“you’re dead.” (another Frankenstein thing) (o/o) (I am baiting the gothlit nerds out there, come hither)

Tiny seemed a bit hungry, although now that their energy had been restored they were more curious about their surroundings. They were still hungry, but their curiosity seemed to override that hunger for a more known curiosity for the things surrounding them. They tilt their head a little at the thing talking to them, trying to make sense for what was happening. They followed the words of the thing speaking, a little confused but trying their hardest to understand. Though, they seemed to catch on pretty quickly with what the thing in front of them was saying. Tiny sat and tried to make sense of what the thing was saying, but other than that the thing seemed to be going somewhere.

For the most part, Tiny simply sat in their little spot as they waited patiently for the thing to come back. However, at some point they slowly started to stand and tried to figure out how to walk. Their body was strong, they knew that much at least. And by watching the thing walk back and forth as well as watch them scurry around the house Tiny had somewhat picked up on movement. While trying to get used to movement, they leaned against the wall or attempted to walk on their own. It was picked up fairly quickly since the thing that had… created them… made their body in proportion and strong. The key was just to figure out how to work. Luckily they were a fast learner…

By the time that the thing had returned, Tiny was sitting contentedly in the center of the living room. Their eyes were wandering the walls, their forehead semi bruised since they had managed to smack their head on the doorframe once or twice. They look up when the thing entered the house calling for them. They tilt their head slightly and slowly stand, still somewhat getting used to movement.

“Oh, wow, you’re tall. And you moved! But you’re tall. Much taller than I’d expected, this will make clothing difficult. Here, take my robe, it should fall long enough on you for some proper covering and I’ll see if I can’t get some fabrics to sew a nicer something for you.” he said, throwing a fine silk robe towards the creature. “Oh, let me help you put it on, you don’t know how clothes work.” he realized, taking the robe back and attempting to maneuver the creature’s strong, bulky arms through the sleeves that, while normally very loose on Victor, fit a bit snugly on the hulking beast before him. He managed to get it on, though, and tied the robe closed so that it hung just a few inches over the knees. Approximately eight feet was an understatement, he probably added a good few inches and just forgot to measure them. “Look at you, you could almost pass for a person now! Not really, but I like to dream.” he said, then turned around. “I was out a good few hours, let’s see about lunch since it’s getting about time to make it!” he said, taking out some groceries and setting them out on the table. “I got us some lovely butter for the rolls, very fresh. And I think that you’ll like apples, I picked a few of those out for you too.” he said, laying those out as well. “Don’t eat the core though. That’s bad.”

Victor busied himself in preparing lunch, hands a whirlwind as always as he gestured towards the creature, pointed at things and connected words to them. “Apples.” he held a few up, then removed all but one. “Apple. It’s the plural that gets people. Here, let me show you… knife!” he held the sharp, gleaming thing to their face, waving it about a little before setting it back down. “To cut apple with!”

(Honestly I just. Need to tell Victor to not wave sharp objects in people’s faces. He has no self awareness.)

Tiny tilted their head at the other in confusion, their eyes scanning the smaller thing. Now that Tiny could walk and move and stand, they realized just how small the thing in front of them was. They allowed the thing to place the cloth around their body, now becoming confused. Was there something wrong with their body? They look at the material and shrug before perking at the mention of food. Is that what they called the thing earlier. At the mention of apple, Tiny took one into their hand and tilted their head curiously. It was so… Small… It fit in their large hands fairly easily. Their paused and imitated shakily what the thing had said. "Apple." Their voice was low, it resonated everywhere. It was powerful. "Tiny…" They pointed to themselves. They seemed to be catching on very quickly, which was good at least. They point to the knife. "Knife?" They slowly settle down on the ground again and look at the apple before putting it back on the counter and watched the thing work curiously. There was a lot of movement from what Tiny could see.

“You’ve got it! Oh, you and I are going to get along perfectly.” Victor said, jumping and flapping his hands about as he took the apple and cut it up into slices. He stuck one in his mouth, then handed the creature the rest. He chewed, then swallowed, the apple. “Well, I might as well introduce myself. Victor. Viiiic-toooooor.” he pointed to himself, wiggling a little in excitement as he waited for his creation to catch on. “That’s my name. And well, Tiny is a better name than not for now, but I’ll have you pick one you like more later on.” he chuckled maniacally.

Tiny seemed pleased by the good mood the other was in, watching as the other sliced at the apples. It was interesting, taking in everything that surrounded them. It… was nice to say the least. They tilt their head slightly and nods at Victor's words. "Victor." They repeat back slowly, testing out the word slowly. A name. They took the apple and munched on it quietly as Victor worked on food for them before looking around. Everything seemed so small compared to them. It was slightly scary, but they tried to make sense of it. Their shoulder still hurt and they gave a small grunt of discomfort when they occasionally moved their shoulder the wrong way. Their stomach rumbled quietly even after they had finished their food.

