((AN: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WRITING HURTS! That is my excuse for not updating since the Mesozoic era. I'm sorry.))
Pellinore wan't 100% sure of how John got him to join him on a walk to the Society.
He had only been learning under von Helrung for 3 weeks, he needed to study! But alas, John had other ideas.
His job that day was to deliver specimens (in the form of bones) to the Society. He had gotten that job so often, he started to just put whatever his package was in a small, wooden wagon and walk there, which only took him about 2 hours. He dragged Pellinore along for company, because talking to different people every 5 minutes was frankly a chore, and he'd rather have a constant companion.
The other boy caved, only because he wanted to see the Society in all it's glory.
So, the two of them set off, John dragging the wagon and Pellinore walking along side it.
John seemed to be the one doing the talking, chatting it up about things that Pellinore couldn't care less about.
Halfway through the walk, they came upon a young girl, only about 4, wearing a Summer dress and picking dandelions. Pellinore didn't recognize her, but John smiled and bent down to her height.
"Hull, Carolyn. What are you up to?"
Carolyn looked up, squinting against the sun. "Picking pretty flowers!" She chirped.
"Ooo, how nice. Is your sister around?"
The young girl nodded and pointed to another girl about Pellinore's age, who her back was to them.
John unleashed his legendary smirk and walked over the the girl, who whipped around before he'd even gotten close.
Pellinore was immediately astounded by her beauty; her long curls of auburn hair, deep green eyes, and face full of freckles.
"Hullo, arsewipe." She greeted curtly.
"Oh Muriel, so rude today!" John chuckled.
"Well I still haven't forgiven you for putting my sister in that hole!"
"She was Alice and she wanted to go to Wonderland, what could I do?"
"...Pretend?"
"We did. It's not like the hole actually led to a different world!"
The girl rolled her emerald eyes. "What do you even want?"
"Oh, to introduce you to someone!" John grabbed his new friend by the sleeve of his shirt, who had barely let out a cry before he was face to face with Carolyn's sister.
"Ah, well then. I'm Muriel Barnes." She said politely, holding out her hand.
"M-Master P-Pellinore Warthrop."
The future Monstrumologist kissed her hand briefly, and quickly let it go, out of fear she'd felt the sweat on his own.
Muriel just giggled, and Pellinore felt his face get hot with a blush.
Carolyn then ran over, saving the day.
"Can I go with John?"
Muriel thought for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Oh, alright. As long as Master Warthrop here promises to keep an eye on both of you." She winked, and Pellinore felt faint.
"Yes!" Her sister cried, then ran to the wagon.
John smiled, and tipped his hat to Muriel. "May I see you tomorrow?"
"If I am dead, then yes."
John rolled his eyes, and Pellinore couldn't help but smile.
"Take care of my sister, please!" She said to Pell again.
"Oh, I will, I mean... I promise. No.. no harm shall befall her, and she'll come back to as safe and sound as she was when-"
John dragged his flustered friend back to the wagon and Alice in Wonderland.
Will was, frankly, extremely bored.
Although society meetings weren't particularly renowned for their fun and excitement.
He was thinking about sneaking away, when Lilly popped up next to him, all curls and raw energy. It reminded him of last year, when she had dragged him off to the society's museum.
Oh, and nearly got him killed by a hermaphroditic worm.
Wary, the boy lifted his head. "What is it THIS time?"
Lilly sighed. "Oh Will; I fear you don't trust me."
"That's because I don't." Will hissed.
"Somebody's grumpy..." Lilly teased.
Will ignored her, trying to focus on the doctor, who was getting cross with a Bulgarian man who had a very well trimmed mustache.
"Are you even listening?!" Lilly snapped, the doctor shouting the same thing in the other Monstrumologist's face.
"Yes." Will lied.
Lilly rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, there was a smack.
Will automatically knew it was the Bulgarian man, because Dr. Warthrop had far too much self control to outright smack the other man (even if he wanted to).
The doctor, of course, barely flinched; though this was enough to spark a riot about the table of men.
Fists were flying, hair was pulled, clothes were torn; and in it all was an irritated doctor and flustered von Helrung.
