Not Quite Sleep Walking (Open)

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Plum hadn’t slept in three days. She was tired and ready to fall asleep where she stood, but she couldn’t do that. She still had things to accomplish. She’d set all of her assests in order in case something happened to her and she never made it home. It was better to have that sort of thing taken care of before anything happened just as a precaution. She didn’t particularly want to die of course. She was only twenty-two years old. She had so much more life to live. That much she was sure about. However, circumstances were different now and she would gladly give her life if it was required of her.

But now that she’d done all of that she had other things to do. She know she did, but her sleep deprived brain was sluggish and not cooperating. She knew there was something important that she needed to do, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. It was at the tip of her tongue, but just far enough that she could get to it.

Her feet carried her with purpose and determination, but when she finally looked around at where she was, she was a bit bewildered. “How in the world did I get here?” she muttered to herself. She had somehow managed to probably the worst part of the town. More importantly, how did she get out of this place?

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While the majority of the residents of Trenale seemed to avoid this part of town like the plague, Erik saw no reason to shy away from the Exit de Charly. In fact, he frequently found himself wandering around the shady area during his evening strolls about this new place. The reason was probably a mixture of the reputation of this place keeping the general pubic away and the fact that Erik was positively sure that he could outwit or overcome any criminal or ruffian who would attempt to make a victim out of him. With no crowds to speak of, he was allowed to be at ease. He was a mysterious creature who stalked about this place, so far unbothered by the dodgy characters that inhabited this place. Until he was given a reason to avoid the Exit de Charly like everyone else, the Phantom would continue to find himself drifting into the area.

He was merely wandering about today in order to clear his mind. All of the new changes and the challenges that loomed ahead in trying to adapt to this new world had definitely worn down his nerves. He had been dealing with it the same way he had dealt with every cause for distress in his life; with music. However, locking himself in the music rooms at Tintagel Academy could only satisfy him for so long. He needed to refresh himself by stretching his legs and collecting his thoughts outside the confinement of walls. For someone who had spent so much time in his life living in a cellar, he certainly could tend to be a restless soul. So, with his sole purpose of this casual walk being only to clear his mind, Erik was certainly not expecting to stumble across anything of interest. Naturally, he was surprised to glance down a particular street on his path and spot someone that seemed painfully out of place here.

A pretty young woman was standing with a bewildered look about her in probably one of the worst places in Trenale for someone like her. Immediately, in her apparent confusion, she seemed so vulnerable and out of place, which was probably why Erik had removed himself from his own world long enough to notice her. He kept at a considerable distance, but stopped to consider the poor thing. Young women who looked distressed certainly did not belong here. There was too many dangerous things that would leap at an opportunity to pray upon someone like that. Only dark, unwanted creatures like himself belonged here. He had no idea how she had managed to get into this position, but he could only imagine that she must've been quite stupid to have done so.

The part of him who had smothered any sense of compassion long ago encouraged him to move on and leave the woman to figure out her own way out of this mess. However, another part of him felt the urge to at least make sure that this seemingly delicate creature at least has a chance to make it out of this place without any harm coming to her. For a moment, he dared to think about what he would do if he had found Christine in a place like this, but he immediately withdrew from the potentially painful idea. He could only imagine that he had thought of it because the two women were close in age and Christine so frequently found the strangest ways to creep into his thoughts and influence him. Either way, even though he was convinced that he would deny his fellow man the compassion that they had denied him, he knew that he couldn't just walk away from this woman and her predicament.

Erik would get this over with quickly. With a fast, graceful movement, he made his way over to where the girl stood. He would probably startle her, just because he was approaching from behind and had a naturally quiet step, but he didn't stop to give that any thought. He stopped just a foot away from her before speaking in an authoritive, and perhaps slightly annoyed tone.

"Have you any idea where you are?" he asked firmly. "The Exit de Charly isn't a place for a silly girl to wander about."

