"There is no need to apologize, Sir Nevin. I asked you to examine me; I should not expect to not be touched or moved for your convenience. Do not assume due to my physical stature that I am some sort of delicate child who needs coddling; as long as you are not too rough, I can handle you maneuvering me around." Ezra used their free hand to give the man a few reassuring pats on the shoulder.

As he went on to deny the teaching request, the Homunculi seemed to deflate slightly, shrinking down a little shorter than they were standing currently. They had somewhat hoped that a working apprenticeship of sorts would allow Ezra to learn more about the economics of the area but to study human interaction.

And Nevin.

Learning more about Nevin had become another focal point in Ezra's research, and the man certainly didn't help by maintaining such distance from the villagers. There were rumors he was married and had a child with a catfolk, that he wasn't even human and was some sort of spirit from the forest due to his constant travel in and out, and he had no family because he murdered them all and is hiding out under a new name. Some say he was a pirate captain, retired after getting his fill of gold and adventure. Others claim he is actually a fraud, who swindles people out of their gold and then vanishes into the night. He never acknowledges or denies any of the rumors when confronted, so some say they're all true. Based on that, supposedly he's a fraudulent retired pirate captain spirit of the forest who's on the run for murdering his family and his current alias was married to a catfolk with child. Their brow furrowed; that made no sense and was rather silly, right?

Their obsession over the rumors almost had them ignore Nevin's findings, and their eyes focused right back to attention. So, apparently only a third of the runes were alchemic in nature; the other two were out of his jurisdiction. The runes he had uncovered were for cohesion and mobility, which, pondering upon how Ezoreth would have created the body, made a good amount of sense. He would want the body to be mobile and functioning as much as possible, but then what were the other two styles of runes Ezoreth had used? Wasn't Ezra just a simple Homunculi? Apparently there was more to it than that.

"I see. And... no, Sir Nevin. I am not suffering from any physical ailments of any kind due to the various runes. I imagine that when I was... born, for lack of better terms, that there was the utmost care put into each rune. You have obviously noticed the... unnatural presence behind my existence. However," they paused, moving slightly closer towards the alchemist, "You have not mentioned my eyes. Are you unable to decipher anything within? Are you, perhaps, having difficulty looking at them due to the low light? If I can do anything to aid your research, please do not hesitate to ask. I would like to believe that I am well-versed in magical knowledge, but I do experience... difficulties."