|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 4:14 pm
Genus Solanum, Species S. tuberosum.
Who?
Amory Kempe (kotaline) and Georgie (Rookeries)
When?
Early May in 1413, before the summer session at Trisica begins.
Where?
The (relatively in)famous psychology branch located in the Philosophy wing of Trisica University.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:44 pm
Georgie's life at Trisica University was filled with wonders when he'd arrived in October, though he scarcely expected the workload when he entered the school full of many dreams and hopes. The professors here had ran him ragged dry, and he was already studying and preparing his ventures as a Plagueologist outside of the university every week, which meant that he was unavailable to seek the guidance of other professors, or meet with students, or attend lectures in what conceptually was his free time.
He was overly content with all this. He needed no reminder to realize how blessed he was to attend the university at all, but the looming and demanding tuition hung over Georgie like yet another malady. While the amount of shillings the Plague Doctor had left him was considerable, he still had to fulfill errands in order to make up for a good amount of the cost and ration living expenditures, and being the Doctor's apprentice was by no means a paying job, even with the amount of times Adal often prayed it would be.
Given Georgie's scarcity around the University save for his focused studies, however, no professor was able to pour their attentions into the boy's requests for errands and jobs this May. They were already surprised that Georgie wasn't pouring his attentions into studying for this tests, but the boy simply excused himself and moved onto the next professor. He started at the head of the bustling science wing and moved his way through each corridor until, at last, he found himself at the humble corner of the philosophy wing.
Georgie was pleasantly familiar with the philosophy wing's garden, but was rarely around its professors, and came only at the flighty recommendation of Professor Pelletier, whose mind was scattered between the looming cost of alchemic materials and his horrible students, to visit Dr. Kempe, whose name he wrote messily onto a ripped scrawl of parchment and stuffed into Georgie's hands, as he'd forgotten that the 'psychologist' was titled Representative of the Council several semesters ago.
"Doctor Amory Kempe," Georgie read aloud in front of the professor's door while staring at his name plate, "Must be awfully busy, but..."
Georgie knocked shyly on the door a few times, stopped, and stared quietly at the piece of parchment in his hands. He wrung his hands together and said aloud, "Ah, Dr. Kempe? I know it's best to schedule appointments but I, uh, am looking for work and maybe a place to stay and, well, would appreciate any guidance! Dr. Pelletier recommended that I come to you, if that's okay!"
He stared at the title 'psychologist' underneath Dr. Kempe's name, and Georgie recalled a flyer stuck in the rim of one of his texts. "I've also been meaning to maybe talk to you about Plagues, too, since I'm also a Grimm, but-- I lost track of time, so I'm sorry if this is all a little too late in the term! Also," Georgie lowered his voice, "I'm not sure if you can hear me from in there."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:33 pm
Doctor Amory Kempe's office was the shoddiest, not just in general state of organization (abysmal), but also in construction. He was not the youngest Philosophy professor, but he was the least credible, at least until several semesters ago, when he had received his sudden promotion to second most important figure in the Council, and by the time that had happened, nobody, not even Amory himself, had felt like bothering to move the hurricane of scattered ephemera that filled Amory's office to another, more suitable room. Thus, faint echoes of Georgie Malt's voice could be heard from behind the door, but Amory was not able to discern them, or indeed, anything at all.
Having been presented with an hour of free time between lectures due to the sudden cancellation of one of his more nervous advisees' appointments, Amory had seized the moment and fallen asleep, or perhaps simply passed out, as there was no question in the mind of anyone who knew him that he didn't get enough sleep trying to meet the demands expected of his position. Unfortunately for him, René had not been notified of this change in schedule, and thus, the door swung open quite innocently to a seemingly empty room, save for the sound of gentle snoring coming from underneath the desk.
A few lavender stunteds rustled on the shelves, seemingly debating whether they should wake Doctor Kempe up without René's command. Having been well-trained, they opted not to act until they received orders, and settled for fluffing the cushions on the worn sofa and making the usual preparations to receive any visitor to the Representative's office. Since René was missing to greet their guest, a small row of the highest-ranking stunteds lined up in a row on the desk, and gave stiff bows.
