Vampires go Brrrrrlllll~

[cotyledon]

"Um..."

There's a pumpkin patch in the Nexus today! A small one. It kind of looks like one of those pumpkin sales you see outside churches around Halloween, selling pumpkins to raise money for the youth group: several dozen pumpkins of various sizes and shapes set out on a tarp. Except there's a low chicken-wire fence set around the tarp, and these pumpkins are not just sitting there.

They're rocking back and forth a little, all on their own, making intermittent rolling forays in no particular direction. Bumping into each other, rolling up against the fence, scrunching up the edges of the tarp as if to get under it and away from the light. Some of them have reddened patches on their skin, as if they're blood-stained.

"Ummm...so, what had happened was, I bought a bunch of rare seeds from a guy at the night market." The young woman sitting in a folding chair by the display looks a little sheepish. "I have a greenhouse on the roof of my building, I figured whatever sprouted could be contained. They just turned out way more prolific than I expected."

She's gonna need a new greenhouse.

"These are vampire pumpkins. They used to believe if you leave a regular pumpkin out in the full moon they might turn into vampires on their own, but apparently you can breed them for seeds and get a full crop. Who knew, right?"

Brrll, brrll! The coven of gourds makes soft thrumming noises as they bump around. Some might find the sound annoying, but Abby thinks it's kind of pleasant, a little like a cat purring.

"Anyway, these are up for adoption, I guess. I wouldn't recommend eating them, unless you're already a vampire, but I can't think why you'd want to, even then. They can't bite you; they don't have mouths. I don't think they're malevolent, just kind of dumb, so probably the worst they could do is trip you up on the stairs. If you get one and keep it in a playpen or a box, it's totally harmless and kind of cute."

That's...encouraging. Any takers?

Comments

[chiaro_oscuro]

"Vampire pumpkins." There's a smile twitching on Ben Solo's features as he watches the creatures roll and bump against each other. He's wearing his usual black, cape tied around his throat and arms folded. He looks not totally unlike a vampire himself in dress choice. "Now, that's something you don't see every day. Interesting find, Abby."

There's definitely a smile. He likes these...plants? Creatures? He's not even sure what to call them. They have a certain charm.

"Don't mind if I take one." Ben observes the vampire pumpkins curiously, kneeling to get a better look. They certainly seem harmless, if a little strange. "Don't worry - it'll be a pet and not my dinner. I've already picked out what I'm going to eat. Besides, I'm more partial to turkey than pumpkin pie. Morrigan isn't really one for eating pumpkins, either. So it'll be safe with me."

[cotyledon]

"Hey, Ben!" She hasn't spoken to him often before, but Abby is pretty good with names and faces.

"They are 100% organically grown. I don't know what their lifespan off the vine will be like. My sources contradict each other. Supposedly you can exorcise them by boiling them but that sounds kind of cruel."

Maybe? Maybe not. Pumpkins don't have a nervous system, so who knows if they feel pain? She'd still rather not try it.

"Sure thing! You can pick whichever one you want. The little ones are more active but the big ones make cuter noises, I think."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"Good to see you again. It's been a while." There's a quiet, polite laugh.

"Well, don't worry - I'm not about to exorcise them. If I get one, I like it the way it is. And as I said this will be a friend for my animals, not my stomach. It's that time of the year. Last Halloween was an adventure - though not everyone had as good a time as I did..."

Ben surveys the pumpkins, looking them over one by one, eventually selecting one of the larger vampire fruits. "This is the one. There's a charm to the noises, you're right. It sounds a little like a cat."

[cotyledon]

"Yeah, I missed the party last year, but that might be for the best. Halloween is one of those days I'm kind of on call for work."

She grins as he selects his pumpkin and scoops it up out of the pen for him, setting it at his feet and giving it a pat goodbye. "Excellent choice. No charge, obviously, but if it does go to pumpkin heaven in a few months, save me the seeds, okay? You gonna name it?"

[poorgirlsarcee]

Mira looks at the gourds. "Okay, those are cuter than some of the plants in the Botanical gardens in my boyfriend's hometown." She kneels to get a better look at them.

"Do they have an issue with machines?" She doesn't want to bring one to her garage and have it attack DK or any of the other machines she happens to have there.

