daybreakacademy | Rex is Rex and that's what happens.

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rex arany: original

Rex is Rex and that's what happens.

🛡️ C'mon hit me, do it, aaaaaugh! 🛡️

During the battle with Asimov, Rex's shield deigned to allow him to use one of its unique functions- its ability to absorb attacks. Rex has thus begun to suspect that Blue Moon, the darkly beautiful gauntlet apparently made from some unknown type of gemstone (but in truth, made from moonlight itself), hides more secrets. So he's put out a call for as many and varied people to come and their hand at attacking him. The reinforced room is more likely to break before Blue Moon, especially considering the huge stack of various weapons he's procured. He's thorough about testing.

"Thanks for coming," Rex says with a slightly echoing voice- because he's wearing a full suit of plate mail. It's magically constructed, an application of his Phantom magic, and for purely aesthetic reasons he has chosen to make it match the huge, heavy gauntlet. If he's getting his ass kicked, he's wearing as much protection as he can. The giant pair of curved horns and artistically tattered cape he has no excuse for, he's just an edgelord.

Anyone with empathic abilities or the power to hear the voices of divine weapon spirits for one reason or other, may detect the immense smugness coming from his shield... which is probably related to the intense envy coming from the six-foot sword strapped to his back.

(( Up to you if you want it just be an attempt at shield testing or a spar to simulate real battle conditions. ))

💉 Doctor Doctor, give me the news. 💉
Ekke made Rex his medical assistant, so it's entirely Ekke's fault that Rex is in the infirmary. He should be ashamed. Rex doesn't exactly make a soothing sight as he fills a small cupboard with... Rex things. A few bottles of... stuff, in unattractive colours. A number of clearly custom tools. A blob of pink goop in a jar, which smushes towards the glass at someone approaching... Which is what alerts Rex to a visitor.

A: (for visitors)
"Hi, I'm glad you came," says Rex as he spins on his heel, putting on a bright smile. Because it's his well practised fake one, it actually looks quite pleasant to strangers- but is probably a little disturbing to those who know him. "How can I help?"

B: for staff
"Oh. Greetings," Rex says with the usual empty deadpan and gives a wave which turns into a gesture towards the cupboard. "This was empty, so..."

🚐Here in my car I feel safest of all 🚐

Rex takes impeccable care of his van. It has been his home for a long time, after all, and has taken good care of him too. It's only right. So when it developed a minor, nearly imperceptible rattle on start up of course he took the entire engine apart. He has every component lined up in size order on a white sheet, examining each one in minute detail and degreasing, oiling or otherwise maintaining it all. It's clearly going to take him all day, but he doesn't mind. Anyone who knows his habit of splitting his focus will see an uncommon laser focus in his eyes, usually only there when in the thickest of battles.

And he keeps talking to his van the whole time. Nothing elaborate, but definitely a little embarrassing to overhear- muttering 'just tell me what's wrong' or 'come on, you can tell me anything' and so on. The fact he's doing this, not in the forge or garages, but in the parking area with a pop-up workbench and rolling toolbox doesn't make it any less weird, that's for sure.

🃏 Wild Card 🃏
(( Do whatever! ))

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Rex standing at 7' 4" is nearly twice Rebecca's height; she's a mere 3' 9", herself. So, when she arrives at the infirmary as part of her own daily routine, she finds herself having to look up even more than she normally does.

When he motions toward the cupboard, she looks.

"It's fine," she answers in her usual casual tone and with a bit of a shrug. "Not like I can reach up there to mess with anything. What is all of that, anyway?"

Rex is used to looking down, though not normally quite so low. Still, he doesn’t do his usual squat for talking with kids (he’s Slavic, he’s perfectly comfortable doing so) just yet. He has more things to put in the cupboard.

“Oh you know. Medical supplies,” is the eventual answer, giving basically no information at all. “Just things to help out.”

"Figured that much," she responds, "but I mean more like what, specifically, in case we actually need any of it later."

The tools, it might be possible to guess at what they're for if she were to try getting a better look at them, but it's the bottles and jars that have her attention right now. The pink thing especially, with how it keeps pressing itself into the glass.

"Much of it is only of use to me," he dodges actually answering again, on impulse. He's so used to being a lone figure, it's his reaction to withhold anything that may be used against him later. He's cracking a little these days and decides to give more. "Most of it is my attempts to replicate Hieke's natural abilities."

Which doesn't explain the pink blob, which squidges about in the jar. It spreads against the glass for a moment before squashing down to the bottom and repeating the process a few times. Rex pays it no mind as he stacks bottles.

