2017-03-23: Kalve Lends a Hand (Or Three)
- Log: Kalve Lends a Hand (Or Three)
- Cast: Zed, Kalve, Gwen Whitlock, Ida Everstead-Rey
- Where: Silver Coast
- Date: 3/23/2017
- Summary: As Gwen worries over the true identity of her unique ARM, Zed brings in his researcher friend Kalve, who has an unorthodox way of examining things. Thankfully, with Ida there, things should be okay, right?
===============================<* Silver Coast *>=============================== The Silver Coast is the name given to the northeastern coastline of Ignas. The origins of the name are lost to history, but residents of the area tend to assume it reflects either the famous white-sand beaches northeast of Lacour, or the region's distance from the desertification slowly spreading out from the continent's heart. The Coast and its surrounding territories are claimed by the Kingdom of Lacour, and contain a wide assortment of biomes, from plains to rocky hills and mountains to rolling beaches. Major roads between Lacour and its next two largest settlements - the Port City of Hilton and the Academy City of Linga - are heavily patrolled by the kingdom's soldiers, and are generally safe. The hinterlands, however, are plagued by monsters of all types; researchers in Linga can find a variety of uses for the body parts of monsters, and do a brisk trade with Adventurers seeking to protect the population and make a little coin to boot. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYbFnoRSW6M
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
SKETCHY CAMPFIRE LABS ARE THE BEST KIND OF LABS.
Just as promised, Zed had come for Gwen Whitlock. It's not really all that obvious how he knew she'd be going the way she was (he didn't) nor is it clear how he arranged to be in the same place at the same time (dumb luck) but regardless of all other factors, she was somewhere, and then Zed was there too.
And now, after a short trek, they are no longer where they were... but where they are.
That being, a makeshift traveller's camp set up in the cozy cover of a secluded forest. The bonfire still smolders with a scant smattering of embers, but that's not why he's here. No... He's here... Because he's looking for someone.
"KAAALVE," Zed calls, "I brought... The PACKAGE."
Zed's a courier, too! Kind of! That's a thing they have in common! Almost!
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
The traveller's camp is pretty neat, all in all. Brush has been cleared a ways from the fire in an even (almost perfect, but it'd be hard to tell) circle. There's a bucket of water nearby, space for people to sleep, and... a... table?
Workbench, actually. It's made of fitted pieces, assembled like a complicated jigsaw puzzle in pegs and wedges where the legs meet the top of the bench. It's smooth, and the top looks like it's been carefully burned. There's no evidence it was dragged here, but... here it is. Big, solid, and presently occupied by a smaller chunk of wood.
"Package?" Kalve is presently bent over the workbench. There are stools in the same utilitarian puzzle-piece style as the bench itself, but he's standing. He's using what looks like a hot stylus to burn something into the surface of the smaller chunk. Slab, really. Tablet? Either way, he's preoccupied. "Which package?"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
It wasn't too hard to find Gwen, admittedly. Zed has encountered her along this road before, so, it stands to reason that she'd use this path once again. However, this time, her cart carries something other than packages- specifically, a sleeping blonde haired man, covered in bright blankets with motifs common to fabric of the Badlands area. Leaving a note for the man (who she introduced in whispers as 'Mister Balderdash, Jr') Gwen follows the green-haired man into the wilderness.
Hearing herself being introduced as 'the package', Gwen pales for a second, then waves awkwardly. "... I think he's... joking around. Because I'm a courier, y'see..."
Right. "You must be Mr. Zed's friend? He, uh, wanted me to see you over some issues. Some concerns, really? But probably not. Definite not. Probably won't be any problems at all, really, so I may just, uh..." She looks at the table, momentarily distracted. "Oh hey, how'd you get this here? Pretty nifty table y'got there."
Oh god, she's going to be put on that and bisected alive, isn't she
She looks to Zed nervously. "This'll be a quick deal, right...?"
