teBlue wisps clutch and grasp at the edges of my vision, flickering around the steel orb that floats in front of me, my eyes squinting as the rush courses through me. It still feels uncomfortable, and I know it's unnatural, but continued use breeds familiarity with it. My throat siezes for a moment as my control wavers, the pressure on my skull intensifying while I redouble my efforts to keep the fucking thing in the air.

A sudden stab of pain lances through my arm, a shrill yelp tearing through my throat as the fragile connection shatters into wisps in the air, the metal hitting the dirt with a resounding thud, sinking into the earth beneath.

"Was that really necessary?" I growl aloud as I rub at the pinching pain, my lips morphing into a frown as she giggles.

"Nope, though it was pretty funny~" A faint blue hue encompases the knife as it twists and turns beside her head before disappearing into her pack, her hands preoccupied by scrawling into a book, the inkwell floating next to that. "Besides, if a little stabbing like that messes with ya enough to break a levitation spell, the you really need help with the more 'hands on' experience with it."

'A little stabbing, she says.'

"Well, ain't I such a lucky bastard?"

"You sure are, fuzzy~" I grumble under my breath as she giggles once more, rolling my shoulder to lessen the stiffness that resides in it. The heavy stench of ink and wild grass permeates the air, seemingly endless swathes of trees surround us while the pale light of the moon shines down. It's a rather peaceful sounding night, truth be told.

'It'd be more peaceful without this chick, alas, here we are. She's got a point though, take a look at her and then yourself.'

Part of me thinks that she's mocking me with it, or maybe she's showing off the fact that it's possible to begin with. She doesn't look in the least bit worn out by anything, that inkwell hovers beside her in a steady blue grip, even as she writes away, humming to herself occasionally as she levitates that quill, a finger presses to her chin.

She's doing it like it's second nature. I can do that, given enough time.

'Oh boy, here we go again.'

Blue wisps slide up and down my arms as that pressure reignites within my chest, reaching out to the metal orb. It remains still for a moment before trembling, locks of blue encompassing the thing before being raised to eye level. A cold feeling clutches and claws at my chest, though I bury the feeling as best I can, my lips pursed together as I feel the sweat head on my forehead. Needless distractions and nothing more, just keep focusing on the fucking metal ball Zeke. The crystal in my hand seems to sharpen within my grasp, I can feel it digging through my gloves, into my skin

'...why do you feel such an urge to continue this, anyways? You know full well that this is gonna turn us into a vegetable in the end, and I've already given up trying to convince you to stop this shit, but why are you doing this? Is it because it's 'cool' to you or some shit?'

Magic is a tool to be used to help and harm, if I don't practise it now, then when? If such a powerful thing is allowed in this world, then I'm only fucking myself in the ass for neglecting the opportunity.

'To help, huh? Even if your only use of it was to blow some poor keidrans head to bits?'

Control slips for a moment, my eyes widening as that revolting image comes to the forefront of my mind, the metal ball dips closer to the earth before I catch it once more. Thats a fuck up, that was my mistake, even if they were shit keidran, they didn't deserve to go out like that. Besides, I helped Edward that one time, right? I scared the people who jumped him off, even if it's gonna bite me in the ass later, in that moment, I helped Edward without harming anyone, so it's possible dammit.

'Tsk, stubborn bastard.'

Heh, don't you know it. My lips curl up into a smile, though it's a struggle to do even that, I can feel the remains of the residual guilt weigh on my shoulders as the ice wraps around my throat, black and blue obscuring my vision on the orb.

I-I held it for pretty long there, didn't I? Better than last time if nothing else, and if I can control that, if I can control myself, then I can try to circumvent more needless deaths, right? I can do it, I know I can, just give me time.

'For fucks sake, I can't believe I'm doing this.'

The whispering in my mind rises above my thoughts, ghostly blue hands pressing atop of mine as the darkness recedes from my vision. I blink away the blurry remains of it as I stumble away from it, the metal orb following suit.

I blink again, tilting my head as I wave my hand, the metal orb copying my movements, a spectral blue limb trailing after me. The freezing grip rests in the pit of my stomach, I can feel it stir within it, though it doesn't reach beyond that.

