Rise of Darkness (Alvis & Malicious Lullaby)

The third floor was an open area, looking like a sitting room. COuches, long ones, but curved so they made a circle with some gaps in it to allow people to move between them along with a thick carpet made teh place look almost cozy. A large round table was in the middle, and in the middle of it was a large basket that was filled with fruit. Apples, grapes, and even rare fruits for this climate, like bananas, oranges and lemons. There was enough in the basket to likely feed a half dozen people. A small cloud of dust was dissipating as she looked around the room, as though something had just finished cleaning the area.

Yoristan watched the magical liquids as they combined. They shivered, adn then gave a puff of smoke, before settling into order. He smiled. New clases of potion. It was a generally accepted fact that only spells of a certain potency could be contained in a liquid form. More powerful ones simply tended to fail drastically. Yoristan wanted to break those rules, prove that it could be done. WIth more work, he might be able to breach the normal limits. He knew that the only reason this one was stable was the stasis spell in its latent form, and the fact that it was in his tower. Maybe that was part of the problem. The general world just lacked the latent magical energy to support a potion like that. It was an interesting theory that he'd have to explore.

Her mouth salivated as she saw the bowl of fresh fruit sitting atop of a round table. She walked to it, hesitantly at first before meandering herself through the furniture. She stood face to face with the fruit before she plucked a green apple. She rubbed it against her dress before holding it up to her mouth, taking a bite of the crispiness, juice flowing into her mouth. She almost whimpered, it was delicious. Just the right amount of sweet, right amount of tartness, enough to make her taste buds go insane. She plucked another green apple, an orange fruit which seemed peculiar to her but smelled like heaven and then a banana. She plucked some grapes even before she moved away from it, hurrying before anyone might have sighted her to tell her otherwise.

Ewyn hurried to the steps, her mouth full of grapes and apple together and steadied herself against the landing as it whooshed her down to her floor, the second floor where her room was. She went back to her room where she shut the door and sat on the bed to enjoy her fruity feast. Sure, she’d want more eventually but at least this took care of the hunger in her, enough to tide her over for when actual dinner was to be served. She ate with a boisterous appetite, having the appetite of a big burly man with big man hands and a bear, yet attaining the beautiful figure of a true renaissance woman (even if it isn’t set during the Renaissance xP). Must be something with all that energy. Another word to be used, high metabolism.

The night wore on, and dawn did break, the light seeping into the window of Ewyn's room. Yoristan well remembered what is was like to be young, and let her sleep until mid morning. He looked to his left, and saw the translucent form of one of his magical aides.
"Shall I wake her sir?" It asked him, the voice a little distorted, as though spoken through water.
"Yes. Be polite about it. She's new after all, and you're liable to be a shock." Gall said firmly.
"As you wish milord." The form began to sink through the floor. Yoristan sighed in vexation. Hed been over the magical formulae for that aide a thousand, thousand times, but could never find exactly what casued the form to assume he was a lord. It irked him. But whatever, he had to start...teaching.

THe form stopped at her door, and knocked sharply.
"Miss. You are requested to rise." It wavered to her through the door.

The fruit actually held up for the rest of the night. After she ate, she opted to lie in bed and read a book, a fun read that told a story about the lonely but cold-hearted mage who fell in love with a simple peasant he had rescued after her village had been pillaged and burnt to the ground. She fell asleep about twenty pages in, the book resting open on her chest but face down. She had taken her bodice off after eating and now, the morning light shone through her window but did nothing to make her rise. Nothing would. It was like she was dead asleep. She lay on her stomach now, one leg bent at the knee, her dress hiked up to expose the skin there and her mouth was open, slacked a little bit with just the tiniest trail of drool pooling on the pillow. And if ever it was possible for her hair to be a bigger mess than usual…

A small grunt came from her at the sound of a knock and she wiped her mouth instinctively and instantly, sitting up a bit. “Huh?” She licked her lips and turned onto her back, a slight snore coming from her again before she woke again. “Hmm?” At the sound of a voice, sitting up, groggily and her vision focusing. She saw nothing in her room but stared at the door. Standing, she rubbed her eyes and bopped on over to the door, opening it and leaning against it, yawning softly. “Hmm?”

