#sunny is just a little tiefling who has to live up to a big legacy okay | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pinkevilbobdoesthings · 5 years

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So Nano continues onward and I keep churning out Widojest fics. I hope I'm not spamming you guys with these. I'm just having too much fun writing these.

Anyways here’s a Phantom of the Opera AU because heck yeah Phantom of the Opera AU!

Caleb sat at the organ in his underground labyrinth frustrated. Music was pure communication. If he had something to say, the music should flow out. And yet all he had was a bunch of nothing.

A discordant cacophony came from the organ and Caleb looked over to discover his cat, Frumpkin, standing on the keyboard. “Don’t you have rats to chase?” he asked the cat.

“Meorew.” Frumpking batted at Caleb’s mask. Caleb picked up the cat and held him at arm's length.

“Whatever am I going to do with you?” Caleb asked with a hint of a smile. He draped the cat over his shoulders. “Come, let’s see if my opera house is willing to give any inspiration today.”

He made the long way up to the upper basements of the opera house. There were echoes of music and rehearsals, but nothing out of the ordinary and two of the sopranos were flat. Caleb continued his way through hidden passageways and unseen corridors. Rumors of newcomers to the opera were being spread, but if they were true, they were only some new managers that Caleb was going to have to whip into shape.

Caleb stopped by the dancers’ quarters. This trip had been mostly a waste, but Frumpkin liked to go above ground, so at least he was happy. An off pitch warbling caught Caleb’s ear. A young female voice, mostly untrained and terribly unconfident, but occasionally it would find a right note. The voice itself was nothing of particular interest, but the emotion it carried made Caleb listen. Singing a song so cheerful it was like being out on a perfect sunny day in spring (or at least what Caleb imagined it would be like to be out on a perfect spring day. He never had much experience with such things). The song changed to a sad one that was so ladened with sorrow that it nearly broke his heart.

He crept to the peep hole in the wall to see the singer. She was a young blue tiefling. Most would consider her pretty and Caleb was among them. Pitch and tone Caleb could teach, but the ability to convey emotion, that was something to be treasured. And he had to admit, when she landed on the right note, it was beautiful.

Caleb was already picturing the perfect opera season to highlight her talents when he stopped himself. She was going to need training and there was no way he could trust the idiots upstairs to do it properly. They would just waste her beautiful potential. No, Caleb was the only one who could do it properly.

That led him to the question of how. Through the pipes would just warp the sound and through the wall felt a little too creepy even for him. In person was simply out of the question, how would he explain the mask(he played with the idea of claiming to be such a famous singer that he had to hide his identity, but that felt a bit too far fetched). Maybe he could do it in complete darkness, but who would ever agree to that kind of voice lesson? He groaned. It was hopeless, there was no way he could actually give her the lessons she needed.

“Is someone there?” the tiefling girl called out.

“No,” Caleb said reflexively. He hit his head against the wall. Frumpkin meowed disapprovingly.

The tiefling girl gasped. “You have a kitty? We’re not allowed pets in the dance corps. Can I see you cat?”

Caleb sighed and opened a small slot on the bottom of the wall just big enough for Frumpkin to slip through. The cat entered the room and the girl gasped. “You’re so cute! What’s your name?”

“His name is Frumpkin.”

“I’m Jester!” She scratched Frumpkin behind his ear finding his favorite spot quickly. “And your name?”

Caleb stepped back. “It’s not important. You’re taking somebody in your wall surprisingly well.”

Jester shrugged. “It’s an opera house. It’s be kind of pointless if there wasn’t some dark mystery here. Are you a ghost? Have you been murdered?”

“There are some who call me a ghost, but I’m flesh and I am blood.”

“So no one murdered you?” She sounded very disappointed by this.

“No, but if anyone ever does, I will tell you all about it,” Caleb said. Jester was odder than he had expected, but that didn’t make him want to teach her any less. Who knew, maybe someday she could even be his muse. “You were singing just now. Aren’t you a dancer?”

Jester sighed. “Yes, but I’d rather be a singer. My mama used to say that I had a voice as pretty as hers, but then she died.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a while ago. My mama had the prettiest voice you ever heard,” Jester said and Caleb doubted that. Maybe her mother had the best voice in their village, but he had a feeling that it was nothing compared to those housed by the opera. “She was the Ruby of the Sea.”

Caleb’s jaw dropped. The Ruby was supposed to be the best voice of her generation. He kept trying to pull strings to bring her to the opera house in Zadash, but he could never draw her from Nicodranas. It was a deep blow to music when she passed away. “Your voice has potential, you know. I haven’t heard your mother, as much as I wish I could have, but I think her legacy can live on in you.”

“You really think so?”

“With the proper training and lessons, yes.”

Jester sat down with a pout. “Oh. The chorus director says that I’d be a waste of his time and that I should just stick with dance.”

Caleb clenched his teeth. “Then the chorus director is a fool and undeserving of his job,” he spat. He took a breath and calmed down. “I’m a music teacher you know.” Actually, he never taught music before, but he understood exactly what to do in theory. “Perhaps I can teach you?”

“Did the Traveler send you?”

“Who?”

“The Traveler,” Jester said her voice dripping with drama and mystery. “He’s like the best god ever. You were probably sent by him anyways. He’s mysterious like that.”

Caleb frowned. “If you say so. Does this mean you’ll accept my offer?”

“Totally,” Jester said. “Are you going to come out of the wall?”

“No.”

“Ahhh, come on. I want to meet my teacher.” Jester rapped on the wall.

Caleb stepped back. “No, you don’t. But that doesn’t matter, it won’t get in the way of your lessons.”

“Booooo! At least you come out to see me, Frumpkin.” The cat purred as Jester petted him. Caleb tried to ignore the stab of betrayal of his cat being happy with someone else.

“Now, stand up straight,” Caleb said.

“What?”

“Stand up straight,” Caleb repeated. “Your first lesson begins now.”

#widojest #critical role fan fiction #phantom of the opera au

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