'A thank you would be nice enough, by the way.'

His voice sounds far more restrained than before, as if speaking to another while distracted. Adrian, did you do this? What the fu-

"Ahah, knew you could do it!" Lucy's voice brings me out of my thoughts, the hyperactive little mage bouncing in front of me, a bright big grin on her face. I feel an awkward smile on my face as I shuffle away from her. She doesn't seem to notice the residual blue… shit either, is that a magic thing, or is that just me?

"Knew I could do what exactly? You didn't really explain shit to me, you tossed a ball at me and told me to hold it as long as I could." She rolls her eyes and scoffs, equipment hovering down to lay on the grass beneath as she clasps her hands behind her back.

"You broke through whatever limit you had, just that little bit, got a little bit more dicy than I thought it would, but it worked out in the end right? I coulda gave you all the theory on what to do n stuff, but I think you woulda fell asleep before we did anythin." She takes on a rather formal sounding tone as she explains, though she dissolves into childish giggling as I roll my eyes. "Ya know I'm not wrong, Fuzzy~"

She isn't, but I'm not gonna admit that. I roll the ball around myself with a hand. I look at her out of the corner of my eye, the girl already nose deep into her book once more, scribbling and humming away. Gives me time to talk to the ghost at least.

Adrian, are you there? Are you okay?

'Mn, I'm fine, this takes a bit of focus is all, and drawing mana from the crystal feels fucking weird. But yes, I am very reluctantly helping you with this shit, don't expect it often.'

I didn't expect it at all, you didn't seem very happy with the idea last time I suggested it.

'I'm still not by the way, I fucking hate the idea.'

Then why? You didn't have to do this, not for me.

'I wasn't exactly happy with the thought of a literal dirt nap wasn't appealing, neither was you coming in here all mopey and shit.'

...thanks Adrian, honest. I didn't want to ask for help or anything because I know you hate the whole magic business.

'Don't mention it, ever please, don't rely on me to bail you out of your fuck ups too much either.'

Heh, I won't, I promise you that. How does this work anyways? You being able to feed into it to, ya know…

'Make it work for more than 10 seconds at a time? Fuck if I know for sure, might have something to do with me being born of magic, even if you control the rest of the body, I'd still have my fingers dipped into that at least. Only having half of yourself willing to use magic when it requires actual effort might put actual strain on your body.'

I guess that kind of makes sense? Two halves of a whole, and half assing something would make the end result a lower quality than it ought to be.

'Fuck if I know, it's magic, it's not like I know much of it, and you haven't exactly read much about it.'

You must be kind of pissed, huh? Made of something that you hate the thought of while being able to control it?

'Fuck you, I am mad, now put this shit away before I drop it on your toes or something.'

Testy testy. I give the metal orb a final experimental roll before looking over to the mage, holding it in front of her.

"I think I'm done for the night, thank you for the help though, but it is getting kind of late." She seems a little bit huffy at that, though it doesn't seem too genuine, shivering as her hold of magic presses against mine and tears the ball away, dropping it into her bag. That felt fucking weird, eaugh.

'Tell me about it, I feel mildly violated, like a shard of glass prodding my skin.'

You don't have skin.

'Same difference.'

"Awh, phooey. I guess ya made some progress at least, good going Fuzz." I roll my eyes as she snickers, swiping away the hand she raises to my face, the girl huffing once more in disappointment, lips curled into a faux pout. "Now that I know you do have some semblance of control, do you think that you could manage that some time in the future too?"

'Not a fucking chance, and you can blow it out your ass if you wanna try it.'

I didn't even need to ask you to know that answer, Adrian. I won't force you to do anything you don't wanna do anyways.

"I wouldn't rely on it, but it's nice to know that it ain't impossible, right?" I respond with a shake of my head and shrug, lips curling into a lopsided smile. She huffs out loud again, rolling her eyes.

"Shoulda figured somethin like that, you're a strange little subject, Fuzz."

"Subject?"

"I said student, I dunno what you're on about, don't worry bout it too much Fuzzy~." Her sing song voice sounds like it's full of shit, especially with the dainty smile on her face, though I don't expect anything less. She turns her gaze to the book in her hands, scribbling away once more.

