[FIN] Mechanical Solutions [Sera]

[Dark]

Hadyn suppressed a wince; of course the bird would take him for all he was worth. And while he was able to pay whatever the man asked--a mother who counterfeited as a hobby, and his brief but lucrative internship as a high-class burglar had left him with no small sum of funds--it still chafed to be taken advantage of for such a ridiculous sum of money. Still, better to accept it than argue. Having his arm replaced was of far greater importance than something so easily replaceable as money.

So full of themselves, Corvies, and paranoid about their work to boot; if he ever did need repairs, though, better to go to someone who knew how it was supposed to work to begin with, he supposed. But did Corvies ever truly know what they were doing? Still.

"Agreed," Hadyn sighed, "I'll see you in three days."

[seraaches]

Owen had actually gotten a great deal of work done in the three days since Hadyn's first visit. When he opened the door to the Card's knock, he gestured brusquely for the man to follow him. Walking past the front room proved that it had finally been cleaned, but Owen didn't even glance in there. He led the way to his first lab. This was mostly bare but for his various implements and, resting on a large metal table, a mass of work that could be recognized as an arm with only a little bit of squinting.

"This is your prototype. I'll do the fitting today, but I won't give you a completed work without full payment for the metal and half of the work fees paid. Sit on the table." Everything was explained swiftly and tersely. "This will have basic capabilities. Wot all do you want it to be able to do?" As soon as Hadyn was on the table, the sparrow would immediately begin fitting the piece of equipment to his arm, a process that was likely to be uncomfortable at the very least.

[Dark]

Hadyn allowed himself to be bustled along, situating himself on the table as directed. Owen was a shrewd business man it would seem, but since Hadyn wanted to encourage continued progress he set out the money specified without too much of a fuss--he'd suspected Owen might demand something to that effect, and had brought the money along so to not afford delays.

"How functional can you design it? Balance is a large factor, though basic motor functions would be highly desirable--the finer tuned you can make them, the better." Hadyn considered the other possibilities, and somewhat hesitantly brought up something that had been nagging at the back on his mind: "And what of shifting forms? I don't want to be locked in one form forever, but I don't imagine mechanics alone would enable a smooth transition."

Somewhere along the way, some manner of enchantment was going to have to take place, and Hadyn wondered how Owen would react to having his precious machinery tainted by magic.

[seraaches]

"I can do anything your little mind can imagine," the sparrow sniffed, obviously insulted by Hadyn's lack of confidence. The idea, however, had merit and the Diamond began to mutter quietly under his breath, discussing and discarding ideas to attempt the idea Hadyn had presented.

The prototype was heavy, actually, and it would take quite a bit of strength to lift it up off of the table, not that Owen wanted Hadyn to do that anyway. The Corvie would be snapping directions to lean one way or the other and finally stepped back to glare at his work.

"No, this is still too bulky. When I re-cast it in my alloy, I'll be able to streamline the casing, and if I make it in, let me think, small squares, perhaps, I could get it to seamlessly reconnect... Yes, I have an idea." He turned his dour look on the Card. "Your new functionality is going to be much more advanced. Therefore, it will cost you a lot more." His new price was easily three times the original quote. "You'll also be required to pay for the mats. Some of this work is going to be very delicate, and I'll need very high quality materials to be certain everything will run smoothly."

Despite what it may or may not seem like to Hadyn, Owen actually wasn't taking him for a ride. If the sparrow had been any less interested in the project, the cost would have been astronomically rather than just enormous, as it was now.

[Dark]

Hadyn resisted rolling his eyes--Corvies were so full of themselves, sometimes--but didn't argue with the man. It was only his pride; no big deal. (In some ways, learning to deal with Jin had left him much more equipped to deal with the world at large; he was finally learning to pick his battles).

"That's fine," Hadyn agreed. If Owen thought he could pull off the parameters Hadyn had outlined, he had no problem paying the extra sum; it was no sweat off his back, and even if it actually was, the price was well worth increased functionality.

He shuddered to think of being bound to one form; better to remain cripple, or at the very least wait until he found the trick of bipedal. Better altogether if Owen could live up to his promises and create a replacement limb that could shift with him.

[seraaches]

So far this odd-looking Card was proving to be a far better experiment than Owen had originally hoped. He looked the type to cause problems, but that was something Owen would not gladly suffer. And when Owen was unhappy, he made sure anyone around him was equally or more unhappy.

For now, Owen was content, and he made a series of adjustments, to the piece, pulling out a schematic and grabbing a pencil to jot down a few notes. It didn't seem long to Owen, but this whole process might be terribly boring.

The bird muttered under his breath a few times, talking about functionality, materials, and other technical terms Hadyn wouldn't have any reason to know. The Diamond kept the man there-- and still, any attempts to move would result in a snappish sarcasm demanding Hadyn remain still-- for nearly an hour before he finally nodded. He gently removed the prototype, careful to not dislodge any of his modifications to the piece. "Come back in three days for the next set of adjustments."

After that dismissal, Owen seemed to forget the Card was even there.

[Dark]

And so they fell into a pattern, Hadyn visiting the Corvistownian scientist every few days--for awhile every day, then every two, three; once a whole week went by--to sit in place for a several excruciatingly boring hours while Owen fussed over the design, fitting and prodding, and repeatedly telling Hadyn not to move when he so much as thought of fidgeting.

A month passed. And then two, and Hadyn began to wonder if it would ever end.

When he had decided to go this route, Hadyn hadn't stopped to think about the amount of time and commitment the project would demand to see it through to the end; he'd known on some level, perhaps, but he had been thinking in a time frame of days and weeks, not months.

He stepped into the avian's workspace for what felt to be the hundredth time, and moved to his designated spot on autopilot.

"Morning, Owen."

[seraaches]

It was always a bit of a toss-up to determine if the sparrow would answer; if he did, more often than not, the Mix Card received some form of snappish reply. Today was a non-answer day.

Today, actually, was a day filled with firsts. The Diamond did not just immediately go to work, instead staring thoughtfully and, perhaps darkly, at his creation. He flicked an invisible mote of dust off of the gleaming, metal surface. Only after another fifteen minutes of silent contemplation-- a rather unusual state for the man, despite his own estimation that he was a stoic, brilliant, and amazing genius-- did the Card finally begin moving.

He reverently brought the piece towards the Club, hooking it up quickly and efficiently with all of the ease of long practice.

"Test it." It was, plain and simple, a command, and, at least perhaps, a return to the usual Richard Owen.

[Dark]

The scientist had created something beyond Hadyn's expectations: it fit seamlessly into his arm, the necessary connection interface having been installed--painfully--by Owen several weeks ago, and there was no noticeable delay in reaction time; you could barely hear the whirl and grind of gear and metal. It was streamlined to perfection, and though Hadyn did not as of yet have a bipedal form to test its other function, he trusted Owen and his work enough to know it would work as advertised.

"It's brilliant," he said, and meant it.

It took some time to get out the door--fine adjustments were necessary, as well as promises to never let anyone look at the inner workings, or let anyone besides Owen attempt a repair, and the final installment to be paid--but he felt absolutely giddy by the time he'd made his escape.

Life was looking up.