Was he overthinking it? Was he truly paranoid now? Was he expecting too much? Dark was the adult, after all, and he had a right to his secrets, but this last accident didn't sit right with Xander. He couldn't shake the thought that maybe it hadn't been an accident. But it had to have been! Right?
Finally, he stopped running, slick with sweat and panting. "Enkidu," he rasped to the dog, "I think I'm driving myself crazy."