elizabeth_hefty: *Ril studied him for a moment, illuminated as he was by the moonlight. She wondered what lay behind the mask, and if she would learn during her stay in Paris. But that was of little concern at this moment.* "You have my gratitude for the information and your hospitality. I will return tomorrow night." *She planned to watch Red from afar a few times before approaching him.* "I will bring a bottle I think you will appreciate." *A smile twisted her dark features.*

phantomwolfwhisper: *He smiled slightly in return.* "I would thank you a thousand times over for that." *He pressed his hand against the seemingly dead-end wall, and it pivoted on hidden hinges, opening up into a deserted room, which from its furnishings, must once have been a dressing room for some opera diva. The wall, on the other side, was a mirror. He escorted her through, giving her directions to the opera house front steps, then stepped back into the shadows.* "Remember. Into the cellars, and pull the tripwire. Like a doorbell. I will see you tomorrow eve."

elizabeth_hefty: *She nodded and took a moment to drink in the luxury of her surroundings. Such affluence had never been open to her. Ril shook her head and threaded her way out of the opera house and into the Paris night.*

phantomwolfwhisper: *He wandered through the shadows of this place that had once been his, this huge opera house, this enchanted island of music in a cruel and changing world. His home, his sanctuary, until recently. Recently, nothing mattered anymore, and even music had lost its edge in his bitter grief. Other people saw to the casting of the performances and the quality of the pieces, other people observed and modified the patronage. The man Ril had asked him about would never have been allowed to set foot on these grounds if he were the guardian he ought to be. He sighed, the shadows giving him no comfort this night. Perhaps it was time for a new guardian. One whose differences from other people drove them to seclusion, one whose passion for life was like a glowing candle. One who loved the night as he did... Perhaps one such as this Ril? The thought occupied his mind for the rest of the night, and when the first rays of morning sun shone in through the polished windows, he fled to his lair. But the thoughts still lurked. Even in his dreams, they plagued him, and he had nightmares of an opera house empty, dusty and abandoned, rotting in the uncaring filth of mankind... *

elizabeth_hefty: ((A bit prophetic that))

phantomwolfwhisper: (( ;) I know))

elizabeth_hefty: *She returned the next night after sleeping the day away. In the pack at her waist was a small bottle. Ril kept to the shadows during the performance but her eyes were not on the stage. She had seen Red immediately. The woman at his side was blonde, human, and spilling out of her dress. A sneer of disgust settled over her face and didn't leave. Although her heart ached at the sight of him with another woman, it was wrong for him to be allowed free access to the world while she was denied. When his lips descended to the socialite’s neck, Ril whirled to leave, not caring who saw her.*

phantomwolfwhisper: "Disgusting, isn't it?" *Erik said from where he leaned in a shadowed corner not far from where Ril passed.* "I can't believe I ever let him in here in the first place. I leave him be tonight because I thought perhaps you'd like him to think himself secure for a bit."

elizabeth_hefty: *Anger was written in every motion she made even as she turned to him.* "I wouldn't think he'd be so bold as to feed in public. I don't think he felt my presence but I appreciate your consideration." *She touched her shoulder with a shaky hand, the brand giving off phantom pains.* "Please, can we go somewhere else? I cannot bear to be near him any longer."

phantomwolfwhisper: *He nodded politely.* "Of course. Follow me." *He whirled around soundlessly, his cloak flowing around him like liquid night. His hood cast a shadow over his features and his mask, so no passing opera-goers would even give him a second glance. He opened a few trapdoors, which opened up and folded stairs down. He climbed up them, effortlessly, ignoring the faint touches of a hangover he was suffering. The headache had been killer when he awoke, but half a bottle of wine had made the ache subside to a dull throbbing. He paused every now and then so Ril could keep up, but it was still only minutes before they arrived at the roof.*

elizabeth_hefty: *She kept close to him, not at all bothered by the climb. When they reached the roof. She breathed deeply of the crisp night air and sighed. Ril forced herself to forget the scene she had witnessed in Box Three. She pulled the bottle from her pack and uncorked it, taking a small swig. "Here. It's very strong, Erik." *She handed the flask to him and walked to the edge of the roof.*

phantomwolfwhisper: *He sniffed at it for a second, then decided to hell with caution or preference, and took a big gulp. *

phantomwolfwhisper: ((sorry its so short... what am I expecting from this liquid?))

elizabeth_hefty: ((Very strong. Almost like homemade moonshine..... That stuff.. ooph lol))

phantomwolfwhisper: ((ahh... *adds more to his post*))

phantomwolfwhisper: *The stuff burned on the way down like carbolic acid, the fumes rushing in to cut off any oxygen he might have attempted to breathe. The world spun and bucked for a moment, lurching under his feet. He staggered and blinked, giving a small cough.* "Damn.. that's good stuff.."

