all the king's horses | open, weekly task

[Ivan]

[table][tr][td]

pixel by tricky

[/td][td]

[div style="width: 400px; max-height: 100px; height: overflow; overflow: scroll; padding-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -5px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 8pt; color: #152232; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"]
He kept fancying that Ivan was absorbed in something — something inward and important — that he was striving toward some goal, perhaps very hard to attain.

— Бра́тья Карама́зовы

[/td][/tr][/table]

Days had passed since Beck tasked him with the idea to go out and collect something. He was supposed to show them at the end of the day, but coincidentally, Ivan's dark lanky form was nowhere to be seen that evening. It still nagged at his conscious, in the back of his mind like a woodpecker. The issue was finding something material of value to him. He had none. He did not form attachments to material objects. But, if he could gather the entire cosmos into his paws — or at least parts of it — he would be happy. To have one bright star contained in a single glass container. Yes, if he could collect stars, he would.

The first time it had rained while he was aware of it, Ivan had rushed out and splashed around in the puddles. That day, he was certain the stars had melted and came falling down, just for him. He had been soppy and muddy that day, it was not a good day for the house, but Ivan did manage to collect rainwater in a glass. It was kept under a creaky old board in the library. He loved the rain still to this day, even after learning it wasn't stars falling down.

A few days ago, something different fell from his mouth. It had happened so quickly and painlessly that he was caught off guard when he saw a glistening white kitten tooth in his food. He scooped it out swiftly and and placed it in a tiny wooden chest that was only as long as the width of a human's pointer finger. He stared at it for a long time, actually starting to shake. Was his body just starting to drop off? Ivan decidedly kept quiet about this new physical development and became self-conscious with how he spoke.

By the present time, Ivan had lost exactly five, and he collected all of them in that little chest. Two of them he almost lost forever, because he nearly swallowed them in his sleep. Ivan had, inadvertently, started that collection Beck told him to make. He was planning to move it to his hideout in the library today. The kitten held the chest awkwardly in his mouth as he padded through the town, trying not to make eye-contact with those his passed. Ivan's throat contracted suddenly to swallow the gathered saliva gathering in his mouth and he dropped the box on the ground. It bounced twice and opened, its contents of kitten baby teeth spilling out.

Ivan looked mortified beyond belief as he hurriedly attempted to gather them all back together.

[alaric g.]

    The library—oh, what a great place it was. Alaric had easily spent most of his time since becoming a Tangler in that library, perusing its admittedly small collection of books. For its size, though, it was impressive just how many genres spanned its ancient shelves. Fantasies, children's books, philosophy... the list goes on and on.

    Presently, Alaric found himself hauling books back and forth from his home to the library. The piles of tomes in his house had been climbing and climbing, and the tabby was growing tired of looking at them and having to walk on eggshells in his own home out of the fear that he would tip over a stack and send them all falling like a chain of leather-bound dominoes. No, he was not going to have that. And who knows what kind of gnarly paper-cuts he would get were that to happen?

    Alaric was on his fourth trip back home when he noticed one of Selby and Moth's children making his way speedily through the town. The swiftness with which the black kitten strode was somewhat concerning, if Alaric was being honest. It was then that he noticed the tiny box tucked neatly and delicately between his maw. The tabby instinctively found his interests to be piqued due to the sight, and out of a desire to see what would play out, he perched himself just outside the library, allowing just enough space for the kitten to get inside.

    The tabby's eyes widened upon seeing the child drop the box and, consequently, its contents spilling out onto the ground. Alaric seized the opportunity to pad over, stating, "What a fall. Allow me to help you." He was pleasantly surprised by the sight of teeth of all things. And tiny ones, too. Where had this child gotten teeth, of all things? He was not mortified, no, merely fascinated by this. Shooting a curious blue stare towards Ivan, he would say, "Where did you get these?"

♔ don't do love, don't do friends

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

Aurum had never really thought much about his own development when growing from a young cub into an adult lion. It just hadn't been something he had worried a lot about, considering he had bigger things to deal with, like taking care of a sick brother and dealing with an abusive mother. He had definitely noticed when major changes had taken place, like when his mane had first started to really grow in, and when he had begun to grow even larger than his father had been, but stuff like baby teeth falling out? That hadn't been of any concern to a young Aurum, who had never thought twice as his fangs fell from biting into something tough. When he had finally gotten his adult set of fangs, they had certainly been useful in intimidating his enemies, but it hadn't really been anything for him to get overly excited about. Then again, Aurum very badly wanted Ivan and the boy's siblings to have a far better childhood than he and Poetking had ended up having, so it only made sense that they'd have more time to worry about the little things. Ivan hadn't been born to abusive parents, and he wasn't dealing with his home being in an all out war, either. He had plenty of time to just think about the little and the big things, including his teeth falling out as he grew older.

