2nd Metal / open spam covering the next few days

[godsays]

[ He never had thought of Mistborn powers as being an addiction, but this may force him to admit he was wrong. He craves the metals, craves the sensations that come with them. He feels as though his body has been wrapped in cotton; no longer can he distinguish the grains of wood through his fingertips, or hear the whisper of a heartbeat from a room away. He can't use lines of metal to sense movement and to chart his surroundings. Can't fall and fly. Can't lean on the emotions of those he meets. He's trapped in his skull, a prisoner of locked doors and gravity.

This is what drives him to some desperation.

There are many risks that come with seeking out metals not metallurgist-crafted. Alloys can be impure; they can be of an incorrect mixture. It's hard to flake off bits of metal. Chewing on them will only result in certain trace metals in the system, and those could be burned off easily and quickly without much benefit.

So: find him anywhere in a public area, focused on some sort of metal. Perhaps determinedly working at the tines of a fork or attempting to chew on a pipe. Licking, in an attempt to taste the composition of an alloy. (This is unsurprisingly ineffective.)

And then, at some point, he may succeed in flaking/bending off/acquiring some metal that can be swallowed. Unfortunately, alloys of incorrect percentage give him a blinding headache and leave him nauseated and down for the count. So feel free to also find him curled into a ball really wishing he hadn't just tried to do that. ]

Comments

[godsays]

[Hands it over, without comment.]

Complicated question.

Would 'I am' be enough of an answer?

[warisart]

It would be one of many, I would assume, unless you are the only one in existence.

[Ben glances up at the question, then returns his attention to the screw in his palm. He doesn't taste it, but he does study it, then lifts it so he can smell it, considering with a blank expression that, in Ben, means thoughtful.

Several moments later he offers it back.]

There is steel in it, but also something that is probably iron.

[godsays]

So there's more iron than usual.

[ Steel with high iron content is softer, and, more to the point, it isn't what Zane needs. He frowns. ]

I'm not the only one who exists. I'm the only one here.

[warisart]

Then it is an insufficient answer.

[Not harshly, just matter of fact. Ben tilts his head.]

Do you require steel?

[godsays]

I can use it.

[ He doesn't require it. It's not necessary. ]

[warisart]

[Ben is one of few people who pays careful attention to the specific wording others use; his gaze is intent.]

What would you use it for, if you had it?

[godsays]

I would burn it. For power.

[warisart]

I don't understand.

[godsays]

That's Allomancy.

[warisart]

Steel doesn't burn. It has a melting point of 1370 degrees celsius or 2500 degrees Fahrenheit and becomes a liquid without losing any mass.

I do not understand how this would transfer to any manner of power.

[He's not arguing, though he's confident in the words he's saying; he's merely curious.]

[godsays]

Not set them on fire. Burn them.

I don't know how it happens. It's instinctive. Once I swallow them, and feel them in my stomach, I know what to do.

[warisart]

Oh. [Mismatched vocabularies again, then. Ben hesitates a moment longer, wondering what else they're saying that is an entire word removed from what they mean, but there's only one way to find out.]

You have conscious control over your digestive processes?

[godsays]

[ Zane has to remember to correct that assumption. He doesn't take sustenance from metals.

A shake of his head. ]

No. It may happen in the same place, but it's different. Food is to fuel the body, metal is to fuel the powers.

[warisart]

[Abruptly, Ben understands, and it's pretty obvious: something behind his eyes clicks into place and his entire expression relaxes.

Powers.]

Allomancy is a kind of power. [Not a question, merely connecting the two concepts aloud.] You are a mutant?

[godsays]

I'm not sure what a mutant is.

[ Admitting this. ]

Someone who has a super-power?

[warisart]

The definition of a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not found in the wild type.

It seems to manifest on board the Barge as what most would call a super-power, yes.

[godsays]

Then, no.

[ As much as he can follow that, anyway. ]

Mistborn have existed for thousands of years.

[warisart]

[It's a common problem when talking to Ben; something's always lost in translation one way or the other.]

And Mistborn is what you call Allomancers?

[godsays]

Mistborn is a kind of Allomancer.

[warisart]

Am I to assume that since that is the kind you brought up, that is what you are?

[godsays]

You can assume that.

[warisart]

What is the difference?