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Post by Lady Norrington on May 2, 2007 16:39:55 GMT -5
((That's how I eat pancakes sometimes. The microwave kind, anyway, on weekends. Of course I don't do that in restaurants!))
Megan opened her mouth to shoot back a sarcastic "Yeeeeah, THAT'S gonna work," but stopped herself just in time.
"Oh. Er... Erik, I meant after I'd tried the makeup. I don't know how to do anything like that... permanently."
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Post by Erik on May 2, 2007 16:56:57 GMT -5
"It matters little," *Erik shrugged, scooping some more sodden pancake onto his fork.* "When you discover the way, Erik can learn to apply it himself. She will not care." *He wasn't sure why he was feeling so hopefuly; perhaps things were as bad as they could get?*
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Post by Lady Norrington on May 2, 2007 17:00:41 GMT -5
Megan bit her lower lip. She had developed serious migivings now, so much so that she decided to change the subject.
"Why do you always refer to yourself in the third person?"
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Post by Erik on May 2, 2007 17:13:53 GMT -5
*Erik stared at his empty plate. When had he last eaten an entire meal? When had he last used a plate? He set his fork down and replaced the mask.*
"Do I?" *he said absently.* "Erik hadn't noticed.*
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Post by Lady Norrington on May 2, 2007 17:16:42 GMT -5
Megan couldn't help but smile.
"You do. All the time. It's very... distinctive."
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Post by Erik on May 2, 2007 18:17:21 GMT -5
*Wonderful. Now he'd be self-conscious, as if being a walking corpse wasn't bad enough.*
"I don't suppose you have any defense mechanisms!" *Erik snapped, then frowned in confusion.* "What was Erik saying?"
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Post by Lady Norrington on May 3, 2007 11:03:34 GMT -5
"Well, right there, you used first person in the first part but third in the second. If that makes any sense," said Megan. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. For the record, I do it too when I'm being really sarcastic, and you've probably noticed that I stammer and put pauses in and break off when I'm nervous. Or my head works faster than my mouth..."
She went into one of those pauses at that point.
"So, yeah. More pancakes?"
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Post by Erik on May 3, 2007 16:27:47 GMT -5
*Erik had no idea what she was talking about. Only insane people spoke about themselves in the third person! The thought was preposterous.*
"Your head works faster than your mouth?" *he said to cover his confusion. It was a cheap shot, but he'd always been thrifty when need be.*
"No pancakes, please. They were... sustaining," *he added by way of thanks. He pushed back from the table and stood up.* "Erik has some composing to do. If you would like to... sing while doing your chores, he will most likely be unable to hear you over the piano."
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Post by Lady Norrington on May 3, 2007 16:31:05 GMT -5
Megan smiled good-naturedly but didn't move.
"Am I allowed to get up?"
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Post by Erik on May 3, 2007 20:43:45 GMT -5
"Um. Of course," *Erik said.* "How do you expect to get anything done sitting down? Must Erik tell you everything?"
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Post by Lady Norrington on May 4, 2007 14:25:13 GMT -5
"I didn't want to get up until I knew you were okay with me seeing you."
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Post by Erik on May 4, 2007 15:33:18 GMT -5
"Oh." *Erik felt a momentary twinge of guilt about not telling her he was now wearing the mask; she was following his instructions, for once, and he'd have to reward her for her good behavior.*
"Yes, Erik is... decent. You may turn around. Erik... appreciates your obedience in this matter."
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Post by Lady Norrington on May 4, 2007 15:43:54 GMT -5
Megan got up as gracefully as she was able to (the skirt helped) and went to collect his breakfast plate.
"So are you writing today or playing something already written?" she asked casually.
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Post by Erik on May 4, 2007 15:54:28 GMT -5
"A little of both," *Erik said, cracking his knuckles.* "Much of composing flows from innovations upon written material," *he explained, wondering why. Abruptly, he turned and went to sit down at the piano. The red ink stood out against the pages he'd written, his scrawling handwriting making spidery shapes on the paper. He flipped back to a bit he'd written when he'd first brought Christine home--he'd been reminded of her at breakfast, and hope had unfurled a little in his breast.
He played, and improvised and daydreamed in music, until abruptly he remembered the list Megan had left him. He stood and went to his door to pick it up.*
"Erik will return shortly," *he called out.* "Do not try to leave--the house is protected both ways."
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Post by Lady Norrington on May 4, 2007 16:06:51 GMT -5
"Goodbye!" Megan called back.
She waited for the sound of the locks closing.
"'Don't leave the house,'" she murmured. "As if I would!"
Still, she found herself drawn to the piano, lured by the chance to see some of his music first-hand.
Megan glanced at the pages for a moment. Her rudimentary piano skills allowed her to slowly pick out what he had written, with none of the flowing beauty it had had when he played it himself. Frustrated, she stacked the music together on the back of the piano and started playing the "Lullabye of the Bells" from the 1943 Phantom movie.
He was almost... nice to me.
She smiled to himself, thinking of how easily they'd spoken this morning; the respect she'd given him and he'd returned.
As she shifted the song into a higher register, though, she realized why.
He's only happy because I'm helping him get Christine back. Maybe.
Some of the joy she was feeling faded, and she abruptly stopped playing by slamming a hand down on the keys. She stormed away from the piano and went into the kitchen to wash the dishes left over from breakfast.
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