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Kalve! Your memory suffers from too much smoke! Remember? The girl with the arm that is also an ARM?" Somehow there's a difference in how he's saying those words, because you can tell that one is definitely an acronym for something. Zed steps behind Gwen with a grin and a skip in his step and firmly puts his hands on her shoulders, "Yes, yes. Very quick. Just a twist and a flick of the wrist, it'll all be just fine!"
"Kalve," Zed says to his BEST BOSOM BUDDY, "This is Gwen! She has an ARM, and her heart is also an ARM. Gwen, this is Kalve. His fashion sense is as excellent as his technical skills. Are you awed at his poncho? So many people have been, so far!"
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida did not sleep well last night, even with the prayer-taper to light her room. She was awake for most of it, feeling small and helpless and generally worrying herself sick about the fate of a young woman who doesn't understand what she's gotten herself into. The prayers didn't work. The meditation didn't work. The only thing keeping her animated right now is the coffee she had before setting out this morning. She's been scouring the greater Adlehyde Basin for two people in particular--two people who could potentially help save Sephilia from a monster. She does not have any lead to go on, but she's going to try.
The sight of smoke from a nearby road is odd--but after hours of searching, Ida has found no sign of Alisha or Sorey, and even the slim chance it could be them is enough to keep her going. The sun is dying, and the shadows are lengthening. The tree branches look like taloned, grasping hands. The smell of smoke is everywhere.
From the campfire, it looks like a single, grey-cloaked figure stumbling towards the camp. That cloak--it's not another scout here to provide intelligence, is it? No, it's Ida, and she stops at the edge of the camp, her expression somewhere between disappointment and relief and concern. What the hell did she just stumble across?
"Zed?" Ida says. She blinks, blearily, not quite comprehending what she's seeing. She has tried to camouflage her dark eye circles and generally sallow complexion with makeup, and this has not been successful.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"Oh," Kalve remarks, "that package. There are several. I was uncertain which you meant." Zed could've stumbled upon the Objective Glowy. He's done weirder things.
Kalve puts the stylus down. He straightens, then inclines his head towards Gwen. "Good day. Gwen. You have nothing to fear here." He gestures at the stool on the opposite side of the inexplicable table. "Please, have a seat. I will not take up any more of your time than necessary." Which means she's going to get bisected really, really fast, probably.
"I was hoping for an opportunity to examine your ARM. I am an ARMs Meister of some skill, as Zed may have neglected to mention, though my proper laboratory is very far from here. That combined with some of the superstitions about ARMs in these parts leads to..." Kalve gestures at the camp. "...this."
A pause. "Do you like it? I made it when we setup camp. I required a place to work, and there were materials at hand already. It was an interesting puzzle, attaching the supports without seperate fasteners."
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Hark though, what is this approaching from the east? What foul vagrant stumbles upon the den of quicksilver evil!?
It's...
...A lady in a hood!? WITH DARK, HOLLOW EYES!? Wait, no, it's just Ida. Ida, looking like she hadn't slept in days. Just in time, too. Kalve is distracted with Gwen, Zed is left to his own devices. This is clearly not a situation that can be allowed to stand. "What ho, traveller! You seem to have stumbled upon our camping grounds! That is indeed my name. I, Zed, and this, Kalve! And this, Gwen! And you're Ida, right?"
Zed remembers everyone's names! How wonderful!
"...What is painted all over your face?" Zed squints, leaning over to peek under Ida's hood. The concept of cosmetics seems to be lost on him-- or maybe Ida's touch-up just didn't work out at all!? "Is it... Worry? Wanderlust? Lonesomeness? What brings you to this place? Have you finally decided... To ask for an autograph!?"