What little answer is given does seem to be enough, though, as Becky nods to that and doesn't question it further.

"'kay. I'll be over here if you need me to do anything."

She wanders over to the table that's been serving as a desk for her the past few months and sits there, beginning to flip through some notes. While some of those notes are pertaining to recent visitors and things she's either sat in on or helped with directly, the rest of them are for recent classes she's gotten into; she's gotten into both of Urtz's classes intending to learn some things she could put to use here.

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

Rex does keep it in mind as he stacks up more- he'll go over and give a proper introduction in a moment, when everything is squared away. Ask some questions about what her deal is (he half assumes she's meant to be there, quarter assumes she's pretending, quarter assumes she'll try to kill him when he least expects it). That's the plan at least.

The blob has other plans. It is apparently more curious than Rex, or more proactive about it anyway. It squidges against the side enough to get its jar on its side and so fluid wiggling has it roll over the edge of the table, bonking against the leg of Becky's chair.

"Hey, get back here," Rex says with a mild annoyance in his voice. His order goes unheeded. The blob is squishing against the glass closest to her.

Well, it didn't break upon landing, which is probably good.

When it rolls into Becky's chair, she gets up and crouches down to pick up the jar. She looks through the glass at the pink blob for a moment before carrying it over to him so he can put it wherever it's supposed to be, with it pushing itself into the barrier between it and her hands the entire way. She hadn't been planning on questioning it after the last sort-of-answer she was given, but since it's insisted on being noticed, she's wondering all over again.

"So, what's this thing?"

This time Rex does the opposite, and answers directly and succinctly. It's not any better.

"Human flesh," he says, and almost leaves it at that. The blob has moulded itself to match the shape of her hands across the glass, though merely as a silhouette. No bones in there. "Specifically, it's a universal grafting agent. It's a little energetic at the moment because its just had some sugar."

This is life with Rex.

"Oh!"

She's...not expecting to see Rex in the infirmary at all, and she looks at the cupboard for a moment before looking up at Rex. She scratches at the back of her head, looking a little nervous. But Rex already knows, so it's fine, she thinks.

"I heard there was a fresh arrival of blood, so...Yeah."

Upon recognising her, the smile fades- but in a good way. The fake, broad one she'd only seen before when he was pretending to be a dude bro dissolves down into a much more genuine, smaller one.

"Well, I can certainly help with that." He's not entirely sure if he's supposed to, but Rex has literally never done anything except what he wants to do. "Do you want it warmed up?"

"Do you even know where they keep the blood bags?" It's an honest question, though Adelaide isn't going to say no to blood.

At the question about whether she wants it warmed up, though, she snorts. "It's not like this is a coffee shop. You don't need to bother with that."

She'll just drink it cold, like an animal.

"I don't need to, but it won't be any trouble if you enjoy it more that way," he replies in a measured manner. Rex will pull the moon from the sky for other people's simple pleasures but don't expect him to do anything to stop himself from being worn to nothing.

He doesn't answer her question though, because the answer is self-evident when he goes to get some blood bags (more like yum bags). Naturally, he already knows what a decent meal is for her. The exact amount. "I've... actually been thinking of some meals I could make using blood. There's a lot of potential variety."

"Soooooo." Rover has practically draped themself over Rex, plastered to his back as he works on the van. They're aware they're probably in the way, but they simply don't care about that at all.

At least they're not smoking, for once.

"Are you sure you need to do this?"

"I do if I want my van to operate as optimally as possible." Rex offers no objection at all to Rover hanging on his back like a baby Koala. He just keeps working- even holding up a washer, seeing if it's dented or bent. Rotating it slowly to see it from every angle.

"Seems like overkill to me." They look at the washer, humming softly to themself as they scan it. Seems perfectly fine - not the source of the noise at all. "Have you even figured out what the noise is, yet?"

"That's what I'm attempting now." Rex reaches the same conclusion as Rover and places it back in its proper place on the sheet, picking up a bolt and giving it just as thorough an investigation. "I do not wish for further damage to arise 'For Want of a Nail.' Precious things can be lost thanks to overlooking minor details."

Kohaku stopped in the doorway, staring at Rex. She sniffed loudly and rubbed her nose.

"Are you sick too?"

Because the thought that he might actually be working here hadn't even occurred to her, yet.

"Hmm?" Rex quickly put the back of his hand on his forehead for a moment. Seeing if he was warm.

