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[along wanders Vincent, moving the weird hesitance of someone who doesn't fully trust that they aren't about accidently kick a piece of furniture. he settles a polite distance away, one hand against the wall to keep himself grounded.

he can tell someone's tinkering with something in front of him. can't imagine what or why, but at least he recognizes the smell. said with the flat tone of someone who wouldn't be all that surprised if the guy on the ground jumped up and tried to eat him.]

...Hey friend. Anything good in there?

[He wasn't going to turn around. Short of being jumped on and attacked, or maybe addressed by someone sweeping in with clinical authority and a white coat, he hadn't imagined what might have been able to pull his attention from what he's working on. But the voice behind him is sort of bigger than he'd been expecting to hear.

The tinkering pauses for a couple of seconds as he angles back enough to look up.

A voice on the floor in front of Vincent says,]

Nope.

[he's absolutely massive. his gaze doesn't seem focused on anything in particular, so he's either fugue-ing out pretty hard, or focusing on something that isn't directly in front of him. when he gets an answer, he leans into the wall with his shoulder, but doesn't get any closer.]

S'that a nope of 'nothing good' or a nope of 'not your business'?

[at least he sounds slightly less wary. getting an answer at all was reassuring of a few things.]

[Not that Vincent has anything but a pause and momentary lack of identifiable sounds of tinkering to go on, but Irahl gives him a critical look for whole seconds longer than he normally would have bothered with.]

This is a cage. Nothing good where we can reach.

[He almost turns his attention back to his very important project, but... nah, going to give this big guy one more round of observation before he more or less shows him his back again.]

[Irahl can watch as Vincent looks troubled by this answer, emoting off into the middle distance. his frown deepens.]

...S'this some sort of a lab?

[that had been one of his theories, after all. hopefully this guy has, you know, eyeballs with which to confirm or deny for him.]

Maybe. Or a prison.

[Still just a deep voice without much inflection. Heavy and neutral.

He's narrowing his eyes behind the goggles though... And then he raises his free hand a little to give Vincent a little wave. Just to test.]

[the wave does not get a response. instead, the large man sighs and takes a moment to think about the implications of all of this. he kind of wishes his smarter half were here, he'd know what to do...]

Shit. Hey - [he rubs the back of his neck, a little anxiously. makes half an attempt to look in the direction of this guy's face, though he's a little off. he sounds equally heavy, but earnest.]

I dunno what you're up to in there, but lemme know if you need a hand.

[There's another pause where Vincent isn't given much to work with. Just being watched from behind goggles and a mask while Irahl keeps some busy thoughts to himself for a minute. He has a couple of important deliberations to work through.

Eventually though, there's the shuffling of somebody who doesn't exactly sound small rearranging themselves and a heavy cloak into a more upright shape, until he's crouching there instead of lying on the floor.]

Actually, uh...

[He's still not particularly forthcoming in the inflection department, but something about his tone has shifted a bit. A little less carefully flat, a little more casual.]

Think you could hold something out of the way? Need more room to work.

[he hadn't actually been expecting anything in the affirmative, but he's immediately surprised and relieved to have the chance to do something other than walk around in a big circle.]

Yeah... Yeah, I can definitely hold shit.

[he takes a few less-cautious steps forward, before crouching down, trying not to crowd this guy while he zeroes in on exactly what it is they're doing over here.]

I can't actually see, but just knock on it and I'll find it.

[a helpful and final confirmation, at least.]

Edited 2023-10-29 13:55 (UTC)

[Irahl would spend more time eyeing this guy from behind his visor, exercising a little more caution, but he needs this project completed. It will go much quicker with help, and if this situation is going to surprise him, better to get it over with than sit around worrying about it.

After a grunt of acknowledgement, Irahl does knock on something metallic in the mess behind the wall, but once Vincent gets close, Irhal will just move his hand to the exact bit of awkward mechanics he needs shoved out of the way.]

Push that up.

[he seems a little surprised when his reach is guided somewhere specific-- but the surprise is short-lived. he had to give up a lot of his predisposed notions of personal space when he stopped being able to see anything. and in this case, he appreciates a direct route to some problem solving.

he shoves the mechanical parts up and away until he feels resistance. he's strong enough that he could probably shove it past some kind of breaking point or rip it out of the wall, but he's weirdly conscious of how much live electricity is probably running through these walls.]

Like this?

[it's kind of cramped, but he'll try his best to keep out of the way. gives him a chance to continue to try and discern any details about what's going on with the guy in front of him.]

Mm.

[Irahl has to kind of crowd in around the recess in the wall to be able to see, but the discomfort of that kind proximity is overshadowed by the need to get this project completed.

With that half-broken mechanical bit shoved out of the way, he can use both hands to get in there, and almost immediately there is another round of sparks spitting out extremely close to Vincent's fingers. It's hopefully a sign that some kind of progress is being made.]

[he feels the heat near his fingers and he just sort of... hopes that this guy doesn't do anything crazy to him while he's in this weird, vulnerable position. not much more he can do than hope and do what he was asked to do.

he wonders how big this guy actually is. he's got a pretty deep voice, but he also sounds like he's talking through a mask or something. hard to tell how much of it is person and how much of it is costume or augments or whatever other weird shit they have around... wherever he's from.

he can definitely tell that he's trying to focus, though. so he stays quiet and lets him work. frankly, this doesn't seem like an activity that would be smart to interrupt.]

