'...what...? What did he DO...?' Adym wondered, his mind racing suddenly.

"I... hoo boy." he then mumbled.

"This... this might... oh, wow." he muttered.

"Where do I start...? HOW do I start?" he wondered aloud.

"Let's ask the simple ones first." he said.

"What is your name and where DO you live?" he asked her.

"......ah.... hm." Adym muttered.

"My name is Adymir." he told her, before pausing.

"Call me Adym, though." he continued.

"And... well... I have news for you. You're a LONG way from Southern Manhattan." he told her.

"Like... seriously." he said, looking off to the side.

And as he did, Callie saw something.

His pointed elf-like ears.

"......" Adym was silent as the question was asked.

"...ah..." he stammered, looking back at her.

"You... you mean my ears?" he asked.

Callie just nodded.

'What the...?' he thought, growing MORE concerned now. What had Vyran done to her? HOW did he do this?

"Y... yes..." he answered.

"They're real... I'm an elf."

"You haven't overstepped anything." Adym assured her.

"And no, this isn't." he then said.

"I'm not from this town. It's a central hub town in this country." he went on.

"It's a nice place." he continued.

"But no, I left my home village because-" he started to say further, before pausing.

Would it be too much to dump on her right now? She seemed pretty overwhelmed as it was, and information about the cruxes, and the power and importance they had, might be just that little more than she could handle.

"...well, because of reasons."

"......" Adym was silent as Callie said what she did.

She seemed... like she was relatively calm, but there was something else. He had a feeling that she was dealing with this by... not dealing with it. Was she just trying to ignore this and act like it was normal? Was she convincing herself she was dreaming or something? He didn't kow.

He then sighed heavily, and shook his head.

"All right, perhaps we should visit the seer here in town." he suggested.

"She might be able to help." he reasoned.

"...but before that, are you hungry or thirsty?" he then asked her.

"I can make something up if you are." he offered.

"Got it." Adym responded.

"I'll let you know when it's ready." he told her.

"Bathroom's down the hall if you need it." he then added, before leaving.

With that, she was left alone with her thoughts... the veritable tempest that raged in her brain.

However, it wasn't very long before a delectable and tantalising aroma filled the air.

"Hey!" Adym called out.

"Almost done!"

Adym looked over towards her, and smiled.

"Hey." he greeted her.

He was then about to say something, but paused again.

'...need to put it in ways that she understands, and won't freak out.' he told himself mentally.

"I'm making up some steak." he told her.

"Steak and potatoes. A classic meal to help regain strength." he finished with a smile.

It wasn't a lie, either. The potatoes were... potatoes. And the steak was steak. It just wasn't... beef. Or any kind of meat that occurred in the world where she had been living.

"About 5 minutes until the glaze is thickened enough for it to be served."

She, of course, received no answer.

What she DID notice, however, was that the area seemed to be peaceful, despite the sounds of hustle and bustle in the distance.

A few minutes later, she heard Adym.

"It's ready." he told her.

"Want to eat out here or something?" he asked.

"I have a picnic table in the backyard." he offered.

"Cool." Adym responded.

"Just head around. I'll be there shortly." he told her.

She nodded and got up, as he disappeared back into the house.

When she made her way to the backyard, immediately, she saw that it looked like something straight out of a fantasy world. Whether it was a book or a movie, it fit the part. There was vegetation everywhere, from a small vegetable garden, to various flowers and flora all over the place. Small animals darted about, as though they were part of a private little ecosystem.

And in the middle of it all, was a rustic, but beautiful, picnic table. It almost looked like it had naturally grown there.

As she sat down, the critters that were milling about stopped and looked at her, seemingly taking in the presence of a new person.

Until one of them came forward.

The closest thing that Callie could liken it to was a ferret, but it seemed to have a bushier tail. And it had stripes on its back. It jumped up onto the table and regarded her for a moment, sniffing the air around her.

It then got a little closer, and closer still.

It looked like it was testing to see how close it could get...

...before it rolled onto its back, exposing its tummy.