Her eyes shot wide open and she stood up straight and tall, urgently even at the mist—whatever kind of magic it was—outside of her door. “Did you know on the door?” She asked, tilting her head, curiously. She waved her hand through it, easily going through and then smiled a little sheepishly, tiredly and apologetically all at once. “But how?” Now she was fascinated.

The form seemed to sigh.
"One could consider it poor manners to pass a hand through another being." The form said to her. With a visible effort, the mists drew together into a shimmering form that looked much more like a man that w blue, and able to be seen through. "I am a crafted aide of your new master, Yoristan Gall, empowered to assist him in his work. And he bade me to fetch you. It you would prefer the moment to dress, I shall wait here for you."

Yoristan chuckled, looking at the way the conversation was going through the connection he had with the construct. It was clear that the conservatives at teh Academy were still stringent on uses of the Gift, and didn't push out too many wonderous thigns onto their students. And he understood that on some level, but on the others, it just seemed like a waste. Why not teach them to build marvels and wonders, to express their powers, to push the boundaries? Well, he supposed that was why they might have sent her to him.

Her face fell in an instant and she nearly slammed her hand to her forehead in much dismay. “My apologies. I did not mean—“ She sighed. “You are fascinating.” A little creepy with the way it spoke but nonetheless fascinating. “I certainly meant no disrespect.” She bowed her head in shame a little bit to relay her apologies even further.
Looking down at her state of dress though, her arms came up to cover over her chest. It’s not that it was on display. No, but it was a lot less…held in place. Her cheeks colored and she stepped back inside. “One moment, please.”

The door shut and she scrambled to her bags, opening one and pulled out a dark purple dress, of the same fashion at here crème one but rather than having a separate bodice, it had a corset that went underneath it, the bodice of the purple dress able to conform against the corset. She pulled her hair up with her green ribbon before stripping her form of the dress, standing in just her slip. It smelled well enough to be worn again and after all, she only had so many, she had to utilize them well. Pulling on the corset, she began to tie it through, making little gasps, ‘oohs,’ ‘ahs,’ and other natural reactions from how she harshly tied it. But just like that, it was properly tied, pushed up proper assets and she took in a few gulps of air to be able to better wear it out. Not even her bodice was this tight but she could make do. Putting the purple dress over it, she tied the front and then pulled the green ribbon out of her hair, tying it around her wrist and once more opened the door, looking a lot more…put together.

“There.” She smiled, pushing her errant locks of curly red hair out of her face.

"Follow." The form said, and drifted along the floor, leggs moving as though walking but showing no need to actually do so, flosting a few inches off of the ground as it did so. It led her to the stairs, and to the highest point they took a person. There, Yoristan was standing in the middle of the floor, looking out the open window at the horizon. He turned as though sensing the arrival.
"Ah, you're here. Good morning. This is your first day here, so I wanted to get things off on the right foot." he explained. "So I need to know what the Academy had you focus your studies on. Practial magic, combat, defensive, something else? I don't want to make you repeat anything, Gods knew how I hated that in my time at the Academy. So. How about it?" Yoristan explained.

It was the moment of truth. And it would shape how she would use her powers int he future. It was a rather important moment really. He wanted her to get teh most out of her abilities, and that meant getting her to hunker down with her strongest points.

Ewyn did just that, not worrying about her boots considering she was inside. Besides, she wanted her little toes to be free and able to breathe. And not smell so bad…
She hung on to the landing of the staircase as it zipped up, going higher. Her eyes opened once they reached the top where she found Master Gall waiting. Ewyn made it clear to step off the staircase. That’d be something. He started talking and she zipped down against her will, with no warning whatsoever. Not exactly a way she would like to learn how to fly.