elizabeth_hefty: *She chuckled wryly.* "I warned you. Yes it's quite good. I have to make it myself. I wouldn't ask what’s in it though." *Ril pushed the hood off her head and brushed the tears from her eyes. She'd never thought he'd stay as handsome. But then if one is granted immortality, that would stand to reason. She groaned and leaned her head on one hand.*

phantomwolfwhisper: *He took another drink from the bottle, a longer one this time, needing only a deep intake of breath afterwards to keep him on his feet. He smiled appreciatively, handing the bottle back. He didn't know if she meant to keep it or not, but she was the one with the cork, in either case. He wiped his mouth with his hand and shook his head slightly. * "So. Does this cool night air meet your preference better than indoors?" *he asked, still trying to play the gracious host*

elizabeth_hefty: "Anything would be better than indoors." *She took a large gulp and grinned as the liquor burned its way down her throat.* "Tell me, Erik. Does the one you call Mathias come with a different woman every time? Its rather important. He's.... Not human." *She wasn't sure if it was wise to open his eyes to the other world that existed under the streets and in the dark shadows. But then, he wasn't at all like the others. If anyone would understand, he would, this masked man with a preference for strong drink. She took another sip and handed him the flask again.*

phantomwolfwhisper: *He accepted the flask gratefully and took a pull.* "Somehow, that doesn't suprise me. Yes, he comes with a different woman every time... sometimes several women. From their manner of dress, I wonder if he rents them by the dozen from the nearest brothel." *He passed the flask back to her.* "So. He's not human, you're not human.. how may 'not human' people ARE there?"

elizabeth_hefty: "Its very possible he does just that. He was never one for classy women." *Her voice was hard and bitter. She stared out at the landscape of buildings for a few minutes before answering him.* "There are several different races. The most dominant being human. They fear us, the ones who know - the others go on in blissful ignorance. My people are all but dead. Mathias... Red is a vampire. A leech who takes the blood from others to stay alive." *She turned to face him.* "At times he kills those he feeds from."

phantomwolfwhisper: *His facial expression did not change with this revelation, nor did any emotions stir within his soul. When he spoke, his voice was flat and hollow, empty.* "A vampire... Those fiends I have known of for many, many years. I have researched them heavily, and I do not fear them or their ways, though many should. I am sorry for your people, your loss. Is it your intention that this... Red... should meet his final demise?"

elizabeth_hefty: "Yes." *Her voice was flat, hiding the hatred she felt toward the race she considered more cursed than humans.* "He was the one who killed my sister, betrayed my people.... Stole my heart." *A single tear slid down her cheek and she turned away from him, ashamed.* "I want him to suffer as I have. If I could safely sell him into slavery, I would. But they would only take me too." *She shook slightly as the horrific memories returned.*

phantomwolfwhisper: "Slavery?" *He laughed harshly* "A horrible fate, but not nearly painful enough for a satisfying revenge. If ever you wish pain on him, m'lady Ril..." *He smiled, no mirth behind it, remembering those who had shattered his own soul... torn his own heart.* "I should be more than willing to help."

elizabeth_hefty: "Your help would be appreciated. It would be good to have an ally." *She turned towards him, again wondering what lay behind the mask.* "Erik... Why do you hide? You seem to be a good man, even though you are human." *She smiled slightly.* "I would like to hear your story." *She finished what was left of the liquor and threw it against one of the statues. It shattered and she rubbed shards of glass from her gloved hands.*

phantomwolfwhisper: *He shook his head.* "I hide from the world because the human race rejected me. I don't want to deal with them anymore... I... I don't think I can, in an acceptable manner. You don't want to hear my story. It's long, and would bore you."

elizabeth_hefty: *She reached out and touched the side of his face gently.* "I am not easily bored. You fascinate me, why I cannot say. Please Erik. If you would rather I tell mine first, I will." *Ril pulled her hand away, conscious of his eyes on her.*

phantomwolfwhisper: *He sat down, making a gesture for her to sit also, if she wanted to.* "I was born in the insignificant town of Montreil-de-Salie. My father was off to war at the time, I don't remember which one. My mother.. I can't remember a time when she didn't hate me. I was a 'spiteful, possessed creature, disgusting', and often the only thing she had to say to me was 'get out of my sight!'. I've gathered that I was born with certain facial.. deformities... and my mother always insisted I wear a mask. I didn't even know there was anything wrong with me until I turned five... Then in a fit of rage, Mother dragged me in front of the mirror and ripped my mask off. She said what I saw there was the demon who lived inside of me, making me a wicked child. But I don't want to talk about my mother.

