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Sure. I'm in my room on the third floor. The third door down from the stairs.

[To make it easy to find him, he gets up from bed and feels his way to the doorway, standing in the threshold, green hair a beacon that's easy to spot.]

Alright. I'll be there shortly.

[It's an easy set of directions, and even with his own caution going down the stairs, it doesn't take long at all before he spots Tox—identifiable not only thanks to his hair, but also those tattoos and the reflective arm.]

Tox, hello. Mind if I come in? [To be a little more specific about what he wants:] I'd like your opinions on a project I'm working on.

[His brow furrows a little in confusion- why would anyone want his opinion on... Anything? Usually he wouldn't trust it, but in this scenario where he's at such a disadvantage and food is scarce, the connections he makes could be the difference between life and death. At least, it feels that way to him.

So he steps aside, gesturing into the room.]

Sure. Come in.

[He follows Altius into the room, tracing his fingertips lightly along the wall to orient himself.]

What's the project?

[Altius steps in with a thank you, moving over to sit down on the nearest surface that seems best for it.]

Railings for the stairs and upper floors. I was already thinking about it before we met since my balance isn't the best either, but after that I decided I needed to actually do more than just consider it.

[He's spent too long feeling sorry for himself. It's time to do something meaningful.]

So I wanted to know if you had any thoughts about what you'd want from that sort of thing? Height or distance between supports or the like? I've already gotten some wood and set out some plans, but otherwise I'm still figuring out the details.

Oh... It's... It's kind of you to consider me.

[He seems genuinely surprised by that, and needs to sort of push aside his feelings about it to address the question.]

Um, well... Probably about waist high? [He puts a hand up at his own waist, though realizes other people have different heights...] Or higher. And, uh, for the floors... Well, my cane mostly helps me pick up on stuff at ground-level, so if there was a sort of... Barrier on the floor, or at least some tactile indicator of nearing the edge, that would be helpful.

[Tox may not see his smile, but perhaps he'll be able to hear the hint of friendliness in his voice.]

It's only practical to consider our collective needs, hm? If I'm going to bother trying to do something about it.

[There's the sound of some shuffling as Altius pulls out his makeshift notebook and pencil, jotting down some brief notes as he speaks. Somewhere between their waist heights would probably be reasonable, and Tox looks about the same height as Dante, so that should be easy to measure...]

Ah, perhaps a lower cross bar of sorts... yes, that makes sense. [He's sure he's seen a few of those, even if the specifics escape him.]

[He does hear the smile, a little. It creates a different tone, one Seb hasn't heard in Altius' voice as of yet. He feels a little warm; it's possible his face is pinkening.]

Honestly didn't... Really expect anyone to give a shit.

[He huffs an awkward exhale that could maybe be considered some sort of laugh, sheepish and self-deprecating. His hands hug his elbows as he leans back against the wall, facing Altius.]

Maybe I should be more clear... A piece of wood or something lying directly on the floor, along the whole edge of the cliff, would be best for the cane, because it trails along the floor to detect obstacles. And I definitely want it to detect that ledge early, before I'm stepping out over it and only have railing to catch me.

A few of us here may surprise you, then.

[It reminds him a little of a girl he met in another world, cynical despite her age, asking him why he cared when nobody else did. He told her this: somebody has to.

With more scratching as he writes,]

Of course. Placing that more towards the inside, do you think? On the opposite sides of the cliffs and edges, rather than between supports.

Maybe.

[People haven't exactly been tripping over themselves to get close to him or help him, which is fair when he's as standoffish and awkward as he is. Ultimately, though, it boils down to a lack of self-worth, which has gotten a lot worse as of late.

He hears Altius writing, clearly putting a lot of thought into this. That's... Oddly heartening.]

Yeah. A little bit inside, to give me warning the edge is near, and then I can reach out for the rail with my hand.

[Altius hums to let his acknowledgement be known, then pauses and looks up, gauging Tox for a moment as he tries to visualize it. But perhaps that's not necessary?]

Would you mind holding your cane out for me as if you were going to use it, so I can get the best idea of how to measure things?

Oh, yeah, that would make more sense, wouldn't it...

[Duh... He's trying to describe something he could just demonstrate.]

I just have to... Find it.

[He's been trying to assign each of his belongings to a designated spot and memorize those spots, and always keep them there when they aren't in his hands, but sometimes he forgets, or it's too hard to keep track. The cane is usually kept leaned against the side of his bed, so he wanders over that way, feeling for the edge of the stone platform. It takes him a minute, but he finds it.

He grabs the cane and walks a few paces away from his stone bed, then faces it again, holding the cane out so it traces the ground in front of him, moving his wrist so that it makes big sweeping motions back and forth. After a couple of steps, the tip of it hits the edge of the bed, and he holds it there as he steps closer, the cane becoming more perpendicular to the ground as he does. Once he gets close to the bed, he traces the tip of the cane along the edge where it meets the floor, then lifts it to trail the tip up along the side of the bed to "see" how tall it is. He swings it around to tap against the short end of the bed to "see" how wide and what shape it is.]

So that's sort of... The idea. As soon as it stops against a protrusion in the floor, [He shoves the cane-tip back into the corner where the stone platform meets the floor,] I know there's an obstacle there. And if I'm in the hallways, I would know that obstacle is probably the ledge.

