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 Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:11 pm
information
information
THIS IS A PRIVATE ROLEPLAY BETWEEN KOTALINE & HELLOTEA.
when mid-morning
where a trashpile near a dump
characters involved wickwright finch/hopkin & toshua green
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:23 pm
Tosh carried the large pumpkin in his hands, the strange urge to cry suddenly filling his mind. His parents had seen the pumpkin and immediately ordered it out - they'd been furious, and Tosh hadn't known why. He had a strange connection to the pumpkin - at night, he would trace its worn lines and the distinctively orange color it held. Sometimes, Tosh swore he felt something different about the pumpkin - and the dark aura surrounding it wasn't the only thing strange about it.
In saying so, Tosh liked to rebel, but when his mother (his mother) started raging, he decided the only way he'd be able to have a happy life here on and afterwards was to get rid of the pumpkin. Shortly, he wondered whether or not he could drop it by a friend's house and ask them to keep it; but then he remembered that he really didn't have any friends at all. So in saying so, he'd trudged out of the house, walking slowly and taking as much time as he could to get to the trash pile a little ways from his house.
He approached the dump momentarily, and for a second just stared at the piled up trash. Toys, rotten food, some other stuff that he couldn't make out - lettuce? His beautiful pumpkin didn't belong in this place of misfits. Tosh hugged the pumpkin a little closer and started looking around the pile. Retreating to an empty part of the place, he placed his pumpkin down slowly, and kneeled down next to it.
"Well, I guess this is what it comes down to--" He muttered, melancholy.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:26 pm
Hopkin was getting sick, figuratively and literally.
For one, he was frustrated that he was never allowed to leave Wickwright's hood when they went into towns. Yes, he liked feeling safe, but it was so difficult to see the world from inside a hood, and he wasn't even allowed to talk. Wickwright said that it was because he was important, which made Hopkin's chest flutter proudly, but being safe came with boredom, and unless he wanted to wrestle his way up to a place where he could see from out the hood, he was stuck staring at the sky and listening to Wickwright. He had never seen a town properly, and he was restless whenever they went into one. Was it like how he imagined? He doubted it was. The world was too round, it had too much dimensionality to be like anything that Hopkin pictured in his head. It was dizzyingly vast, and he was sure towns had to be the same, if only he could just see one.
Secondly, Wickwright's hood rocked back and forth when he walked. Since they had been outside all morning, Hopkin was getting queasy. Gignerly, he clambered up Wickwright's hood as the Grimm stopped to talk to someone, trying to get some fresh air to clear his dizzy head. As he did so though, his eye caught a bright colour, a vivid orange. Dizziness forgotten, Hopkin clambered further out of Wickwright's hood to get a better look. The pigment was hypnotizing, filled his mind with sunset-shades that crashed in on each other like waves.
It was a pumpkin, he saw, a pumpkin in a boy's hands in what looked like...
Hopkin bit his lip, making a little metallic scraping noise. Dumps weren't familiar to him, but that place wasn't right for that colour. Something that colour shouldn't be put somewhere so plain, so out of the way, Hopkin knew that much. He felt a flurry of panic as the boy holding it seemed to set it down, wanted to call out and stop him, but his voice was far too small.
"Wickwright," he called, tugging on the hood, but it only sent the Grimm into a flurry of coughs. Hopkin tugged again and again, but Wickwright was engrossed in his conversation. He turned desperately to look at the pumpkin again.
If no one did anything, it'd be too late. Wickwright didn't seem like he was done talking, Hopkin figured furiously. This was an emergency, so if he stayed out of sight and came back very quickly, everything would be all right, wouldn't it? Wickwright would be right nearby, safe as houses.
He couldn't just let it happen, so Hopkin clambered out of the hood and onto the ground, not even stopping to look at the town before running over to a hiding place near the boy.
"Don't leave it there!" he pleaded urgently. "It doesn't belong there!"
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:06 pm
Tosh kept his position near the pumpkin. His eyes flashed as he wondered whether or not there were still any possible ways for him to keep it somehow - but no, there weren't. His parents would know either way. In saying so, he barely noticed the flutter of movement next to him, until he heard a tiny voice saying something.
Stumbling backwards, he gaped at the creature in front of him. It was something that Tosh had never seen before - though he'd discovered paperwork on his parent's desks that actually looked very similar, he'd thought it was just a drawing phase. But this - this was real. He couldn't be imagining things! Tosh pinched himself for good measure, and when the pain that shot through his arm took hold, he looked again at the tiny thing that sat across from him. It had a sort of human shape - with fingers and a head, as well as arms. But there was a metallic look to the creature, and it's entire upper head was bandaged. Tosh almost wanted to reach out his hand to touch it, but it looked scared enough.
