Sin cupped his hands around the paper cup of black coffee and then looked up at the professor’s face. Where to begin? “First of all,” he said hesitantly, “I didn’t forget about the perpetual motion machine, but I might not have an answer for you for a while. But, um…” Sin unlatched his briefcase and took out the diagram, placing it on the table.
"I made a copy of it so I could keep working—this is more of a logic and physics problem, you see. Perpetual motion, technically, cannot exist. It’s rather impossible in a literal sense—the notion of perpetuity in machinery assumes that there is no beginning to the force in question. But I could probably find a way around it—ah, if you’ve ever heard of something called a half-life? Or! Or, er…" He colored and decided against mentioning spermatogenesis. "Never mind. The point is, with a bit of time and some bending of physics, I could probably do it."
Read More
Thalia hadn't forgotten about the schematics she had shown the inventor all those weeks ago, and she hadn't assumed he had forgotten about them either. She just figured he was busy with his own work and would get around to her little passion project when he had time. But all that logic didn't stop Thalia from feeling pleasantly surprised when Sin brought it up. And not only had he remembered, he had obviously put time and thought into it. If there was anyone who could bend physics, she decided with a small smile, it was Sinclar Rofton. Allomancers be damned!
As Sin moved on to his second point, Thalia mirrored him by taking a sip of her own coffee. What he said next brought about a whole other kind of surprise: she wasn't used to friends being so candid with her. But she felt almost honored that Sin was comfortable enough in their friendship to share something so personal with her.
Thalia listened intently, relating closely to some things, like what it was like to leave home and not look back or how easy it was to get caught up in the enigma that was Emalyn. But the news of his mother's death was something she couldn't comprehend. What could she say that would be anywhere close to appropriate?
In a split second decision, Thalia opted against words and reached out to take Sin's hands in her own. She wasn't thinking about how forward it was of her, only of how it was the best way she could let him know that she was there for him.
"Thanks, Sin." She said, ignoring his questions but meeting his gaze with a supportive smile. "For sharing that with me. It couldn't have been easy for you, so I'm glad Ema was there for you." Even if Ema had missed a few too many classes already, this was something Thalia could overlook.
"Are you...?" She was going to ask if he was okay, but that seemed a little lame. It would probably take him more than a week to be okay. "How are you?"