“Um…” She clasped her hands together in front of her, her shoulders shrugging up a little bit. “Practical magic, nothing for combat or defense. If that were the case, that obnoxious bastard of a carriage wouldn’t have bumped me off yesterday.” She huffed, blowing an errant lock of her unruly curly red hair out of her face, only for it to land a little slanted between her eyebrows and over the right of her nose. “Mostly, they wanted to teach me how to better contain my energy. I have too much. I had to be let out so I wouldn’t bounce off the walls, drive my father insane and cause too much irreparable damage inside the academy. Well, not unlike the other times.” She made a face of guilt as she looked down, not wanting to divulge him yet of the exact trouble she got into that nearly got her the boot a few times. If it hadn’t been for her father…

“I promise, I don’t go out of my way to cause trouble. Just, trouble sometimes goes out of its way to find me?” She laughed a little sheepishly, kind of wanting him to fully understand and realize what he’d been stuck with. That and she sort of enjoyed dropping those kinds of bombs on people who least expected it. Master Gall seemed like one of those people. “But I do not think you need to worry. The moment I stepped inside of your tower, I felt my energy at its highest but no overwhelming need that it was going to make me explode. So I think you’re safe on that one. Although, I’m not an introvert like you seem to be. I do still want to go out in the fresh air.” She made her demand before clearing her throat. “I-If you let me that is.”

"The ambient magic levels should help keep you...a little calmer. Now, make no mistake about this." He stared at her,m wanting to make sure she got what he was saying the first time. "You are a student. Not a prisoner, not a slave, and not a hostage. SO long as teh studies I ask you to complete are done, as well as the practical things I'll ask of you are completed, you're free to move about as you wish. And if you've a desire for company, there will be times I'll need things run to the village. Thank you for volunteering." He nodded to her and walked to a wall, sliding a book off of it.

"Now, containing your energies is vital. It's a crucial part of being a mage. But with me, you're going to learn how to unleash them. If all we're going to teach you is to contain them, we should have burned the gift from you right away. No, we're going to make a proper mage out of you, in one way or another. ANd understand, Combat was my forte. You'll learn to settle the score between you and errant carriages." He smiled as he spoke the last, the gesture reaching all the way to his eyes.

She nodded her head, noting the seriousness depicted in his voice. He made it clear she was a student and not someone there against her will. That was actually nice to know since in her readings, both fictional and somewhat true accounts, students who learned from mages were expected to do nothing but learn, study, and hone. While that is strikingly (un)appealing, she hoped to be able to maybe at least return to that village from time to time. Be amongst the nature, see Faryn, visit the Inn, see Faryn…
“Of course. I’d love to go back to that village again.” But she left it at that, not wanting to come off as overly eager to go back there again. Not wanting him to think she wasn’t serious about her studies and her magic. She was. Very much so!

Ewyn heard that kind of appeal before. It was important to control it but it was even better to let it go. But in that sort of healthy way, she imagined. A good balance between both? But if he was going to teach her to unleash it…she hoped he knew what he was doing because she was following his lead. He was Master Gall after all.
A smile cracked onto her face and she shrugged. “They will learn never to cross my path ever again, or my name is not Ewyn Conal!” She put her hands on her hips in a stance of absolute pride. Looking to him, she grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. “I see you’re taking well to my advice swimmingly. Smiles look good on you Master Gall. I’ll be sure to bring them out more often from you.”

It was rather clear to Yoristan that she had reasons to return to the village besides any errands that he might ask of her to run. But that was fine by him, so long as she kept up her end of the teacher/student bargain. he gave her work to improve herself, and she would get it done. Very simple, so far as he was concerned. He'd seen some of the work she'd done, courtesy of the academy, and he knew that she did seem eager enough to throw hreself into her work. He was also certain she wasnted to throw herself into living the life of a young woman as well. And that was even better as far as he was concerned. A mage should not wholly define themselves by their Gift. They needed to be peopel as well.