"W-What are you?" He stuttered, completely forgetting about the little Plague's remark and staring at it unabashedly.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:24 pm
Hopkin retreated further into his hiding place, alarmed that he had been found out. The human was small, but to Hopkin he was a giant, and furthermore, he wasn't Wickwright. He stared at the boy for a few moments, and when the boy did nothing alarming, he bit his lip again and clambered slowly forwards. Reaching out gingerly, he touched the boy's clothing, delicate little metal fingers brushing against the fabric before he pulled it back like he'd been scalded.
He looked at his hand for a few moments, then back at the boy. When nothing happened, he smiled slightly to himself, the glow from his mouth dancing on the glass of a jar discarded nearby.
At the question though, he became visibly distressed, tugging on his sleeve and shifting nervously on the spot. The 'what' had stung, and furthermore, he wasn't entirely sure, himself. "A Finch," he said, and then immediately corrected, "No, a book," Not quite. He fiddled with his bandages, trying again. "A plague?" But what about that part of him that was a book? He didn't want to be just a plague.
"Hopkin Fi- Hopkin." he settled for. He glanced back at Wickwright, wishing that he was there to tell him whether or not he was right. Remembering what Wickwright said, he hastily added, "A Jawbone Society book," somewhat more confidently. No matter what he was, Wickwright had been careful to let him know how important he would be to the Society after he finished their lessons. "I'm Hopkin and a Jawbone Society book and a plague. And a boy. I think."
He thought that must be everything. "Why did you pinch yourself? Who are you?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:07 am
Toshua was still feeling just a little bit flabbergasted over the tiny... human being (?). Perhaps this was some sort of trick of the light - but no, he'd pinched himself and that was that. It was a beautiful thing, whatever it was, with golden skin and a mouth that opened and closed and shone of light. Tosh had never seen anything quite like it before; but then again, he'd never seen something like the Plague before as a whole.
Tosh listened carefully (and truthfully, more patient than he usually would be) to Hopkin describe himself rather hesitantly. He heard briefly the words, 'Finch', and then 'Book', and then 'Plague'. Plague. Tosh almost felt the need to narrow his eyes - plagues were the things that his parents were studying! Tiny creatures! They were really real? He gulped and looked at the newly established 'plague' again, staring in scrutiny this time.
"I'm certain you're a boy if you've got...the parts." Tosh winked conspiratorially (because he felt the need to corrupt young plagues, it was all the rage, really) and smiled at the stuttering he heard once again. Hopkin. It was an adorable name. As for a Jawbone Society Book, Toshua didn't have any idea what the little plague was talking about.
"Well, Hopkin Fi- Hopkin," Tosh said dryly, "I'm Toshua Green. I live right down the street."
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:31 am
"No, just Hopkin, Toshua Green," Hopkin corrected sheepishly. "And a Jawbone Society book and a plague, and maybe a boy too, but you don't have to say that part. Wickwright doesn't ever." He hadn't answered the pinching question, and Hopkin wanted to know more about the parts, was there something he could obtain to make himself a boy like a proper Jawbone Man would be? Wickwright had said he couldn't be a proper Jawbone Man, but if he had the parts, maybe he could give it a go. Maybe they were what Wickwright was teaching him, he thought hopefully, and by the end of their lessons he'd be a proper Jawbone Man.
Maybe, maybe, maybe. Hopkin didn't like all the uncertainty that the waking world had. Things were much clearer in his head.
He wasn't here for himself though, so he swallowed his questions and scrambled over to the pumpkin instead. "You shouldn't leave this here," he advised urgently. "It's too vivid, it doesn't belong with all this... this dull stuff." He gestured vaguely around at the rest of the dump. "You should keep it with more beautiful things where you can see it well, especially if you don't live here." Now that Hopkin knew that Toshua Green didn't even live in this pile of objects, he was doubly upset that he was leaving the pumpkin there. Why would he do that? Couldn't he see how bright it was?
He felt uncomfortable sounding so demanding, and so he let out a sheepish cough. "A-at least, that's what I would do." So far, Hopkin hadn't noticed anything else about the pumpkin, but there was a nagging familiarity tugging at his subconscious, urging him to pay attention. He was too busy rationalizing with Toshua to give it much heed.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 5:25 am
"Well, nice to meet you. Hopkin." Tosh feels a bit like laughing. He's certain people would laugh at him if he had a name like Hopkin - in this little plague's case, however, it's actually quite cute. The plague seemed to talk a lot, rambling on about what he was. Tosh hadn't quite known - and still didn't, what a Jawbone Society book was. He decided not to ask, shutting his mouth and instead just smiling.
