Allan Warbeck
Ireth
Janitorial Enigma
He who limps still walks.
Posts: 81
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Post by Allan Warbeck on May 19, 2010 15:54:11 GMT -5
((This takes place shortly after "Most Unusual".))
Was there no end to the strange messes at this school? Allan asked himself as he cleaned chalkdust from most of the desks in the room, and watched François vacuuming more of it from the floor. First there had been that slick of blood in the hallways in mid-October, and then the other slick of blood in the bathroom when poor Zephyros had been injured barely a week later.
Now there was the blood and the abandoned book on the floor outside of the music room, which Allan had already cleaned up, and then this. What in the world had happened here? It looked like someone had been throwing chalk brushes all over the room. There had been two sets of footprints leading in here from out in the hall, and three leading out again. Allan wondered whose they were; one of them was small enough to have belonged to a student. It was just plain odd.
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Post by Angel Kapur on May 19, 2010 16:11:56 GMT -5
Angel had decided to skip the class before lunch. Chemistry was not his strong point, and frankly, the teacher bothered him. 'Safe' or not, he didn't like hunters much, particularly those with their own magic.
He had smelled blood, and the delicious, mind-fizzing scent of a new mage, and had nearly decided to see if he could spend a little time with the music professor before people had to interrupt his planning and bring in Frog's curly-haired friend.
He stopped trying to blend into the ceiling and dropped down softly behind the janitor as if he'd just walked into the room.
"...Man, what happened in here?" Angel smirked. This guy was fun enough.
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Allan Warbeck
Ireth
Janitorial Enigma
He who limps still walks.
Posts: 81
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Post by Allan Warbeck on May 19, 2010 16:24:40 GMT -5
Allan turned his head as someone spoke up behind him, and smiled when he recognized the purple-haired boy he had met while cleaning up the first interesting mess of the school year.
"Hello, Angel," he greeted him cheerily, not missing a stroke of his dusting cloth on the desktop. "I was just asking myself the same thing. Someone's been having rather too much fun with the chalk brushes, it looks like."
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Post by Angel Kapur on May 19, 2010 20:51:09 GMT -5
"Yeah, seems like i- what is that thing?" Angel pointed to François, then moved over to take a closer look. It seemed to be a little mechanical vacuuming... thing, but then it turned around and bumped into his shoes, barking.
He hopped over it and onto a desk in one light movement, grinning. "It's kinda cute, whatever it is."
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Allan Warbeck
Ireth
Janitorial Enigma
He who limps still walks.
Posts: 81
|
Post by Allan Warbeck on May 19, 2010 21:04:52 GMT -5
Allan laughed, looking down at his pet as it bumped against Angel's ankles and barked. "Meet François, my pet roomba. Smoke gave him to me for Christmas. He's been a great help to me." He smiled fondly, bending down to give the roomba an affectionate rub. "I've been teaching him to speak in Morse code. Say hello," he instructed François, his smile turning into a grin.
François obediently let out a string of high-pitched beeps. Four short beeps; then one short one; one short, one long and two short; one short, one long and two short; then three long beeps, which together spelled HELLO.
"Good boy!" Allan laughed. He looked at Angel again, still grinning. "I've been teaching him the names of some of the staff. He knows Smoke, Vincent and myself, but he calls me Master. Such a clever boy."
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Post by Angel Kapur on May 19, 2010 21:11:00 GMT -5
Angel looked between the little mechanical thing and Allan, then slipped down from the desk.
"You seem... happy. Really happy about... François," he said wonderingly.
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Allan Warbeck
Ireth
Janitorial Enigma
He who limps still walks.
Posts: 81
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Post by Allan Warbeck on May 19, 2010 21:18:01 GMT -5
"And why shouldn't I be?" Allan asked, giving the desk a final once-over with his cloth to make sure he hadn't missed anything. "He's about the only pet I could have without going batshit insane. No fur to shed, no drool to dribble; he doesn't kill mice or birds and leave them half-eaten in my bed. He's smart, he's loyal, and he helps me do my job. And trust me, cleaning this place is quite the job for one man. My work is never, ever done. It's a good thing I don't need to sleep."
