"Uh-huh," Artman clucks, checking his measurements. "then the first pin should go, here." placing a finger on Mavens side, calling to his tools with a puff of warm Pneuma energy. The magic power lifting the little items off the table and towards the bench next to him where Maven squirms on the table, being only barely dressed in a sleeveless thin gown.

Maven gives a shrill gasp as the cold metal pierces her skin and tickles the flesh below. "Oh, I hate these things." she grumbles. "Why so I let you play pin cushion with me?" bearing it in spirit, but flinching in body.

Artman sighs "Good, I missed the blood vessel." he sighs, "Now, do you remember how these little things work?" he asks, looking up at her, Maven bobs her head meekly "Yes, something about, bringing the energies inside the body to the surface so you can, see them better I think."

Artman smiles again, holding her hand as he places the next pin "Yes, they do, its because they're ever so slightly more conductive than the tissues which the body uses, like tiny lightning rods, pulling in the energy and dispersing it into the air. Last time, we did this, you were laying down and I was observing the various impulses you body naturally produced, breathing, heart beats, small movements and twitches." he explains as he sets the pins into her her skin, whole face grimacing as he goes.

"Be brave my dear, your the one who demanded progress." Artman reassures her as he sets the next pin.

"Good, now when I've gotten all of these set, I'll ask you to move around, just simple movements. Watching the reactions you nerves have should be informative on where my earlier designs fell apart." He pauses before setting the sharp point into her pale flesh, noticing her trembling.

"What is it? Cold?" He asks her, Maven, brave girl she is, shakes her head. "Just nerves." She quibbles, trying not cringe too hard or let it show. Artman set his needles and tools aside, a sigh forming in his chest, but not escaping. "Just breathe Maven, just take a moment and breath." His hand laying gently on her arm, stroking and tracing simple patterns into her skin. After a few moments, Mavens emotions settled and her body relaxed, tension melting slightly as she let out a few hesitating breaths. "Better?"

"Better." She replied, calmly bracing as he placed and slid another metal spike into her. Artman expelled a sigh as he finished. "Alright, that should be enough for now. I guess we'll just map the arms for now." He conceded looking over Maven's skin, pin pricked by some many tiny little needles like some many gangly hairs or little sprouts poking up from her pale skin.

Artman grabbed his drawing pad, and shifted on his stool. "Now, just, move your arm around, lets see how it the energy changes and flows. If I can get this right, we might have a solution to our Wooden man's smoking problem." the simple joke eliciting a slight giggle from Maven, her hand reaching up to brush his cheek. The strange energy prickling across her skin and into the open air adding a fuzzy quality to her simple touch as the thermal fluid of her life force touching Artman's skin directly.

"I can feel the difference already," Artman murmurs, " It looks like the pathways, oh I hadn't seen that before in the stills."

"What is it?" Maven recoils her hand in fear slightly, "What do you see?"

Artman shakes himself from his fascination to cup her hand in his, studying the veins beneath her delicate skin. "I should've seen this before, its like missing the forest for the tree's. or trying to direct an orchestra with stuffed ears." Probing the dancing life energies before him, absorbing every detail he can before racing to his note pad and scribbling furiously.

"of course Música Humana, why wouldn't it be tuned, like a million little strings vibrating each to a different note responding to different actions. Not all parts are made as identical thus requiring there own impulses to operate..." His head surfaces from behind his pad gasping for air in astonishment. "Then the brain must be, the conductor? no that would be in violation of the- or maybe its the spine?" academic babbling stemming from him like the mouth of a river as he sputters, starts and then continues to examine the energies dredged up by the needles speckling Mavens arms and shoulders, the lady in question bending to accommodate his probing's, pulling her hands above her head as he examines her back.

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"Maven you won't believe what's going through my mind right now, I feel almost divinely inspired." Artman excitedly declares, his fingers racing up and down her back, as Maven growing swiftly annoyed.

"Why no dear, I wouldn't, in fact I don't believe most of what you say at all." a sharp gasp escaping her as his finger grazes a particularly ticklish spot.

"Careful you beast!" she cries out, jerking away from him, and agitating the needles along her should cuff in the process. She cries out in pain as one of the needle bends, driven deeper into her, drawing crimson blood to the surface. The tension from the pain causes her whole body to clench, further aggravating the condition. "Arty!" calling to the absentminded magician in her predicament, Artman finally breaks from the spell of his studies and comes around to dress her wounds, removing the slim metal pieces of metal as he presses a handkerchief to stem the bleeding.

"I'm sorry Maven, I got lost in myself, and you." He adds trying to salvage an air of tender familiarity. Maven, quite cross scoffs with disregard for his charms at this point. " You are the only man I know, that can look at a woman and see only the parts she's made of." She replies tersely, Artman flinches slightly "I feel Like I ought to be bleeding from that." trying to recover playfully.

Artman begins to remove the other needles from Maven's other side and setting them down, Maven squirming slightly as he pulls them free, leaving a red freckles across her arms as she crossed them, trying to rub away the stinging sensation left behind by their scientific examinations. Artman placed his hands on Maven's pricked skin and let out a warm sigh, the energy of his own body seeping into the minor wounds and cuts, sealing and repairing the skin while soothing the nerves. the effect was immediate as Maven let out a slight coo of relief.

"Ohh, Arty, that feels almost worth it." She exhaled, pleased to tease her magician attendant. "but I think perhaps it's not enough." playful tones turning with inclination. "Could you touch my shoulder with those, warm hands of yours?" pleasantly demanding as she leaned into Artman just a bit, provoking his amused grin.

"Sure Maven," He answered, rolling his eyes slightly as he began work on her shoulders. Using his limited knowledge of these powers to ease the wounds left behind by so many little bites from the sharp metals. In impetuous fashion he ran a thumb across her shoulder blades, tailing along the edges till her reached her spine. Warm fingers making her gasp then coo as the felt and stumbled along, his head dipping lower to her neck to gently kiss her with the same energy. Maven laughed and lightly slapped his nose. "Naughty boy. Who said you could do that?"

Artman pulled back, and thought to whisper something in her ear, a sweet nothing of poetry or some silly rhyme to fan her mood into affection. But she stood to her feet and slowly pulled away from his grasp, teasingly, stepping across the workshop floor to retrieve her clothes. Dressing herself slowly as the slipped over her body in a deliberately slow manner.

"Dinner?" Artman offered, an appeal to her senses in exchange for favor. Maven crooked her neck for a moment as if considering it. Then after a long pause, gave a smile approving smile and said "If you pay for it," Artmans' face twisted in deliberation for a moment as she chuckled to herself. "I'll buy the dessert." And thus a bargain was struck between them as they went out, Maven enjoying the magicians boyish stumbles as he escorted her, just as much as she enjoyed the gentle strength in his arms as they walked. Even if he'd begun to babble again about his work, but it amused her to seem him so. Honest and careful, she would nod along to his brilliant ravings, but knew all the details were arranged perfectly within his mind.

It made her hate herself just a little more, even as he beamed a pure affection towards her. But she just kept smiling, hoping that all of their work would be worth the discomfort. The gold would be enough to keep herself company, she thought, and yet her heart failed to believe. Not when it was so warm here, and trouble so distant in this moment.