argentmarteau | Another Day, Another Abomination of Science

...Lemme see your hands.

[He's not taking no for an answer, either.]

[She hesitates for a while, before holding them out.

Her wards are clearly active, so be careful there.]

Tch. The hell did you do to yourself?

[Well, he's pulling a rather large handkerchief out of his coat pockets and bandaging her hands, after he tears it in half.]

...I needed to renew them and it, ah...sparked.

[She exhales sharply, because that hurts, but she doesn't flinch.]

...

[She is getting A Look.]

Guess we all have off days. I'm done. Let's go.

Most people's off days don't destroy buildings.

[But she'll follow him, then.]

[Why's she following him? They're going to assess the damage in her labs. He's just there to punch hyperactive security.]

[Because she's shorter'n him, following kind of happens.

But lo down they go to find everything...

...gold and sparkly? It's like shit out of El Dorado.]

...The fuck?

...It's all gold?

[He tilts his head back some. Because seriously, the fuck?]

[She goes over to a wall to rub at it, apparently testing if it's just dust. Some of it does come off on her finger, but...she exhales pretty hard.]

...I don't believe it. It's actually turned to...

[She turns around to stare at the forge, which is pretty blackened and smokey and obviously severely damaged.]

I...guess I'll be able to pay for repairs...

More than that, if everything in here's been turned to gold.

[He'll stoop to pry a bottle off the floor, since, well. Gold now.]

What in the hell did you do, Maxwell?

...I don't think I did this.

[Tapping a finger to her lips.] I think whatever mixed into that smoke reacted when you blew all of it out. Turning things to gold requires an incredible amount of energy, that's why it's so difficult.

And yet most of your tower's now golden. I didn't put that much power behind it... I don't think.

[Suddenly there's a spot on the ceiling that's fascinating.]

I meant the original accident anyways.

You don't think?

[It's a gold and sparkly spot?]

...The cinnamon was for, ah. Well. It doesn't matter, I burned them anyway...I didn't think there was so much in the air still when I had to redo the wards.

I can't really explain more that that. My...hand slipped. I've never slipped.

[Given how quiet she gets by the end of that, she's still really shaken by the whole thing.]

Sometimes, it's a little hard to figure out how much power I'm putting behind something!

[He looks back over at her. He definitely caught that quietness.]

Hey, Maxwell. I don't normally make these sort of offers twice, but, join my gang. It's not like you can stay here until you get repairs done, gold's too soft and heavy to be structurally sound. And if you're working around others, accidents can't get out of hand like this one did.

...Or I could accidentally explode half your gang, that's also a distinct possibility.

[She rubs idly at the wards, not quite looking at him.] Does this come with jumping at your orders? Because I don't think I'm actually physically capable of that kind of obedience.

The guys you see with me are my handpicked best, or they're new. The new guys need to be broken in, the others just snap to because, well...

[He pauses, and scratches his chin.]

It's a matter of respect, I guess? They've been with me the longest, some of them, and others have some serious experiences that bind them to the gang.

That didn't really answer my question, y'know.

[She sighs, and finally looks up.] I do kind of need to know what's expected of me, here. It's not like you're only offering a couch to crash on.

Normally, it's a lot more strict, but since you're obviously a more... how do I put this, independent operator, and I can respect that, just don't pick a fight with me in front of the guys in public. As long as the chain of command goes unchallenged, then, we're good.

I see.

[She looks back down at makeshift handwraps for a while, and shrugs.] I can live with that.

[Clasping a hand on her shoulder.]

Well, then. Welcome to the team.

[Well, he gets a mock-salute before she blinks and looks over his shoulder at something.]

...I wonder if it got my clothes as well.

[That could be a problem, given how singed hers are.]

...You should probably check that. I imagine the guys can help you come up with something in our style, but.

[He kind of blinks.]

Maybe that wouldn't work so well for you.

How bad is it that you're saying that?

[Wandering over to the wardrobe and opening it to her...brand new collection of bling.]

...Well, then.

...Well it's better than your new found chainmail bikini. It just might be a little more rough than you're used to, is all.

[He rolls his neck.]

I mean, it's not like we don't have women in the gang, or anything. We can find you something.

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