"Not that I've noticed. Do I look sick?" Rex shows just how self-aware he's grown by adding- "More than usual, I mean."

"Nnnnno I guess not, so why are you hanging out in the infirmary then?"

"Oh, I'll be assisting here from now on."

Strictly speaking, Ekkehardt said he'd call him when necessary. But Rex does whatever he wants whenever he wants and who's gonna stop him? Laws? Not likely.

"On that topic, shall we see what we can do about that sniffle of yours?"

When Emille enters the infirmary, she had been expecting to see Becky or Ekkehardt there. Instead, she sees a really tall man with jars of something goopy that she can't make out, but it doesn't phase her. When he turns to greet her, she studies him for a minute. He looks vaguely familiar...

"Yes, hello," she nods up to him, being four feet tall and all. "I was hoping that the infirmary could supply me with some ointments and bandages. I need to stock the labs."

Emille pauses for a moment, then adds, "Are you Sir Hieke, by any chance?" She's heard of Hieke, and knows that his office is in the infirmary, but she hasn't met him yet. Perhaps today is the day? ~~spoilers: it won't be~~

"Well, I can certainly help with that," he answers in a voice that is exactly what you'd expect of a titan like him, deep and gravelly. It goes some way towards the illusion he's not a 20-year-old student, but a member of the faculty. Rex strictly speaking doesn't have any such authority to hand out supplies, or even put his things in a cupboard. But he's always been a pragmatic sort that prefers results over rules.

"Hmm? No, Hieke is..." He holds one hand about Hieke's height, a gesture which would look like indicating a child on anyone else. He does this with his back turned, already getting out some items. Some of it is your standard-issue magical healing stuff, some are his own creations. "Pleasant chap. Very accommodating."

Which is how Rex says 'Hieke will do literally anything you ask of him', because within five minutes of meeting Hieke was handing over deadly poison just because Rex asked.

Emille is a little surprised to find out that this fellow who is so authoritatively stocking the infirmary, and is apparently gathering supplies for her, isn't Hieke. She could have sworn...

"I believe I saw you assisting Sir Gehring during the surgery a few days ago, so I had assumed you were one of the medical staff. Yet Miss Rebecca mentioned to me that he and Sir Hieke are the only faculty in charge of the infirmary."

Emille watches the man as he continues to procure supplies with his back turned to her. Well, if she could be faculty, then he could certainly be a student. "So you are a student medical assistant, Sir?"

"That was me, yes," he says as he finishes what he considers to be a reasonable amount of resources to give to someone who just walked in that he has no idea who they are. Now facing her properly, she can see the slightly puzzled look on his face as he tries to answer the question.

"I... suppose I'm a medical student now. I'll have to ask."

Mostly he's just been doing field medic stuff, so... he just fell into the rest of it. No one has questioned his qualifications thus far because he just does it and no one asks if you're supposed to be removing people's spines. They assume you know what you're doing.

He supposes? Looking over all of his things on display in the cabinet behind him, and the things still yet to be put away splayed on the counter, she sure hopes that he has permission to do such a thing. Oh well; it isn't her problem. Let Ekkehardt and Hieke deal with it.

The stack of supplies looks sufficient to Emille, and she figures that she'll be able to carry them in one trip if she is careful about how she distributes the supplies in her arms. Before she begins, however, she figures she should show some manners and at least introduce herself. When Emille gets something on her mind, it takes precedence until completed. If she comes off as rude, it's easy enough to smooth over most of the time.

"Thank you for gathering these supplies for me. You have been a great help." Emille dips her head in a bow towards the man. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I am Miss Emille, the new Head of Research, as well as a biology professor. I must say, Sir, you did a fantastic job with the surgery the other day. I was glad to be in attendance."

Finished with that, she begins to stack the supplies into her arms. There's a jar of some kind of light-colored sludge near the boxes of bandages that she reaches for, not having noticed if he had put it there for her or if it had already been sitting there. Picking it up, she holds the jar to the light and looks into its mysterious contents.

"Might this be a kind of healing salve?" He wouldn't be stocking anything but healing supplies, right?

"Rex. I did only what was called of me." Rex's odd relationship with his ego, in which he believes he can do anything but also believes anyone can, rears its head here. He doesn't go in for Miss, Misters, Sirs, or Lords or Lieges or even usually surnames, for that matter. So just Rex it is. "Ekkehardt did the difficult part. I just made the spine."