(No, Zed)
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida peers blearily at Zed, who appears to be every bit as Zed as he normally is. On the bright side, this probably means Agatha didn't get her claws in him, but if she did, would Ida be able to tell? She glances over to the side, recognizing both Kalve (it's hard to mistake him for anyone else) and Gwen. "Ah, apologies, Mister Zed. I was looking for someone else, I thought they'd camped here when I saw the smoke from your campfire." She pauses a beat, and yawns. Zed comments on her makeup job mid-yawn. "I--" Ida blushes a little. "I simply had a little trouble sleeping. Don't worry, I'll be sure to take sleeping tonic tonight. If I may ask, though... what's going on?"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Nodding amiably back to the brightly-colored poncho-wearing Kalve, Gwen extends her right hand slightly, as if to offer a handshake, then thinks better of it and offers her left. Both are gloved, with very little in the way of clues to identify one arm as being different from the other. Nothing that can't be excused as simply an eye favoring one side versus another.
Whether her handshake offer is taken up on or not, Gwen moves to sit in the stool that's indicated to her, placing her hands in her lap. W-well, at least she's sitting up... "W-well, there's more things to worry about than just that with my ARM," Gwen admits with a nervous grin. "Though I guess that's why we're here? I appreciate the location, really, since it means there's not as much of a chance of-"
.... people coming by. It's someone she knows, at any rate. Someone who already knows about her arm, no less! .... Ida got a peek at it, anyway. "Ms. Ida," Gwen says with a confused blink. "Hey, you okay? You look like you're having the world's worst hangover or somethin'." She looks to Zed, then to Kalve, then back to Ida before nodding. "I'm just getting my ARM tuned up," she says, waving her left hand. "You kinda got a glimpse of it, so, uh, it's not like it's a secret, right? I'm just having Mr. Kalve here take a look at things. Just... don't tell anyone about this stuff, okay? I mean, yeah, it's gonna get out eventually among Drifters, but, you get why I'm askin' this to be a secret, right?"
She's already taking off the glove for Kalve's sake, displaying the metallic hand for him to examine. "Don't try anything funny- I can feel things with this hand, so any poking means I go ouch." Kalve may see that the metal material extends past the cuff of her wrist- there's more. A lot more.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed is rarely ever not upbeat. If Zed is so sad or so mad that he can't muster even an ounce of his manic energy, then something is dreadfully, painfully wrong with the world. Fortunately, NOTHING LIKE THAT HAS HAPPENED YET, RIGHT!? "A little trouble sleeping? Well that won't do! You must sleep properly! I recommend a good pillow and a glass of milk before bed. But why is it that you were kept up so? Hmm? Were you..."
Zed squints, then leans in conspiratorially, "Was it... The dream demons?"
...Are those even a thing??
Maybe in Zed's head.
He leans back, gesturing over in Gwen's general direction. "Yeah! Do keep this a secret, please! It is... Very important, yes? Very, very important."
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
Kalve takes the extended hand. He's wearing gauntlets, or armored gloves, or something of the sort, but they seem to be soft on the palm. His grip is firm, and he looks her in the eye. It's a little odd, actually; the entire motion feels precisely measured. Careful, almost.
Ida stumbles-slash-wanders in. Kalve blinks. "Hello, Ida," he calls, "are you well?" He speaks with a certain familiarity, there; they must be acquainted, at least, especially if he's foregoing an honorific. "No, this is our camp. Would you like a seat?" He moves the stool near his side of the workbench around with one hand.
Back to Gwen, then. Kalve nods. He looks down at her hand -- a metallic one. "...hnh." He exhales, staring at it for a long moment. Kalve takes her metal hand in both of his, gently running his fingers along her palm and wrist. He applies some pressure with a finger, testing it, watching it. He straightens one of her fingers, slowly, without really thinking about mentioning discomfort or asking about any. If this is what he thinks it is... this could change everything.
"May I see the rest of it?" Kalve lifts his head, looking her in the face, expression serious. "And, tell me about this. Please. It is... it could be important."
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida blinks. "We need to discuss it, Zed," she says, stepping around and past him. "But not now. Just--don't accept any more commissions from that Agatha woman, do you understand?" Kalve and Gwen are addressing her. She looks completely unsurprised--and more than a little embarrassed--to see Gwen's obviously artificial limb. "Of course I'll keep it secret," Ida says. She walks closer, offers Kalve a weary but genuine smile, and takes the offered seat. "Insomnia. It's quite a bother sometimes, isn't it?" She scoots the stool a bit closer to Kalve, and leans in a little as he gets to work. She looks at the horizon again, where the sun is slowly sinking. She can feel the air growing colder.
