Deborah
*Birds are singing, the breeze is blowing, and the sun is shining. It's a wonderful day for a stroll, isn't it? That's what a young woman once thought. But that was centuries ago; from an age that is long lost, save for a few artifacts.*

*The greenery and landscape seemed to remain the same since that time. A good camouflage for a sleeping doll, sleeping a dreamless sleep. A admittedly broken doll, who seemed to be melding into the forest itself. Vines grow over its armored legs, and small big wriggle between its joints. It is no longer conscious, and hasn't been for quite some time. And yet... Just maybe...*
Thomas
"Over there. On the left."
Jessica
"Huh? What do you mean?"

*Diao had recovered somewhat from her illness. Her body was now reinforced with the same Black Iron that Horace had, which unfortunately didn't help with coordination. Nonetheless, she was glad that she could finally take walks out in the Salvanian countryside, enjoying the green grass, blue skies and fresh air.*

*What she didn't expect was to encounter another Kuilei. Focusing her eyes, she carefully observed the area, trying to figure out what Arktos was looking for. Finally, she saw it. Just a hint of ancient mana. She soon walked over, pressing a hand to the moss covered metal.*

"Are you awake?"
Deborah
*Silence rang out through the forest, interrupted only by the call of birds and rustling trees. Despite this, Diao could feel a tinge of power. Weak from its time spent in decay, but more obvious as she felt it. It seemed to be some sort of warrior. Chipped, rusty armor and a broken sword in its still clenched hand.*

*There seemed to be a tiny inscription in a foreign language. It was difficult to make out, but it wasn't impossible.*
Thomas
"He is alive, but barely."
Jessica
"I see. Do you know what it says?"

*Diao traced her hand over the runes, trying to decipher them. It wasn't Silnarian. Perhaps Runran? Diao's sword floated out of its sheathe on her back, and slowly began cutting away at the vines covering the kuilei.*
Deborah
*Diao's intuition was indeed right. While faded and old, some words could be made out. A Runran character for "Knight", lead by the name "Grimm". Sounds like gibberish, or something lost.*

*The vines come away with some difficulty, thick and tough as if they'd been there for years. The kulilie's corpse has undoubtedly been there much longer. Granted it's in great shape for its age and inactivities. Soon the body is free, although still limp and unpowered. It looked heavy, too heavy for a person, but another kulilie could handle it.*
Jessica
"Grimm Knight... A warrior, perhaps?"

*Diao attempted to wrap her hands around the Kuilei in order to lift it, but to no avail, and was soon out of breath. Seems that her cardio still wasn't the best.*

"Arktos."
Thomas
"Yeah."

*A dull blue gem embedded in Diao's arm began to glow and spin, producing a clockwork sound. A magical cerulean array of hexagons soon began covering Diao's body, forming armor made from blackened steel. The end result was a powerful Kuilei, decorated like a warrior. The artificer commandeered Arktos to lift the Kuilei's corpse out of the ground in order to inspect it better.*

D-"Well? How is he?"
Deborah
*The corpse is lifted with some effort, seemingly less heavy with a power up. Notably, it's hand still clenches harshly around the shattered sword in its possession. Slightly more noticeably, its other arm has fallen off and clattered onto the ground. Perhaps it wasn't in as good a condition as previously thought.*

*The magical signature within the machine seemed to remain. Even resonating with Arktos' own, growing stronger as if drifting awake from its sleep. Granted it would be far from conscious without repairs and a large jolt of mana to get it going. Something an artificer like Diao would find easy, if she decided to put the work towards it.*
Thomas
D-"Huh. Well that's inconvenient."

*Hoisting the majority of the body over one shoulder, Diao reached to pick up the fallen arm, only to see the sword arm get in the way. Wait, it was still shut? Perhaps due to rust?*

D-"Can you connect to him?"

"I can try."

*Arktos placed his palm on the corpse of the Kuilei and sent a surge of mana through it, hoping to revitalize it somehow. If that didn't do anything, they would have to repair it back at the shop.*

D-"Nice!"

*Diao's expression was of glee under the helmet, which soon faded to disappointment as she realized that the machine had a fatal error. Mana was leaking out; like blood, it didn't matter how much was put in if it kept pouring out.*

D-"Not nice... Can you fix it?"

"No."

D-"Well, we'll have to take it back to the shop."

*Standing upright, Diao carried the metal body over to her workshop. It was a long walk with Diao sweating under the armor; was she still able to sweat with Black Iron being active? The question rattled in her mind before she once again turned to the Kuilei, which had been propped up against a metal frame.*
Jessica
"Arktos, at ease."

*The process reversed, with the black steel fading back into the soul gem nested in Diao's metallic shoulder, and she began inspecting the kuilei for the leak.*
Deborah
*The armor seemed to fit tightly, without concern for things such as "Comfort" Or wear ability. Admittedly it made sense for a mechanism that felt no discomfort and no pain. Although it made it a pain in the ass to remove without damaging the armor or body further. By far the easiest part to remove was the helm, which came off with a simple latch or two.*
Gabriel
*Crimson red hair spilled out, now free from the confines of the dark helm. Strangely, it was beautiful, well kept and untouched. Bangs hung low, obscuring some features that seemed to form a male's face. And finally the damage made itself supremely obvious, a giant crack the crept from the doll's face below its chest plate.*
Jessica
"Goddammit stupid tight armor-"

*Diao slowly but surely removed the metal plates to reveal... A man? With red hair, it seemed. The artificer double checked to make sure that this wasn't just a really well-preserved corpse before turning back to the obvious.*

"Damn you're hot. And you have this giant crack here... How am I supposed to patch that up? What material *Is* This?"

*Diao would inspect the crack, trying to see what material it was, as well as what lay underneath the initial surface.*
Gabriel
*Now stripped naked, the doll was clearly no macen. It's skin was cold, smooth and hard. An expertly painted clay, the product of an artisan's touch. It's outer lair of beauty gave way to a dark, crystal-like interior.*

*Yellow lines stretched and branches throughout its innards like veins of a beast, dryly delivering mana to its body parts. The skin seemed to tear away most at his abdomen, where a faint structure could be seen through the opaque crystal substance. Perhaps it's core.*
Jessica
"...Is this what your insides look like?"

A-"I am not so delicate."

"Well, I need someone that can work on porcelain-oh. Guess that's me."

*Diao began by tracing the fragmented edge of the wound, using her iron-reinforced fingertip to smooth it out.*

"Perhaps kintsugi style will suit this?"

*Diao poked the core to see what the reaction, if any, would be*
Gabriel
*The core seemed to emit with magical energy at the physical contact. Rather suddenly and efficiently covering its exposed parts with a black lacquer that hardened into a substance similar to the rest of its innards. A self defense mechanism?*