tushanshu | 004 ♒ Audio & Text [Atlantean], Encrypted

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004 ♒ Audio & Text [Atlantean], Encrypted

[Encrypted Audio to anyone who might have known Mera or anyone on fairly good terms with Arthur, 60%]
[Arthur just sounds... tired. Resigned. He doesn't mince words trying to break the news gently, because he's the one who cares the most anyway.] Mera, my wife, has disappeared from Keeliai.

[Encrypted Audio to Kal-El/Superman, 80%]
I need to talk to you.

[Encrypted Text to Kaldur'ahm, Written Atlantean, Hackable]
[Feel free to have your character hack his text, but if they do, all they'll come up with is a bunch of odd symbols and glyphs arranged into what are possibly words. Atlantean is a fairly difficult language to parse through.]

Mera is... gone. There was no trace of her this morning, and I can't find her mental signature. Please come by when you get a chance, Kaldur, we need to talk about something important.

[ooc: He's being an antisocial douchebag, but anybody who knows him is absolutely welcome to just come by his place in the Water Sector. The first audio post I'm leaving pretty open-ended on purpose, feel free to just assume your character was included if they know him or Mera, or know OF them. Also feel free to hack it, it's all good.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Tony has a point, really. Arthur is hardly one to talk, he's got so many names no one ever runs out of things to call him by - Orin, Arthur Curry, Aquaman, King of the Seas, Swimmer... He remembers feeling accepted in the pod when Porm gave him a name in their own tongue.] Maybe you're right. Still, a name might be too complicated a thought to try and communicate. We only seem to manage feelings, vague images. I imagine even that will be harder as it gets closer to hatching.

He'll get it. Don't worry about that.

[Tony actually sounds confident this time. There are a lot of matters outside of technical knowledge that he isn't very good at--most of them involving relationships and commitments--but this one thing he knows.]

You don't need language to communicate caring. That's its own thing.

[Arthur just smiles a little wryly at that. He's not sure about communicating names considering the limits to his telepathy with this particular species of turtle, but it's a nice sentiment from Tony, and he won't pop his bubble.] Perhaps.

I know that much. It's hard to describe the telepathic connection with it, but it does get feelings.

[Tony smiles, trying to be encouraging. He knows that it might not be the best comfort, but he's giving what he can. And part of him really does think it'll be fine even if they can't really communicate. The effort makes all the difference.]

Well, it'll get yours. Call it what you want to call it. If he ends up picking a name later, at least you got him started.

[Arthur snorts lightly in mild amusement, but he does find the whole encouragement thing endearing (if you can even use that word for two grown men, he's guessing no).]

I suppose it will have Uncle Tony to blame for whatever I call it, then. [He says it lightly, and his tone is a bit teasing almost.] Would you like to feel it?

[Tony actually looks startled by that question.]

Who, me? I don't... I mean, it's your egg. Son. Daughter.

[Turtle. Just say turtle.]

Let's not curse him or her by calling me its parent. [Bad things happen to his children, sadly.] It's an interesting experience, and telepathic contact isn't possible with them when they're older, but if you'd rather not, that's fine.

Why would you say that? You're a great egg parent. I'm sure he or she loves you.

[And Tony actually looks a little nervous.]

I'm not saying no. I just- Are you sure about this? I don't want to end up causing problems from mental exposure. What if it doesn't take?

Let's just not. [He doesn't really want to talk about his three dead sons. It's a real conversation killer, and it's not something he wants to bring up when he's already missing Mera too.]

It will be filtered through me, no direct contact. No harm will be done to anyone. [His fingers trace the smooth surface of the shell idly.] Honestly, I'm... curious, what someone else would think about it. An associate of mine was suspicious that the eggs were- traps, plants by the creature, something, and I know my judgement here is a little bit compromised.

[Uh oh. Tony senses that touchy response and braces himself for it. He's been in hot water enough times to know when he's crossing the line. Thankfully, it seems Arthur is willing to just push past that. For the moment he can edge around it.]

Okay, just- don't push too hard. If you think anything feels off, then pull back. No reason to push out luck yet.

[See? He can be responsible.]

That said, I would like to know more about what we're dealing with. Maybe your associate has a point. Or maybe we're just paranoid being out of our elements here... It doesn't hurt to double check.