He handed her the book. it was a heavy tome, five inches thick, and large enough to barely ft under an arm.
"This, is the Fundamentals of Abjurative Magics. Magical defences in other words. If you're going to learn how to hurt someone with magic, first you need to learn how to stop them from hurting you. I expect you to go through the first few chapter, and be ready for a practical test by tomorrow evening. You can study and practice as long and hard as you like. Or not. Just know that how you fare in this first test of mine will show how involved I need to be. Do well, and you can clearly be trusted to set your own habits. Otherwise, I'll get more into your business. And honestly, I don't think either of us want that, now do we?" He asked her, nodding as he spoke. "Good luck, and remember to ring the bell on the bedside table if you need anything."

Her eyes widened in large as he handed her a book, that when put into her hands, she nearly crumbled under the weight. It was a true test of strength and will, whether or not she could hold this tome that was five inches thick. She did not miss these books but that was just the appearance. Usually when she really got into them, it turned into a glorious task, one that became difficult to even pull her away from the books. That’s how much she grew to enjoy them. She didn’t have that much of a short attention span that she couldn’t appreciate a finely written book with all matters of instruction upon magic.

She gulped a little bit at the task that lay before her but by straightening her back and standing up with a proud strength, not letting the book weigh her down, she nodded her head, determined to get through a lot of this book before tomorrow so she was perfectly prepared. It was time to make a good mark, make him see just how fully capable she truly was and how much potential she really had. That she had to be something special or good enough to be sent to him for some more molding and honing. She would show him that and he wouldn’t ever have a worry or an annoyed thought about how he had wished he didn’t have to be doing this ever again. Not that she knew he had been thinking that, but she got the feeling somehow and somewhere.
“No, of course not. I rather much like my privacy.” She said softly before bowing. “Thank you Master Gall. Will that be all?”

Yoristan smiled. He went back to the bookcase, and slid out a slender volume, adn carried it back to her, handing it over.
"Since you asked. You can also review that. It's a collection of study notes from some mages who specialize in Abjuration. You might find them helpful. I'll be asked after them during the pratical tomorrow. But you should get moving, before I think of something else for you to do." He gave her a rather satisfied smile, and he began to understand for the first time in a while why someone might enjoy their teaching position. There was a certain amount of fun in assigning a bucket of work to someone, and seeing if they can get it done in time.

The blue form nodded to Ewyn, and trailed after her before speaking.
"The master has assigned me to be a light guide to you. If you've any questions, you may ask me, and I will inform you of the answers to the best of my ability." It was the longest speech from teh form so far, and once done it resumed simply drifting along in a flanking position to Ewyn.

Damn, she probably shouldn’t have asked that question. With a small sigh, she watched as he slid a book over the already magnanimous one in her arms, adding to the weight. She didn’t let it falter though and carried them well, though her arms felt like they were starting to burn. At least the shakes hadn’t started.
“Oh goodie…” She looked at the two books and then at him. More homework. He didn’t need to tell her twice that she should probably get going before he gave her more work. This was more than enough for starting off on…what did he call it? Abjuration? Something of that nature.

Nodding, she turned and walked off, hearing and also feeling the blue form behind her. “We might need to work on the way your voice comes off. If I didn’t know you were there, and I’m glad I did, I just might have gotten chills.” She really needed to learn how to obtain a filter. “But…nevertheless, I am appreciative for his care and for your assistance.” She glanced back at the form before stepping onto the staircase. She took one step down before it began its accelerated pace and she hopped off the step onto her floor when it stopped. Talk about imbalance when she couldn’t hang onto the landing.

