thisavrou_log | Oh You Never Know About

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Oh You Never Know About

Who: Erik Lehnsherr and Nihlus Krylik
When: Backdated to about halfway through Shepard's cryonap
Where: Somewhere in the guts of the station in a place that was definitely not designed for two tall people to try to have a conversation.
What: Did you know that the Turian carapace has in it thulium, a rare paramagnetic metal?
Which means YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM MAGNETO, NIHLUS.
Warnings: None

[ The fabricator turns out to be a devilish device. The size limit is severely hampering Erik's timeline on the project. Instead of actually building, it's hours of hovering anxiously over a machine churning out one twelve inch tile at a time. A machine that has started to make troublesome sounds and appears to be overheating. A machine that Erik doesn't know how to fix.

He must be doing something wrong, but not long after he starts this phase of the project Nihlus simply disappears. At first, Erik doesn't think much of it. It isn't as if they are in the habit of spending free time together, after all. Eventually, however, the deteriorating state of the fabricator sends Erik in search of the reclusive Turian.

Without his powers, Erik never would have found him. Even with them, it was difficult. He could tell where Nihlus was, searching for the unfamiliar metal found only on the station in his and Vetra Nyx's plating. What that didn't tell him was how to reach the other engineer.

The trail leads him through a series of tubes that he is fairly sure were designed for the sole purpose of providing toddlers fun and interesting ways of hiding from anybody bigger than them. But eventually he does find Nihlus, at some nexus of a number of these small access tubes, in an area humming with what he guesses is some part of the life support system.

He half-crawls, half-tumbles out of the access tube in a way that would have been much more graceful if he weren't quite so stiff. He rolls the kinks out of his shoulders, wincing as they crackle. ]

Nihlus! Forgive the intrusion into your... doubtlessly very important work.

[ He can't tel what Nihlus is actually doing in here, and suspects it's not quite as vital as the location would suggest but isn't about to say so. ]

I was wondering if I could bother you to... [ He gives in. ] What have you been doing down here? It's been days.

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[ After the whole revenge-demon debacle, the sight of a man crawling out of the access tube with no warning nearly has Nihlus throwing his entire toolbox at Erik with an undignified shriek. Fortunately, his brain catches up before his arms could follow through, and he stares at the other, eyes wide, said toolbox only half lifted off of the grimy flooring. ]

Magneto, [ he breathes, free hand pressed over his chest in an effort to calm his stuttering, alien heart. ] Spinning deeps, you should've pinged me on the ACE before coming.

[ Exhaling all the air from his lungs in a long wheeze, Nihlus flattens out against the floor again, the lower half of his body still crammed into the space under some ventilation tubes. ]

I was just scrubbing the filters out and- wait. [ Casting the human a narrowed look, he gently sets the toolbox back down. ] How did you find me?

[ Erik lifts his hand to catch the tools, though Nihlus catches himself before that becomes necessary. ]

I did ping you. Yesterday. You never answered.

[ He leans against the wall, looking down at Nihlus, his brow furrowed in concern. ]

Oh. You have... [ There's no delicate way to phrase this, is there? With any luck being forthright will make it less weird. ] There's a metallic element in your carapace that I can sense.

[ Nope. Still weird. ]

Don't we have taskbots who could do this? Or... somebody shorter?

You- ah. Crap.

[ Nihlus reflexively activates his ACE and takes a good second to stare blankly at the still-blinking notification there before quietly covering his face with one hand.

The secondary bit of information has the Turian peering at Eric through his fingers with narrowed eyes, however. Not entirely surprised, but definitely just a tad irritated. Metal detection powers is hardly the strangest thing he's encountered in this universe, but the fact that someone could find like this him wasn't exactly a comforting bit of information for a career spy to find out. ]

I'm presently the person most familiar with the inner-workings of the life-support systems outside of the taskbots, [ he explains, rolling onto his side and propping himself up with an elbow. ] I figured I might as well do some preemptive cleaning and we needed additional carbon for the greenhouse anyways.

[ That this should have taken only an hour at most is peculiarly left unaddressed. ]

Did something happen?

[ Eric had crawled through Avagi's gutters to find him. Clearly meant this matter had some kind of urgency. ]

[ Erik shifts a little and rubs the back of neck as Nihlus peers at him. It is weird. ]

I didn't know how else to find you. [ He protests weakly. ] It's not like I spend a lot of time tracking your movements. And thulium is very rare on Earth it's... interesting. [ He flushes. ]

No, nothing happened. I was just... worried about you.

Eric gets a mandible slowly raised in his direction, Nihlus' expression shifting slowly from suspicion to something unreadable at the way the other flushes. He tilts his head just a hair's width to the side, a flicker of what looked almost like humor darting across his tattooed face, there and gone again in a blink.

I appreciate the concern, but it's an unavoidable side-effect of the workload increasing. [ Pushing out from under the filtration, he kneels in the cramped space facing Eric. ] The systems have been running for centuries without maintenance: the sudden population influx has been popping more holes into the metaphorical damn than we can plug without at least some over time.

[ Erik hands him some (dextro) protein cubes and a bottle of water. ]

Yes. [ Erik's brow furrows. ] The structural integrity of the entire hull is... not optimal. All of this may be for nothing if the storms shift. But. [ He slaps his thighs. ] We can't do anything about the storm. So why don't I help you with this.

