log: erik+asala WHO: Erik Lehnsherr + Asala Adaar WHEN: Backdated to yesterday, Nov. 9 WHERE: Outside! WHAT: Asala breaks the news to Erik that Charles is gone. Erik bottles everything up but it causes some significant magnetic disturbances, and Asala decides that it's best to remove Erik from Mount Weather for a while. So, it's off to Camp Jaha!
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Maybe Asala was the only one stupid enough to talk to Erik right now without fear. Maybe.
Some news needed to be broken one way or another, and she'd been Raven and Betsy's go-to for it, so Asala made her way to the forge and pulled Erik out for a walk. They were friendly enough that it worked, and it helped that her intentions were anything but harmful. There was still a thick layer of snow on the ground; Asala had long since commissioned winter gear, anticipating before the pod had dropped all those winter coats that there would be a rush for normal-sized people once it got cold and wanting to beat it.
They passed by the work site for the new above-ground shelters before she finally said, "I have to say something you don't want to hear. Being blunt about it seems cruel, but I'm not sure how else to put it. Charles disappeared a few hours ago while he was speaking to Betsy."
Erik had been busying himself with manufacturing ammunition for various weapons. It was a meticulous process, duplicating bullets with precision and keeping them all in labeled containers for each particular type of gun. He had several of the guns in question in the forge, having gotten their owners to part with them for a short while. It was something to keep himself busy.
The fresh air was a good idea. He hadn't been outside in what felt like two weeks. He had a long, blue wool coat and a fedora with a wide brim. Whatever one could say about Erik Lehnsherr, he managed to dress elegantly even when trapped in an underground bunker.
When Asala finally spoke, Erik's expression closed off. The slight smile on his face faded, and if there wasn't already a chill in the air it would have felt cold simply from his shift in expression alone.
"What?"
He'd heard it. He just didn't know how to process it. Charles, gone.
"He went back home. Betsy thought breaking it to you in private before word spread might be the better idea." Asala rubbed her hands together out of habit. Her right hand couldn't feel the cold and her left was always warm because of the anchor. She watched Erik with a sympathetic weariness. "I'm sorry."
Erik's eyes flickered to Asala's hand, then back to her face. "Betsy believed that you were the person who should tell me," he said evenly. His voice was quiet, his expression still, but there was a tension in the air that was difficult to identify until that energy began to put pressure on the metal of Asala's right hand.
Asala flexed her hand, though her joints moved slowly with the pressure. She couldn't feel temperature or pain, but her magic flowed through the metal it was made out of, giving it an odd kind of sensation. "I like to think we're friends, Erik."
"I don't disagree," said Erik quietly, but the wheels were clearly turning in his head. "But you can't deny that there was a discussion as to who was the best person to handle me."
He wasn't stupid. He could see where this went. Betsy noticed Charles was gone. She didn't announce it, as most people did. She probably went to Raven. They'd probably discussed who was the best person for damage control. Someone Erik respected but wasn't overly close to, someone who was most likely able to keep him from an outburst of anger or grief.
"You don't make a secret out of being dangerous," Asala said pragmatically. She wasn't going to deny that there had been some kind of debate about it, however brief. Lying wouldn't help. "People are going to react accordingly. You know that."
"I do." Erik lifted his chin slightly. Asala was taller than him, which was something Erik wasn't used to. He didn't like it.
He blinked twice -- his eyes were glassy -- and his breath hitched as he looked away. "I don't know what you think I'll do in his absence, Adaar."
Asala shrugged, spreading her hands in a vague gesture. "I know you were close. Maybe it's a little odd that Raven didn't want to tell you, but I'm not going to refuse to give you a chance to react to loss in private either way."
In his mind, he was screaming.
Disappearance was much the same as death. Erik had lost his closest friend, without warning -- and no matter how complicated their relationship was, Erik had latched onto him with both respect and whatever part of him was capable of love. Charles was everything. Friend, brother, soulmate. For all that they disagreed, no matter how violent Erik knew their end would inevitably be, Charles was his.
He would not give Asala the satisfaction of a breakdown. He'd already had an outburst that tore to doors off of all of the rooms in a hallway, and he'd been chastised for a tantrum. No one was allowed access to his pain or allowed to criticize the way he felt it.
"Thank you for that information," he said mildly, ducking his head in order to adjust his gloves. The pressure increased on Asala's right hand, starting to warp the intricate joints of the fingers.
"Erik." Asala held out her metal hand, where the damage was starting to become obvious. Her expression was carefully calm; neither anger nor fear would help, not right now. "Do you want to talk about this?"
Erik glanced at her hand. "No."
"Do you want to stop breaking my hand, then?"
Almost immediately, the pressure was relieved. The tension in the air didn't dissipate, the tug of magnetic fields going out of control, but he was able to at least stop damaging the hand that he'd built for Asala.
He cleared his throat. With Asala's height and his head bowed, the brim of his hat hid the fact that his eyes were red and wet. "I'm not interested in a conversation."
"What do you need right now?" They weren't so close that Asala could assume, but people were afraid of him for a reason, and he'd damaged Mount Weather in a fit of emotion before.
"Stop," Erik snapped. "I'm not a child."
He held up a hand to silence her, and then walked past her. He made a fresh set of tracks through the snow, putting some space between himself and Adaar. He needed the chance to process this, to work through the idea that once again Charles was taken from him. They'd been on good terms. They'd been close. Charles had been troubled, and Erik liked to think that Charles needed him. What was he going to do back home? They'd parted ways, presumably for good.
It was probably better for Charles. For Erik, he felt like something precious had been stolen from him and it was personal.
Asala let them stand in silence for a few long moments. Lazy snowflakes drifted down from the sky, catching on the curves of her horns, not intrusive enough to interrupt anything.
"If you need the space---" To keep from warping Mount Weather until he could control himself. "---I have a job you could do for me. The downside is that you can't go alone."
Erik stopped, casting a brief glance over his shoulder. Snowflakes were dotting the brim of his hat. "What is it you want, Adaar?"
"With the snow, the path of Camp Jaha is probably blocked, or at least more dangerous. There are still supplies worth salvaging from the Camp, but the way probably needs to be cleared, and you could always pick up more material for yourself when you get there." And after a pause, she added, "It's just too dangerous to go alone, especially with the Grounders waiting for us to make a mistake."
Erik knew what she was doing. She was giving him a project, redirecting his energy, keeping an eye on him while keeping him away from other people. It was something to do, rather than simply grieve.
Even knowing that it was manipulative, Erik could appreciate it. Couldn't he? It was what he needed. Asala was giving him an opportunity to be useful while also being distracted. It made him grind his teeth with irritation as he made a show of mulling it all over.
"You're safer with me. I'll go with you," he said.