Walking into her room, she left the door open and plopped the two books onto her bed, watching as the larger one actually dipped down deeper than the other before bouncing up. Ewyn shook her head before going to the large window and opening it for some fresh air. She already felt a little overwhelmed by the thickness of that first book. Sure, she’s read books that thick before but never expected to read a few lengths of it by the next day for an assessment. No matter, what pushed her was her need to somehow prove herself to Master Gall.
There was a nice breeze that floated in once she opened the large window and she sighed softly. That felt a lot better. Finally, bedroom with windows. She wondered if her father briefed Master Gall about that one. She highly doubted it, but either way, she was eternally grateful.

"My voice cannot be altered. This is the clearest Mast Gall has been able to have me speak. The previous attempts were...less effective." The form supplied. It paused as she entered her room. When she didn't close the door, he followed her. She seemed to be taking in the feel of the breeze, and he knew on some level that someone her age might be drawn to it. He moved beside her, and pushsed the other side of the window open. With the faint grinding of stone shifting, the window expanded slightly, and the sill began to lower to teh floor, stretching hte hole in the wall. THe side of the tower pushed out, forming a balcony with a rail that came to teh waist, and a table sprouted, complete with three chairs. "If you wish to enjoy the air, might this be more to your tastes?" The form asked her.

Faryn had to admit that there was a part of his mind that went back to Ewyn. Well, then again, she had been stark naked, adn very nearly dragging him into something naughty, and that was hard to shake. And the next time, she wouldn't be bound under teh Academy ruling, so he'd be a little more...free with his time. She'd be just another patron that he could choose to spend time with. And he had little doubt that he'd be able to find a few more interesting ways for them to pass the time.

She figured as much, but was still appreciative of the form’s existence. Even if its voice was just a tad bit freaky, at least she could sense its presence. So hopefully it’d never be out of surprise. That might give her heart some serious palpitations that she didn’t really fancy.
When the form came to her side and opened the other window, she watched the space before her. If she wasn’t careful, she could really plummet to her death there, even if she was on the second floor, she doubted that the grass wasn’t always so soft. If she fell wrong. Maybe if she practiced…
But to her amazement, she watched as the window turned more into a door and then the ledge pushed out, it all turning into a sort of balcony. There was a table big enough to study on and a chair. Her jaw dropped. She loved magic, always surprised by the things that could be done with it. It was beautiful and she certainly never expected that to happen if she opened both window doors. “Oh wow…” Glancing to the form, she smiled softly, a warm smile that made her eyes twinkle, for just the thought of being able to study out in the fresh air was like having her cake and eating it too. “Oh yes! Yes, this is perfect!” She’d actually get studying done a lot more efficiently and proactively because the fresh air would help to keep her mind clear.

It’s why she always needed time to be outside when she was back at the Academy. No windows, no fresh air, too much closed in space for her energy to bubble up and make it so she couldn’t get anything done, because she wanted to constantly be doing something other than sitting and studying. This set up was perfect though. She felt…free.
Stepping out onto the balcony, she walked to the table and traced her hand over it before walking to the balcony ledge, resting her hands on it and leaning into it, sighing contently. “This is perfect.”

The form moved off, adn came back, gently setting the bell from her bedside table beside her.
"Again, should you need anything, ring. You needs will be met." It told her. "I will leave you to your privacy." The form simply dropped through the floor, vanishing.

Yoristan looked around his area, trying to come up with new things that he could do with Ewyn. There was a lot that she didn't know, but he didn't think he should toss her into too much too fast. Else she could end up hurting herself, and badly at that. He looked into his books, going over some of the basics that he'd not checked in a long time. It would be good for them both most likely. If she managed to do a credible defence tomorrow, he'd teach her some very basic attack spells that would let her try to defend herself in a pinch. After that, see where her aptitudes were, and build on her strongerst suit.

