Casual Conversation (Rhi-Rhi!)

[Rising]

@Rhi-Rhi 

The profile wasn't the most positive he'd read, on a personal level, but what Command wanted from their Pilots was obedience and ability, and Pilot Lockwood appeared to have plenty of those. Technically, this would be a fairly routine, informal psych test - the idea was to send a trained psychiatrist to talk to the patient without telling them about it, and see what they picked up. The whole thing made him feel like a spy master gathering intelligence, and in this case he thought he'd give it a pass. Reports showed Pilot Lockwood to be paranoid and hostile around strangers, and there was no way he'd respond well to a random person trying to get inside his head. No, Graham would be conducting this test himself, in the calming environment he had made of his office, with a policy of partial disclosure. He trusted himself to have the patience to work with him, and while his staff were capable, he didn't want to pair this particular Pilot with anyone even remotely argumentative.

From the looks of it, Pilot Lockwood had mellowed since his Candidate years. Of course, given that he had been an uneducated, violent, bully, that didn't necessarily say a lot. As a doctor, Graham ranked below the majority of his patients, and he had a feeling that could be an issue here. He would have to make it clear that Pilot Lockwood had been commanded to cooperate by those of higher rank, even if they weren't present. Whilst simultaneously preventing him from feeling trapped, or pressured. Somehow that didn't seem likely to work. Pilot profile's were always detailed, and this one was no exception, but without actually meeting the Pilot he was supposed to be assessing he couldn't decide how best to work with him. With any luck, the man would turn out to be less hostile than the report indicated, and they could have a pleasant, casual conversation before Graham wrote a report deeming him to be stable, well-adjusted, and having a good disposition. He had the strangest feeling that wasn't going to happen.

He frowned slightly as he looked up at his, as always, literally open door. He liked how it made him part of the complex, but he was always undecided about leaving it open when he was talking to patients. Privacy, or the relaxing effect of not being shut in. Legally, he was required to go for privacy, and in addition, if anyone walked past then he didn't want them to get involved, but he would've liked to go for the more casual atmosphere that an open door gave him. He shook his head with a wry smile. Pilot Lockwood would undoubtedly need no such coddling; Graham had no doubt that he would behave in an appropriate manner, though of course the idea was to get the patient to open up beyond professionalism. This didn't always happen in casual conversation, of course, so it wouldn't be a major problem - this was to be a routine test, and only if important issues were detected would a full evaluation be required. There was no need for him to be the paranoid one and expect the worst of the Pilot he was assessing, simply because of the negative aspects of his official profile. He would, however, be fully prepared for reticence and a certain degree of discourtesy and antagonism. As ever, he would be working with the patient, first to assess him, then if necessary to work through his issues.

Graham turned off the tablet he'd been reading on and checked the time. It was about time for the Pilot to show up, just two minutes shy, so he leaned back slightly in his chair and picked up one of many logic puzzles on his desk. He preferred to read, or play cards, but reading was too anti-social, and cards couldn't be played alone. Being both approachable and professional was important, hence why he actually thought about it, even though it made him feel cold and calculating. He had completed the puzzle before, so his fingers moved quickly through the correct combinations, but it was never the same twice, so it occupied his mind as he waited, fully relaxed.

[Rhi-Rhi]

For all of Shiloh's many flaws, no one could ever say he wasn't punctual. It was rare that he was ever late, and only when there had been an emergency. Punctuality had been drilled into his head since candidacy, and he was paranoid enough that most times, he got there far earlier than he needed to!

There was only a minute to go before the appointed time when Shiloh knocked on the door frame, and then walked through the open door. He was dressed casually (because he was informed this was a casual thing) in a wife-beater, studded leather jacket, and ripped skinny jeans. Combat boots completed the look, and they thumped heavily on the ground as he walked inside.

He shot the doctor a look, eyes slightly narrowed because he still wasn't sure what this was all about--and casual meeting or not, the tension was obvious in his face and in the way he moved. He wasn't fond of doctors, since the only associations he had with them involved unpleasant shit, like getting poked with needles and having bones set.

And, of course, prostate exams.

Heading over to a chair on the opposite side of Graham's desk, Shiloh flopped into it and propped his boots up onto the desk, legs crossed at the ankle. He crossed his arms as well and arched a pierced eyebrow at Graham, his expression not exactly hostile, but not friendly, either.

"S'up."

[Rising]

Graham smiled politely as the Pilot knocked and then entered. So far, so good. He couldn't say that he favoured his fashion sense, but compared to his daughters Pilot Shiloh seemed the epitome of respectability. He gently placed his puzzle on the desk as the other man sat on the chair opposite him, noticing that the Pilot was slightly tense, but generally unconcerned. Pilot Shiloh didn't seem happy to be there, but as yet he seemed comfortable enough. His boots were on the desk, and his arms were crossed - typically this indicated defensiveness, but he could also just be getting comfortable. Graham wondered if he was one of those people who seemed to dislike doctors almost on principle; he thought it was all down to the needles himself, although why so many people would be so opposed to them he couldn't fathom. At least he wasn't standing on ceremony, even if Graham would really have preferred it had he put his boots where they were meant to go - namely, the floor.

