[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.
[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.
[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?
[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 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.
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 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.
[And here Altius was just assuming he had his own personal venom, like some kind of species of humanoid snake? Except with magic? Perhaps it wasn't the most cohesive of thoughts anyway, but shame on him for attempting to make things make sense based on his knowledge...
He murmurs a somewhat intrigued huh.
... actually, it sounds almost like a Gem's power. Hadn't he broken one with the aspect of poison or something similar before? He shifts his mindset to that.]
I was only curious if there'd been methods on hand to help you as you learned, but that is a broad spectrum. Your help would be a dream to any of my chemists...
[Ah. Wait a minute.]
Actually. You may be far better than "not a danger."
[It's not you, Altius, the magic doesn't make sense. It's vibes-based, don't overthink it.]
Your chemists?
[This man runs a lab?]
What... Do you mean? [Somehow there's both wariness and hope in his tone. He wants to be good. But he doesn't want to be used by yet another older man.]
[What do you think magical jewels created by concepts given consciousness work off of? Physics? Pshaw.]
My company develops medical technology, so we have a sizable research department.
[So, in a manner of speaking he does.]
I can think of a medical use for nearly everything you listed. Sterilization, purification, anesthetics... Many medicines are poisons in highly specific doses, or mixed in particular ways.
[He scratches the back of his neck, his brow furrowing for a moment with the realization.]
... Kind of stupid that I never thought of that, huh?
[Not really. He was born to be a weapon, not a healer, so it was not brought up to him even once. He learned for himself to make alcohol to sterilize his own wounds when they wouldn't help him with treating it, but even then, he didn't need it much since his body is a difficult place for bacteria to live. On account of all the toxins infused in it.]
I'm more surprised no one else has brought it up to you.
[Surely even those trying to use or imprison the man would put him to work producing useful chemicals...? It sounds like plain stupidity to him, but his tone remains mild and he keeps that particular type of thought to himself.]
Either way, I'm happy I did. We are limited in what supplies we have here, and with who knows what dangers we might face, every little bit counts.
I was bred to be an assassin. Healing wasn't a big priority in our militia, and I guess it was seen as beneath my station.
[Why spend a bunch of time and money healing a gravely injured soldier when you could just breed a better one? He shrugs, and it's clear from his tone that this isn't how he feels about it, just what was expected of him.
He then nods with a cautious enthusiasm.]
I'd like to help. I guess I can be a one-man pharmacy. [He smiles wryly. He wants desperately to be of use, though he's still careful of the potential to be used.]
[It's too bad that Tox can't see the shift in Altius's expression when he admits he was bred for killing, adding a different side to the word produced mentioned earlier that's far more unpleasant than what he'd initially been thinking.
Which is strange of him, really. That he wouldn't know better after all this time, all these different horrific worlds. He should be expecting the worst, thinks he is, and then somehow he's still taken by surprise.
He lets out a disgruntled hum, equally dismissive of the idea that the prospect of healing others is somehow lesser.]
Unlike the place you were raised, you'd have the gratitude of a great number of people if you did, here, myself included—but tell me about how this magic works for you. It must tire you out eventually?
[The gratitude of a great number of people. Those words give him a little rush, almost making him dizzy for a few seconds. He's become so low in his sense of self-worth that it's almost impossible to imagine someone being grateful for him. He thinks that perhaps he needs that, needs it desperately, any kind of positive interaction, any hint that he is of use to anyone. He does his best to hide that desperation. Instead of making any comment or outward reaction other than a subtle change in his breathing, he hums in thought about Altius' question.]
Think of it like... Sweating, but you can control your sweat consciously, and the sweat is literally poison. If you exercise and sweat too much, you get dehydrated and your chemistry falls out of balance. It's like that. It tires me eventually, but it's not a big deal, and I highly doubt our demand would outpace my supply.