“Thank you.” She spoke softly, looking to the form and then watched as it retreated. She stood up after placing the bell aside and then went back in to grab the books. Coming back outside, she placed them on the table before going back inside once more. She found her second bag and rummaged through it before finding her notes book along with quill box and ink. Once her proper study station was set up, Ewyn set to work. She was an avid reader as well as a proper note taker, having a full system of how she took her notes. Her notes were organized in a chart, one side the question, the other side the answer. It was proved productive and quite instructional during her studies and it was always easy to go back to them if ever she didn’t retain information on something.

It was grueling, she often found her attention lacking and she nearly dozed off a couple of times. True to form, Ewyn was a spectacular student. It just took a moment or two to really get into the material. It was about a chapter in when she finally got into it. Learning how to defend, and properly too, it was interesting. She knew magic could sometimes know no bounds but she didn’t know the extent and without proper defense, it could be really dangerous. Magic could do things that no mortal instrument could, leave a bigger scar than say an arrow, knife or spear. Skill.

She studied furiously, leaving her post to go to the third floor for some more fruit. She liked that orange fruit, whatever it was called. It was tangy and delicious. Fruits were always good brain food for her and they kept her satisfied longer than anything else. Sugar. It was her addiction.
After quite a few chapters in the tome, she picked up the second and propped her legs up on the table and began to read, tapping the feather of the quill against the book. Her brain was too full of information by the time the sky turned dark and at that point, she figured it was better than ever to turn in, to call it a day and let her brain rest until tomorrow. She could do a brief review tomorrow morning. For now, it was sleep time.

Ewyn slid out of her dress and untied her corset. She remained just in her slip and got under the covers after darkening her room. She left the balcony doors open, letting the breeze cool her through the night as she cuddled under the comfortable covers. Within five minutes, a small quiet snore came from her, her lips parted and the telling signs of drool flow beginning were present. She was out cold for the night.

The Ley Lines surged with power, and not only Yoristan Gall knew how to tap them. Night was the time of power for some mages, when the best powers could be tapped. Especially for the one who was even now beginning his work. Oneiromancy. The magic of dreams. It was a rare discipline, and one that was frowned upon. His own form was one that helped lend weight to his spells, and he closed his dark, dark eyes, adn focused. He sought out along the lin, seeking the Nexus, seeking a dreamer within it. And then there was a glimmer. Not only a dreamer, but one that had no training in defending against his art. With a surge of energy from the Ley Line, he stepped into her dreamscape.

The unformed swirls of light that made up an unused dream began to form into a scene. He drew from her most recent memory, showing the room she was currently sleeping with. The form that stood within was a tall man, lean and wiry, with raven black hair, and pale skin. He had a certain cold, almost merciless beauty to him, the way a large predator cat is beautiful. He smiled as he looked at the bed, seeing that in her dream she was still in naught but a shift. He advanced on the bed, adn sat beside her, putting a great deal of effort into the dream, sending waves of soothing feelings into her, making seem as though he wasn't a threat to her.
"Wake. Wake up my sweet." He murmured to her.

Normally, Ewyn didn’t dream much. She was always so tired when she did go to bed, she was too tired to actually dream of something worth while. No, it seemed like time always went by so fast when she slept. One minute, she’s lying in bed, falling asleep, next she’s waking up and she always wondered, ‘Where did the time go?’ It was one of those things where she wanted to go back to sleep, turn her mind off for a week or something and recuperate since knowledge was power, but also attaining it was ever exhausting. It had its ups and downs. She was certainly reaping the rewards of its downs.

Something changed this time though. She was actually having a dream. It was something she could see quite clearly, as if with a misty fog around the entire scene, showing it wasn’t quite real, but by the stars, it felt so real. The voice , she could it even hear it in her own ears, her real ears, not just her ears in the dream and it almost made her actual eyes in reality open. No, only in her dream, did her eyes open and she turned onto her back, the sheer material of her slip doing little to conceal. It was a sheer after all. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before rubbing her eyes, taking a look at the man before her. She thought it was Faryn at first so a smile appeared on her face but as well as she could considering it was a dream, it was not Faryn. It was someone else. The confusion was evident on her face in the dream as well as in reality, her brow furrowing and her sleep becoming a little…unsettled now. Who was this man? And why was she dreaming of a face she did not know?

