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 Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:24 pm
'Woof' was never a sound Calder liked hearing. It meant dogs, and it meant wolves. The second he heard it, Calder jumped off the washer as if he was sitting on a hot-iron skillet, and turned about, taking a few steps back. "What's that?!"
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:31 pm
"Found-it-in-graveyard. Almost-forgot. Stupid!" Christof knocked a couple knuckles against his forehead as he finished the sign, gingerly moving to shoo Barth to the side as politely as he could before unlocking and hauling the massive drier door open and pulling out...
What was not recently tumbled laundry, thank goodness. Although it did look a bit like the end of a damp mop. It wagged a tail, giving another somber, "Woof."
The hunchback, wobbling a bit in his new coat, set the thing down with embarrassment, onto Barth's lap so he could sign, "Probably-should-feed-it. Been-almost-a-week." There had been plenty of Fear in the air, so the speak. The thing that turned out to be a puppy didn't look very much worse for wear.
He had left Firth and Scruff back at the dorms, but finding this thing.. well... it rested a floppy head on Barth's claws, tail wagging as it waited for the appropriate signs of affection for something so sad and floppy. Christof's hands moved quickly, as though it were the sign language equivalent of muttering, "Reminded-me-of-" He cut off, floundering, before finishing lamely, "School."
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:44 pm
Barth patted the very floppy woofing thing on what he assumed was the head.
"Handsome fellow," he said. "Err, you mean that I should feed it? Well I suppose, err, there's something around somewhere." Barth looked about briefly, discovered this not to be the case, and considered his duties filled as far as could be expected. But the dog...doggish creature was very good looking. And seemed determined to stay limply plopped wherever it had been put.
"Ah, wait a minute." Barth foisted something unidentifiably tough and sticky from his pocket. "I still have some of Glop's treats. ...Those don't go bad, do they?" He'd made the batch while he was still a first year, and offered it to the Doggish, which made soft snuffling sounds before lapping it up.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:00 am
Calder looked at the mop of a mutt, and frowned. He only just got used to Scruff, and it wasn't like he was petting that pet anytime soon. A simple pat maybe, but Christof's buddy didn't really thrill him. This new dog wasn't winning his affection either, and Calder kept away form it, deciding that he'd much rather stand a few feet off. It was good that, unlike Scruff, it wasn't energetic and bouncing all over the place and around his hooves. "Yeah..it's just adorable." Calder said in a flat tone, already done with it. "That's not...following us around all day, is it?" Couldn't they just toss a bone into a grave and let it occupy it's time finding a way out for a bit while they enjoyed themselves.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:43 am
Christof shrugged, scratching the back of his head before arranging his new coat with a whine. It still needed some work, it was too tight, no matter how he tried to wrap the extra arm around and under his other. And nothing seemed to fit that new left arm. He settled for stooping for the scissors to cut the sleeve open more, arranging it a bit better before awkwardly gesturing to the room and table in the center, "Where-I-stay. Out-of-way-when-not-needed. Learn-to-read-at-table." And how to speak. And eat. It was on the other table that those privileges had been taken away from him. He didn't seem inclined to leave the storage room just yet.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:29 pm
"Oh, I don't think he'll be any sort of bother," Barth said, wiggling one of its ears.
He watched as Christof explained his living quarters. He looked at the table, which he supposed was the most important landmark, which was...well, on the sad side.
"Dr. Fell has a lot of Patchworks about, does he?"
Calder groaned at the idea, narrowing his eye at the mutt. Barth and Christof could entetain it because he would not. Crossing his arms about his chest to show this, he let out a defeated, "Fine."
He huffed, "Being alone isn't fun......but....you had those machines and the other patchwork.other patchwork. Fredirick? Do you get along with them?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 2:20 pm
The hunchback's expression pained, hands twisting before he pulled up a wooden chair or two from the corner to the table to make it more guest-friendly. His signs were disjointed, as though it was difficult to get his hands to convey what he had in mind, "Sells-most. Not-many-on-hand-compared-to-some-Creators." At the sound of Frederik's name, the hunchback stiffened, his face going... greener. His mouth twitched as he raised his hands again, "He-not-Igor. He-machine. Does-what-Master-Says." He shifted again, looking even more uncomfortable in his own skin before scowling a bit proudly, "No-brain."