Understood. I know my limits. [He seems a little hesitant about the whole thing, though. He does want Tony's opinion, because the thought has been nagging at the back of his mind, but he doesn't want it to be true. This whole thing, new hope, new life in this world, being a part of it, it means a lot to him, especially now, with his wife gone and his only family left his protege from another timeline. But his practical side says another opinion will be good.]

He could. Or he could be excessively paranoid, as usual. Either way, I... would appreciate a second opinion. Whenever I'm near it, it- has an effect rather like sitting atop Asti's head. The calming effect. [He sighs softly and fixes his eyes on the shell of the egg, hand pressed against it. When he speaks, it's quieter, an almost guilty sounding admission. Maybe it's easier to say these kinds of things to Tony, who was relatively open with him in the dream world.] I'm not capable of neutrality here. I want this to be the real thing.

[Tony almost says something thoughtless. A joke to go with Arthur's statement about limits, because it's Tony and he always has a comeback for that. But the next part, the more serious and somewhat strained expression Arthur gets when he talks about the egg, cuts him off before the words escape.

He might be a jerk--and a real bastard at times--but he's not so much of a bastard that he can't feel something for the man who can make an expression like that with such a strong admission.

His own expression softens and he places a hand on Arthur's shoulder.]

Anyone would. Don't write everything off just yet. Answers first. We'll work the rest out later.

[This is probably the most honest Arthur has been with Tony, and really, it's the most honest he's been in general to anyone who isn't his wife. It's an accomplishment for Tony, anyway, because maybe Arthur wouldn't trust him completely (there are few outside his family that he would), but he trusts him some. Enough.]

Of course. This is just to see if you can pick up on anything I might be otherwise blinded to. Shall we?

[It's enough that he trusts him at all. Tony is hard to please and easily pleased at the same time. It's just one of those frustrating traits that makes him one of the less favored Avengers. At the moment, he's glad that he managed to earn some of Arthur's confidence. He feels as though he has possibly earned a little more trust from the Atlantean. It makes his response slightly more upbeat and affectionate, even though he knows Arthur might not appreciate his brand of entertainment.]

Hit me with your best shot.

[Arthur tends to be one of the less favored Leaguers too, probably because of his temper and the fact that he demands some modicum of respect be paid to him before he'll pay it out in return. Respect and trust have to be earned, though, and Tony has definitely earned it from Arthur.

He doesn't get the reference, and just nods, one hand still pressed to the warm shell of the egg before he reaches out mentally to Tony - it's a fuzzy connection, a light brush, not as strong as with a real telepath, since he has to go through the parts of the brain closest to marine anatomy (comic book science). The connection is surface-level, and would probably be easy to shrug off or wall out if Tony wanted to; it's basic telepathic etiquette not to go traipsing about in someone's mind and Arthur sticks to that. What he transmits is what he gets from the egg, a feeling of calm, thoughts of safe happy loved content warm, though it's like feeling it through a fog, like a static-y TV set with the antenna a little bit awry.]

It feels genuine to me. [A simple thought transmitted, a soft admission, and the weight of it seems more obvious like this, more naked. He knows he should be unbiased and try to see things for what they are, but it feels so incredibly real to him.]

[Tony doesn't expect him to get the reference. He likes it when people do, but half the time he throws the references and jokes out purely for himself. It keeps him from getting too nervous or thinking too much about what's about to happen.

The link Arthur makes is surprisingly comfortable. Tony's initial urge to resist soon quiets into mental acceptance. He's still a little withdrawn, but that is covered up by another feeling, curiosity, as he takes in the foreign thoughts.]

Everything feels genuine at the time. We just don't know better.

[His answer is mild, not really disagreeing with Arthur in his observation.]

Do you do this a lot?

[He doesn't blame Tony for being withdrawn. He can pick up on it a bit, but he doesn't push; he doesn't need to, because he isn't trying to get anything from him, just filtering something to him for his judgement. Arthur doesn't exactly need to delve into Tony's head for that, and he personally doesn't care if Tony happens to get anything from him on accident. A telepathic connection is honesty, in a way, and trust.]

Talk to the egg, yes. Relay what I get from it to other people... no. [He shrugs slightly, glancing toward the luminous shell again.] I want to think I would be able to tell, if it was some sort of construct, or tainted. When it comes to sea life, I can always tell.

