César? (Erik Revenant)

[Christine Daaé]

((NOTE[/u]: to anyone claiming this thread, this thread DOES HAVE A SPECIFIC PLOT PURPOSE AND ANYONE JOINING IS TO STICK WITH THAT PURPOSE! This means no short cuts or trying to end the thread early, and no trying to change the topic to make it something else that you want instead. If you don't want to follow that, then go start your own thread rather than joining this one. This is NOT a multi-character thread, so once a character enters and claims it, that's it.

The purpose of this thread is for Blondie to meet César, the horse from the Leroux novel that she used to feed sugar and sweets, and that Érik stole to take her down to his home for the first time. Anything else in the thread is up to whatever may happen between the two, but Blondie MUST FIND CÉSAR! Another rule for this though is that Blondie cannot learn how to ride in this thread. That plot has already been taken for another, later thread.))

It was early February when Christine stepped outside of the manor for a little stroll. There was still snow on the ground from the past few days, and a biting cold breeze nipped at her face, causing a little red of windburn chapping her fair features. She shivered, pulling her coat closer around her. If this sort of weather kept up, she would have to go inside soon. The one pleasant thing about the day was the sun, and Christine tried to stay out of the shade as much as possible, so as to absorb and take advantage of as much of its warmth as possible.

Her boots sank a little into the snow when she walked, as she had strayed a bit off the beaten path. She remembered briefly coming across some stables there at the Manor a few months before. She was quite fond of horses, and wondered if there were any running about the corral for a bit of exercise that morning. She'd no idea who the horses there belonged to, or even how many there were. The only one she had seen there before was the black Frisian she'd seen when she met Maria, and which they'd named 'Lenoir' after Erik Lenoir, since he had been the one to first find the horse. Surely there would be others there. Perhaps she would even see the equine Lenoir again. All of this ran through her head as she neared the area that was the stables.

[Erik Revenant]

This was the first time Revenant had dared to venture out of this place that he’d found himself in. How long had it been? Honestly, he wasn’t even entirely sure. In fact, he hadn’t even been certain whether or not it would be daylight when he poked his head out of the door for the first time. He certainly didn’t like the chilly wind that found its way to every bit of skin, covered or otherwise. A gust blew down the collar of his coat and he shivered a little. While he wanted to get back inside and back to hiding away where few people would find him, he was also interested in what was around the manor…

So, after retreating back inside for a moment to work up the nerve to leave, he finally stepped out and peered around. There didn’t seem to be anyone out and about, that he could see anyway. There were tracks in the snow but most seemed a little older, at least. He stepped out into the snow himself, just looking about here and there. There were plenty of things to catch his eye out here, though they were small things. Icicles seemed to be his top priority for looking at. None of them had been at all disturbed and some had grown to incredible lengths and into a variety of shapes, formed by the warming and freezing, the wind, the snow… Yes, things such as that could keep his attention for a long time.

Eventually, however, he was driven away from the manor by the sounds of people near the windows. As much as he enjoyed looking over the pretty things near the building, he also didn’t really want to be spotted. Which was going to be a difficult task for a man dressed mostly in black out against the pure white snow. In effect, he shrunk down just a little bit, no longer as relaxed and at ease as he’d been only moments earlier. Instead, he looked around for a place that would be suitable to go to that would be both interesting and secluded. There was another building that he could see, a little distance away. It certainly didn’t look quite as busy as the manor always was, so he quickly made his way through the snow in that direction.

[Christine Daaé]

Upon reaching the stables, Christine looked around at the various stalls. She didn’t have any treats with her this time, so she was not sure if all of the horses would be as receptive as Lenoir had been the last time that she was here. It was a bit warmer in the stables – after all, she didn’t have the wind blowing on her and more, and she let out a soft sigh of relief as the feeling began to return to her nose and to her cheeks. They were still cold, but at least they weren’t completely frozen any more. She blinked a few times so as to adjust to the difference in lighting as well as to moisten her eyes a bit now that there was not wind blowing in her face.