"Welcome, Grimm!" they said in unison. "Do you have an appointment?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 7:54 pm
Georgie took a few hurried steps back when the door flung open, though the boy couldn't help but smile widely over at the row of stunteds on-- he would guess Dr. Kempe's-- desk, which was steeped with books and parchment and materials.
The nostalgic mood of the office allowed Georgie to step through into the professor's office with more relative ease. "Thank you," he called to the stunteds; he shook his head. "I don't have an appointment, no, but-- well, I suppose you didn't hear me from outside the office, but I was hoping to talk to Dr. Kempe about maybe any work or living quarters in Imisus he knew of. I came at the advice of Dr. Pelletier, since I"ve been rather down on my luck trying to find anything around the University so far..."
Georgie scratched the back of his head, then bent down to his knees to observe the stunteds closer. "I've never seen so many of stunted Plagues in a row from the same Tincture before," he offered his palm to the lavender staff, "May I? You're all quite dashing-- the variation between you all are fascinating. Do you remember where you were born, maybe?"
The boy scarcely noticed the quietly snoring professor from underneath the desk, though he did glance around momentarily-- perhaps he was lost in his pile of work somewhere?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:31 pm
"No appointment!" gasped the stunteds, all Rene trained, and all quite horrified by the idea. One of them dragged out the appointment book and flipped through it, trying to find the truth of the matter.
"He's not in here," it announced in leaden tones, and the other stunteds all huddled together, trying to grasp the situation. Muttering amongst themselves, they discussed the dilemma, and in their speech, faint snatches of words could be heard if one strained to. "Turning him away... inhospitable... appoinment... Doctor Pelletier..."
They leapt apart immediately when Georgie began to interrogate them about their origins, and, debate forgotten, seemed almost offended by his question. "We thank you for your kind words! Of course we remember where we were born! We are all Council stunteds! Born in the Council, raised in the Council, trained for the good work! Of the Council!" They all bowed simultaneously, though perhaps not as flourishingly as Rene might, but their outburst had been enough to cause a groggy groan to emerge from under the desk. The whole group of them froze, looking panicked.
"Dr. Kempe!" they called out in unison. "Please do not exert yourself for this visitor with no appointment!"
"Visitor?!" came a voice from under the desk, then a thud, as he tried to stand up and hit his head, then another groan. "Who's there? How may I help you?""
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 4:19 pm
Georgie scrunched his face up and chuckled briefly at the lavender stunteds' answers. Though his was initially nervous at them checking the appointment book, he replied in earnest, "I didn't mean any offense in my question, my apologies! I'm honored to meet Council Plagues such as yourselves, but I'm afraid I can't quite locate where you were born, ah, but if you can't recall where that is, exactly, that's okay--"
Georgie stared off at the source of the groaning and immediately stood straighter. He gripped the handle of his satchel with both of his hands and blinked curiously at the office desk, though he backed up slightly when he noticed that it caused lavender stunteds quite a panic. At the sound of the voice, though, and thwump, Georgie stepped forward again and nervously hovered over the desk.
"P-professor Kempe? A-ah, it's nothing, I apologize for the fuss! You certainly seem busy, so I can make an appointment and come back when you aren't."
He looked back at the lavender stunteds, and at the appointment book, "May... I ask when that is, actually?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 10:57 pm
"Doctor Kempe's next available meeting for a student who is not a Council Grimm or interested in the Philosophy or Psychology program is in two years time," the row of stunteds replied dutifully before Amory could even open his mouth. Amory grimaced, reached over, and grabbed the scheduling book from them, flipping through it and finding it completely incomprehensible. A smattering of scrap notes fell gently from the pages as he leafed through, likely destroying Rene's careful organizing for the next six months.
"It doesn't matter!" Amory decided after a moment. "I can meet with you now, of course, lad." Sticking out a hand, he said, "Clearly you know me, but I don't believe we've met properly. I'm Doctor Amory Kempe-"
"Representative of the Council of Sciences!" the stunteds chorused,
"-Psychologist." Glancing over at the stunteds, he asked, "Why don't you reorganize all those papers on the floor for me?" and, seizing the distraction, pulled out a chair for Georgie, and one for himself. "Sit down, please," he insisted. "What can I help you with?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 2:51 am
Georgie grew somewhat panicked at the mention of two years. Would he still be around Trisica by then? Either way, an attempt to see Doctor Kempe seemed futile at this point, so the boy grimaced and mentally prepared himself to at least say good-bye properly to the stunteds and leave. His quiet farewell was easily overshadowed by Amory's sudden movement, though, and Georgie startled back with a loud gasp.