'I'm surprised she can write anything with that quill, shit looks like a pain in the ass to use.'

The only person that seems to understand the awkwardness of using a fucking feather to write is myself, dunno why I figured otherwise.

"Written anything interesting down, Lucy?" For some reason, she seems to take honest offence to that, her book closing shut with a resounding thud, a hand raised to her breast, her mouth agape.

"Zeke! I'll have you know that anything I write down is interesting within itself, it's important information!"

"Let me rephrase that then, interesting to me specifically, you're a nerd that likes theory and note taking."

"And you're a brute that'd prefer my pages to explode, you'd probably find that funny."

"Yes, explosions are fun and practical, I don't see the issue here." She huffs and whacks my arm with a hand, her face scrunched up in mock distaste.

"Hff! Ya got no respect for the magical arts." I hold my hands up in surrender, the grin that still stains my face doesn't exactly help the situation, her eyes squinting as she glares, her sight burning into my face.

"Hey, I never said that, I'm just not very interested in it. Jokes aside, is there anything odd you might've noticed?" She hums and continues to examine my face, a hand cupping her chin as she squints, a glint in her eyes..

"Odd, Fuzzy? Whatcha mean by that?"

"..well, yeah, I dunno if any of this is meant to be normal, ya know? Was there anything out of the ordinary compared to what you're used to seeing?" I chuckle awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck as I try to keep eye contact. Did she not see the weird blue… afterimages? I guess that's a good enough word for them.

"Visually? Nupe! I didn't see anythin I ain't seen before. Although, seeing how you react to using magic over a prolonged period of time did give me some more ideas." Seeing her lips curl into a dainty little smile doesn't fill me with confidence, neither does her answer. I guess it's just visible to me, then?

'Are you really surprised? Wouldn't be the first time you've imagined something in your mind, that only you can see. It probably has something to do with me joining with you, even for a little bit.'

I guess that kind of makes sense. Fuck if I understand this.

"Other ideas, huh? It won't take long, will it?"

"Nupe! Don't worry your lil head Fuzzy, it'll be nice and quick. Can I look at your mana crystal for a sec?" I raise an eyebrow at the rather... odd request, would the mana crystal have something to do with this shit? I shrug and hold it out to her in an open palm, the mage gently picks it off of it, her squinting eyes peering into the thing as she holds it close to her face. For some reason the mere thought of a crystal being so close to someone's face is… unsettling.

'I guess it's rather sharp, but eaugh, you're making me paranoid, you stop that.'

"Hmm…" She trails off with a hum, twisting and turning the crystal, looking over it with an assumedly keen eye. I purse my lips together and cross my arms, my claws scratching into the ground as I look around, up to the moon. I dunno if she's doing this on purpose or not, but I really wish she'd hurry up, it's getting late.

"Okay, thank ya Fuzzy! I was just checkin how much magic it had left, this is a pretty nice crystal, too. Where'd ya say you got this again, Fuzzy~?" She pipes up with a smug little smile, looking over to me with squinting eyes as she continues to caress the thing. I raise an eyebrow, drumming my fingers against myself. I actually don't know what the differing qualities of mana crystals are, to be truthful, it's just a magic rock to me. And the look she's giving me… does she know something I don't? Trying to poke and prod for something?

"Gerome gave it to me as a gift, I dunno where he got it though, I never bothered to ask him bout it." Nor do I think I'd get an answer I'd like, either, who knows what he gets up to. I sure hope the bastard gets back to me sooner rather than later too. "I wasn't aware you could check how much mana is left in a crystal, too."

"Eeeeeh, kinda. I ain't the best at it, so I dunno how much is left exactly, but I tend ta get a good enough feelin from it." She replies, her face scrunching up while she wiggles a hand from side to side, back and forth. She seems oddly bashful about it, too, maybe her expertise in magic lies elsewhere?

"Why did you want to check it, anyways? Is there something wrong with it, is it running out already?" I'm not sure why I feel so concerned about it, it sounds like mana crystals aren't exactly that uncommon.

'Sentimental attachment, I'm guessing. You are that type of person, after all.'