After a bit of rubbing her hands together and feeling generally more functional than she had been a few minutes before when she was walking outside, Christine looked about at the stalls in the place. Many of them were empty, as if the horses were out, or as if they simply weren’t in use at all. Were there not as many here as she’d expected? Approximately ten or so of the stables seemed to be occupied. Christine didn’t know much about horses particularly. She’d never ridden one before, but she did very much enjoy watching them. They were beautiful creatures. She used to visit the Opera stables quite often, but to go watch the horses there. She missed it, actually. Often the horses proved good things to talk to when you wanted someone to listen. They listened far better than most people…

Cautiously, she approached the nearest stall, which held a beautiful gray speckled horse with white markings and a white mane. She went up to the creature very slowly and inched her hand out, unsure of how it would react. "Hello, pretty one," she said softly. Carefully, she placed her hand on its snout, and was rather relieved when it just sat there, not pulling back or taking a nip at her. She let out an audible sigh of relief and then stroked the beast's snout gently. "Good.... Good..."

[Erik Revenant]

Occasionally, he would catch himself trying to move just a little too rapidly over the snow, somehow managing to find patches of ice in it and slipping up. Fortunately, he was quick in catching himself and hurried onward towards the building. His coat was, perhaps, not quite as thick as it should’ve been for wandering around outside. He was already chilled and uncomfortable outside, which provided even more reason for him to rush into the building without really considering what could be inside.

As soon as he was in the door, he could smell the familiar scent of horses. The cold was forgotten as soon as he spotted the first of them. Horses! He’d always loved the horses… Coming from a people that relied heavily on them would tend to lead to that. There were a few quite near the door and he paused to give them a small amount of attention. But he didn’t do more than give a pat or two. After all, these were not his and who knew what sort of trouble he’d get in if their owners happened by.

He continued moving through the barn, peeking into empty stalls and into occupied stalls alike. Of course, the occupied ones were infinitely more interesting. The horses in some of those stalls were incredibly tall. Far taller than any of the horses he’d been exposed to… There were also horses of strange coloration. One that he saw was a solid dark brown, which he didn’t know what to call, with an oddly light colored mane and tail. And there was one with a wedge-shaped head. He wasn’t sure what to make of some of these horses. They just didn’t look like what he was used to. Temporarily lost in his thoughts about the peculiar horses, he didn’t notice for a while that he was not alone in the barn with the horses.

There was a woman further down, her hand thrust into a stall. Although Revenant was curious about the horse inside that one, seeing as he hadn’t yet seen it, he was also wary of going that way. It was only after seeing a small glimpse of a black and white muzzle and an excessive forelock that he couldn’t make himself stay back any longer. The horse looked like a Vanner and he certainly wasn’t going to let a Vanner escape his attention. Not when that was his favorite sort of horse, the sort of horse that he had spent the first few years of his life being in almost constant contact with. However, the woman complicated things. He lowered his eyes, slouching just a little bit, and moved to the far side, away from her but so that he might be able to peek into the stall from behind her.

[Christine Daaé]

The horse was quite calm compared to a good many of the horses Christine had ever come across during her life, especially when one considered the fact that the creature had not known her previously. A smile came to her face as she stroked its snout and she almost felt bad that she hadn’t brought any treats with her. After all, he – or she – was being quite good….

Christine then let out a soft sigh and drew her hand away from the creature. She missed these sorts of things back at the opera, when she would go to the stables to see all of the horses, and she’d come with little treats for some of them, her favorite of which was the white stallion out of Le Prophète by the name of César.

César…

She missed him the most of all of the horses. The two had grown rather attached, and Érik must have recognized this, for the first time he’d taken her down to his home through the mirror, it was none other than César who had accompanied them there. Even then, being dragged down to the center of the earth, the beast had been her faithful companion, constantly checking on how she was faring along the journey, and greeting her gladly after he saw her recover from her fainting fit.

As she was thinking back upon all of these memories, she glanced back up at the horse before her and noticed that it seemed to be looking over her shoulder at something – or someone. Curious, she turned slowly, following the creature’s eyes, and saw a masked man who somewhat resembled Monsieur Lenoir standing behind her. “Oh! I… I’m sorry… Is this your horse?” She stepped off to the side so that the man could access the stable if necessary.

[Erik Revenant]

As soon as she turned to look at him, he visibly cringed. However, it was short-lived. In an attempt to not make any eye contact with her, his eyes went over her shoulder and directly to the face of the horse. As soon as he could see the curious dappling pattern and the extraordinarily white face, he slowly straightened up, forgetting the woman temporarily. Argintari… His horse from many years ago! How was this possible? He’d lost Argintari when he’d fled. And, yet, here was his horse, looking just as well as it ever had.

