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Post by Smoke on Sept 23, 2009 1:08:40 GMT -5
Smoke sat at a table scattered with papers and a couple of books, humming to himself and making notes.
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 23, 2009 1:17:41 GMT -5
Valérian came in, pausing and looking at him with a raised brow. Still being very new... he wasn't really comfortable starting a conversation with the man...
Of course, talking to someone who was sitting and barely having to look up was both awkward and embarrassing. Why did people have to grow so tall now? He missed the days when HE had actually been average height and not ridiculously short. Oh, if only he could grow a few inches! At least now he perfectly understood Louis XIV's reason for wearing heels. The man had been almost as short to him as he was to everyone here. Even the majority of the students were taller than him! He got a tablet of the blood substitute they had here, grateful he didn't appear to react badly to this like he did to most animal blood. Finally he worked up the courage to go over to Smoke. "Hey, might if I ask what you are doing? Looks pretty interesting."
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Post by Smoke on Sept 23, 2009 1:23:47 GMT -5
Smoke looked up and suddenly realized there'd been someone standing there looking at him for at least a minute or two. He sat down his pen and smiled broadly at the man.
"Oh, absolutely. I'm just trying to finish up some notes on the costuming." He nudged a chair over with his foot. "Come sit down. You're, ah, some kind of history, isn't it? Something French, I know Vero and Euro were insulting each other over you."
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 23, 2009 1:32:48 GMT -5
"Over me huh? Didn't think I warranted that kind of attention, even if I am albino. Yes, I'm at least trying to teach history and I'm Valérian. Luckily I've been speaking English long enough to get that frustrating "th" sound right," he grinned, taking the pro-offered chair and turning it so he could cross his arms over the back of it and rest his chin on his hands. "Costuming of what? I see you have... what, Masque de la Mort Rouge?"
He paused and shook his head, "Masque of the Red Death? Poe; interesting author. I rather enjoy his work."
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Post by Smoke on Sept 23, 2009 1:47:22 GMT -5
"Nah, because you're French. They have this little rivalry going on." He extended his hand; his first impression of Valerian was that the new guy was kind of adorable. He was probably several hundred years old and significantly powerful or something, but he still reeked of 'I am cute, wounded and unloved, give me a hug and some hot chocolate'. "Nice to meet you, I'm Smoke, head of theatre and whatever bits of magic Professor Volkova's not doing this week."
"You've read it? Great. Yeah, he's- interesting is a good word, I think. There are scarier, but he's just so... depressing," Smoke grinned. "I've been wanting to adapt this to the stage for a while. What do you think?"
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 23, 2009 1:59:20 GMT -5
"I think it's probably one of the ones that lends itself best to the stage," he said. "Though the Telltale Heart or Conversation with a Mummy would also be good. The Masque has the most possibilties for a chorus and extras, though. And would make for a fantastic set. It's among my favorite stories of his."
Valérian shook his hand, smiling. After nearly two and a half centuries, he was an expert at giving a full smile without revealing his fangs, though Smoke could probably very easily tell what he was. Not even albinos had skin that was just short of glass-like transparent. Well, not living ones. Usually he wore make-up to hide that, but here he felt it was probably safe to not bother. Vampires were running around all the time, so... what did he have to hide?
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Post by Smoke on Sept 23, 2009 16:13:42 GMT -5
Smoke laughed to himself. "You sound like you're going to be fun to have around, and I'm going to have to introduce you to Hoshi. Unless you know him already?" He re-organized the papers back into piles of 'script', 'costuming sketch', and 'misc'.
"You know..." he looked over Valerian with an odd expression. "Do you do theatre at all?"
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 23, 2009 16:20:35 GMT -5
"I try to be. Blame on centuries of adolesence. I'd like to meet this Hoshi, I don't really know anyone. And no... when I was ali-young, people in theatre were of low morals, unless it was opera. Certainly not for the heir of a minor noble," he said, then bit his lip. That was a bit more than he'd meant to reveal. He shrugged; whatever, there was nothing in his past to use against him, he was over most of it and what he wasn't couldn't easily be used.
