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 Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 9:48 pm
“I can’t believe this.“ Alois stood with arms crossed and his dog at his side, as he watched a complete stranger across the path. The man? woman? picked up a recently-deceased robin from the hollow of roots, with similar care to Alois’ own reclamations. „There aren’t any other decent taxidermists around here. In fact, I am one of two with an actual shop. Who does this a*****e think he is?“ He muttered to Schatzie, who only looked up at him curiously.
„I’m the only decent taxidermist in town. All the roadkill and corpses around here are effectively my property. He can’t just go around picking dead s**t off the ground just because nothing is around to claim it. There should be laws for this. How dare he.“ Schatzie, however, didn’t offer an opinion. Instead the dog stood faithfully at his side, tail wagging lazily in the early May heat. Alois, dressed in his usual blacks, was in no condition to run after the thief and cause a fuss over it.
So, there was only one person present for the job. Well, maybe not so much person.
„Schatzie, go say hi.“ Alois pointed toward the stranger lifting the bird, and Schatzie took off without further prompt. Bounding through the park paths easily, the dog found the stranger with ease and looked happily between stranger and dead bird. Finally, Schatzie decided that the snack of a dead bird was more interesting and therefore tried to abscond with it.
Alois watched as he approached slowly, stepping over the usual summer debris of a few broken twigs and fallen leaves. „Planning on taking that bird somewhere?“ He asked as he watched the stranger hawkishly.Daekie lmk if this needs changes!
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 7:53 pm
Ashton, given all her faults, had the appropriate taste to not be dressed in full blacks in May. This wasn't the arctic circle -- he had no desire to suffer heatstroke in the middle of the street. Even if it was on purely selfish grounds; after all, there would be teasing, wouldn't there? Some lighthearted -- some not so much. Not all of her classmates were aware of her gender, and some that were...hadn't been especially kind about it. It was better to smile through his teeth and struggle through it.
To be fair, 'struggling through it' apparently meant looking like a textbook hipster minus the glasses in this case, but Ashton saw absolutely no problem with that. He kept pristine and sterile, and a few blood splatters or stray feathers only added to the aesthetic, yes? Yes.
So when she heard Alois muttering under his breath (looks were deceiving -- Ashton was surprisingly perceptive, but rather good at pretending he wasn't), she remained surgical in her procision, placing the bird's corpse in an appropriate receptacle before turning to finally face the young man (younger than her, maybe? age got so very hard to tell in the twenties). "Sorry, am I intruding?" The polite lilt to her voice implied sincerity, but the dull light in her eyes implied well-hidden absolute scorn. "I was going to take it home to clean it, actually. It's in good condition -- I don't usually find these just lying at my feet."Hetzerei it's fine! lmk if ashton's pronouns get confusing to follow, i can stick to singular 'they' or switch between they/she smile
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 8:49 pm
“No, you don’t. It’s a peculiarity I’ve discovered here. Things just drop off in droves.“ To be fair, the bird she held was in excellent condition - as if suffocated inside of a jar and left here that very same day. Alois wished that his own customers would bring in proper specimens like that, but lacked the luck of it. Really, they lacked the skill at killing anything with a modicum of finesse.
„Clean it and do what with it?“ Alois turned his attention to the nearest tree, where he picked at its bark incessantly. „If youre really interested in that bird, it’s just going to rot after a few days unless you do something to preserve it. That involves carving organs out, filling it with polyurethane foam, wiring wings and feet… It’s a very messy business.“ Please don’t be a ******** armchair taxidermist. She looks like enough of a hipster to do it, too. „Maybe you’ll want a professional to do it?“ He looked at her then, eyes darting curiously between the face of the individual and the box she held. Well, maybe it was a he. What bother there was in trying to find out.
Schatzie, however, still looked very interested in the bird - almost too interested. The call of his name was enough to secure the dog at Alois’ side, where he whined lightly at the lost bird until hushed.Daekie i write in third person limited, so it's alois' attempt to discern a binary gender that provokes the narrative confusion~ no need to worry about it!
