40.

Once the remaining Sages reached the center table, Summer sat next Calixta and Jade as she wanted to try to talk to people other than Damien and Ostel. Even though she knew that she wasn't expected to act in any form of a serving roll, Summer shifted uneasily as she tried her best to refrain from offering to pour people their drinks, which was all that was on the table.

[b]"So... umm... Jade,"[/b] Summer murmured, hoping that the elf to her left would not get mad at her for shortening his title, [b]"I remember you saying you had freed elven slaves... was it... was it hard? To see your people beat and slaves to whatever whim their Master's had?"[/b]

[b]"At first..."[/b] Jade replied in a hushed tone, [b]"It was. But none of it was worse than what I had seen before."[/b]

[b]"Worse than..."[/b] Summer motioned slightly towards him as if to ask what he went through as she tried to avoid drawing the attention to him in any way, [b]"I know I got off lightly compared to what other slaves had to go through..."[/b] As she said this, her hand absently wandered to the scar on her right cheek.

[b]"There exist... far, far worse forms of slavery than most people know."[/b] Jade said, [b]"Even most elves are unaware of it. Slavery of the mind. Literally chaining one's soul to the wall. Not just exploitation... transformation."[/b]

Summer shifted uneasily in her seat, the way Jade spoke made her think that what he said was something he had experienced himself. The very thought of someone owning her soul did not sit well with her, she imagined that it was far worse than someone owning her body.

[b]"I know it still goes on."[/b] Jade's voice fell into a whisper now, [b]"And I hope you never have to see it."[/b]

Summer offered Jade a small smile, though it was more sad than anything, as she gently laid a hand on Jade's arm for a moment before setting it back into her lap. She wasn't very good at comforting people, but she wanted to show Jade that she wanted to be there for him, even if it was in a small way.

[b]"I am sorry that you had to witness such things,"[/b] she whispered to him, [b]"No one should have to."[/b]

Jade turned his head ever so slightly. He didn't say anything, he just nodded. Summer could almost see his eyes hidden beneath his mask, yet... it still didn't look like he had any eyes at all. Summer didn't shy away from him even though the appearance surprised her slightly, she just gave him another smile. 

[b]"Thank you... for talking to me,"[/b] she said, [b]"Even though it seems to be something you don't like to remember."[/b]

Jade remained silent, yet content with the conversation. He turned his head away and waited patiently for... whatever food they were bringing.

Aegar was paying more attention to the surprising amount of students filling the hall than to the other mages and incidentally ended up sitting down in between Calixta and Damien. This situation was very new to him, as the only school he’d ever been to was the small-scale one back in his birth village. He figured now that he was here it was probably in his best interest to get to know the others a bit, even if just to make them less suspicious of him. To his right was Calixta, who he figured he’d leave alone for a bit longer, so he decided to turn towards the taller girl first out of curiosity. [b]“Hey you. Summer, right? We hadn’t met yet, I’m Aegar. Are you from Zephyru? And is Summer your real name?”[/b]
 
Summer seemed startled that Aegar had decided to talk to her, but she managed to smile a bit as she shook her head. [b]"No... I am not from Zephyru, I'm from Lucerna... and Summer is the only name I was given by Ostel so... I guess it is my real name...."[/b] She didn't seem to upset about telling Aegar the truth, and she wasn't, her tone was matter-of-fact without any form of resentment, [b]"I believe you were originally from here yes?"[/b]
 
[b]“Yes I am.”[/b] The possibility of her being a slave suddenly occurred to him once he noticed her Elvish features, which were initially drowned out by the much-more-obvious silver hair and purple eyes. He fell silent for a second as he thought back to the few encounters he’d had with the slave trade. Slavery existed on Tenebra as well, mostly practiced on a small scale by the hordes of outlaws that roamed the country side. Whatever slavery took place around the big cities was very underground, thus why Aegar had clashed with them only very rarely. If the stories were to be believed though, in Lucerna slavery was practiced in bright daylight, the very thought of which caused a surge of anger to well up from inside him. He quickly shook the thought out of his head to prevent himself from getting too worked up. [b]“How long have you known Ostel?”[/b] He was tempted to ask her whether Ostel was considered her master, but decided against it with the human so close by.
 
