Disclaimer: I don't own VLD!

A/N: Okay, poor Emi, this is the first fic where she's a teenager and I'm messing with her because she's Human-Altean! But yeah, Emi's 14 years old here and dealing with Altean puberty and it not quite mixing well with human puberty. Sorry Allura and Shiro… Oh, and by this time, she's sort of grown out of calling Keith "Uncle Keith," but she still does it on occasion.

Dream By Night

Part 1

Weave, spin, high kick.

Emi ducked out of the way as Keith came at her, his sword swinging through the empty space where she had been. The blade was far closer than it should have gotten, almost catching her on the arm, but that was her fault. She was feeling sluggish, unable to fully wake up out of her grogginess.

Normally she was a morning person, bouncing right out of bed to crash through the castle halls, beating on the walls and waking up everyone else. She was an absolute morning nightmare according to Pidge and Lance. But today was different. When she had woken up, it had been like swimming out of a pool of concrete.

She felt heavy.

Emi had trudged to the training floor for her daily pre-breakfast sparring session with her dad and Keith, but she just wasn't into it. Which probably would have gotten her killed if Keith wasn't so careful.

"What was that?" Keith said, dissipating his bayard and frowning at her, "I could've taken your arm off."

"Sorry," she said, feeling a yawn coming on.

Oh man, not the time, that would just make Keith mad. He would think she wasn't paying attention. She gritted her teeth and tried to concentrate on not yawning. Or rubbing her eyes. Or curling up on the floor like one of her cats. Or jumping back into her bed that was so far and calling her name, beckoning her back to the super soft blankets and her nest of pillows…

"Emi, you have to be more careful. You seem distracted," her dad said from his spot at the side of the sparring circle, "Everything okay?"

"Yep!" she said with forced cheerfulness that was edged with irritation. Wasn't she allowed to be tired? It was early morning, she got up super early every morning. If she happened to be tired this particular morning, it wasn't a big deal.

"Okay, then show us," he said, watching her closely.

Emi lifted her naginata, feeling its weight more than she usually did. While she unfortunately hadn't inherited her mother's super-strength, daily training kept her in shape. However, it felt like the naginata had somehow put on a few extra pounds overnight. She hefted it up higher and then swung it at Keith, knowing he would activate his bayard or block it with his shield. She had never won a sparring match against him, and this definitely wasn't going to be the day she miraculously broke that losing streak.

Her blade clanged against Keith's sword, and she stepped back, adjusting her grip on the staff portion of her weapon. He came after her, sword lifted above his head, and she had to shift to block one blow and then the second.

Normally she was the faster one, her style leaning more toward speed than power, but it felt like she was fighting underwater. Which she was actually pretty decent at, thanks to training sessions with Lance, but this was land. She was better on land.

Or she should have been.

Taking another step back, giving ground that she normally would've fought for, she crouched down and punched her naginata forward. Keith had to jump back to avoid the blade, which gave her some time to straighten up and find an advantage. She paused and thought about her next move, trying to work on her habit of going on instinct. But her brain was too fuzzy right now, and giving it time to think meant she thought about how exhausted she felt—

"Emi!"

Her head jerked and she dropped her weapon as she was yanked backward, her dad's hand on her arm. Keith's sword came within centimeters of her practice helmet, and if her dad hadn't moved her out of the way, it would've slammed into her helmet with enough force to rattle her brain.

Keith let out a stream of curses as his bayard immediately went back into neutral mode. "Why didn't you block?"

"I—" Why hadn't she blocked? That was an easy attack, one that she should've defended against just because it was second nature.

Startled, she froze as her dad pulled her helmet off, staring down at her. "What did I just say about being careful?" he demanded, and she noticed the fear in his grey eyes. She had scared him. "Where's your head this morning?" He tilted her chin up so she was looking at him instead of staring past him, trying to focus. "Emi?" His eyes narrowed before he gently touched her cheek, right under her eye. "You look really tired, sweetheart, are you feeling all right?"

Emi shook her head and pulled her head away, looking around for her naginata. She hadn't been shocked into dropping it in years. This morning was officially terrible. "Just sleepy. I don't…m'okay." There it was. Found it. She leaned over to pick up her weapon and the world tilted.

Emi swayed, a wave of exhaustion crashing over her. She sat down on the floor before she could fall, hands braced against the slightly cushy mat of the sparring circle.

Immediately her dad and Keith were beside her, Keith hovering while her dad put his hands on her shoulders. They were talking to her, but it was like their voices were muffled. Or maybe she was just processing everything slower?

She blinked and looked at her dad as he pressed his fingers against her wrist, talking at her even though she wasn't catching anything he said. Her eyelids felt like they had been carved from marble, and it was increasingly impossible to keep them open.

Keith moved away, maybe to go get someone? She thought she had heard her dad say her mom's name but she wasn't sure.

The sparring circle floor gave a little as she leaned on one arm, her head falling forward. It was too tempting, that small amount of softness, and she started to slide to the floor, wanting to sleep. Her dad scooped her into his arms and stood up, heading for the door at a run. She could hear his heart pounding as she leaned her head against his chest.

Emi fell asleep to the rapid sound, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. Just a power nap, then she'd be fine…