Breath In and Breath Out (Americ)

[Erik Carriere]

Things had been kind of eventful for Erik. First he declared his love for Christine and had shown her his face, then he got Lenoir and himself arrested for speeding and not having a license in that beautiful car that was coincidentally called a phantom, and now it was nice to be able to unwind a bit.

He was relaxing on a balcony that he had recently found. It was beautiful and over looked the garden and forest. Of course, it wasn't as beautiful as being in the garden, but it would definitely due since the balcony was significantly closer to his domain. As he sat, got to think for a little bit. It had been.... really..... over one year since he came here?

It felt like much longer than a little over a year that he had been here. So much had happened in such little time. And yet... not a whole lot. The theatre still needed fixing up and there has yet to be any performances on that poor stage. Erik had yet to know much about the time they were stuck in or anything about the village, he had gone there very-very few times in the time he had lived here. Yet.... so much had happened with Christine and meeting so many different people. God... time has passed.

((Btw, hes kind of hidden behind the wall because its a bigish balcony.))

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

[ Okay. xD ]

Aimeric was wandering around the Manor, his book held to his chest. He had been in the library, but decided to venture further, and try not to get caught. As a villager he knew probably shouldn't have been in there but he had found his love there, and he even made acquaintances with one or two people. There were still places he hadn't seen in the Manor, because it was just that big. He traveled up the stairs as silent as he could be, then once he made it to the top he noticed a very long hall with a set of double french doors at the end.

With another glance around, he continued. He hadn't been down this hall before, he had mainly just stayed in the lower portion of the Manor. The candles were set down the hall and it was a bit dim, but the whole place looked as if it was stuck in the 1800's so what could he expect? He continued until the came to the end at the set of double french doors, looking them up and down briefly. He opened one a tad bit and noticed it was a balcony.

In glee he smiled slightly, walking out and closing the door behind him. It was the best view from the Manor one could imagine. He grasped the rail and looked out, noticing he could see the village, and his house. He looked up at the sky and sighed contently, before looking around the rather large balcony some more. He turned his head in the direction of which a man was standing, and he jumped, his face flushing as he clutched the book to his chest and looked down at the ground.

[Erik Carriere]

Erik suddenly stiffened when a man had abruptly shown up, though it may have not been so abrupt if he had been paying attention. For some odd reason, he did not say anything yet as the other man seemed to be out on the balcony for the same reason. To think and get a little fresh air. And with this view, he couldn't blame him.

The man then noticed him and he jumped and automatically seemed tense.... and shy. That was some how completely obvious. "Excuse me, I didn't mean to frighten you." He said with a slight tip of his head. Erik then looked back out at the scenery and sighed contently. "It's a beautiful view, please, don't let me be any discomfort to you." He said as he waves his head slightly at the little set of chairs that were against the wall. It was a nice little set up, three wicker chairs and a small table on the other side of them from the door.

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

Aimeric smiled very shyly and didn't say a word, since he couldn't. He fidgeted his hands over the book, looking to the chairs that the man had gestured to. He quietly sat, feeling like he should have at least written something down on his notepad. But he didn't, and just kept to himself as he looked out at the view for a few more moments before glancing down at his book.

He briefly looked over at the man again, feeling like he should just write something down on his notepad even if it was the most dumb thing in the world. He didn't want to seem rude, he was no more than five feet from this man and he wasn't doing a thing. So, with slight hesitation he got out his notepad and wrote, 'Sorry if I'm a bother, I can always leave if you'd like.'. He reached over and gently poked him to get his attention before showing him the note.

Now was when Aimeric always got a little nervous. He wasn't sure how this man would react to the notepad. Some thought he was deaf, some knew he was mute but didn't know he was selectively mute, some just couldn't figure it out, and some thought he was just weird or stupid. But this man looked at least somewhat decent, so he could probably eliminate weird and stupid.

[Erik Carriere]

Erik watched as the man quietly sat down before looking back at the scenery. Being able to see everything with a view like this made him somehow miss the opera house.... looking out at night from the roof of the Garnier. It was that same kind of peacefulness.... the kind you tell others that you saw forever just the other day. He was then poked and realized it was the man, trying to get his attention.

He read the note and shook his head gently. "Your no bother at all. It would be rude to not share such a view." He said with a slight bow again and smiled before looking back out. When he had seen the note, he didn't believe the man was mute or at least he assumed he wasn't since he could have sworn he had seen the man at the gift exchange event and conversing. Though there was always the possibility that he was wrong. In fact, the man quite possibly could have had a sore throat or something to the likes of it.

