“So, your room is right over here” Calico said walking ahead of me up the stairs though I was a little to the side to avoid accidently stepping on his massive tail, he didn’t keep his curled up around his leg like how I usually have mine, it was just swishing out behind him polishing the metal stairs with every step. The twin staircases opened into a small circular landing room, the backside of the circular room adorned with a single double-backing staircase going a floor further up, towards the front of the tower was a massive archway, like ten or something feet from side to side if it was flat, but it was curved a bit, leading into a large room that had stone floors and an outer glass wall, creamy colored plaster walls adorned the landing room which had a few sparce pieces of furniture and two sets of double-doors on either side of the room with the space between the small inlets the doors were and the sides of that huge archway being these giant arch-topped windows. He just walked over to the left set of double doors before pushing them open as he motioned, I looked at him a little confused before stepping through them. The doors opened into a fairly…sizeable square room; thick and plush carpet covered the floor in a unique dark eggplant purple color, the walls were sleek white adorned with dark wood trims and framing, the outer wall was entirely glass giving this portion of a panoramic view of the city outside, a dark stone fireplace was central on the right wall flanked by narrow archways, facing it was a large dark green velvet couch with dark wood end tables and a matching coffee table all atop a circular white rug with a dark gray armchair to the right of the couch. I looked around because it was obviously the nicest room I had ever been in; centered on the left wall was this oversized king-sized bed in a dark blue velvet sleigh style frame with dark wood nightstands on either side with milk-glass lamps on them, a white velvet ottoman was at the foot and the bed/ottoman were atop a very large circular gilded rug, a crystalline light fixture was overhead and as I stepped into the room a little more, set into the wall to the left of the door, even with the bed was a large trapezoid like alcove; central to that on the short wall was a rather stately writing desk, shelves on the angled walls and a dark maroon leather chair pushed into it with a green shaded lamp and a dark gray circular rug. On the opposite wall was a long cabinet table with a large mirror above it with a few art pieces framing it.

              “This…this is a guestroom?” I asked, Calico nodded softly as he put his shoulders to the wall beside the door.

              “Of course” he said with a soft smile, “Pocket dimension, so I can have the rooms be however I wish”

              “Still”

              “Is it…unsatisfactory?”

              “It’s…far nicer than anywhere I’ve ever been”

              “I’m sorry about that.”

              “Why?”

              “You seem a kind soul, a good spirit, the fact that someone like you has been so…stepped on and brought down by what I can get from your mannerism…makes me feel a little upset to see someone like yourself treated poorly.” He shrugged

              “…thank you, but…” I sighed, “your sincerity is lost on me, I can’t fathom why someone doesn’t see me the way I was raised to see myself.”

              “You mentioned you went to Paradise Academy, no? So you have a magical degree, right?” he asked, obviously perturbed by what I said by how quickly he shifted the topic, I nodded at that.

              “I do”

              “What is your degree in?”

              “It’s in bardic magics.”

              “Good, good…bards do extremely well here; every person who has any kind of nobility or something love to hire permanent bards to their manors.” He said with a soft nod, “but I didn’t see an instrument on your person”

              “I never had one of my own; I rented one in school, but my parents didn’t approve of me being a bard because…well, you know all the jokes and stereotypes about bards, so I never got one of my own.”

              “What instrument?”

              “Lyre”

              “…why?” he asked a little confused

              “I always liked the sound and it’s so rarely seen and heard that…I liked the idea of keeping it around a bit” I laughed quietly, “Why do you ask?”

              “Well, a bard can’t perform properly without their tools, no” he shrugged, “If you’re any good, a noble might hire you to be a court musician.”

              “What if that’s not what I want to do?”

              “What did you want to do?” he asked, “Why did you choose to be a bard?”

              “It…was the easiest way to funnel my magic; because of…various reasons, I was never really allowed to be myself or express myself, so…I took to bardic magic easily.”

              “What college?” he asked, classifications and areas of bardic magic is referred to as a college; like the college of whispers or eloquence or lore…there’s dozens of them because more are always being made. I sighed deeply as I looked out through the massive glass wall over the city.

              “…sorrow”