Simon Destler
- Ingenious Pilot -
A lost boy. Not a Lost Boy.
Posts: 222
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Post by Simon Destler on Oct 1, 2008 20:38:35 GMT -5
Simon had never considered that he would be on such a quest in the dank, smelly basements of an opera house, but there he was, toting his small trunk behind him, bearing the few possessions he had in a rickety case. His hunt had been getting frustrating, to say the least.
He had crept around the house for a few days, not yet caught by anyone unless they mistook him for someone's child and just gave him a silent dismissal; Simon had liked to think he was rather good at shadowing people rather than being let go for just being a boy.
Tossing his trunk at his feet, the young man folded his arms over his chest and looked around. After watching men and very few women posturing on the stage, he thought he had one of them pegged as the person he sought, but he had been guided down here instead.
Tired, hungry, and very angry at his "little voice" for leading him to a literal dead end, Simon folded his legs under himself and sat down, pouting as a boy younger than him usually would.
"S'not fair," he grumbled, sniffing a bit, either from the dampness of the cellars or being near tears. "I shouldn't even be here..." he muttered to himself, believing he was so far removed from the world that he probably would not see the light of day again.
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Post by Erik on Oct 2, 2008 10:15:38 GMT -5
((Tempted...))
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Simon Destler
- Ingenious Pilot -
A lost boy. Not a Lost Boy.
Posts: 222
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Post by Simon Destler on Oct 2, 2008 13:48:34 GMT -5
((I triple dog dare you. ))
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Post by Erik on Oct 2, 2008 15:47:22 GMT -5
"An astute observation, for one so foolish," a deep, and oddly snide, voice intoned from the darkness.
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Simon Destler
- Ingenious Pilot -
A lost boy. Not a Lost Boy.
Posts: 222
|
Post by Simon Destler on Oct 2, 2008 16:08:26 GMT -5
Simon looked up with a start, peering at the darkness with a sneer on his lips. "Who's there?" he snapped, quickly on his feet in some semblance of a fighting stance. He did not, however, look ready to run.
"If you aim to force me, I'll..." he hesitated, trying to come up with some sort of threat, should someone seek to harm his small person. "I bite," finished the boy sternly, curling his lips back as if to show he meant it.
Reaching near his ankles, he kept his eyes forward on the darkness, picking up his case. As a last resort, Simon reasoned he could use it as a weapon.
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Post by Erik on Oct 2, 2008 21:55:36 GMT -5
The boy was a fighter--that perhaps should not have surprised Erik, considering where he was, but he hadn't expected quite that reaction.
"Force you?" Erik repeated, his spectral voice tinged with an odd humor. "Is there anything, I wonder, you could keep me from doing? What do you think, boy?"
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Simon Destler
- Ingenious Pilot -
A lost boy. Not a Lost Boy.
Posts: 222
|
Post by Simon Destler on Oct 2, 2008 22:16:39 GMT -5
A little puzzled by the question, Simon's grip loosened momentarily on his briefcase. Well, if it was an adult he faced, not much, but he saw no reason in giving the stranger an advantage over him.
"Anything you could pull!" replied the young man, gripping his case handle tighter. At most, he could throw its weight into the man's stomach or groin and take off in any direction. With the darkness of the cellars, and the echoes, Simon could get away; inside, he hoped the voice would just go away, and take its owner with it.
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Post by Erik on Oct 2, 2008 22:29:11 GMT -5
Erik chuckled, his voice flitting around the boy.
"Indeed?" he said, now committed to toying with the child like a cat. "But where am I?" His voice moved to the other side. Then above. "How can you fight me, if you cannot find me?"
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Simon Destler
- Ingenious Pilot -
A lost boy. Not a Lost Boy.
Posts: 222
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Post by Simon Destler on Oct 2, 2008 22:32:57 GMT -5
Well, if the voice insisted on being on all sides, he would have to attack on all sides. Shifting back on his leg, he threw his weight hard enough to hurl his case out to an arm's length, giving him a once-around violent spin before he came to a dizzying stop. The attack was accompanied by a child's roar, and after he came to a halt, he was already panting from the adrenaline rush.
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Post by Erik on Oct 2, 2008 22:54:39 GMT -5
The voice laughed again, dark and condescendingly entertained. Erik, of course, was no where near the boy--not close enough to be in danger of contact, at any rate.
"You're out of your depth, boy. Did you get separated from the rest of the choir boys? Or are you running from an over-ardent patron?"
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Simon Destler
- Ingenious Pilot -
A lost boy. Not a Lost Boy.
Posts: 222
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Post by Simon Destler on Oct 2, 2008 22:58:39 GMT -5
"What's it to you?" asked the boy, ready to swing again if he felt the person, he guessed a man, was too close.
Still braced for anything, Simon took another look around. "I'm not a choir boy, either, not that you need to know."
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Post by Erik on Oct 2, 2008 23:06:31 GMT -5
"Oh, but you're wrong," Erik said with silky menace. "I know everything that goes on in my Opera. And the cellars, in particular, are my especial province."
It seemed that rocks tumbled in a sort of miniature avalanche some feet away, opposite the direction the voice was coming from. And in yet another direction, a scurrying sound was heard, as if of multiple tiny feet.
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Simon Destler
- Ingenious Pilot -
A lost boy. Not a Lost Boy.
Posts: 222
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Post by Simon Destler on Oct 2, 2008 23:11:54 GMT -5
Squinting in the darkness, Simon frowned and turned right around on his feet, trying to see which of the shadows was more solid than the rest. Every moment with the voice made the youth more tense, ready to bolt.
"I'm looking for my father," he finally said, feeling the urge to run rising. "I... was... I felt I had to come down here to find him." That much was the truth, though how much help a voice in the dark was would have to be proven. "All I know is he called my mother 'Christine' when that was not her name. Now you know - now go away!"
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Post by Erik on Oct 2, 2008 23:17:53 GMT -5
Erik had opened his mouth, about to retort that the only feeling that led one down here was an unconscious desire for suicide, when that name tumbled from the boy's lips.
"Christine."
The word sighed around the cellars, a tragic whisper that seemed to be all echo.
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Simon Destler
- Ingenious Pilot -
A lost boy. Not a Lost Boy.
Posts: 222
|
Post by Simon Destler on Oct 2, 2008 23:23:04 GMT -5
Now curious as to what the voice knew about the name, Simon tried to press a little bit, hoping the rotten tease would have information of some value to his search. Relaxing his posture, Simon held the case loosely in his fingers, but had yet to allow it to drop.
"Yes. She told me my father was a man of music, who demanded that she respond to 'Christine' while in her, um... company." He was loath to admit aloud what kind of company his mother provided, but from the drop in the boy's bravado and his refusal to tell, one could guess quite easily. "Do you know someone named Christine? Or someone who knew her?"
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