49.
Think.
Think.
Think.
Think.
Think.
Jade was seated upon a stone pedestal of his own creation. After so much time in the University, he'd noticed the looks of ire from the multitude of human students in the hallways. Perhaps a good deal of them were richer individuals. With families who... dabbled, in the slave market. It wouldn't surprise him. Worthiness does not exactly relate to morality. Thus, he decided his "thinking time" would be best carried out away from the little world he knew. He'd left Sicini's orb back in his quarters, he didn't wish to deal with her either. It was just him, alone, on a great stone slab overlooking a pond outside of the University.
He sat there, on his little pedestal, and did the same thing he always did.
Think.
From across the water came a slight splashing noise, like a large fish had just jumped up and slapped back down against the liquid, but it was nothing more than Calixta surfacing from the depths of the pond. Her dress and hair was drenched, but she quickly siphoned the water off her body and back into the pond. She had discovered this little spot when she wandered off one day in search of a place that made her feel more at home, and so far this was it. It became a regular occurrence for her to spend an hour under the waters, even if just to take care of the home sickness that settled in her gut like a permanent uneasiness. The nymph sang a soothing tune as she gathered her belongings, but when she turned she found herself staring at Jade, who seated atop a large grey stone that surely had not been there when she first came to the pond.
"Hello!" she called out brightly in her tinkly soprano, offering an equally bright smile and a waving hand.
"Greetings." Jade replied, nodding. He guessed he wasn't alone here after all. "You must have been here before I arrived. Am I intruding?"
"Oh, gods no!" she giggled, "but I think I may be intruding on your...um...stone time." She gestured to the large grey slab in front of her. "Do you come here often?"
"First time." He said, "I wanted to see what it was like outside. Think about recent events. This seemed like a tranquil enough spot." He stood up from his little pedestal and stamped his foot on the surface of the slab. A row of steps dropped down on the side, in front of Calixta. He extended his armored hand downward, welcoming her topside. "Come on up."
"Nymphs like being below the sea rather than higher on the ground," Calixta said, grinning. But she took the offered hand gladly and clambered up the stone steps to sit beside the mysterious elf. "It's a calm place. Calmer than the University, and I think we all need that sometimes. It...sort of reminds me of Nymphe here, on this tiny little pond. Well, inside the pond, that is."
"I imagine it's quite beautiful down there." Jade said, turning his head away to stare at the pond once more. "And I also imagine you don't get many visitors."
"Oh no, not here and not on Nymphe. Being immortal really puts you on a different sense of time, and my people have always been very reclusive. As far as this pond, I thought I was the only one who knew about it. I couldn't spend time in the gardens anymore, not with that peacock constantly making noises at me."
"Struck me as an oddity as to why four of the six of us own pets. I'm not against it, but... it seems beyond coincidental to me."
Calixta almost rolled her eyes. "It's not even mine. It was just given to me, and it's an annoying creature at that. What do you mean, it's coincidental?"
"Nothing." Jade said, letting out a bit of a sigh, still keeping his gaze turned. A pause went between the two until he abruptly asked, "How does it feel to be immortal?"
"If you mean aging, it doesn't feel any different. But we tend to take life decisions very seriously. They do carry on into eternity, and that can be either a comforting or scary thought..." Calixta looked away for a moment, the weight of the answer sinking into her heart. The mood had to be changed. "Would you like to hear a joke?" she asked, her eyes lighting up excitedly. "But I only know sea related jokes, so that's what I'm going to tell you."
Without waiting for an answer, she turned to face him. "What did one ocean say to the other ocean?"
"I don't know. Tell me."
"Nothing! It just waved!" The Sage of Water tittered to herself, almost like a praise for making herself laugh.
Jade simply nodded, not sharing in the laughter. "Funny." He replied. He didn't know how Calixta would react to his void of amusement but he sat patiently and awaited her response.
The smile quickly faded when she noticed Jade wasn't laughing with her. "Why aren't you laughing? Was it not funny enough? I mean, I have more..." Even though she offered more, Calixta had a feeling he wouldn't laugh at any of the others either. She sighed. "We can talk about other things, if you like."
"My apologies, I... don't tend to laugh much." He replied, locking his fingers together. "It's something that just... disappears after a while. Especially in my line of work."
