Cain was placed at a far enough angle from the door that he didn't feel particularly threatened. Closer to Pepper than to Tony or Valdis, and he was fine with that. He could be civil where it warranted, finish up his business, and leave when he was done. No need to hang around, no need to make this worse than it was. He was nearly twenty-eight hundred, he was not going to make a scene because someone he didn't like showed up. Dipping his head in acknowledgment to the deference (it would get him out of there faster, that was for sure), Cain looked to Tony.
"It isn't anything big. You've got a lot of tech here, so I was wondering if you could do me a favor and whip up some kind of sedative—for me," he clarified quickly. The machine analyzing samples of the salt off to the side of the room gurgled, and he paid it only peripheral attention. "I've got an unfortunate amount of tolerance to the stuff you can find elsewhere around here, and I've been needing some help getting to sleep lately."
If there was a flash of vindictiveness in Valdis' direction, he wasn't going to hide that. His trouble with sleep was a general issue but it certainly hadn't been helped by their recent misadventure. Anything that might help sell it more, really. When the machine gurgled, rumbled again, Cain looked toward it with furrowed brow.
"Does it always—"
He knew the sound that came next. A small break, something going wrong, a slight explosion hinting at the threat of more. Sound cascaded and grew into a cacophony, and Cain shifted automatically, instinct taking over to brace his step and scan the room he already knew. There was really only one piece of action he could take before that thing either failed in the most nonthreatening way possible... or exploded. He wasn't going to take any chances, moving to hop along the counter with one foot, take Pepper in his arms, and press off his other to try and get some kind of cover.
no subject
"It isn't anything big. You've got a lot of tech here, so I was wondering if you could do me a favor and whip up some kind of sedative—for me," he clarified quickly. The machine analyzing samples of the salt off to the side of the room gurgled, and he paid it only peripheral attention. "I've got an unfortunate amount of tolerance to the stuff you can find elsewhere around here, and I've been needing some help getting to sleep lately."
If there was a flash of vindictiveness in Valdis' direction, he wasn't going to hide that. His trouble with sleep was a general issue but it certainly hadn't been helped by their recent misadventure. Anything that might help sell it more, really. When the machine gurgled, rumbled again, Cain looked toward it with furrowed brow.
"Does it always—"
He knew the sound that came next. A small break, something going wrong, a slight explosion hinting at the threat of more. Sound cascaded and grew into a cacophony, and Cain shifted automatically, instinct taking over to brace his step and scan the room he already knew. There was really only one piece of action he could take before that thing either failed in the most nonthreatening way possible... or exploded. He wasn't going to take any chances, moving to hop along the counter with one foot, take Pepper in his arms, and press off his other to try and get some kind of cover.
"Get down!"