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Post by Carlos Castro on Sept 2, 2008 16:12:18 GMT -5
**NEW DAY**
((From the Manager's Office))
Carlos strode back from the offices, the majority of his business done but for the pressing matter of food. It would be pleasant to have someone make it for him and serve him and then demand seconds of everything. Yes, it was a simple pleasure, but quite sufficient to his current mindset.
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Post by Maleo Basilio Addams on Sept 2, 2008 16:25:42 GMT -5
Maleo was about the backstage, if not just for retrieving the few personal affects he had in the shared dressing room. He had not been back to the main part of the opera in a few days, though the fresh wounds from Marlow gave him a bit of a stagger as they healed.
That was when he spotted El Castro, walking right within his path. He could have ignored the other singer, but his rising instincts as a fledgling Strigoi put him right in front of Carlos, blocking his path.
"You are El Castro?" he said with a forced smile and a small bow. "I am pleased to finally make your acquaintence, Senor. I am Maleo Basilio Addams, lead soprano for this house's production of Adios a la bohemia." He extended his hand in greeting, then waited to see Carlos' reaction.
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Post by Carlos Castro on Sept 2, 2008 16:39:29 GMT -5
Carlos bristled--though not visibly, he was too well-trained for that--at the man block his path. He was used to people trying to get to him: young men seeking to reflect his glory, older men seeking to bask in it, and women of all ages just... Well. This one wasn't one of those, it seemed. A singer. He readied for some handy put-down, when one was handed to him on a silver platter.
A soprano.
"I thought that went out with Velluti," he said, his voice a perfect rumble of cultured derision--free of his "Spanish" accent, as he was under no illusions as to its efficacy when faced with an actual Spaniard. He extended his hand. "I am. Carlos Castro, lead tenor."
He did not have to specify the opera. He was always the lead tenor.
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Post by Maleo Basilio Addams on Sept 2, 2008 16:54:03 GMT -5
Maleo set his jaw as he curled his fingers around Carlos', noticing the lack of any accent - or even any Spanish appearance in the tenor.
"So I hear..." said Maleo, tensing his hand a little. He noted the tone in the man's voice, pressing his smile to stay in place. "It must have been hard work to remain in your position, what with more talent entering the Opera...." He would have said "every day," but that would not have the same sting. Oh, how he hoped El Maestro would take him on.
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Post by Carlos Castro on Sept 2, 2008 16:59:33 GMT -5
They were not in competition for roles--but they were certainly competitors for the hearts of the public. Carlos held on to Maleo's hand longer than necessary.
"True talent will always have a place in the Opera," he said smoothly, his expression bland. "Talent, that is, that stands the test of time, and is not merely a reflection of the mob's passing fancy."
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Post by Maleo Basilio Addams on Sept 2, 2008 17:11:54 GMT -5
Nodding in reply, Maleo also kept his hand within Carlos' for too long, staring right back into the tenor's eyes. His smile became wider, as he recalled his performance the other night. If the reviews held, they would most certainly competing for the hearts of the masses.
"Then we will see if the old does not erode with new life breathing into this old house," he said, using his grip to pull Carlos a little closer, giving them a more intimate speaking range.
"Buena suerte, Anciano," he murmured, nearly nose-to-nose with the tenor.
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Post by Carlos Castro on Sept 2, 2008 17:30:13 GMT -5
Carlos came willingly, his lips curled now into a smile. The man could not be more than five years younger than he, and he himself hardly looked his 31 years. And Carlos had Erik, and a body that would not age. He assumed.
"We will see," he agreed. "But then, they don't make them like they used to, do they?"
He let go finally, not giving in but releasing the other man decidedly, his smirk firmly in place.
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Post by Maleo Basilio Addams on Sept 2, 2008 17:43:32 GMT -5
Maleo folded his arms across his torso, adding a jutted hip to his stance, keeping his gaze focused on the other man. He would play up the temperament afforded to men younger than himself, though his determination was showing through his almost (now) all-black) eyes.
"If they were ever made right," he played back, enjoying the tense exchange. Marlow did give Maleo permission to play with whomever he liked... and he started to like El Castro's stubborn hold as primo uomo.