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 2:34 pm
"Sells, I see," Barth repeated, carefully ambivalent but not unhappy to hear that answer. As for the rest of it, well...he might as well ask. The question in itself was harmless enough. Almost like asking "what do you want to be when you grow up" or "what college do you want to attend".
"What about you, do you think he's planning to err, keep you around after school? For igoring and so on."
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:08 pm
Seemed sad that Dr. Fell made Igors but didn't keep a few around for Christof to hang with. However, as sad as that was, it was done and gone, and Calder was already moving to another shocker. "He's a robot?!!" He had no idea that the creature he saw as Frederik, that he though was an Igor, looked like a living thing, was a machine! What scientist couldn't doe these days? It was amazing and scary and deeply troubling. It was good that Christof brought chairs over, because Calder soon plopped in one, holding his head. "You inventors." He said, regarding the demon, Igor, and even Dr. Fell in the same group.
It was Barth who brought up something Calder had only thought about once or twice - what was Chrsitof's plans for the future. He naturally felt that whatever master or mistress wanted him would be where Christof went, but then again, there was the Original master taking a big part in this. "Well, Dr. Fell just upgraded him and he hasn't sold him. Does that mean you have to stay here?" It was an even sadder thought that Christof's pace. Being alone and having no one to talk to and then having that as his future! That couldn't be allowed! It was mean!!!!
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 4:07 pm
To Barth's question, Christof merely shrugged, pulling off his coat again to resume work, but that was soon lowered as his third arm reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose at Calder's remark. 'No.' He signed with a sigh, 'Meat-robot. Different. Just... stupid. Follows-orders-only. No-personality. Different-from-Igors. Different-from-me." As he continued though, the shrug was back, his stitched lips pursing in a thin line, "Probably-will-be-sold." His hands were trembling as he made these motions, though, his expression falling a bit.
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:48 pm
"Metaphorically," Barth said, enforcing what Christof said, although he found it curious that Christof defined absolute obedience as robotic.
...Was he esteeming his own rebelliousness was a sign of intelligence that made him something above the other experiments his master created and sold? It was a line of thought Barth agreed with, but he had not expected to hear it coming from the Igor.
"In any case, I doubt Dr. Fell will pull Christof out of school to work under someone else's employ. ...Especially after having passed his exams successfully."
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 12:36 pm
Barth wasn't the only one who found Christof's description of Frederik strange. For as long as Calder knew the Igor, he had expressed that following orders without question and doing anything other than following orders without any input of your own was what he wanted and what he should be. Saying anything other than that now made Calder turn his head a bit, but smile. He wasn't about to point it out and make Christof realize what he was saying and work to stomp that thought out. He hoped these were signs of him wanting to be heard, be an individual, and be less of a floor mat to any owner he worked for.
The being sold part however bothered him, and he sat up straight. "Sold?? Oh no. We can't let that happen." He looked to Barth because the boil was one of Christof's owners, friends, and also a demon with wealth on his side. He hoped Barth knew why he was looking at him for.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 1:54 pm
The hunchback simply busied himself with mending the coat, quiet for some time while he mulled everything over. His own thoughts on the subject were confusing, and worrisome, but getting in his head... that was something The Good Doctor couldn't do. He could only... plant seeds and hope for the best.
He knew from the start he was a Bad Igor, but he was trying his best, wasn't he? That's all he could do. Try his best and hope it paid off in the end.
'Tired,' He finally signed, 'Could-show-you-around. Not-much-to-see.'
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Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:16 pm
Barth avoided Calder's look.
"Alright," he said, "Let's see it."
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Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:30 pm
Barth didn't seem to be looking his way, and instead Calder would try and bring up the subject in private with the demon at a later date. If anything, maybe Calder could work on saving some seeds of his own to help purchase Christof's freedom and let him decide who he wanted to Igor under. ....No. Alongside. That sounded better.
As much as he hoped for good things for Christof, Calder was soon realizing he was doing more harm than good here. His poor friend seemed unhappy with both of them here and not in the least happy about their arrival. Calder wished he could help out, and rose up. "Yeah. Uh, show us around and then you can go get some needed rest." He hoped maybe showing them around would instill a sense of pride and make Chrsitof happy, and Calder was OH SO curious about the castle. It was his first one he had ever been in.
Maybe after a good rest, Christof would feel better? He hoped so, and maybe Barth and Calder would...drag their feet a bit with leaving.
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