The great part about being a writer is that you can create any story with your OCs. Even angst!
“The parameters of my spell aren’t quite tight enough. I need to adjust the range or the amount of the material component, but they overlap in the circle so adjusting one lessens the other. I want to be outputting as much as I can for a 2nd level spell slot– hands off!” I slapped her hand away from the careful chalk replication of the Tracking spell. She pouted while rubbing it. I sighed. “Not everyone can cast magic like you.”
An ample autumn loft of sunlight peered through the horizontal long window of the library’s second floor. Particles of chalk could be seen wafting in the air through the more concentrated rays. Currently, Dreamur and I were stationed at a wide table in the academia’s library second floor. I needed to revisit one of my older projects that I set aside due to, well, hectics with aforementioned person. But actually doing it again, I begin to remember why I decided to leave it unfinished…
She leaned over the back of the chair I was seated in and rested her head on my shoulder. “People really should try to do it like me though. I don’t ever have to go through this spell slot… stuff. It’s kinda weird if you ask me,” she hummed. Ironic, since she’s the only practitioner at the academy who didn’t do it this way. She laughed and started skipping around the table with her arms spread out, mimicking a bird. Her jumps were getting a suspicious amount of air time, but with Dreamur it’s better not to ask questions.
I quite enjoy Dreamur’s company, especially during some of my more down moments, but something you have to realize with her is that she is of absolutely no help during arcane examinations. “Why are you even here, anyway?” I absentmindedly asked while daintily moving grains of chalk onto lines of ink on the parchment. “I can hardly believe that you, a professor, would be hanging around the library, free of appointments, on Saturday.”
She vanished with a pop, and her eyes were magnified and projected onto the window, peering directly at me. “I ditched them. I just wanted to hang out with you!” The eyes slipped from the glass window to the cup I had. “It’s way more fun being with you than all these boring snobs. Or do you not enjoy being with me?” A blue frowny face made of smoke emerged from my cup and slowly dissipated into the air.
“I don’t think they’d like hearing you refer to them like that,” I said completely unfazed by her little antics. “But yes, I do appreciate you staying here with me, although–” Dreamur had reappeared in the seat opposite to me, leaned over so far down so that only her eyes peered over the table, “I can’t help but ask myself if you’re doing more harm than good.”
She materialized on my lap so that her legs straddled me the opposite way the chair was facing. “I knew you loved me all along Saint. It’s alright. I’ll always be there for you!” She then proceeded to bury her face on my chest through a hug. I blushed and immediately got up, pushing her off of me and onto the ground. “I-I didn’t say that! Get off me!” She completely phased through the floor and appeared again gently falling through the ceiling. “I know what you meant~” she teased, floating lazily through the air on her side. “S-shut up! I need to get back to work so quit bothering me for a bit,” I sputter out. I hastily took my seat again and started scribbling, shielding my eyes from her. She pouted but complied. “A little bit, huh.” She whispered, smiling. I deliberately chose to ignore that comment.
Time passed. A couple of hours went by filled with dreariness, but that didn’t mean it was uneventful. Different, exotic hues of light filled the area as the sun started setting. Dreamur permitted shades of lilac, soft pink, red to mix in with the natural sunlight, which seemed to be more color-intensive than usual. She messed around with all sorts of senses. The smell of rain came through at times, even though it was completely clear outside, and the feeling of warmth enveloped me, nearly knocking me out during my fatigue. Her rendition of the spring sun was beautiful. The way she would ponder for a moment before subduing light like a painter at her easel. The way she’d peek at my reaction for a moment before adjusting it to my liking. The way she stood here all this time even though there is no purpose for her to be by my side.
Throughout all of this, I finally decided that there was no viable workaround to my problem. I needed to reconfigure the magic circle entirely to do what I wanted, which was the worst-case scenario. I took a small glance at Dreamur to see what she was doing. It appeared that she was sketching something on a piece of paper, rather mild compared to everything else that had passed so far. I closed my eyes. A smile crept towards the ends of my lips. Just a little break and then I’ll start drawing up some new builds…
Recently, I’ve noticed that a larger portion of my dreams has become lucid. Is it a side-effect of hanging out with her so often? Even if I didn’t recognize the autumn petals or the distinct fall breeze, I would still remember this particular season. My first semester with her. We were sitting, legs dangling from the institutional walls. A fall from here into the crimson canopy below would mean certain death without magic. A hazy sunset graced us.We were graced by a hazy sunset. This height would be dizzying to most, but for both of us, it was freeing. I could be free of the expectations placed on me by my family. Dreamur could chatter.
“So you really can’t see this?” She waves her hands to presumably cast a spell.
“Nope,” I respond.
“What about this?” She does the same motion, but this time I see a pink balloon appear and slowly drift into the horizon. I give her a couple moments of anticipation before responding.
