A Hidden Heart

13 - Solemnity

Nighty had rescued me from the bad people about a week ago, and a lot of things had changed since then. One thing that had changed was Robin's condition; he couldn't get out of bed anymore. I was really worried about him, but he kept insisting that he was fine, even if he wasn't; I knew he wasn't. He shouldn't have been sick for so long..there was something wrong, and nobody was telling me what it was! Another thing that had happened was the fact that Nighty had to teach me new things now. Since people knew that I was Nighty's brother, someone was probably going to try to kidnap me again, and to keep me safe, Nighty and the others were teaching me how to defend myself! In fact, they were teaching me right now! It was a bit difficult, though, since I wasn't very good with my magic; I hadn't exactly used attack magic in over five hundred years, and I was out of practice as a result. 

"Dream, I want you to imagine a weapon, all right?" Nightmare was trying to coach me, though.

"Okay!" I thought about a sword! That was a really cool weapon!

"Now, imagine it in your hands. Can you see it?"

I looked down at my hands, beofre tilting my skull in confusion. "No, can you?" 

"..No. All right, try closing your eyes."

"Okay!" I closed my eyesockets.

"Now, imagine the weapon in your hands, and..use it."

"All right!"

I imagined a sword in my hands, even though I knew that there was no sword in my hands, and I swung it around a little bit.

"Hm.." Nightmare seemed disappointed. "I thought that would work.."

"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked.

"Yes, Dream, you may."

"Okay!" I did so. 

"Can I try, Nightmare?" Cross requested. "I did have experience teaching children in my AU when I was still there."

"Go ahead." Nightmare nodded, stepping aside, and Cross knelt down beside me.

"All right, Dream." Cross began. "You see, attack magic is just the physical version of our thoughts; that means that, if you believe that something will appear, it will, providing you have enough magic to summon it."

"But why do I have to make it?" I wondered. "Can't I just use regular weapons?"

"Well, if a bad guy comes for you and you don't have a weapon with you, what are you going to do?"

"Kick his shins!" I replied; Nighty and the others had told me that kicking shins was a good self-defense move!

"And if he doesn't have shins?"

"..Um.." I thought about it. "Kick something else?"

"Dream, not everyone in the multiverse can be harmed with physical attacks. Nightmare, for example, is immune to them; that's why it doesn't hurt him when you bite his tentacles when you want blueberry jam."

I giggled at that, before thinking a bit. "Then why do I need magic? If I can't hurt anyone with regular attacks, then what would weapons do?"

"Well, physical weapons wouldn't do anything unless they were infused with magic, but magic weapons can hurt almost anyone, which is why you need to learn how to use them."

"Okay..what should I do?"

"Well, the first step would be to see what your magic has in store for you. While picking your own weapons is fun, it's a bit advanced for you at this stage; just try summoning something. Let your magic do what it wants to do."