Paradise had never been so quiet. None of God's creations dared to wander into the open field where the presence of evil stood so strong, none but one. Woman had no fear but was consumed by curiosity. She listened only to her desires, not paying any mind to rationality and sense. Her view of the world was warped as she stood at the edge of the cliff with the raging water of the ocean below her. Her wild brown hair was still as not even a thread of a breeze swayed the long grass behind her. Light from the full moon struck her golden skin, giving her an ethereal radiance as her slender figure's silhouette stood alone at the edge of the world.

He appeared from the darkness of the black jungle behind her, slithering his way through the blades of grass to get to her. She was not frightened as he slid over her bare feet, up her calves, and finally settled around her shoulders, draping over her arms like a fine black shawl. She gazed into the reptile's bottomless eyes, "Well, you are a fine beast, aren't you? Tell me, serpent, how is it that I may find you on an evening such as this?"

The black snake slid to the ground from her narrow shoulders and, before her green eyes, lifted itself from the grass with growing legs and arms until it stood as a man where a snake once lay. "Do not be mistaken, it is I who have found you," his voice rumbled from deep within his chest like a growl. She could not see him because he was standing behind her, but he was tall with fair skin that seemed translucent in the moonlight. Silky platinum hair fell around his defined cheeks and wisps fell in front of his stone grey eyes. "Have you ever seen what lies beyond this infinite black sea?" he asked her softly, gazing out into the crashing waves.

"I have no wings to fly over it, no fins to swim the distance, and yet, I have seen the desert plains that lie beyond the mountains and the frozen lakes in the snow lands. I have seen everything I wish to see, not in person however. I would like to see it with my own eyes." She followed his gaze into the endless abyss so far out that she lost focus on the tiny reflections of the moon's light on the crests of the waves as they broke.

"If not with your own eyes then how else have you seen this wonders?" he asked, already knowing the answer but letting her arrive to it on her own.

"I saw it in the small pond where man and I drink fresh water from. I saw it in the blood of Panther's prey as it pooled around the body. I saw it in your unblinking reptilian eyes. I can see through many substances. Man is not pleased when I call him blind for not seeing the things I do." Woman sighed as she thought of Man's anger for things she could not control.

He held up a lock of her raven hair, placing it over her shoulder, "You must learn to understand that you are the one that is a stranger in this land, not Man. You should not turn from him because he is blind, instead you should turn to him because of it. His eyes show him truth but so do yours, more so, even, than his. It is easier to think of your vision as a gift and not a curse." She turned her head to look over her shoulder at him and caught his stone grey gaze with her emerald green eyes. He saw the hurt and confusion they held in them but also recognized the curiosity hidden behind them. "Where, I wonder, has your mind drifted, Woman?" a smirk played on his masculine lips.

"Who are you? You are nothing like Man," she said, tilting her head to the side to accentuate her question. Her eyes seemed to penetrate his soul, but he had none so they only searched his mind. Calculating and precise as he was, there was much to look through.

"Would you like to know my name or what makes me different?" he asked, still smirking.

She narrowed her eyes as she turned her shoulders towards him, "I know what makes you different, I spend every day with Man. If I do not know him then no one does. Answer the question: what are you?"

Her demanding tone made his smirk extend on one side so it lay slightly lopsided on his face. "I am many things. For everything that is good, there is something equally bad. I am the embodiment of every negative space in the world." Her eyes clouded over in thought momentarily until he blinked. "Does that satisfy your peculiar mind, Woman?" he asked tentatively.

"What is your name? You must be called something. I am Woman," she pressed her hand against her chest. He glanced at her hand and chest before looking back up to her captivating green eyes and shaking his head. "No name? Then I would like to give you one," her eyes lost focus as she concentrated on something in the water in front of them. "I will call you Caelus, after the sky, because you are very fair in skin, hair, and eyes and sometimes even light of heart and spirit; I can see that when I look into your eyes. I also see overcast and cloudy skies in your soul." She extended her arm high above her head and felt the rain as tiny droplets began to fall softly. "Tears from your soul," she pondered aloud, looking up at the sky then back to him.

"I do not have a soul to cry with," he said softly, grimly.

Woman frowned when he looked away from her and out at sea, "That is why the sky must do it for you." She turned to face him completely, putting one hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder. He caught her green eyes again and put his hands gently on her hips as she pushed up on her toes to leave the softest kiss on his lips, the barest of touches.

He admired her full lips when she pulled back: the bottom lip was slightly bigger than the top one, giving her a pout that would never go away. The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile, "If you should let me, I would like to show you the world."

"How is it that you can be so free but I am held captive here?" she asked intently, turning back to the ocean.

"The laws you live by do not apply to me. I, too, am strange to this land. I'm just a little stranger than you," he smirked when she turned to look at him again with the same demanding look in her eyes. "The world is full of people who will tell you you're not good enough, but if you are with me you will be one of the few that can say you are better than them all. With me, you anything you want."

A small smile played at her lips as she pointed to the endless body of water, "I want it all."

"If you do not know what I have to offer, how can you possibly want to have it?" he asked, genuinely curious as to what her answer would be.

"I know that I do not want what I have now, therefore any change would be welcome."

He considered her answer. She was simply bored and wanted something new, whether it was good or bad in the end it did not matter. "I can give you many things," he chose his words carefully, "But that does not mean that you will be happy. Once your decision is made I cannot come back to this point in time to change it back, should you realize you have made a mistake, of course."

"You seem to be very knowledgeable, strange as you are. Tell me, then, would it be a mistake?" she looked into his mind, searching his eyes for the truth.

"I wish I could, but not even I, strange as I am, can see that far ahead. I can only tell you from reason what would be the most possible situation. Can you not see the future? You can see very well into the past and the present, if I have understood correctly. What kind of being can go backwards and stand still but is not capable of moving forward?" he nudged her closer to the edge to emphasize his point, raising one eyebrow inquisitively as she looked back with anger in her eyes.

"I am very much able to look into events that have not yet happened. There is no future if there are no decisions. Once I make the choice I can tell you if it was a mistake or not. Although once I do choose I do not think I shall look far ahead for myself. The choice will have already been made and I think it would be more interesting to live as it happens instead of anticipating everything," she smiled playfully at him, "It makes things more exciting, don't you agree?"

He ignored her question, letting her assume he agreed, "You seem like you have already made a choice in the matter." He let the sentence trail off, encouraging her to divulge her thoughts.

Her lips pursed in thought, "Well if I am to join you then I should require a name as well, no? I named you so you should name me."

"Actually I have already named you. You see, this is not the first time I offer you my companionship, you just cannot remember the times before this because many years and many lives ago." The look of surprise on her face was precious. "Yes, amazing is it not? The last time I came to you, you agreed for the first time in centuries. Then upon discovering that you had refused me every time before you promptly changed your mind and refused to ever speak to me again. So now I come to you again, with your full knowledge, are you still willing? I will only keep trying; I have quite the determination, you will say yes sooner or later my sweet."

She considered her decision before nodding her head, "No," his face fell as she spoke grimly, "I do not suppose I shall change my answer this time Caelus. Although all the evidence supports this as being a bad decision, I am ready for change." He chuckled at her distasteful expression, as if she had something bitter on the tip of her tongue. "My name now, please," she demanded.

"Well, I seem to remember calling you Callivara, meaning very beautiful stranger," he said thoughtfully, "However I no longer view you as a stranger. It has been too long for strangeness between us. To me, you are simply beautiful, Callista."