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Post by Maleo Basilio Addams on Dec 30, 2008 18:42:45 GMT -5
Maleo's smile stayed visible, though not it was certainly a forced grin. The Maestro had a son?
"This..." Maleo paused, almost as if sick, "delightfully pretty little boy is the son of your patron? ...Charming."
This close to Carlos again, now he could smell that "offness" about Carlos that Marlow had mentioned to him; the bestial, wild under-scent that was undetectable by a human nose. Hobbling a bit, Maleo moved around Castro, still physically injured from Marlow's treatments.
"Oddly enough, I would have thought your interests were... wilder than a little boy."
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Post by Carlos Castro on Dec 30, 2008 18:49:33 GMT -5
Carlos would not register the oddity of the particular word "wild" until later, and wonder at it. For now, he was conscious of only half the implication--and of Maleo's evident pain in movement. If he did not watch it, Maleo was going to have a face full of cat claws soon--and Carlos would have no career and a scared little boy.
"My 'interests' as you call them are in opera, the maestro, and in instructing the latter's son in the workings of the former," he said, his jaw clenched somewhat so that the words grated. "He is a young man, and you will afford him that respect, at least." Carlos' warning tone held none of the usual petulance. This was not a game, not when the child was involved, and not with the implications Maleo was making. Carlos was acutely conscious of this in his interactions with Simon, however selfish he was capable of being otherwise. Though the cat could not speak, he was surprise to recognize something of it in his voice now. Not an actual sound, but a sense. Territorial and protective.
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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 Dec 30, 2008 19:22:28 GMT -5
Simon was a little surprised himself, his fears of this man, who had to be "Addams," receding a bit with Carlos putting himself in that protective state. Looking up at the man who had his hand, his own fixed itself a little tighter in Carlos' grip, and while he believed he was capable of silence, his father had not excluded him from expressing himself in another manner; he promptly stuck his tongue out at the Spaniard.
Maleo only seemed amused by the boy's brash behavior, and folded his arms over his chest. "Tsk, tsk, I never thought I'd imagine you to be the motherly type, Carlos. This... puts a spin on things," he said, slinking away with all the grace of a three-legged cat.
"I don't like him," whispered Simon, trying to keep close to Castro's side. "I thought he was going to eat me."
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Post by Carlos Castro on Dec 30, 2008 19:28:53 GMT -5
Carlos was as surprised as any, and a little embarrassed by the display--he thought he may as well have hackles, for all the subtlety he'd displayed.
"Then you have good taste," he said, attempting to calm himself. "I would not put it past him, though I do not think you are precisely to his taste." Still, he credited Maleo with the ability to do nearly anything to annoy him. He looked down at Simon. "If you want to be treated as an adult, Simon, you may wish to keep your tongue in your mouth." In public, anyway. "Now. I must rehearse, and I cannot do that with a shadow. I promise no one shall be eaten while I'm watching."
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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 Dec 30, 2008 19:49:13 GMT -5
"Sorry... it just kinda... fell out," said Simon an impish little grin on his face. "I'll try to keep it under control, Senor," he promised and finally let go of Carlos' hand, disappearing off to the wings, where he decided he'd rather sit nearby than in the audience again. He had a small pile of conveniently placed crates to choose from, and overturned one to sit on.
He noticed Addams had turned his attention solely to Castro, as if the boy had never been there to begin with. Of course, there was less time for heckling now, as the conductor who ran the rehearsal took over now that Castro had arrived.
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Post by Alex on Dec 31, 2008 11:07:40 GMT -5
Carlos attended the rehearsal--and Maleo Addams--with unwonted seriousness, but Alex was under no such strictures. Lately, she'd been happily carousing with Mercutio when not spending blissful moments with Lizzie. And while she wasn't flippant about her job, she had some free time while others hashed out some detail or other. She slid over towards the boy in the wings, smiling broadly. She was in trousers, but not exactly trying to hide her gender.
"Hullo," she said informally. "Hope you don't mind, but I've seen you here before. I'm Alex." She glanced over at Castro, who had noticed her movement but merely sent her a look from beneath lowered brows she took as some sort of warning. Against what, she had no idea, so she ignored it. "You have quite the, er, guardian."
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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 Jan 1, 2009 23:53:15 GMT -5
Simon looked up at Alex owlishly, standing up suddenly and smoothing his suit, his face and ears pink with embarrassment.
"Hello," he said - squeaked - to Alex, holding himself back from swallowing his tongue. Now was the time he really, really, really wished he was the height of other boys his age - it would have made him look more like a man and less like a child, at least. And would have made for better introductions.