Tosh watched as Hopkin gestured greatly (especially at his pumpkin, whom Tosh could see the plague was attached to) and heard him explain how it was important to keep the pumpkin. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" The boy remarked, smiling softly. He pet the pumpkin's rough surface for a second, then paused and sighed. "My parents have forbidden me from having it." He started, coughing a bit and looking past the plague in a rather detached way. He was almost a little shocked by Hopkin's reaction - he seemed to feel things that were real - Tosh had been raised to think that plague's didn't really have emotions. They were just strange creatures.
"They think it could be dangerous, something of that sort. Not that it's really any of your business" Tosh added to his first statement, hastily. He didn't want to seem like a nanny's boy. Maybe he'd finally make a friend with this Hopkin. He was nice.
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Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 8:28 pm
"O-oh," Hopkin muttered, looking at the ground. If Toshua Green's parents had told him, he wasn't sure how he could disobey. Hopkin would never disobey Wickwright, and Wickwright wasn't even a parent, he was a Grimm. (There was a difference, Wickwright had made very clear. Hopkin was not a Finch, Hopkin was a book, a plague, not, not, not a Finch.)
His words reminded Hopkin of Dragomir Meschke, the pretty murderer that he and Wickwright had found themselves traveling with. It had seemed impossible that Dragomir Meschke could have killed a man by looking at him, but he had. It was true, beautiful things could be dangerous, Hopkin had evidence of this. Since this was true, it was even harder to disobey an order, even if it wasn't from Wickwright, who always knew what to do, and was from some vague, foggy other source of commands. But the pumpkin was too lovely to just leave there, and Hopkin just felt like Toshua Green couldn't leave it.
Not while he could do anything about it.
He thought about what Wickwright would do and remembered how they had found out Dragomir Meschke was dangerous, by investigating. Rolling up his sleeves to reveal his bandaged arms, he suggested, "W-well, we can look and see if it's dangerous? If we make sure it isn't, then you shan't be disobeying them by having it and we'll all be satisfied." He felt fairly sure Wickwright would be satisfied if he investigated. Weren't Jawbone Men supposed to find the truth?
He turned around to crawl inside and check, and nearly reeled over. Peering at it a little more closely, he cautiously asked, "Toshua Green, where did you meet this pumpkin?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:37 am
Toshua almost felt a little sad when he looked up and was greeted by poor Hopkin's face. He almost looked a little ... crushed. Making up for his shortness earlier, he smiled widely at the Plague in front of him and tried to look as friendly as possible, inching a little closer and suppressing the weird urge to pet the Plague's head.
Hopkin's urge to stop Tosh from throwing away the pumpkin surprised him. Was there something special about the pumpkin? As far as he'd noticed, the pumpkin was utterly normal - well, it did have a strange glow to it; it also didn't rot, which Tosh had secretly found really quite cool and hadn't told his parents about. However, Hopkin seemed to have good logic in his small head - especially when he came over and started to touch the pumpkin's hard surface. Tosh smiled. The Plague was so small!
"You can call me Tosh if you want." The boy remarked as Hopkin examined the pumpkin. He didn't notice the Plague's somewhat shocked expression at first before he started speaking, asking a question that Tosh's parents had also asked many times before. The difference before was that he hadn't told them the truth. "I picked up the pumpkin in an abandoned grove," He said casually, looking at the pumpkin and Hopkin with a newfound interest. "Why do you ask?"
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 10:22 am
Toshua Green had said that Hopkin only had to call him Tosh if he wanted, which Hopkin didn't. Hopkin was very much about precision, and full names were very important when it came to precision. A name said plenty of things about a person, and shortening a name seemed like withholding knowledge, which was not something the book boy was good at. Had Toshua Green said "Call me Tosh," then Hopkin would have been obliged to do so, but he hadn't so Hopkin next addressed him thusly: "Toshua Green is your full name, so I would prefer to call you by that, if it pleases you. Nicknames make things awfully muddled, and though I am quite pleased that you would give me permission to call you by one, it isn't something that suits me very much. I will call you Tosh if you really want me to, but Toshua Green is your real name, which seems inherently better to me."