I suppose. She scoffs and rolls her eyes, shaking her head and tapping the sides of the crystal.

"It's a perfectly good mana crystal is all, was just a lil curious bout how you got it. It's a little bit more drained than it should be, though, so ya should keep an eye out on that." She speaks in a low, warning tone, following it up with a wink before tossing it back to me. I hum aloud as I catch it with a hand, brushing my thumb over its smooth surface.

"I uh, assume that's a bad thing, right?" She stares at me instead of answering, her head tilting to the side as her face scrunches up once more, giving the mage a shrug in response. She sighs and rubs her face with a hand, then her temple.

"Yes, Fuzz, it's kind of bad. I'm assumin you're similar enough to a keidran, with how you use magic anyways." She answers after a moment, her lecturing voice clear while she stands up straight, a hardened look in her eye. Huh, I guess she takes magic a bit seriously then, I should've figured that.

"Alright alright, I was just joking around. Keidrans, they need mana crystals to use magic, right? What's the difference between humans and keidran using magic anyways?"

"Yup yup! They need it cause they don't have a magical 'core' inside them, they can't absorb mana, so they gotta use an external source. We humans can gather mana from anythin around us, magic runs preeeeeetty deep in the earth and all, it's basically everywhere. Humans gotta take a bit to recharge if they run out though, keidran can just kinda keep going. Can't keep doing that too much though, overusing magic leads to a pretty unfun thing called mana burn, and it's a lot faster for keidran than humans, that type o' stuff can really hurt ya good. It's why I think your body is more like a keidran than a humans, basitins aren't meant to absorb mana and all, and you burn out pretty quickly." I nod along as she speaks, my gaze glancing from her to the crystal in my grasp. Is that what that's called then? Mana burn?

'Certainly feels like we're being burned alive, at least we got words to pin to happens to us, goody fucking goody.'

...Something about that seems wrong, though. I hum to myself and continue to stare at the crystal, lightly squeezing my fingers around the sharper tips of it.

"I don't think that's right if I'm gonna be honest, Lucy." I speak up after a bit of silence. She blinks once before flashing her teeth with a wide grin, the book in her magical grasp almost tearing itself open as she brings it in front of her, flipping to the next page, the tip of her quill already pressing into the paper.

"Do tell, Zeke."

'Eaugh, I think that's the first time she's used your name and it feels disgustingly wrong, weird bitch.'

"The first time I used magic, it was without a mana crystal. It was back in Wreathwood, I dunno if you were there for it or not. I think it had something to do with being in that Templar Tower for so long, and getting zapped by magic." A cold shiver runs up my spine as the feeling resurfaces, the lingering embers of that fucking awful burning sensation.

'Tch, I wasn't even there for that, and I can still feel it in my non-existent bones.'

The mage nods along and hums aloud, scratching into her book once more. I sure hope she knows what she's writing, it's getting pretty dark, and a mistake wouldn't be too unsurprising. Fuck, it's so dark, it's so late, god dammit.

'Then tell her to fuck off so we can go back to Annas, I want that fucking bed back, even if it has the kid in it.'

But that'd be rude, Adrian.

'I loathe you.'

"Interesting interesting, I had a hunch that there was something off about it, although previously noted evidence suggested one thing over another. It does prove that the way you obtain mana is more 'human' than I thought, could the same thing be replicated elsewhere? What other areas could do the same thing and have so much mana flowing about, a dragon's lair maybe? Would such an abundance of lingering magic do something, is this the same for other basitin too? Maybe it'd just be more accurate to just call it human, this requires a lot more testing and thought than I expected..." I can see her purse her lips through the flare of magic light, her eyes squinting as she mumbles underneath her breath, mixing together into an indecipherable mess. She's uh, really getting into this, huh? I've never seen her look so driven, her normally more childish demeanor washed away as she drags the quill against the paper with a flourish. More human than expected, huh? I guess there's that at least. Maybe it has something to with our… unique condition?

'Maybe, maybe not, it could just be some death fuckery that's specific to us, who knows. I'm not exactly excited to keep at this shit, but you do you. Shit, what would she do if she knew that we technically died? She'd never let us go.'

