@thirdemeritus for a plotted starter.
There is a cause for celebration, and it. . .escapes him, still the Cardinal arrives at the gala dressed prim & proper in a fitted black suit adorned with hints of gold and red. For the special evening, each guest would be required to wear a mask to obscure all the manner of visage's ( course rumor had it, the masks were so that the ghouls and ghoulette's alike had the opportunity to socialize without worry of position in the satanic congregation ). Copia had decided on a ornate venetian rat mask painted clad black with gold accents so that it would match both his outfit and cane held in hand, course his date too would be dressed to match. Within hours, however, the date had left his side and left him standing on the sidelines in observation━━his blood gradually boiling as the evening matured. After a few hours had passed it became clear the date wouldn't return, and as the evening began to fester into a drunken free-for-all he had vanished like a phantom, his reprieve rather dramatic as a sharp turn took him from the large celebration hall.
The Cardinal's chest bellows with an ache that is all too familiar and reminiscent to his life growing up. Forever an outcast, unloved by all aside from his mother who's embrace was that of dragon talons; sharp and dangerous but possessive all the same. In his youth he dreamed of love, of a partner suitable and accepting of all his flaws━━one that he could let his guard down and never had anyone ever sufficed. Fate, he finds leads him down a dark and lonesome road, the belief that love just wasn't in the cards for him, especially in the hell mouth that was the abbey. . .Becoming Papa, that is what was needed. Least. . .it's what Imperator had conditioned him for. As his mother, she had kept him safe. . .and if all she wanted was him to hold the mantel, to become Papa and take control to usher in the new age properly, he'd take it. . .but only for her. Never once had a selfish thought blossomed, rather a righteousness to show the world he was something, that he could withstand the sands of time, and the Emeritus line would only pale in comparison to his sheer ability to corral the world into the palms of his hands. . .Time was of the essence, a deadline unknown hovering overhead, the reminder of his need to practice and perfect his skills for the fall of the youngest Emeritus which was surely coming soon and the only thing which could be blamed was his own childish ego poisoning the well.
Copia find himself in what many would call a sunroom, however the sun is gone, instead a black sky surrounded the room, thunder rumbling paired with bright crashes of heat lightning would illuminate his way to a piano centered in the room, a matchbox pulled from the inner lining of his suit jacket, one struck to light up a chrome candelabra that held red candles. Once lit, he pulls out the piano stool and takes a seat, a cigarette fished out of a pack hidden in his pocket. The cigarette is lit and for the entirety of it he sits silently, his two-toned hues watching the ferocious heat lightning as his mind trails back to the Gala, to his date━━it really hadn't been fair. . .they had seemed to be a good fit, but perhaps they had just wanted access to the event. Copia's thoughts continue to wander, and once the cigarette is finished, it is put out against the heel of his boot, the cigarette butt flicked into a random direction before he turns to face the piano.
❝━━Ciao, mi amore. ❞ A whisper as gloved hands travel across the black stained wood, ❝ Mi sei mancata, non sapevo quanto fino a questo momento. ❞ His visage is pained with loniness as the key lid is lifted and slid into place as his gloved digits find their starting placement, ❝ Ma adesso sono qui. Let us begin, si ? ❞ Words fall in a creshendo as digits begin to press along the keys, his voice pulling quietly to sing as his eyelids flutter shut. The song eventually would come to be known as 'See the Light', and while he hadn't completed the song he had began to take it further than he ever had as he sinks into the seat, his emotions embraced as lyrics escape from a coarse heartbroken voice.