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Plum was determined not to give up. Her task had been an important one, otherwise she might have thought to get some shuteye. A good few hours of sleep would do wonders for her. Even her skin seemed to have lost some of its sparkle. But perhaps that was just a trick of the light. Goodness, she almost felt drunk. Nothing seemed to be quite clear in her head. It was all a bit muddled, the way she imagined a brain might be when it has been under the influence of alcohol. Though she couldn’t actually say that with any certainty. The last time she had had the smallest bit of alcohol she’d blacked out and couldn’t remember anything the next day. She’d never touched it again. It was a bit too toxic for the poor fairy to handle and as a woman of high upstanding and someone looked up to as a good role model, it would be in her best interest not to drink. Plus, she had an image to uphold and one couldn’t go around drinking if one must retain a positive image.

Standing idly in the street wasn’t helping her to focus, though she wasn’t quite sure if she could even focus at this point. Any human who hadn’t slept in three days would be falling off their feet by now, but Plum needed so much less sleep than a human that she had only just begun to feel the adverse effects of not sleeping that very day. No, she needed to think. It was important. She had to go somewhere. Something to do with the up and coming war. And she’d ended up here in this ghastly place where she stood out quite a bit. Thank goodness she was a fairy and could reasonably get herself out of any potentially bad situations.

Before Plum had a chance to mentally retrace her steps there was a voice behind her, startling her out of her thoughts. She flinched at the unexpected sound, blinking before she turned to face the man who had just startled her. “I’m not wandering,” she corrected, almost automatically. Then she took a moment to really register what he was saying to her. “I’m not a silly girl.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m a grown woman and can take care of myself. And I know precisely where I am.” She was a bit irked and annoyed. She was old enough to be taken seriously and had always tried to look like a young woman who could be taken seriously, regardless of the fairy stereotypes that she occasionally ran into here and there. She wasn’t silly. Plum didn’t have time for silliness. And she was hardly a girl. She’d been taking care of herself and the rest of her kingdom for years now. She was quite mature. But she was hardly thinking straight. In fact, she was hardly thinking at all. “Excuse me. I have somewhere to be.”

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While some people might have apologized for beginning a conversation by startling someone, Erik simply seemed to ignore the fact that he had made the young woman jump. Although his face remained apathetic, he couldn't help but feel a bit of amusement at the sight deep down. He hadn't really had that affect on anyone since his days "haunting" the opera house. While those times certainly weren't the best years of his life, he'd be lying if he said that he didn't get a kick out of giving someone a fright from time to time. However, this situation was different. She wasn't some bumbling manager that he needed to put into place. She was some misplaced young creature that he had just been unable to walk away from, due to a strange imagination that would surely plague him if she to be left in this dangerous place. As such, his amusement was very brief, and he moved on from it quickly.

The girl (young woman, technically, but Erik had a nasty habit of looking down on people) quickly made it apparent that she was going to be difficult, and Erik immediately began to wonder why he was bothering in the first place. Despite all of her body language and his assumptions, she was insisting that she was supposed to be in a sketchy place like this on her own. Any amusement that he might've had before gave way to annoyance, and this time he let it show.

"Do you now?" Erik asked, almost mockingly. He didn't stop to think that perhaps this woman was capable of taking care of herself. There was plenty of reason to suspect that she didn't really know where she was. If that really was the case and she was simply trying to be difficult with him... Well, Erik had a liking for breaking down the stubborn.

"Well, since you know where you are going, humor me this then: do you know exactly how to get there? Because from where I was watching just a moment ago, you didn't seem as confident as you do now." Erik pointed this out with a hint of smugness. As much as he would much rather avoid contact with others, he couldn't help but toy with them when he did interact. This was only a small moment of that though, just enough to prove to himself that he was right, and that this woman in fact was out of place here.

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Plum didn’t usually find herself questioned. It was very rare in fact. At home in the Kingdom of Sweets her word was law. Here she was a responsible and respectful student who knew what she was doing. Being questioned, especially mockingly, was not something Plum was used to in any capacity. Normally Plum would have handled this graciously and patiently, but without sleep she was more of a loose cannon. And that was why her first reaction was to become angry at being questioned. She was an adult after all. She was allowed to wander where ever she wanted to and it wasn’t anyone else’s place to question her. She outranked most of these people anyway. Being on par with queens was to her advantage.

“Yes,” she replied hotly to the question. “Not that it’s any of your business what I do.” She propped her hands on her hips. “You’re not my mother, so you don’t get a say and I rather doubt that you outrank me. I don’t see how it’s any of your concern.” She was 22 years old. She didn’t need to be babysat. She could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. She’d deal with the consequences on her own as she had always done. This was just downright insulting.

