I do not own magi or the characters. I do own my oc.

Chapter 5: Nightmares

—Sin's POV—

Two months…

It's been two months since Leila stopped those thieves. Two whole months since she told us who she is. Two months since I carried her nearly dead in here. I shiver at even the thought of how weak she looked. It keeps me up some nights, and (more times than not) makes me nervous when she's gone.

If she would have been even a few minutes later, she would have died. Even looking back, she shouldn't have made it, but survived.

I take a deep breath and count the small cracks on the ceiling. I should make some time to repair it, but there's so many things going on. I can't seem to sort through it all. There are so many things pulling me in different directions it's getting hard to keep them straight. There are always things that need done around the village, here at home, for Mom's health, at the port.

I turn onto my side to face a sleeping Leila as she lets out a soft noise. The space isn't large, so I'm only and arms length away. She's shaking a little bit as she tightly holds the blanket. Another nightmare, I realize as she bites her lip. She has them a lot, but I don't think she realizes it. She wakes up completely fine and only ever lets out a soft whimper during the night.

I reach over, brushing my finger gently against her lip. After a moment, she relaxes and releases her bottom lip. I can't help but smile at how responsive she is to my touch. For a long time, she seemed hesitant to let people near her physically. I can still remember how much it hurt to see her flinch when I reached for her. She finally feels safe here. And I like that we were able to do that for her.

With a slight groan I sit up. There's no point in me just laying here. I might as well find something to do. There are a few loose stone on the one wall of the house. That would be easy enough to fix now with the limited light from the moon. I stand up and grab another log for the fire, watching it burn a little brighter. I'm sure it will help those two sleep, both always being cold. I take the blanket I was using and lay it over Mom. Her illness is getting worse and I'm not really sure what to do to help her.

I shake my head, before tying my hair back. I can't let any of this get into my head. I will be here for the people I care about and I can't let myself get upset. It will work out. We just have to ride out these waves.

The moment I step outside, I relax as a small breeze moves across the village. The moon is still high in the sky with relative silence covering the homes. It's peaceful and that feels good. I go about my work silently, not really all that used to it. This might be a poor village, but it sure as hell is lively.

I let my mind wander through the exciting times around here as I work. This has never been a task that requires a lot of thought from me. Before I know it I'm done, my hands covered in dirt with nothing to clean them up on. I let out a sigh. Looks like I'm cleaning-

I stop as a rag lands on my lap. I turn towards the source meeting her smirk with a smile.

"Don't tell my you're trying to copy my sleeping schedule," teases Leila as I clean my hands off. I can't help but smile as she leans against the wall. "You're the one who complains about it most."

"Trust me," I joke back. "I don't ever want to go four nights without sleep. Unless…" I trail off and give her a suggestive look, watching her roll her eyes. I laugh happy she knew I was only joking.

"Creep," she scoffs, trying to suppress a laugh. I like that I can joke about that with her. Well…sort of joke about it. She is beautiful, but we just became friends. I don't intend on ruining that by flirting…too much. "Seriously, though. Why are you up?"

"Just couldn't sleep," I reply with a shrug. I watch her roll her eyes, before a doubtful look in her gray eyes watch me.

"What's really going on," she asks. I watch her pause only to get embarrassed. "This isn't really like you."

"Are you worried about me," I tease. I can only imagine that if it were light out I would see a faint blush on her cheeks. "That's so adorable."

"Jumping of that building," muses Leila. I narrow my eyes as a smirk forms on her lips, but I can't help but smile. "That is my biggest regret."

"You wound me," I tease back. She laughs a little, trying to stay quiet. "I just…have a lot on my mind," I say cleaning up my mess. "I don't know. It's like…"

"Like you want to tell the world to stop throwing more at you," says Leila quietly. "To slow down and let you catch your breath."

"Exactly," I say. To be honest, knowing someone gets this is a relief in and of itself. "Do you ever feel like that?"

"Sort of," she says looking up at the sky. "Can I do something to help?"

"You already do a lot," I assure going over next to her. "You shouldn't be doing more yet anyways. You aren't totally recovered. And you know that."

"I'm not saying I could do everything around the village, but I'm sure there are some things," she says looking down. "Or even some things to help your mom. Or…"

"I can handle it," I assure getting Leila to look at me again. "It's just…every once in a while it gets in my head. You have your own struggles right now. But thanks for coming to talk it out with me."

"Promise you'll talk to me when you feel like this then," she says shyly. I try to hold back a laugh, not wanting her to get offended.

"I will," I say as she nods before looking up at the stars. "What woke you up?"

"I don't know," she says moving to stretch. Part of me wants to tell her to be careful, but she won't listen. "I just woke up."

"Did you know that you have nightmares a lot," I ask. She pauses before turning towards me, a puzzled look in her face. "Maybe one woke you up."

"I don't remember having one," she says looking down, her brow furrowed. "I don't remember dreaming for a really long time."

"You were before I came to do this."

I smile at her, causing her to pause before apologizing.

"I was awake long before it started. You have them pretty often."

"Sorry," she mutters.

"Don't be," I say going to head inside. I toss my arm loosely over her shoulders, startling her a bit. "You didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to let you know if you needed to talk about it."

"Trust me I don't," she says with a laugh. I raise an eyebrow feeling guilty for telling her. Her eyes look sad, but a little amused as she smiles a bit. "You'd just use it as an excuse to flirt. Probably something about sleeping with me."

"I would not," I say knowing I probably would. I look up starting to think if I can think of any.

"See," giggles Leila. "You're trying so hard to come up with a pick up line now."

"Am not!"

"Bullshit!"