"I probably could... why do you ask?" The look Smoke was giving him made him a little nervous. It was like the man had plans... and it had been a very long time since someone had positive plans for him. Usually those plans involved a stake or a lot of fire.
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Post by Smoke on Sept 23, 2009 16:42:56 GMT -5
"Ahh, yeah. Parts of the art haven't really risen from that reputation in my lifetime." His smile dropped for a second, but soon returned.
"Well, I know this is really sudden, but you strike me as a great Gothic aristocrat. So, if by chance you might want to audition... I think you'd work really well." He twiddled the pen in his hand and watched Valerian's expression.
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 23, 2009 16:47:47 GMT -5
Valérian couldn't help but laugh at him, "Oh, you have no idea. Ditch the earring and the gloves, and I'm dressed the same way I was in 1745. Though I have had to get the clothes custom made any more... I just can't stand modern clothing most of the time."
He smiled, though it was more of a smirk. Audition for a play... his father would have been mortified, but... well, it sounded like fun. And the Lord knew he had little enough fun. "What would I have to do?"
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Post by Smoke on Sept 23, 2009 17:06:56 GMT -5
Smoke was happy. He thought he liked this guy, and as he tended to work entirely on intuition, wanted an excuse to drag him into his little group of friends if he were at all willing. Having Valerian around for the play just sounded so... useful.
"Well, we've just caught up the freshman and finished picking stuff out for the rest of the year, and every evening this week in the auditorium we're doing auditions. Come in at sevenish, pick what parts you'd like to read for and have fun."
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 23, 2009 17:15:36 GMT -5
"Sevenish... I think I can manage that," he grinned. His fangs flashed a bit in the light and he closed his mouth, putting a hand to the crucifix around his neck. They didn't get any more authentic than this... the cross had been handed down through seven generations of his family. He smirked again.
"Should I come in a masquerade costume? I'm sure I could dig one up. I've been able to keep a surprising amount of my former life's accoutrements." He said the last word with a clear french accent, though the rest of his speech held almost no sign of his nationality.
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 23, 2009 18:16:40 GMT -5
Hoshi wandered toward the back of the cafe, coffee in hand, toward the only table which seemed to offer any particularly interesting company. He had been wanting to talk to Smoke about the upcoming plays, anyway.
"What's this around masquerade costumes?" he asked lightly, raising an eyebrow. He grinned. "Is there some party someone has forgotten to invite me to?"
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Post by Smoke on Sept 23, 2009 19:18:52 GMT -5
"Hey!" Smoke gladly nudged over a chair for the new arrival. "Hoshi, this is Valerian, he's the new History guy. Valerian, this is Hoshi."
"I was just inviting Valerian to audition for the next play- which, by the way-" he handed Hoshi a stapled stack of printed pages, edited in red colored pencil. "-should be done, pending any notes you might have. I've also got the schedule for the rest of the year done."
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Vincent Hawk
Ireth
Sexy British Professor of Music
~ Sing like no one's listening ~
Posts: 722
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Post by Vincent Hawk on Sept 23, 2009 21:27:25 GMT -5
Vincent heard the soft hum of voices inside the faculty lounge even before he'd opened the door. He slipped inside, eyes wandering over to the group of professors gathered around a single table.
He recognized Smoke and Hoshi, as well as the third, unnaturally pale figure who stood by them; though he couldn't give a name to the face, he recalled seeing him in the mess hall shortly after disposing of Conall's remains. Interested, Vincent headed in their direction. He had heard of a new history professor who was replacing Conall--perhaps this was him.
"Afternoon," he greeted the three of them cheerily, drawing level to their table.
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 24, 2009 0:38:21 GMT -5
Valérian looked up, giving him a nod. Now this was too much... he'd not even gotten a chance to really speak with Hoshi before someone else came up. He smiled a little, getting a bit overwhelmed. And Smoke hadn't responded to his... mostly jest. He COULD come dressed in something he would have worn to a masque...
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Post by Smoke on Sept 24, 2009 0:50:11 GMT -5
"And good afternoon to you," he nodded to Professor Hawk. "Valerian, Vincent."