And the tendency for people to turn to Rex when they need something difficult constructed means she may have heard his name floating around too. He does a lot of ~~side quests~~ correcting and assisting of other people's work. When you get stuck, run it by Rex. He is interested in her position as well and plans to ask a few questions- but he's waylaid by her own question and as always, he puts others ahead of himself.

"Not quite- that one is an all-purpose antidote... or as all purposes as anything that uses the term can be." He explains as he reaches into one of the pockets of his signature, big puffy blue coat, going far deeper than an arm should be able to. A few moments of rooting, he pulls out a handful of plastic shopping bags and puts it on the table. No need for her to carry it all in her arms. "First, it requires a sample of the toxic substance, at which point it will reconfigure its atomic structure to act as a neutralising agent to render it inert."

There's a few seconds before he adds- "You could technically use it as a poison itself if you gave it someone's blood or something as a sample, but I only thought of that just now."

Helpful, very skilled, and even modest -- Emille is impressed by Rex and regrets a bit that she wasn't able to snag him as a full-time assistant in the labs. She has seen what he is capable of, however, and mentally adds herself to the list of people ready to call on Rex when such talents are needed.

"Nonsense. I saw how detailed your latticework was, and watched you assist Sir Gehring with its installation. I am sure he appreciates your work."

In her peripheral vision Emille sees the bags land on the table, but she completely ignores them as she is quite absorbed in Rex's explanation of the substance in the jar. Yeah, she really hopes he stops by the labs sometime.

"Fascinating. It is amazing how such a nondescript vial of gel is able to both heal and hurt. Would you happen to have a second jar of this antidote somewhere that I may take with me as well? It is a powerful healing item worth having on hand, and yet I am honestly more interested in using it as a component in my research." Emille's brain is churning with all of the research ideas she could test with this antidote. What she'd absolutely above all else love to do would be to inject the Dragon daemons' toxic Bloom flower pollen into the antidote and see how it reacts. Bloom sickness is a legitimate health issue, and it would be amazing to have a cure for when the Academy inevitably clashes with Dragons...

She's good at hiding it externally, but internally Emille's pulse is rising with excitement. So many possibilities! And if Rex says that he can make this stuff, then she may as well figuratively pick herself off of the floor right now from all the figurative swooning she would do.

He would have turned her down anyway- Rex isn't a full-time anything, he's got a finger in every pie there is. An advantage of sleeping once a week is an abundance of time if nothing else. He clears his throat a little awkwardly, rubbing his cheek with a finger when she insists on giving him credit where it's due- being as ghostly pale as he is, the light flush is nevertheless a searing hot red. So he welcomes the distraction of her questions.

He has a quick flashback to his first visit to the infirmary in which he casually asked for poison after he had his stress ulcer healed.

"I just finished my first trials, so still in the early testing phases, but if I approve of your experimentation I can manufacture as much as you need," he says, unaware of the internal giddiness he might be inducing. He decides to be a little more careful than Hieke- his humility is laced with self-loathing and thus someone who acts like him might be evil. "So long as you'll share the results, of course."

Emille notices Rex's face flush and in turn she feels the very slightest bit uncomfortable about making such a humble young man blush. Even so, the truth is the truth. The feeling goes away as quickly as his reddened cheeks when the subject turns back to the mysterious substance in her hand.

Her eyes widen when Rex says that he can indeed make more of this antidote. It's a good thing that he can't see past her usual slight frown, because that would be embarrassing.

"If you approve, hm? I merely wish to produce antidotes to known daemonic hazards. All of my research will be to benefit the Academy and its students." Emille's not going to mention that it's also all directed towards the complete annihilation of a breed of daemon. Well, unless someone asks her to do research on non-Dragon specimens, but they will have lesser priority. "The results will most certainly be shared with the creator of the antidote. Perhaps this is the beginning of a great endeavor, and possibly even a partnership." Emille looks confidently at Rex, hoping to win him over with her determination.

"A creator has a duty to ensure their creations are used responsibly." Rex doesn't believe in much, but he does believe in that. Sort of. He'll use anyone else's research for whatever he wants, but he knows he'd be quite upset if his inventions were used for something he didn't approve of. Not that he has especially stringent ethics, but he does have his lines. "Therefore a partnership is the logical choice."

Anything which nets him more data is a plus at least and he does struggle to say no to people who want his help anyway. He extends one of those long arms of his over, a huge hand open to shake. They're rather grisly things, calloused and thick knuckles. But his actual grip is delicate and precise.