He stared in wonder at the sight of his own Argintari in this unfamiliar stall. How had he gotten here? Certainly he couldn’t have come through the same way that Revenant had, it would’ve caused quite a stir if it had… It was only after a few moments of staring from a distance that he recalled the woman had asked him a question. Almost immediately, his posture slumped slightly as he tried to recall it and, once he did, he nodded slowly. “Argintari… Yes, he’s mine.” He couldn't look at the woman but he could keep his eyes trained on his horse. If she would just step a little further away, he could get in closer to his horse, actually lay a hand on him, perhaps go into the stall and look him over. But, with her being so close, even if it wasn't close by her standards, he wasn't going to get any closer for the time being.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine’s brow furrowed a little when the man cringed. Had she done something wrong? Did she look funny in her winter dress?... It seemed he refused to make eye contact with her, something at which the woman could not help to feel slightly offended. Perhaps this man was just extremely anti-social? Considering the fact that he appeared to be an Erik, it was far from being out of the question, and in fact quite likely.

Argintari… Yes, he’s mine, the man said, finally speaking. “Argintari…” she repeated softly, moving aside so the man could go to the creature should he so choose to. She looked at the horse, then back at the man, and then back at the horse again. “He is very pretty,” she said, not knowing much of what else she could. The man didn’t seem to be much of the sort for conversations…

[Erik Revenant]

“Indeed he is…” Almost as soon as the woman had stepped aside and allowed him to move forward without being uncomfortably close, he was right up by the stall door and his hand was offered to the horse. The expression on the visible portion of his face was utterly incredulous as he ran his hand through the thick winter hair Argintari had grown. He’d thought that Argintari was gone for good… Not that he’d find him here of all places! And, yet, wonder of wonders, here he was! The very horse he’d seen grow from a gangly colt to the marvelous creature he was today!

He spent a little time lost in thought and memories before recalling that there had been someone else here. It didn’t seem quite as important though, not with Argintari snuffling at him. So, rather than cringing back and carrying on as he had earlier, he was actually able to turn just a little and look over to see if she was still there, almost appearing comfortable with the situation.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine watched the man with his horse for a moment. It was an almost poetic sight, really, with the incredulous expression on the visible portion of the masked man’s face, as if two dear old friends were seeing one another for the very first time in a great many years, and neither was truly sure whether it really were the other.

She smiled a bit, resting her hand on the wood of the stalls, and then slipped back a few steps in order to look at some of the other horses. There were several others. It seemed that they were all inside so as to stay out of the freezing weather outside.

She glanced through a few of the stalls until a rather glad neighing caught her ears. It seemed strangely familiar, and she could not help but to wonder… No…. That’s impossible… Isn’t it? She peered into one of the stalls and sure enough, standing there was a white figure she knew rather. She could not help but to let out a small gasp in astonishment.

“César?” she breathed, wondering if he were real. The creature replied with a glad whinny and a little count and nod of the head, immediately shoving his nose out to sniff for the treats he’d come to associate with her at the opera.

[Erik Revenant]

God, it had been years since he’d seen Argintari. How the horse could still be alive was a mystery to him… But he was certainly glad that he was in fact alive! He ran his cold hands through the horse’s thick forelock, parting it to find those eyes that were very nearly completely hidden thanks to the length and thickness of all the hair. Well, at least he was keeping warm! Unlike Revenant, who wasn’t exactly dressed to be outdoors anyway. He hadn’t even brought proper gloves outside… So running his hands through Argintari’s thick soft fur was a warm relief.

All the while, he’d forgotten about the woman that had been here. Her presence wasn’t really that important to him. Not with Argintari here! Heck, that woman could possibly stand right next to him and he wouldn’t care at all! The distraction that was Argintari would keep him preoccupied and comfortable…

Eventually, Revenant wasn’t content to just stand there outside the stall. He had to go in and see his horse. So he opened up the stall door, having to pause and warm his cold hand from the bite of the metal latch. As soon as his fingers were no longer stinging, he closed the door even if it wasn’t really necessary. Argintari would stay still. He always had. Revenant moved around the horse without even an ounce of caution. It was fortunate that he was so familiar with this particular horse; otherwise he was running a pretty high risk of being kicked or bitten… Now he could shove his hands into that deep fur, which was currently getting all over his clothes but he didn’t necessarily notice right then. He’d certainly notice later, when all the white hairs were standing out against his black garments and he had to pick them all off…

From where he currently was, leaned over with his face almost pressed to Argintari’s neck, he could see the large white horse that the woman had gone to. Of course it was a beautiful animal but certainly not as beautiful as Argintari, in his opinion. He was incredibly biased though… so maybe he wasn’t an impartial decision maker. Either way, he pushed his face in against that thick mane while petting the Vanner and watching the events a few stalls over.

