nonscriptum | hadriel { ic inbox }

[Nate hunkers closer to the video feed, frowning. Something about Curufin is off. He's way too chipper a person, in such a way that Nate cannot help but feel his motivations are questionable, at best.]

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement.

[He mutters, glancing back up as the footage peters out. Lance brings up another point, and one that only served to make Nate antsy near the end of the meeting. Not being well-versed in a great deal of Hadriel-based drama, he tends to lurk on the fringes and prefers it that way.

Until it comes out and bites him.]

...people in the meeting kept mentioning that name. Who's Yukari and what's their connection to a godkiller? Or Curufin?

It's not.

[And so it's frustrating, to say the least, that Curufin is involved at all. Lance can understand and take people not agreeing with what should be done with Name, but he doesn't like having to deal with this sort of suspicion especially since he and Curufin usually get along fine, at least superficially.

And as for Nate's question, Lance takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before answering.]

Yukari is at the very least a close friend of Curufin's, but I get the impression they're romantically involved.

[He's just honestly never cared to find out; he's never even spoken with Yukari himself.]

Curufin angered the Null and was put on the list of targets, back when they asked people here to kill others in order to get a weapon. Yukari wanted him off of it, and so attempted to kill someone but failed. Afterwards, he killed someone else, and was rewarded with the godkiller.

[This is put together from various conversations; neither Yukari nor Curufin seem particularly good at remembering to make their posts private. And of course this is all a major issue, but not the only one.]

I didn't know Curufin had the weapon, or that it had been given to Alphys, but I don't particularly like how he reacted when he found out she had turned it over to Fear.

[The very first issue, about what had happened during his conversation with Curufin on his post, would've been enough of a problem. But with all the rest of it, Lance is incredibly suspicious.]

Holy shit. [Deeply impressed with the time and effort that Lance has put into reconstructing this particular story from fragments, Nate blinks at him.] Remind me not to get on your bad side.

[One of the rare assholes who went and killed someone on the list for some sort of souped-up weapon. Hell, it could have been Nate's name, or any of the others he knows well who refused to play nice with the Null. It explains a lot about the awkward shift in the room as soon as Yukari had been brought to the table. Clearly Nate is involved in the wrong kind of drama (or the right kind, honestly).]

Okay, so...let me see if I've got this. Curufin and Yukari regularly bang. Yukari up and murdered somebody on the Null's hit list. Got the godkiller, gave it to Curufin, who gave it to- Alphys, right? Who handed it over to Fear, which Curufin doesn't like.

[Wow, he's starting to remember watching telenovelas in Argentina as a kid.]

Curufin's already compromised because there's a conflict of interests when it comes to his assassin soulmate, on top of the whole "I want to kill the Null, oh no, I changed my mind" thing. [He chews on that for a long moment.] So we're definitely not trusting him with anything but his pretentious rejoinders, right?

[Lance is inwardly a little pleased at that first reaction, even if it's mostly buried under everything else going on right now. He gives Nate a serious look, and a deadpan--]

I know so many things about so many people, and barely any of it is covered by confidentiality.

[It's ominous on purpose, almost as a joke, but he totally means it. He could cause a lot of problems for people if he ever had good reason, but he tries to reserve it for things like this situation in which it's really important.

He's quiet while Nate summarizes and... Honestly that pretty much recaps the situation, as far as he knows.]

I think that's more or less right, although I feel it should be added that Yukari's first intended victim was a teenager who's barely five feet tall.

[So he's not just a selfish murderer, he's a selfish murderer who goes after kids.]

But no, we're not trusting Curufin with anything. I'm just trying to figure out how to go about that without tipping him off that we're cutting him out, because I'm concerned he may change his mind again out of spite or just general lack of motivation.

[It's ominous, and if Nate didn't trust Lance as much as he does, he'd be entertaining something pretty damn close to concern.

The more he learns about Yukari, too, the less inclined Nate is to put faith in anyone affiliated. A literal child murderer and Nate's carefree smile tightens, folds in on itself, and the loathing increases. Every time he thinks they can't possibly get more assholes here, Hadriel surprises him yet again.]

If there's a possibility of him changing his mind either way, what's the point in making it look like he's included?

[Stating the facts, here.]

Not everyone is going to be involved, which is something you've already established. The extraction team is exclusive, the general movement doesn't have to bring the Null anywhere close to his doorstep. If he wants to make a scene for the gods about how hard he's working to find the Null, let him. It'll keep him occupied, whether it's true or not.

Because we don't need to give him incentive to tell the gods exactly what we're doing and who's involved.

[Which is something Lance is concerned about. He's also concerned about people Curufin knows and might tell, who might then tell the gods; he barely knows Curufin's family and most of those he does know are also lacking in judgement, and then of course there's Yukari.]

But I'm hoping he does mean it when he says he'll let me make the final decision about whether or not he should be involved in the rotation, which I don't want him to be. But I need to talk to Michael and Nick and figure out what they do and don't know, because I'm not sure they have the whole story if they gave approval for him to be here.

[He rubs the bridge of his nose idly, definitely getting a headache.]

And for the record I had no idea what Ravine was doing there, or who invited her. I barely spoke with her and she tried to be cryptic the entire time, but really just said a lot of nothing.

[Needless to say he wasn't impressed.]

[Espionage isn't Nate's forte.

He's a "get in, do the job, get out" kind of person, with some light-fingered lifting along the way. Leaving scheming to others is more his gig, since he tends to end up being the point man on the ground anyway, the one who takes the heat if things go south. He's fine with that.

But Lance is right: this requires delicacy, not brute force, and there are too many moving parts to not try to mitigate what's there while they still can. Nate chews the inside of his cheek, brow knitting, knowing it is better to defer to the organizers when it comes to dealing with problems. He'll take them as they come in the field.]