"I think it would be quite interesting if you wanted to do that, but come however you want." He noticed Valerian's withdrawing and felt kind of bad. "If you'd like a copy of the script in advance, I've got a few more."
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 24, 2009 0:58:38 GMT -5
Valérian smiled a little at... Vincent. Wait, he recognized him. After catching Korlian in the kitchen, they'd met and he'd left Korlian in Vincent's care. He turned his attention back to Smoke, trying to focus. It had been a long time since he'd dealt with so many people. He'd never mentored more than two fledglings at a time, and never in a situation that was new to him.
"Well, I suppose I could dry-read but having a script to work on it would help. I've never been in a play before, so if I did get a part, it would be nice to have some of it memorized already," he said with a smile. "Thank you for the offer."
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Post by Smoke on Sept 24, 2009 1:25:33 GMT -5
"No problem," he waved his hand. "I think you're going to like it. Getting onto the stage for the first time in front of a huge crowd of people... no matter how confident you think you are it can scare you half to death. And then you get up there anyway, get out your lines, stop looking at the audience, and it's one of the best feelings in the world."
"It's like a religious experience." He sipped his coffee and grinned. "And entirely responsible for my melodramatic streak."
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 24, 2009 1:32:52 GMT -5
Valérian grinned back. "I've had a religious experience or two. I could consider it blasphemous... but I stopped being so uptight when I realized that vampires can't be as damned as everyone thinks."
He fingered his crucifix again, lightly running his tongue over his fangs. After all, vampires were supposed to be burned by a cross... and he'd even gone through Vatican City without so much as a wink of an eye in his direction, or a hint of pain. He was still somewhat uncertain about whether he would be forgiven... but somehow he thought even the murder he had commited could be forgiven. "So.... Sometime this week then?" he confirmed.
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Post by Smoke on Sept 24, 2009 1:48:34 GMT -5
Oh my god he's like a tiny little pointy-toothed teddy bear.
"Yep. Drop by whenever you like." He got up to get some more coffee and something to nibble on, still grinning.
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 24, 2009 2:07:55 GMT -5
Valérian raised a brow at him, sensing somehow there was something else in that grin. He felt at his fangs again, realizing that he was still... hungry? Nearly three hundred years and he still couldn't decide what to call that feeling. Drained, maybe. And more blood did NOT appeal. He closed his eyes a moment, suddenly tired. Maybe it was there was too much new right now... somehow he was not used to change even with all the change he'd seen.
He was still too new to this school-thing. He almost felt sorry for his future students; they were going to get hit with his temper, especially if someone made comments about his height.
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Vincent Hawk
Ireth
Sexy British Professor of Music
~ Sing like no one's listening ~
Posts: 722
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Post by Vincent Hawk on Sept 24, 2009 13:03:16 GMT -5
Vincent regarded the small, pale figure of Valérian with a curious interest. He looked almost exactly like he had stepped straight out of the eighteenth century, except for his silver earring and fingerless leather gloves. He looked quite tired... though overwhelmed seemed a little more appropriate.
"Are you feeling well, Valérian?" he felt compelled to ask, and then immediately wondered why he had. Vampires didn't get sick, did they? Maybe he had drunk some blood that was a little off.
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Valérian Mervielle-Dion
Kitty Kat
Hold me closer, tiny dancer~
'I am cute, wounded and unloved. Give me a hug and some hot chocolate.'
Posts: 191
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Post by Valérian Mervielle-Dion on Sept 24, 2009 13:09:47 GMT -5
"I think so," he said softly. He opened his eyes and smiled at Vincent. At least he knew that face, even if the name was new. "So... that little scamp didn't give you much trouble after I left, did he?"
At least he had something to talk with the man about. That Korlian looked like he was a troublemaker... and gave Valérian a bad feeling. Something about him was... off.
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Vincent Hawk
Ireth
Sexy British Professor of Music
~ Sing like no one's listening ~
Posts: 722
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Post by Vincent Hawk on Sept 24, 2009 13:16:50 GMT -5
Vincent smiled and shook his head. "He was no trouble at all. We had a bit of a chat before I sent him off to bed. Or rather, I escorted him. It's not good for the students to roam the halls alone after dark, especially the younger ones."
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