[cotyledon]

"Oh? What gardens? There might be an analogue in my world. I practically make an annual pilgrimage to Longwood."

She shakes her head. "I don't see any reason they'd have a problem with machines. They need to have a little water around, but aside from that they're just big seed pods that roll around and purr. I guess the only thing is you'd want to keep them out from under whatever machines so they don't tangle up the wheels. That'd probably crush the pumpkin anyway so it'd suck for all concerned."

[poorgirlsarcee]

"It's kind of just a place the city has for a botanical garden. A lot of plants from all over the world, some in artificial habitats, kind of a zoo for Flora."

Mira kneels touching one of the gourds and the bracelet on her wrist unfolds into a spidery form staying to the back of her hand seeming to scan the gourd. "Easy little one." She's talking to the machine. "I have several of many sizes. Though it really is cute."

[tieflingtarot]

Molly is minding his own business, wandering along and the movement catches his eye. And so he slows to glance at what's going on as the strange woman is making her pitch. And he can't help the way his face breaks into an amused grin as he ambles closer to peer at-

"Okay not hallucinating, that's an excellent start." The tiefling muses, leaning over the little barrier to nudge one of the pumpkins with fingers just enough to make it rock lightly. "I kind of want like, ten of them. But I don't think I have the space..."

And while Frumpkin might endure the presence of a couple, he didn't think his feline visitor would appreciate more. Caleb would probably be fascinated though...

[cotyledon]

"Not unless you hallucinate so well you drag other people into it," Abby tells him with a grin. Has she ever seen a tiefling before? Nope. Has she seen a bunch of other beings that look similar? Hell, yes.

"Some of them are pretty little!" She encourages, and reaches over the fence to scoop up one that's about the diameter of a modest flower pot. "But they are a little unruly in a big group."

[tieflingtarot]

"I would not put it past this place to make that possible!" Molly replied with a snort of amusement. This stranger was... well she seemed really sweet. Kind of reminded him of Jester.

"Telling me that only strengthens the want for a herd." The tiefling laughed as he gently reached to give the little gourd's stem a playful tweak. "One or two should be okay though. What do they need? Like water, or fertilizer or anything?"

He's done alright taking care of the plants he brought home, but those weren't aware like this so it was slightly different.

[cotyledon]

"I haven't seen it happen yet, but I wouldn't be shocked either," she admits.

"Is a group of pumpkins called a herd?" She considers this. "A group of vampires is usually a clutch or a coven...I don't know if these count, though."

"They need a little water to dip their stems in, and it helps to have the air a little humid for them. I'm testing some of them to see if they do better with a few drops of blood in their water, but I don't know if that's really necessary. They do like apple cider, though."

[sweetcandygirl]

"How adorable..." The woman who approaches is green-skinned, and is wearing flowers and vines as her outfit, instead of actual clothes. Pamela Isley gets closer to the fence that contains the vampire pumpkins.

Following behind is Harley Quinn, who is dressed in a golden jumpsuit, and is smiling with Pamela's excitement.

"Are you putting a limit on how many I could adopt dear..." Pamela turns her attention to Abby. "I adore them."

[cotyledon]

The moment she sees them, Abby is the human (vampire) embodiment of starry eyes. She bumped into Harley briefly a while back and is still thrilled about that. Her with Poison Ivy is double awesome. Girl power! Hell, yes!

(She ships it.)

Anyway. "...um, I wouldn't want most people to take more than a couple but I already know you're the expert. You can have as many as you can get to follow you, honestly."

What's the worst that can happen? Maybe some of 'em will end up attacking Gotham, but that's not Abby's problem if so! The pumpkins themselves will be fine.

[sweetcandygirl]

"As many that will follow me... hmmmmm?" Pamela smiles, and kneels down. She outstretches a hand, allowing her chemical bond with plants to do all the talking. It is like a calling card to any that want to follow her.

"Careful they don't overwhelm you, Red," Harley notes with a smile.

"Whatcha asking in return? A donation?" Harley pops a piece of bubblegum in her mouth, dealing with the bartering side of the conversation.

[cotyledon]

As a vampire, Abby has a powerful sense of smell, and while she's not affected by pheromones the same way a normal human would be, she can tell at once what Pamela is up to. She moves to tug the chicken-wire apart, opening the fence wide enough to let the pumpkins roll through. A lot of the smaller ones make a beeline for Ivy, like puppies.