phantomwolfwhisper: When I was eight years old, after having received an astounding education (my tutors called me a prodigy, and I suppose it was true), I was sold to a band of traveling gypsies. I tried to run away, but there was no welcome for me at home. Eventually, I accepted my place with the strange traveling people, whom I joined as part of their freak show. I was the 'Living Corpse', performing by lying in a coffin with roses in my hands, mask removed, pretending to be a rotting body. I did ventriloquism, casting my voice around the spectators in a haunting ghostlike fashion. They hated me. The gypsies hated me too, but I didn't care. I didn't care about their hatred, because I had never known anything else. Eventually I left, when the hostility had reached levels even I could not bear.

phantomwolfwhisper: My 'friends' had betrayed me, allowing me to think I was accepted, then lashing out both physically and verbally. That was the least of it, but I cannot go into the matter farther. Suffice it to say, by the time I was thirteen, I had had more than enough. I ran, not knowing where to, not caring. Accidentally, or perhaps by Fate, I met a man who changed everything.

phantomwolfwhisper: He adopted me as his son, taught me to defend myself, to use the sword, my fists, my wits. He taught me how to use my voice the way it was meant to be used, and to play music on various instruments. I learned history, philosophy, archaeology. It was the best part of my life. Or so I thought. Then one night, I learned what he really was, what his plans for me were. He was a vampire, and he was training me to be his apprentice... and eventually, a vampire like him. He had taught me too well, though, and before he had an inkling that I knew, I killed him. Once again, I ran.

phantomwolfwhisper: ((sorry.. I AM getting to the point...))

elizabeth_hefty: ((No I'm enjoying it!!!))

phantomwolfwhisper: ((ok..))

phantomwolfwhisper: (( :D ))

phantomwolfwhisper: I didn't run so far this time, but I should have run farther. I was found by a member of the Persian government, who was intrigued by my unique skills. I was, at the time, scraping a living by pretending to be a magician. Apparently, the shah-in-shah of Persia, the king, was looking for someone with my imagination and flair to entertain his daughter, the sultana. It sounded promising, so I agreed. What I didn't realize was that I would be locked in the palace, unable to escape to the outside world, and be exclusively at the sadistic, twisted woman's command. It was on her account that I invented the Punjab lasso. It amused her to watch a fully armed horseman charge me with the intent of murdering me, and I armed only with a bit of rope. Using this rope, I strangled him, pulled him off his horse, and finished him off.

phantomwolfwhisper: She delighted to see me perform this feat over and over, for weeks without end. Then she grew bored again. Life was unpleasant, to say the least, when the sultana was bored, so I built a maze of mirrors. The purpose was for a condemned man to be put inside, and watched from a hidden peephole. Eventually, invariably, the man would commit suicide. The shah-in-shah later commissioned me to lay floor-plans for him for several palaces to be built, all containing such 'torture chambers'. Which was all very well and good... until someone decided I had too much knowledge in my head that couldn't be allowed to get out, and I was slated for execution.

phantomwolfwhisper: I escaped only because Nadir, the daroga, the Persian chief of police, tipped me off and helped me get out. He helped me because my knowledge of medicines had allowed me to save the life of his son, who had been ill. We fled to France, where I helped a budding archaeologist, Charles Garnier, to build the Paris Opera House, this place where we stand now. I added in, secretly, everything I knew I would need to live out my days satisfactorily here, and no one was the wiser, except for the daroga.

phantomwolfwhisper: ((and here's where the book/movie start. shall I continue or no?))

elizabeth_hefty: ((You can continue.... I'm having trouble typing up another rp lol))

phantomwolfwhisper: ((previous info thanks to Susan Kay and various rpg sources))

phantomwolfwhisper: ((k))

phantomwolfwhisper: I fell in love with a young opera singer, Christine Daae. She was only a chorus girl, and some thought all that remained for her was to learn ballet. But I heard potential in her voice. I wanted to help her. I wanted her to know I existed, and perhaps gradually... Anyhow, our first meeting did not go as I planned. I spoke to her without showing my presence, using ventriloquism and a hollowed-out wall. But she thought -! She thought I was an angel, come down from heaven on her father's decree, to teach her. I was unable to disillusion her, and so as an angel, I taught her.”