[b]"Um... about a month... I never interacted with the Grimward children as I was primarily a stable hand... since I do so well with animals. I... my first encounter... with the oldest.... it wasn't..."[/b] Summer trailed off for a moment before taking a deep breath and trying to steady her now shaking hands as one, once again, moved to her scared cheek, [b]"It wasn't... a good meeting. Ostel... saved me..."[/b]
 
Aegar idly shook his head and let out an almost invisible sigh. A slave too, now? It’s like the Warlock really went out of her way to find the most ragtag band of misfits to fulfill her prophecy. [b]“I’m sorry for whatever happened to you. Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought it up. Have you learned how to transform yet? You are a shifter, aren’t you?”[/b]
 
[b]"That's what I am being told... but I'm 18 and I've never experienced a shift, from what I've heard Shifters have their first shift in their early years... I mean, maybe I'm late because elves age differently? I don't know. What about you? I mean, I've never seen a demon that looks like you... may I ask why it is you are so different?"[/b]
 
He frowned a bit in response to the question, not so much towards her as towards himself, but quickly wiped the frown away as to not scare her off. [b]“I… don’t know, honestly. I was born this way.”[/b] It’s a question that had been bothering him his entire life. [b]“I suppose all of us might have something special about them.”[/b] He made a subtle gesture towards the rest of the group. [b]“Why else would we be here? I’m sure you’ll find out how to use your shifting sooner or later.”[/b]
 
Summer nodded her head, [b]"None of us can help how we are born... we just have to be careful how we act I guess... and how we apply ourselves. I just hope that they didn't make a mistake bringing me here... I don't really have any experience with magic."[/b]
 
[b]“Oh I have my doubts about some of their choices too.”[/b] he said, getting partially pulled into thought again. [b]“We can only hope they were right. Only time will tell now.”[/b] he mumbled right before he found his eyes arbitrarily dwelling away from the Sages around him and towards a buxom demoness sitting a few seats away at the table of darkness.

Noticing where his eyes had gone, Summer fell silent and was surprised when food just seemed to appear on the table. Figuring the conversation was finished, she took a small amount of food and slowly began to eat as everyone's conversations rolled over her. It had been nice talking to Aegar and Jade, but she also wanted to talk to Calixta, though she wasn't sure how to go about it.

[b]"Excuse me,"[/b] the Sage of Water mumbled not a minute later as she shifted her tiny body more towards Summer. The demon made her nervous, and for the most part while he and Summer talked she had kept her gaze fixed toward Amalia. Then, trying to get her mind off of her proximity to him, she turned towards Summer and gave her a bright grin. [b]"You know, I really do like the nickname 'Calla.' And I apologize for leaning this way. I have... mixed feelings towards his kind..."[/b] She whispered the last part very quietly, eyes wide with an unidentifiable emotion, but it was gone in a moment and she followed suit in grabbing a plateful of food-- plenty of fruits and vegetables, and a handful of various nuts. 

[b]"I understand,"[/b] Summer said with a bright smile as the other female addressed her, [b]"Oh... um... you like fruits and vegetables? Um.... maybe you should try this one?"[/b] Summer hesitantly offered Calixta a deep purple fruit, [b]"This is... one of my favorites on the rare occasion that I got to eat fruit."[/b]

[b]"I don't eat meat," the nymph responded, taking the purple fruit and placing it on her plate. The nymphs are immortal and have a deep respect for life. Many of them are on vegetarian diets, although I have eaten fish on an occasion or two. Please, do tell me more about the fruits. I may have Queen Raina start importing different foods to Nymphe!" [/b]

Summer couldn't help the radiant smile that spread across her face at how excited the Nymph before her seemed. [b]"From the fruit I have head, they are all very sweet and juice, my favorite is Honey Dew... actually, it's that green diced up one right there. I was only allowed to have some on very rare occasions and even then it was usually a few days old... I've never had it fresh before."[/b]

[b]"Fresh fruit is what I usually eat, so I'm sorry that you have never tasted any until now. I may have to take you to Nymphe one day so you, too, can go through all the gardens and orchirds to pick out whatever fruit you want to try!" [/b]

[b]"You have gardens and orchirds of such things? That sounds wonderful! I would love to see such a place... it sounds like heaven.... underwater,"[/b] Summer exclaimed as her smile stayed on her face.

The nymph laughed. [b]"Magic keeps our home dry under the water. And yes, the best fruits are grown at the royal gardens near the palace. You would be an honored guest!"[/b] Calixta grinned very child-like, excited at the possibility of a friend coming to visit her home. 

[b]"I would like that very much Calla, we should do so after the fight is over... it would be... nice to see a friends home."[/b]