[Christine Daaé]

((Sorry this is so short x.x))

Christine simply couldn’t believe it! She hadn’t seen César since she was back in Paris! She used to love feeding him sweets and other good things in the stables underneath of the opera house, and he was also the horse that she had ridden on the first time that Érik had taken her down to his home…

She approached the beast slowly and quietly and held her arm out to touch him, a gesture to which César replied by eagerly putting his home out and nuzzling her hand. A smile spread across the girls lips and she came closer, happily stroking the white fur of her dear old animal companion from the opera house back home.

[Erik Revenant]

In this barn, despite the fact that there was someone a few stalls over, he felt that he could relax. It smelled wonderful in here, like good hay, grain, and horses. He did start to wonder who had been caring for Argintari while he’d been absolutely ignorant of his horse’s presence in the stable. Now, he supposed, there was a good reason to come out away from everyone morning and night… not to mention various times throughout the day. Argintari would need his food and water, which Revenant was certainly going to start doing on his own. Of course, the horse would also need exercise. After all, Argintari was used to travel, not idly standing in some barn. It would probably be safe to ride him through the snow, so long as Revenant was careful to avoid icy spots…

Eventually, he was broken back out of his thoughts as he peered over Argintari’s back at the stall a little further down the alley of the barn. His finders were completely buried in the horse’s warm winter hair. For a few seconds, he just watched the two interacting before he finally plucked up the courage to call softly in that direction.

“Is he yours?” In essence, it was the same question that she’d asked him a little while ago about Argintari, although she’d probably had an easier time asking that question. He expected the same answer that he’d given as well, since she was so familiar with that white horse. Seeing as he’d already managed to get one question out, what was the harm of another? “What is his name?” Honestly, he wasn’t even completely sure the horse was male. It just seemed as though it would be. Once his questions were asked, he lowered his head and peered down at the slightly dappled back of his companion so that he could recover the little bit of courage he had managed to find.

While he couldn’t look that way, he busied himself untangling Argintari’s mane. With hair so thick, it was no wonder it had so many tangles in it… Occasionally, he would glance over and mostly concentrate on the bright white horse that almost seemed to glow with the dim barn lights.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine was the slightest bit surprised when she heard the voice of the masked man who was there in the stables with her address her, He didn’t seem like the very talkative type, and so she hadn’t expected him to engage in any sort of conversation at all.

She turned to look at him when he asked her if the horse were hers, and then shook her head a little and turned back to the majestic white creature before her, rubbing his nose gently, “No… No, He’s not. But he is a very good friend. His name is César. He worked at the Opera house with me… I hadn’t expected to see him again, here.”

That she was able to see him again, however, made her quite happy. It was nice to find a familiar face from home in this place—particularly that of a friend… even if that friend was an animal. She turned to the man again. “I… I don’t believe that we were ever properly introduced… My name is Christine de Chagny. And yours?”

[Erik Revenant]

When she turned to look at him, he immediately looked back down at the mane that he was working on. There was no way he could look back up, not with her looking at him. But he listened closely to what she was saying. So the horse wasn’t hers… that was interesting. It was also interesting that she’d worked at the opera house. Not his, he was sure. Well, maybe. He couldn’t be completely sure since he didn’t really pay too much attention to the goings on there and didn’t know most of the faces. One would think he’d remember a couple. Or even the horse… But no.

Then she was asking him a question and he was entirely unprepared for it. Even though he’d spoken to her, he didn’t really expect her to continue the short conversation they were having. “Erik… Erik Revenant.” He stumbled over his own name for a moment, only adding on the last name after remembering that he was not the only Erik here. What was the other’s name? Lenoir? Maybe. It had been quite a long time since Revenant had spoken to him and ridden in that death trap that these people called a lift. But there was the chance that this Christine had met him before so it was better just to clear that up immediately. He still had his eyes cast down at Argintari’s mane. Well, it wouldn’t be long before the knots were all out of that…

[Christine Daaé]

“It is nice to meet you, Monsieur Revenant,” Christine said when the masked man there in the stables with her told her what his name was. She knew from experience that the Eriks did not tend to be the most social of men, and so she was not certain as to how much more she could expect to coax out of him.

She put a pleasant smile onto her face as she watched him a bit with his equine companion. “Do you come here very often? To the stables, I mean…”