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 Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 6:36 pm
Amrita was sitting at her desk, legs crossed and arms folded under her chest. Her gaze was on a jar that was placed strategically in the centre of the mat, one that had a layer of paper notes at the bottom buried under hundreds of small silver seeds. It had a note taped to it, with 'FREEDOM' written on it as carefully as the awkward printing could possibly allow. It was easy to tell that she had been saving up for something, but she simply couldn't remember what. She had been staring at it for a while now, searching her fragmented or hazy memories for possible answers.
Until she heard a small scratch from the other side of her door, followed almost immediately by a rumbling howl from DC. Someone was on the other side. Who would possibly be visiting her right now? She stood, taking the jar and putting it back into the larger drawer on the desk, before walking over to open the door.
Honest surprise took her features for a moment, upon seeing who it was.
"What are you doing?" It was clear what he was doing. He was putting something on her doorstep. The question was more why.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 6:44 pm
The hunchback froze, a paper package laid at his feet. Wrapped around his neck was a red scarf with white fluff on the edge, slightly burnt in places, stitched from rips from others- he must have had it a long time. Since a certain Christmas play he had met Barth. Possibly found long ago after a certain train ride into Christmas. It definitely had it's Halloween touch now a days, though, but their Christmases had never gone smoothly nor without injury.
He left the thing where it lay, backing up with a polite bow of his head, pulling his coat around him as he looked ready to bolt.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 6:51 pm
"You will stay where you are." Amrita's voice cut through the air, her tone hard and commanding. She was not giving him the choice to leave, just short of actually getting in his way. The door was left open but the ghoul herself had taken to leaning against the door frame, her arms folded and her gaze honed in on him.
"What are you doing?" She repeated for him.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:03 pm
He froze, turning slowly to face her, although he kept his eyes down on her backward feet, mismatched hands folded behind his back like any good, polite Igor would while waiting for instructions.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:13 pm
Amrita heaved a sigh. He wasn't going to answer her? Well, fine. She leaned down just enough to pick up the paper package he had left, turning it between her hands. It was a present. A lopsided one, but a present. The fact he was still here meant it probably wasn't immediately dangerous, which was somewhat promising. If it was, he wouldn't have obeyed her command to stay, right? So it was indeed a present, but...why? Her brow furrowed in confusion, still fighting against the barrier in her mind for answers. Nothing came.
"Why would you bring me a present?" Her voice had softened then, as if she were honestly trying to figure it out.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:17 pm
He glanced up then, eyes locking with her's for a moment before he looked away again, his expression unreadable as his hands rose to form the signed words, "Because-it-is-Christmas."
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:22 pm
Amrita pressed her lips together; that argument made no sense to her, and yet at the same time, it did. Still, there was a block in her mind, and it was annoying; the rest had begun to fade, but this one stayed strong.
"Do you always get presents for creatures you barely know?" Or creatures who had yelled at you last time.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:28 pm
That, at least, got a snort out of the Igor. An incredulous noise from someone of his species, but there it was. Like he was internally, and bitterly laughing at her... although he wasn't.
What was he supposed to have done in this situation? His first instinct had been to barge in, to smash those barriers in her memory, to fight for her, to throw her over his shoulder and lock her up until she remembered- but what good would that have done besides just upset her?
Hel had offered her help, but unfortunately for the Igor, Christof had no idea what there was to be done, really. Maybe the ghoul had spoken to her, maybe not. It didn't matter. In the long run, he had kept his distance, let the wound heal. It didn't matter, he was close to graduating, so close he was procrastinating going to classes, avoiding homework, hiding in his workshop to tinker in the familiarity of it. He'd resigned himself to his fate, but even so there had been that sentimentality of the memories he still had. What still had happened even if now that time, those experiences only existed in his head.
It was as good as if they had never happened, except now it made the future all that worse to think about.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:45 pm
The noise surprised her, which was something worth noting because lately she never showed such an emotion. Her features were carefully schooled, like a Queen should, but now that influence was fading, and little hints of the old Amrita were leaking through.
He hadn't answered, and yet that had been enough. She remembered their last meeting too, and all it did was make her more and more confused. All she could do was frown down at the package, still getting that distinct impression that she was being laughed at.
"May I open it?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:51 pm
"Should-wait-until-christmas-day. Believe-that-is-how-tradition-works," He signed stiffly.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:59 pm
Now she turned a clearly suspicious look up at him. He was trying to deliver a parcel in secret and expected her to wait another few days to open it? She had been so sure it wasn't a danger to her, but now she wasn't so sure. It felt oddly strange to be suspicious of him like this, like perhaps she shouldn't be, that deep down she trusted him---
Those feelings were very deep down.
"It's not our tradition. We are not in Christmastown." She pointed out. Sure the Christmastown teachers were here, and it was snowing, but that was about it. They were Halloween, and Halloween only. "I believe I will say 'screw it' to that particular tradition." She announced, right before holding the thing in one hand to pick away at the tape with the other. If this was indeed a trap, well, hopefully he'd be going down with her.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:03 pm
He lifted a hand with a muffled noise in his throat as though to stop her, but ultimately lowered it again as he waited for her to rip it open, his face flushing. He had hoped she would open it on her own, without him there- if it didn't work, if she found it dumb and decided to trash it, at least he wouldn't have had to watch.
Under the paper at first looked like a heap of metal and plastic parts, but once it was fully unwrapped it was a carefully constructed sculpture of a bird. The parts had been stained and burnt until they had a dark patina on them, and a key fell to the floor from between it's taloned legs. It was a life sized mechanical crow, it would seem. Judging by the silver bolt sticking from it's hip, it was clockwork, meant to be wound.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:22 pm
The layers peeled away to reveal a beautifully crafted bird, one that clearly had a lot of work put in to it. Too much work, in fact, to be the gift to someone you barely knew. She only cast a quick glance at him, for a moment at a loss for words. Her lips pressed into a thin line, her mind working through the reasons she couldn't explain. This only added questions to her already curious mind, and without so much as a glance to him she leaned down, scooping up the key and fitting it over the bolt after a moment of examining it.
She continued to not look at him as she turned the key, and once it was fully wound she shifted to balance the bird on both hands cupped under the talons as if it were precious.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:30 pm
The bird clicked and twitched in her hands, vibrating with mechanical life as the gears inside began to turn, it's metal wings suddenly fluffing it's tin-cut feathers and opened it's beak- there was an almost musical squeak before a device inside must have been condensed and it gave a croak and the beak snapped shut again. This repeated a few times until the coil spring ran out and the toy froze again.
Christof's face had gone red as the thing had done its little performance, his eyes dropping to his boots.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:39 pm
She stared down at the little bird long after it stopped moving, her brow furrowed as she tried to connect dots that didn't make sense. This was clearly hand made, not purchased, and something about it told her it was his handiwork specifically. It was strange, very strange...
She blinked, and felt something wet fall against her cheek. The confusion broke but she still looked rather baffled as she raised a hand to touch her cheek, peeling it away to see the odd, off-brown substance that she immediately knew as a tear. She was crying? How was that possible? Aside from that tear - and another one that followed not too long after - she showed no other signs of it, and yet...
"Why am I crying?" Amrita asked out loud, though in a murmur that sounded like it was only meant for her.
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