[ Nihlus suspects that this was part of some kind of scheme to butter him up for the actual reason for Eric's sudden appearance... but he still can't quite help being charmed. Wiping the grime off his claws on a spare rag, he leans forwards and accepts the items, murmuring his thanks. ]

I can give you general security clearance for Life Support's control center. [ Settling down cross-legged, Nihlus leans against some of the ventilation tubes, popping the cap off the bottle. ] The most current list of necessary repairs are on the system there, along with blueprints and tools and parts lists.

[ For once in Erik's schemey life there isn't an ulterior motive to this. Though he wouldn't be too insulted if he knew of Nihlus' suspicions. They don't know each other very well, after all. And while Nihlus hasn't told Erik much about his background, like recognizes like. He has some experience working in intelligence, of that Erik is sure. ]

If that's what I need to help.

[ It's a sensible precaution, but Erik hardly needs to have official access to life support if he truly wanted to sabotage it. He is quiet a moment as he regards Nihlus. ]

You know that I'm on the major repairs team. Because I have skills that nobody else on the station has. So why did I have to track you down to help. What are you doing down here.

[ This isn't the easy way to do things. You're not fooling him, space bird. ]

[ Silence is the immediate answer. Nihlus' expression closes off again, resetting back to a careful, distant neutrality and for the longest few seconds that's all Eric gets.

The constant weight of the empty bedroom, the length of days since her last message, the fading scent of her in their communal living spaces, her frozen face in the cryo tank.

She could disappear any time, any moment, and there'd be nothing he could about it, nothing he can control. He can't even tell her how much he- ]

I just needed to be distracted.

[ Nihlus closes his eyes, silent for a moment. Then lifts the bottle up and takes a long, slow sip. ]

[ It's a big admission, and Erik lets the silence sit a moment. He doesn't exactly know what to do. Should he let it go? Should he push him to talk more? ]

Distraction can be productive. It can give you the drive to get quite a lot accomplished. But sometimes you need to actually deal with the problems you're trying to distract yourself from. They have a tendency to persist otherwise.

[ Shepard was really getting to him if he's willing to open up to someone who, at most, qualified as a co-worker. Sighing, he sets the bottle down and casts Eric a curious look, exhaustion lining the downward slope of his shoulders. ]

My problems can't exactly be dealt with, [ he points out, offering a quiet, apologetic smile, hoping it'd make up for the barrier he was quickly putting back up. ] I don't have enough energy to bang my head against that wall AND keep the station running. And feed the kids. And make sure my roommates don't self destruct horrifically.

[ As far as he can keep up with them, anyhow. ]

The point, [ Nihlus circles back quickly. ] Is that I have more than enough to worry about right now. Personal issues will just have to take a backseat.

[ Erik nods, because that is all true. But emotions don't always care about such logical considerations. He's quiet for a while. ]

When my wife was pregnant, she was often sick. Particularly in the first trimester, though the entire experience was quite difficult for her. There was nothing I could do about it. We'd go to the doctor, he'd give us whatever advice or medication he had to offer but other than that it was simply a matter of waiting and hoping things would work out.

As you might imagine, she handled this much better than I did. [ He laughs softly at himself. ] I didn't want to add to her burden, so I kept my worries to myself. A friend of mine, Milosz. He noticed how distracted and irritable I was at work. He took me out to the bar and got me drunk enough that I actually talked about it. There still wasn't anything else I could do. But it was easier when it wasn't circling around in my head non-stop. Do you have anybody you could talk to about the personal issues?

[ "Now that you can't talk to Shepard" is the part he doesn't come out and say. ]

[ It's strange, but he didn't pin Eric down as a married man, much less, one with a family. Their relations have been amicably professional, the occasional odd bout of flirting aside, but Nihlus' impressions of him always to seemed to point to a more- single sort of person.

The way he talks about his wife, however...

Another bout of silence stretches out between them, Nihlus just watching him, quiet bafflement belying the exhaustion in his eyes. ]

... No one that needs my problem on top of everything on their plates too, [ he confesses eventually, softly, and with some reluctance. ]

[ Erik wasn't really intending to surprise Nihlus so much. Just provide some evidence that he's not wholly ignorant of the stress he's operating under. ]

Nihlus, I'm generally not... the most emotionally supportive person. [ To say the least. How does Charles do it? All the time? With everybody? It must be exhausting. ] If I've noticed something is bothering you, I'm sure others have.

That's not a burden. You have friends who care about you. Perhaps it's different with Turians, but with humans, generally, if we can help a friend cope with something stressful it's something that makes us feel good, too. We're social animals, and such things strengthen the group.

[ Shaw has friends. You could use some, too. ]

My friends aren't human, [ Nihlus says serenely. ] And they're both dealing with the fact that they have to share the space with someone who can completely reassemble their minds on a whim.

[ Shepard is safe, comparatively. As safe as she can be in a cryo tank in the middle of a station surrounded by an endless, life-sucking storm. Rinzler and Yori... they had to work around Clu on top of everything else. ]

Where are you going with this? [ he asks, eventually, still gently despite obvious boundary testing. ] Are you offering to... talk?

[ Erik is not human, but he does not believe that Nihlus is counting him among his friends.

He does narrow his eyes at the reassemble minds comment. They're in rather close quarters, surrounded by metal. Surely he's not talking about Wanda so casually like that to him?

Suddenly reconsidering this attempt at offering support, he clears his throat and shrugs at Nihlus' question, rubbing the back of his neck. He's not even sure Nihlus was actually casting aspersions at his daughter, but it's knocked him off-balance on something that was difficult to begin with. He tries to get back on course. ]

If it would be helpful to you, yes.

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Oh You Never Know About

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Whoops, sorry about the html!

it's fine I muddled through lol

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