[It's a little tricky seeing around all the oversized hands in the way, and there still isn't a lot of room to work even with that piece of metal held aside, but Irahl is able to use both hands to tinker with and that makes a huge difference.

He works in silence, but he works quickly. Whatever he's doing, he seems confident in it. There's a clattering sound as he brings something plastic--a tool or some other small device--into the cramped space, but the sparking stops right after.

It's just a couple minutes of good, honest work, before the task is complete. Irahl finally sits back away from the hole in the wall, giving Vincent breathing room again, and he doesn't leave him to idle there for a second longer than necessary.]

Done. Thanks.

Great...

[he nods, gently easing up on whatever he'd been holding and taking a moment to push himself out of the hole as well. he stays crouched, rotates his shoulder a little after the weird position he'd been in. aims his face towards where he last heard this guy's voice come from.]

...So what'd I just help with, anyway?

[the fact that he was able to accomplish anything here has him smiling, just a little.]

[Vincent can't see yet another cautious glance eased in his direction. But, the threat that Irahl is still trying to see there just seems to keep getting smaller. So, for once, he doesn't opt to guard this silly little vulnerability.]

Installing an adapter. Apparently a little low on power outlets around here.

That's a... uh...

[his smile disappears as he thinks, tilting his head slightly to the side. it's the look of trying to recall information, minus the part where his eyes should have trended in a direction as his attention went to his internal memory.

well, external memory. he doesn't know why he knows this.]

That's a thing that lets you charge things even though the port is... different, right?

[he seems a little bothered that he was able to recall this information. but it's easy to pretend that he heard it from kneecap one time. he'll try not to think about it too much.]

...Yeah.

[As neutral as his voice trends all the time, he can't completely hide the tone that implies, 'of course??']

The workings behind the wall panels are... pretty impenetrable, but I heard something sparking here... so I thought it would be easier... to patch into...

[He'd started to compulsively explain because of the sense of confusion he's picking up in Vincent. But he quickly starts trailing off as he's wondering if this is maybe a counterproductive effort...]

No, that... makes sense...

[he's picked up on the uncertainty creepy into the conversation and wants to make it clear that he does understand what he's saying, but the fact that he understands it is beginning to bother him in a way that he really doesn't like.]

Sorry, there's just... [he makes a gesture near his temple that imitates something pulsing, or firing, or maybe just business--] ...there's a lot of shit in here and I'm not totally sure where it came from.

[that's maybe the best he has to try and describe it. he starts to fidget with the lower lid of one of his eyes instead, like it's itchy. maybe they can just move on.]

What're you charging?

[There's a somewhat dire-sounding sound of agreement about whatever is going on in Vincent's head, so Irahl can apparently commiserate, at least.

When he answers Vincent's next question, his voice sounds like he's looking downward and there's the plastic-rattle sound of him messing with the device in question.]

A data drive. Don't know when I'll get to charge it again.

[It's almost the truth.]

[he hears the rattle. shrugs a little at the answer.]

Fair. Get it while you can, right?

[and that feels like a fairly normal thing to say, which is reassuring in its own way. the anxiety around his own headspace lessons as he leans into more familiar territory, holding his hand out in the direction of his new acquaintance.]

Vincent, by the way.

[another small smile. he's just relieved to be talking to someone who sounds like they're even remotely in his own strata of conversational pace right now.]

[There's a quiet pause where the rattling and clicking of tiny buttons stops for several seconds. Irahl is looking at the hand offered his way, but. It's really the mundane quality of the gesture that is striking him. When is the last time someone he didn't already hate looked to him for a handshake?

It's a little stilted, but he finally accepts the gesture. Vincent can confirm that he seems like a big guy, has long fingers.]

Irahl. [His flat, dire tone of voice doesn't change.] Sorry to have met you in space-jail.

[he doesn't seem to mind the pause or the stilted nature of the gesture. he's got big hands himself, callused fingers. he gives a firm handshake back, nice and short, before returning to his own space with a short laugh.]

Yeah, shit. Guess that's true, huh?

[he tilts his head enough to make it look like he's glancing around them - but he's not, he's using his ears to hear if anyone's getting closer to them, or if any of the low-key whirring he's hearing is getting worse.]

I uh, hate to keep pestering you, but... I take it you have eyes, yeah?

Two of them.

[There's just enough of an inflection there for the kind of exaggeration that comes with humor. He got one successful laugh out of the guy, so he tries for two.

In the meantime, there's momentarily a faint, tinny sound that almost sounds like music, before Irahl tucks the earbud into his ear.]

Why?

[he appreciates a casual banter. the second joke doesn't quite get a laugh, but it keeps his mood up, even as he's momentarily distracted by the tinny sound in front of him.

Irahl can watch it catch his attention for just a moment; he tilts his head suddenly to try and zero in on it. it's not a bad sound, just familiar. and here, familiar is extremely notable. Vincent wonders if that's the thing that Irahl was charging.

whatever Vincent's thoughts about it, he decides after a moment that they aren't worth asking about, and he goes to finally answer the question.]

Well, it's... two more eyes than I have, so I was wonderin' if I could bother you for a uh, description of what shit looks like in here.

[he does put his hand up in admission:] But I get if you ain't feelin' like humoring me right now.

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