"I have a feeling our time spent together will become... interesting."
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Post by Carlos Castro on Sept 2, 2008 17:54:24 GMT -5
Yes, especially if you get me angry enough to rip you limb from limb with my claws. Quite a show that would be, wouldn't it?
There was steel beneath Addams' unassuming frame, Carlos thought. But he was not soft either, despite appearances. Curiously, he felt in no danger of the change coming upon him, for he was enjoying this; it was a welcome relief to be parrying with someone who did not matter.
"I shall endeavor to make it very interesting, if you like," he said with a veneer of casual solicitude. "But out of respect for a fellow visitor, I should warn you; there are powerful elements at work here, who may not be so... understanding as I am to newcomers."
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Post by Maleo Basilio Addams on Sept 2, 2008 18:06:33 GMT -5
"I like powerful forces," returned Maleo, letting his lips part a little. He was not fearful of his budding little fangs showing - the air around Castro was different than most people anyway. It made his desire to compete with the man all the stronger.
"I like things to be interesting," he said, finally sliding himself out of Castro's direct path, brushing shoulder to shoulder with Carlos. Leaning in, he breathed into the tenor's ear, using a soft voice so that only Castro would hear - not that he thought anyone was listening in.
"And I've the... fortitude to stand up to it, 'El Castro.' So, while we can, let's play," he purred, catching a whiff of the other man's cologne - and the warm flesh beneath.
I think your blood would be the sweetest to taste if I had to, Castro, he thought, just beginning to pull away.
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Post by Carlos Castro on Sept 2, 2008 18:21:42 GMT -5
Carlos raised an eyebrow, by now as accustomed to the sense of oddness as he was to handsome men making intriguing suggestions to him. Not, generally, at the same time. It both intrigued him and goaded him on, his desire to dominate--onstage, as well as off--a matter of pleasure as well as survival. This was no little tenor upstart, to be easily bullied.
No, this was something different, something dangerous but hadn't he developed a taste for that, recently?
His hand moved as Addams turned away, grasping the man's upper arm in strong fingers. Not pulling him closer, but keeping him from moving further away.
"Just be certain you know what you're playing with," he murmured, his voice soft as velvet, his eyes half-lidded. "And what the stakes are."
He let go just as suddenly as he'd grabbed, stepping away fluidly with a last superior glance at his rival.
Most interesting, indeed.
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Post by Maleo Basilio Addams on Sept 2, 2008 18:29:28 GMT -5
The grip stopped Maleo's passing for the moment he was held, but he smirked as he listened to Carlos' words. It had made a happy little shiver run down his spine, having someone else wanting to try to gain control over him, even if it was on a less intimate level.
Oh, this was going to be fun. Letting Carlos go, Maleo headed toward the dressing rooms to pick up his personal items as planned, a bit of bounce in his step.
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Post by Erik Destler on Sept 2, 2008 21:50:31 GMT -5
((Wow that...was way way hotter than it should have been.))
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Post by Carlos Castro on Sept 3, 2008 9:27:55 GMT -5
That... had not gone at all as he'd expected. He'd lived through rivalries before, and come out on top through sheer determination (and the odd, er, private showing, back in the early days). But nothing like this creature, who seemed to court the darkness as readily as he did the spotlight.
Likely compensation for his pathetic state. "Soprano," indeed.
It was with a slight bounce in his step that Carlos made his way from the Opera and to his favorite cafe, hungrier than ever.
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Post by Wanizame on Sept 24, 2008 10:47:51 GMT -5
***SOME OTHER DAY***
The little creature, recently named, had spent some time out of the cellars, away from the lake, exploring the great house that Erik built and curiously watching all the comings and goings of the people involved, or not so involved in its day-to-day business.
For the first time, it had more exposure to women and thought it began to understand some of the differences between the sexes humans presented themselves in. What it gathered, mostly, was that women like pretty dresses and had softer faces and were most often smaller.
Because it lacked any real sense of time, Mortimer wasn't aware of how long it had been away from the house on the lake, and because neither Erik nor Julian had come to fetch it, it had not bothered to return.
They had eachother, after all.
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