[she doesn't seem to mind. once he's closer, he can hear the quiet chugging of a steam engine in her chest. she's also stupidly warm. not burny, but maybe a bit uncomfortable.]
Yeah. Infernal, actually, but close enough. Careful. Don't burn yourself.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Yeah. Infernal, actually, but close enough. Careful. Don't burn yourself.
no subject
[it's a timely warning, because he was absolutely about to reach out; mathis quickly draws his hand back.]
May I ask... why? Were, um, were you made with one? Or is it more like a... a modification?
no subject
Modification. [she says, finally.] I wasn't born with it.
no subject
[well. he feels like the pause to work out her answer says something, giving his head a little shake.]
I-I'm sorry.
no subject
It's alright. I'm still alive, right? So, not so bad.
no subject
[then again, so is becoming a reliver, isn't it? and so many people do it, and are fine.]
no subject
or maybe he does! either way, her tail waves slowly back and forth behind her.]
Worst part is it gives me the sweats something awful. [she jokes.] I've had ten years to figure it out.
no subject
[that's a pretty long time, actually.]
Oh, b-but maybe you could, um... build a personal fan?
no subject
What, for the engine? It'd melt clean off.
no subject
[what if it just melted while she was carrying it!!]
no subject
Oh. Right. I wouldn't want to risk it. I'm pretty cool right now, but sometimes I burst into flames.
no subject
[his head whips right back up to look at her, shocked, but he doesn't back away or anything.]
D-does that... hurt you?
no subject
Nope. Flame resistant.
no subject
Is that from the engine, too?
no subject
Either way, it'd be a shit engine if it caught on fire and killed the person it was sitting in, right? They made it work.
no subject
[so that's the name for it, maybe...]
Y-you have a point, though, I... guess it would be hard to live with it for ten years if it were like that...
no subject
[amused.]