"I just wanted them to have a safe home for however long they live," she says with a giggle at Harley. "I honestly don't know what their lifespans are like, and I can't keep more than two in my apartment."

"I mean, if they pass on naturally, I'd love to have some of the seeds to plant again, but aside from that I don't need anything."

"I would totally take book recommendations, though." She eyes Pamela shyly. "I'm studying botany."

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

Aal and Dor pad along, with their larger stroller for a wee walk. As it's still semi descent weather their pups are bundled as warm and comfortable as they can make em. Their son's big blue eyes as taking in as much as he can between nomming on his teething ring and babbling as Aal softy hums.

Dor chuckles softly between gently petting his son's hair/fur much the same shade but a shade darker at the moment than his. Between scanning the area, his own wolf ears go up in interest and both do a curious head tilt at the sight.

Aal smiles at the semi-familiar face, "Well, Ello there." she murmurs as they get closer as to not wake their still sleeping daughters.

Though Lizzy who also has her father's hair is crinkling her little nose. As her brother's little tail starts thumping cutely. With a "Bab-ooooh." As the tot eyes the wee pumpkins.

Dor chuckles, "Easy their laddie." He murmurs soothingly as he reaches for him so he can both hold him so he can look and not upset the 'apple cart' as it is.

Aal's mini 'me' in coloring least at the moment is curled up in puppy form under part of one of the blankets but gives a wee yawn. As mum gently soothingly rubs her back.

"Can you say 'Pumpkins, Gawian?" Aal warmly prompts half informs their son true it might be a bit early but words and such were good for them throughout their growing stages apparently.

[cotyledon]

Abby waves, friendly by default. To shifter's senses, she might smell a bit odd, being undead and all, but her upbeat attitude is not faked, and she's happy to be friends.

"Aww," she crouches a little to look at the sleeping children from a distance. "They're precious! How old are they now?"

She does not expect the baby to say pumpkins, but she does lean over the chicken wire and picks up one of the smaller ones, holding it out to let the child get a closer look. "You can touch. They can't hurt you."

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

Aal beams at her with a warm canine-like squint regardless and in kind. They had that in common, though naturally, she had to learn to reign in her other side's impulses. Like the urge at the moment to say go on hind legs and sniff etc at her hopefully possible new friend and her wee interesting if slightly odd pumpkins. Honestly, Abby would be here all day if she started listing off spell mishaps. Ahem.

Dor smiles warmly as well. As his son babbles and coos with large curious eyes.

"Aye. " Aal murmurs with a small wiggle as she looks over her and Dor's brood. So precious. "Ain't they? And bout four months now." She murmurs with a small smile and twinkle in her eyes. Checking on her girls while doing her best not to rouse them. Sleep was good for em and their parents too.
She had to rein in some of the photo-taking but gah. twas hard.

"This is Elisabeth or Lizzie, " She gestures toward her second child. "Mary's curled up a bit." She gently informs. "And Gawiany here.." She murmurs fondly with a giggle. "Is his father's son."

Dor softly smirks and murmurs fondly back, slightly playful to his beloved wife. "With his mother's curiosity." His smirk a wee wolfish and lopsided giving his mate a wink.

Aal coughs slightly bemused. Trying not to blush too much. "Ahem, yes well all babies tend to be curious for a while." She murmurs back and into mischief long thereafter.

Gawain coos, "Ba-boo." softly and pats at the pumpkin hand open palm flat. Though don't expect it to be graceful etc as he's still learning various motor skills.

[guitar_voodoo]

Mick was just staring with a confused expression on his face as he watched the strange pumpkin things roll around bumping into each other. They were pumpkins but---they moved? Also made strange noises. The blond was taken aback but did think they were cute in their own odd way.

"Are they pumpkins, love? I've never seen ones like this before and they make noises. What happens if you adopt one?"

Because Mick was quite a cautious man when it came to the unknown and these looked rather alien. Would Ziggy mind if he brought one back to the townhouse? The cats wouldn't mind surely...

[cotyledon]

Brrrll, brrrll! The noises sound halfway between a big cat purring and the hum of distant traffic. It could be soothing. Abby finds them charming, herself.

