console; video

[peacefullywreathed]

[The audio comes on first, accompanied by a quiet curse. Then the video appears on Solomon leaning over his console. He's in his apartment, but he's wrapped in his coat and his breath is misting, and he's very pale, as if he's been in the cold for hours on end without having been properly attired. His eyes don't fix on anything, and the observant will notice old scars around them.]

I know there's a number of mechanically-inclined in the city. Our heating's just broken down.

[He hesitates.]

Earlier this morning, actually.

[It's mid-afternoon.]

I don't care if you're Foreigner or kedan, but I'll give you extra if you come now to fix it, and do so before Raine gets home.

[And don't mention the part where his fingers are dangerously blue. Or so he assumes they are, given that they're numb, hence the trouble finding the 'on' switch. She absolutely won't see this before work ends, right? Right?]

Comments

[peacefullywreathed]

Because the answer may well be 'No, but come in anyway'.

[Solomon fumbles the thermos in surprise, but manages not to drop it, and then clutches it to him with a vague sort of relief. He can't tell temperature changes well these days, but when something's hot, he can at least tell that. Which would be why he has a tendency to burn himself a lot these days too.]

Yes, it's fine. They aren't directly connected, I don't think.

[He makes sure the door is closed and then follows after her, a touch bemused--but also amused--by her high-handedness.]

[lasergrenades]

Oh. [Pepper pauses mid step to consider that.] Well, that's a little unnerving.

[She probably should be a bit more attentive to handing him things carefully, but she's of the mind that he just needs to get warm now and that means moving quickly.]

Good. It won't heat up the whole apartment, but if we close up the kitchen a bit it'll at least take the edge off. Winter blackout trick.

[After the kettle is on the stove, she moves one of the chairs from under the table in front of the oven, and then goes to get Solomon in order to plant him there.]

Why'd you wait so long to ask for some help?

[peacefullywreathed]

[Oh, well, alright then. It's with that same amused air, but now vaguely indulgent, that Solomon lets himself be directed. He probably wouldn't have thought of using the stove as a heater like that; for all the Temple's attempts at humbleness, Solomon had never adhered to the particularly stupid rules which led to being cold. And he was a nobleman's son. The very thought.]

I didn't. I didn't notice it was off until just before I made the call.

[lasergrenades]

[Pepper frowns slightly - she'd put her hands on her hips if she wasn't busy trying to keep Solomon from turning into a necromancer popsicle.]

But you said it's been off since this morning - it's afternoon and it's freezing in here. How did you not notice until now?

[As far as she knows, he ought to be able to thermoregulate just like anyone else. It's extremely weird that he didn't notice that the apartment had turned into a refrigerator.]</small?

[peacefullywreathed]

[Solomon shakes his head with wry deprecation.]

I've been having trouble telling extreme temperatures lately. I'm always cold, you see. It's my magic. Death is always cold. It isn't usually dangerous, except when I'm working with something hot.

[Like cooking. Or boiling water. Or doesn't notice the heater is off. It's fortunate he lives with a healer, really, or else his hands would have a few extra scars.]

[lasergrenades]

Uh. [Well, she supposes that death being cold makes a certain amount of sense.] That sounds unpleasant. And problematic. Also kind of scary.

[Not being able to tell temperatures properly must lead to injuries - she's heard of similar sorts of conditions on Earth where people don't feel pain. Pepper can only guess what Raine has to say about this. Probably a lot.]

Man, we really need to get you away from this continent.

[peacefullywreathed]

[Let's just say that needing to be supervised during hot showers to make sure they aren't hot would be a nuisance, if it weren't Raine being the supervisor. He grimaces.]

Suffice to say Raine's going to have Words when she gets back, whether I succeed in fixing the heating or not.

Somewhere tropical would be nice. Or a desert. I could deal with a desert. I could even deal with somewhere that rains a lot, as long as it's decently humid.

[lasergrenades]

Yeah, I figured. [She laughs quietly.] She's very good at scolding people.

[The kettle starts to whistle, and Pepper turns the stove off before it reaches a piercing shriek. She's been here enough times to know where the tea is.]

Well, hopefully we can wake up Tu Vishan sooner rather than later. Seems like we might be getting somewhere anyway.

wrap up?

[peacefullywreathed]

Excellent. Tell me when you need a tillerman.

[He hasn't been terribly involved in the planning, but he'd contributed to the movement, at least. He listens to the clink and splash of tea preparation, and reaches out to have it be put in his hands.]

Thank you, by the way. For coming to rescue a mild idiot.

sure :)

[lasergrenades]

[She's more careful with the tea this time than the thermos she'd shoved at him earlier, now that he's maybe slightly less of an ice cube. Pepper smiles; whether he'd meant to use her armored persona name or not, it was fitting.]

It's my job.