"That sounds about right," Wynn nodded. "Though I think if Hell stays busy tearing it to itty bitty pieces, we're in the clear."

She paused, then looked worryingly at Sybyl, Hell's former instigator and new cellmate.

"I worry about him and Sybyl," she murmured. "I don't know what that shrewd man is up to, but he worked Hell up into a fuss for a reason. And now he's talking to one of the prison's biggest loose cannons. At least... historically."

She tapped her foot, now with some anxiety.

"Maybe it's more like 30%."

"Having Hell as his cellmate is better than leaving him alone." Rufus looked over where Sybyl was talking to Kazimir and Marius. "30% sounds fair. Something does usually happen whenever he talks to someone. Extreme or not," He shrugged.

"It might be better for Sybyl," Wynn murmured. "But I don't know if it's better for Hell. I wish they'd put him with someone more... even-keel. Someone who could handle him better, instead of feeding into that endless cycle of violence."

"That... I do agree with." Rufus nodded. "Someone who can chill out and not care about a mess."

At least according to Moirai, the messiness was the main reason for their fighting.

Rhea (to the surprise of everyone) had a good poker face and abnormally good luck with the hands she was dealt until X'lian put down a yellow draw two to her and her jaw dropped. "This is blasphemous," she muttered as she drew the two cards, internally fuming when one was a blue two and the other was a red nine. No help from the peanut gallery (i.e. draw deck). For a moment, she wished that Kazimir and Marius were playing too, if only so she could see someone else getting frustrated by X'lian's easy path to victory. (Ace was too caught up with Cessa to notice, which Rhea found kind of funny.)

Eclipse hummed and nodded slowly “I see.” She noted the arrogance and wildness about him. He was a loose flame, unpredictable, dangerous, and likely little help to her cause. She had to figure out how smart he was and if he was worth taking or leaving behind in the end of her grand scheme. Best to figure that out by how well he took orders. “You know, if you are looking for someone a bit more exciting to talk to, there’s another newcomer who was just over by the craft station who looked a little lonely. He’s over by the weights now but it might be worth it to say hello to him as well. You two may become friends. It seems like you have some things in common.”

Marius paused in the middle of a rep as the inmate spoke, arms halfway outstretched. It was not a comfortable position to hold, so he lowered the bar to rest on his chest. He wasn't going to glower like Kazimir, so he settled for a neutral, if somewhat pointed, look at the newcomer.

"I mean," Marius said, glancing back at Kazimir to give him an out if he wanted it. "It's up to you. It seemed like you only had me in mind for this."

Kazimir held his stareon the Shah, who continued to look up at him awkwardly. He was busy with Marius, and he wasn’t sure about this guy.

“What’s behind your back?” Kazimir asked.

When the Shah sheepishly pulled out a painting of flowers and held it in front of him, Kazimir huffed through his nose.

“You remind me of a dog, showing its belly,” Kazimir muttered. “Like a pansy.”

The Shah winced and shrugged.

“I figured a peaceful approach would be best?” he said like it was a question.

Kazimir glanced at Marius, waving for him to sit up.

“What’s your name?” Kazimir asked the man.

“I go by Sy,” he answered. But Kazimir thought that was a weird name to choose. Who’d want to be called a sigh?

“This is Marius,” Kazimir offered.

And Sy extended his hand for Marius to shake.

“Pleasure.”

Marius racked the bar again before he dipped his head in polite greeting, shaking Sy's hand. "Nice to meet you too."

Well, he was certainly right that a peaceful approach was appreciated. Marius didn't know if it was just some instincts he'd picked up here, but he couldn't quite see someone coming up to the two of them out of nowhere and only wanting some gym tips.

“Who?” Smokey scoffed, the sound rough and unimpressed, but with a bemused smile, he humored her obvious attempt at evasio, but barely bothered with a glance toward the weights. Whatever Eclipse was trying to point him toward, it didn’t matter. His attention drifted right back to the puzzle in front of him.

