It took Ceony about five minutes to figure out that she had been rereading the same section over and over again. Although she was normally diligent and able to be quite studious, tonight just wasn't her night.

Her late night studying began after the whole Grath incident. She knew that there were no more Excisioners in the world that were particularly dangerous that could get to her, but she felt such an uneasiness that had her up late, reading from her textbook in hopes she could just study the fears away and prevent any nightmares. It helped, for the first bit, but then it grew to become a habit that wasn't necessarily healthy. She still managed to scrounge up about a bit of sleep without any nightmares, but it wasn't her recommended eight. She yawned, doing her best to reprocess the information, but to no avail. She reread the section again, forcing her eyes open when the soft clearing of a throat got her attention. She turned around and found Emery, leaning against the doorframe. The man she had kissed that day at the train station- they still hadn't talked about it, but Ceony didn't have the guts to speak to him in regards to it. Emery seemed to have kept it behind his deep green eyes of hidden secrets.

"How long are you going to continue doing this, Ceony?" His light baritone voice automatically calmed the dear apprentice, who sighed in contempt.

"I don't know." She paused, before finally adding, "I'm not tired."

"Ceony." Emery looked to her knowingly, raising an eyebrow. "You are tired."

"I am not." She claimed, turning back to her textbook. Emery got out of his position and went behind her, placing a hand on the table to balance himself. Ceony looked up to Emery, her eye bags clearly obvious from her position. She smiled softly to him, "I'm really not tired."

"I've been watching you since you started reading. You haven't turned the page so far." Emery pointed out.

"I'm a slow reader." Emery chuckled in response to that. Emery could see past the rubbish and she knew that very well. She didn't even know why she was trying.

"You know you aren't. You're fast in memory, reading, and other things." He looked towards the book, then snatched it from her grasp.

"Emery!" She said, trying to grab for the book, but he was faster, as well as much more rested.

"What were you just reading?" He quizzed curiously, glancing towards the page before staring back at her. She thought for a moment, but her mind couldn't process anything.

"The different type of chains that could be created and how to make them quickly in case of an emergency?" She made a feasible guess and Emery chuckled softly, closing the book and placing it on the other side of the table.

"Nice, but not quite. That's the section before the one you were reading." Emery said, before placing a hand on top of Ceony's pale one. She felt her cheeks grow red. "You need to get sleep. This isn't healthy for you, nor practical. I can hear you go to bed later than necessary and your magician's test..."

"It's in two years."

"True, but it's never too late to concern yourself with it." He responded with a shy grin, then looked at her seriously, "Ceony, you can study in the morning. You need to sleep. An apprentice can't continue with hours like these, along with personal studies during the day. You won't have enough energy in the morning, I assure you." Ceony grabbed onto the book he had placed away from her and opened the page she was on, attempting once more. She gave him a short glare, as what she described was actually what she was reading and he was throwing her off. Emery shook his head at the stubbornness of his apprentice.

"If only time was a magic field, I could study as long as I wanted. I wouldn't even need sleep." Ceony muttered, scanning the sentences over and over again. 'Chains are the quickest and an essential if one were to fight using paper. Although paper isn't the most durable material, it is the easiest to craft on-the-go. The first step consists of...' Emery chuckled softly in response, looking out to the dimly lit hallway.

"With that power, there would be many who would abuse it." Emery commented, "I'd love it as a field so I could..." He stopped mid-sentence as he heard a soft thunk beside him. He peered towards his apprentice, who had fallen asleep on the book, passing out from the lack of sleep. She looked like a real sleeping beauty to the man, with her mouth slightly agape and her face embodying the idea of peacefulness. "...I could look at you longer." He breathed softly, just for himself to hear. He stood up straight and moved the chair, lifting the young apprentice up from her uncomfortable position and carried her carefully.

His apprentice was quite light in weight and from their short distance, he could smell the fragrance of her soap, something he never seemed to get tired of. She instinctively brought herself to his chest a bit, as though she desired to be close to his body heat. He must be burning from keeping his flustered feelings on the inside. Fennel came closer, jumping up and down as he saw his two owners together. Emery winked towards the paper creation and motioned for it to be quiet. The paper dog complied, leading the way as Emery carried Ceony up the stairs until he reached her room.

He slowly opened it with his foot and placed the sleep-deprived Ceony on the bed, as Fennel took a place on a chair. He did his best to make her comfortable and tucked a stray strand behind her ear, then his hand just brought itself to her cheek, with his thumb stroking the delicate skin softly. She was so many things to him, just in the span of a short few months. Although he had his desire to have her as his, he would never so he could remain her mentor. He couldn't imagine watching her getting transferred away; it would be a nightmare of great proportions.

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, with a short whisper of, "Goodnight," He hesitantly withdrew his hand and walked off, hoping that he could survive two years of keeping his feelings locked.