Erik paused for a moment before turning back at the man. "I do believe we met briefly, if at all, at the gift exchange a few months back at the manor. I should introduce myself, I am Erik Carriere." He said, putting his hand out to shake it. It was strange, when he had first come to the manor, hand shakes and long conversations face to face, or rather mask to face, or even mask to mask never happened and now they happened normally and he was even sometimes the one to start them. Of course, it took him time to readjust to his environment after so roughly being torn away from his.... life before the manor. Like all things, change happens over time.

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

[ I forgot to mention I changed Aimeric's character slightly since the gift exchange. xD Just pretend he said nothing at the exchange since he has Selective Mutism now~ ]

Aimeric felt a slight bit of relief as he heard the man say it was no bother. He felt better, if even just a little. In those couple of moments that there was another silence, he looked back down at his book, more flipping through the pages with his thumb as a source of entertainment, rather than reading it. He heard the man say something yet again, and it surprised him. Nobody usually wanted to carry on a conversation with someone like him, but hey, he wouldn't miss the chance of conversing with someone, even if the notepad was a bit embarrassing, as it always was.

He wrote down on his notepad after shyly reaching over and shaking the man's hand with a small smile, 'Yes, I do believe we did. I'm Aimeric Devereux. Nice to meet you, Erik.'. Her showed the man what he had written, then after a couple of moments he wrote something again. He decided it would only be polite to tell him, after all, it wasn't their first time seeing each other there at the Manor. 'Forgive me for my silence, I have Selective Mutism so I'm stuck with writing on this notepad.' He showed him what was written once again, hoping it wouldn't put him off.

Who knew, some people were annoyed by it. Some didn't like waiting every minute for him to write out a response as opposed to being able to say it. But maybe he would get lucky this time, maybe someone would accept it and not find it annoying or just plain awkward. There were some people at the Manor he'd met who were extremely kind, probably some of the best people he'd met. The only people who accepted his mute state were people he'd met from the Manor as a matter of fact. He was the only villager that even knew about the Manor, or that's how it seemed. Maybe someone else snuck in all the time, just like him. He hoped he was the only one who knew. But, time could only tell.

[Erik Carriere]

((Ah okay, and Erik hadn't actually heard him so I could just say he was mistaken lol))

Erik read what the man had written down after the hand shake. It was nice to be called Erik... of course his Christine called him Erik, but there were so many men running around with the same name that it was almost strange to be called Erik because he had gotten so use to being called Carriere.

"Pleasure to meet you as well Aimeric." He said back, with a friendly smile. He then watched as Aimeric began to write something else then showed it to him. He wrote that he had Selective Mutism which was the cause of his silence. He had never actually heard of Selective Mutism but he could guess what it was. "That's quite alright." He said, then thought for a moment. Americ was only the second villager he had ever met.

He had been at the manor for a little over a year now.... really... what had he accomplished? It was sad to think that he had done more while being the shadows of the opera house than he did as a man whom could go where ever he pleased. But then again, there wasn't as much to do here and although there kind of is, the place is so large that it required more than one person. He shook himself from his mind for a moment and looked back at Americ and spoke to him. "You are from the village, yes? What brings you to the manor then? He asked out of curiosity.

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

He listened to the man speak before nodding, then writing something down. 'Yes. I usually come here for the adventure, and of course the reading. I actually originally just came here out of curiosity, but then I found the vast library that you all have and began coming around more often to read. Then I found myself acquainted with some of the people here, and decided this place was the only chance I had at making friends. Back in the village nobody talks to me, I'm the outcast of the village. And all because I can't be vocal.'

He shrugged it off as he showed Erik what was written. He was always outcast, but by 19 years old he had gotten used to it. He had his kitten and that was enough. And now he had these people. If not for everyone at the Manor, he'd be completely alone. But the people at the Manor seemed so much more kind, and they did dress as if they came from a period of the past but he hadn't questioned it just yet.

He felt as if he wouldn't get anywhere if he started questioning them all. They would think he was the weird one, but perhaps they did. Usually he tried to make sure he, at the very least, had a waistcoat and khakis on when he came to the Manor so nobody looked at him funny, but on the several occasions he took the risk of wearing jeans, he felt like anyone who saw him was watching and questioning.