"I most certainly understand," Emille nods. "It is valorous that you are thusly committed to taking responsibility for your creations." The fact that Rex is no coward willing to pass the blame around for his actions earns him an A+ in her book.

She smiles inwardly when Rex agrees to the partnership. Earning another tool that can be used to destroy those Dragons is always a win for her. When she sees him begin to reach over to shake her hand, it reminds her that she still has some boxes cradled in her arms. Thankfully she is able to put them back down onto the table before his hand makes its way to dangle in front of her for a handshake. Yes, that is certainly a large hand. But it is a hand that will lead to opening new doors for her, so Emille eagerly slips her tiny one into his and allows it to be completely enveloped. It's awkward, but only momentary. She'll live. Besides, Rex's shake is gentle, and she appreciates that.

"I am indebted to you, Sir Rex." Emille is formal by nature, so Rex is going to get the Sir treatment until he tells her otherwise. "The labs in the Citadel are always open if you wish to stop by. My office is also located within the labs, if you ever need me. Perhaps I will even see you in one of my daemon biology classes sometime?"

Rex is used to dwarfing everyone around him, even more so since he's attended Daybreak and been eating properly. His beanpole physique has evolved into a beefcake one, but that's what happens when you live in France and compulsively eat cheese. But the important part is that he's always been conscious of the fact he's a horrifying ogre of a man (and ugly, he's sure of that too) and takes care not to crush everything he touches.

"Almost certainly. There's little that catches my interest I do not study. If you have need of me, ask for Epicyon on the network- I'm rarely found any one place." He doesn't even visit his room often, since he sleeps so rarely and when he does it could be in his van, or his private lab off-campus, or in a quiet corner of the library or wherever he falls over. It's up to chance.

Once their hands are broken away from each other, Rex takes the opportunity to start putting her supplies in the bags. Just to make sure things are easier for her. "And it's just Rex, if you please. I've not exactly a knight."

"Epicyon," Emille echoes as to not forget his username, though she will need to see the network's list to double-check its spelling. And she certainly understands crashing in places other than her bed -- she is fully prepared to turn her office into her dorm room away from Savant. "I look forward to seeing you in class, then. And, eventually, learning more from you myself." Ogre though he may be, Rex is quite talented, and that's what matters in the end.

Unwilling to be a passive spectator while Rex fills bags with supplies, Emille also grabs a bag and begins stuffing it with boxes. "Understood, Rex. Thank you for your help today. This has been a more rewarding infirmary visit than I first expected." She meets Rex's eyes to confirm her statement, but then allows her gaze to fall back onto the jar of antidote. Rewarding indeed...

[ Wow, talk about being thorough. Excellen has been watching as Rex disassembles the van, carefully organizing each piece. Normally she would just let him do his thing, but the fact that he's asking each part what's wrong has her completely charmed. Looks familiar.

She waits until he has a break in conversation with a spark plug before walking over, grinning brightly. ]

Having a nice little chat?

[ Rex’s normally intensely sharp (and paranoid) senses are dulled by devotion to his van’s needs. He starts, the spark plug jolting out of his hand, causing him to snap it out of the air with the other before it can go rolling off into nowhere. There’s a few seconds where he’s frozen in place as he brings himself back to reality and despite his goofy ass juggling and general surprise, he keeps his face entirely deadpan the whole time.

Until his face starts going a searingly hot red, but that’s the only indication he has emotions. ]

...it’s not especially talkative today.

[ RIP Rex, she knows one of your weaknesses now. Look at that blush! He's totally flustered. Adorable. ]

Hmmm, is that right? Maybe she's playing hard to get. [ Yes she heard "it," but listen. ] Or maybe you did something to make her mad, and you're getting the chilly knee.

[ Excellen it's a car, not a jilted lover. Also that's not how that saying goes. ]

[ His face remains as impassive as a human can get aside from the blazing red which slowly starts to shrink down just to his cheeks.

And a slight quirk of an eyebrow at the 'she.' Everyone insists his van is a girl, Rex refuses to budge from neutral. His actual robot doesn't have a solid gender identity, his van sure as Hell doesn't. ]

It has no emotional state to consider. It is a van.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rex is Rex and that's what happens.

infirmary B; she volunteers here so she counts, right?

If she don’t I ain’t the one calling the cops.

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infirmary a;

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van;

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Infirmary visitor

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infirmary A-- I saw Gary Numan lyrics and had to tag, ahhh /nerd

the man is a national treasure

indeed. ♥

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Vroom vroom

Now gimme that toot toot

Gotta earn it first

What if you give you that beep beep?