Choreographed Music Notes ((Lucien Davis)) [PG-13]

Over the centuries that Rhodri had been alive, flutes had changed a lot.  He could remember a lot of them, wooden flutes, early tin ones...the boy had always been inclined to the instrument and the beautiful sound they produced.  But, unlike most modern things, the vampire preferred modern flutes to the other ones he had played over the year.  The gorgeous silver design and carefully sculpted keys made for an amazing sound and flawless playing.  Rhodri had a few loved possessions...the silver cup he had first drank blood from, a small gold ring that Engel had given him...and his flute.  He had it crafted by a master instrument maker a decade or so back, made of silver with a gold mouthpiece.  If the vampire didn't have centuries of money, it would have made a serious dent in his pocket.  But that flute had been made specially fitted for him, and it was certainly perfect.  It was a possession that really meant something to the vampire...music was a means of expressing himself.  Hundreds of years had resulted in Rhodri being able to play many instruments, but the flute was his favorite.  It always had been.

That was part of the appeal of Masquerade.  They were all set up with a gorgeous music block, and Rhodri liked that rather than just playing his flute in his room.  As far as the vampire was concerned, rooms for good for sleeping and homework.  Mostly sleeping, though...the boy had to be careful in his room.  With the heavy curtains he required to block out any sun, the only light source was a couple of lamps with low watt bulbs.  With the boy's sharpened sight, this was fine for homework, but not very good for reading music.  Besides, the acoustics in Rhodri's room were abysmal...he had already tried them out.

A week or so after arriving at the school, Rhodri decided he knew it well enough to finally get into a practice room with his flute.  Sunglasses on, the boy held tight to his flute case and sheet music, walking with purpose through the halls.  The sunglasses helped him figure out where the sunny patches were.  There were plenty of windows with the sunlight streaming through them...sometimes bright enough to hurt the vampire's eyes.  Of course, the boy knew the sunglasses raised a lot of questions among his fellow students.  Mostly the human ones, of course, as the supernatural crowd seemed to know what he was.  How they came to this knowledge was anyone's guess.  Rhodri tried not to be too bothered by it.  He wanted the company, but mortals knew there was something off about him and everyone else was probably repelled by the blood drinking thing.

Speaking of blood drinking...Rhodri had been alerted that morning that his first meal was ready.  It was a relief that they followed through on that.  A murder on the island or tiny mainland town would be too suspicious, so the Masquerade administrators promised regular meals from donors.  The vampire was feeling especially hungry, as he did when getting to know a new place.  It took more energy.  He figured he'd go for his meal after playing his flute a bit.

The practice rooms were labeled by number...Practice Room #1...Practice Room #2.  Signing his name on the sheet of paper unto Practice Room #2, Rhodri went into the room.  This was the room he had been suggested to use, as there was only one window in the front, but the back corners weren't touched by the sunlight.  This made the room an ideal one for a vampire.

Setting up a music stand and chair, Rhodri flipped through the sheet music he had brought from his room.  He didn't need the sheet music, technically, but it was still good to have it right there.  Finally slipping out "Queen of the Night Aria" from Mozart's life changing The Magic Flute, the vampire set out the music on the stand, laying the folder on the ground beside him.  He put his flute together, playing a couple of scales before launching into the piece, his eyes shutting as he fell into the music he knew so well.

As invested as Rhodri was in his playing, he didn't even notice someone else coming into the practice room.  It wasn't something the vampire would ever really notice...when he was playing music, that was much more important than anything.  Even his heightened senses were a bit lowered as he became more and more taken over by the music.  All that mattered was the music, and the sound, and the way the keys felt under Rhodri's fingers.  There were memories, too.  Like the decade or so the boy had spent playing with a top orchestra in England, selling himself as a child prodigy.  As with anywhere else, of course, the vampire couldn't stay long.  Even child prodigies started to age, something Rhodri could never claim.  So with eyes still shut, the boy just focused on how playing his flute made him feel...normal in a sense.  It was easier to forget how much he detested his life at times.

Not that he currently detested his life.  Actually, Rhodri was quite enjoying Masquerade.  Sure, he wasn't exactly learning anything that he hadn't learned dozens of times already and he wasn't having a ton of luck finding friends, but it was different than most other schools he had gone to.  He was kept well fed from human blood donors, which, gratefully, meant he didn't have to go hunting.  And along with mortals, there were plenty of supernatural beings...ranging from human witches to...well, the immortal that Rhodri had crossed paths with his first night.  A nasty guy named Lucien that had definitely rubbed the vampire the wrong way.  He had avoided that since then.  Yes, Masquerade was a good place.  Maybe even a place worth coming back to in a few decades.

A sour note made Rhodri open his eyes, cringing slightly.  Sour notes happened, as much as the boy hated them.  Shuffling through his music, trying to find his spot, the vampire was suddenly aware that he wasn't alone in the practice room.  Well for fucks sake!  Looking over at who had walked through the door, the vampire felt a surge of anger.  Of all the people who could have walked in, it had to be the moronic immortal.

The wiseass immortal.  He looked about as happy to see Rhodri as Rhodri was to see him.  Of all the damn empty practice rooms Lucien could have gone into...he had to pick the one that wasn't empty.  All he had to do was look on the sign in sheet!  Trying to calm himself, the vampire lowered his flute, fingers ghosting over the keys as if he was still playing.  His phantom movements were right where he had gone sour in the music, the motions just picking up without the boy noticing it.  It was something he was noticing now that his regularly heightened senses were back.  No one could multi-task like a vampire.

Those words...God, it was moments like this that made Rhodri hate dealing with such a nasty creature.  He had met an immortal before, and she wasn't anything like Lucien.  In all fairness, the vampire figured all species had their bad seeds.  "That was thoroughly not amusing," the vampire said flatly.  Despite his flaring anger, Rhodri didn't want to feed in to Lucien.  Luckily, he was very talented at keeping a stolid façade up.  What a terrible comment, though!  How was that an acceptable thing to say to anyone.

And...did Lucien know about Rhodri's sexuality, somehow?  The vampire couldn't remember saying anything about it to anyone...how would it have gotten back to the immortal?  Maybe it was just a general comment.  If anything was going to concern the vampire, it was that.  What would anyone want to do with a gay vampire?  It was another thing that the boy had tried to keep under wraps.  Trying to keep himself steady, Rhodri narrowed his eyes.  "Get the fuck out of here," he finally said.  "And check the fucking sign in sheet next time.  This is the only room I can be in," okay, maybe a bit of anger was okay.  Rhodri raised his eyebrow, waiting impatiently, fingers still dancing over the keys of his flute.