"Aww," Haywire whined, blowing a short raspberry when Jazz didn't seem to be all for his idea to soup up the legs with fancy gadgets and attachments. He got over it pretty quick though as is his returning grin soon showed, his tale almost wagging in excitement over the new project. However, this was soon overtaken by an utterly lost expression when the subject of proper payment for his work came up.
"Uhh..." Was all he could manage after a couple of blank blinks, Haywire not knowing what or how to add to the discussion now that it was moving on to a more serious and less fun topic. judging it's cost would require mathing up what all the parts would cost... and that would mean trying to figure out what the parts he'd need to use would be and what they were worth before starting... Which wasn't really how he went about inventing since it often required him to go through all kinds of the stuff he had laying around and... stuff.
Bubo on the other hand was quick to contribute, or at least leave to do so as he lifted a wing as if to ask for a moment before flapping his wings and carrying himself off of his spot atop Hay's head and off towards some corner of the workshop where, almost right after he vanished behind a pile of scrap, some vigorous clicking could be heard.
Haywire, now one metal bird lighter, just gave another lost glance between those present as he wondered what he should say or do. Thankfully the workshop decided for him.
Seconds later a loud bang was heard a short distance away followed by an erratic crackling and finally what could be guessed was a slide whistle being put through trials. Something whirred to life, and from where the ponies were they could just make out what appeared to be bits and pieces of machinery bobbing in and out of site from just over one of the taller scrap piles beside them. Happy for the distraction, and feeling he would be no help in this anyway, Haywire took off in a trot.
"I got it!" the pony assured as he headed off to deal with the ruckus, "Be back in a sec!" It took moments for him to take his own leave of the mares, though they weren't alone for long since Bubo, now holding the corner of a long scroll that dangled beneath him. He flew in a small circle when he arrived, but when it became clear Haywire had been needed elsewhere he decided to land on Star's shoulder instead. He figured that she did seem the better candidate for handling this part of the business anyway. No offense meant towards his creator of course, but with how easily distracted he could become deciding on a budget didn't really fit into his area of expertise.
Once landed Bubo offered the scroll to Star for her to look over, it being a list of possible materials that could be used to start the project based on his predictions when it came to Haywire's unpredictability. Thankfully Star's recent efforts to try and better organize the workshop had allowed Bubo a chance to actually tag along and take a better look at what they had buried in the multiple messes surrounding them, and while he couldn't be entirely sure of what Haywire would gravitate towards for the work ahead of him, it did let him narrow down his suspicions.
Even still, the list covered most everything between a toaster and an old scrapped "graviton" project that Bubo wouldn't comment on if pressed.
The metal bird's estimates told that depending on the quality of the legs Jazz would want for her wife, and how successful both he and Star were in keeping Haywire to stick to the budget, the price of the initial prototype would vary considerably between a cheap but unreliable model to more expensive but comfortable ones ranging in price of hundreds of bits with the most expensive being quite possibly over half a grand if she wanted something super fancy right of the bat. The list didn't cover further expenses for improved models, repairs, maintenance, rebuilds and adjustments, but it would be safe to assume that prices would be similarly diverse depending on what Jazz wanted them to work with. Really, and he doubted he needed to inform Star of this, but it was up to Jazz.
Either way, bubo left the negotiating and what not in Star's hooves. To him, any money would be better than the almost no money the shop currently had to it's name, and his lack of a proper voice box made communicating with ponies other than the one that built him pretty impossible. She, as he concluded earlier, seemed the best choice fo rit anyway.
Meanwhile, giggling could be heard as, should they look, Haywire could now be seen bobbing in and out of sight along side the bits of machinery from earlier as his attempts to settle the disturbance nearby was... Going well?