Private Tales Exacting Standards

[Amos]

Vel Zaphris

Amos smiled at himself as he ever so gently placed the last piece of the arcane engine back into place.

It was still not functioning...quite right, but the last explosion had been half as dangerous as the last. A result which any man of science would have called a success. Not that the buildings fire marshall had exactly been thrilled by that argument. He would have to ask Kaeden to speak with the man, or perhaps reach out to the Luana's.

Though he would hate them to think he would only write to them for money.

A frown touched his lips for a brief moment. "I must write to them."

Amos said, verbalizing the reminder as he reached up and gently removed the goggles from his head. Dark eyes surveilled the golden coppery block of metal before him, and then after a moment he nodded to himself. Work for the day was nearly done. The test yesterday, after it's volatile end, had meant most of today had simply been rebuilding.

That meant all that was left was introducing the new intern to the engine itself. She was supposed to have already arrived, but seemed to have been rather late. Something he supposed he was glad for, given that he had only finished rebuilding the engine half a minute ago.

A cough racked his throat, and Amos shook his head.

"You were always late in the first year." He said to himself absently, reminded of when he had first wandered the great halls of Vel Zaphris. It had been the first year his illness had come to him, and the fatigue had wearied him in his journeys from class to class. Amos had no idea if this intern had any issue herself, but in the long run it wouldn't matter much to him. As long as she did the work.

 

[Lucinda]

Late? Late!!? Lucy was l-a-t-e!

It was her first day and she was late.

How? She woke up early. She prepared her clothes the night before. Her books were packed in the bag she carried with her. The same bag which housed a handful of her little ‘knick-knacks’ as her guardian used to call them.

The only other thing she needed to do before she showed up was eat something. Something..something…OH! There was a little stall in the city that Lucy frequented. Every morning for the past few months, she was there. Fruits and bread with butter. The same thing everyday. But for some reason today was different. Evan, the man who ran the stand was refusing her service. And Lucy was being held back by some passerby as she screamed at him.

He said the prices have been going up. Couldn’t afford to give her the discount anymore.

“Yeah? Well fuck you too!” After several minutes of heated arguments, she had chosen to end it by spitting at the man and throwing her handful of coins in his direction. Whatever. She had bigger fish to fry now. She’d spent so much time trying to haggle and now she was late.

Amos would be alerted by the door being thrown open suddenly and the blue-haired panting woman entering. “I am sorry-” she paused to take a breath. “I got…lost.” Her eyes locked onto the stone floor.

“I am Lucinda. You can call me Lucy. I’m the..um..intern.”

Amos

 

[Amos]

A burst of energy rushed through the door. The slip of a girl so thin that Amos was nearly staring into a reflection of himself.

Bewildered for a brief few seconds, Amos slowly pulled himself up from the stool that he had perched himself on. He smiled and then shook his head. "Please, think nothing of it."

Amos said with a wave of his hand.

"I was late for most of my first year. These halls can be rather confusing." He offered her a warm smile, and then slowly hobbled towards them. "Welcome, Lucy, I am Amo-"

Before he could finish the young researcher began to cough. His chest wracking and his lungs straining as he half doubled over, pulling out a small handkerchief to cover his mouth. A few seconds later the fit seemed over, and he looked up at Lucy. "Apologies, an affliction I've been dealing with. Not contagious, I assure you."

He continued.

"I am Amos, It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Kaeden is out gathering supplies, but I'll be showing you around today." As ardgeous as that might become. "Before we begin, if I may ask? What made you decide to join us? There's many programs at the University which are less...ridiculed."

Many at the university still thought what Amos and Kaeden were doing as utterly ridiculous.

 

[Lucinda]

Lucinda maintained a rigid posture after her apology which lasted only until Amos shook his head, comparing his own years to her late entrance. She sighed loudly and relaxed, perhaps a little too obviously. Her guardian had reprimanded her often lax demeanor around authority. Or was it lazy? No, no. She certainly was anything but, but she could see how someone else perceived her mannerisms in that way.

Noticing the limp, she made an attempt to lessen the distance between the two and shake his hand, but before she could he doubled over in a coughing fit. She hopped backward in disgust, dodging the little flecks of spit flying her way.

As Amos began to speak once again a small mechanical figurine, one of her knick-knacks tumbled from her bag and onto the floor with all of the sudden movements its owner had made. The half-alligator-half-clock, affectionately named Jonx made a beeline towards the sickly man.

What made you decide to join us?

Lucinda, with her eyes locked on the tiny alligator, began to speak. She had actually given this question thought before. Her reasons weren’t something she was truly willing to share, however. Motives? Slightly less than wholesome…er…legal? She didn’t know. Whatever. Either way, she had only known Amos for a few minutes and that was not enough time to determine if he would be cool.

Jonx crept another few feet forward and Lucy dove forward onto the ground between his legs to grab it before it caused any more issues. Curious little thing.

“Everything else was full.” She stated bluntly, looking up at Amos as she did so. Securing Jonx, she continued with her own question. “So...what makes your program so ‘ridiculed’?”

Amos

 

[Amos]

Amos watched the little contraption fall from her pocket, his gaze sweeping along it's path as slowly it marched towards him. He briefly looked up towards Lucinda, wondering if she would-

Yep.

The girl dove forward, catching the strange little contraption before it could bite off his foot. He let out a small chuckle as she looked up at him, offering the 'truth' of why she was here. His head shook, and he turned away from her. "An excellent reason, really."

The scientist said, taking a deep breath and walking over towards one of the large workbenches in the corner of the room.

"We are ridiculed because many people believe that what we are doing has no point." Amos explained. "Or rather, they think it is pointless."

Quickly Amos began to look over the cabinets nearby, searching for something clearly. After a moment he opened one, retrieving what appeared to be a small metallic cube. It fit neatly in his hand, and he pulled back a part of the cube to reveal an open slot.

"Our work is...theoretical, to say the least." Much of what they had created worked, but right now things were still...experimental.

"But we are making progress!" Amos declared, setting out towards another cabinet. This one containing dozens of small glowing crystals. "In a few months time, perhaps we will be able to show some of our work has staying power."