The next question only spurred the anger. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten here, but she wasn’t about to admit that to this guy. Oh no, she couldn’t do that. Not at all. She was far too proud to ever admit that. Instead she folded her arms over her chest. “I fail to see how that has anything to do with anything,” she snapped. “And what do you care where I go? It’s not like I need anyone to protect me.” Plum didn’t need anyone’s protection. As long as she had her magic, she would be fine.

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Erik narrowed his eyes, his frustration only growing more and more by the second. He began to curse his stupid bleeding heart for being remotely concerned about this woman in the first place. Perhaps he should take this as a lesson to just trust his instincts and let things be. Ah, but that was the thing, wasn't it? He always seemed to fail when it came to just "letting things be". For whatever reason, he always found himself sticking his nose in where it was better off not being. It certainly did cause him plenty of undue stress in his life. Still, as much as he made things difficult for himself, this person wasn't exactly helping either.

He very seriously considered just throwing up his hands and letting her go about her dangerous mission (Whatever in God's name it might be). The stubborn part of him was provoking him to be persistant, but his patience was wearing thin. If anything happened to her, then it was her own problem to deal with. After all, she would be the one who insisted that she would be fine on her own, and he could sleep with a clear conscious! Despite all that though, he still found himself absorb her every insistant word and thinking up ways to combat her own stubborness.

Did she mention outranking him? Had he been back in Paris, he might have had to contain a laugh. However, this was a completely different world, one in which fairy tales and myths seemed to hold some truth. Who's to say that this person wasn't someone with clout? Regardless of whatever world or family she might've come from though, Erik didn't particularly care to give titles any mind. After all, he had meant and served royalty first hand, spending plenty of time with the people who so called "outrank" him. He couldn't say that he was particularlly fond of them at all, let alone respectful.

"You're most right. It's not my business as to where you go, and honestly, I do not care." Erik admitted. He would at least give her that much, even if the heat of annoyance was apparent in his tone. "But it would be foolish to underestimate was sort of dangers lurk around here for someone like you, dangers that don't exactly care whether or not you 'outrank' them. I merely thought that I would try and spare you the risk, but since you seem so confident in your ability to handle yourself, then do not let me stand in your way!" He gestured with an air of impatience. If she continued with her foolishly self-reliant attitude and decided to go off on her own, than so be it. Any harm that might befall her afterwards would be her own problem and no concern of his.

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When the man told her that she was right Plum looked downright smug about it. Of course she was right. She’d known that all along and even though a voice in the back of her head was telling her that it was petty, she was ignoring it. She was far too tired to care about the voice of reason. It was easy to get caught up in the ego boost of being right. It was to be recognized for once and she was willing to bask in the feeling for as long as she could.

But reality, or the strange man, had other ideas apparently.

Plum gave the man an unamused stare and raised an eyebrow. Clearly he didn’t know a thing about her. She was quite capable of defending herself against anything that came across her path. She wasn’t a delicate flower that needed to be watched over constantly. She most certainly was not a damsel in distress. She decided her own future. Plus, being a supernatural being was quite helpful for getting herself out of dangerous situations. She didn’t need to outrank them.

“Someone like me?” She repeated because it rankled her. She didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean, but if it meant something along the lines of ‘fragile woman’ she might have to smack someone. “What does that even mean?” she demanded. “I’ll have you know that I am fully capable of getting out of any situation. I’m a fairy. I have magic. I am perfectly capable of defending myself. You get points for chivalry, but women here in Tintagel can take care of themselves. We don’t need men to protect us.” She crossed her arms and leveled him with a stare. What would he think about that?

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Oh, the smugness in her expression just made Erik's blood boil. He had honestly just thrown her that little bone to perhaps encourage her to actually be receptive of what he had to say. Of course, it would go against the natural course of things if one of his plans went forward without obstruction, wouldn't it? Honestly, the girl's insolence was wearing his patience dangerously thin.