He was still calming down from his initial shock when Doctor Kempe greeted him properly. Georgie managed a nervous smile and shook the professor's hand, and laughed sheepishly when the stunteds chimed in soon after. Georgie's face brightened considerably at the mention of 'psychologist,' wherein his handshake grew more confident.
"It's an honor to finally meet you, Professor Kempe. My name's Georgie Malt, and I, uh-- I'm a new student under the science wing." Georgie nodded obediently and went to sit, picking up a few papers from the floor to put onto the table. As he did so, Georgie also reached into his satchel to grab a psychology paper, which he handed to Amory.
"I, uh, if you hadn't heard earlier, professor... I came to you at the advice of Professor Pelletier about perhaps finding a place to stay in Imisus during the summer," he plopped onto a chair, "He mentioned that my experience with Grimms and Plagues might be of some interest for you, as well, and I'd meant to visit you earlier in the year, but things were awfully busy... for both professors and students, I'm sure."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 4:38 pm
Amory laughed as Georgie tried to pick up the papers on the floor, causing the stunteds who had already set about the task to become even more offended, if possible, by this stranger and his continual breaches of protocol. "Not you, not you!" he reassured Georgie, gesturing at the tiny lavender cadre. "Them."
The stunteds looked up at Georgie darkly, and one of them muttered something about speaking to parliament about all this. Amory shrugged. "Ignore them," he suggested. "I tried getting to know them at first, but it almost seems like they prefer not to speak to me about anything other than business. It was different back in the early days, but now they've formed a government. So it goes."
He scratched the back of his head and frowned. "You weren't able to acquire summer lodgings within Trisica? If they let you stay this term, they should be obliged to let you stay again. We're not that short on rooms, especially since students keep dying on us over break. What residence hall were you living in? I can speak with the authority in charge."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:25 pm
"Sorry, everyone," Georgie nodded briefly to the stunteds, "I didn't mean to offend you. I would like to learn more about your government later, though, I've never heard of Plagues doing such a thing before."
Georgie returned his attentions to Amory, and stifled a laugh in return. He didn't mean to seem so morbid at the mention of dying students, but thinking about his peculiar situation amused him nonetheless.
"Ah, I was staying at Trisica Hall. I... I would have stayed there over the summer term," Georgie stifled, "But they complained about my staying there, so I was asked to leave." He wasn't too sure how well the professor would have taken it to hear about his frequent illnesses, and hoped secretly that Doctor Kempe wouldn't press the matter, though the boy was very bad at keeping secrets-- he turned slightly pink in hue.
"A-and-- I've tried going to the lodgings around Gadu, but I'm afraid I don't have the funds. A majority of what I have is going towards renting a stable for my master's caravan, and it can't go anywhere until my brother returns from Auvinus. I know it's a peculiar situation, but I have nowhere else to go for the summer..." he leaned back against the chair, defeated, "All I need is a place to sleep and cook that isn't an alley."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 5:56 pm
The stunteds muttered noncomittally, clearly torn between being good hosts and reluctance to be the (figuratively) bigger person. "Parliament is for Plagues only," one of them murmured darkly, only to be elbowed in the ribs by another. In moments, they had forgotten about Georgie and pulled themselves into a heated and hushed debate on the nature of government.
Amory raised an eyebrow. "Magister Trisica's Hall. Truly, the least terrible of our student lodgings. And you were evicted from the premises! What was your offense, pray tell?" The stunteds appeared to have some hypotheses on the nature of his possible offense, but Amory ignored them, waving a hand dismissively.
"I can certainly try to help you, but I'm afraid that if you did something that banned you from one residence hall, it will be difficult to get you an assignment in another. Plus I'm not even the person to talk about that sort of thing with-- Typical Pelletier, sending you to me, he's a wonderful man, wonderful, but very tired. The Council representative deals with Council affairs, not student affairs." He smiled apologetically. "I understand financial issues very well though, I'm afraid. I can make you a list of cheap lodgings that I know of in the city, but they're all fairly dangerous these days- the cheap parts of Gadu are where the most outbreaks occur, and even though you're studying Plagueology, I wouldn't think you'd like that sort of extra credit."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 6:20 pm
Georgie reddened and shook his head at the stunteds, "N-no, it was none of those things, I promise! I just," he sank into the chair, "None of the students quite liked it when I was sick, and I was sick very often... b-but I don't want to alarm you, professor, I make sure to stay out of anyone's way when I'm ill! And I feel perfectly healthy now."