Sort of like the same look he got when he went outside to walk around the village. Sure, some of the girls tried flirting, but he wasn't ever interested so most anyone left in the village who held an interest in him had given up. He didn't have any friends there, and he certainly wasn't going to waste his time going on dates with girls who only liked him because of his looks. If that's all they liked him for then he didn't want them to be a part of his life.

But he could leave that all behind in the Manor. He fit in just right there, because nobody judged him for not being able to speak, which was a fantastic feeling. He even found a girl he fell in love with. He always wondered how he got so lucky. He finally found someone who loved him for who he was.

[Erik Carriere]

The manor for adventure and reading? Well... suppose a manor that does have a library full of books and many different kinds of people.... who all seem to have the same names... could create quite the adventure for people from the village. Though few still seemed to come around here... which was probably best.

Erik then sighed when he read that Americ was the outcast because he was different. "It seems things haven't changed all that much after all." He mumbled some to himself. Well, things have changed a lot... but people were still pushing out the people who weren't part of the 'average' that they set for their society. Suppose that was the natural response because it's something they don't understand and so they automatically fear it and the only way to subside fear is to keep it out of site and out of mind.

If there was anyone that could relate, it was Erik. Or any of the Eriks for that matter. "Well, I promise sir, you will have plenty of friends here. To tell you the truth, I grew up with talking to very few people ever, them being afraid of me and all. But once I arrived at the manor, people did relate to me... as I was able to relate to them. In fact, if it hadn't been for everyone's similarities, the whole manor would be in total chaos, much more than it has been or is anyways." He said, chuckling some. Yes, there was still some chaotic things in the manor, but it was more of a collective chaos now since there are more people here who have been able to get use to things, including himself.

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

He nodded, then wrote, 'Things haven't changed. It's always been like this, and I'm pretty sure that no matter how many years pass and no matter how many anti-bully advertisements there are, kids will still commit suicide, people will still form anxiety disorders, people will become depressed, etc. It seems it's just human instinct to judge other people because of their appearance. I try to never judge, because I myself have experienced a lot of damage from bullying and such, and obviously still do get pestered and made fun of. People these days will find anything about someone to make fun of them. It's horrid.' He showed what was written.

He shrugged, then smiled a bit as he listened to him. 'Yes, the people here are much more accepting. You all seem a bit different though.. You all wear clothes from a certain period, I have trouble remembering what period it is you remind me of...' He paused in thought, then wrote again. 'Late 1800's, that's it. 1870's, possibly 1880's. Why is that..? Is it just how you all like to dress, or is it for something specific? Not that I mind, I just got curious.' He showed him what he wrote, extremely curious.

He just couldn't help it. Maybe this man would give him answer so he had a clear visual of what it was all about. It's not that he minded it, it's just that he couldn't help but get curious about why they dressed like they did. He thought it was actually quite interesting.

[Erik Carriere]

It was strange. Most of what Americ had written, Erik could understand. And yet some of it, he still understood but he had never quite heard of before. Or rather, read about before. One of the thrills of having lived underneath and opera house for most of his life and then being thrown into a place where he was almost expected to be social.

He then continued to read to find that the man had no idea why that they dressed in late eighteen hundreds clothing. Erik was slightly relieved that the man hadn't asked about the mask. Surely some slight curiosity might be aroused by the villager to see masked men walking about. But luckily, he didn't have to try and explain any of that sort. Strange, he hadn't started to worry about his mask or face again until recently.

Erik paused and thought for a moment, wondering how to explain it when he had nearly forgotten that not many of the villagers wore their period of clothing as Americ called it. "Suppose we don't really have to anymore since we're here...." He paused again, wondering if the man had any idea if they were all from some where else, from entirely different lives that mysteriously just up and appeared in this sort of mad house. Or rather, mansion. "Because we were taught this was the proper way to dress."

"This will seem very strange if no one has told you why or how we are hill. Well... not even the residents of the manor know how we came to the manor, though some believe it was ghosts which I still have not seen any proof of. Anyways, we have lived our whole lives wearing this kind of clothing. We are quite.... out of place here, as you may understand. None of us have even really attempted to clothe as... the villagers do yet. Or at least, not to my knowledge. Excuse me if I seem to be uttering absolute nonsense to you." He said, sighing while being slightly frustrated. How could one explain something that had absolutely no logic to it? Erik just wished he didn't sound like a complete madman. Though at least he may sound more sane than many of the other residents in the manor.