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The nymph was absolutely stunned, in the worst way possible. Not with the circlet (which was very, very beautiful and currently placed on her head) but with the rooming arrangements. She had been excited as she saw everyone's expensive jewels, excited when she followed Amalia through the portal and to the lush green hills that looked so out of place on Tenebra, and she was excited when she saw the grandeur of the castle. But now...now the excitement faded. Her mouth dropped open at Amalia's words, and she stammered nothingness in response; she was too appalled to make a simple reply. Didn't they know about...about Acheron? This is was some type of sick joke, she guessed, making her sleep in the same room as a demon. 

But the girl plastered a serene smile on her face and instead said, "Oh yes, Amalia. It is not a problem at all. If you don't mind, I let Garon roam around the gardens there near the side of the castle...it's the environment he's used to." The peacock was a spoiled brat if anything, and Calixta let him do as he pleased. After all, it wasn't hers to begin with, so the damn peacock could go wander around wherever. She didn't care, and he sure wasn't going to occupy space in her tower. Or maybe he could...he could have the demon's room. 

Calixta walked forward with the other five Sages as they approached the woman named Evelynn. She had never seen a vampire before, and this one was...beautiful but very, very harsh. If she had to guess, Evelynn was an elf before her transformation. The lithe features, tall stature and pointed ears gave it away, and the vampirism just seemed to intensify those to no end. But nevertheless, Calixta seemed to think that being near Evelynn was better than standing by the extremely tall demon, so she took her spot at the front of the group as they walked along. The walk to the back of the castle was relatively boring; the only exciting things were the looks that some of the female students gave her, but she couldn't figure out why she was recieving such treatment. Sure, not many nymphs traveled outside Nymphe, but her appearance shouldn't have been that surprising, right? 

As they approached the towers, it suddenly dawned on the nymph that this was [i]real[/i]. The carving above the door to her tower depicted ominous siwrls of darkness that surrounded a water droplet, and she glanced nervously at the demon. She hadn't even gotten the chance to meet him, and now she was expected to suddenly get along with hiim? Yeah, right. Why couldn't she be paired with Summer? Or Ostel...dreamy-eyed Ostel. Wind and Water complimented each other, right? What about Light and Water? Just as she opened her mouth to ask about a room change, Evelynn laughed and turned away, obviously not wanting to be bothered. Well, this was a predicament. With another glance at the hooded demon, she stepped forward and to the side without acknowledging him, and opened the door to her-- [i]their[/i]-- tower. 

Grey, almost black stone made steps that spiraled up the tower, and the staircase was brightly lit with the same orbs from the main hallway, except there was no paper lantern around them; there was only the orb itself, switching colors every 20 seconds or so. Calixta's light footing made almost no sound, but she could hear the heavier footsteps of her roommate behind her. She had, of course, left the door to the tower open so that the demon could walk in. Although uncomfortable with the pairing, she still thought herself to be a kind person, and she would treat him with the formal kindness as she would with anyone else she didn't like. The top of the stair case opened up to a large, heavily decorated sittting room. A fireplace burned low on the far wall, and it was flanked on either side by large arched windows that were decorated with heavy velvet curtains and lace trimming near the top. In the center of the room were two plush couches and a small table, all of which was laid perpendicular to the fire place. A few side tables with more vases and glass lanterns (for show only) littered the back and side of the room, giving it more of a luxurious feel. 

The room was probably decorated in such a way to meet Calixta's expectations, but she wouldn't have minded either way. Although she lived in the royal palace, people often forgot that she was, in fact, the daughter of a common folk family. To her relief, two rooms branched out on either side of the main sitting room. Thank goodness! At least she would have her own privacy! The door to her room was on the right side, painted an off-white that had a subtle undertone of blue. Astonished by the lavishness of it all, she just stood there, her small frame blocking the entryway.

Aegar made his way up the tall spiraling staircase, intrigued by the floating orbs of light that illuminated it - though they were rather unnecessary for him to find his way – only to find Calixta’s petite figure blocking the entrance to the living room. From behind she was nothing but long black hair and dark purple cloak, but even so her femininity was unmistakable. He hesitated for a moment before clearing his throat to get her attention.
 
Calixta swirled around in a fluid motion to face him, having to redirect her gaze upwards for her eyes to meet his. “Oh- Excuse me.” she stumbled while she shuffled backwards, making space for him to enter the room. “I… don’t think we’ve been introduced. My name is Calixta, from Nymphe.” she continued, attempting to be as kind as possible despite her mixed emotions.
 
Aegar’s pale eyes ran across the girl’s slender frame, trying to read some kind of body language. There was a smile on her face, but something was off, something big. “You’re right. I was late to the party, so to speak.” In contrast to Calixta’s feminine singsong voice, his own was a deep monotone, both calming and unnerving simultaneously. “I’m Aegar, of Tenebra.” When he extended his hand towards her, she flinched ever so slightly; most would never have noticed. There was some kind of reluctance in her, but he couldn’t put his finger on it just yet.
 
Regardless, she answered by politely shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you, Aegar.” Maybe. Not likely. But she continued smiling anyways. 
 
