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(no subject)

Who: Tekhetsio
Broadcast: Network | Open
Action: SS Pathstone
When: November 15

[he doesn't turn the video feed on because he looks like shit. he can't even keep his mask properly in place, so the rest of the Fleet does not need to see him looking so inhuman and a little cadaverous. the fact that he can't even hide from his crew is bad enough.]

...This is getting absurd.

[his voice is sharp and quite stressed. he has completely run out of patience.]

Has no one come up with an answer for this thing yet? Honestly? ...Isn't anyone the least bit concerned with how... ugh...

[and his voice then trails off as he backs a step away from the receiver.

the entire fleet is then treated to the distinct sound of sickened retching... followed by a few clatters... and something small, wet, and heavy hitting the floor.

anyone aboard the SS Pathstone and happening by the network station that Tek is using will have it a little worse, however. he has puked up a little bit of a mess--mostly consisting of oily black liquid, a couple of half-digested coins... and a shiny red gem.

oops.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[he appreciates the silence, so he likewise keeps his comments to himself.

face still propped in his hand, he just... waits.

he closes his eyes and takes the minute to rest, since this is already the most he's been up and active in days. hopefully he won't doze off and slip off his hand, jostling the whole operation.

and in the meantime, his mask just fails. whatever. he can't care right now.

his skin grays out to a wrong, warmthless color. bone ridges wrinkle up the bridge of his nose and around his eyes. the whole bit.]

[Ohhh she inhales so deep. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. If only he'd let her touch it. Her hands are busy or she probably wouldn't be able to stop herself. Either way she leans in, expression not so avidly curious but more like - admiring. That's ten thousand times more interesting and attractive to her than some fake pretty-boy face.

Her attention is not completely on the job now but she still has it together enough to slip one tube out, the next in. Teeeek you daaaaaarliiiiiiiiiing...]

[it's probably the overt hovering that finally prompts him to surface from his near-dozing and open his eyes.

--eyes which are now glowing a little more than they had been with his mask up, of course. you're welcome, Hange.

...and her being so close gets a surprised blink, followed by him refocusing enough for a glare.]

[Okay okay... she'll lean back a little bit... but she follows it up breathlessly:]

That's so... attractive...

[...whoa now. okay.

he straightens up, leaning away. eyes are narrowed like he can't decide if he's weirded out, or... suspecting that she's making fun of him.]

...What is?

[Not making fun. She looks... even more avid... than usual... the whites all around her eyes are visible.]

Do you have an alternate form? You're a shapeshifter? You can control your facial structure? I see why you'd want to look the other way to pass as human... but this is much better. ♥

[he grimaces, which turns out to be a nice sharptoothed snarl-face that goes well with how the bone ridges have deformed things. she's lucky he's so critically low on energy right now. he's still very much trying to be patient and behave himself.

his voice is still low and calm, but the warning growl-tone is right under it.]

...Do you remember what I said about pretending to not be so excited?

Because--where I'm from--that sort of eagerness means very bad things, and you're very much reminding me of them right now.

[Okay... okay... okay. Obligingly she sits back and gets a grip on her face. Still smiling, but a little bit less like she's like to bite into him like he was a peach right now. It's pretty visible the little shake she's giving herself, though she's still looking at him with bright interest.

And she finally switches out the other vial.]

No, that's very lovely... really.

Thank you.

[he really does just need to be placated sometimes. even though he logically knows that she's just calming herself down on the outside and it really hasn't changed her level of rabid interest at all, the effort matters. it satisfies him enough, regardless of the fact that the change in her face doesn't actually mean anything.]

...And yes, I'm a shapeshifter. It's one of the reasons that I doubt your medicine will be able to do much for me.

With that body temperature... and those teeth... I rescind my former guesses. Something reptilian?

[She switches out the other vial and swallows discretely. Because her saliva production definitely increased there.]

[it's a good thing that he doesn't notice that she's practically drooling.

he's calming down now, so the frown that follows her guess is a weary one.]

A common guess--don't let looks fool you. Any similarity to reptiles is coincidence.

Mind sharing what you are exactly?

[ahhhh hiccups aside she will be sad to leave. last vial almost done.]

I do mind, actually.

[his expression finally lightens a little, to a weak and mostly-humorless smile]

Figure out something to help this ailment, and then we'll see.

[That seems fair enough to her, so she doesn't press the matter. She nestles the forth vial back into her supplies.]

I'm going to pull the needle now and tape some gauze over it. Keep it for about fifteen minutes.

[eh, he waves his hand]

I really don't think gauze will be necessary.

No? [She'll just p ull the needle and watch what happens anyway.]

[it oozes a little black drop as might be expected, but then he looks at the mark and flexes his arm a little bit. something about the appearance of his skin seems to shift a little, but it's so subtle it easily could have been nothing but a trick of the eye.

and then when he smudges the droplet away with his thumb, there's no mark at all. tada!]

Useful...

[Comparable to stuff she's seen from Eren, though with finer control, so she doesn't get too excited about that.

She nestles the precious vials away and starts gathering up trash. She is actually meticulously neat with all her science crap.]

Tell me, have you ever even had a doctor's examination before?

[he isn't trying to be impressive. he just doesn't want to get anything on these clothes, because he's trying to go as long as absolutely possible before he has to wash them. he'd pretty much rather die than be seen wearing the outfits provided by the fleet.]

I've never needed one.

...And that sort of thing is a terrible idea if you're trying to keep up some sort of cover.

[how long will vanity outweigh the clothes starting to smell Tek]

So... it would turn up some significant physical differences... [Her eyes gleam but... shhhh... she just smiles.] Mind letting me take a look? [Anyway before he says anything she's leaning back towards him a bit to stare... at his eyes. Not staring into them, just at them.]

[ha joke's on you his clothes would just smell like a dusty old tomb before they smelled gross. who needs nasty mammal oils and sweatglands when temperature regulation isn't an issue.

and he leans back a bit, but doesn't retreat too far. she isn't reaching for his face or anything. yet.

even masked he leaves the appearance of his eyes almost entirely untouched, which means they're still a rosy sort of lavender pink, with pinpoint pupils. and of course lined with little curled lines that are almost definitely some sort of tattoo, upon such close inspection.]

...Is this in the name of medical progress, or morbid curiosity?

[What if Crowley throws up on them what then]

I wouldn't call it morbid! It's just curiosity. Don't tell me you're shy? [More like a wary, hunted kind of creature. Paranoid guy. She wonders if anyone hunted him.] It looks like somebody drew in your eyes. Do all your friends look like that?

Yes, well... you creatures do a lot in the name of curiosity. It's an impulse that is far from harmless.

[and he lifts a hand to tap the corner of one eye, right where the line curls. there's a bit of pride when it comes to this.]

And, no. This one is all me.

Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't go hacking apart a sentient creature for no good reason. Anyway, what's that for? [Whether he responds or no, she's then switching her attention to stare at his teeth.] What's your vision like? Perfect twenty-twenty? Better than that? Or are you nearsighted? Do you see in full color?

"Good reason" is another one of those treacherous clauses, I hope you realize.

[and then he'll just tick through the questions, lagging behind them being asked]

This is to help identify a shapechanger. ...And yes I have excellent eyesight. Really, I'm fairly certain that I'm better at most things than you are.

...But I don't particularly like bright light. [--and bringing that up is mostly because he doesn't want a penlight aimed in his eyes. that's something that doctors do, right?]