Synth

Once they locked Noss in one of the holding rooms, TO sent off a quick message to Vik asking for the location of Tham’s room and confirmation that he was there. Because Vik was there when Noss was talking about the execution he was more than happy to give TO the information they needed, asking only that TO go easy on Tham. TO didn’t know what Vik thought their reason for seeking Tham was, but they had no intention of getting angry with them right now.

DH did not understand why TO was going to see Tham.

“Tham and Vik set up the failsafe!” DH said as they walked alongside TO, following them down some hallways they had never ventured down before, but which were clearly well used if the patchwork series of repairs on fallen stone was any sign. Different colors of cement and rubber sealant decorated the wall in uneven shapes. “If he’s upset I don’t see why we should be concerned about that, or why we should ‘check on him’”

“I’m not doing it for Tham.” TO said as they checked their map at an odd intersection in the tunnels and took what they hoped was the right hall, “I’m doing it for Pearla”

“If Tham was involved, what makes you think she wasn’t?” DH’s ears suddenly dipped down, “Do you think we should tell GiDi?”

“We can talk to GiDi when they’re done with their… situation.” TO said, “But Pearla didn’t know.”

“And how do you know that?”

TO realized that given the events of yesterday, they hadn’t gotten an opportunity to tell DH what happened between Pearla and Tham. They quickly went over the entire event, skipping anything that would implicate GiDi in the application of the failsafe. Of course they felt absolutely terrible as they did, since they knew DH would find out eventually and might be angry at them.

Still, this wasn’t the time or place to tell DH, and things would be much better if TO could get GiDi to admit what they did.

“She really just lectured Tham right there?” DH asked as their ears perked up, “I wish I had seen that!”

“Well, not ‘right there’” TO said, “It wasn’t like she was in the center of the cave; they were down a separate tunnel, and I’m fairly certain that nobody else could hear them.”

“Shame.” DH said, their ears pinning back.

“Anyway, Pearla said that since we’re GiDi’s family, we’re her family too, and family watches out for one another. So, that’s why she got so angry at Tham.” TO sighed as they got closer to the door. “And if I want to accept that from her, then I do in fact have to accept that Tham, as her brother, is also our family.”

“I thought blood relations aren't such a big deal for Chilacians.” DH said. “That family groups were not dependent on that.”

“You’re right, they’re not.” TO said, “But Tham being her blood brother is important to Pearla. So, if Pearla’s brother is upset, then I’m going to do what I can to help.” They sighed, “Or at the very least I’m going to check on them and ask if they need anything.”

DH huffed, “As much as I hate to say it, you make a good point.” DH said, “But I’m not ready to consider him family! Still… if it comes to it, I would help him for Pearla, since she helped you yesterday.” They looked aside, “And since you’re certain she didn’t know about that failsafe, I suppose that’s ok."

TO gave a sigh of relief, “Then you’ll come with me to talk to him?” They asked.

Before DH could answer, their communicator went off. As they pulled the small civilian communicator from their pocket and skimmed the message, their eyes went wide and their ears flicked down, but stayed close to their head.”

“DH, what is it?” TO asked, the sudden expression of fear and worry on their mate’s face made them anxious.

“Emergency in the dorms.” They said as they put their communicator back in their pocket, “Goretta says she needs me there now.”

TO stopped in their tracks, “Emergency? What kind? What do you need? How do I help?”

DH shook their head and quickly kissed TO, “There might be blood.” They said, “She didn’t say what was happening. I’ll let you know later.” They looked down the hallways towards Tham’s quarters, and shrugged, “I admit… I’m not disappointed at being called away.”

TO kissed DH, “I know.” They said, “It’s fine. Maybe it’s better if only one of us goes. Maybe Tham doesn’t want to be around too many people. He seemed really upset.” TO said. It was a valid point, but it wasn’t the only reason they were alright with going to see Tham alone. If Tham was upset, there was every chance that he’d not be as careful with his words as he could be, and might let slip to DH that GiDi knew about everything. That was an issue that TO wasn’t ready for.

======

Tham didn’t answer when TO knocked on the door. They might have thought that Tham wasn’t there were it not for the fact that their sensitive ears could hear the quiet shuffling from within.