A brief silence fell between the two of them, until Aegar broke it by finally stepping through the doorframe into the living room. The fireplace was burning on a low flame and the curtains were partially closed, leaving the room in a comfortable shadowy state, without hindering the sight of any non-demonic residents. “So how did you get here, on Tenebra?” he said, grabbing onto the first decent conversation starter that came to mind. “Did you come willingly or did they have to drag you in?”
 
"Um, no, I came willingly..." Her eyes glazed over a bit as she recalled her very first experience on Tenebra. No, she wasn't dragged to this place, but she sure wouldn't have gone if not for Queen Raina's orders. She stepped through as well, making sure to maintain a decent distance away from Aegar; the first encounter had already been much too close! Taking a seat on one of the couches, she crossed her legs daintily and let out a small giggle that really didn't have any heart in it. "I doubt they had to drag anyone in. After all, being chosen as one of the six Sages must be opportunity of a lifetime." 
 
“Far longer than a lifetime in fact. I myself was practically dragged in, since they apparently deemed that easier than just explaining the situation.” Aegar sat down on the couch opposite from hers and continued looking around the room rather than making eye-contact. “Do you think it’s all real?” He was honestly wondering that even now. “Could six mages make the difference? I’ve seen some weird stuff in my life, but few as surreal as this.” His fingers idly found their way to the hilt of his sword and lightly stroked the newly-added gems, reminding him that the past ten minutes were indeed not a dream.
 
Nothing missed Calixta's attention, not even the brush of the demon's hand against the hilt of his sword. It pulled a strong gasp from her, sending every single sense into overdrive as she quickly analyzed the situation. But... the action didn't seem to pose any real threat, and she quickly relaxed against the couch again, embarrassed for the sudden outburst. "Where I come from, prophecy is almost set in stone. The nymphs like to believe most everything, so this is a very, very real thing for me. We all saw our predecessors in their tombs. Was that not real enough for you?" 
 
“I suppose so.” Despite the conversation seeming little out of the ordinary, the tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife, or a jeweled sword for that matter. Were Nymphs simply xenophobic in nature or was something more going on? “Tenebra is full of cults and religious nuts speaking of prophecies. Some believe them, some don’t. After all these years I’m not sure what to believe anymore. I got dropped into this endeavor very unexpectedly, that’s all. Did he speak to you too then, your predecessor? Did he tell you anything special?” He’d considered the possibility of that being private information, but he was simply too curious not to ask.

"Why?" The nymph's eyes narrowed for a split second before she sighed, knowing that it was wrong to be suspicious of someone just because of his race. "You could say it was special... I think they all must have said something special, but it was uniquely special to ourselves, otherwise we wouldn't have listened and gotten our gifts, yes? And you're not alone there, Aegar. I wasn't supposed to be here at all but something... unexpected came up." A pause blanketed the air as she reached up to resituate the circlet on her head, pushing it up slightly, and she smiled at him, curious and confused about his situation. "Where did 'they' drag you here from?"

“Just… wrapping up some business elsewhere in the city. They apparently had no time to waste on getting me in here. I understand now in hindsight.” he said, thinking of the figure that had burst into flames shortly before he came in. He changed the subject, hoping to avoid having to explain to her what he was doing before they abducted him. “Have you ever been on Tenebra before? Nymphs are known for rarely leaving their birthplace.”

"Once, on my birthday 14 years ago. It was... alright." Calixta left it vague and devoid of any emotion, just so he wouldn't ask questions. She shrugged, raising her eyebrows. "Nymphs don't like leaving because most of them value their immortality too much. Besides, have you ever thought about what it feels like to suddenly feel gravity constantly pulling down on your body when you've spent about 90 percent of the time in the buoyancy and weightlessness of water? It feels very strange indeed."

Aegar cracked a brief smile at her comment about water, part sincerely and partially forced in an attempt to lighten the mood. “I imagine it is, yes.” While her vagueness on the subject was probably due to unwillingness to talk about it, something drove Aegar to want to push further on the Tenebra subject; a mix of curiosity and wanting to find out if she was trustworthy. “Did you come here all alone then? Tenebra is a dangerous place, especially for a w-, for a nymph.”

"I'd say it's a dangerous place for most anyone." The tone of her voice grew slightly colder, and she had to bite her tongue from saying something rude. What was Aegar going to say? That Tenebra was dangerous for a woman? Although he may have been right, she was visibly bothered by his question and how he had asked it, but she answered him anyway. "No, I didn't come here alone. I had a... friend with me." Her voice broke slightly on the word 'friend,' prompting her to look away and out the window in an attempt to control her rising emotions.

Aegar averted his eyes from her as well, instead idly turning them towards the fireplace. There was clearly some unpleasant memory tied to this place. In hindsight he felt a tad bad for pushing it, but he was glad to have the slightest glimpse at her background, seeing as he was going to have to spend every evening and night near her for the indefinite future. He now refrained from continuing the subject, for both their sakes, and attempted to simply tie an end to the conversation. “Well, you should be glad to have experienced so much of the world. Few nymphs can say the same.”

"It is both a blessing and a curse to have experienced what I have," Calixta said curtly, nodding her head once to ackowledge his words. "I- um, excuse me." Clearly almost distraught at this point, the girl hurriedly stood and rushed to exit the tower, not bothering with a formal goodbye. It wasn't two seconds later that the slam of the door could be heard echoing up the stairwell, leaving Aegar in silence.