The former Leader looked away, immediately embarrassed, and caught between his own paranoia and wanting to trust the human. Something about Alexi's voice, so concerned, so unlike it had been when he first arrived, even managed to touch a bit of unfiltered and unidentified emotion within him.

“I... I apologize, Alexi. I shouldn't have panicked so openly. I just... I was terrified that I had let my guard down for a second. Even though I will never be their Leader again, I wouldn't betray them for the world. I will do some more research on the subject and speak with Joseph before we take the next dose. If what I find checks out with your information, then it should not delay us at all. You'll forgive me for not just taking your word on the matter,” Erik replied, striding over and taking Alexi's hand in apparent assent to the idea of a bath, and apparently not noticing the strange way that the human blinked his eyes. 

In actuality, the strategic mind within Erik could not resist the temptation of knowing just how he'd been taken, and ideally passing that information onto Nirale later, so that it never happened again to any of his former comrades. Besides, now that his hatred for the human was beginning to be replaced by inklings of trust, they could finally have a decent dialogue, and Erik enjoyed the idea of speaking with him on equal terms.

“Who is it you were dealing with? That made you feel so dirty? And why the fuck don't you have a shower in here?” he asked, stripping off his clothes and hanging them up with zero shame about revealing his birthday suit. There was not a lot of room for privacy in the camps; even Erik, as Leader, shared his bedroom with three others. Bathing, for men and women alike, was done in a communal underground lake, or a few communal showers. Though his skin was pale and laden with superficial scars, he was well-built and quite muscular, not as much as a body builder, but in a healthy manner. With a slight smirk, he lightly jumped into one of the shallower pools. 

“Well, come in! Don't drown. I really don't want to be executed for your murder unless I actually committed it.”