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 Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 3:58 pm
The sky was rumbling with enough fervor to make his windows rattle. It was a perfect night. Christof stared out through the glass intently, watching for signs of raindrops. Rain added to the ambiance, of course, but the best lightening came when it was still dry and the warm and cool airs were clashing violently in the cloudy skies above.
A perfect weather for reanimation, or so his calculations and books told him. His spirits were higher than they had been in weeks as he tossed the freshest, wettest parts into their portable cooler and grabbed a few pieces of equipment Barth had sent home with him to finish up, tucking them under his arm. He wore his best work clothes, vest buttoned properly and scarf left behind- (It wouldn't do to get it caught in a piece of equipment after all.)
It was time. He practically ran to the stairs of the undead dorms, slowing down to catch his breath and this time knock, very strategically, on Master Malodore's door.
He hoped Riley was not there this time. She might laugh at him.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:12 pm
Malodore had been fiddling with its pumpkin experiment, adjusting the flavor infusion pods. Its first test had been slightly too heavy on the nutmeg. Natural cooking wasn't quite its forte, but this brand of preparation was right up its alley.
"Un attimo, per favore," it called out in the direction of the door; it wasn't sure who was outside, and Luce was currently under the bed, hiding from the thunder and lightning. A lamentable quality, alas... but Malodore supposed the little puppy couldn't be completely perfect.
The plague doctor quickly finished re-attaching the intravenous fluid feeds, then stood up and padded over to open the door. "Ah! Christof." It studied the patchwork for a moment, then opened its beak in a grin. "I take it you find the lightning fortuitous?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:15 pm
The hunchback eagerly nodded, putting a few pieces of hardware down before lifting the cooler so it could see the particularly fresh brain and several detrimental organs inside proudly. They had to hurry, it was just the beginning of the storm, but if they wanted the best strikes, they'd need to set up before the bulk of the storm passed through.
He pointed hurriedly down the hallway towards the stairs with an urgent grunt, hoping Malodore would understand they needed to go.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:22 pm
"Understood," Malodore said, rubbing its claws together. "Let me grab my part of the experiment. Where are we going? I will meet you there."
It stepped back from the door as it spoke, grabbing its bag out from under its worktable and checking the contents. It would need to add some extra-fine suture thread, some very slim needles... hmm. But the most important component was in a small box set into the wall. Malodore had been keeping the mostly-complete lepus corpse bagged within its small freezer unit. It quickly opened the door and pulled the bag out, along with a few cold packs to keep it as chilled as possible during transport.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:24 pm
Christof juggled his own things, pulling his notebook out of his pocket- even if Malodore had learned the sign language he and his other friends were working on, it was difficult with your hands full. He scribbled quickly, padding into the Plague Doctor's room, wary of small puppies who he had become accustomed to being bitten by, to offer it over.
Master Barth's room is almost ready. Should be. Last adjustments needed while you set up. Storm may pass must work quickly.
Regardless of whether the storm was here to stay all night or not, it seemed the Igor was beside himself with excitement.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:31 pm
"I will work as quickly as I can," Malodore assured the patchwork, shoving a few last implements into its bag and zipping it shut before nodding at Christof.
"Va bene. Let us proceed."
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:33 pm
Christof beamed, hefting his own supplies before nodding and hurrying out to lead the way.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:49 pm
The weather was perfect. Kelpie weather. Right now, rivers were spilling and the ground was turning into swamps as the storm continued on. When it started, he had been beside himself with excitement and while he might have ran around splashing in the flooding rivers, it was best to stay away till AFTER the storm. He wasn’t really up to challenging the currents and decided he could go shortly. Instead, he had gone to Barth’s, having been bored and avoiding a big novel on Devon Clan history that he had slid under his bed.
While the other boil was more or less lying about and Calder done playing about with random objects to purposes he had no idea were used for, he had been more or less distracted with how the flickering lightening had shimmered on Barth’s rather impressive horns. While they were not the glimmering spiral that was Alabaster’s, Barth’s horns (and Calder did not the appeal of 2 horns over 1) had their own allure. The demon must have caught on to his gawking and in a roundabout ways, Calder was brief on how horns were maintained. Of course that lead to Calder wanting to see, which lead to Calder being lead step by step on how to perform a hornicure. It was, by far, the most fascinating thing the kelpie had seen. After a head soak in the bathroom, Barth was then settled on the couch, his damp hair wrapped in a town but two horns poking out. While Calder sat, Barth’s head was settled on a cushion, though a extra towel was given in case any water soaked through, and Calder was given a rather expensive bottle of horn oil and a impressive file. It was, to Calder’s own benefit, that his slightly flushed cheeks could not be seen as the other boil seemed to be falling asleep (go figure), and he found himself swallowing hard every once in a while. Not only did he want to be careful, but there were a few electric sparks happening for the boil just by touching a horn that could not be blamed on the storm.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:04 pm
Barth was perhaps not completely oblivious to Calder's...fascination with horns, but he didn't see the harm in using it to his advantage.