"I used to not laugh, too," Calixta nodded along. "It took a long time, but I remembered how to laugh. Although I'm sorry you feel that you cannot... But wouldn't you say life is too short to not find humor in it? Then again, I wouldn't know. I am immortal after all."
"It's more important to me to see to a goal being fulfilled." Jade kept his head turned away, gazing beyond the pond now. "Don't mistake it for an innability. It's more of a... preference."
It was the strangest thing, to meet someone like Jade Fist. Calixta wasn't sure how to feel, but she nodded at his words. "I think that's one of the things nymphs don't really understand, including me. What is a life goal? Something to accomplish before you die? What if you can't die, but something just suddenly prompts you to have a life goal? You have my respect, Jade. Not many people are able to say they accomplished something important, but you can. And I'm sure someday when it's all over, you'll remember how to laugh. If not, you can just ask me for help!" The girl smiled and giggled, but it was a half hearted attempt; it was empty.
Jade... let out a soft chuckle. Much to Calixta's surprise. He turned his head and said, "How's that for a start?"
"Better. Much better." Another comfortable blanket of silence covered the air until she blurted, "How do you feel about demons?"
"In general?" Jade replied, not even the slightest bit offset by the question, "Can't say. Haven't met enough to forge an opinion. Sicini is the first demon I've spoken politely with in... well, ever."
"Demons can speak politely?" The sarcasm in Calixta's voice was plain and obvious, and she turned away to look over the pond. "I didn't realize they were capable of it."
"It's more about the person themself rather than the caste they are born into." Jade said, looking at Calixta with the slightest amount of genuine intrigue in her meanings. "Many judge me solely by my actions. My mask, even. Yet, here we are. You and me. Speaking politely to each other."
"Yes, well elven culture is seen as one of the more refined out of all the other races," she insisted. "Besides, you have rhyme and reason to your actions. Out of the many things I've heard about you, none of them have ever stated you as a cold blooded killer. You don't do those things for fun or sport now do you? If you ask me, that makes all the difference."
Jade didn't respond at first. He merely stared down at the pond once more. Suddenly, his hands moved upward, reaching for the edges of his hood. He pulled it down, revealing his mess of black hair, unkempt and unwashed, loose strands everywhere, tied behind him with a small band. The skin around his mask, his jawbone and neck, were not unlike the color of some old piece of wooden furniture. A bit of a light brown, scars and blemishes here and there. A crimson scar ran around the entirety of his neck, reminiscent of a noose's farewell. The most notable features were his ears, however. They were clipped down to a fraction of the average elven ear length. And it looked like whoever committed the act used a pair or rusty shears.
Jade raised his hand up to his mask, hand over the mouth.
"It is often we take to the recorded feats of one's doing to discern their true nature." Jade said calmly, "It's rare when we rather hear upon what they have to say instead."
With that, he lowered his hand, leaving his mask attached to his face. He pulled his hood back up, making it look as though it had never been lowered. "Wouldn't you agree?" He said in a hush tone.
By all accounts, Jade Fist should have been seen as a scarred image in Calixta's eyes, yet she found herself extending a hand as if to heal the scars, to touch the beauty of one with a pure soul. But she thought better of it and set down her hand, only murmuring, "Yes... I suppose I do." She whispered the words back, looking at him with sad eyes. His words rolled over and over again in her mind, and she simply said, "I don't think I've ever had the honor of meeting someone so wise and beautiful. Thank you." The nymph leaned toward him and kissed the cheek of the mask, as was the customary symbol of respect of her people, and leaned back against the stone slab, her face showing a mix of awe and curiosity.
A slight pause, and Jade stood upright. "Thank you as well." He said, "I'm quite content now thanks to our little talk. I think I'll head back to the University now."
Calixta said nothing and only nodded, and she sat upright to dangle her feet off the rock before gently hopping down. "It was nice talking to you, Jade. I think I'll stay here for a bit longer... You have given me much to think about." She stood at the edge of the water, letting the liquid lap around her toes before turning back to the armored elf. A pensive thoughtfulness glazed over her vibrant seafoam eyes and she said, "You should try thinking underwater sometime... 'the sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps.' One drop of it and it's like you've uncovered all it's secrets." With that, she daintily dove into the blue waters, swimming deeper until it seemed as if there had been no trace of her at all.
Jade turned and took his leave of the pond, heading in the direction of the University, thinking.
Hmm. Maybe after I learn how to swim.