A little introspoection and a whole lot of excitement

[provenworth]

Characters: Elena and YOU!
Setting: Various Locations – See Promps
Format: Will match yours
Summary: Elena is recuperating from the incident with the Plague Doctors and getting back into the swing of research.
Warnings: None?


[Floor 81 – Lounge w/ Rounded Windows]

[Elena has boldly gone where she’s pretty sure very few residents have. Out onto the bulging glass that made a glass bridge out into the large sky. At this height she can see a great deal of the Tower if she pressed her back into the furthest most point of the window.

But her interest is more at the stars. Constellations that are foreign to her, stars twinkling and blinking from their places in the sky. Her left arm is still carried in the make-shift sling, the lower portion resting in the well fashioned splint. But other than that, she appears well, just in thought.]



[Floor 10 - Aquarium]

[Having never visited this room, Elena is very disappointed for having not done so earlier. Because it is utterly amazing, what this floor is. What it does. And what all is visible to see. Creatures and fish and things she’s never even seen before. Can you handle an excited little Turk?]

Comments

[bashfulshifter]

[This is maybe not the best, because their relationship is also what Rick is worried about. Well, he's worried about how Reno seems to be very shaken by whatever fight he and Elena had, which he didn't pry about because it wasn't his business and now Elena is asking him what happened and--]

[The words burble out of him before he has a chance to censor himself.] --I-I'm--it's R-R-Reno. He...s-s-seems uh--u-unwell.

oh my god you are too precious Rick

[provenworth]

[It is a sensitive subject, to say the least. Elena does what she can to keep whatever conversations she has with Reno private - let their issues be their own. It is nobody's business what they fight about, if they fight at all.

That being said, though, the fact that others are noticing changes that she was already suspecting leads her to worry.]

May I ask what you mean by 'unwell'?

[bashfulshifter]

[This is not going well and it is all his fault. Rick's face burns red while he quietly seethes in his anxiety, desperately thinking of ways to rectify this. Predictably, his mind comes up blank.]

A-Ah--n-n-not--uh-- [Think!] --h-he w-w-was--d-depressed. Um. [Suddenly, inspiration hits.] --H-He w-wouldn't r-run with m-me.

[provenworth]

[Rick. Dear. She can sense when she's being lied to. Or when somebody was withholding information. And it doesn't help at all that he's almost too easy to read.]

So others are noticing too... [The words are more for herself than him, her good hand lifting to press her fingers against her lower lip and chin in thought. After a second she's back out of her head and turning her attention back to Rick.] I take it that's an activity you two do together to train. He's withdrawing... Did he give you any reason why he wouldn't run with you?

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick reads easier than a preschooler's picture book. Unable to lie, but still terrified of the consequences, he settles for biting his lip and silently nodding. Elena is going to have to pull the rest out of him.]

[provenworth]

....Rriicckk.....

[Silence only piques Elena's interest. And lures her closer, bending at the waist so she can look up at him with a partially serious, partially questioning look.]

Did he tell you to not tell me?

[bashfulshifter]

[...he nods again. Doom is upon him.]

[provenworth]

[Terrifying, Marital Doom. If you wanted to be specific.]

Was it an order?

[Because if it wasn't, she was going to have to go a route that she didn't want to, but would if it was necessary.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Oh no, he doesn't remember and he's not sure what the right answer is! Rick gulps, weighing his options in futile panic--then on an impulse shakes his head.]

[provenworth]

....All right then.

[Lifting her back so she's standing upright again, Elena keeps herself just outside arm's length. Far enough away in case of a negative reaction, but close enough to keep the intimidating tenor.]

Its so unfair to you....being cast into the role of a third wheel. If you just tell me, I can go straight to Reno and deal with the rest.

[Logic. That's the first approach.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Logic, though effective, is not something that immediately registers with Rick when he's panicking so badly. His first impulse is to craft a hasty defense: ]

--B-But I--I-I'm the o-one that a-a-asked him, i-it--it's m-my f-f-fault, he w-was--he l-looked so u-u-uh--un--uncomfortable, a-and--a-a-ah--I sh--shouldn't h-have--I-I--

[provenworth]

[Sorry, Rick, but she's not one to back off. Especially not when he's in full blown panic and its around something involving Reno. Her good hand reaches forward, resting lightly on his shoulder.]

Easy, Rick. I'm not angry and you aren't doing anything wrong by telling me. I won't give up my informant. Just...take a deep breath and start again. Slowly.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick takes a sharp breath in and squints his eyes tightly shut. This is the end. A certain inevitable calm forces his shoulders to relax, before he quietly murmurs: ]

...R-Reno s-s-said you t-two a-a-argued.

[provenworth]

....Oh. That's it?

[And here she had been expecting something more...dramatic. Giving his shoulder a little squeeze, Elena chuckled. And hoped the sound would bring some calm to the poor guy.]

I guess I should tell you that Reno and I having an argument isn't exactly a new thing. We've been going back and forth since I joined the Turks and I doubt it'll ever stop. Though, I have to admit that our arguments of late have been more serious and heated than before. But its only natural.

[bashfulshifter]

[He calms, but is no less uncomfortable--and marginally confused. True, the man's been married for five years--one would expect he and his wife have had some minor disagreements, and they would be correct. They've just never escalated to anything more than Codi saying that she doesn't approve of something, and Rick...agreeing with her and fixing it.]

[They led a pleasantly simple life.]

I...I-I'm s-s-sorry. [He shuffles his feet nervously.] I d-d-didn't m-mean to p-pry.

[provenworth]

Don't be. [And there's another soft squeezing of his shoulder.] And I'm sorry if you ended up in the middle of it. That's not a comfortable place to be. I'll have a chat with Reno about it to.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick answers on instinct again: ]

--P-Please d-d-don't be a-angry with him. H-He--i-it w-was m-my f-f-fault for a-asking.

[provenworth]

[Instinct is usually the best thing to listen to. Though, sometimes, instinct leads you down the wrong path. Like feeling that the fault was yours when it was another's]

I won't be. We're...both still figuring things out. And please..don't apologize. You're a friend of Reno's. What sort of friend doesn't ask if they see the other isn't in a good place?

[And a pause later.]

Thank you for looking out for him

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick looks away, obviously unconvinced by Elena's reasoning. Sure, he was trying to make sure Reno was alright, but...he'd asked him to leave, and he didn't. That made Rick in the wrong here, didn't it?]

[Either way, Elena is being very nice and it would be even more rude not to be nice back.]

...Th--Thank you. [Murmured, nervous--but genuine.]

[provenworth]

[When it came to relationships, often times things were stuck in a limbo of convinced and unconvinced. Good and bad. Awkward and hella awkward. Turk and not Turk.]

I'd like to ask you something, if that's all right.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick straightens and blinks with sudden surprise.]

--Y-Yes?

[provenworth]

Would you continue to be his friend and confidant? He trusts you enough to talk about private issues. If anything happens, I'd like for you to be there for him.

[Have you seen such a serious, appealing expression on Elena before, Rick?]

[bashfulshifter]

[In spite of Elena's piercing gaze, Rick does not hesitate.]

O-Of course. [Only after he answers does the blonde man start looking uncomfortable again.] I-I m-mean...I'll d-do my b-best.

[provenworth]

[And that expression is gone, replaced with something that's much more appreciative.]

Thank you. I'm counting on you.