Brushing Rough Shoulders [Lukas/Helle]

THE CITY OF LIGHT
Lukas' side was stiff, reaching up for the nurse to prod at it. The bruising was gone now, the only visible wound the faint scarring that peeked out underneath his sanrei. A good checkup, to be sure.

"This is the last one, right?" the man's tone obviously frustrated, the cold tapping of a stethoscope across his back. "It's like the third checkup, I didn't even get hurt." he continued to bemoan, the nurse tsk-ing him out with a wag of her finger.

"Well, you still can't manipulate reishi too well, can you?' she chided, dropping the equipment back around her neck. Lukas responded with a furrowed brow. "Thought so." The scratch of a pen on paper as she turned around, his arms lowering with a fairly audible groan. "Come back next week, we need to continue gauging your progress."

"Fine." he muttered, pulling a shirt over his head. "Schedule with the receptionist, yeah?"

"You got it!" she responded in saccharine, a pat on his shoulder. "Good boy."

As his eyes rolled in exaggeration, Lukas stepped back into the congested hospital hallway, half mumbling obscenities under his breath. Pulling out the hair stuck under his shirt, the silver mane shook with closed eyes - a faint glimpse around the space as they'd open, and a double take to follow. Tilting his head, the man traced errant words across the back of his teeth with a tightly closed mouth.

Is that...?

Shaking his head empty of thought, Lukas approached a woman, half barking. "'Scuse me! Are you the Sternritter's director?" Despite the name, it seemed they were rarely found amongst the stars.

It's just another day, another checkup. These have become routine due to Helle's new outlook on life. Whether physical or mental therapy, Helle's forced to endure doctors and nurses treating her like a porcelain doll. Though, to be fair, she is somewhat fragile in a way. Still, she has her duties, and these meetings are hazardous to her time. Ugh. Curse Ninsianna and her insistence that Helle attends each one. Nothing worthy of attention has even happened yet, but, of course, her day's far from done, and that means there's still room for something.

Something sooner than later, it would seem. The words Sternritter and director pulled her attention towards a man nearing her location. Reports that she's read through already has her pinpointing his identity. He is one of the few that stood valiantly against the Arrancar that had laid siege to their city, even if his records were of questioning morals. That is why she merely greeting him as professionally as necessary, despite his lack of it.

"Director Armstrong, Mr. Ätherisch. Hello."

THE CITY OF LIGHT
"You keep track of the todgestalten?" Lukas replied with some level of curiosity, well intentioned or otherwise. There was no intent to feign ignorance to any formality - the man simply did not care. An errant question of why she was here did cross, paid no heed in the back of his head.

"Well, either way, I'd like to borrow your ear for a minute." He continued, regardless of her reply. For all his loyalty to the Vandenreich, Lukas was not the most well versed when it came to the organizations actual structure. Something about being in solitary confinement for too long, he'd reckon.

It came to reason, in his own twisted way, that if he could not convince Cyrus; he just had to go a step beneath.

His gaze shifted to the numerous hospital staff surrounding the woman, a barely restrained malice as he mock handwaved them away. "Official business, you understand." Forced with a half smile, he'd step into a vacant room, hoping that the woman would follow.

For starters, she did not understand who this man felt he war, nor did she care of wherever or whatever he came from. Maybe if he approached her with actual tact, she might have felt resolved to give him her ear. As it stood, she barely wanted to share the same floor with him. The compassion and understanding she was known for does not dwell within her any longer. However, if only to assure her initial judgement of this man did she follow.

"And, for what purpose have you dragged me here? I doubt anything is as official as you'd like it to be." She quickly brought up, going through this man's background through her head. This better be good.

THE CITY OF LIGHT
Drag? the chip on Lukas' shoulder growing ever bigger. For now, he'd shove it away. There were more important concerns at hand.

"I talked to Cyrus." he began, arms crossing as he'd lean backwards onto the edge of the empty hospital bed. "Concerning the attack from that... Infamous arrancar. I respect your time, so I'm not going to beat around the bush." A boldfaced lie with the way she had responded to his inquiry, but still not the time.

"We didn't have nearly enough firepower. If he had wanted, we'd all be dead right now. You, me, everyone else in the Stadt. Cyrus agrees that we need strength, thankfully." A half frown as he sighed, pausing.

"Unfortunately, he viewed my suggestion as 'extreme' when it comes to training our forces. Your reputation, however, precedes yourself." Lukas' gaze sticking to match Helle's as the words were leaving his mouth, forcing past his own reservations.

"And frankly, I think you're more capable of doing what needs to be done."

"And what needs to be done?"

She did not enjoy being reminded of the Vandenreich's failures. She has enough reports on the matter that still needs working on. However, knowing that Cyrus has already denied this man of his suggestion left Helle with little desire to continue. If anything, this sounds like something that'd create needless animosity between the two leaders of this organization. Still, she has already been pulled here, and it would simply be impossible to not hear him speak. Flattery has not gotten him that far in her books.

THE CITY OF LIGHT
"Not sit around with a thumb up our collective ass." Lukas replied curtly. "Actually do something that'll matter. Cyrus says he wants to make a change, to do something with our forces." A faint venom dripped from the last words.

"But it won't matter with how long his methods will take. Too reserved, unwilling to act when we need it most. If that arrancar wanted to, it could come back and kill us all." Reaching forward, a stiff fist clenched tightly - scarred tissue peeking out from between his wrapping. "What needs to be done is that we act now. While we can."

"And who will act? My injured men? Our half-prepared soldiers? You? Me?"

She spoke just as curtly as he had, showing little sign of emotional sway in her words. Her blank expression lacked the capability of revealing her true thoughts on the matter. For them both, such words of what should be and what must be does nothing in the grand scheme of anything.

"We are all of different tempers, Ätherisch, and we are all trying to think of ways to better ourselves. It doesn't sit well with many but rushing into trouble will only bring us more issues we are ill prepared to handle."

THE CITY OF LIGHT
"Yes." The man' truth curdled against air in response, coldness reaffirmed in his eyes. "The threat isn't one we can take at our leisure, in health or misfortune. It came to our doorstep and left when it wanted, not from our efforts. Temperament is just another flimsy excuse for inaction." Having a noticeable disgust in his voice, Lukas' nose scrunched with the words as he took a step back.

"Weakness is no reason to refuse growth."

"And I cannot force my men to partake in such dangerous expenditures just to force development, and that's not including the attention from the Gotei we would receive from the mass of Hollows being killed."

As it stands, their moderate ways of handling the issues on Earth is all that keeps the Shinigami from bothering them. Getting on bad terms with the Shinigami would prove a folly until they've fully recovered. Helle can understand Lukas, but she cannot force his ideals on her subordinates. That would be an abuse of her power.

"If you truly wish for something of the sort, your best course of action should be to ask the opinion of your brotheren."