Ravine? [He blinks for a moment, distracted and trying to connect the name to a face.] The telepath?

[Nate's severe side-eye should convey his obvious displeasure with everything about that.]

Apparently.

[Lance doesn't seem to enthused either, shifting on his feet in agitation.]

Telepathy might've been useful if we could all use it, and if it was someone I had spoken to for more than one conversation, but...

[Neither of those things are the case.]

[The leading but is just enough to confirm Nate's suspicions that Lance is equally unsettled. Telepathy is a great idea, sure. But it isn't fair to the rest of them - it's asking too much for them to trust - when it's one person who no one really knows.]

Yeah, I'm not inclined to trust anyone who can dig around in my mind without my permission.

[Something Lance is aware of already, given how long it took for both of them to start opening up with each other. Nate chews on the silence for a moment.]

Sorry for almost- [He grimaces, knowing how quickly his temper was starting to flare in there.] You know.

[Lance nods in agreement with the first comments; he could add a little more to them, but he won't. It wouldn't be helpful, after all, just more venting and he's quickly running out of energy for that after the entire conversation.

He's fine with the quiet, gaze dropping toward the ground as he tries to mentally regather himself so he can go back inside and deal with the repair team, but looks back up at Nate's apology.]

It's fine; you have nothing to apologize for. Everyone was getting... Agitated.

[To put it nicely. And he's silent another few moments before adding--]

It was actually kind of reassuring to know you felt the same way about it as I did. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm the only person who thinks something is just... Off the wall.

[Putting it politely. There have been many times here where Lance wonders if maybe he's the one who's wrong, even on something he knows is right, because he's the only one who holds that opinion. After awhile, that sort of thing starts to make him second-guess himself, and so if even just one person he trusts feels the same way it really helps.]

["Agitated" is a Hell of a word for it - the understatement of the year. What comes as more surprising than the acceptance, perhaps, is the fact that Lance completely agrees. Nate is a man who tends to (sometimes literally) stick to his guns when it comes to his hunches, because they've never steered him wrong before, but he understands that the pressure from the majority saying one thing when you're saying something else is probably not the easiest to deal with.

Having never gone through high school, it's a bit of foreign territory he just sort of gazes at from afar.]

You've got a good head on your shoulders. Go with your gut.

[Nate says simply, offering a little shrug. He would bet substantial money that Lance's instincts and unique perspective lend him much more clarity; though in the process, it's possible that the ability to see multiple ways can be more confusing than helpful. That becomes a matter of professional discretion.]

If you've got your reasons, and they make sense, don't let anyone tell you that what you're seeing isn't there when you know it is. And if you feel like you need back-up, or moral support, or whatever, [A gentle thwack to Lance's bicep with the back of his hand.] Just gimme a call.

[Lance's confidence and self-esteem come and go, often rapidly, and they make a big difference in how he feels when dealing with other people. When he's sure of himself he can easily disregard others' less-than-great ideas and loose morals, but when he's having a bad day he begins to second-guess himself. It's not really in terms of thinking he's wrong, exactly, but more a strange feeling that maybe the way he sees and understands things aren't actually how they are.

But he's also aware that's one of those holdover issues from his difficult childhood that shows itself now and again, and not only is Nate right but the response is significantly reassuring. It means a lot that not only does Nate believe in him, but is willing to help.

So he nods, quiet a few moments not because he's upset, but because he feels like his voice might do something embarrassing if he tries to talk right away. But he feels a lot better, much calmer now and more like he can handle dealing with everyone for round two.]

I will. Thank you.

[And he means both parts of that, taking a deep breath and straightening up a little.]

I'm going to see if the repair team is organizing itself, or if they need some direction. I also want to talk to Nick and Michael about what happened; are you planning to stick around, or did you want to escape while you can?

[He definitely gets if Nate wants to do the latter.]

[Nate gives him the silence to recollect himself, since he's more than earned it. Tensions are high and Lance is responsible for mitigating the effect of unpredictable factors, and to the best of his knowledge Nate is the last resort. The fail-safe, if things go devastatingly awry.

It is reassuring, then, that Lance agrees to reach out if he needs help, or just somebody to complain to. Nate's mouth twitches in a wry, brief smile, thinking of the role reversal.]

I can stick around if you need me.

[Nate isn't actually certain how privy he'll be to specific details, or what the other organizers will be willing to tell him. As a particular piece of a larger puzzle, they may exercise their discretion. A shuttered grin quickly flashes across his face.]

Or if you just need me to deck somebody.

[He gives a small laugh at that last comment, pulling himself together a bit more, and casts a small grin in Nate's direction.]

I appreciate the offer--both of them--but I think I'll be okay. You've already helped out more than enough; go home and spend some time with your wife.

[And tell her what's going on, and unwind a bit from everything.]

I'll let you know if anything significant happens.

If you're sure.

[It's a somewhat noncommittal shrug, but Nate understands the need to decompress even if he can't really relate. He is a little surprised that spend time comes across as inform her, because for a good while there Nate wasn't certain if this was something Lance would want him to keep completely quiet.

He isn't complaining, mind - Nate has harbored enough secrets from his wife - but he's grateful for the chance to share something and have Lance's blessing.

Particularly since they're all trying to shove this as far under the proverbial rug as possible.]

Thanks. See you around.

[Lance is not at all concerned about Elena knowing; she's not stupid, and he can't imagine her either telling the gods or trying to destroy Name herself. Besides, she and Nate have had enough problems that he knows about and surely more than he doesn't, and he's not about to add to that with more secrets. Especially not when things are--as far as he knows--getting better.

So he offers Nate another smile, nodding before turning to head back inside.]

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