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[littletonoidea]

"This is the audio log of Communications Officer Doug Eiffel of the-- previously of the U.S.S Hephaestus, leave a message and I'll see if I can bear to drag myself away from whatever utterly engaging task I must be doing to not notice my comms--"

BZZZZZZZ

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[littletonoidea]

Sorry Jedao but Eiffel is still very distracted by this entire situation - and yet makes no effort to remove the hand from his face.

"Be... because he hates me and hasn't... told... me?"

[deuceoftears]

Jedao also does not let go. His eyes don't get any less intense, but something that was carefully restrained in his voice, reserving judgement, gets fractionally gentler.

"Okay. If it isn't in the file, ask the admiral for a current status briefing. Will you do that?"

[littletonoidea]

That heat in his face is creeping steadily further south and he is about five seconds away from--

God he doesn't even know. Flipping out feels the most likely but the night is young, he might just spontaneously combust.

"Uhh- I- I can? I-I mean, I've worked most of it out on my own, I-- are you gonna let me go soon?"

[deuceoftears]

"Ask. Let me know what he says."

The more formal phrasing Report back to me itches behind his teeth, which is about when Jedao realizes he's flying blind on Jedao One's instincts, like he used to when addressing his Kel. He doesn't need those instincts to know that dropping the touch like it burns will undercut his - not authority, what authority - influence? Whatever the fuck he is doing.

He drops his hand smoothly, takes a few steps away, then leans against once of the bulky arcade frames. "Confirmation is better, when it comes to things like this. I would think you'd be tired of him springing shit on you."

[littletonoidea]

His goddamn scruffy excuse for a beard tingles when Jedao lets go of him, and even when he brings a hand up to rub his face-- fuck, he can still feel the way Jedao's fingers were wrapped around his jawbone. The way he asked that stupid little 'will you do that?' is rattling around in his brain.

He finally remembers to stand up straight then, and immediately stumbles slightly as he overbalances. His face is still very red and he is pretty sure it's gonna stay that way until the Wolf changes colour again.

"I-I-- uhm. I- don't know how many surprises we've got left in that jackass-in-the-box, he's- kinda running low? Not like there's much that's surprising after, uh- going to town on an entire library just to get one guy to notice you. Maybe next time he'll just get into Harvard like a normal girl."

[deuceoftears]

Jedao tilts his head, watching Eiffel stammer. His voice is still quiet.

"Do you actually believe that, or is it an excuse not to dig because you're scared to destabilize what appears, on the surface, to be a truce?"

[littletonoidea]

Oh, well. That knocks some of the shine off his mood.

"Hey- I'm not afraid of Elias, alright?" Which is kinda sorta an outright lie, but it's a complicated one. "He's a big bully, sure, but all he can do is hardwire scary stories into you. And I'm not afraid to-- I dunno, antagonise him to get a reaction."

[deuceoftears]

"But you are more afraid he'll stop talking to you than that he'll hurt someone else," Jedao muses.

It's not an accusation. Just an evaluation.

[littletonoidea]

"Well- yeah, but honestly? If I'm get the silent treatment that means he's up to something that's definitely gonna get people hurt. At least focusing on me takes the heat off other people."

[deuceoftears]

"Does it? He seems like a man capable of multitasking. Especially if you're assuming he isn't."

[littletonoidea]

His mouth presses firm for a second as a flicker of annoyance visibly passes across his expression.

"What, you think I don't know what someone like Elias is actually capable of? That I haven't already met people like him before? I know he's smarter than me, I know he could Macgyver a death trap for me given five minutes and a ballpoint pen. He doesn't need magic for that."

He throws the paddle, that he's only just remembered he's still holding, onto the table. "And there's only one thing guys like me can do against it. Act dumb. Be the most annoying piece of shit that he's ever come across. Because then he underestimates me twice as hard, and I learn."

He folds his arms, and it feels very defensive. "Elias can only use his spooky psychic periscope with permission if he wants to see a memory, and he only gets that exact memory. But he can plant them whenever he likes. Fortunately, whenever isn't however, because I can't for one second imagine he gave me his whole memory of dying on purpose, and he was exhausted afterwards, like he was gonna keel over the keel."

[deuceoftears]

Jedao is quiet, for a little while, level, making sure Eiffel has said his whole piece.

"I get it," he says quietly. "I've been -" A brief, hiccoughing little laugh. "I don't know how to express just how utterly I've been outclassed, by someone Elias could be if he had another eight centuries to work on it. I've had to smile and swallow lies and play dumb and not realize the dumb mistakes I was making and act - not dumb, exactly, he knew more about my brain than I did, but - compliant. I get that that's a strategy."

His voice is level and low, but he has to force himself to relax his white-knuckled grip on the arcade chassis behind him.

"But you have other resources, and you're not using them. I don't know if that's because you're so used to this approach that you genuinely haven't noticed, or because you're so used to this approach that you're worried doing anything else on the side will blow up in your face, or if you don't care what happens to other inmates while you're working your angle, or if you do care but it's overwhelming so you're convincing yourself the risk doesn't exist, or what. I am trying to find out. I want you to help me understand."