Collapsed Star!

There was a flicker in her eyes, trying to piece something together, and in the dreamscape, it was like a parchment to read. A man, a young one that had caught her eye. He waved a hand.
"Close your eyes." He said calmly. The hand motion caused enough air to reach her that her eyes blinked. When she looked next, the man before her was wearing the shape of Farynright down to his clothes, and smile. He slid forward, his will pouring into the dreamscape to make it seem more proper, to stoke her emotions for the young man. Even the sight of him triggered a few memories, of her stripping near him, bathing with him in the room, presenting him more than one opportunity to take her, adn the mixed feeling of not having it happen. It drew her in, made her more interested in him, but also disappointed that he didn't. And that memory trailed back to their introduction, telling him who he was supposed to be, adn giving him her name as well.
"Ewyn." He said faintly, his voice a perfect match for Ewyn.

She must have been half out of it, or just not understanding or unsure altogether. Her eyes blinked, fluttered and before she knew it, he was there, right before her. In her dream? Impossible. She never dreamed and it was so rare if she did. Faryn really must have been more special to her than she let on or knew if he was in her dreams. Slowly, Ewyn sat up, rubbing her eyes as if to make sure. The moment he spoke her name, her eyes brightened and she smiled a slow, somewhat lazy smile. She was just ‘waking’ up after all, wasn’t she? “Faryn.” She said it like it was a relaxed exhale, to just say his name calming her. “It is you.” She didn’t think she’d be so happy but truth be told, she was. It was a nice reprieve. It was so real.

What a cruel joke.

He needed more information than he could from simply picking things out of the air. He needed more. ANd she seemed to be almost eager for it, so why not? He slid closer to her, and brought his hand up to the side of her face, and rest his hand there. Her skin was warmer than his, but not to an impossible degree. Some rules could not be cheated after all. His thumb rubbed along her cheek, and he leaned in, his lips coming close to hers, but not making contact, letting her make the final choice as to whether they would proceed farther.

Yoristan looked aroudn the tower. Something was wrong, he knew it in his bones. But what? He summoned the form that had been helping Ewyn.
"Search the tower, top to bottom. Report anything." He ordered. The form nodded, and bent to task. He summoned several small stone men, no higher than his waist, adn gave them similar orders. He called up a spell, looking at the Ley Lines. It was going to take time to see how they were working.

Her breathing hitched in her throat, if she was even breathing since it was a dream. But at this moment, it all felt too real, she couldn’t distinguish between fantasy and reality. The moment his hand touched her cheek, cupped it, her eyes slipped closed. Ewyn nuzzled her cheek into his palm, not detecting the difference, too lost in the fact that it was Faryn, that he had come to her right then. But how? How did he get here? How did he know where she was? None of that mattered at this moment. Opening her eyes, her hand slid over his around her cheek and she met him half way, pausing a moment just as he did. Her gaze fell to his lips and then back up to meet his eyes. She closed the gap, letting her lips touch his in what felt like such a soft kiss and her eyes fluttered closed. Bliss. It’s what she felt right then and in reality, allowing her face to be relaxed, eyebrows no longer furrowed or masked with confusion. Peaceful.

The kiss was a tacit agreement within the dream, and new little trickle of information came to him, mostly fuilled with small, inane details about her life, nothing that he was currently looking for. He'd need more. Which meant they would have to do more. But then, she was hardly seeming opposed to it, and truth be told, nor was he. He let the kiss deepen a little, his hand leaving her face and going around her back, pulling her closer to him. He smiled into the kiss, and began to lean over, lowering her onto the bed. The Dreamscape let his shirt already be open, not wanting to bother with small trivialities, adn he suspected she wouldn't either, based on the memory of the bath that he'd plucked.