It was odd hearing a statement from the body of such a tiny, somewhat sleep-deprived looking boy, but he was by all means earnest. He grimaced and nodded along to what Amory had to say, though he stared with quiet horror at the mention of cheap lodgings. He recalled the poor memories he had of such places when he stayed with the Clemmings so many seasons ago, and the thought of reliving those experiences upset him considerably.
"I would rather stay outdoors than go to the outer walls again," Georgie announced strangely loudly. He laughed cautiously, "I-I'm sorry, professor, that was rude, but-- if there's anywhere else I could stay, I'm willing. I'd be willing to do any kind of work imaginable," Georgie pleaded, "So long as it isn't in the outer walls."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 6:35 pm
Amory looked the boy up and down sympathetically. Even when he had been living in the outer walls himself, and surviving on a prayer, he had always been stocky, but he recognized the marks of poverty from experience, and Georgie's earnestness plucked at his already oversensitive conscience.
"You'd think that students in Trisica Hall would be likely to recognize when a cold is just a cold," he remarked tritely, but if even they had been made anxious by Georgie's illness, then it was even less likely that there would be no complaints in the other residence halls. He drummed his fingers on his desk thoughtfully and began to write down the names of some lodging houses he had stayed in during harder times, but stopped, pen hovering over the paper, at Georgie's outburst. The outer walls had not been hospitable even before the pestilence had reached Gadu, and Panyma knew what they were like now. As a Plagueless high ranking Council official he was strongly discouraged from going there any longer.
"I can try to find you another residence hall," he began, "But I just don't know--"
He stopped, something occurring to him. "You're a Plagueology student? What's your focus?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 7:58 pm
Georgie looked helplessly down at his shoes. He reckoned the professor doubted his character from his outburst, but he still remained visibly shaken from the mention of the outer walls. Even with the company of the Clemmings, the burdens of what happened at Helios with his and Adal's mistake took a grave toll on his health and confidence. He had chosen to go to Trisica due to his revelations there, after all-- if he were to return to that condition, he was unsure if he'd ever leave.
He offered the professor a genuine smile nonetheless. "It's alright, professor. I don't blame the others for reacting that way-- any illness can be troublesome, especially to a student." He straightened his posture and bowed his head, "I'm sorry about the outburst again. I didn't mean to shout."
Georgie opted to leave by the time Amory mentioned the residence halls again, his hands clutched tightly to his satchel. He was thrown quite aback at the professor's new line of questioning, though, but answered with intrigue, "My focus, professor? It's-- difficult to say right now, since it's my first year. My master is a Plagueologist, though, and I'm responsible for speaking with Plagues and their Grimms," Georgie brightened, "I almost forgot, that was also why I wanted to speak with you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 9:23 pm
"Nonsense, we're right next to the rhetoric department, and there's enough shouting over there to ruin the afternoon some days. I think Philosophy is more than due a little retribution." Amory reassured Georgie. "Anyway, those slums are hardly for the faint of heart. It's understandable to be desperate to avoid them."
He nodded absentmindedly as Georgie discussed his studies, then seized upon the subject in his remarks that stood out. "Your responsibility? On behalf of the University?" It wasn't a position he was aware had been filled within Plagueology; Technically, it was the Psychology department's job to speak to Grimms and Plagues- or so he strove to convince everyone. He shook his head. The important thing was that this all fit well, very well indeed, with the scheme that had occurred to him moments ago.
"I thought that your interest must lie in that vein, with how you were questioning these fellows," he said, gesturing at the stunteds who had just finished reorganizing Amory's schedule, "So does mine. I may be in the Philosophy department, but I study Psychology, or the study of the mind. My studies right now overlap with Plagueology in that I study the minds of Plagues and their Grimms in order to try to discern the nature of Plagues, and how closely they resemble humans. I think I have an idea, but go on, what did you want to speak to me about, first?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
