"I heard they're less accurate. My friend says she has a hard time braiding her hair."

The artificer didn't look up from sterilizing his tools.

"I mean, I guess I could have started with a leg, but dad says they are even harder to get used to. Too late now, right?" she chuckled, nodding her head towards an intricate lump of machinery on the desk, whose bronze hue was enhanced in the candlelight of the workshop.

The artificer's continued silence quickly snuffed out the attempt at lightening the mood.

The shop was slightly smaller than she had expected- this guy was supposed to be the best in Atlas, and she had hauled her new arm quite a distance for this procedure. It was an oddly shaped location, taller than it was wide, with weathered ladders linking shelves upon shelves of machinery. The smell of copper that fills the undercity was stronger here, so much so that it was notable. She wasn't sure if the scent was blood or not, though the thought put her at more unease.

"Does... does it hurt? Like, a lot?" she regretted saying those words- it just made her more nervous. She fidgeted a bit, or as much as the chair she was in would allow. Her entire left arm lay limp and unresponsive.

Finally, the artificer turned around. His wrinkled face was barely visible under his surgical mask and head wrapping. The edges of a well-managed beard were visible just below his chin. His sleeves had been rolled and strapped up, revealing two large, imposing silver arms. The hydraulics were very well concealed- almost invisible if you didn't know where to look. The usual whirling and clicking noises were surprisingly subdued as he neared.

"Does it hurt..." he repeated. "Disrespect- that hurts. Being removed of your dignity as those with friends in high places lord above you? That hurts. Being called 'skulker'. 'Bottom-feeder'. 'Night devil'. 'Monster'. 'Subhuman'. That hurts."

She suddenly felt like something was horribly wrong, though she couldn't place what it was. The artificer glanced up from his work for a moment and looked her straight in the eyes. "Losing an arm- doesn't hurt."

He bagged the limb and reached for the prosthetic piece, briefly inspected its connections, and then continued his work. The smell of copper was getting stronger.

"We shed these little pieces of ourselves because of what we cannot have- because we don't fit right. They say we're the unfortunate ones." he chuckled, and it threw her off guard. "Rotate your wrist counter-clockwise." A snap answered, and the artificer got a curious look on his face.

"Who sold you this? It's wired all backwards."

A wave of nauseating panic welled up from within. "What can we do?!" she stammered. Panic had long-since settled in, and was starting to make itself at home.

He leaned back in towards his work with a soldering iron in hand. "What do you think? Fix it, of course. Can't have you bleeding out on my workbench with a busted arm."

"Don't you have a good spare laying around?! I'll gladly cover the difference if you--"

"No." He was quite stern in his tone. "We'll make this one work." There really wasn't much she couldn't do to protest with her shoulder clamped in place.

"Sweeping the problem under the rug- that's what the sunbathers do. They're afraid of being chipped or scratched, because their surface is all they've got. But that's not life- never has been, nor will it ever be. We're the square pegs that found ways to fit in circular holes. It ain't easy, and you gotta know when to make some sacrifices and have a little faith." The hint of a smile formed on his face, judging by his furry eyebrows.

"...but when everything's said and done, you're left with a one-of-a-kind work of art." He loosened the clamps and stepped back. "Try again."

The sensation of the gears' precise churning to her mind's commands was alien. She wiggled her fingers, and the machine obeyed. The transition was seamless. She formed a thumbs up, and the machine obeyed. It felt no different from her flesh arm of hours prior. She hugged the old man, and the machine obeyed. Her fears had completely vanished.