Chromata leans back, his face white, and his blue eyes wide. "No". He stares at the much larger Talis, his breathing uneven. "No I do not". The tent actually begins to move a little with each breath.

"You're a terrible liar". Talis sticks one heavily muscled arm through the tent-flap and flicks the ball of Dust away. "Earth Dust, I take it?"

The smaller huntsman visibly relaxes, closing his eyes. "Yeah, but it's not...Standard DRS". He begins fiddling with his gauntlet, cleaning the device. "It's Semblance related". Talis shakes his head.

"Pass me the gear. I'll clean it, you talk". Talis takes his helmet off, revealing his squarish head, a thick scar running down the left side of his face. His grey-blue eyes light up as the smaller boy reluctantly hands over his gauntlets.

"Just don't open them up. That's propeitary tech". Chromata winces. "Sorry, but-"

"Nah, I get it". The big man pulls the electricity from the Dust, chucking it outside the tent. "The gravity engine is an amazing piece of tech. Personally, I have no idea how you came up with that".

"Wasn't just me". Chromata takes back the gauntlet, pulling out a rag and rubbing the metal glove. "But I'm the majority owner". He shrugs. "What is it to you?"

"...I'm a roboticist", Talis says, deadpan. "You're a Delsingh".

The bird boy stops polishing his glove, closing his eyes over an annoyed sigh. "I am a huntsman in training, and a private in the Atlesian Armed Forces. If you're trying to get a Delsingh ally to bump you up to Atlas's tech brigade, You'd be better off trying to get Aurum's romantic interest".

"The notoriously socially inept misanthrope". Talis raises one eyebrow. "Ah...So you're saying you won't help".

"Effective designs speak for themselves". Chromata says this like he's quoting someone, complete with upward pointing finger and mock upper-crust accent. "So yeah".

Talis sighs angrily. "Well, I guess it was too much to ask". He shrugs. "Ah well. I'm just gonna fix up my armor". Chromata leans over as the big guy opens up the left arm of his suit.

"Hmm...Your laser's been a bit power-heavy, yeah?" Chromata puts his gauntlets back on. The big guy freezes, and he continues. "Because your systems are pretty well-optimized from a purely mechanical standpoint, but you've got your focusing chamber too close to the main Dust holding area".

"What?" The big guy turns his head. "What are you talking about? It's never been a problem before".

"I'm guessing you rarely use fire and ice Dust, then". Chromata lifts off, sitting on Talis's shoulder. "Because your chamber here has multiple crystals, but the wear on the ice crystal would indicate that you basically just put it in". The big guy blinks, and he continues. "While mixing fire with electric can and will mitigate the bleedout of heat to a certain extent, when you've got the two opposite elements in such close proximity, there will be some bleedout if you're using one". He points at the chamber, where a tiny amount of powder sits right next to the fire crystal. "See?"

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"You know a lot about Dust". Talis blinks. "So I need an insulator if I'm going to use this combination?"

"Personally, I'd avoid using Fire and Ice in the same mechanism, unless you're using a class four insulant or have at least three feet between them". Chromata narrows his eyes. "Also, the fire crystal you have in your barrel right now has a few microcracks just along the right side. Nothing major, but enough to divert some of your heat into the barrel and reduce your efficiency". Talis gives him a surprised look. "What? I grew up in a Dust shop, and I ran the desk at ten. You pick stuff up".

Talis blinks twice, then nods respectfully. "Thanks". He removes the ice crystal, gingerly putting it into his pants pocket. "I'll keep that in mind".

for a few minutes, the two young men sit on opposite sides of the tinker silently with their weapons.

"I'm guessing you're only doing this to become an Atlas Military Engineer?" Chromata asks. Talis nods, and shuts the hatch.

"I'm trying to work". His voice tightens. "Thanks for the info, but now can you leave me alone?"

"Sheesh, fine". Chromata finishes, standing up. He turns his head back. "Freaking robot". With that, he takes off. his boots barely making a sound as he leaves the ground.

Talis slams his fist onto his muscled thigh, opening his mouth for a retort. He holds it in, turning his focus back to his armor. "I pity whoever gets that spoiled brat", he mutters to himself.

Chromata glides over to Neon and Flynt, who are standing near the west side of this improvised camp. As he nears, she waves, her red hair sticking out like a sore thumb.

"Hey, you got your wings back!" Neon comments. "Ooh, and purpley!" her gaze fixes on the slight glow from his gauntlets as he lands.

"Yeah. The robo-giant in there helped me get the Earth Dust off". Chromata sighs, rolling his shoulders and looking around the improvised camp. "So I'm back in business". He gives the two a look. "Anyone else taking lookout?"

"I'll join ya". Flynt puts a hand on his trumpet. "Someone should be on lookout". The sun begins to go down, casting a bloodred tint on the twin mountain peaks in the distance. Flynt lets out a little whistle at the sight.

The flying trainee raises his voice, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Flynt and I are gonna take first watch tonight. Anyone have a problem with that?" Most of the responses are noncomittal, and he nods.

"Aight. We'll wake someone at random in four hours", Flynt adds. "Then it's your turn". The wind begins to pick up, and the cookfire in the center of the camp, already down to coals, begins to lose its' last bit of warmth. "Stay warm, people".

Most of the camp immediately turns in, and Chromata gives Flynt an approving nod. "So, what's the plan then?"

Flynt points upward, giving the bird boy a slight smirk. "Well, you've got the best viewpoint. West side's the only way up though".

"You take the West, I'll take everywhere else?" Chromata shrugs. "Fair enough".

"Fore you go, Had a question for ya". Flynt puts a hand on Chromata's shoulder. "You grew up in a Dust shop?"

The bird boy looks down and away. "Yeah...I did. Little hole in the wall place, not far from Beacon". He smiles ruefully. "One guess who put 'em out of business".

"Schnee". Flynt shakes his head. "So that's why you've been goin' at Winter". He pats the bird boy on the back. "You ain't the only one. After this, let's grab some grub".

"Heck yeah". Chromata takes off, rising a few hundred feet into the air. The few lights in the camp just seem to emphasise how small their little group is compared to the Atlesian Tundra. The snow's not falling, and the clear night sky gives plenty of light for the bird boy to see the landscape below.

"Wait...What the heck is that?"

Including the dozens of Beowolfs prowling the tundra below, sniffing as they slowly make their way towards the encampment.