"I don't want to impose, Kalve," she says, "but would you be so gracious as to allow me to stay tonight? The roads have been dangerous, and it's almost nightfall." Zed would of course say ABSOLUTELY, FAIR LADY, but she's not asking him.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Blue grey eyes nervously regard Kalve's gaze, even as Gwen attempts to keep up her end of the handshake. For the record, Gwen's left hand feels... no different than one would expect, from a human wearing a thick leather glove.
Now sitting at the table, Gwen flicks her eyes back to Ida's face, then down to the surface of the table. It may be a good thing Ida's here, even if she's met the young woman only a few times.
The hand reacts like any human's- straightening, stretching, and providing the reflexive feedback and resistance a human hand would. It's just that the surface is not that of human flesh, even if Gwen's face proves that her hand is reacting to his examination like it is. It's not purely metal, either, as one would expect of a prosthesis. Something in the palm feels like there's some moving parts there, the 'skin' gaining a different feel in the center. Gwen, for the most part, stays still.
If worst came to worst, she could just punch everyone and run away, right? *Would* she do be willing to do that? What's the line she's willing to draw in the sand?
Certainly not here, where it's obvious that she's only showing Kalve a part of her entire arm. "Err... sure." Carefully, Gwen undoes the button on her blouse's sleeve, pushing the cuff up as far as the sleeve will allow before pinning it in place with the sleeve garter there, revealing most of her arm. Here, it's more obvious that the 'ARM' is set into whatever the rest of the 'arm' is, though in a way that would be impossible with human anatomy without extensive adjustments. It doesn't seem like it's simply been attached on, like an arm of a toy figurine attached to another.
It looks like it belongs there, on Gwen's body. Like Gwen grew it herself, even if, if Kalve is nosy enough to poke further up to her shoulder, it's not.
She's quiet at first, letting Ida's concerns be heard first. Whatever Ida's worried about, it's something a lot more time-sensitive.
It takes a while before Gwen finally speaks. "... I can't really lie here; the truth's weird enough as it is." Her left hand goes to rub at the back of her neck. "My Aunti- er, Aunt Frea installed it." Her voice grows distant as she recounts. "I, um, lost my real arm when I was five." She stumbles over the word 'real' as she says it. 'Real', s if this arm didn't feel like it was that same arm coming back to her. Synchronization is a strange beast. "It was a house fire. Doctor was forced to amputate it. My aunt isn't my real auntie- she adopted me when she found that an ARM she excavated tried to sync with me. It kinda sounds mean when I say it like that, but, she's the reason I'm still alive right now. She installed the ARM the way that she did when we later found out my heart was givin' out. The ARM keeps my heart going. It's why I can't take it off."
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Of course Zed is A-OK with you staying the night here! He says as much! "I'm A-OK with you staying the night here! Do not worry, we'll keep you safe from whatever night-terrors might be stalking you. Although... What's wrong with this... Agatha, again? Aside from being a bit of a snob and not doing any work herself and all the other things?" What other things? How much was Zed paying attention during that adventure, anyway? Hmmmm.
Zed crosses his arms as Kalve's procedure continues apace. Gwen finally explains... Well, maybe not EVERYTHING. But why she has the arm she does. Why her heart is the way it is. But something doesn't seem right. Synchronization of that level shouldn't-- can humans even DO that? "...So your heart's just a heart? It's just... Your ARM's keeping it beating?" Zed blinks over at Kalve, looking altogether confused-- but for a reason that the other Metal Demon could probably appreciate, for once.
After all, this is... Something extraordinary.
"Kalve, is that... A thing, even? That's some pretty amazing synchronization, isn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"...it is," Kalve agrees. He looks to Ida for a moment. "You may, though I do not think the accomodations will be to your liking. I can, at least, guarantee your safety until morning, and provide an escort back to a settlement." Not too much trouble on his part at least. He's pretty sure that Zed would expect nothing less, besides.