Then she gave him a look that he wasn't particularly fond of and began her response. It seemed that she was going to spout out some more insistance that she could handle herself. Clearly, she had little knowledge of the things that lurked within the shadows with full intent to harm, just as long as it meant that they would come out ahead somehow afterwards. Either that, or Tintagel was a very different world from his own, or maybe Erik's own dismal experience in living had made him overly skeptical of the universe. He had expected her to give him no further reason as to why he should be assured that she wasn't speaking nonsense, but he actually found himself surpised momentarily.

A fairy, did she say? Magic? His critical glare was interrupted for a momentary look of bewilderment. Had he not met a certain fairy tale princess not too long ago, he probably would've had a much greater reaction to this news. Instead, he just raised a gloved hand and rubbed his uncovered temple, trying to will away his oncoming headache. He had only just learned that things like magic (Real magic; not the illusions that he was a master of) could exist, and still found himself getting used to the previously outrageous idea. The fact that she was a fairy had also struck him as unexpected. Perhaps most men would've found that revelation less than promising when it came to self-defense, but Erik was a bit more well-read than most men. Rather than immediately think of the stereotypes fairies had come to gain over the years, he was more familiar with the darker, older myths regarding their type. In sort, he knew enough to be wary in a situation that involved fairies.

Still, fairy or not, magical or not, Erik was still downright annoyed by this entire conversation. He wasn't about to let some old fairy tales keep him from speaking his mind.

"To answer your question," he began with certain firmness in his tone. All of his earlier shock was gone now, and his unpleasant mood now dominanted his expression. "That would mean a young, pretty, and oh so alone woman, like yourself. Just the kind of creature that ill intentioned men are looking for, believe me." He said that last part with a dark tone. While Erik did consider himself to be one of those dangerous things that kept within the shadows, he couldn't help but think upon the type of men he spoke of with disgust. There were many crimes that he had committed in his lifetime, but never would he stoop as low as the low-lives who preyed upon women in such a way. Rather than dwell upon that idea though, he continued to share his thoughts instead.

"However, a fairy probably isn't exactly what they'd be expecting..." Nor what he was expecting, but he wasn't going to give her that bit of information. The smug look she gave him after admitting that she was right was more than enough. "What a place this Tintagel is..." he grumbled to himself more so than to her. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever adapt to this strange place. "Certainly, women here are much more... difficult than they are in Paris..."

Of course, the only woman back in Paris that he knew well enough to be able to compare to was Christine (His constant harassment of La Carlotta probably shouldn't count...), but Erik wasn't about to admit how uneducated his comment was... He was just too stubborn to let this fairy get in the last sharp remark.

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Sleep deprivation was bad for humans but it was so much worse for the fairy. It made her irritable and quick to anger. She also tended to run her mouth unnecessarily and that often got her into trouble. She had a tendency to react and say things before she thought about it. All her many etiquette lessons seemed to be a waste when she was in such a sleep deprived state. Her rational side would hate her for what her sleep deprived fairy said to people, but first she had to have a good night’s sleep before rational thought came back to her.

Plum blew air through her nose hotly. She knew it! She knew that was exactly what he was going to say! How terribly sexist! This only fueled her anger and dislike for the man. “Oh, I know. I’m a woman walking alone, but I’m capable of taking care of myself. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be running a country. So yes, I know about men with ill intentions, but that’s not going to stop me from going places alone. I have nothing to be afraid of,” she snapped back. It was men like him who believed that women were all damsels in distress, when that was not the reality of the situation.

“Of course a fairy isn’t what they will be expecting,” she replied. Honestly, that was kind of the point. She looked human for a reason. Well, actually, she looked human for a completely different reason that involved not wanting to be tiny and then using too much magic and yeah. It was a little complicated, but for the time being Plum was just going to just go with that she looked human to confuse humans. Sure. Why not?

Plum made a little high pitched noise of disbelief and her eyebrows shut up. “Well pardon me, Monsieur,” she sneered. “If women are so difficult here, I can’t imagine you know many women.” Women had always been difficult in any time period in any place in the world so Plum was not buying that story. And she was so not happy right now.

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Erik braced himself for more annoying objections from the fairy, and his preparations didn't go to waste. Honestly, the nerve of this woman! This whole experience was serving as a reminder to why he usually avoided social encounters at all cost. He didn't stop to think that perhaps he was being a bit sexist with his remarks and entire purpose for engaging in conversation with her, but then again Erik never really did think about the feelings of other people anyway. All of the bitterness stored up within him wasn't about to allow him to see things from someone else's perspective.