[Tony tends to withdraw from telepathic communication because he's uncomfortable giving that trust. He's been burned enough times by people he wanted to trust that now he can't help but suspect others, even when he tries not to. It's an ingrained habit. And the instinct has proven helpful time and again.

But this time he's making a concentrated effort to open up and listen. Because it's for Arthur, and he does want to help Arthur.]

What if it's an imitation of normal sea life? Then it would feel right because of that.

[He keeps his voice soft, still not really judging despite what he's saying.]

[It's appreciated. He appreciates that Tony will listen to him without judging him, without lording over him that he might be wrong. Figuring this out is what's important, not who is right or who knows more or who is the most cautious and paranoid. He couldn't tell this to Bruce, maybe he couldn't even tell this to Kal or Barry, but Tony's been in his head before. It's alright.

As soon as he's relayed the feelings and thoughts from the egg, he withdraws, gently breaking off the connection, which was tenuous anyway. He's just not as good a telepath as others, with land beings.]

That's what I'm afraid of, that I could be wrong. That I could mess this up by being too sure of myself. Neptune knows that's happened before, and with Kaldur here, I can't let that happen again.

[Tony's arrogance and conceited tendencies are confined to specific venues. He is competitive, and he does tend to show off and be a smug bastard about what he knows, but he's learned that there are things he doesn't know. He's learned in his own way to pick his battles, and that as smart as he is, he's not a god, or a super-soldier, or even a warrior. When most of your associates are more trained than you are, being a spoiled rich kid who happens to have technological genius still comes in second.

In short, Tony Stark has learned the meaning of deference.]

It... feels good. [His answer is calm and reassuring, but not completely committal. He pauses, choosing each word carefully.]

It's hard to trust a feeling like that. Sometimes even harder than trusting a known danger. Because I think if it's too good, it's easy to forget how bad things can get. You want to trust it. But you aren't necessarily wrong here. Just, just be careful.

[It's a good skill, knowing when to step back and be humble about your own abilities and limitations. It's something Arthur had to learn himself, when he was younger. And it's what he's doing now, admitting that he doesn't know, that he can't be sure. They're on the same page of not-knowing, and he's grateful for that, at least. It's not like he expects anyone to have the answers.]

It is. And I remember when my life was so great I didn't think anything could ever go wrong. [He breathes out quietly.] I will be careful, I know what could go wrong... I just don't think I can lose another child.

[Tony isn't the most adept person for dealing with personal situations. He knows that, and while he generally tries to help anyway, he isn't going to claim to be anyone's first choice for confiding feelings. What Arthur says catches him off guard, and he can't help but look genuinely surprised and dismayed by that admission. Maybe other heroes with more training would take that better, but for him, it's a grave statement.]

No one wants this to be a trick. [He feels like he has to assure him of that.] I can't promise you there won't be losses, but the entire city is making sure that the eggs aren't part of them. We'll be careful. That's why we have each other's backs.

[He offers Arthur a faint smile.] Whatever happens, we'll figure it out, okay?

[Arthur has a hard time connecting to people who aren't his family, but Tony makes it... not easy, but easier. The lack of judgement, the relative lack of ego, that's what does it.] I know. Thank you, for the help. For the second opinion. I want to trust it, I know that much about myself, so an unbiased look at things is... helpful.

[Tony's ego is always there. It's a steady part of his being, and he's never really going to be rid of it. It's part of his nature, part of being a genius who has always been at the top of life.

But he's aware of it. And he tries, as much as he can, to keep it in check. It doesn't define who he is. He wants more than anything to make sure other things, people, come before that.]

You don't have to thank me. I'm not sure I really did anything helpful.

[He shrugs with an unassuming smile. Despite himself, he's pleased at getting the compliment of sorts from Arthur.]

I'll be here if you need anything from me. That's what I'm good at.

[Tony's ego is a lot easier to deal with than some of the other League members'. That alone makes him appreciative, because the whole alpha male thing can be exhausting.]

You did, though. A second opinion helps. [He smiles slightly.] The offer extends the other way, too. If you ever need anything from me, just ask.

004 ♒ Audio & Text [Atlantean], Encrypted

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