"I'm Simon, Miss Alex. I've seen you here too," he said, clearing his throat again and holding his hand out to her, then freezing up. Did he kiss her hand or shake it? Oh god, oh god, oh god... went his mind, on repeat with his indecision.
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Post by Alex on Jan 5, 2009 11:16:08 GMT -5
Alex ended his indecision--she hoped--by shaking his hand firmly. While she usually delighted in the confusion she engendered, she felt bad. She really wasn't trying to discomfit the boy. Quite the opposite, in face. She knew it couldn't be easy, having Castro as one's... well, whatever he was. And the kid seemed nice enough.
"Well," she said, releasing his hand and putting her own casually in her pocket. "Enchanted, M. Simon. You have any questions you can't ask Señor Castro, you let me know." She smiled in what was usually a reassuring manner; Alex liked all sorts of people, and liked putting them at ease even when they were confused by her.
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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 Jan 7, 2009 18:51:56 GMT -5
Feeling a little better already, Simon plopped back down on his chosen crate, though stood up again when he realized his feet just brushed the floor - and kept up the "short and childlike" appearance.
"Well, I didn't want to ask him, but does he really need to throw a fit onstage? It's not very..." what was the word? "Professional."
Relaxed a bit, Simon did tilt his head up and take a look at the wings, the flies, the ropes; everything above him looked terribly complicated and possibly deceiving in function - staring up too long made him dizzy, and he brought his attention back to Alex.
"How long have you worked with El Castro?"
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Post by Alex on Jan 7, 2009 18:57:50 GMT -5
Alex couldn't contain the laugh that bubbled up at Simon's question, though she did manage to stifle it a little.
"No, it isn't. I suppose he thinks he deserves it, give his immense star power," she said drolly. "Maybe he thinks it'll keep him on top. Or maybe... just because he can."
She wondered who this boy really was. She'd heard something about Castro's partner at the ball, but the story seemed somewhat far-fetched. Where were they living? Did this Taylor really exist? And why were they so blatant about ti?
Not that she was really one to talk.
"Not long," she answered his second question. "Just since he got back from... wherever he's been."
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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 Jan 7, 2009 19:04:53 GMT -5
"Oh..." There was much Simon supposed he didn't know about, and he really should have cleared some subjects with his father and Carlos before being brought above. Stuffing his own hands in his pockets, he looked out toward the stage, where he could just see the skinny form of Maleo sliding by.
The man's presence just made Simon shudder, and he found himself sitting again just because. "That guy... is weird."
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Post by Alex on Jan 7, 2009 19:09:42 GMT -5
"You noticed that, too," she said, agreeing. "Mr. Taylor, all singers--or actors, for that matter--are weird. It's a matter of whether it's visible or not." She said this with a slight smile, as if to say she was only slightly kidding.
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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 Jan 7, 2009 19:15:50 GMT -5
Simon chuckled a little, covering his mouth in case he got too loud. There were still tentative cracks he needed to bypass with Carlos - protecting him from Addams may only have been a reaction to the man himself, not necessarily a need to protect Simon, merely the need to rail against Addams and his own desire to mess with the lead tenor.
"Well, you don't seem to be weird like them. I mean, they're men, for Chrissake," he grumbled, feeling a pang of guilt for pointing out how the pair seemed to preen like a couple of angry... what preened? Those birds... "Peacocks!" he muttered to himself, remembering how the metaphor was supposed to go.
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Post by Alex on Jan 7, 2009 19:22:07 GMT -5
Alex had, by this point, decided that the boy was delightful. Her green eyes danced in amusement. "Oh, I'm plenty weird," she said. "But I'm not a man. Nor a peacock. In that, you are correct. Success--in the limelight, anyway--does funny things to some people. But you'd know better than I, if you've spent time with Castro when he hasn't anything to prove. Unless he's like that all the time, in which case... I feel very sorry for your father."
Not to mention you.
It didn't read, to her, like the two of them were involved. But she liked the boy, and she'd keep an eye out.
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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 Jan 7, 2009 19:35:27 GMT -5
"I wouldn't know, really... Father hasn't said anything to that affect - maybe he's just used to it..." replied Simon, rather absent of himself and where he was. His eyes were on the stage, and the actors singing on it.
He'd only ever sung in the church chorus, and never well enough to get a solo - not that his time at church was regular enough anyway. "I think you're pretty good," he added, his focus still away from her. "But what do I know?"
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