Something in this new rant caught him off-guard. "Running a country"? Ah, that must've been what she meant by "outrank" earlier. This conversation was just getting more and more bizarre. First she reveals that she was a fairy, and now she claims to be a monarch? Wonders never did seem to cease at Tintagel. Well, even if she was a princess or whatever, Erik wasn't about to curb his personality for her sake.

That little curve-ball she had thrown only held his attention for a few moments though, for a later statement caught his attention even more. "I can't imagine you know many women." Now wasn't that the truth! In fact, the few women that he had come into encounter with had given him a shriek and fled, so why should he go out of his way to encounter any more of them! She obvliously could not be aware of this little detail, so Erik felt the need to respond accordingly.

"Ha!" he exclaimed humorlessly to her little comment. "You would be right in assume so, Mademoiselle! You see, I usually make a habit to avoid conversations like the one at hand!" Ah, but Erik now knew that he was opening himself off for her to attack him with another accusation of his sexism. He was quick to follow-up his remark.

"And before you go and give me another tongue-lashing, I am not referring strictly to conversations with women this time. No, I find that people of every type have their own particular unpleasantness. And the conversation that we are having right now is doing nothing to change that opinion!"

"That being said, if you are so insistant on proving your point, then I shall not hold you back any longer!" he said, his impateince very clear in his tone. "Whether or not you can protect yourself or if you make it to your destination is no longer any concern of mine!" True, Erik could be stubborn, but he also knew when a conversation was going nowhere. This fairy clearly wasn't about to waver on her obnoxious opinion.

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(So sorry for the long wait!)

Plum had never been treated as such. Never in her entire life had she been treated with so little respect and contempt. It only seemed to fuel her ever growing anger, not to mention the newly growing offense for such a man as the one standing before her. She’d met many men in her life, but she’d never met one who was so ungentlemanly.

She opened her mouth to reply but it seemed the man was not quite finished. She shut her mouth and clenched her hands into fists angrily before releasing them. She wouldn’t hit anyone, no matter how angry she was at them. If she couldn’t keep her temper in check, which clearly in her sleep deprived state she couldn’t, then she could at least keep her fists in check, no matter how badly she’d like to hit the infuriating man.

Plum let out a frustrate noise when she could finally get a word in. “It should never have been your concern when I insisted that I was fine,” she shot back. “You’re antiquate sense of chivalry won’t get you anywhere with the women here, I can assure you of that.” She huffed in his general direction, having nothing else to say.

“Good day,” she told him shortly, anger apparent in her tone and then turned abruptly and walked the complete opposite direction, her nose high in the air, managing to look confident even though she had no clue where she was actually going. She was seething with anger however and would keep walking until she wasn’t angry anymore and by that point she could just use her magic to wish herself back to her apartment. Men. Some days Plum just hated them.

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(No worries. ^^)

Erik had little to no patience when it came to dealing with people, nor did he care for how they might take his behavior. His complete lack of compassion allowed situations to blow up very quickly. Naturally, he never really did ever lift a finger to at least have them end on a positive note. If someone walked away from him furious, then so be it! It certainly wasn't going to keep him up at night!

As such, he had no problem with having this annoying woman be off on her way. It seemed that she was going to have the last biting word in this bothersome conversation, whether he liked it or not. Her words gave him a morbid sense of amusement. What did he care if other women didn't like his behavior? He certainly didn't have any plans to chat up any other women around here in the future! No, there was only one woman in the entire universe whose opinion he cared for, and God only knew if he would ever even see her again. Judging by this conversation, that standard was not about to change anytime soon.

"Au revoir, Mademoiselle," he bid with a condescending tone. Like her, he did not care to even try to end this meeting on a good note. He just wanted to be done with it and probably never meet this woman again. As such, he turned on his heels and stormed off in a direction of his own, a sneer still plastered on his face. The frustration was still bubbling up inside him. He would think heaven help anyone else who might encounter him on this night, but he knew darn well that he would be avoiding anyone else like the plague from here on out. He didn't know why he even tried in the first place.

(I think this makes this thread officially finished!)