Mn, I feel like I should tell her sooner or later, but I don't know if now is a good time. Problem for future Zeke, I guess. I shrug and shove my hands into my pockets, rolling the mana crystal between my fingers. It still thrums with its remaining strength, though it seems a bit more dimmer than before, now that I actually pay attention to it, here's hoping there's still a bit more life left in this thing. She did call the way I used magic unrefined or something, right? Maybe that'd drain the magic inside it more than normal? The light in her eyes shifts as she stands upright once more, looking to me with a pout on her face.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before, you dumb fuzzy bastard! This coulda saved so much time! I'd smack you around with this book, but the ink ain't dry yet, and value my notes." She speaks up with a heated huff, furrowing her brow as she steps closer to me. I uh… I don't know, actually, I think it might've just slipped my mind?

"Whoops?" I half apologise as I shrug, holding my hands up in mock surrender. Her stare turns into dangerous slits, her pout becoming a pronounced frown. Silence takes reign of the conversation for a few moments, the hooting of owls from the woods the only respite for it, the mage finally letting out a heated sigh as she rubs her temples.

"Okay, as much as I wanna zap you for being a dumbass, I'd rather keep you more alive than not." She finally says with another heated huff, the pulsing of her magic flowing over her book. I think that might be the first time she's actually come close to a swear.

'Who'd have thought that it'd be because you're an actual fucking idiot, that'd grind on even the more patient of people. '

"Eheh, sorry Lucy." I apologise to her, rubbing the back of my neck as I look down to her. Hey, this is technically helping her too, she ought to learn how to react to people. She sighs to herself, gently blowing on a page, I assume that's to help with drying the ink.

"It's alright, I guess, this entire meeting between us has been rather useful in its own way. It's given me a lotta things to think bout, but I think it might be better to leave it here for now, I'm tired." She says with a feeling of finality, her mouth opening wide as she yawns. My ears twitch a little as Adrian cheers within my skull, though a drowsy feeling stirs in my chest. I did wanna leave a bit ago, but here we are.

"Do you want some company going back to the inn, just in case something happens?" She lets out a little giggle, looking up to me with a smug grin.

"Awh, you're adorable Fuzz, but I'll be just alright, thanks for askin anyways~" A blue glow encompasses her and her belongings, book slamming shut with a resounding thud as the inkwells plugged up by a cork, the lot of it shoved into her back as she holds it close to her chest. I hold a hand to my face, shielding my eyes from the blue light that fills the clearing, I can faintly make out the waving of her hand. "See ya!"

The blue light shines ever brighter, squeezing my eyes shut as the rushing of wind brushes against me. The light dies down quickly, the rushing wind disappearing alongside it, my eyelids flickering open to gaze at the now empty spot. Only moonlight shines down in the clearing now, a small patch of grass flattened around the place where Lucy once stood.

Holy shit, she can fucking teleport? That's fucking cool.

'Of course you'd focus on that, can we get going now? We got places to be.'

I brush the feeling of surprise off with the shake of my head, sighing to myself as I begin the trek back. At least this night's rather peaceful, though I miss the hooting already, the light show must've scared them off.

...I didn't tease Edward about Lucy, fuck! I knew I forgot something.

'God, you're hopeless, hurry it up dammit.'

…..

The door clicks shut behind me, my claws softly tapping against the wood as I creep through the house, the moonlight that floods it being the only natural light that illuminates the room. I hiss aloud as a sharp pain bolts through my hip, the sound of wood grinding against wood shattering the silence with its screeching.

'Good going, dumbass, wanna wake up the rest of the house?'

Fuck! Why is everything so fucking loud at night? I purse my lips together and remain still for a few moments, my ears twitching as my muscles tense. There's no other disturbance, no other noise, just the hushed sound of my breaths. I let a soft sigh after a while, nothing else seems to be stirring in this house other than myself, and nothing else jumps from the shadows to jab me as I reach my door. My hands grips the knob, squeezing it for a moment as I twist my neck, looking further down the hall.

I don't know why, but I'm… oddly worried about Anna, maybe it's not warranted, but I think I should check on her, just in case.

'She's a grown woman, she can handle herself, let's get our ass into bed already.'

I hum and purse my lips together, my eyes shifting from side to side, from my door to hers..