Balancing himself on the edge of the pumpkin again, he looked in more carefully. There was no mistaking it, this black ooze and this odor seemed like the furvus elixir and those terrifying crows. Hopkin shuddered, but it also seemed like something less terrifying: the absinthe that Alae Greaves had been carrying with her when they met. That Absinthe had been plagued, Wickwright suspected, and Hopkin suspected this was the case with the pumpkin. It was unlikely that it had anything to do with either the elixir or the crows, or at least Hopkin hoped it had nothing to do with them. Hesitantly, he said, "Well, wherever you found it, I have reason to suspect it has been exposed to the plague, and now carries it."
In case Toshua Green didn't understand the implications, Hopkin added, "Like I did when I was an illuminated book as you know them to be, and not in this body. Um, I'm not sure, but I'm fairly sure. I've only ever seen a plagued item once, and it was quite black and tainted, much like the inside of this pumpkin seems to be. I've also seen a plagued fish, but that was still alive. It also shed blackness like what seems to be in this pumpkin." He looked anxiously at the boy, as if seeking approval or disapproval for the statement.
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:02 am
"Have it your way then," Toshua replied offhandedly. His fast, adrenaline-pumped mind was already tiring of the conversation and moving onto the next one they were having –– the one about the pumpkin. He had to admit, he'd been unnaturally... attached to it, the first time he'd seen it. Tosh had wanted to take it home with him with a burning desire –– it had been strange at the time, but he hadn't really realized anything off balance. It puzzled him, now.
Hopkin's small, tinny voice interrupted his thoughts, and he settled narrowed eyes at the small plague, who was teetering dangerously over the pumpkin, looking in in a manner that made Tosh feel very expectant. "Well?" He said, impatiently. "What?" The answer came quickly, the little tin-boy's head popping up and his bandaged head turning in his direction.
Hopkin explained how the pumpkin must be infected by the plague; Tosh wasn't sure if he should trust the little plague, but there really wasn't any other explanation for his strange pumpkin, and he'd really seen it all today, so –– He'd also never thought to actually look inside the pumpkin, which now that Tosh realized it, was sort of stupid. Taking the chance, he bent down, examining the squash and peering inside, taking in the black ooze and the strange stench. "Ew, you're right." He said, wrinkling his nose. Tosh hadn't really noticed the smell before. He was also pretty impressed by the little plague's knowledge –– Hopkin probably knew more than his parents, who'd dedicated their whole life to the 'plagues'. If only they knew he was talking to a real, live one. Well, no one would know –– Tosh was keeping the secret of Hopkin all to himself. Besides, the little guy would probably hate attention. Tosh liked the idea of being a secretkeeper.
"So, uh, so what should I do?" Tosh coughed, trying to sound confident of what he was saying and not really getting there. "Should I keep it? I mean, will it, you know ––" He gestured around, motioning to the entirety that was Hopkin, "Will it turn out like you?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 9:45 am
Hopkin deflated a bit as Toshua peered into the pumpkin and wrinkled his nose, after all, Hopkin had been a putesco once! To him, the scent of plague and death did not smell so foul, and Toshua's reaction certainly did not grant him a great deal of self esteem. But even Wickwright seemed taken aback by the smell of the dying, and though Hopkin did not fully understand it, it seemed that most humans found such things to be repulsive, things like the pumpkin and him. A melancholy thought, to be certain, but he supposed that Toshua Green at least found his orange plague to be pretty in appearance, so perhaps there was still hope that Hopkin himself could be appealing to humans, if he just looked the part.
"My Grimm, Wickwright Finch, kept me, so I suggest that you keep this pumpkin. I believe that everyone should conduct their business as Wickwright does, he's terribly clever, and he made me, so he is also quite wise. If I'm correct about this being a putesco, it will be like me- oh!- but perhaps slightly different. Yes, I think this pumpkin will be more visually appealing." It was hard to imagine a thing so bright could be less pleasing to the eye than the dull book he had come from, after all. "It may also have a slightly different biology. Wickwright Finch and I know of three, but I do not know if there are more. Plagueology is a new field, Wickwright didn't linger over it whilst he was writing me, and so I have considerable difficulty attempting to learn it." He glanced up at Toshua bashfully at this admittance, he disliked letting people know that he had difficulty learning anything. However, Toshua had asked for his opinion, and Hopkin was obliged to give it in full. "Toshua Green," he warned, thinking of March and crows as he thought of plague, "Do not let anybody take this pumpkin from you if you want to be its Grimm, but remember," he paused, frowning. He wanted Toshua Green to keep the pumpkin for certain, but he could not tell him the truth without possibly scaring him off. Choosing his words carefully, he added, "Many people desire plagues, and not all of them are scrupulous men of truth like my Wickwright Finch. Grimms face many difficulties, seen and unseen." He remembered the trouble he unintentionally caused for Wickwright daily simply by dint of his existing at all.
