Sjal dreamt that she was in a park walking in aimless circles. She was in a bored mood, waiting for something, anything to happen. She had been getting lazy with her training lately and she didn't feel like even touching a sword. So, she kept walking.
There was a flute player nearby who was annoyed by her presence. He gave her menacing glances and Sjal knew just from looking at him that he wanted her out of his line of sight. But she wasn't doing anything wrong by her book so she was going to stay there and walk. Her persistance must have got to him because he started shaking out of annoyance and he accidentally slipped up.
His flute produced a sharp, surprised sound. Having made a mistake, the flute player began swearing profusely until he ran out of breath. He turned to Sjal and made a string of musical notes then he seemed to turn into a beast. The horrible beast was over six feet tall with very impressive musculature structure. Too impressive. His lips rolled up in a bad grin, and from his throat came a sound that could have been taken for a sneer. Then hoarse and ill-articulated words came out of the monster's mouth.
"This will teach you to keep quiet little girl! And if you ever disturb my beautiful music again you'll really taste my wrath!"
There was no illusion about what he wanted from her. He wanted her to be scared. With a sudden surge of energy, it pulled out a large axe. Sjal thought for a moment that this might be the end, but then the man blew hard in his flute and everything turned back to normal. She felt like this was the strangest situation she'd ever dealt with. She wished she could have stood tall and thanked the flute player for his lesson but she was shaking and scared.
Sjal sat down next to a tree and tried to keep her shaking out of control. How had he made something like that look so real and terrifying? She was running the steps back in her head to try getting some tips. She hadn't even seen him perform magic. Did that mean that magic could be performed through other methods? All this thinking made Sjal's brain hurt. She was too naïve to think that the flute itself could have been the conduit for creating the illusion.
Sjal sat in deep thought under the shady tree and finally ended up grabbing her hair in frustration and getting up. Her shaking had stopped now and she was ready to find something else to do. Surely there would be someone out there that could go for some social interaction to take her mind off of what had just transpired.
The dream started to shift and now she was standing in front of a man she recognized as one of her previous employers. She was getting yelled at. Sjal looked up into those piercing eyes. Something about them told her that no matter how hard she tried to fool them she'd never succeed. They struck such a serious tone with her that her tears stopped and she was lost within them. She wondered what kind of things her boss must have seen to have such an unnerving gaze. Did she really want to know?
She was broken out of her trance when he put his hand on her head. All of a sudden, the spell was broken and her tears stopped flowing. It was a kind gesture and it reminded Sjal that no matter how powerful he was, he was still just as much a human as she was. She didn't know how he did it but he'd suddenly made her feel happy after feeling like the end was coming. Then, just as abruptly as it had started, the patting was over. How she wished he would have kept going for a little longer…
Sjal's dream shifted and she was sitting next to a young man. She felt sad for some reason, like she had been shouted at by someone and was now being consoled. She was glad to have a companion, even if he wasn't anyone she wanted to pursue. She didn't know quite what to talk about though, since she was usually spending time with older men. The boy introduced himself which was a good start. It was always easy when someone else took the lead in a conversation. It let Sjal relax and let her guard down. What did she have to worry about now that she had someone to keep her safe? She felt at peace in this environment and was glad she wasn't dreaming about something horrific.
She wanted to hold his arm, but again she had to force herself to behave. Why did this have to be so difficult for her? Just walk and keep your hands to yourself woman! She couldn't help but have these thoughts though, especially when he looked her over like that. She knew she looked good and she had dressed this way just to draw attention. She introduced herself with a smile. Then the boy complimented her and she got a feeling that he was trying to gain her favor. It was a good effort and Sjal respected it even if he was a tad too young.
"Thanks for being here for me," she said, "at least now I have you to keep those meanies away!" She couldn't help but pressing up against him to show her appreciation for just a moment as they walked back to the water. Sjal took a seat when they arrived. She would sit a couple feet away from the boy and watch him cast his line. She took a close look at every rippling muscle that flexed as he did the practiced movement.
Only discipline was enough to keep from acting against her best interests. "So tell me about yourself. What are your goals? I just wanted to help people when I started learning magic. I don't think I'll make much of myself..." she said after some time. She had laid down on the soft grass and all this peacefulness was enough for her to doze off to. That's exactly what she intended to do. The weather was too nice to not want to nap. Little did she know she'd never hear the boy's answer. Her mind started to wander and she started to sink into a white wonderland. She did her best to hold onto the dream, but she couldn't keep it. It left her mind and she returned to the real world.
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