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Javert is in his normal back corner of the bar. It was pouring rain when he finished in the forge for the day, so he came here instead of going out into the woods. He is surrounded by paper, and the odd ruler, and he is drawing something with precision on one sheet - only to finish it, shake his head and toss it away, before taking a new piece and starting again.

This looks like it has been going on for some time, and may continue the rest of the day. And possibly night. A distraction before his hand falls off would perhaps be welcome.

[OOC: Open UNTIL THE END OF TIME. Or next Wednesday. Whichever comes first. <3

ETA: YOU FABULOUS PEOPLE. *flings love at* I must crash, but it's been a blast. Am around all day tomorrow to continue. <3]

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He waves a hand irritably.

'I care nothing for rude, so long as you are helpful.'

He reaches for another sheet, which shows his idea for a vaulted ceiling, the beams exposed and leaving the roof above room for a shallow arch above it.

'Does this seem sound? I will use bricks, not rock, for the walls and make them myself. The sides must be smooth.'

Uneven rock walls would annoy him until the end of time, inside or out. But he is more concerned about the roof, as he can imagine it is much harder to make, and much more dangerous should it collapse.

It also occurs to him that this is taking help off someone - but he does not know this man, and anything he says will have to be verified by books, so it is acceptable enough.

Joshua shrugs, but takes the paper up again and thinks for a moment. After a few quick calculations, and some scribbles, he nods. "That should work. Make sure you use something fairly light for the roofing material, but with the beams and the arch, it should be structurally sound enough to hold it in. I might suggest an arch here and here..." He points to a couple places. "in addition. It'll help hold up your roof. Otherwise, this is actually pretty damn good." There's definitely some adimiration in his expression.

He has no time for admiration. If it works, that is enough.

'My thanks, monsieur. I will take this into consideration when I make the final plans.'

He looks at his face properly for the first time.

'It occurs to me we have met, but I have forgotten your name.'

"Not a problem."

Joshua laughs, shrugging a bit. "I'm not really the most memorable person in this bar. I'm Joshua Donovan." Frankly, he'll always believe that Claudia's the more interesting of the two of them.

'Oh? What is your criteria for what makes a person memorable?'

It is a rhetorical question. He inclines his head politely at the re-introduction.

'I am Javert. If you do not build now, what is it you do?'

If it is something that undermines what he has just said, he will be disappointed.

"Being someone other than me?" It rolls off his tongue before he can think about it. "Um. Well, in all seriousness, generally someone who does something interesting, or is personally intriguing in some way."

He pauses for a moment, thoughtful. "Well, in my world, we have objects that we call Artifacts. They're things that have strange properties to them, such as my sister has a snowglobe that freezes things. I study Artifacts to try and figure out what they do and how they work. I, er, well, I also help run the organization that goes out and collects them so people don't misuse them or hurt themselves with them."

Javert blinks at him. People who cannot speak to their strengths are rather feeble, in his opinion. There again, people who brag are insufferable idiots. It is a fine line.

'I understood nothing of what you say, monsieur.'

A snowglobe that freezes things? He is not entirely sure he knows what a snowglobe is.

'You look at objects. You are in the business of antiques?'

"Er... sorry." Joshua winces. "Not as such, no. Your world has religious icons, right? Things that people say are from this saint or that saint, or a fragment of the Cross, or whatever? Well, imagine there being a goblet that actually turns water into wine, or a shard of wood that heals you if you touch it. That's the kind of thing I'm studying. Most things also have a downside to them. There's a metal phoenix that'll protect you if you walk through fire, but it will take someone else's life instead."

'Ah.'

Well. That is...certainly a profession. Of sorts.

'You protect people from these objects? I would hope you take them away for good. It does sound as though they are the sort of thing that should be allowed.'

"We store them in our Warehouse where people can't get them. All of them in some way or another are dangerous, and we take them away so that people don't misuse them, or harm themselves while using them. We have investigator Agents who go out and find what's causing trouble and take it away so it can be contained." He pauses. "Some of the things might seem beneficial, but everything can turn nasty or be misused. There are even things that are so bad we have to keep them under extra security. Things that pull you in, or things that could kill you at a touch." Dark vault, man. Don't go there.

This is frankly alarming. What strange worlds these people live on.

'But where do they come from? Things such as you describe do not simply appear from nowhere, monsieur.'

"We're not certain. That's part of my research. What we do know is that when someone has a powerful moment of emotion, some of that emotion imbues an object with power and an Artifact is created." He shrugs. "I wish that I knew more, it would save so many lives, but that's why we research."

'...they come from emotion?'

Worse and worse.

'They must be unreliable and dangerous items indeed.'

He looks a little closer at Joshua's face.

'...were you not dressed as a Wise Man last time I saw you?'

"Yeah, they are. There's a reason we keep them away from people."

"Er... yeah." Joshua turns a bit red. "Uh. That was actually an Artifact."

He takes a moment to process that. Then his expression turns dark.

'You let him touch it!'

"Yes, I did. There are many Artifacts that aren't harmful until they are used for quite a long time. Many Artifacts, if given the chance, could be revered for what they are, and that one, to many people, means quite a lot. I was there to control it, and I am well aware of what it does. He was also not allowed to keep it."

There's an odd tone to Joshua's voice as he keeps talking, one of authority, even though he doesn't realize it.

Javert responds to authority without thinking about it, without noticing he does. The indignation of his tone retreats somewhat, and his face takes on a - slightly - apologetic expression.

'Of course it means a lot,' he mutters, quietly.

He still cannot believe he saw it.

'And he would never ask to keep it. But I would rather you would not let him near such things.'

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he wishes he had not said them. But there, it is done, and now he will have to think about them later.

Joshua raises an eyebrow at him. "I know how to handle my Artifacts, sir. I would absolutely never let harm come to anyone because of an Artifact, or let harm come to an Artifact because of anyone."

There's a long moment, and then Joshua's authoritative tone breaks slightly. "And, well, I try not to bring Artifacts here anyway. That was just... strange. That whole evening was odd."

'That may not have been what I meant,' he mutters, because he is trying to rationalise the comment to himself. After all, Valjean is a convicted thief. And does he, Javert, really want to spend his time here persuading the man to give up his holy loot?

Of course, it is ridiculous. It is still easier than delving further into what he has just said.

'I am in agreement, nevertheless. It was odd, though it should not have been. I was merely caring for a small horse.'

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