He's examining that arm, now, focusing on it. His attention is wholly engrossed in it. He stares at it with a sort of focus that would be unnerving if you've never seen a particularly obsessive ARM Meister go to work. It still might be. Gwen pulls up her sleeve, and he moves his hands up her arm in a way that would be inappropriate if it wasn't metal and the source of his examination. Still, he's clinical about it, a... fascinated doctor, of sorts.
"That's astounding synchronization," Kalve murmurs to Zed. "Synchronization of that magnitude normally requires..." He shakes his head slowly, not finishing the thought, mind racing. "I did not think human beings capable of it. The biosphere's interference shouldn't allow that level of integration. But this..." His hands go higher, moving up her rolled sleeve. He's looking for where it stops being metal. "...this could change everything."
Kalve stops suddenly, then moves his hands back. He takes her by the wrist and holds it against the workbench with a firm grip. "Please hold still. This is a delicate process, and I must confirm my suspicions. I do not wish to damage you inadvertantly." His voice is calm, as soothing as he's able to make it. He raises both hands, making a pinching motion in the air between them. There's a flicker of white, a glow of yellow light from the palms of his gauntlets. He pulls them apart, and then moves the odd motes of luminescence towards her arm. Except he's... still holding her arm. But that's two hands right there, in plain sight...
...which is where the third comes in. An armature of segmented metal has snaked out from underneath his poncho, holding her still with a three-fingered hand, or maybe pincer, or... claw? It's blunt, more some kind of mechanical grip, but it's hard to tell... and it isn't clear what it's connected to. Kalve seems too distracted to clarify.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Somehow, Zed completely missed the fact that Agatha was radiating creepy like a bonfire radiates heat. This is at once disappointing and completely unsurprising. "I'll explain later," Ida says. Not now, when it feels like she could be watching from any and every shadow. Somewhere safer, where there's more people around.
"Freya," Ida murmurs. She recognizes the name, though it takes her a bit to come up with an answer to why. Oh, that person Dr. Bridges had that tirade about, that day when the department was meeting at the pub for drinks. Ha ha, wasn't that funny how he said all those mean things about her being a woman? "She seems like a charitable soul," Ida says, aloud. "And I've heard her name, yes." She looks at Kalve, who seems to be behaving himself. It's just like a visit to the physician, nothing unseemly at all. "And if she can do that with--" It looks so seamless, Ida thinks. "Did she modify it from its original form?"
Ida has been known to get engrossed in her work from time to time, so Kalve's deepening interest is of no concern--at least at first. Biosphere? That's a term she swears she's heard, but she can't recall the context, much less the meaning. "I admit I've never seen one implemented as a prosthesis before," Ida says, "but if the situation was as desperate as Gwen made it sound..." The alternative, of course, would be 'let a child die', and who would do that?
Ida notices the armature. She stares at it a moment, as if unsure as to whether or not it is real, or her sleep-fogged brain playing tricks on her again. "Is that, ah, another tool, Kalve?" Ida says. She's still staring at it.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
It's not that Zed missed that Agatha is SUPER CREEPY, it's that his scale for 'is creepy' is heavily skewed by his close association with friendly faces whose names start with 'Al' and end with 'hazred.' There's creepy, in Zed's world, and then there's 'oh no uncle Al is getting that horrible look in his eye again and what is that machine and why is it menacing with needles oh god my mechaspleen.'
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
It's not that Zed missed that Agatha is SUPER CREEPY, it's that his scale for 'is creepy' is heavily skewed by his close association with friendly faces whose names start with 'Al' and end with 'hazred.' There's creepy, in Zed's world, and then there's 'oh no uncle Al is getting that horrible look in his eye again and what is that machine and why is it menacing with needles oh god my mechaspleen.'
