Panotti of the Opera (4)
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It was dark and almost everyone was asleep in the academy. Floopy was in a good mood and his blind roommate could tell by the humming of an unfamiliar song.

"Is that for the musical?" Klick Batley asked but Floopy didn't reply. The panotti was too absorbed in his fantasy of having the first good day since coming to the Academy.

"Earth to Floopy!" the bat threw a well-aimed eraser at the dreamy musician's head and that effectively made him snap out of the trance.

"Huh?"

Not impressed, the bat demon crawled over to Floopy's bed and hugged his friend tightly. "Tell me! What's made you so happy today? Did someone confess to you?"

Floopy smiled and shook his head. "Nothing like that. I just met someone nice."

Interested, Klick demanded for details. For someone to not bully the panotti and was even nice to him? That's rather rare and a cause for celebration! Then again, the bat was worried. What if this person was simply nice to Floopy because they had n ulterior motive? The poor boy was so naive that Klick didn't feel easy about it.

"Do you know his name?"

Floopy blushed. "He's the Siren Prince Syris."

When Klick heard that name, his earlier unease lessened. Although he wasn't very involved with the school's drama, the bat demon still heard a few things here and there. Syris was also known as the defective alpha because he was a tone-deaf siren. For some reason, Klick felt that this meeting was way too coincidental. A tone-deaf prince and a genius composer who was labelled the ugliest creature in his forest. While Prince Syris wasn't someone to take advantage of others and had a kind heart, Klick didn't know if his friend should continue to associate with them. No matter what, Syris was an alpha and he was bound to find an omega mate. Any relationship with the prince was futile and from how Floopy behaved, Klick was very certain his friend had a crush.

"Do you like him?"

The question made Floopy stop humming and Klick waited nervously. If Floopy liked the prince, he would do his best to help the panotti get closer to the prince. However, if Floopy didn't feel the same, he would tell his friend to distance himself. Nothing good will happen if Floopy slowly developed feelings for the Siren Prince over time.

"I'm not sure but I want to help him. He's been nice to me and I don't think he's a bad person."

Klick sighed. This was exactly what he was afraid of. Just because the siren prince fixed Floopy's glasses and called him cute, his friend was now thinking of giving his entire heart, life and soul to a stranger. Sure, his friend might attract the odd jerks who just wanted a convenient slave or lay and Klick has been doing his best to hide his true identity, protecting this precious gem from the evils of the school. However, against someone like Syris who was nothing but nice, Klick had mixed feelings. Even if Syris didn't mean to hurt or harm Floopy, if he doesn't return the composer's feelings, Klick didn't know what he could do to make Floopy happy again.

Ever since his quest to find his target in the academy, Klick had abandoned all hopes of standing out. He only accepted the bullying because it was a way to become low-profile. So far, Klick hasn't had the chance to met his target but the word of two useless betas had gone around just like Klick wanted. His blindness wasn't a disability in his opinion. If anything, it was an advantage to make others underestimate him. As the prodigy of his clan, Klick excelled in the art of assassination. If it wasn't because of how pure Floopy was, Klick would never have bothered making friends. Still, rooming with the adorable beta was one of the best things that happened to Klick while he was at the academy. He never had friends before and Floopy was his first. If possible, he didn't want the beaver-like musician to be hurt in any way.

"How are you going to help him?"

Floopy smiled. "I'll help him find his voice so that others won't look down on him. There is a saying. Anyone with a voice is born to sing. All it takes is a little patience, a lot of love and hard work."

Klick didn't know what to say. Instead, he nodded. "I'll support you. Let me know if you need any help. Are you going to go out again tonight?"

Floopy nodded. "I have a song in my head that I cannot get out so I want to write it for him. Don't wait up for me!"

The bat demon didn't have time to wave goodbye and Floopy was already out of the door with his music sheets in hand. The panotti was a lot more excited tonight and Klick sighed. Syris wasn't a bad person but he highly doubted that a siren prince would look at a lowly panotti with any interest in a romantic relationship, especially not one who is a beta.

OUtside, Floopy hummed a happy tune while thinking about the best kind of instruments that would suit that gentle voice. The principal had tasked him to create another musical so Floopy couldn't deny her request. However, he wanted to use a different muse this time. Instead of all the choir members or drama club actors, Floopy wondered if he could convince Prince Syris to be the lead actor this time.

"Maybe a ballad?" Floopy thought. A gentle piano melody with a solemn violin in the background would be lovely enough to highlight the best of Syris' whispery tone. With that thought in mind, Floopy headed to the music room. There were many instruments there and Floopy wanted to try out the melody he had in his mind.

The composer bounced along the quiet corridors with a smile on his face. The peaceful night was destroyed by someone's distressed screams and Floopy panicked, his feet carrying him towards the sound coming from the music room. Whoever this was, their soul sounded like it was in agony. Floopy knew how banshees cried but this was far worse than that. It was like someone who had experienced a pain that not even death could erase and it made the hair on his arms stand.

The scream came again, louder this time in a wailing kind of voice and Floopy shuddered. His large ears were sensitive to sound and he felt a headache with the constant screaming. Still, curiosity won over and Floopy took a peek inside.

The turquoise hair looked familiar and Floopy was slightly stunned to find the wailing person to be Prince Syris. His eyes were scrunched closed in effort and he was perspiring as he forced another note from his mouth. Floopy shuddered. The image of that gentle prince from earlier was completely shattered with reality sinking in for the composer. This wasn't tone-deafness, it was torture.

Nobody should be singing like this. Floopy shuddered. How long has Prince Syris been 'singing' like that? The musician feared that if he continued doing this, in a few years, he would really go mute. No wonder Syris spoke in a whisper-like tone. His vocal cords were too damaged to even speak normally and Floopy left with tears in his eyes.

His heart hurt for the prince.

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