'Come on, she'll be fine, stop worrying.'

I let go of the knob, my claws tapping against the wooden floor once more as I walk down the hall, towards her room.

'God fucking dammit.'

"Hey, Anna, are you still awake?" I hiss out loud as I rap my knuckles against the door, pressing my ears up against it. No answer, is she sleeping?

'You know that it's late, right? She probably is sleeping, which is something we should be doing too.'

...Maybe I should take a peek.

'Ah don't worry bout me then, it's not like I'm here or anything, go fucking hogwild.'

I knew you'd be down for it.

'What the fuck-'

I tune out his angered ramblings as I softly shove the door open, unceremoniously shoving my head inside to take a peek. The soft light of an open flame from a candlestick illuminates the room, the woman's back turned to me, slumped over in her chair, her back rising and falling with soft breaths.

I push my way into the room and look around, it's not a very spacious room, a singular bookshelf lined against the wall to my right, her desk placed within a few paces to it. Her plain and unmade bed's off into the corner of the room.

'Forcing your way into a room with a sleeping woman isn't creepy in the slightest, by the way.'

I brush Adrians words off as I creep over to the woman, standing beside and looking down to her. She doesn't seem to react to me as I approach, as if in a deep sleep, her hair frizzled and face smudged with ink, pressed against an inky sheet. Dull crystalline shards are lined against the wall, occasionally sparking up with a purple light. I purse my lips together, my fingers twitching as the urge to reach out to them rises in my chest, but I smother the impulse.

If she's working herself to the depths of sleep to do… whatever the fuck she's doing, then I wouldn't wanna fuck it up. Especially if it has something to with magic, and mana crystals.

'So, what's the plan now?'

I thought it'd be rather obvious, a desk isn't exactly a comfortable place to sleep, is it? I grip the edges of her chair and gently pull her out, wincing slightly at the disturbance, though she doesn't seem to notice. Far too off in the realm of sleep, then. I slip an arm behind her back as I kneel beside her, pursing my lips together as I loop my arm underneath her legs, gently bringing her up. She's oddly light, thankfully, so she's easy to lift up. Carrying a sleeping person bridal style probably isn't the best way, but I dunno what else I could do. She mumbles underneath her breath as I carry her to her bed, softly placing her down. She shuffles around before turning still, breathing softly once more. I pull the sheets up to her neck and turn back to the desk, smothering the dwindling flame with a pinch of my fingers before hastily making my way out of the room.

I let out a sigh as the door shuts behind me, rubbing my eyes before returning back to my room. There's nothing else to do for now, other than to get back to Mabel. Shit, I'm really fucking tired now, did I just not notice my own fatigue?

'How do you think I feel, I'm tired as fuck, that's why I want some sleep. What was the purpose of carrying the old lady to bed anyways? Chances are that she's used to that, you know.'

It's the thought that counts, and sometimes, that's all you need. If she doesn't wanna ask me for help with whatever she's doing, then I won't pry, I'll just help in other, smaller ways. I slowly open the door to my room and sneak inside, tearing off my gloves and toss them onto the chest, my cloak following suit. A yawn forces its way out of my throat as I crawl into the bed, the sheets are a welcoming warmth that surrounds me, as is the mound of fur that pushes itself into my chest. That's not how people act when they're sleepi-

Ah, I see. Now I just feel bad.

"Were you waiting long, kid?" I ask her in a hushed tone, lips curling into a sad smile as I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close. She doesn't respond verbally, and I can feel her purring before I can hear it, her eyes squinting ever so slightly as she sniffles.

"It's okay, you're okay, I'm here." I whisper once more to her, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. She stiffens for a moment before letting out a shuddering sigh, hands tightening around the cloth of my shirt with a whimper. My hand shifts from her back to her head, gently massaging an ear. "I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

She whimpers again before nodding, her head pressing up against my chest. Her breathing slows, and her whimpers fade, her body slowly becoming more lax by the moment.

You were right, I probably should've fucked off here a bit quicker.

'Can't believe it took the kid to show you that, but I'll take it.'

...get some sleep Adrian, I'll see you soon.

'That's the plan, and damn straight you will. I know you're planning on something, care to share?'

