[META PRP] Space Junk [Deimos + Tevini]

[nepsah]

One troll's trash is another troll's treasure

 

[nepsah]

Tevini, Tevini... Cerpin had mentioned her a few times but never gone into detail other than that she was the engineer for their project. Frankly, Deimos had come to assume she didn't actually exist and Cerpin was just talking out of his a**. Or maybe it was a code name, like... Perore. Really it could still be a code name for all Deimos knew - and he was not about to ask. She wasn't really what he'd been expecting he hadn't been expecting but she was... interesting enough. Quiet, not at all like Cerpin or Forera.

When he spotted the opportunity to talk to her one a more one-on-one level, he moseyed over to her. If he was going to be signed up to eventually get into space with Cerpin and the team he was putting together, he wanted to know who he was going to be working with. The only trouble was... figuring out how to initiate a conversation. He'd been standing there for nearly half a minute without saying anything- just. Staring. Good going, Deimos.

"Hi." He could just. Kick himself, couldn't he. He shifted his weight from his right to his left, alleviating some of the pressure on his prosthetic. Talking to new people was so... hard. "So... you're an engineer?"

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"Ah!" Tevini almost jumped at the voice beside her. She hadn't expected to be approached, that was usually Cerpin's job. Turning to face Deimos, she nodded in response to his question.

"Yes, that's correct. I've been working on a few projects." The redblood added. She primarily dealt with spaceships and rockets but had ventured into learning how to tinker with prosthetics as needed. She'd attempted to craft a few weapons too though never had quite enough time with them. The redblood wondered how much Cerpin had told Deimos about their efforts. She'd only heard a little bit about the tealblood in return.

"I was told you're interested in space. Are you an engineer too? Or what're your aspirations?" Clumsily worded, she attempted to continue the conversation. Cerpin had talked about this troll a few times and so she felt it important she try to get to know him a little better. If they were thinking of adding him to the team she wanted to know what he was capable of. And also what he wanted to do out there.

Not all trolls were running away from their problems, she mused with a sheepish smile. Some liked space for the beauty of it. The cosmos was pretty impressive.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Oh- crap, he'd scared her. He shuffled back a couple of steps to give her some space, just in case she reacted badly. Thankfully she seemed to calm down once she'd realized who was talking to her. He hummed in response to her question, nodding his head. "Yeah, but I'm not an engineer. I... look at some stuff but it's not really my thing. I'm more into mapmaking. For now." He shrugged- though... since Cerpin had mentioned Polair was in the group he had been considering looking at other tasks he could do. She was much better at it than he was, after all.

"For up there?" He quirked a brow, raising one finger to point overhead without really lifting his arm. "I just want to see it all. Live it 'n get away from here. This is a first step," he grinned a little, "which means I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen. You're the same? Cerpin hasn't told me much about you 'n honestly I kinda thought he was makin' you up."

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"A mapmaker? I see." Tevini replied, thinking it over. She wondered if it would be rude to ask to see what maps he'd made so far. She knew they needed a navigator for their crew, mostly to put someone in charge of keeping track of all of their map records. In their position, they didn't have access to all of the past military records and might be stuck starting basically from scratch. Hopefully they could hack something while they were hear instead.

"Yes." She nodded as he continued on. The small grin on his face surprised her and she shyly returned one. His language made her wonder if he had reasons for wanting to get away, potentially sympathetic to the Phoenix Initiative's cause. It was too early and sudden for her to ask but she filed this information away for later. Cerpin had shown an interest in recruiting him and this was a good sign.

"I'm real, I assure you. And not a robot of Cerpin's invention, either." She answered with a sheepish expression. Tevini was aware that she tended to hide out of the spotlight. Cerpin's loud and proud persona was perfect to disappear behind. Sometimes she felt guilty for being so antisocial, which was why she was trying to work on it little by little.

"I don't blame you though, he does have quite the imagination. But if you have any questions for me, I'll do my best to answer them."