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 9:48 am
"I usually have to go looking if I want anything worthwhile, or kill it myself," Ashton commented, hefting the box under one arm. "Recently, though, things have just been dropping like flies." She cast her eyes up to the sky, as if looking for some sort of divine intervention to drop down and provide the Ten Commandments of Dead Wildlife written entirely in bone and gristle.
"I use the bones." That provided a shrug, albeit a gentle one to avoid jostling the corpse. "Jewelry. Decoration. I don't have the time or the money for anything else but basic vulture culture. The rest of the body goes to the dog." The dog who, conspicuously, wasn't around. "I've always wanted to learn, but there's no time. If you want the bird, I've no problem with giving it to you." His smile was a little insincere, in the way someone's smile always was when they wanted something in return but weren't going to state their desire quite yet. "I'm afraid we haven't been introduced?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 1:04 am
“I’ve noticed that a lot around here. Roadkill wasn’t unusual in a place like Pennsylvania, but here? There aren’t enough cars.“ Finally conversation turned interesting. „And the only notable flora impact I’ve learned of was a fungus growing on a tree in the dog park. With that gone, and no other trees with the fungus, there’s no real effect there. So for all these animals to drop dead, and no known cause for it…“ He shrugged. Providence was too simple, too straightforward an explanation. It left a sour taste in his mouth, like over-chewed nicotine gum with the backwash of morning breath.
„I’ll take the bird. You can have the bones.“ Alois would lose out on bone lapidary, but he had enough skulls to work with. Keeping more entailed higher cost on preservation methods with no forseeable profit. Overall the deal would work fine - well into both their favors. He preferred mutual benefit for the lack of argument, but often it urged others toward some kind of clandestine partnership. „It’s easy enough to remove all of it. I practice taxidermy for a living; I can send you the cleaned bones without cost. Professioanlly done.“
He was not, however, keen to fork out his name on a whim. „Scholz,“ he offered, hands finding the backs of his hips. „This is Schatzie, carrion connoisseur and future mounting project. You are?“ And, naturally, he’d need an address for mailing the bones, unless this person intended to stick around and mouthbreathe over Alois’ shoulder while he cleaned out the corpse.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:54 am
"The best theory I can come up with is that it's something about the air composition that eventually turns toxic to animals," Ashton murmured, interest piqued. "It could lead to all the unusual stories around here, too. Ageless witches on the beach, animals that talk...but I'm no biologist. It's not my place to theorize." She took a few steps, extending the box to Alois, nails painted black and resisting the stubborn urge to flake from digging around in the dirt.
"That works for me. Thank you." He dipped his head in thanks. "Where's your place of work? I can drop by on the weekends, but classes take up too much time otherwise. I haven't been keeping up with newer businesses as much as I should - finals, you know." A nervous laugh, cut off before it actually went anywhere. "I'm Ashton."
A quirk of the lips. "Are you sure about doing it pro bono? I'd be alright with working for you during the summer, if you'd like. I need to keep busy."Hetzerei alexis and ashton and alois and autumn. clearly with ashton's recent upgrade the four of them need to form a visitor a-team
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 4:06 am
Maybe that would be the case for certain animals, Alois mused to himself, but humans are animals too. I wonder if it doesn’t have more to do with Ashdown than with more… conventional explanations. To Ashton, however, he simply nodded once in recognition of a theory. „I’ve not seen enouhg of it yet to form an opinion myself. Either way, it’s less of a concern for me than for, say, the park rangers that work in this area. A park becomes underwhelming with no wildlife to support it.“ That, and if all the animals in the area died off, then his practice would dwindle.
But until Alois saw a dent in his business, he saw it as more a topic of interest than an actual, observable threat.