Will felt a tug, and was pulled out of the way as a slender Italian man crashed into the very chair he had been sitting in.
Lilly, who looked even more irate than the doctor, pulled Will out of the room and into an empty hallway.
"I wanted to bring you somewhere special, but you haven't been paying attention. So here will have to do."
Will was about to question what she meant, but before he could even form the words, her mouth had smashed against his.
Simultaneously his face turned red, his body locked, and he felt the most awkward rush of hot and cold that had ever hit him.
Lilly pulled away, smiling, and Will felt his body hit the wall.
"You weren't lying when you said you've never kissed a girl!" Lilly giggled.
Will couldn't even form a response. He just stood there, his heart pounding in his ears.
A strong hand on his shoulder made him jump.
"What the devil is wrong with you?" Asked the Doctor.
"Oh, the fight upset him, so I brought him out here." Lilly said smoothly.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You've faced worse than that, Will Henry. Now come along."
As Monstrumologist pulled him back into the meeting room, Will looked back at Lilly.
She was still smiling.
23. Names
In the four (dreadful) months Will Henry was abandoned by Warthrop in New York, his routine was rarely broken. But one day he was jerked on the arm by the most persistent young lady on earth at the time: Lilly Bates.
"Would you walk with me to school?" She asked, surprisingly polite in the fact not a note of teasing nor bossiness was in her tone. In fact, she sounded rather... serious.
"Don't you walk with Reggie?" Will Henry asked, bemused.
"Yes, but he's sick and staying home today. Didn't you notice?"
Will Henry frowned. No, he actually hadn't, even though with the tight schedule the Bates household ran, it would have been hard not to.
Lilly laughed. "You're such a stupid boy! Now walk me to school." She tugged him up out of the overstuffed chair. It normally belonged to Mr. Bates, who would probably scold Will if he saw. But it was 8am, and between all the irritating "Warthropian Withdrawal", and irritating babying from Mrs. Bates, and irritating irritation from Lilly, Will had stopped caring.
"Why do you want me to walk you so badly?"
"...I don't want to go alone. Who knows what might happen?"
Will Henry would have laughed and called her bluff if her eyes hadn't been quite so sincere.
"Alright, I'll come with you..."
"YES!" Lilly grinned.
As much as she berated her mother for being so determined to have things go her way, Lilly Bates was no different.
Within half an hour, Will Henry found himself walking down 1st street with Lilly clinging to him. They almost looked like a proper couple, and because of this passersby cooed and grinned at them. Will's confusion was completely butchered by new feelings of humiliation.
"OH, I must show you this!"
Lilly unexpectedly tugged him towards a random shop, and his heart leaped in surprise. He was about to yell at her, but she quickly cut him off.
"Look at how cute they are!"
Will looked to where she was pointing. Behind the glass of the shop's main window, a basket of kittens sat. They looked to be just a random mixture of shorthair cats, tumbling over each other and pawing at invisible insects and toys. Will found himself smiling.
"Every week I come by here, they have a new litter." Lilly explained, her face practically merging with the glass. "They sell so fast! I don't even know where they get them, but there are always new kittens to sell! I want to get one so badly, but Father is allergic..."
As Lilly rambled on about the kittens, Will watched them play. One caught his eye in particular; a calico that seemed to be the runt of the litter. Instead of playing like the others, it had its front paws up on the side of the basket. Its green eyes almost looked like they were filled with longing.
"William Henry! Are you even listening to me?"
Will looked back at her. "Um... yes."
"Then what did I just say?"
"You were saying your Father is allergic to cats..."
Lilly rolled her eyes. "You would have been right about a minute ago. Actually, I was talking about how I name the kittens in the window."
"Oh... you do?"
"Yes! And since this is a new litter, you can name them with me."
"But won't the people who buy them give them different names?"
Lilly shook her head, her curls bouncing. "Doesn't matter. I like to name them regardless. For example, that one there is now Mildred,"
She pointed to a black kitten with white paws. "And that red one over there? He is now Albert."
Will Henry looked back into the shop, and decided to humor her. "He looks more like an Augustus to me."