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

He snorted, bringing a hand up to cover his face as he actually laughed a little at the thought. "Cerpin building a robot would be a sight to see. I don't think he'd get very far before gettin' bored or somethin'." At least, Cerpin didn't seem the type to be into something that complicated and tedious to Deimos. He shrugged, shifting his weight around again as he folded his arms across his chest. "I mostly just wanted to talk-" he broke off as he shifted in just the wrong place to cause a jolt of pain up his leg, earning a slight wince and a quick shift back to the other side.

"Since I don't really know much 'bout uhh...." Wait. Was this a safe topic? An expression of doubt flittered across his face for a moment, "Cerpin's friends. Even though he doesn't really shut up 'bout 'em. I mean I know Perore I met her first, an' Polair. How'd you meet 'im?" He tilted his head, assuming that was a perfectly fine question to ask. Come to think of it he didn't know how Forera and Cerpin had met, but he knew how Polair knew Cerpin.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"His... friends?" Tevini repeated a little hesitantly. It was clear Deimos had wanted to say something else at that moment but changed course. Curious but also nervous about this unknown topic, Tevini let Deimos continue for now. She'd ask him what he'd meant to ask later. At the mention of Perore and Polair, Tevini wondered what his relationship with them was but was faced with a distraction. Answering his question would be difficult. Hmm...

"Well..." She began slowly, trying to figure out how to phrase it. "We were both at an event. He, ah, needed a ride home. So me and my lusus gave him one." It was a horrible retelling, leaving out every detail. She didn't want to lie to Deimos though, so she'd cut out all the dangerous parts. Tevini was aware that Deimos knew Cerpin was a rebel, he'd fessed up to his outburst to her later. That didn't mean Deimos approved or supported it though. In order to avoid putting the tealblood in a bad situation she'd have to withhold certain information until he was known to be safe. It really sucked because so far, she was finding him a nice person to talk with.

"We-" She paused suddenly, frowning. Squinting, she eyed his posture.

"I'm sorry to veer off topic but are you okay?" Tevini wasn't entirely sure what was bothering Deimos but it was clear something was.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

"Yeah, friends." He couldn't think of a better word for what he'd been wanting to ask... Teammates? Space-minded-comrades? Too clunky, and too close to asking about the other thing that he did not want to know more about. Not here... not now. He was still reeling a little from Forera's confession. "Oh, okay. Uh," He glanced down for a split second at her question, then back up.

"I'm fine." The half-lie was a little quick, suspicious even to his own ears. He sighed and shrugged, "I got into an.... incident... and the only available prosthetics maker was pretty.... novice. So if I move wrong it hurts. I'm researching a better maker." It didn't help he was very... picky. Or, well, scared of medical facilities and it seemed like a good deal of prosthetic makers had a similar set up. Eugh. "It's not a big deal. What were you saying?"

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"I see." Tevini frowned, feeling bad for the tealblood. For it to hurt everytime he moved meant it hurt everytime he walked- went anywhere. She processed this information and seemed to think about something for a minute. She didn't know Deimos well at all but if he was Cerpin's friend... Forera's friend... Hm...

"Well, that just won't do." The redblood straightened up, seeming to have made a decision. She offered her hand, no- her arm.

"Come sit down. I'll see what I can do." Tevini led Deimos to a chair. She grabbed one of the nearby tables and dragged it over to have as a work bench, sort of thing, and retrieved her tool kit from where she'd hidden it at the edge of the room.

"Show me what's going on. I can't replace it right now but I'll fix what I can." The redblood knew her limits. She didn't have optimum materials here. She'd have to make do with the random pieces the building had laying around- space junk. But if she could make it more comfortable for him to walk temporarily until they were out of here... She'd do what she had to. Tevini wasn't good at showing she cared with words. She preferred to use actions.

nepsah

if you'd rather not have tevini help, that's okay! he can tell her it can't be removed right now or the clasp to reattach it will break and she'll back off!

 

[nepsah]

He blinked at first, confused by what she wanted for a moment before realizing he was supposed to support himself with the offered arm. "Oh, uhh... okay." Still a little blindsided, he reached out to accept her support, then followed her to the chair. He settled himself into it, watching as she left to go grab a table. Realizing that she was going to have to actually look at his foot, he leaned down to undo his boot. A friend of Cerpin and Forera had to be trustworthy, right? Besides, short of stealing the foot he doubted she could do much worse for him.