Without hesitation, he moved in and plopped himself down right next to her. Close—close enough that he brushed against the air in her space—but acted like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like they’d known each other for years.

He slouched deep into the seat, arms draped over the backrest like he was getting comfortable for a long, meandering chat.

“So,” he said, turning his head toward her, wearing the grin of someone very aware he wasn’t invited. “What landed you in this shithole?”

Sy graciously shook Marius's hand with a faint smile, aware that he'd already roused suspicion. Could he have orchestrated something perfect? Maybe -- but there was no perfection in this life. Only science. He'd already tried and failed to find that.

But he did know what would gain him sympathy.

"Sorry if I'm out of place," Sy said. "I don't recognize many people. There are a lot of new faces to me."

Kazimir squinted down at him, and his gaze turned threatening and searching.

"You just got here," Kazimir said.

Sy blinked up at him. "In a sense."

"You're either new or you aren't," Kazimir said again, this time darker, while leaning forward to emphasize his sheer size, towering over him.

Sy held up his hands placatingly.

"I just got out of solitary," he said. "They held me for a long time, right when I got here."

Marius looked back at Kazimir, a little conflicted. That would explain things. Any amount of time spent in solitary was a long time, of course, but something told him Sy meant a duration longer than Marius was expecting.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Marius offered, turning back to Sy with sympathy on his face. "It's tough enough here already without going straight into solitary."

Sy brushed off Marius's empathy with a shrug.

"I'm just happy to be out, honestly," Sy admitted with a hint of sadness.

Which Kazimir had to admit, got to him.

Fine. He understood that everyone could be an idiot sometimes, and solitary wasn't a good fix for it. He could forgive the guy's awkwardness. He wasn't exactly well-adjusted when he was in solitary confinement for too long either. At least this guy was managing to be social without being destructive.

Kazimir sighed.

He needed to stop adopting newbies. This was not something he wanted to become a pattern.

"Get on the bench," he muttered.

With wide eyes, Sy brightened and hopped in a very frog-like, springy manner before lying on the bench.

Kazimir began to load up the bar with weights, estimating what the guy could handle.

Sy wasn't a very big person, but Kazimir had sized him up from the start. He wasn't flimsy in the way Marius was. It looked like he exercised on his own, but using bodyweight was limiting when it came to gaining muscle mass.

Kazimir glanced at Marius.

"You're not done," he said, so Marius wouldn't wander off to avoid training.

In any other setting Eclipse may have showed disgust at the least from being so close to someone else or even moved away. She just so happened to like her personal space and him being so close did not do him many favors in her mental tally of likable chess pieces.

However, she let none of this show except for the fact that she sat up a little straighter to avoid touching his arm. Physical contact was the last thing she wanted right now as the blasted dimmer on her arm would leave her tired. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, retaining the diplomatic facade as she took advantage of his apparent ease around her. People were always more willing to speak about themselves and let more information then meant to slip when they were at ease.

"Oh, just the same as the rest of you. I did something illegal and got caught much to my dismay." Eclipse hummed with a slight shrug as if landing oneself in the highest security prison possible was an every day occurrence. "How about you? By the way, I don't believe I've met you before, what is your name?"

Smokey peered down at Eclipse, letting his neck hang and his unkempt locks drape in that usual languid stroke of motion he carried himself with. Once again, he clocked her, eyes darting to her arm and retracting just as swiftly. He wasn't sure why exactly her arm budged, and he didn't care---not anymore, at least.

"How boring," Smokey tucked in his chin, feeling a snicker bubbling on his tongue, smothering it, as he jabbed his elbow against hers’ with smug grin.

His nostrils flared with theatrical vigor, grabbing the air like some middle-aged dad hauling himself up from a too-soft couch. As the oxygen filled his lungs, he pushed off the bench and onto his feet.

He made a show of stretching, spine arched back, arms hanging loose, then let out an exaggerated sigh—equal parts relief and mockery.

“See ya,” he clucked, brusque and offhand, already stalking away before the last syllable landed.