"Nonsense! His name is Albert. Name some other one Augustus."
Will looked around. "Fine. That grey one is Augustus."
Lilly nodded. "And the white one is Elizabeth! Now what about that strange one? The one at the end of the basket? I think he looks like a Jacob."
Will looked at the calico.
"...I think his name should be Will."
Lilly was practically offended. "But that's YOUR name!"
"So?"
"So, give him a different one!"
"I want to name him Will."
"Fine. He is William James Henry; a silly, stupid boy who is very bad at naming kittens!"
"No," Will Henry thought. "He is a very sad boy who is trapped where he doesn't belong."
24. Birthday
"Mein Fruend, when is Will Henry's birthday?"
Pellinore was completely caught of guard by the question, and as out of character as it was all he could reply with was a confused little "Pardon?".
"Don't you know what I mean, Pellinore? The day he was born! He has never brought it up to me, but I want to be able to send him something nice. Ach, don't tell me you don't know when his birthday is!"
"I know it." Pellinore said. "I was there..." He added mentally.
"When is it, then?"
"December 2nd."
"Oh, you should bring him over then! We could throw him a party!" von Helrung giggled like a child at the thought. "Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"I don't know if he would like that. Will Henry is very..." Pellinore hunted for a word, but nothing came to mind.
Von Helrung sighed. "I know you need him to grow up fast, Mein Fruend, but at least let the boy savor it! He'd love to have a birthday party, I'm sure! We did them for you! Remember the one we had when you turned 30? Everyone celebrates the Magic 30, but surly you enjoyed yours!"
"Yes, of course I did. But we almost destroyed Boston! And John shoved cake down my pants. 3 times."
Von Helrung laughed. "See! Good memories, ja?"
"That is not the case anymore, von Helrung. It hurts to remember when the people involved in said memories are dead; and I fear a party will just make him long for his parents. And he'll... well, he'll become upset. He has never asked for a birthday party anyway, let alone a present. I don't think he cares."
"I do not think it's apathy or pain so much as you, Pellinore..." von Helrung said honestly.
"What do you mean?" Pellinore asked.
"Well, you... you are not a man who would let something like that happen, let alone plan it... basically, he probably is aware you would say no, so he never bothers to ask."
"That's nonsense! He doesn't because he... well, DOES NOT!"
"That doesn't even make any sense!" von Helrung cried in exasperation. "Doesn't one with dead loved ones want to remember them!? Is that not healthy and important!?"
Pellinore threw up his hands. "I don't know! I'm a Monstrumologist, not a psychiatrist! All I'm saying is that if it's painful for me to think about, it would be painful for him, and that is why he never asks!"
"Nein, he never asks because he knows you would reject him!"
The two men argued for a few minutes before von Helrung held up a shaking hand.
"Pellinore, Mein stur Fruend, listen to me! Does it not make you happy to remember John shoving cake down your pants?"
The question was so bizarre and sudden that Pellinore had to suppress a laugh. "Why would it?! He was making fun of me! Besides, the cake was abnormally cold and having cold cake in your pants isn't exactly the best feeling."
For some reason, he found himself repressing another laugh.
"Yes, that may be so, but you did get good revenge. As I remember, you shoved his whole face into the cake."
Now Pellinore laughed. "Yes... he was very angry about that."
Von Helrung took one of Pellinore's hands between his. "See? It is good to remember. It does not cause pain, it eases pain."
Pellinore sighed. He would not admit it, but von Helrung was right.
Satisfied with himself, von Helrung went over to his plan book and wrote "WILLIAM'S BIRTHDAY" in very large script over December second.
At that moment, Will Henry stepped in, and was shocked as the two older men yelled his name in unison.
"Would you like a party for your brithday, Mein Fruend Will? We will sing, and dance, and I will make sure you are showered with gifts! And I will hire the best baker in all of New York to make you any cake you desire! What do you think?"
Will frowned. "Sorry Meister Abram, but... I'm afraid a party would just remind me of what I've lost. I'd prefer to just turn 14 and be done with it..."
"I TOLD YOU!" Pellinore shouted, whipping around to face his old master.
Will quickly fled as they began to argue again.