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no subject
Date: 2026-04-04 05:12 am (UTC)From:[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.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-04 07:42 pm (UTC)From: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?
no subject
Date: 2026-04-04 10:53 pm (UTC)From:[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.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 01:27 am (UTC)From: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?
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 02:13 am (UTC)From: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?
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Date: 2026-04-05 02:30 am (UTC)From: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.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 02:49 am (UTC)From: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.]
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 02:54 am (UTC)From:[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?
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Date: 2026-04-05 03:14 am (UTC)From:Yeah. At least, in my community underground. Not so much on the surface.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 03:45 am (UTC)From:[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?
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 05:44 am (UTC)From: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?
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 06:30 pm (UTC)From: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.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 09:53 pm (UTC)From:[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.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-06 01:02 am (UTC)From:[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.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-07 05:05 am (UTC)From: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.]
no subject
Date: 2026-04-08 12:19 am (UTC)From: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.]
no subject
Date: 2026-04-08 02:20 am (UTC)From: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.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-08 04:06 am (UTC)From:He murmurs a somewhat intrigued huh.
... actually, it sounds almost like a Gem's power. Hadn't he broken one with the aspect of poison or something similar before? He shifts his mindset to that.]
I was only curious if there'd been methods on hand to help you as you learned, but that is a broad spectrum. Your help would be a dream to any of my chemists...
[Ah. Wait a minute.]
Actually. You may be far better than "not a danger."
no subject
Date: 2026-04-08 04:23 am (UTC)From:Your chemists?
[This man runs a lab?]
What... Do you mean? [Somehow there's both wariness and hope in his tone. He wants to be good. But he doesn't want to be used by yet another older man.]
no subject
Date: 2026-04-08 04:37 am (UTC)From:My company develops medical technology, so we have a sizable research department.
[So, in a manner of speaking he does.]
I can think of a medical use for nearly everything you listed. Sterilization, purification, anesthetics... Many medicines are poisons in highly specific doses, or mixed in particular ways.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-08 04:46 am (UTC)From:[He scratches the back of his neck, his brow furrowing for a moment with the realization.]
... Kind of stupid that I never thought of that, huh?
[Not really. He was born to be a weapon, not a healer, so it was not brought up to him even once. He learned for himself to make alcohol to sterilize his own wounds when they wouldn't help him with treating it, but even then, he didn't need it much since his body is a difficult place for bacteria to live. On account of all the toxins infused in it.]
no subject
Date: 2026-04-09 12:38 am (UTC)From:[Surely even those trying to use or imprison the man would put him to work producing useful chemicals...? It sounds like plain stupidity to him, but his tone remains mild and he keeps that particular type of thought to himself.]
Either way, I'm happy I did. We are limited in what supplies we have here, and with who knows what dangers we might face, every little bit counts.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-09 01:33 am (UTC)From:[Why spend a bunch of time and money healing a gravely injured soldier when you could just breed a better one? He shrugs, and it's clear from his tone that this isn't how he feels about it, just what was expected of him.
He then nods with a cautious enthusiasm.]
I'd like to help. I guess I can be a one-man pharmacy. [He smiles wryly. He wants desperately to be of use, though he's still careful of the potential to be used.]
no subject
Date: 2026-04-09 04:18 am (UTC)From:Which is strange of him, really. That he wouldn't know better after all this time, all these different horrific worlds. He should be expecting the worst, thinks he is, and then somehow he's still taken by surprise.
He lets out a disgruntled hum, equally dismissive of the idea that the prospect of healing others is somehow lesser.]
Unlike the place you were raised, you'd have the gratitude of a great number of people if you did, here, myself included—but tell me about how this magic works for you. It must tire you out eventually?
achievement unlocked: make altius hate everything somehow more
Date: 2026-04-09 04:39 am (UTC)From:Think of it like... Sweating, but you can control your sweat consciously, and the sweat is literally poison. If you exercise and sweat too much, you get dehydrated and your chemistry falls out of balance. It's like that. It tires me eventually, but it's not a big deal, and I highly doubt our demand would outpace my supply.
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