It's nothing really, I'm just gonna stay up for a little bit, if you don't mind. You already know why, don't you?

'Much to my displeasure. I'll see you sooner or later, then.'

I feel the spectre recede in my mind, a shiver running down my spine, pressing my forehead against the girls. I can't protect her from nightmares, that's not exactly an issue I can punch down until it fixes itself, but I'll do my best to keep her happy when she's awake.

I'll keep my fucking promise.

….

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty, get up." His voice rackets in my drowsy mind, bringing me back from the depths of sleep, a shiver running up my spine from the chill in my chest. I blindly wave at the irksome source with a hand, the palm of the other rubbing at my eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I'm up." I mumble as I shove myself into a seating position, wiping away the sleep that rests int he corner of my eyes. My eyelids flicker open as I stifle a yawn, trying to ignore the warmth that beckons me, turning my sight upwards.

"Took you long enough." Adrian says with a huff, his arms crossed, a lopsided frown on his face.

"Hah, were you already missing me?"

"I wish there was time to start missing you." My lips curl into a smile as I stretch my limps, shifting around to the side of my bed, the carpet feels oddly soft on my feet, is that a new thing? Pfeh, welcome back to the dream room I guess, the desk and wardrobe in their respective corners, the inanimate bookshelf seems to match my stare with it's own. I hum to myself as I look around the room, a niggling sensation in my brain, there's something different about this room, I just can't put my finger on it. maybe I'm just getting used to it, maybe it feels just that little bit less alien with Adrian around. It's less lonely, more homely. Would there be a way to spruce up this place, I wonder, would it even stick? Maybe there could be some magic tomfuckery involved...

"Hello? Anyone in there?" His voice yanks me from my thoughts, the ghost peering down from above, shaking my head to clear it.

"Yeah, I'm here, just thinking about some things."

"One of your more dangerous past times." I roll my eyes as he snickers running my hands through my hair. His face softens for a moment before he floats in front of me, lazing on his back as if on a hammock. "C'mon, I don't need to be in your head to know something's on your mind."

"Rather kind of you to ask, don't you think?"

"I'm feeling generous today, who better to spill your guts to than yourself?" He responds with a proud tone, his head tilting backwards ever so slightly. I can't help but feel… kind of guilty, it rests on my shoulders like a brick. I sigh and run my hand though my hair again, gripping the back of my neck.

"Would you be upset if I was, you know, hiding some things from you?" He raises an eyebrow at the question, fingers tapping against himself.

"How you'd manage to do that is the better question, something to do with that deeper dive into your head?" I nod in response, the spectre humming to himself as he looks to the ceiling. I wring my hands together, claws digging in and scratching at the carpet below. He's silent for a while, the sound of silence ringing in my head before he shrugs. "Fuck if I know, I guess I'd be annoyed for a bit, but I'm more curious bout what's going on in your head than anything."

"That's… oddly lax, and not what I really expected." He nonchalantly shrugs again.

"Is it gonna fuck us in the ass in the end?"

"I don't think so, no."

"Is it fucking us right now?"

"It's actually going pretty good at the moment."

"So it's an overall good thing, correct? Something that'd help us?"

"Yeah?"

"Then I don't really care that much, if it's beneficial for the both of us, then I don't feel the need to knock it around. It ain't exactly practical to get pissy if it's helping us." He finally answers at long last, his face still keeping that soft tone. I purse my lips together, rolling his words over in my mind.

"Heh, she did say you'd be rather pragmatic about it." His eyebrow raises once again, lips curling upwards.

"She, hm? Of course you'd be seeing a chick in your head." He cackles aloud at the jabbing, my friendly swing at him falling just short as he floats out of reach. I can't help but smile, though, the weight on my shoulders lifting, just a little bit. "Why'd you think I'd get angry at it anyways? I'm more angry when you're acting like a dumbass over anything."

"Because it's changing you." I answer simply, curtly, my lips pressing against one another as that guilt resurges once more. The ghost tilts his head, his face scrunching up along with it.