"Hello, Pilot Shiloh. I'm Dr Fox-Starling, but feel free to call me Graham if you'd like. I suppose you know what we're here for?" Graham's smile broadened slightly as he introduced himself. It was always nice to meet new people, and he hoped his new acquaintance agreed. A confirmation of the purpose of this meeting was, firstly, in keeping with his professional ethics, but mostly he was using it as a conversation starter. Monosyllabic answers got old after a while, so anything beyond 'So how are you today?' was better than nothing. His posture was naturally loose, his hands clasped on the table in front of him, and although he kept his eyes on the man he was addressing, he didn't stare. A slight nod towards the door had it closing, the signal pre-programmed to cause the least disruption possible. Once again he felt a twinge of indecision, uncomfortable with causing a patient even a little anxiety - but really, only the most paranoid would mind a (unexpectedly or not) closed door. He was, as Sunny would say, fussing too much again. He didn't let the worries of how his conduct was being received take up much of his mind, maintaining his typical appearance of mild professionalism, although he allowed himself to relax slightly more than normal as he paused to wait for a reply.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Shiloh gave a light shrug. "Iunno. Ya said ya wanted to talk to--th' fuck?"

The door shut then, and Shiloh jerked in surprise and looked to the door, then back at Graham. His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "How'dja do that?"

As far as he knew, Graham wasn't psychic, so...how?

[Rising]

Graham maintained his easy smile through long practice. Paranoia was now going in his report. At least the Pilot didn't have claustrophobia. This could still make for a decent report though - depending on whether he spun it as 'constantly aware and observant, clearly fully capable of identifying threats even in casual situations' or 'actively suspicious of me simply because he didn't know how I'd closed the door'.

"It's programmed to respond to certain gestures. For example, when I nod at it, it closes. It's supposed to stop it from bothering you, although I guess that didn't work." Graham smiled wryly at that particular failing - all of his worry over having the door closed, and he'd been - disconcerted, by how he'd closed it. "As you said, I just wanted to talk to you - I like to catch up with and get to know all of my patients." He smiled in Pilot Shiloh's direction. Explain the problem and move on. "Don't you like that kind of technology? One of my daughters goes crazy over it, but I know most Pilots just use their abilities if possible." A second later a light came on in his mind. "I'm 100% mundane, no trace of psychic or magical ability in me - although I frequently enjoy good luck. Even psychics don't like playing cards with me." He grinned a little. Good memories.

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Oh." Shiloh's cheeks colored as Graham explained the totally mundane mechanism behind the door. Duh. Of course, that made sense, and he felt instantly embarrassed that he'd jumped to the wildest of conclusions.

Thankfully, Graham didn't make fun of him for it, as others might have. Instead, he just explained. With a sheepish smile, Shiloh scratched the back of his neck and shrugged at the question, relaxing back into his chair a little. After that icebreaker, some of the initial tension had drained out of him--but he still didn't trust this guy. He'd been interrogated once after getting framed for something he hadn't done, and the memory of that made him uneasy, made him worried this might be some sort of a trap.

Except this guy wasn't psychic, which Shiloh should have realized; he couldn't feel any of the usual psychic static in here. Ugh. Maybe he really was making something out of nothing.

"S'alright. It's pretty cool, I guess," he said, looking from the door to Graham. "Better than when people used to live in caves an' shit. Sooo, uhh, anyway...ya said I'm yer patient? What, am I sick or some shit?"

[Rising]

While Graham couldn’t help but be pleased that the man was relaxing a little, he was equally helpless to prevent his mild amusement at his evident embarrassment. Shiloh didn’t seem nearly as bad as his report had made him out to be; perhaps he really had just grown up a bit. Maybe he wouldn’t say that to his face though. His own report would have to include his reaction, but he’d taken the explanation, so no harm done. He raised an eyebrow, speaking in slightly sardonic tones.

“Well, I suppose that’s for you to decide.” He paused, then continued.

“I wouldn’t say you were ill, but your health is my area of work, hence you are my patient, even if you are the epitome of physical and mental health. You may have guessed from the lack of a physical examination what this conversation is meant to discern. This isn’t formal, nothing will go on your file,” Graham supposed that wasn’t entirely true, someone else could choose to add something, but it was unlikely that anything more than a vague ‘while some issues were highlighted, Pilot Shiloh is undoubtedly fit to continue active service’ would actually make it anywhere official, “well, aside from the note that at this point you’re fit for active service. The higher ups just don’t want anyone with highly disruptive issues trying to work as normal and causing trouble. Don't worry, you only seem mildly disruptive." The last bit slipped from his automatically professional tones into light sarcasm.

It was automatic at this point to look down at his tablet as though anything important would be on it, just to fit the stereotype, but instead he grinned at the man opposite him, slouching just a little (he had chosen the chair to discourage it, after all), glad to have the technical stuff out of the way.

“What do you think of card games?”

[Rhi-Rhi]

What? What what what?

Shiloh blinked rapidly, trying to discern the words this man was saying. Informal? Wouldn't go on his record? Fit for service? None of that sounded really informal! It sounded, kind of, like this guy was some sort of a head doctor. A shrink.

And he seemed only mildly disruptive? Shiloh began to fret, his paranoia switched to ON. He thought he'd been behaving well! Did people still suspect him after the framing? Did this have to do with that in some way?

He began to sweat, and licked his lips. "Uhh...I like Go Fish," he said slowly. And couldn't help but tack on a suspicious, "Why?"