This is why it's mildly concerning when Kalve gets a similar look in his eye and starts ranting about biospheres and things that even Zed can tell are Probably Not To Be Discussed Around Muggles. "Uh. Kalve--"
T-there's the horrible snakey arm. One of the many. "Kalve. Kalve calm down friend--"
He looks to Ida, then to Gwen, then back at the Octolimb then chuckles. He laughs! "Oh! Oh yes, that's perfectly safe. It's... Part of one of Kalve's ARMs! He has quite a few, but this one is... A scientific one! It doubles as a tool, to help him repair and analyze other ARMs! It's just that he hides it under his poncho... To keep his true powers a secret from those who would be jealous of his skills, you see!"
"So do not fret. This is perfectly normal!"
(No it's not)
(Or, it is, but only to Zed)
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
At Zed's question, Gwen waves her hands quickly. "W-well, I mean, it doesn't replace my heart or anything. Auntie explained it once- kinda went over my head? It kinda, like, makes it keep beating the way it's supposed to. Before, my heart would just be unable to pump the way it should. Something like that. With electricity. The part of the ARM that goes over here," she begins, patting the area where her heart is, "just makes sure it does that. I mean, I guess if my ARM just stopped working for some reason, I wouldn't die right then. I'd just... kinda go back to where I was. Which was really scary."
Gwen's freckled face grows pale as Kalve feels her metallic arm with his hands, pressing her lips into an oddly quiet frown. His manner is purely scientific, if excited. Still, she allows for it, her eyes drifting downwards. Just imagine it like Auntie Frea was there, making sure everything was working, telling her to exercise it out, grow to accept it as her own... The oddly worried woman, who looked on Gwen's surgical scars with an element of silent melancholy to her expression, even when Gwen assured her that, compared to the other scars she had, these ones would just blend in.
And like that, Kalve stops. Gwen releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding until that moment.
She does squeak when Kalve's zeal drives him to press her wrist against the workbench. 'Please hold still', he says, in a way that makes it clear to Gwen that something very painful could potentially happen.Luckily enough for everyone, Gwen just shuts her eyes closed, frozen in place.
It's enough to fool Zed, and possibly even Kalve on sight alone, but further? His examinations will not lie.
It's not an arm of a Metal Demon. It's an ARM, synchronized on a level that is, while specific, very notable. It can shoot, and its effects on the heart are due to electricity, a process that allows it to be used as a weapon as well. It's no wonder Zed was confused- it just doesn't happen normally.
Gwen may be the first they've encountered that has displayed this, but is she truly the first, or the only one? "... C-can I open my eyes now...?" Her voice is a scratchy whisper.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"Dire is one thing, but the seamless union present here is..." He lacks the words. Unprecedented, surely. Impossible? Impossible is an appropriate term. If this is what he thinks it is, it could mean that his efforts aren't going to waste. He could show this to Alhazred, to the Knights. They would have to let him expand his work. He could --
He finishes. Kalve closes his right hand and opens his left like he was holding a book one-handed. Something like a yellow translucent page appears in it. He reads the text that scrolls down it. It's fuzzed out from the other side, unable to be read even backwards. His expression changes, the intensity lessening and his focus turning to a slight frown. He seems sort of... disappointed?
"Mm? Oh. Yes." Kalve's extra arm folds up, slipping back under the poncho silently. "You can move again. I apologize for the inconvenience." He glances at Ida, then Zed, then Ida again, looking a little embarrassed. "Ah... yes. It is part of another ARM. Useful for having an extra, ah, hand, if you will pardon the choice of terms. Very flexible as a tool. Very useful. I cannot take it off, however, so..." Kalve glances at the loud, concealing poncho.
He puts his fingers on the workbench, leaning slightly on it. Kalve takes a breath, and then exhales slowly, centering himself. "It is not a Metal Demon's arm. It is an example of excellent engineering and, due to the high degree of synchronization, resembles one at first glance. I recommend you continue concealing it all the same."
"The ARM itself is not fully synchronized," Kalve adds. "It may develop further functions, or you may gain greater control over it. The degree to which it is integrated into your body makes it dangerous to perform any experimentation, however. I further recommend caution."
