4 Ymiden 717
The mutant boy's confusion and distress was understandable. It was not the persecution because he was different, such an experience is too common in Etzos to make anyone special because of it; nor was it because of the way he had nearly been exploited in the auction because of those differences. In the night before after the aukari snuck the boy into his home and allowed him his rest, he had already conducted a preliminary examination of his new acquisition. The alchemist after all only attended for new materials to make use of with no intention of rescuing anyone out of the kindness of his heart. It was only by Moseke's grace that the aukari rescued the mutant child at all; it was a spontaneous act at best as a result of what F'mos discovered.
But it was his subsequent discoveries as a result of the examination he conducted after the boy was brought back which he was concerned with. As far as he could tell, there was nothing of the boy he could use for materials and he was not going to butcher the boy even if the mutations he had could be valuable to any alchemist. The boy's skin was a mix of fur and scales somehow and F'mos' inexperience showed when he could only go as far as determine the scales and fur grew from within the boy's skin; stuck in place and possibly painful if F'mos chose to extract those for materials. It just was not worth it.
There were also claws which grew out of his fingers and despite his inadequacies as a medic, F'mos was sure he had not mistaken the boy's fingernails for something else. The claws were not only large, but hard as rock as well. He briefly reconsidered his position on the mutant plague in Etzos. If these were weapons, why should he not treat the boy like a threat just as he would any other clawed beast? Deciding it was too early to make such a conclusion, F'mos instead studied the claws somemore. Even if they were large and hard, they were not sharp so they probably were not for weapons. Just what were they?
With even more peculiarities to the mutant the boy had become more than just a curiosity to the aukari. The most terrible thing he felt, was the boy's eyes were stuck shut. He tried to get them open but could not without an opening where it should be. It was a futile attempt which he gave up on after a bit; the eyes were either sealed shut or grown over. Sealed would be a better condition he felt. At least that left the boy a chance to unseal them, a better alternative to going under the knife. Not too concerned with the boy's condition, his eyes being sealed shut was still better to the alchemist. Something had to cause the seal and it could be used; an organic adhesive would open up the options F'mos had in the creation of his alchemical designs.
Perhaps there was a reason to all of the changes? F'mos suspected as much once he moved on to the examination of the mutant's ears and nose. The ears at least reminded him of some changes he experienced from time to time. If the boy's ears functioned the same as he believed, there was at least one test the alchemist was sure of he could use to confirm his suspicions; though it would not do much to satisfy his need for materials. As long as that was confirmed, he could logically move on to the conclusion that the boy's nose was also enhanced somehow although he would still have to determine how. The perfect explanation for why the mutations could seal the boy's eyes shut, though the other changes would still be a mystery.
"So... what changed?" he asked when the boy finally woke.
He hoped it would not have happened but it was expected there would be some sort of a reaction from the boy. At that moment it was the child's violent stumble out of the bed towards F'mos and he had to tell him to "shhhhhhhhhh!" He did not need Lizzie coming in to check on the noise and discovering the freak in the house. That would be troublesome for him to explain and whatever response she might have to the discovery would certainly be unfavorable to him. The aukari was sure it would either end in the Black Guards finally raiding his home or the mutant becoming a new member of the household. He was not going to have either in his home.
When the boy finally composed himself, F'mos asked the question again but this time with the assurance that "I have nothing against mutants and I don't want to hurt you." That much at least was true or the alchemist would have butchered the boy already. With the boy still unconvinced, F'mos simply repeated all the discoveries he had from his examinations; the scales and fur, the claws, the eyes, the ears and the nose as well as what he could and could not do with them. "Did I miss anything?" No? Great. "So tell me, what changed? How do you feel? What can you do?" he asked although it might have been too much too soon. The child looked like he was about to cry.
'Shit...'
His cries brought in the one person he did not want to enter the room and she immediately started to demand answers from the aukari. Fortunately for him there was already the perfect excuse he had given the political climate in Etzos especially when it came to the mutants which plagued it. "I found him, some iltha had him chained up and were hitting him and stuff. I just took him from them. He's just a kid and he ain't harmful..." he explained with Lizzie still unconvinced. Child or not, the mutant had scales, fur and big claws. The stuff of nightmares for any other child his age and even if she was older, Lizzie was still a part of that group.