„Mount Me, my shop, is off Connoquenessing Boulevard.“ He half-turned, then pointed through the thick of trees toward the hazy morning twilight beyond. „It’s somewhere down that way. Hard to miss. It’s quite small, so the biggest complaint is the lack of space for tanning practices.“ Not that anyone out here demands that I tan jack s**t for them. Easy enough to ship out for that.
„On the weekends I’m open 11 to 7 saturdays, and 4PM to 10PM sundays. If you can’t come at those times, then use the intercom outside the door.“ If this kid had finals, then either he was looking at late high school or college. Sometimes Alois couldn’t tell the difference. Still, finals meant at least half a brain, and at least half a brain meant marginally less grating in small talk and actual conversation. This one seemed a little introverted for traveling alone. Hopefully that meant less inclination toward prolonged interaction when he stopped by for the bones.
Alois snapped fingers as he leaned shoulder against a tree, and his dog returned faithfully to hand. The german pet his head in attention half-paid while he spoke. He smirked broadly at the offer of a helping hand. „I’ve been needing someone to handle some of the odds and ends on customer side. I won’t turn down an assistant.“ Reaching into back pocket, he pulled his wallet. The black leather bifold on a chain housed three business cards stored in the cash area, and he pulled one as an offering. Die-cut, the design was simple and mass-produced - likely one of the many options offered through online businesses like VistaPrint. MOUNT ME it read on the top left, justified, with the location and hours of the shop. To the right, in finer print, read A. Scholz with the subtitle of Owner and Taxidermist.
„Is it a deal, then?“Daekie omg yes, alois wishes he was badass enough to be mr t
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 3:50 pm
"I've heard of you," Ashton observed, more as a note-to-self than anything else. "Mostly because of the name, of course." A name like Mount Me tended to draw attention - and her parents tried, they did, they meant well by keeping an eye out for jobs, but for all they tried they were still more than a little WASPy. That would, likely, never change. It didn't mean she couldn't be amused when her parents stumbled over sexual innuendos, though.
"I don't think anyone in this town would necessarily demand you to tan things for them," she murmured amusedly, "not when there's already plenty of places to ship out to that have years of history, if you don't mind the fees. I can make it by around 4 on Saturday, or I can come by at 11 if I hover around the block for an hour prior. But as far as being an assistant goes...I certainly won't turn it down." She took the card, pocketing it swiftly, with black-painted fingernails reaching out to wrap around the card.
"It's a deal."Hetzerei when's alois going to grow a beard, strick...
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:49 pm
Picking an obnoxious name is turning out to my advantage, then. If not Katie’s advertising attempts, then at least that worked out in my favor. Even if the name only provided a giggle for people like Ashton, it meant they consciously recognized the shop and would therefore know of its existence. If they ever made friends that needed a taxidermist, his name would come up in conversation. He hoped the name choice was not in vain.
„You’d be surprised.“ He slipped a small tray of gum from his pocket, the ones that sat in plastic with a foil covering, and punched out one of the squares to pop in his mouth. Wild cherry, it read on its original box, yet the flavor never reminded him of cherries at all. „Hunters, for example, get very attached to their kills. They’re proud. They want someone they can make a connection with, talk face-to-face with, who will understand their pride. And a lot of them are simply too old-fashioned to think they can make that style of connection over the phone.
„There’s also a matter of preference for the taxidermist, but that’s too tangential.“ He waved the thought away.
„I will expect you come Saturday, then. I’ll also expect a CV out of you if you’re serious about taking the job.“Daekie fin? considering alois' version of a beard is scraggly face pubes, he will never get to growing one. maybe in ten years when his body finally figures out the art of secondary sex characteristics
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 2:38 pm
"You'll have one," Ashton smiled, "and I'll see you on Saturday, then." With that, she turned on her heel, pulling a smartphone out of a pocket to note it down in the calendar.
Alois didn't seem kind, but Ashton had never been able to stay away from similar people in any walk of life.Hetzerei ashton can probably grow a beard, in the sense of something kind of scruffy, but also shaves religiously. wheres the art of alois with his shitty pubestache. wrap!
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