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Post by Angel Kapur on May 19, 2010 21:29:45 GMT -5
Angel smiled broadly at Allan, a little surprised to hear him swear. "Yeah... it sounds like you need some relaxation in your life. I'm tempted to try to help you, but I'm not sure you'd appreciate it."
"Though, when's the last time you had a vacation?"
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Allan Warbeck
Ireth
Janitorial Enigma
He who limps still walks.
Posts: 81
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Post by Allan Warbeck on May 19, 2010 21:41:04 GMT -5
"Not sure I'd appreciate it? Hah!" Allan laughed as he moved to the teacher's desk at the front of the room, which had the most dust on it by far, and started wiping it down. "Help is always appreciated, asked-for or not. I can't remember the last time I had a real vacation. I get days off on all the standard holidays, of course, but I always end up working on them anyway. I blame my OCD."
He shrugged, then paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, I can't recall a time I even stepped outside the castle. I've been here for as long as I can remember, and I'm a hundred and forty-one years old as it is."
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Post by Angel Kapur on May 19, 2010 21:48:47 GMT -5
Angel's smile got very strange.
"Well... in that case. If something could dampen your OCD for a bit, how would you feel about taking a week off to see the world? I've got some friends in Italy I think would love to meet you."
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Allan Warbeck
Ireth
Janitorial Enigma
He who limps still walks.
Posts: 81
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Post by Allan Warbeck on May 19, 2010 22:17:08 GMT -5
Allan frowned slightly at Angel as the boy's smile suddenly became very odd. He couldn't imagine having a whole week off, much less seeing the world. And who were these friends Angel spoke of?
"It's an intriguing idea," he replied. "Though I'm not entirely sure how it would work, on a number of levels. For one thing, I'd have to get Veronique's approval first; for another, I've lived in Faerie for goodness knows how many years, and I imagine that has had some effect on me. I might not be able to leave Faerie at all. But I really don't know."
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Post by Angel Kapur on May 19, 2010 22:48:18 GMT -5
Angel thought about that for a moment.
"If I could get you the first one, would you let me try the second one? I've been studying fae magic," he said honestly, "and I think I might be able to figure it out. Like I said, I just want to help."
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Allan Warbeck
Ireth
Janitorial Enigma
He who limps still walks.
Posts: 81
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Post by Allan Warbeck on May 19, 2010 23:15:01 GMT -5
Allan pondered this for a while. Some time off would probably do him a lot of good, and with Veronique's legitimate permission it wouldn't be a problem. He could probably take François with him, so he didn't worry about that... the messes here would definitely pile up in a week, though, if no one else thought to take his place. He tried not to twitch at the mere thought of it. And what if he was unable to leave the castle at all, even with Angel's help?
"I very much appreciate that," he eventually replied aloud. "But are you sure you can figure it out? I wouldn't want your efforts to be wasted if it turns out I can't leave the castle at all, or there's some other nasty consequence." He began wiping the desk again once he realized he had stopped, still looking at Angel as he did so.
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Post by Angel Kapur on May 19, 2010 23:29:54 GMT -5
Angel chuckled. "I promise I'm not going to let something bad happen to you. I'm sure I can do it. One full week's tour of Italy with me over Spring Break... and probably Frog, he'll want to come."
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Allan Warbeck
Ireth
Janitorial Enigma
He who limps still walks.
Posts: 81
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Post by Allan Warbeck on May 20, 2010 0:29:51 GMT -5
Allan nodded and smiled. "Well, thank you very much; that sounds excellent." It certainly sounded like an adventure, and it was definitely something new and interesting to look forward to.
He kept on stubbornly wiping down the desk, without much progress. It was like trying to clean up Rhythan's glitter at the Christmas staff party; every time he moved his cloth the dust would just float into the air in a little white cloud, and then settle down again almost where it had started. He probably needed to dampen the cloth again. Where had he left that can of Pledge?
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