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 Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 2:41 pm
Malodore didn't have as far to go to get to Christof's room - not as far as it usually did, at least. The pathway from its new room to the patchwork's home was unfamiliar, and thus soothing, but it felt a pang as it reached the door at last. The destination was familiar... and thus, slightly painful. Everything familiar seemed to hurt a bit, these days.
But that was why it was here. Calder's suggestion, about finding solace in work along with Christof, was a good one. And it wanted to check on the patchwork in any case. It was pretty sure Christof hadn't come to the Four Isles, so...
It hesitated a moment, then lifted one hand and knocked. "Christof? It's Malodore," it said quietly, leaning in so as to have a chance of being heard through the door.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 2:51 pm
There was a crash from inside when Mal spoke up, but after a few moments, the scorched door was cracked open, the hunchback glancing out with a carefully bottled expression behind his curtain of hodgepodge hair. His eyes darted over Mal's mask for several more moments before finally he held the door open for it politely.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 3:52 pm
Good, the patchwork wasn't missing any limbs that it could tell - that was Malodore's first thought, incongruously. The second was to scan what it could see of Christof's body, hoping but not expecting to see a flicker of Riley's mark on his flesh. "Christof... how are you doing?" it said, awkwardly. There was no good way to start this type of conversation. Even with all of the practice it had had in doing so, lately... no. There simply was no proper method. It was never going to be painless.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 6:20 pm
Christof grunted. He was not a terribly tidy person to begin with, but his depression, it seemed, had made it even worse. His room was a mess, as though living in a storage locker of body parts and old projects, most of which had been shoved against the far wall to make room for his workbench, on which was covered in various parts and a small cylinder. His face red in patches, he gave a noncommittal grunt as he limped his way back to his chair, slumping over his work once more.
Tacked onto the wall ahead of him were his old notes he had brought out for the Lepus Project, with new notes and post-its placed over top. Bringing Things to Life. Animating corpses. Fear Direction. Arrows and numbers and notes with strings to help cross-reference.
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 10:09 am
Christof's wall looked a lot like the plague doctor's own - covered with potentially relevant notes. It sighed to itself as it approached, confirming the contents, then gently put one hand on the patchwork's shoulder.
"I... this is for her, isn't it?"
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:25 pm
The hunchback was still, staring down at the small device he was working on as though debating, before nodded stiffly. He swiveled his chair around, brows knit and jaw set as he signed quickly, "Stone-lacking-fear. Need-fear-generated. Like-lightening-on-a-corpse-yes?"
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 9:21 pm
Malodore blinked. "That is... that is an idea, my friend, though I do not know if it would work... our kind are different from minipets," it said, with another sigh. "And, of course, we do not have... her. Or anyone previously turned to stone to test it on. Or proof that lack of FEAR is what keeps the... the body calcified. There are so many variables. Maddening."
It ground its beak in frustration. There were so many things it could have known that it didn't, so much solace it could have had that it didn't, all because they'd taken her away from it.
When it spoke again, it sounded oddly small, oddly vulnerable, especially for addressing Christof. "... I am working on my own theories, I... I understand your drive," it said, quietly. "I wish I could bring her back, I just... I am scared to hope, because every failure would be like losing her again..."
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 10:44 pm
"Where-is-her-body? Good-at-procuring-bodies," Christof glanced up from his wiring again to sign, a look of desperate intensity overtaking his mismatched features as he leaned in towards the plague doctor with a look of intent.
He'd desperately like to hear the Plague Doctor's theories, but they'd do nothing without a subject.
Failure in this project was... inconceivable.
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 11:32 pm
"The Bogeymen took her," Malodore said, that now-familiar bitterness edging its voice. "They took her from me, and cut me down without a word to get me away from her. When I woke up in Nurse Cricket's office, it was too late..." Even as many times as it had now told that story, the situation was still enraging. It would never not be enraging.
"I do not know where they took her. Where to even begin..."
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 5:14 pm
Christof gave a beastly grunt in his throat, rocking upright as he signed slowly and stiffly, "Then-we-find-her."
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 5:48 pm
"I want to find her, believe me... I didn't want to allow her to be taken at first, but I can imagine... what they want to do to her. What they might have already done." Its wingfeathers jangled discordantly against each other. "We are both scientifically minded: what would you do, given such a specimen... ah, no, I do not wish to consider it," it said, shaking its head as if to fling the concept forcibly away.
It had already considered it at length, anyway, while trying to sleep. Alone in the dark.
"What resources do we have?"
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 8:42 pm
To that, the Igor grunted, scrambling through the papers on his desk before pulling out a carefully constructed list. "Barth notes," was all one line said. In Christof's head, it detailed what he and Barth had found out about the old pendant they had gotten from the haunted house before it had started to decay and crumble, as well as a neat list of names and cryptic notes beside them. 'Blue', 'red', 'stone', and 'blade'. Red Tooth, was also on the list, as well as a few other things. He gave an almost ape-like noise in his throat, offering it out to the plague doctor urgently.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 10:28 am
Malodore accepted the list and began studying it... hmm, there was more here than it had expected. "This is... excellent," it said, surprised. "This is analysis of Hunter technology, is it not? Barth's work and your own?" Its gaze traveled down to the entry about 'red tooth'.
"Ah... a sample of Professor Red's remains? That could be a useful sample, perhaps. If it can be returned to a non-calcified state by some method... hm." The plague doctor fell silent, pondering. Of course, if they somehow retrieved Riley's body and somehow managed to turn the statue back into flesh... it was likely, even probable, that what they would get would be a corpse devoid of life. A corpse that would rapidly begin decomposing and be lost to them.
"... The consciousness is my primary concern. A body is... important, si, but if there is no life within that body, then..." It heaved a frustrated sigh. It simply did not know enough about this!
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 2:15 pm
Christof gave another noise in his throat, urgently hobbling back to his wall of notes before tapping the diagram he had created for Firth's creation. His finger went from the phrase "Directed Fear" and then down to the components laying in pieces of wire and coils down on his bench.
"Master-has-notes," He signed, "Hunter-technology-strange. Broke-down. Wrote-down-took-pictures-of-what-could-be-captured. Strange-magic. Strange-science. Possible-to-learn."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 3:22 pm
"That is... this is astonishing. My compliments to your Master," Malodore murmured, clearly intrigued by the analysis. Even if it wasn't directly related to its own field of study, the fact that someone was investigating was somehow gratifying. "The more knowledge we have, the better... is this something the two of you are actively pursuing?"
It would have to begin compiling its own data, soon.
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