[Altius thinks to offer to hand it to Tox, but... ultimately he remains silent, seeing that he's moving and working towards it himself. It's clear he's still working on it, but Altius won't deprive the other man from the safe opportunity to get more accustomed to his circumstances.

Living in such a diverse city as he does, this is of course far from the first time he's seen the use of a cane, but he hadn't exactly committed the sight to memory, so the demonstration is indeed useful. There are many things Altius may not excel at, but he has a decent eye for spacial dimensions without direct measurement, so he's able to jot a few more notes down for this project and as considerations for another time.]

I understand. Thank you, sir. [He's managing to regain some of his usual manners; he considers that a success.] Somewhat related... what's the sensation like in that arm of yours?

[Sir? Tox furrows his brow, wondering if Altius is mocking him. His self-esteem is sub-basement low, and he has trouble reading people sometimes, especially now, so he's genuinely not sure.]

It's... [Still distracted by the honorific for a moment, he grasps his metal forearm to focus on the question.] Duller than my real arm, but still not bad. I can feel touch and pain, and a little bit of heat and cold.

... Why do you ask?

[Hopefully his neutral tone will eventually lead Tox to believe it as the form of respect it was meant, but there's only so much Altius can do in terms of reassurance. Don't mind him; he's just from the American South, though he's done his best to stamp that out from his accent in favor of something seen as more refined.

He lets out a noise of interest at the answer.]

Trying to make sure my solutions will work for you, but also some curiosity, I suppose. Back home... my company's developed technology that's used in some prosthetics, but nothing quite as advanced as yours.

[It's fine. Tox is just a neglected shelter dog.]

Oh, okay. Well, it's actually not a prosthetic. It's an augment built right into my body, and it's powered by my magic.

[He does not sound particularly proud of it. It's just something he has to live with.]

Hm...

[He'd still call it a prosthesis of sorts, since it's more or less replacing what he'd expect to naturally be there, but...]

I suppose nothing in my world is advanced enough to have necessitated a different definition, [he concedes.] Magic is common where you're from?

[He shrugs. His people call them Augments, but they also have a lot of weird lingo because they're God's Specialest Soldiers or whatever.]

Yeah. At least, in my community underground. Not so much on the surface.

Cultivated, is it?

[Living underground certainly creates problems better solved through supernatural means, if you ask him. All he's been able to do in this damned place is put up a few lights and beat away one or two murderous worms until they got tired of slashing him up. He can't entirely keep his envy from his voice when he continues, though there's no anger in it.]

It seems relatively common here to have magical abilities, though some I've seen are more specific about what they call it. [It's all magic to him.] Another similarity between this place and your home, hm?

[There's not much way for him to know what this man means by "cultivated", but it's a pretty accurate word for what his commune does.]

Mm. Produced.

[Less grown, more forced, created. Like him. He's treated like a machine, not a person.]

Yeah, I guess so. [He shrugs. He clocks something weird in Altius' tone but he's not quite sure what it is.] Does your world have magic?

[It seems Tox has an even more complicated relationship with magic than Zekarion does, which is impressive. He makes a mental note to himself to tread with care.

His answer is his usual one, though—and it comes out as "naturally" as most of his practiced lies, for how much he's repeated it in these places. Thankfully, his experience here and in Aldrip means he no longer has to pretend to be surprised by it.]

Not to my knowledge. I've had to consider the possibility thanks to the whole "separate worlds" situation, but all the forces and energy I've heard of in mine are referred to in scientific terms.

[It's not like he understands molecular physics, honestly, so it might as well be magic in some senses. How would anyone define where the line is...?]

I wonder what it would be like, occasionally.

Huh.

[Juno was the same, not even able to fathom some of the magic Seb embodied and told her of. Same with her father.]

Maybe magic exists, but you haven't discovered it or found a way to access it.

[It's hard for him to imagine it simply not existing.]

But, not sure I could tell you. I don't know what it's like not to be magic. It sucks sometimes, though.

I have my doubts I'll ever see it there for myself, but perhaps.

[Altius is supposed to be an open-minded sort, after all. There's no point in denying something as possible when you've already seen it happen in front of you, unique as their circumstances may be.

More interesting is Tox's displeasure with his own. With sympathy, he replies,]

I have gotten that impression at times... but what makes you say that in particular? If it's alright to ask.

[He shrugs.]

My magic is that my body can produce and manipulate poison... I've definitely hurt people by accident, especially when I was younger and didn't know how to control it yet.

[He frowns. Not fun to recall.]

[He hums as his first response, appropriately low to express his understanding and displeasure at the thought.]

I can only imagine... [His Gem's magic hadn't been the harmful sort, nor inclined towards any loss of control, but his pact later... he did have some difficulty with, at the start. And he was well into his adulthood at that point.] Is it—a sort that's specific to you? Or is it something that you could find remedies for?

[Though it's a natural progression of Altius's concerns for both Tox and those around him, the question is a practical one for Zekarion's purposes, too—paranoid and always preparing for whatever counters he can get his hands on.]

[His brow furrows, and he would be squinting if he had eyes. He doesn't quite understand the question.]

Specific? I mean... I can make a variety of alcohols, acids, sedative and irritant gasses... Some have antidotes, like how a base neutralizes an acid, but not all.

[Like ricin... But that takes a long time to produce and is hard to access, so he couldn't really hurt someone by accident with it.]

The remedy is for me to stay in control. Which I'm good at now, so no one here is in danger.

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