Rose Lalonde lived her entire life in sheltered luxury, and it was awful. Being the daughter of a wealthy, distant, and alcoholic Dutchess was hard, especially for someone who had been neck deep in the magic Arts long before she showed any signs of possessing a gift. It was hard and nobody understood.
Even her twin sister, Roxy, seemed to be more content with her life, despite the fact that the only difference in her circumstances was her particular brand of magic. Roxy was the lighthearted one, always up for a drink that she could never quite manage responsibly and laughing everything off. Fittingly, she had fallen into the path of a Rogue wizard and used her magic for more lighthearted tasks. Not just once had a passing guest been snuck up on by the invisible Rogue, and such occasions rarely ended in anything but trouble.
Rose was different. Despite her gift's Light aspect, her magic waxed dark as could be. Despite her natural abilities as a talented Seer, she often explored more active applications of her abilities, even using her Seer powers to form communications with eilrich beasts that could only be described as horrorterrible. It was all too easy for her to slip just a little bit and be overwhelmed by her connections. Many times, she had to be locked in a room until her throes subsided enough for her to be seen by others. Even then, it was sometimes days later before the black wisps dissipated completely, and she returned to speaking a recognizable language.
Still, Rose experimented, despite knowing full well how it made everyone but Roxy fear her. Truth be told, she was often jealous of her twin and the positive attention she usually drew. It genuinely hurt her to know that her regularly inebriated sister was the favorite of the entire manor instead of her. She knew it was selfish, but she could be a selfish person, and she could be easily led to do selfish things like bitter displays of passive-aggression.
Finally, after a particularly long and dangerous 'episode' (as her mother called it. Roxy simply said that Rose had gone batshit crazy), the Dutchess decided that enough was enough. One evening at dinner, she announced to the twins that they were both going to someone who could formally train them in their respective gifts. The reaction was instantaneous and completely unexpected: Roxy choked on her drink, grinning once she caught her breath, and Rose actually smiled. This was it. This was when she finally got her freedom.
This was completely ridiculous.
Rose wasn't sure what she was expecting when she passed through the first village on her way to her new mentor, but it wasn't this. Everywhere she looked, people jeered, glared, or just watched with terrified expressions as she passed them. It was a known fact that magic and gifts were feared by the general, ignorant public, but she hadn't expected them to be this vocal about it. Although she kept her bearing, Roxy was visibly shaken, and she nudged her in reminder that they needed to keep their composure and present a calm facade when in public.
To provide distraction from the crowd, the girls listened attentively to their escort-a small, pale woman dressed in a multi-layered pastel dress with a sash tied around her head. Calamais, their instructor, was the only member of The Complacency who was truly neutral and the only wizard in the known world who taught multiple pupils at once. Not only that, he taught both humans and other species. Plus, he was truly an excellent host.
When the carriage arrived at their new 'home', Rose was taken aback by the rundown shack that greeted them. For someone who taught multiple adolescents powerful and often destructive Arts, Calamais hadn't chosen the most... suitable living space. Rose seriously doubted the hut would even provide room for one person.
The two girls followed their escort to the 'door', feeling incredibly out of place in their lavish clothes. The door opened without even a knock, and a tall figure in dark green garb stood at the front of a chessboard-esque hall that lead into a preposterous amount of rooms. That explained a lot, actually. Behind the person (was it a boy or a girl, anyway?), two others approached, one tall and lanky, the other slender and elegant. It may have been the lighting, but her skin was ashy gray looking and seemed to glow a tiny bit.
Calamais cleared his/her throat and spoke in a neutral, refined voice, "Welcome, Rose, Roxy. A good host never should keep their guests waiting, but I am afraid that I must until my other two pupils are present to show you to your rooms."
Rose simply nodded.
Wow. I had no idea it was so much fun to write from Rose's perspective. Just as a side note, since there wasn't much about Calamais' personality in Homestuck, I'm basing him/her a bit off of Scratch, but that's about it. I'm mostly coming up with their personality as I go.
Does anyone know if Calamais is supposed to be a boy or a girl? I think it said somewhere they're androgynous, but I'm not sure.