At least the boy stopped crying. What else could he believe in other than the explanation the aukari had for him? Lizzie may be tougher but not impossible, convinced after he said "kid's the only one talking. The other mutants growl like animals." Then the thought came to him. He had to stop treating the boy like a mutant. In the first step of humanizing him for Lizzie he asked "kid, you have a name?" It did the trick and even made the boy more open to answering the questions F'mos had for him. Everything about himself in Etzos, his parents who threw him off into the auction for quick coin and of course the most important changes he underwent after his visit to Downtrodden.
Lizzie was at a loss for words and ashamed about the way she had been so judgmental towards the boy just because of his appearance. F'mos on the other hand could only express it as "that's very interesting, Swain."
Swain's story was so sad that Lizzie wanted him to be well taken care of in his home but F'mos had an immediate "No!- I mean, everyone in Etzos wants mutants dead. Its not safe here" he said which is no lie; it would not be safe for an aukari who wished to lay low to be harbouring one of the mutants. To make sure there were no arguments from either of them, he quickly added "I know some people who can keep someone like him safe. Vehemiska don't care about what the other people think" which was no lie either though F'mos could not be sure if they would accept the mutant or sell him off for easy money. From what Swain told him however, he was sure they could be convinced to keep him. All the aukari had to do was sell the idea.
It was only Swain with him in the next trial, early in the morning when the people will be too groggy to notice anything to meet the people he spoke with. Lizzie wanted to attend as well, to make sure the mutant boy would be treated right but quickly dropped the idea after a hurt F'mos asked "haven't I been taking care of you after I took you in? Ina'vas íaf vispä!" The aukari would have had to reconsider his adoption of the girl if his accusation had no effect, beneficial or not but as that did not become a concern he could focus fully on dealing with the Swain problem he picked up.
As he suspected, the people at the Curly Hare did not care about the mutant boy being brought in; nor were they against a room to keep Swain in while F'mos waits for his man in the Fence. He could have asked Raellen, she was high enough in the Fence that she would be able to help him with his Swain problem without any trouble but the aukari could not trust her. He had seen her torture a man which pretty much is all he needed to know about her morals and, he also knew she was an accomplished poisoner as she had completed the recipes of one he thought he had already mastered. If she believed Swain may make good materials for her own craft, F'mos was sure she would have no qualms getting them the same way he did for the poor mutant boy.
Which was the reason why he decided to approach Big Franko instead. The man and his crew were the first F'mos had a job with for the Fence and he trusted the man, as far as someone could trust anyone in the organization of thieves, to be able to do right by Swain. Even if F'mos had not known the man personally, he still would have been the likeliest prospect for him to approach as over the seasons, the aukari was able to familiarize himself with the man's reputation.
When Big Franko arrived, there was nothing but warm greetings shared between the two. The man thought F'mos wanted another score and was about to offer one which needed a lookout of the aukari's capabilities but he was stopped right there. "I need a favour," and those F'mos knew, did not come easy in the Fence. While Big Franko sympathized with the problems Swain had experienced because of his changes, he was also aware having a mutant as a part of his crew would be too much heat for them. "But what if you're not just protecting him? What if his changes are something you can use?" the aukari asked. That got the man's attention, for the moment.
F'mos went step by step with the results of his discovery, his suspicions from it and the questions Swain confirmed himself. "I know you Franko and I know you love a loyal helper. Swain can do a lot. You train him, he becomes a lookout better than me. Train him a little more and I suspect he could dig into anywhere." Those were valuable mutations for any thief, although they would have to live with the physical deformities as well. Neither F'mos nor Big Franko actually envied the boy but those qualities helped sweeten the deal which Big Franko accepted, after a few other details were discussed first of course.
Most important among them, "don't let Raellen find out about Swain, or have him alone. Can you promise me that?"