However, that didn't mean that the proxy had ever expected Ivan to start collecting his own teeth. Aurum knew plenty about collecting things, having been friends with many that collected little trinkets and being siblings with Moth, whom he knew to collect little cute things on occasion. Hell, he even collected things. However, he collected items considered to be normal by most to collect. He had some art that he liked, a couple of trinkets from his travels between the Pride and Tanglewood, his enormous book collection... he had all of that, but he had nothing as strange and slightly unnerving as teeth. So, when Aurum looked up from where he was sat on his porch when he heard Ivan fall, the tigon found himself freezing, eyes widening a bit. What... the hell. Moving over slowly, the angel watched as his nephew frantically tossed his own fangs back in their container, and Aurum could hear Alaric's curious voice just a few feet away. After a couple of moments of inspecting the situation, the proxy finally found the motivation to speak, glancing between Alaric and Ivan, "I... very much hope those are your teeth, Ivan. That's what they are... right?" That seemed like the only logical explanation for the little fangs, unless they were also his siblings' teeth as well. He just desperately hoped Ivan hadn't been collecting them from smaller prey animals – he really didn't need his nephew becoming Caustic 2.0.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #722227; font-size: 24px;"][color=#c16f78]— AURUM

#psychosocial.

[Ivan]

[table][tr][td]

pixel by tricky

[/td][td]

[div style="width: 300px; max-height: 100px; height: overflow; overflow: scroll; padding-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -5px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 8pt; color: #152232; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"]He kept fancying that Ivan was absorbed in something — something inward and important — that he was striving toward some goal, perhaps very hard to attain.

— Бра́тья Карама́зовы

[/td][/tr][/table]

Although he enjoyed poking and prodding at people, there was just some things that only he could understand and had no interest in telling others. This was one of these things, namely because he suspected it was rather odd and taboo. Ivan did not care for making a name of himself being the blunt and gloomy type, but to be weird? Ivan was quite terrified of social ostracizing. That was one of the things that stalked his nightmares, making him wake up in cold sweats. He was not a clown! He was a gifted kitten!

He found himself at a lost for words as Alaric padded over. The tabby seemingly meant no harm, which admittedly loosened Ivan's high-strung nerves. He wordlessly scooped the little teeth back into the box. In the corner of Ivan's eye, he caught Aurum's reaction and it was exactly what he had been fearing. There was no rational method behind this, none at all. For reasons quite unknown to him, which was unusual, he had made a habit of collecting his loose teeth.

Before he could respond to Alaric, Aurum spoke up. Ivan audibly groaned, realizing he had yet again traced another contradiction in his own personality. He must come up with something, and quick. "Yeah, they are; they're mine." He bristled. Did Aurum think he was spending too much time with Caustic? "Beck told me to get a collection weeks ago. I've got it now. My teeth." At this point, the replacing adult teeth had grown in so he rejected his childish theory that he was falling apart.

[CAUSTIC.]

Caustic... perferred not the recall most of his childhood. That wasn't him anymore, so it didn't matter.
He finds most of the children of Tanglewood to be amusing though, Ivan especially. The boy could talk all day about reason and humanity (which, to him, is just a word) and Caustic could lend an ear to listen. He knows that the academic exploits of children have to be encouraged and regarded. While he didn't know Selby and Moth that well as individuals, some of their children showed promise in various fields.
Caustic locks the door of his home behind him, the key slipping under his fur. Gas drifts from his face in a deep, heavy sigh. His work was ceaseless and exhausting- he should find a way to take a bath. He felt gross. Caustic grumbles, making a beeline for the tavern for his daily meal, as he spots Aurum, Alaric, and little Ivan in the roads. Oh?
He approaches, looming over Alaric's shoulder as he watches Ivan pick up.. teeth? His face furrows into a frown, head tilting to one side and tail raising. "I... don't know if that's what Beck had in mind, but alright." It's acceptance; Ivan was a weird nerdy, kid.

TAGS • PLAYLIST • PENNED BY OWLIE

THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY OUT

© LEXASPERATED

[zora.]

Childhood was something that was hardly even a blur in the fairy’s mind. It was so brief, and being thousands of years ago, it barely seemed to matter anyways. But to all of the people she’d known, childhood seemed to be of great importance. Something to be reflected on fondly, and something to yearn for once again with a sense of painful nostalgia. Mementos collected from this time were often treasured, and though Zora had been privy to many of these objects, teeth had never been something she had seen.

She watched the exchange for a few moments before trotting over, her interest piqued. There were a few familiar faces, but she had never met most of these people. “Oh, hello!” she greeted warmly, examining the kitten. He seemed to be in good health. “I’m Zora. Why collect teeth? Isn’t there anything else you could keep? I’ve never seen anybody collect teeth before.”

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

Aurum immediately felt a sense of anxiety grip him when Ivan groaned and bristled, the boy clearly not pleased with how his unwelcome audience had reacted to his collection. The proxy quickly wanted to apologize, but he bit his tongue, figuring Ivan would only grow more displeased about that. He didn't like being talked down to, or pandered to. Instead, the angel listened to the replies of both Caustic and Zora before he spoke, wincing a little bit at Zora's tone – she wasn't trying to be rude, but Ivan was already self conscious, "Well... I don't think there's anything all too odd about collecting teeth. Sure, perhaps it isn't the first thing to collect that comes to one's mind, but... teeth are fascinating. And I'm sure that Beck would be fine with the collection." Truth be told, he had no idea how Beck would react to such a thing. He didn't think that the ghost would have a problem, considering he had presumably seen much more gruesome and unnerving things in the past. However, despite his actual lack of knowledge about how Beck would react, Aurum felt the need to reach out to his nephew, to comfort him and tell him that he didn't need to feel weird, or insulted.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.