Dreamless Slumber

Sleep Cycle Completed

John’s eyes snapped open, and he looked to his alarm clock menacingly, daring it to disturb the slumber of his lover as she snored cutely on his chest. It didn’t, because he hadn’t set it yet, and he sighed in relief. It was just barely seven in the morning. His first class started at eight, so he had time to stay in bed for a bit. He played with Calista’s hair gently, enjoying the sensation of her soft curls in his hand. She stirred into wakefulness, smiling up at him.

“Good morning, Master Newman,” she greeted him.

“Good morning, Calista,” he replied.

“Get the hell out of bed, idiot, you’re going to be late for your class,” Sera’s voice ruined the mood with reality.

John sighed, and Calista gasped daintily in surprise. She sat up quickly and began to dress. John smiled at her concern and equipped his uniform.

“Would you like to accompany me to school again today, Calista?”

“Yes, Master Newman.”

John nodded and walked out the door to his dorm.

“Hey, idiot, forgetting something?”

John turned to face Sera, raising his eyebrow quizzically.

“No?”

“Breakfast! You need to eat breakfast, what’s wrong with you?”

“There’s no food in the kitchen, Sera, we went over this yesterday.”

That shut her up for a bit as he and Calista intertwined fingers and walked to the elevator. Sera followed closely behind, muttering something about alternate dimensions under her breath.

---

Layla woke up and stretched with a yawn. She shuffled into the kitchen in her oversized t-shirt to start brewing a pot of coffee. She sat on the counter and swung her legs as she waited for the coffee to brew. She heard the bathroom door open and water start running. Her roommate was awake. And functioning without coffee.

What kind of monster did they pair me up with?

She took a deep breath as the coffee’s aroma filled the kitchen. That whiff alone enough to invigorate her, she walked back to her room and changed into her uniform. She came back into the kitchen as her roommate closed the front door.

“Huh, she’s a quick one,” Layla thought out loud.

She poured her coffee into a travel cup and headed out as well.

---

“Hey, Sera?” John had a few questions for his guardian angel.

She studiously ignored him, walking alongside him on his left as Calista held his right hand. Calista hummed an enchanting tune that kept his stamina up even though he should have been starving.

“Sera,” he insisted.

“What?” She snapped.

“You slept in my bed that one night, saying how your aura protects me and you need to be close. Why haven’t you slept in my bed since then?”

She sighed exaggeratedly.

“That’s actually not a dumb question, so I can’t call you an idiot, especially since you have literally no way of knowing. My aura works perfectly fine from the couch in your dorm; it would have worked well from the couch in your house too, but that wasn’t an option that night.”

John nodded appreciatively.

“Thank you, now I have another question.”

She sighed even more exaggeratedly, practically groaning in annoyance.

“Yes?”

“How else do your guardian powers work?”

She scoffed at him.

“You don’t need to know that.”

“Yes, I do,” he insisted.

“Why? Why should I tell you the extent of my powers? You don’t even know the extent of your own powers. And I mean the ones you have now, you can’t even begin to fathom the extent of your potential.”

“Those were going to be my next questions. You should tell me how yours work so I can be prepared for whatever you can’t stop or help you in any way I can against threats that would be difficult for you.”

She eyed him suspiciously.

“You aren’t as idiotic as usual. Is all that stamina going to your head?”

John laughed at that.

“If that’s what it is, I’ll make sure to keep it at a hundred all the time.”

She rolled her eyes at him.

“As you saw the first time we met, I have a sword. It’s my main offense and I am more than proficient enough to protect you from the dangers you’ll attract while I’m charged with protecting you. Not only do I have that, but I can also use major healing magic should the need arise. That’s all you need to know.”

“That’s very general and not helpful and basically what I already figured you could do.”

“Good, then that full stamina is really working wonders for you,” she said barely suppressing a smug smile.

“Okay, so what’s the extent of my powers?”

Sera let her smug smile shine through before responding.

“We’re at your school. Good luck today, idiot.”

And with a soft flash of light, she disappeared. Calista frowned at her, or at least where she had been a second ago. John sighed and shook his head as he walked over the threshold of the barrier and into the courtyard. It was quarter till eight; he still had plenty time to just walk around and enjoy Calista’s company.

“So, what was your life like before you answered my summons?”

“Well,”

---

Layla gasped, John’s aura suddenly palpable yet again.

He’s in the barrier. He got here before me. How did I not sense him walk past my dorm? How did I not sense him? How is he masking his aura so well?

She screamed internally, then took a couple deep breaths.

It’s fine, it’s okay. I’m fine. I’m alright. Everything’s going to work out. I know where he is now, now I just have to make sure he doesn’t leave my senses.

