text | un; sieglindesullivan

[grunehexe]

Good evening. This is Sieglinde Sullivan, the Green Witch, with two questions of great import.

One. Are there any among you who have experience in the permanent inking of flesh?

Two. Are there any among you in possession of a diamond, preferably high quality, that you would not mind donating to the cause of our next mission? In the process of studying the diamond's structure I cannot guarantee it will not be damaged, so please discuss with me your compensation beforehand if you desire such.

Thank you for your attention to these matters.

Comments

[controlling]

They're definitely permanent. They'll fade somewhat with time, especially if they're color. But even with laser removal something always stays behind. So you'd best be sure of what you want.

[grunehexe]

That is heartening to hear. Excepting loss of limb or catastrophic burn I should like them to be permanent as possible.

[controlling]

[ y i k e s

but he has no place to judge considering his fiancée has made her skin into another canvas so. ]

I hope you find a tattoo artist.

[ a little pause. ]

What do you intend to do with the diamond?

[grunehexe]

I as well, thank you.

It seems our next mission is predicated on the creation of a convincing fake diamond, so I thought to begin studying its structure. Unfortunately, the only precious stones in my possession are emeralds and rubies.

[controlling]

Diamond forms rigid structures of covalently bonded carbon atoms.
If you have graphite, like in pencils, you can make diamond.
It won't be anything too big, but it's a place to start.

[grunehexe]

Graphite I have.

I understand a great deal of pressure is needed to make a diamond. Which is one of the factors I would like to explore, admittedly.

[controlling]

Not necessarily.

[grunehexe]

Oh? I am most interested if you have knowledge in this area.

[controlling]

[ it's not bruce's area. he works with kids, something of a jack-of-all-trades: one hour unloading supplies for the center, another tending to the lawn, the next on the floor reading books to a mixed-age group. before that, he was a businessman, the primary stockholder of one of the most profitable enterprises in the nation. not that he remembers any of it. what he knows he has been told or gleaned for himself from news and gossip.

this isn't his area, but like knowing how to navigate the streets of gotham or how to fix a broken air conditioner, bruce knows without knowing when or where or from whom he learned. he attributes this to his former life; everything he had owned had been designer made. the cost of a single watch could have comfortably fed a family of four for half a year. if anyone would know the difference between natural and synthetic diamonds it would have to be the other bruce.

( he ignores the uncomfortable reminder of the manor's extreme security measures and why someone who would rig a massive chandelier to fall with a spoken passphrase would be interested in synthetic diamonds. )

besides, he did go to college. he's pretty sure. ]

Full disclosure, it's not my area of expertise. I'd have to look up some things myself.
But there's a process to grow synthetic diamonds through the deposition of carbon. No extreme heat or pressure necessary.
Could be something to look into.

[grunehexe]

Do not worry yourself if you are not an expert- breakthroughs can be born from the smallest of thoughts, and even knowing a place to begin is useful. My own expertise lies far more with liquids and gases than solid objects.

Let us see if the library has more on this subject.

[controlling]

Sounds like a plan. Were you thinking to meet up or look up information separately then trade?

[grunehexe]

I work best on my own but I am not opposed to working side by side in matters that are not my usual purview.

[controlling]

[ not captured by the magitek, a brief chuckle. ]

I'll try not to slow you down. I'm near the library whenever you get a chance.

[grunehexe]

In that case I shall go presently.

It seems the selection of someone skilled with tattooing will take some time.

[controlling]

I'll meet you at the doors. My name is Bruce. I'm wearing a brown jacket.

[ he left the bat behind this time despite its distinctiveness. ]

[grunehexe]

I shall look for you there, then.

[It takes longer than one might expect a person to move to the castle library from within the castle, but eventually Bruce's study counterpart arrives. A petite young girl dressed in something that belongs more in the Victorian era, hair elaborately done up in a headdress, clutching a tablet PC and a sheaf of notes.

Spotting the brown jacket, she carefully picks her way over, gait a bit unsteady, a bit careful, before she stands before him.]

Bruce, I presume? Well met. I am Sieglinde Sullivan.

[controlling]

[ surprise colors bruce's expression, before he schools it into something more polite. he isn't sure which part doesn't belong: the clothing? the tablet? her age? the way she walks? ( age is winning, though concern that she may have been hurt during the fight is growing. )

and yet this picture, odd as it is, is not nearly as strange as it should be. fortunate or unfortunate side effect, depending on the day's mood, of his condition. ]

That's right.

[ bruce extends a hand to her in greeting as if nothing about this is at all new. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you. Ready to get started?

[grunehexe]

[Thankfully? Sieglinde is used to people being shocked upon seeing her in person. As much as she dislikes the truth of it, she understands the reason. They expected someone older, in general. Someone more... "modern".

But there was no changing those things, (beyond, ahem, the illusions she was practicing, anyway), so she just awkwardly shifts from her plan to curtsy into the handshake he offers, her own small hand dwarfed in his.]

Of course.

[She's brought her notes and the useful electronic tablet ALASTAIR had given her, and she has a good idea of what area to start in, so!]

How many languages are you fluent in? I would like to explore all the sources available to us if possible...

[controlling]

A couple. [ 10+ ]

I speak English mostly.

[ 10+ actually

and shifting the subject off of himself, ] Are you okay?

[grunehexe]

I understand a few myself besides German, [10+] so then between us perhaps we shall manage a decent selection.

[They got this.

But at his question she seems genuinely confused, cocking her head curiously.]

Am I... alright?

[She hasn't been injured since she was shot in the foot in Perdition's Rest, and as she kept to herself and rarely involved herself with new recruits... she momentarily forgets that the way she walks is unbalanced, that her legs are still bandaged beneath her skirts.]

[controlling]

You seemed a little unsteady when you walk. [ bruce regards her with soft concern. ]

You weren't caught up in the fight too, were you?