He pulled his boot off, then shifted to settle his leg up on the table for her to get a better look at it. "Thanks... as far as I can tell, this part here is... too small. Pinches 'n aches. And, the gears in here get stuck and crunch sometimes. Or get locked up sometimes." He pointed out the piece that was actually attached to his leg, noting that it seemed to be squeezing uncomfortably. The gears in question were inside the socket that would allow for ankle movement. "It doesn't hurt, all the time anyway, but the.. vibration is very unsettling." He shuddered, recalling the first time he'd taken a step and felt a terrible crunching from the prosthetic.

"It gets the job done it's just..." He struggled for the word- hating to insult something Forera had gotten him, "it's just low quality. I don't know if it's somethin' that can be fixed real fast, like I said I'm not really a machine person."

Doutei

aww tev ; w ; she's so sweet

 

[Doutei]

"Hurting at all, is too much." Tevini remarked, looking serious. The missions they were about to face were bound to be dangerous. If Deimos's foot was malfunctioning or caused him to stumble- even react just a second too late... it could lead to serious consequences. Possibly death. She refused to let him go up there in this kind of condition. Nodding as he described what he'd noticed, she started to examine the prosthetic. He was right to appraise it as a novice job, not that she was particularly an expert. She loosened some screws to get a better look at the inner workings.

"These gears aren't secured properly, that's why they keep sliding and getting stuck." Tevini frowned. She glanced around before looking back down at the mechanics and using her psionics to poke the gears into their proper place to test them. Hm that wasn't great either. They worked but seemed to be made of a cheap quality metal, giving them a coarser feel and causing an odd amount of friction. It was like the cogs were temporarily sticking together at times. No wonder it was giving him trouble. There was the matter of it being too small for him as well. She smiled as it reminded her of someone.

"I can replace a few parts and try to adjust it. It won't be perfect and should definitely be replaced entirely. But it will get you through the next few nights." Tevini nodded, having appraised what she could do with the limited time frame and limited parts. She began to pluck pieces from her kit while scanning around the room for other things she could... er... dissemble and use. The redblood didn't care if some of the furniture and equipment in the basic rooms failed and broke. It was better than Deimos breaking.

She collected what she could and sat back down to get to work.

"... you know, I actually helped Perore with her hand half sweep ago. Just like this." Tevini attempted to make some small talk with a subject she hoped Deimos would be comfortable with. It had to be disconcerting to be stuck with his foot like this with essentially a stranger. She smiled down at her task at the nostalgia of it. Small talk wasn't her strong suit but listening was.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Was it? He could handle it for the most part, it was just... in some angles, the pain caught him off guard. He'd take her word for it, though. If they weren't supposed to hurt, then he supposed that she was right. Come to think of it, he hadn't asked Forera if her hand ever hurt her. He watched her carefully as she took apart the foot, forcing himself to ignore the flutter of nervousness in his chest. He'd have a hard time getting away with his foot like this if anything bad happened but- no, no, she had mutual friends and was supposed to be a sort of teammate. She wouldn't do anything to hamper that, would she.

"Ah... I figured.." He sighed, but was relieved that it wasn't anything worse than just that. That was fixable, wasn't it. "Thanks... I really... uh... I really appreciate it." Thanking people was not something he was particularly used to doing, but.. He did genuinely appreciate that she was willing to take a look at it for him. He'd feel a little better going into space now that it had been checked out properly. "I was plannin' on gettin' it replaced after this whole thing, y'know?" He leaned back a little in his seat, glancing off to the side rather than watch her work on tightening up what she could. This part made him queasy.