"Changing me? You know I'm a reflection of yourself, right? Two sides of a coin, can't have one without the other, that type of shitty deal. I know we've changed how we've acted to each other, but that's because you're changing, too. Did you not notice that? You used to be even more of a dumbass, if you can believe that." Even if he's half insulting me with his answer, it still feels nice, uplifting. I feel a lopsided smile push its way on my face as I sigh, rubbing my palm into my face. "Seriously, that's what you've been worried about?"

"Yeah, more or less."

"Jesus fuck you're stupid, and sadly I'm stuck with your stupid, so here we are." The pressure on my chest and shoulders lightens once more, much to my immediate pleasure, both edges of my lips curling up into a smile.

"Thanks for that, Adrian."

"And I'm obligated to say 'any time', sadly." There's a small smile on his face as I chuckle, letting out another tense feeling sigh. Great, that's, that's actually all really good, much better than I expected. I should keep him up to date with anything that happens, honestly, maybe he'd be able to help too. "Is that everything, waste of skin?"

"I actually got one more question to ask, my favourite little parasite, if you care to listen to it." The little exchange has the ghost roll his eyes, though I can still see the smile on his face. It's funny how casually we say that to one another, though I'm not gonna knock it.

"Tch, alright, ask away." He responds with a scoff, arms still crossed.

"I know you don't really like it, but what do you think about the whole magic situation with us, I don't think I've actually asked you that. You know, with how we use magic specifically." I ask him, the ghost humming aloud.

"I think it's kind of a shit deal, honestly, the entire thing is." He responds with a shrug, much to my surprise.

"Why do you think that?"

"We're weak to magic despite the fact that we're meant to be resistant to it, we're stuck in this weird mix of human and keidran magic bullshit where we have a 'core' that feels the magic we use, but the only way we'd actually absorb enough mana to use without a crystal is to be stuck in a fucking Templar Tower, and that'd probably put us on our ass for a while because of it, so we're basically stuck using those crystals. We burn mana quick enough to give us a fantastic dose of mana burn, and that fucking hurts, and to top it all off, this is probably gonna break our mind in the end. Not entirely sure at that last one, your mind's already a fucky mess so maybe it'd equal itself out, but who knows." I shrink a little as he rants, his hands twisting and shifting in an almost animated manner, pursing my lips together. He finishes with a sigh before relaxing in the air, an awkward silence between the two of us.

"...sorry for asking I guess?" He snorts and waves a hand, almost dismissively.

"Don't be, you had an inkling bout it all, I just brought it to the forefront is all. You plan on using that magic to get us out of shit rather than into more, right?"

"That's the plan."

"You're shit at making plans, but I'll take what I can get, you fucking stubborn bastard." He finishes with a scoff, though it feels like a half hearted one at best. The atmosphere feels a lot lighter now because of that, a smile pushing its way on my face as I laugh, a soft one.

"Thanks, Adrian, I mean it, it's good to hear your opinion on things. Even if you're a bit shithead at times."

"And you're a dumbass, so let's hope that it evens itself out. Again, you're the one that's in charge of the body, I'm just a bit of you that's brought to life, fucking magic." He speaks the word magic with venom, his face scrunching up in distaste. I can't help but laugh a little at it. It's nice to speak to each other face to face, kind of anyways. It's better than mentally screaming at each other, it's less personal like that. He jerks his head backwards, shoving a thumb towards the looming bookshelf. "Do you wanna get in on that yet, or do you wanna keep chatting?"

I remain silent for a moment, my vision shifting from him and the book shelf, hands on either side of me. I grip the soft sheets for a moment before pushing myself off of it, the bed creaking with the movement.

"Let's get it done, here's hoping that we learn something important for once."

Authors note: We're back in on this shit, hope you all had a great christmas and everything, or holidays if you don't celebrate it. The schedule should be more or less the same as before, every Wednesday-Thursday or something, that's my time of course.

We're coming up on the anniversary for this fanfic in two months, too, I plan on doing something for that too, never thought I'd actually get to that point when writing anything, but here we are.

Also, I only just noticed that I dropped the apostrophes for Adrian speaking in Zekes head, I don't know when I started to do that, but I'll get it fixed eventually.

I sure hope this chapter's okay, I feel a little bit rusty, so here's hoping. Until next time.