text; un: bortz

[abortz]

[Bortz is not a chatty person. They aren't a particularly social person, and they aren't at all eager to make new "friends". But they'll submit to this sort of socialization with complete strangers to get information they need.]

Do animals have doctors?
If there is anyone in charge of fixing those of us who break then I need to know in advance rather than waiting until they're actually needed.

[There's a pause, and then they continue, almost begrudgingly.]

I also need to know if anything be done for you people if you're damaged.
If it comes up then there won't be time to figure it out in the moment. I won't waste time trying to help if there's no point.

[They don't care. They really don't, these organics mean nothing to them and frankly, expending effort on them when they have such short, limited lifespans to begin with seems pointless. But this is the job they've been given, and they'll do it right. If that means babysitting these fleshy people then so be it.]

Comments

[abortz]

[tbh it's probably best to ask questions first because they're gonna start to pile up quick with this one.

But oh, hey. They know this girl. She was nice. Good to know she also makes herself useful.]

Can you fix inorganic beings? And do your supplies include paste?

[grunehexe]

[oooh she’s so glad they asked, she hasn’t had a good science project in like... a whole week]

I have paste of various types for my experiments, but I would have to examine you closer to determine if they are suitable.

If not, surely an examination of your structure would yield the answer and allow me to formulate something.

[abortz]

You can examine me if you need to.
It would be useful in the long run to be prepared for emergencies.

[grunehexe]

Excellent! I will send you the address of my temporary workshop.

I have never made the acquaintance of someone of your exact makeup, but i have worked with non-humans in the past, do not worry.

[abortz]

I'll come now if that's fine.

[grunehexe]

Of course. In these cases, sooner is better than later.

I would prepare something out of hospitality, but- I assume you do not eat?

[abortz]

No. We're energized by sunlight.

[grunehexe]

[Solar charging??? Something like inorganic photosynthesis??? Aaaaaa]

Then I shall simply await you, sans food.

>>action

[abortz]

[Bortz prompts makes their way over. It's been weird having so little in the way of clear objectives during the day, but they've been floundering here a little. The problem here in this mission requires people skills and negotiation skills and they simply have neither. Without a surplus of monsters others want them killing, they don't really know what to do with themself.

This, at least, feels productive.

Their expression is faintly sour as always when they arrive, but they're perfectly cooperative in taking a seat, crossing their legs and only just briefly glancing around at the workshop's setup.]

What do you need me to do?

[grunehexe]

[There is no food for Bortz, but Sieglinde wipes a few crumbs off her face before welcoming them properly, seated on a stack of cushions in the workshop that... certainly looks far more active than their short presence would allow, if that person wasn’t a somewhat obsessive scientist-witch, floor and table covered with books, illustrations, dried herbs, and chemical formulas drawn out like magic circles.

But this- this promised to be such an interesting project, and she hasn’t had a good one since ALASTAIR... but. Even with her own curiosity, this was someone else’s life- she reins herself in as best she can.]

Well first, I would like to confirm your... chemical composition.

[Barely avoids saying “genetics”, but good save!]

Is such a thing the same throughout your people’s makeup?

[Or like with humans, are there things like organs, different tissues...]

[abortz]

[Some of it reminds them a little of Rutile's workstation, but it's far more full and far less tidy. Dark eyes scan it all briefly, but when Sieglinde begins talking they jump right to her and hold with an intense stare. Everything about them is a little intense, really, down to their stiff posture as they await her...whatever it is she plans to do. They aren't worried, but so far they've proven themselves completely oblivious to a great deal of otherworldly things. They might not be able to help in this much.

At least "chemical composition" is a familiar phrase. They seem to ease just slightly, nodding.]

I'm a diamond. My composition is pure carbon. But it's different depending on the gem.

1/2

[grunehexe]

[A diamond...

There's a moment when Sieglinde's gaze, sharp and critical, slips out of focus, recalling the books she had read when she was researching before the Leramzen mission. When she'd studied Daenerys' loaned diamond, a truly beautiful stone, and studied all she could about manufacturing the stones.

With a sudden flash of insight, Sieglinde slaps her fist into her palm with a mouthed ah-ha.]

Bortz! Oh- that is not a strange name after all.

[When they'd first introduced themselves, she had thought they were simply not human, she hadn't narrowed it down to minerals... so she'll take back her comment from before, nodding more to herself than anything else, pleased with the find.]

[grunehexe]

[Wait, back on track, Sieglinde-]

So... if I were to take a sample from you... where might you recommend? Have you been examined medically before? Or, examined gemologically before?

[abortz]

[They nod simply as if to confirm her realization about their name.]

Our doctor examined us.

[They want to be helpful and cooperative in this. She's only trying to assist them, and the more she knows then the beter she'll be able to stand in for Rutile should things go wrong. But at the mention of taking a sample they frown, eyebrows knitting together in a faintly uncertain expression.]

...Will you give the sample back afterwards?

[grunehexe]

I could, most certainly.

[After she's studied it, anyway... but. They do seem a bit reluctant, and she isn't opposed to offering alternatives.]

If your entire body is made of the same material, though, I might could do rudimentary examinations while said sample were still attached. If you can stay still.

Your... hair, or your fingers, perhaps?

[abortz]

[Hair is difficult to reattach. The strands are just too thin. Rutile could do it, maybe, but hair is often minor enough and lacking in any memories that it's not worth bothering. They probably don't carry any memories within them.

But then, Bortz has a lot of hair. They don't want to bet on it being that inconsequential a loss. Besides, Red Beryl would take issue with them ruining their hair and being unable to fix it.