He perked up a little at Perore's name, though. "You did? She didn' really mention anythin' about that sorta thing 'til I got mine... I mean... I didn' know her hand was metal 'til after." It was times like this that he realized just how little he knew about Forera's personal history or life, but... it was safer that way, wasn't it. "She was havin' problems with bad work? D'you... know if it's fixed 'n stuff? Like, proper like." She must have trouble with funding if she'd not gotten her own hand taken care of... and well, it wasn't like he was doing much with his own beetles aside from stockpiling them for future projects... He'd get his foot replaced, then... maybe ask Forera if she wanted help with hers, if she even needed it.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"Yep. She..." Tevini smiled as she worked, drifting off as she recalled the encounter. Forera had looked really frustrated at her hand and it made Tevini reflect on how lucky she was. It must be difficult in their situation. Losing a limb was painful and scary... having to replace it with faulty work was stressful. They were tough, struggling to just deal with it and keep going. She... she'd focused so much on her work for the spaceship but was now wondering if there was more she could do for the trolls with prosthetics. Sure she'd been doing her best to help repair and replace them... but was that really enough?

Augh, she'd have to talk to Cerpin about it later.

"She came to me at this very tower, actually. Back when it was being built." Tevini glanced around the room, feeling nostalgic. She didn't allow herself to be distracted for long, however, and turned her attention back to the work on his foot.

"Her hand was no longer large enough for her needs. So I repaired it... and then later replaced it. She has me service it now, whenever she manages to break it again." The redblood laughed at the last admission. They both knew that was a frequent problem.

"If you would like, I could look into replacing this foot later. Once we're out of here." Tevini offered, in a quieter less confident tone. She didn't want to intrude or force her help on him. Deimos had been a good sport about letting her look things over but he was still a little mysterious to her. Cerpin had told her only so much and the detail that had stood out the most to her was he valued making his own choices.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Another thing he didn't know- she'd been at the tower when it was being built? He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but had already resigned himself to not asking them. If she wanted to tell, she would. Him prying would just open them both up to more danger if anyone caught on that he was friends with a rebel. "Bet that happens a lot." He snorted, sparing a look over at Tevini for half a moment, then quickly looked away again. There was plenty to focus on while she worked at least, that was a reprieve.

Her offer received a hum at first- he needed to think. He didn't know her very well yet, but... Cerpin liked her, (he knew Cerpin had scared her off at some point based on his meltdown... but she was back now, so it was resolved? Another question he couldn't ask) and Forera went to her for tune ups on her hand... "That could be an option, if... you're willin'." When he did finally respond, it was slowly, calculated, "I can supply materials 'n stuff, I just need to know what to get. An' who I'm gettin' it for." Meaning he wanted to know her more before committing. This would probably be a good opportunity, provided they were on ship teams together. If he could see her in action, he'd feel more comfortable. Plus there was the added benefit that she was not a doctor by trade.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"It does." Tevini smiled back with a short laugh. When Deimos looked away she fell quiet and focused her attention back on her work. Realigning the pieces, she listened to the tealblood think. Deimos's voice was calm and careful but she didn't mind it. The redblood valued caution. The fact he was considering it so thoughtfully made her feel a little relieved. It was good to see someone else proceed at the same pace as her, with the same concerns. It made her feel a little less crazy.

"That makes sense. I can get you a list later and we can talk more about it then." The redblood nodded. She closed the metal case on his foot once more and then moved backwards to give him a little space to move.

"This should be enough to get you through the next few nights. If it acts up again do come snag me again." Tevini declared, tucking her tools back into her kit. It was easy to tidy up quick because it was well organized before she'd brought it here. She raised to her feet and offered a hand to help Deimos up as well.

"Let's take a short walk to test it out. Careful- it'll feel different when you first stand up." It was a shame that 'different' mostly referred to that his prosthetic shouldn't hurt now. She'd readjusted the positioning of how it settled and hoped that she'd reduced the amount of shock absorption his ankle would feel from the impact of walking or running now. It wasn't going to be perfect, since she'd had a limited amount of time and parts at her disposal, but she hoped it would help him get through this operation. She'd prepare for something more involved for their next meeting. There was a lot to do and she hoped that they could pull this off safely.

But for now, as the pair slowly felt each other out, they'd take baby steps.

nepsah

finished! thanks for the rp! let's do moreeeeeee!