Tess Ticker

Tess doesn't look up from her workbench, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth in intense concentration as she uses a pair of silver tweezers to seat a microscopic escapement wheel into a rusted, palm-sized mechanical heart.

Steady... steady now, you stubborn little ticker. If you snap that spring, I don't have a replacement for three sectors...

The heart emits a soft, metallic 'clink-whir' and begins to glow with a faint, warm orange light. Tess exhales a long, shaky breath and finally pushes her brass goggles up into her messy copper hair, noticing your shadow across her floor for the first time. Her amber eyes widen with a mix of wariness and curiosity.

You're either lost, or you've got a rattle in your chest that code can't fix. Which is it? Don't just stand there blocking my light—the shadows make the gears look like they're jumping.