elizabeth_hefty: *The information about his life came forth so easily but without any emotion. It was almost as if he wasn't talking about himself but another person who had lived the life of Erik. She wondered if anyone had ever touched him kindly - if he had ever been with a woman. Ril leaned against the stone wall that surrounded the roof and watched him with listening eyes.*

phantomwolfwhisper: “A complication arose. Raoul, apparently a childhood friend of hers, came to see her perform one night - coincidentally, the very night I had managed to get her spotlighted as the main female lead role. The stupid boy thought his fascination with her newly trained voice was love! He confused Christine, led her farther from the moment of revelation I had planned... How I hated him!" *His voice lowered to a whisper* "I still hate him..."

phantomwolfwhisper: “I had to find a way to show Christine... to win her... But how? I know I'm a monster, I knew it then, too. Somehow, I just had to trust she'd see past all that... Hope that she'd be able to love the world of darkness I had created for myself. It was wrong of me... But I couldn't think what else to do... I abducted her. Through those passages in the cellars, down to the boat, the lake. You've seen what it looks like. She was entranced at first, and I couldn't persuade her... I COULDN'T! She refused to see me as a man, still held childishly to her image of me as an angel..." *Anger edged along his voice* "I think she only really got it when she ripped my mask off and saw what lay beneath. Then she understood she was dealing with a creature of hell, a demon, no angel!"

phantomwolfwhisper: *He took a breath, composing himself* "Much happened after that, but in general, she began to love that bastard, Raoul, more each day... And he taught her to fear me more with each word he spoke to her."

elizabeth_hefty: *She slid to her knees next to him. His story was worse than her own. Ril slipped her gloves off and took his hands cautiously. She offered what silent sympathy she had and poured a calming effect from her body to his.*

phantomwolfwhisper: "In the end, it was more than I could contain. Jealousy and rage... Hatred is the measure of love, did you know that? And if my hatred for Raoul... that BASTARD! is any indication, no woman has ever been as loved by a man as Christine was... is... by me." *He took a deep breath, feeling calm flood him from nowhere. His voice evened out, and he wiped his face.* "I gave her a choice, to stay with me, and let Raoul go on living... Or to choose Raoul and watch him die by my hand.

phantomwolfwhisper: She... she chose me... but only because she loved HIM, only because she wanted him to live more than... So what was I supposed to do? Could I keep her with me, her, the woman I loved, as a captive? I let her go with the detestable viscount, and I wish them well together." *His voice grew softer* "I hope they are very happy. They deserve each other." *He turned and stared vacantly out at the cold, clear night sky with its multitude of stars.*

elizabeth_hefty: *She still held his hands in hers, and she looked down at them. He had the hands of an artist, strong palms that ended in tapering fingers. Ril let the silence stretch between them before speaking.* "It is hard to be rejected by the one you love. Especially when they don't return your affections. Erik, look at me." *She caught his eyes and smiled sadly.* "Be grateful that you are not an immortal. You will die one day and forget. But I have to live with this until eternity. Make your music, show the world that there is no demon."

phantomwolfwhisper: *He laughed harshly* "These are your words of comfort for me? ‘Be glad, one day you'll die and won't have to deal with it anymore’? The music is dying, Ril. It's not a material thing, like this opera house... it lives here, in my soul, in my heart." *He made a gesture towards his chest.* "It is the lifeblood of the human spirit, but it fails as mortals do. When the music is gone, Ril, this opera house will die, like a corpse leeched of it's blood. I've seen it. I have nothing left to give, nothing left to live for, but to make sure that somehow, the music, the opera house, lives on." *He clenched a fist, bloodshot eyes glaring out from his shadowed face.* "And there is a demon. Me."

elizabeth_hefty: *She winced as he tightened his fingers around her hand.* "The man I see before me is not a demon. I was never very good at giving comfort, and for that, I apologize." *She bit her lip and tried to think of something she could tell him that would help, but all that came were empty words that meant nothing.* "You are not a demon. You are human and from what I can see, a genius." *She pulled her hands from his and massaged the blood back into circulation.* "I would ask to see the face behind the mask but I don't think you want that." *She took a deep breath and resisted the urge to touch him again.*

phantomwolfwhisper: *He pulled his head up sharply, anger flashing, then smoldering just below the surface.* "Fine then," *he muttered, just loudly enough to be heard.* "Let’s see if your kind are any better than the race I left behind." *He waved a hand, tripping a mechanism that turned on the lighting for the roof, illuminating everything softly. Shadows blended with light into one smooth, easy glow. With sharp, almost menacing movements, he threw back his hood, looked at her for a moment, then slowly reached up and removed the white plasteric-porcelin mask from his face. Keeping his expression as neutral as possible, he calmly watched her face for her reaction.*