“Hmm. Still hungry?” Victor asked, tilting his head. “No need to worry, I’ve got the perfect thing for you. Here, try this.” he handed the creature a slice of some sort of salted, dried meat, probably beef but you couldn’t be certain with Victor. “I got it from the butcher down the way, it’s probably okay to eat. And you can have more, if you like it. These have gotten me through university better than just plain bread and barley stew have ever done.” he shrugged, nonchalant, pressing the morsel to their hand.

Tiny took the food and sniffed it curiously before taking a bite of it. They seemed pleased by the flavor, eating the meat eagerly. Their eyes flicker over to Victor as he talked, taking in every word the other said and trying to piece them together and understand what Victor was saying. The meat was gone very quickly and Tiny licked at their fingers and looked up at Victor eagerly for more food. They were very pleased with the new tastes, sights, smells, and sights. "Victor." They said the others name again, testing it on their tongue a few times, seeming pleased when it became easier to say it.

“Ha! It knows my name! I must record this moment, I’ll have made history and I want people to know how I did it, every step of the way!” he giggled wildly, shoving a few morsels of meat into Tiny’s hands and running off to get his journal. He found it and began to write, walking back to his creation as he wrote, handwriting sloppy and near illegible for anyone but him, and people who were really good at understanding bad handwriting. “Hmm, happy belated birthday, then. Sorry I didn’t give you good wishes the first time, I was a little shocked then.” he shrugged.

(Sorry that my replies are getting progressively shorter, I’m not good with length but I will keep trying for as long as I can go.)

(No worries!)

They tilt their head slightly as they watch the other go before glancing at the meat shoved into their hands. Tiny eats happily, after all the meat tasted good. They glanced up when Victor came back, tilting their head a little. They finished their meat and glanced at the book that Victor was writing in and made a small noise of curiosity. They wanted to know, to understand. The world was so interesting and Tiny was curious. Their eyes flicker over to what was on the paper but they didn't understand any of it. It just looked like scribbles and random lines.

“Uh, writing? I’m writing? Is that what you want to know about?” he said, tearing out a page of the notebook he’d repurposed as a journal. He wrote, very carefully, in large letters, the word TINY. “Tiny, your name, see? You’re quite a curious thing, much like I when I was young. I would study any language I could get my hands on, if only just to learn. Henry pushed me to stand up to my father so I could study here, he said I could do perfectly well at home but I wanted to experience the real world. Too bad he couldn’t stand up to his own father to attend with me. Wow, it’s really nice talking to someone who doesn’t give a damn what you’re saying, very refreshing.” Victor chuckled.

(Should we like, timeskip to a point where Tiny knows at least a few more words? And possibly to the point where they have to run away and isolate themselves, even, but I might want to do a few scenes before that.)

(Sure, we can do a mini timeskip if you'd like! What would you like to do?)

(Idk just kinda, like, have them at least able to communicate more. Maybe introduce a wild Clerval.)

(Really just a few weeks later would be fine.)

(Sounds good! Do you want me to start?)

(That would be fine, if you want to!)

(Sure thing, give me just a moment!)

It had been only a few weeks, but Tiny was doing splendidly well. They were learning very quickly how to talk and read. They were eagerly taking in anything that Victor would teach them. They would often look through books, (very carefully since they almost ripped a book in half at one point) and take in the pictures and speak works they understood. They could speak comprehensible sentences now, and were fairly good at understanding a conversation. They were becoming more self aware but never lost their intense curiosity for the world.

Victor had managed to fix Tiny’s shoulder in that time, just a few things severed, nothing he couldn’t fix, and in that time the most annoying question Tiny ever asked was ‘why?’ and similar to it. He couldn’t always explain everything, though, so he often forced his creation to go and research the answer for themself. When they couldn’t find and answer, he was probably long gone anyways, and they’d forget the question eventually. So when he was sitting in an armchair on one Friday afternoon, he was pissed to hear the door knock not because someone was calling but because he’d have to explain the concept of calling to his creature. He got up, slowly, and walked over to the door, Tiny wasn’t anywhere near the place with luck and he’d probably be fine just answering this, answering questions, and then falling back asleep in his chair.

(Victor is learning that becoming the creator of an entire new species and effectively being their god/dad is not as fun as it sounds on paper.)

(XD Poor Victor)

As wonderful as it was to have Tiny curious, once he had learned the word 'why' it was like Victor's sleeping hours had lessened. But Tiny was good about researching things they wanted to understand. They'd often read happily and ask questions occasionally in need of clarification about a word. Often, when Victor was busy they would wander around the house, making sure to crouch since the ceilings were't really high enough for him. Or Victor would let them outside and they could explore. Of course they had to avoid people, that was a simple rule that they followed. They were just very curious, and at times that can be a blessing, (Since Tiny would often sit and watch Victor work and try to help) or a curse (since they always badgered Victor with questions).