“That time, yes.”
“Weird… and it wasn’t always like this?”
“Nope.”
Dreamur was in a state of perplexion for a while. I gave a little inwards smile. It’s good for my heart sometimes to see that witch mull over something for so long. She continued fiddling around with spells, and I continued responding to whether they were effective or not. It’s not how I imagined my break would go, but more time with Dreamur is always a plus.
“There’s really only one thing I can think of, to be honest.” She said at last, after an hour of experimentation. “My magic is a bit wonkier than others,”
You don’t say…
“Don’t tell Ishi I said this, but I don’t believe in permanent things. Time, space, I think everything has an end, or limit. My spells are great, but they don’t always work on everyone.”
I perked up when I heard that line. “Really? You, master of all deception, sometimes can’t charm someone? Why not?”
“My spells only work on people that don’t completely trust me. And I mean completely. Otherwise, it wouldn’t really matter I guess. If someone fully believed in me then my lies might as well be truth to them.” She looked at me slyly. “Aw… I didn’t know you cared for me to this degree!
I rolled my eyes, scoffing. “How come I can still see some of the spells you cast? If what you say were true, I shouldn’t be seeing anything.”
“Hm. You’re right. It really is strange then…” And that’s where the memory ends. After this, she got too bored thinking of reasons why it may be the case so we went to get dinner. My dream, however, was not so kind.
This time, Dreamur turned towards me. Her gaze was unflinching, boring down into me in a physical manner. “Why is that, Saint?”
I swallowed anxiously.
“Why are you on the cusp, the edge, of being swallowed by my essence?” Her voice was crawling and echoing, shifting into a combination of my inner thoughts and her own tranquil tone. “You’re scared of what I would think, aren’t you?” Dreamur at this point was becoming horribly disfigured, an abomination of black flesh and grim smiles. “You can’t stand the thought of losing what you have, the most ecstatic contentment you’ve had in your life.” Her words were etching onto my heart, quicker and quicker. “Could it be, you
I awoke with cold sweat to a blanket draped on me. Pressed for air, I forced myself out of my seat with my arms supporting me on the table. Weak puffs of the sunlight alarmed me that evening was rapidly approaching. I put one hand to my temple and shut my eyes tightly. Damn it all. This room, capable of holding hundreds of shelves and people, was too small. Light falling through the blinds boxed me in as it narrowed down into strips. I searched the room for any sign of her. I frantically peered through bookshelves, corridors. She has to be here, likely invisible, waiting for my reaction.
“Not funny, Dreamur. I let you mess with my dreams sometimes, but that’s going too far.” I shouted.
No response.
Fuck. I’ve always known. Deep down, I knew it from the day I met her. And yet, I could never bring myself to say it. I’ve never had anything like this in my life. I’m a simple person, I’m content spending my days researching by myself and carrying my family’s legacy. I would help those I could and advance what I’m passionate about. Yearning for something beyond my grasp was never my style. But I met her. Her glory, charm, exhilaration. And suddenly, I couldn’t really think that way anymore.
“Dreamur.” The static in my ears drew to a silence. My fingertips were numb from how tightly my fist was clenched. I picked out a patch of color that was too sharp, too accented.
“I love you.”
The striped sunlight made her expression unreadable. But I could see her eyes clearly. The saturation of the room grew dim, perhaps purposefully so. I detected hints of warmth. Hints of joy. But sadly, I also sensed hints of fear. She didn’t radiate her usual bounciness or make a witty quip. It was silent and still. Something I now realized I never wished to see from her again. The rows of lights grew thinner and thinner, unnaturally quickly, until the room was dark. The exuberant colors faded away. I heard her lips parse open. I saw her hand reach towards me.
Omus Supmet
I awoke with cold sweat to a blanket draped on me. Pressed for air, I forced myself out of my seat with my arms supporting me on the table. Weak puffs of the sunlight alarmed me that evening was rapidly approaching. I put one hand to my temple and shut my eyes tightly. I must have fallen asleep and had a nightmare. The one occasion Dreamur chooses not to mess with my dreams. How great.
“You looked tired, so I let you sleep. I basically did everything for you anyways.” I turned to see Dreamur with her hands on her hips, looking up proudly. I picked up the journal I used to house my prototype builds.
“This is just a drawing of us holding hands with a rainbow above us. Drawn terribly, in colored pencil I might add.”
“Well if you really want to Saint, I guess we could go take a break.” She held my hand and gently raised me up, the blanket still sprawled along my torso. I rolled my eyes. I looked out the window to see a brilliant sunset. There were still the builds to complete though… And maybe there’s something else I’m forgetting to do…
I pulled my head back and looked into her eyes. They were warm, full of life.
“Sure. Lead the way.”