So they nod again, thoughtful, before shoving up a kimono sleeve to peel off the long glove underneath. The skin revealed appears pale and flawlessly smooth, the nails a black that just faintly glitters as if painted with a fancy polish. But closer examination will reveal that there's no polish -- and in fact, no skin either. Their arm is a consistently rock hard surface all throughout, and close observation will reveal that it's all been coated with a layer of makeup-like powder except for the nails, which were left their natural coloring.

Biting back the lingering reluctance, they offer up the limb wordlessly.]

[grunehexe]

[Now that... is interesting.

Sieglinde scootches off her cushions, tugging her own soft gloves off the nearby table to pull on before she gently places her fingers beneath their elbow and palm to support the limb while she leans over it. Long and close enough to notice the coating.

Curious, she cocks her head before looking up at their face. More coating?]

What is this, exactly? Can I remove it?

[abortz]

Powder. We look hideous without it.

[Ugh. It isn't that different from how Rutile conducts examinations -- comfortingly similar, even -- but the content of these requests put them mildly on edge given the situation. They can't help but want to preserve their powder as long as possible, at least until a local substitute has been found. But she probably can't do a decent examination with it on.

Their jaw tense slightly, but they nod.]

Only on a small section. I don't have any powder to replace it yet. [A beat, and:] Water will wash it off with enough time or some rubbing.

[grunehexe]

["Hideous"...

That makes her pause, glancing back down at their hand and the glittering black that seems to be a glimpse of their actual coloring. It looks pretty to her eyes, people always praised the glitter of precious stones...

But her eyes flick down to her feet, bandaged and half-dead. She knows well that the opinions of others meant absolutely nothing when it came to how one viewed one's self. So it isn't her place to argue against that judgement.

Instead, she just smiles reassuringly.]

In that case, shall we add this powder of yours to our list of things to try recreating? I can analyze it's consistency.

[She comes up with a small cotton swab, choosing a place on the inside of Bortz's elbow that is easy to hide with the gloves or the kimono sleeves if they wished, beginning to rub a small portion of the powder off.[

[abortz]

[This small community of gem people and their Sensei has developed some very strange standards of beauty. For a group that doesn't even know what humans are, they sure do judge a fair bit of their appearances by how basically human they look. There are Reasons, but that's all before Bortz's time. As far as they're concerned, this is just how they do things and they have no desire to rebel against the group.

The powder does not come off easily with rubbing alone. It's meant to last without frequent reapplication, after all. Water would make it easier. That small patch does slowly begin to thin with the concentrated attention, though, and a hint of black starts to show through the layer of powder.]

Someone said it sounds like makeup. That women may be able to just purchase it here.

[They need to think beyond just this mission and this world, of course. But they're trying to be helpful.]

[grunehexe]

[It certainly is a stubborn substance, this powder, but she wants as pure a sample as possible, so she doesn't resort to water, instead continuing to rub with a focused determination, tongue sticking out the side of her mouth as she keeps working.]

Well, it seems to serve the same purpose as makeup, in a sense, but... I have never seen a makeup this good at sticking to such a surface, I am not sure you could purchase it.

[The makeup she's familiar with would surely leave residue or ruboff on his clothing, smear where garments were worn...

But she doubles her efforts and keeps it up until there is a small circle of black exposed, after which she encourages him to turn his arm slightly and allow her to rub an equally small spot on the exact opposite side of the one she's already made.]

[abortz]

[They move with the quiet encouragements easily, like they're well-used to being manhandled in this manner. At least this girl doesn't have to wear gloves just to touch them without risking damage to herself. There are strange, subtle benefits to being so soft.]

Rutile makes it from the berries of a flower that blooms in the early fall. The berries are most abundant when it's hot, so the others gather the berries mid to late summer.

[Even once the opposite surface is cleared, it's basically impossible to see straight through it without directly shining a light through the spot or something. They've always been one of the more opaque gems due to their polycrystalline structure. But It's almost transparent, in a way similar to cloudy water. And there's nothing to be seen but that same material all the way through, no bones or veins or muscles or any kind.]

[grunehexe]

[Berries, hmm... she is definitely going to have to focus on organics, but she is certainly fine with that. Most of her work came from the natural world, from herbs and the ground.]

If you could draw or describe that flower for me, it would be most useful.

[She assumes it is an alien one, if it is from a world populated by gem people, but still, might as well.

Once the two patches are cleared she carefully takes her cotton swab samples and puts them in a small case to store them, planning to examine them later. She wants to make sure there's no interference from the powder when she looks through the microscope, but she can't help but stop a moment to marvel that it seems he is truly sculpted from gem alone, with no skeletal base to speak off. She can vaguely, just vaguely, see the shadow of the movement of her fingers on the other side.

Fascinating.]

Let us get you under a microscope- one moment.

[She says microscope, but... when she pulls away and scoots back to her table, what she pulls out is what looks like a giant crystal ball. Organic, not crystal, though, the lens of a sea serpent's eye.]

[abortz]

[They nod. They are...not an artist. But they can do their best.

When she turns away and comes back with a big orb thing, however, the frown slightly, eyebrows knitting together in consternation.]

What is that?

[grunehexe]

This? It is the lens I dug out of a sea serpent’s eye in a world called Nalawi.

[While speaking she begins to set up, arranging a sort of cradle for her to set the lens in that allows for a sample (or an arm) to be placed on a plate beneath the lens.

Oh, he is not flesh, she should probably explain-]

Most creatures with eyeballs have a lens within the orb that allows for focusing on objects we see. Considering it’s biological use, it was quite fitting to convert it magically for both scrying and analysis.

[She points helpfully at her eyeball, and considering the size of the lens on her table, at least ten inches wide, the eye it had belonged to just have been huge... wait, did that mean this little girl went digging about in a beast’s eye socket to pull this out?

Yes, yes it did.]