His eyes find Gwen's. "It is a potential weak point to be exploited, should the wrong people discover what it means to you."
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida has seen that strange gauntlet in operation before. It seems like it has more sophisticated uses than just creating copies of simple objects--like that page. Ida squints at it, but finds that she can't make out the text, and besides, she's got to keep an eye on her friend's enthusiasm. And also the bizarre armature, which Kalve explains. "Is it attached?" Ida says, before immediately correcting herself. "Not--not to pry, I like to think we're friends, but there are some things that are a bit too intimate at this stage, and, ah." It does explain why he wanted to check Gwen out, though there is still the tiny matter of why he decided making an ARM he can't take off or hide was the proper course of action.
"Really, though, if you will allow me a bit of envy, I wish I'd had metal arms when Claude was instructing me last week." Ida laughs at her own attempt to lighten the mood. "I don't think potential suitors would approve--" Pause. Ida realizes she might've just undone what she was trying to do, and clasps Gwen's shoulder, firmly. "No offense intended to either of you. I am certain both of you will find the right person in due time."
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
It's... NOT a Metal Demon ARM!?
Well, that's just disappointing!
Zed shares in his buddypal's deflated sense of excitement with a sigh and a pouty scuffing of his foot against the cold, cruel earth. Filgaia, so full of sadness. "Aw. I was hoping it was something more exciting than that," Zed complains, as if the revelation that Gwen had some kind of EVIL ARM that she would need to KEEP SEALED lest its DARK POWER OVERTAKE HER.
Zed... Is a little bit of a chuuni, is what we're saying.
(Just a little bit)
"But if it's not Metal Demon, then what is it?" Zed cants his head just a little bit towards his friendpadre. "Kalve, you have any clue? Can... Can the people of today even make something anywhere near that nice?"
Beat.
"Wait. Wait wait wait. What's wrong with having metal arms!? Are you saying metal arms aren't attractive? Because I--" Zed points! "Have it on good authority, that metal can be MAGNETIC."
"That means it attracts! Other metal! Sometimes!"
(Zed... may be missing the point here)
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
'Mm? Oh. Yes.' Gwen opens one eye, then the other, to look upon Kalve and Zed's... disappointed faces? Wait, does that mean bad news? Gwen holds her breath.
Just what sort of giant monster will she turn into? Will Zed still be her friend, at the very least? He did say he thought being a monster was awesome. Or something like that. Surely he'd be a friend to a monster.
That held breath gets quickly expelled when Kalve speaks. "You thought it was a Metal Demon arm?!" Gwen's voice rockets up a few notches in key as she nearly falls off her stool. "I-I mean, it's great that it isn't, but that was a possibility I was kinda really trying not to think about!"
Slumping down to drape her shoulders and head against the table, Gwen mumbles, "No worries, that part was something I knew from the start..." Then, eventually, she raises. "I think Auntie Frea dated it to about the Metal Demon War period? It was excavated, so... I kinda doubt it." She looks to Kalve, wondering if he'd differ in his answer. "... But yeah." Gwen's expression grows oddly sober. "Zed only found out about it because he surprised me. If he hadn't... we wouldn't be here, for one. But the fact that it's doing that... I mean, I guess I never thought about it before."
Finding Kalve's gaze with her own, Gwen slowly nods. "It's why I live the life I do. But... all the same, I don't regret that I have it. If I didn't, I'd have no chance at carving my own future."
.... Even if it may not involve suitors. "A-ah..." Gwen's expression falls. "I-I think that part was kinda doomed when I lost my arm in the first place! But really, I'm a girl married to her job, anyway. What sorta suitor'd deal with that?" Looking at Zed as he also protests, the courier begins to laugh. "It's okay, Mr. Zed! Really! I'm used to having an arm that isn't what people expect. But it really makes me feel good that you're trying to cheer me up that way." She reaches over, with her ungloved right arm, to pat Zed on the shoulder.
"... Feels good to have the glove off, though. Can't feel worth a damn through those gloves..."