Victor answered the door, it turned out to be one of his professors checking in and telling him that he had missed enough classes that he’d have to restart the course he was in. Victor nodded, looking back nervously. He didn’t want Tiny to come along and frighten his professor, but he knew the curious wretch wouldn’t be able to resist at least checking out what was going on.

“Victor? Is everything alright? You seem worried…” the professor said, and Victor chuckled fearfully.

“Yes, yes, everything is fine! I’m just tired, is all, seeing things you know. I think I understand you, sir, please just go on your way as I’d hate to keep you!”

“Actually, I’d hoped that I could come in and extend our little conversation. Victor, are you sure you’re right in the head?”

Tiny had been returning from a little adventure when they heard voices, on that they were not familiar with. They became confused as they entered the house through the back way, making minimum noise, but making enough for it to be noticeable. They tilt their head and wander to where the voices were, very curious. This was definitely a time where them being curious was considered a curse. Their eyes were bright and they wondered vaguely if they could see who it was. They only knew Victor, so maybe meeting someone new could offer new information.

Victor heard his creation’s footsteps, could see their shadow from around the corner. “Wait! Um, why don’t we reschedule for another time?” he asked, pushing the professor through the door and out to the front steps of the small dwelling Victor had barely been able to scrape by with the rent.

“Victor, do you have someone over? I thought I heard-“

“No! I mean, it’s no concern of yours, sir. Please, just, can I meet with you in your office about this later?” he asked, nervous sweat beading on his forehead as his hands shook in fear and anticipation of the worst.

“Victor, you’re acting very suspicious. I hope you have a good explain for this, because, well, I’m not leaving until I learn just what is going on with you!” the professor half-shouted.

Tiny paused when they watched Victor push whoever it was outside of the door. They tilt their head in slight concern before they listened quietly. It sounded like Victor was nervous or upset. Tiny debated for a minute on helping Victor, however when they heard someone yelling they became worried. They moved to the front door and opened it slowly, tense since they hadn't had interaction with anyone other than Victor. But… Tiny was big. And terrifying. An abomination to nature and all it stood for. A wretch, a monster. But Tiny knew nothing of that. They were created and since the first day, Victor had been nothing but kind to him. Tiny knew only a little about how truly cruel the world could be.

When the professor looked past Victor to see the creature in all their unholy glory, he gasped, paled, and looked like he was about to faint. “Victor, what, what the hell is that?” he pointed, with a shaking hand, towards Tiny, and then when he saw them move broke into a full-on run down the street, whimpering in fear all the way. Victor relaxed, then stiffened up, then began to boil with rage.

“I told you, never to let anyone see you! You brute, good for nothing ape! You’ve ruined me! He’s going to tell everyone now, and they’ll lock both of us up for the crime of your existence! You… you disgusting worm! Come with me,” Victor snapped, grabbing onto one of Tiny’s long tresses of hair and tugging them along with it, “we’re leaving this place. Pack only the clothes I made for you, nothing else.”

Tiny seemed surprised at the fear the man showed, stepping back into the shadows fearfully. They didn't understand what was happening, they just wanted to protect Victor from possible harm. Words like that wouldn't have hurt them when they had been created, but now they understood the meaning of the words, as well as the anger within Victor's voice. They follow quietly, a small frown on their lips. "Wanted to help…" They murmur worriedly. "Just wanted to protect you…" They grabbed their things as ordered, they weren't used to Victor being mad at them. Sure, mildly annoyed at times, but never been straight up mad. It was unexpected.

“Fine. Fine, but there’s a reason that I don’t want people seeing you. You’re…. you’re hideous, alright? People are scared of you. God, even I was scared of you at first, before I realized you had no intent to harm me. But other people don’t think that way, understand?” he said, voice going soft with what was no longer anger, but worse, disappointment. “Look, get your things together, I’ll see if I can pack a few books but we’ll need to travel light. Money and clothes, at most, and we’ll have to go out the back way into the forest. You can’t be seen.” he hissed.

The disappointment felt worse. It felt like something was stabbing through their chest, but they did as told. Tiny carefully gathered what was needed before wandering back to Victor. They didn't want to think too much on what had happened. Where they really hideous. They walk slowly, trying to find their reflection. When they saw their appearance, they didn't understand. They were them, they didn't seem hideous. They figured they just looked normal. But compared to Victor, that wasn't the case. Victor was smaller… had clearer skin… he didn't have the odd scars… the glowing eyes. Were they truly hideous? Were they truly a monster? But what was a monster? The word had so many meanings. Tiny didn't act like a monster… they didn't hurt people.