"They're vampire pumpkins," she nods. "Kind of like a subspecies of normal pumpkins? I guess? The folklore says they can be mean, but since they can't bite or do much of anything but roll across your toes, they're harmless. And they don't seem hostile to me, honestly. Just a little cranky during the day."

"If you take one home and don't keep it corralled, it'll roll all over your house. They don't do stairs, though."

[guitar_voodoo]

The strange noises threw Mick as he stared not knowing what to say regarding the odd pumpkin things. Creatures? The blond had come to expect odd things in the Nexus but these? They were something else. The young girl seemed to love them though and this brought a smile to the guitarist's lips.

"Vampire? Oh. You mean like sucking blood type things? Do they...have teeth?"

Mick was a little nervous about that but they weren't dangerous surely. Cute? Yes. Odd? Definitely.

"How about I take one home and put it in an enclosure of sorts out in the garden? Would that work?"

Whatever would Ziggy say?

[gentle_puck]

"The night market?" Robin repeats, grin curving a little sharper at one edge of his lips than the other. "What could possibly go wrong." He takes a careful step over the chicken wire before straightening up again inside the pen, his hands tucked into his pockets against the chill in the autumn air. While he thinks he's heard that superstition about pumpkins somewhere before, he's certainly never seen it put into practice, but the evidence literally at his feet is both compelling and oddly endearing. Maybe a bit concerning, too, since they seem uncomfortable in the full sunlight.

They do seem to be harmless--not just in a practical sense, but in terms of intention, as well, so he isn't particularly wary when he picks up the one that's nudging a slow circle around the toe of his boot.

He lets it roll from one of his hands to the other and back again. "Hello there." The quality of its thrumming seems to shift a bit, hollow and then full again, something like seeds or ball bearings rumbling around in an otherwise empty space. This is one is fairly sizable, but he can still hold its weight in one hand. He uses the other to pull out one side of his jacket and give the pumpkin some shade. It rolls unmistakably in that direction, planting itself firmly in the patch of shadow and nudging up under his ribcage. He chooses to interpret the purring's increase in volume as some kind of gratitude. "It looks like a spectacularly successful crop."

[cotyledon]

"The New York night market," she amends. "It's not necessary as mystical as it sounds. Not all of it, at least. There are plenty of people selling the same stuff you'd get at a flea market. But there are definitely, um, specialty items, if you know who to ask."

Despite needing to adopt out her little pumpkin-sprouts, she's fairly pleased with herself. They wouldn't have grown without proper care; it's an accomplishment!

"...aww." She smiles as the one he's picked up snuggles into his jacket. "Well, that one likes you. The two I'm keeping are under my bed back home. I had an old doggie bed that they seem to like."

"I planted about twice as many vines as I should have," she says. "But they're healthy. They just managed to knock out one of my greenhouse walls, and now it's structurally unsound so they can't stay there."

[gentle_puck]

"There usually are," Robin agrees. So much of life involves asking the right questions of the right people. Preferably at the right time. Triangulating all three of those variables usually proves a little tricky, so he tends to get the first two in place and leave the last up to chance. "Wherever you come from, it seems to have fascinating botanical possibilities. Err. Despite the destructive tendencies."

Growing things always have the potential to make sudden and great demands of their cages. That's a kind of success, too. The pumpkin tucked in against his arm is certainly healthy enough, and he tips his head very slightly toward it, listening to the rumble of its voice. It blends with the others still down on the tarp, and together they make a pleasant sort of harmony.

He shouldn't ask.

He's absolutely not going to ask.

"...I don't suppose you have any more seeds?"

[orko_of_trolla]

"Awwwwww!"

The small creature that approached only seemed like a bundle of floating tattered robes and a large wide brimmed hat at first. But as he got closer, his huge reflective golden eyes blinked from underneath the shadows of the hat; revealing that there was someone alive in there. At second glance, the long blue tapered ears and the long thin bony arms of the same color clinched it.

"Vampire pumpkins huh?" The creature planted his hands on his hips as his head tilted; studying them. "I've never seen such a thing and I've seen lots of weird!" His head tilted the other way and he chuckled audibly from behind the scarf. "They're really cute!" He floated down for a closer look at the trilling gourds. "Are they sentient? I can't place the magic around them. Is this permanent?" He reached out a thin, clawed hand to delicately poke at one. It trilled and he made a tiny 'tee hee' noise.