“Tham?” TO knocked on the door again, listening carefully with their ear pressed to the door. Certain that the sound they heard was Tham’s breathing and his tail dragging across the stone floor and not something else, they knocked once more. “Tham, At least tell me you’re ok in there.”

Silence.

TO sighed and took out their communicator. They’d check with Vik to see if Tham was still in his room. If he was, then Tham was clearly ignoring TO and there was nothing they could do about it. If he wasn’t, then TO had to find them.

They were just about to leave when they heard movement on the other side of the closed door, and a moment later it opened just a crack. It wasn’t enough for TO to see inside, but they could see the room was darker than a Nagarajin would normally have it. From the light that spilled into the dark from the hall, they could see the faint flash of red iridescence from Tham’s scales.

“What.” Tham growled.

A part of TO wished they had left sooner. They were just trying to do something good, and Tham was growling at them. Of course, they were doing it for Pearla and not Tham, but did that really matter? “I just came to check on you.” TO said “You seemed… upset.” Saying that Tham had ‘seemed upset’ was downplaying it, but maybe that was the best thing for the moment.

Tham huffed, “I’m fine.” He said, “I’ll be ready to work in a minute. I have to oversee transportation of food and stuff to your ship.”

Right. Work. Tham was going to pack up the ship, so TO would have to make sure that the ship was unlocked for them and that they could get in. “I’ll make sure the ship is prepared for you.” They said.

“Do you have plans for where everything should go?”

TO wasn’t used to forgetting things, and the horror that they had forgotten something so important shocked them. Of course, the only reason they had forgotten something was because DH had given them drugs the night before to help them sleep, so that least that helped mitigate the horror. “I have to take care of that now. And I’ll have it in less than an hour.” TO said, turning away and heading down the hall without waiting for a response from Tham, though they heard the door close. Well, no matter, they needed to find a quiet place to work so they could figure this out. Maybe they’d head back to their room, or maybe they'd go to that little alcove near the dorms so they’d be close if anyone needed anything. They activated their chip and brought out the details of how much stuff they had to fit into the ship, and started thinking through the best ways to arrange everything inside.

They nearly overlooked the sudden thud coming from Tham’s room, and the sharp, pained cursing. Stopping in their tracks, they turned around and watched the now closed door for a moment.

“Tham?” TO called, but there was no answer. Panic filled them as they rushed to the door and flung it open to make sure Tham was alright.

He wasn’t.

TO wasn’t sure how a Nagarajin, who had no feet and really never seemed to have their full tail off the ground, could trip over something. However, it seemed like that’s what just happened here. In the darkness it seemed like Tham must have somehow lost their balance and fell to the ground. Even in the dim light, TO's keen eyes let them see how Tham was shaking against the stone.

TO ran up to Tham to help them up, “What happened?” TO asked. “Did you trip over something?” They knelt down and gently pulled Tham from the floor. “Are you hurt, or-” They stopped as they looked over Tham. He didn’t seem physically hurt, which was good, but their face was blotchy in the cheeks, and their eyes were redder than they were supposed to be, with heavy bags under their eyes.

Had Tham been crying?

As soon as Tham noticed TO looked at them, they turned away, “I’m fine.” he said, though TO couldn’t ignore how strange his voice sounded, and how it cracked on certain syllables. “I’ll.. I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine to work, I just need-“ his voice cracked, and his shoulders shook.

“Tham…” TO reached out, hesitating before they put a hand on their shoulder.

“Just go away.” They said, “I’ll be fine.”

TO nearly did as Tham said. They nearly left Tham to recover themself and get on with their day. As they turned to leave, they thought of Pearla insisting that she help TO though the hardest parts of yesterday, and how she said she was going to talk to GiDi after digging into Tham about the failsafe. They thought about how insistent Pearla had been in helping them, and how grateful they were for that help.

They also couldn’t shake the memory of how worried they had been over Pearla, how they asked if they had someone to help her. TO and DH, and Pearla had GiDi. Who did Tham have? Who else was going to come here and help him?

They realized that if anyone else was going to do that, they’d be here already.

“…No.” They said, “I’m not leaving.”