"Wickwright Finch says that Grimms are unfortunate people, Toshua Green. I hope that you have more good luck than we have encountered."
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 2:43 am
Toshua didn't even think of how Hopkin would've reacted (as always, he certainly wasn't sympathetic to other's feeling); the black liquid was sort of repulsive and it really didn't smell so good. Looking up from the blackness of the pumpkin, he turned quicksilver eyes on the tin boy, listening in rare rapture for what he had to say.
A- a putesco! There was a word to go with it now! Tosh's eyes sparkled and he was suddenly considerably interested and engaged than he had been just a few minutes ago. The idea that he might one day have a friend as strange and accommodating as Hopkin was both thrilling and made Tosh feel special, for the first time in a long time. Maybe he'd been meant to pick up that pumpkin, that day in the vineyard – he couldn't believe that he'd even thought to throw it away. Touching his hand to the rough surface of the squash, Toshua imagined the pumpkin as his plague, a creature like Hopkin was. It was exhilarating; he couldn't even possibly start to fathom the possibilities, the genetic differences between a plague and a human being. The boy was a scientist like his parents; he thought of every situation in numbers and a hypothesis. The single difference was he didn't believe in just the destination – to Tosh, the journey was just as important. Perhaps he could finally understand why his parents were so dedicated to their cause.
"Three?" He breathed in, harsh and quick and unbelieving. Tosh almost couldn't wrap his mind over the fact that plagues actually existed, much less the fact that there might be three in Imisus right at that moment. "I want to meet them someday!" He grinned at the thought, meeting different little plagues with different biologies and different thoughts. It was so different, so revolutionary. The black haired boy barely even registered the idea of danger (which, at his age and status, was welcomed) and bobbed his head eagerly. "I'll be sure to! I'm a superhero, after all!" The boy decided to try out the new word on his tongue. "Grimm. Grimm. Grimm!" Delighted, he smiled wider than he had in years.
"Oh.. should I tell my parents?" The young boy scrunched up his nose, seeking the younger, but much more world-wise plague's opinion. He didn't really want to tell them; they'd take his pumpkin and put it away somewhere, probably in a refrigerator and poke the poor thing to pieces. Tosh didn't remember feeling for something as strongly as he did the pumpkin; he sort of loved it already.
The perpetual smile on its face seemed to grow even bigger in the darkening sunset.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 6:13 pm
Toshua Green's excitement put Hopkin's mind somewhat at ease- for the Plague in his possession. As for Toshua Green's own well-being, after March, Hopkin could no longer be confident that the boy's enthusiasm would serve him well, and the thought pained him. But had he not warned Toshua Green? He had, and it was more important to protect pretty things such as the pumpkin. Not to mention, his enthusiasm was catching and relieving. March was full of grim Grimms, and seeing one so enthusiastic for his task gave Hopkin hope that maybe one day Wickwright would treat him with more appreciation as well. Certainly his Grimm valued him immensely, that had never been in question, but he had never acted as pleased to be his keeper than the boy standing in front of him.
Still, enthusiasm led to misunderstanding, and Hopkin found himself making corrections instead of eagerly gushing along. "Oh, no, Toshua Green! I meant three different types of Plague biology, which are things that are impossible to meet. I know of," and he paused to do a mental count, "Perhaps four Plagues in Panymium, both in Imisus and Shyregoad. And of course, the famous ones like the Grand Magus's Sword! These perhaps you will meet one day. I would say the most pleasant ones are Lettie Arelgren and Chayele Meschke, since they're very delicate and lovely, but I'm quite sure your pumpkin will be also." He wasn't quite sure what a superhero was, perhaps it was an occupation like a mendicant, or a type of human biology. He filed it away as something to ask Wickwright.
Wickwright. At that and the mention of parents, he looked up in alarm to find his Grimm towering over him, quite done with his conversation and looking most displeased to find his plague talking to a stranger. "I beg your pardon," murmured the older Grimm to Toshua so as not to attract more attention to the fact that there was a Plague in the area, "But I believe you have my Plague." Hopkin winced and felt himself get scooped up, trying to speak quickly so he could answer Toshua's question thoroughly. "Oh! Do not do anything to endanger it, Toshua Green, and show it to no one unless it's necessary!" That was how one kept a Plague safe. That was what Wickwright did, after all.
He looked up at his disappointed keeper's face and felt a guilty knot in his stomach. At least, that was what his Grimm tried to do.
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