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 Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:43 pm
There was much to consider when it came to raising a 'child' - and Malodore was going to do it properly. After all, there was no guarantee that this inert pumpkin would remain so, though the plague doctor rather hoped it wouldn't turn out to be an actual child. That would be... awkward, though Igneous seemed a nice sort.
Malodore had carried the pumpkin out to the graveyard behind the undead dormitories. If it was the 'child' of an undead being and of a gargoyle who'd woken in a cemetery, this should be the perfect place for it. It had wrapped the pumpkin up in a clean linen sheet it had been saving for bandages, and it certainly hoped the pumpkin appreciated the sacrifice.
But there was more. For one thing, it couldn't keep calling the pumpkin "the pumpkin". Such decisions needed to be made by both 'parents'... so it had sent a note via undead raven to Igneous. Hopefully the Corrividus had found her and not just gone to flirt with the bats in the bell tower.
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 6:20 am
The raven had indeed found Igneous. Like many of the birds around the Academy, it was drawn to her naturally -though not as strongly as the pigeons! It took her a moment to get the note from him, however, as he kept wanting to land on her head and not on her arm where she could get the bit of paper way from him. Thus she was a little late for the meeting.
"So-sorry!" she puffed as she ran up to Maladore (while she didn't breathe, she did need air to speak). Chip was flying lazy circles above her and she gave the pigeon a scowl before she turned to smile at the plague doctor. "Had a bit of trouble with the raven - sometimes birds like me too much!" She shrugged and settled her wingfeathers down where they hd been ruffled by her run.
"Has it done anything yet?" Iggy gave the pumpkin a fearful look. After seeing the bits of that thing in Nurse Cricket's desk she was terrified that somehow their pumpkin was going to turn into the same sort of creature.
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 9:43 am
"Quite all right," Malodore said, nodding to her and holding out the pumpkin for inspection. It looked exactly the same as ever, other than being bundled up in its impromptu blanket. "Not a twitch out of it so far."
It paused for a moment before continuing. "I suppose we ought to name it, and take care of it, and so on. Bonding activities?" Honestly, the plague doctor didn't have that much knowledge of Halloween midwifery, given that it was effectively foolproof, unlike the bizarre 'birthing' rituals of the humans they were meant to frighten. "What did you do when you were 'born'? I don't remember back that far, myself."
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:21 pm
"Me? I wasn't really born. I just opened my eyes and stepped off my pedestal in the cemetery. Nearly scared the caretaker gnome into becoming a resident of the cemetery when he saw me moving!" she gave a small laugh. "He took me in and showed me the basics and then managed to get me a spot at the Academy. I don't know anything about scarelings or what they do!"
She looked at the small bundle sitting in the doctor's arms. It looked harmless enough sitting there...
"Names are good though! They have meanings - I am named for the stone I was made of. We could call it Gourd, or Orange, or mix them - Ogo?" She was trying, really! Sadly, stone wasn't known for its imagination or its thinking ability.
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 4:15 pm
"The basics!" Malodore latched onto the statement with profound relief. "That's exactly what this little... Ogo... needs."
The plague doctor held the pumpkin - Ogo - out to Igneous. "Shall we raise it as did your... ah... gnome... father... before you?" A gnome might not be the best parenting model, but Igneous seemed to have turned out alright. And Malodore was not about to use its parents as an example.
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 4:30 pm
"Basics.. right! Well, eating is good, and staying clean when indoors. Pickfoot didn't like it when I came in all wet and muddy and cold though it didn't bother me any. Umm..." Igneous thought back on some of the other things she had learned in her early days.
"Clothing! You gotta wear clothes no matter what! And you gotta be careful and gentle or things and people break!"
"And you can pick a better name if you want. I don't mind."
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:45 pm
"Ogo will do," Malodore said with a nod - honestly, it didn't have any better ideas! "Eating... we could give it a mouth...?" It studied the pumpkin uncertainly. Jack-o-lantern carving was all well and good but driving a knife into their project didn't seem to be a good idea. "Maybe draw one on...?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:54 pm
"We could do that. I didn't bring a penstrictor though." Iggy thought for a moment.
"You have it bundled up good. That would count as clothes! Though it would look cute in a hat like yours." She giggled at the thought of the pumpkin wearing a red hat over its stem.
Maybe this pumpkin thing wouldn't be so bad after all! Ogo seemed rather harmless at the moment. Wait... did it just... wiggle?!
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 9:51 pm
Malodore blinked. What was that? "Did you s-" it began, then froze as the top of the pumpkin pushed up slightly.
Something blinked.
And then the pumpkin was beautiful and smooth and whole again.
"... tell me you saw that, por favore," it managed, weakly.
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 9:58 pm
Igneous blinked. Just as Maladore had and just as...
"The pumpkin blinked?" she said in a somewhat high tone (and since her voice was usually low and gravelly this was unusual indeed).
"Oh... I think I need to sit down." THUD!
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:08 pm
"Thank Jack, I'm not going insane." Malodore gingerly tugged the linens around the pumpkin. "Ah... buon giorno, Ogo..."
It looked down at Igneous, who had sat more heavily than anyone the plague doctor had ever known, and that included Gargantuan. "Well. I suppose we can... put food in the opening...?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:14 pm
"Yes, yes we can." Iggy said from her ground seat. "I guess we don't have to draw a face on it any more either. Do you think any of the other pumpkins have had eyes appear?"
She watched Ogo closely. Sure enough the top sloooowly rose and two eyes peered out. Just as she was certain that something else was going to be visible the top slid back closed.
"I have some grub cookies in my bag - do you think Ogo would like those? They're kinda soft." She rummaged through her bag and pulled out the slightly squashed package of snacks.
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:32 pm
"Try it?" Malodore held the pumpkin out, gingerly, its long fingers carefully cupping the sides. "Food for you, Ogo...?"
The top of the pumpkin slo-o-wly rose again, revealing the blinking eyes within. Then the top tilted slightly, making the opening wider in Igneous' direction. "Fretta, throw them in," Malodore said quickly, tilting the entire pumpkin that direction to make it a little easier.
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:39 pm
She quickly scrabbled a couple of cookies out of the bag. With a flick of her wrist she tossed them into the opening, to one side of the eyes.
The top popped back down and muffled slurping and nomming could be heard from inside.
"I think it liked it! Hey, Malodore, it likes it!"
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 11:18 pm
"Thank Jack," Malodore said, fervently. "Well! Let's just feed Ogo those, and... water. Milk?" Library research was clearly required!
They could cross that bridge later, though. The plague doctor turned its attention to the other points on Igneous' list of basics. "Staying clean. We-"
The lid of the pumpkin flew up, expelling a messy burp laden with damp crumbs.
".... should look into that," Malodore finished, nonplussed. It lifted one hand to swipe wet crumbs off of its lenses.
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