thisavrou_log | (no subject)

Who: Various
When: Early in the event
Where: Mess hall
What: Niko's messin' with people's emotions and not realizing it.
Warnings: Niko's foul mouth and the general warning that trauma from his crappy life might come up.

[Niko's been pretty quiet. More than usual. For someone who knows him, the fact that he's not asked anyone to do anything particularly social in a while should be worrisome. But no one here does know him save for one person, and he's largely getting away with it.]

[He's been working diligently in the cargo bay and not made any efforts to gain rank (again) despite capability. He practices alone in the rec room and about the most hopeful thing he's done is cast lusty eyes at the ships around the docking area.]

[That's why he's not had the chance to notice what happened after he found that stupid mask in his mail box. He'd put it on his face for half a second, made a dinosaur noise at his reflection, hoped that he wasn't caught, and then put it back.]

[All in all, an uneventful discovery.]

[He's heading for the mess hall to have lunch, making a half-ass effort to try and make it when other people are there, because he guesses that he should try to socialize. Maybe. For his cousin's sake and for the sake of the one person he has left.]

I hope they got something decent. [He goes to look at what was presented at the table. And if someone felt like they didn't do a good enough job cooking, he accidentally impressed the feeling they should feel bad about it. An unfortunate start to what he intended to be a good dinner.]

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[Thán hardly takes his meals in the mess hall, but that's because he hardly takes them. His recent encounter with their navigator has him more careful of his health, so here he is. He glances up sharply at the comment and the subsequent change in his own emotions.]

What are you doing?

[His tone is firm, and he stops picking through the food, plate held in front of him. He wasn't aware that Niko possessed such an ability, but he truly wasn't aware of everything.]

I do not appreciate the encroachment upon my mood, Niko. It is mine to make what I will of it, and I do not abide force from another.

[Thán is a reasonable man, though, so he raises a brow, suggesting that Niko explain.]

[Niko pinches up his expression, heavy brow settling, and gives Thán an odd, defensive look. He's not quite sure what the man means, other than he doesn't want him around.]

What are you talking about? [He does genuinely look confused, and maybe a little offended.] Friend, if you're in a bad mood just because I'm here, I'm more than happy to just eat over there.

[He gestures toward the other side of the Mess Hall. Though he's finding his appetite quickly waning.]

You don't know?

[His brow creases further, and he sits his plate down.]

I'm not in a bad mood. Well, I wasn't. And normally I quite like you.

[He really does, but this is unsettling, and what Thán dislikes the most is feeling unsettled.]

I did not cook this food, but by default it is as if I did. [And he worries sometimes that it might not always be the best food for the crew, but their cooks work very hard.] I felt bad about it suddenly, more so than normal, and it was soon after you spoke.

Did you not do it?

No. How the hell could I do that? If I could have, I would have made my cousin less fond of gambling long ago. [He tries to not think about how he's not going to see said cousin again. It still makes him sad.]

[But more importantly, the desire to make Thán chill out ends up impressing a very strong sense of be calm to whoever is around him. Just calmness, a still lake, a soft breeze, a mindset as foreign to him as America itself was. But for other people, other people he can see it in.]

[Thán is silent for a moment, because it's odd that Niko suddenly has these abilities, but more odd that he doesn't seem to know what Thán is talking about.]

I felt it and..

[He feels calm. Relaxed more than he ever is, and if he didn't have experience with these kinds of things, he probably wouldn't have noticed. His voice is lower, expression soft.]

See, you've done it again, Niko. There's no one else around and now I'm calm, content. Unusually so.

[Niko has realized he's picked a strange day to attempt to socialize. He raises his hands and takes a step back.]

Yeeeah. I will have to remember which cologne it is that I'm wearing today, ah?

[The urge is still there, but he's mostly distracted enough that he isn't getting anyone to feel anything else, even if the ability for him is just out of idle impulse and vague bouts of wishful thinking.]

Wait.

[Thán sighs heavily when Niko steps back, and he shakes his head once.]

I'm sure you smell delightful, but that's not this, is it?

[He's still calm, but he's concerned now.]

I want you to test it out, so we can at least confirm it's you. If it's not, I'll go.

I don't know what you're talking about. I'm human. I can't do these things. I'm just a normal guy who is good at killing people and driving, and only one of those I like to do. [He figures his captains know that- the Nehada had information on him. Why wouldn't the Moira?]

[He motions at himself.]

Why are you so sure it was me when I had a guy go crazy at me because of that mission? He got mad for no reason.

[He's still completely unaware. He's not met anyone else with any sort of influence, thanks to his woeful failure at being social. All he knows is that people seem prone to changing moods on this ship. There's no particular emotion he wants Thán to feel at that moment. All he has is frustration on his part, worry he's getting into trouble for something he's sure he didn't do.]

What are you talking about? What guy?

[Thán tilts his head down, eyes on the floor as he tries to work this all out.]

Perhaps it wasn't you.

[Something was going on, and it was his responsibility to find out what.]

This is all very strange, Niko. I won't pretend to understand any of it, and I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me.

[He looks up then, waiting to be released from the conversation.]

[Despite all evidence to the contrary, Niko doesn't have the heart of a bad guy. So when Thán talks like that, he wonders what it was that put in such a position that he always looks hesitant to leave.]

Yeah. Sure. Ah, feel better and don't let things get to your head.

[Feel better, though. Words that came with a notion of actually feeling better, but its an ambiguous urge- Niko barely knows what "better" is, what emotions are behind it. Happiness? Contentment? Sadness become anger? Bline bursts of faith and compassion? It's whatever would make him feel better.]

[He frowns again, and he hates to leave Niko like this.]

I wouldn't, normally, go so abruptly. I do have manners.

[A slight smile and he steps back, feels better as he goes. He nods, then turns to walk away. He'll make it up to Niko after he's figured out what's going on.]