He enjoyed hornicures, in the same vein as long baths, massages, single-position yoga, and a variety of things that maintained his physical well-being while requiring little to zero movement on his part. The storm only encouraged the lethargy. Just another reason to stay indoors.
...He had been wary, however, to entrust the job to just anyone. His horns, while presumably fit for combat, were still a part of his skull, and like an extra set of teeth, he could feel them.
Being gentle was unfortunately not one of Christof's skillsets, and while he had designated a variety of menial tasks to Christof while he had been under his employ, hornicures were not one of them.
Calder, on the other hand, seemed to be doing an excellent job, in exchange for only a little instruction. Barth thought it was working out very well all-around.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:09 pm
It wasn't long before there came a timid knock at the door, as though the person doing so wasn't used to it. The door was usually left open, though, and soon cracked to bear a familiar mismatched face as the hunchback cleared his throat.
Christof was getting better about discretion while entering other people's rooms. Apparently not everyone liked it when he came in and watched quietly. Or tried to help. He glanced at Malodore over his shoulder before holding the door open for it like a good servant, head bowed. Was he aware Barth was right next door to Mistress's dormitory? Hopefully not. Or maybe it forgot? No matter, no matter. Just a project, and a good project, keeping him out of trouble like a good Igor.
He glanced inside once more, finally spotting the two figures on the sofa and his brows furrowed. What... was Calder doing to him? Eyes suddenly widening, his grip tightened like a clamp on the cooler, and nearly broke the instrument under his arm.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:15 pm
Malodore had followed Christof all the way to the demon dormitory. It did cast a quick glance at Riley's door as they passed it, half-tempted to focus its thoughts on her, see if she was in... but given what had happened with Christof last time, it figured the ithilid might complicate things.
A shame, really. Riley would have been most interested in the proceedings.
A moment later, it stepped inside, realized Calder was present, and decided its decision not to contact Riley had definitely been the right one. It opened its beak in a smile at the kelpie, then nodded to Barth, whom it didn't know anywhere near as well as the others. "Buona sera," it said, politely.
It certainly didn't notice the kelpie's, um... state.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:23 pm
He didn’t expect anyone coming in, and while it was innocent enough and Calder was usually unaware of what others might think, this was probably one of the few times he ever felt flustered. The knock caused him to jerk to attention, wondering if it had just been the window knocking against the frame. It had been so nice. Quiet, with rain falling, the wind howling, and the storm outside brewing like a witch’s cauldron with smoky-black clouds. A lovely day.
Then the door creaked open, and Calder turned to see not only Christof but Malodore walking in. Suddenly getting a very distinct shade of pink, something that was rather startling on a creature who was both gorgeously pale and also had silver-white hair, but he had been so startled that a thunderclap made him jump a bit, caused the file to fly from his hands, and cause him to try and catch it once, bouncing off his palm, and then falling to the ground.
He stared at it and then tried to play everything off, crossing his arms and then touching his ear and then deciding to just start fiddling with the hem of the towel on the pillow. With Barth’s head on his lap, he couldn’t exactly go anywhere. “Um. Hey guys. What are you doing here all of a sudden?” His voice had spiked up a bit and he gave a throat-clearing ‘ahem’ after.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:28 pm
Barth opened one eye to take stock of his company, ignoring Calder's fumbling.
"Hello Christof, Maladore. Err, have your...tool bags, I see?"
And a box. ...Barth tried to remember if he should be expecting an impromptu surgery.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:45 pm
Swallowing and gingerly crossing to the table he had carefully cleaned a few days earlier, scattering what knickknacks Barth had lazily placed on the cleared surface in the interim, and placed his things down, motioning for Malodore to do the same.
Once able-fingered, he swallowed heavily. There was no reason to be upset if Calder was... spending time with Barth. He wasn't his Master. Not... not really, anymore. No reason to... And besides, it was ghoulish work anyway by the looks of it. Perhaps it was fitting for the kelpie.
He could live with that.
Turning back to the other two, he lifted his hands in an awkward but accurate attempt to mirror what he had been studying, 'Have-you-been-reading-the-book?'
He really didn't want to have to put a tongue in for this if he didn't have to.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:55 pm
Malodore tilted its head to one side. "Ah. I presume Christof did not warn you in advance?" it asked, after a moment.
It glanced at the patchwork when he began making odd gestures. Hrm.
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