She a smile on her face as she set off towards her lover-to-be.

“Hey! Lay! Get over here, you won’t believe this!”

“Tess, I’m a little busy right now. I don’t have much time”

Tess grabbed Layla by the wrist and dragged her to their favorite tree.

“No, you don’t understand. You NEED to see this!”

“Tess, please, I think I know what I need right now and whatever it is you’re trying to show me isn’t it.”

Tess laughed at that and shoved a thick tome into Layla’s hands.

“You sure about that? Because I have eight hundred or so pages of fire magery that says otherwise.”

“I-I,” Layla squealed in conflicted excitement; John was walking circles around the edge of the courtyard’s emblem and was coming her way. “Howdidyougetthis?”

Tess laughed louder.

“I saved up a bit of my paychecks to get it for you off the Auction. No biggie.”

This is a very biggie. Probably almost as big as John’s little John. Is he big? I mean I wouldn’t mind a little little John, his aura is what would get me off anyways, I mean a big little John wouldn’t be so bad either, I bet it would be pretty satisfying, but what if it’s too big for me to please him properly what if-

Her thoughts were interrupted by her teleportation, rendering her thoughtless and internally screaming as she took her seat. She had missed her chance to talk to John this morning.

---

John cast dismiss summon as he was teleported to his first class of the day. Professor Aarav stood at the front of the room, nodding a greeting at his students as they appeared. John sat next to Karen, her warm smile greeting him as the professor began his lecture. Karen was the only familiar face, two girls who had not been in his class Monday joined them.

“Good morning, class. Today we shall study the art of warding your conjurations. Wards come in two variations: wards that protect and wards that heal. These variations are very self-explanatory. For the first half of today’s lesson, we shall practice protective wards. Do any of you know of a protective ward?”

Professor Aarav looked expectantly at John.

I have no idea how to do that.

Karen raised her hand to answer the question.

“Yes, Miss Benedict?”

“Copperskin, Professor.”

“Correct, that is an example of a protective ward. Do any of you know how to cast Copperskin?”

He looked expectantly at John again. He shrugged mentally, not having a single clue how to go about giving one of his summons copper skin. None of the other students raised their hands either, making John feel a little better.

“I see. Copperskin is a fairly simple ward, given you are familiar with its proper procedure.”

He started to draw on the board, simple diagrams flowing simply from one to the next.

“First, you select the conjuration you wish to ward. You keep your target clear in your mind, or else you may misfire. Then, you reach for your magic however is easiest for you. After taking a firm grasp of your own power, you reach out to your target. You must make physical contact with your target, or else your magic will disperse into the air and have no effect. Once contact is established, focus on the exterior of your target. Pour as much of your magic as you feel you can spare onto the exterior of your target. The more magic you spend, the stronger your ward becomes. Finally, withdraw your hand. Once contact is severed, your ward should be visible as a coppery glow on the surface of your target.”

He paused.

“Any questions?”

None of the students raised their hands.

“Very well. To put this concept into practice, please conjure a target.”

The students spread out, though Karen seemed to settle much closer to John than the other students had to each other. John summoned Elora, not wanting to freak out his new classmates. The ground to the right of John’s foot rumbled and crumbled inwards as a tunnel opened and Elora marched out of it. She saluted him. John nodded his acknowledgement then sat with his legs crossed in front of her.

“Awaiting orders, Chief,” she said in her tiny voice.

“I am going to cast Copperskin on you,” John answered.

“Where are the enemies you are protecting me from, Chief?” She dropped her salute and scanned her perceived battlefield.

“This is just a test.”

She nodded her understanding and stood at ease. John reached inside himself and grabbed at his mana.

This is always the hardest part about learning new skills.

He reached for his inner fire, but it eluded him. He lunged for his inner sparks, but they evaded him. He grasped at his inner water, but it flowed away from him. He gripped his inner earth tightly and brought it to the surface, but like last time he could not bring it across the threshold. Fearing a new aura ability, he lowered the earth. After a few minutes of contemplating how to solve this problem, it clicked. He focused intently on Elora, bringing the inner earth closer to the surface.

The earth broke through and landed on her. It sank into her skin, and after a moment she gained a coppery glow.

“Test successful, Chief”

John smiled and nodded. Professor Aarav walked by him just as Elora began to glow.

“Impressive, Mister Newman.”

John looked over to Karen, who had successfully warded a small teddy bear that she seemed to have conjured out of a personal inventory. The professor complimented her efforts as well as one of the other two students who had summoned a turtle and warded it. He had no words for the student who had failed to ward their target.

“Unfortunately, that is all we have time for today. You are all dismissed.”