Doctor Strange - This One Summer

Somnolence

Somnambulism

Hazel stood. She walked. She ghosted through the halls of Kamar-Taj, observing others who didn't spare her a second glance. It was light outside, as if it was midday, but Hazel didn't think she'd be floating about in the middle of the day. There was a void outside, that's all. That had to be it.

A speaker must've been on somewhere. She heard music-a familiar song distorted and muffled as they all were in the dream dimension. The sound ebbed and flowed like a recurring tide. It faded to silence when she turned a corner only to start up again when she passed an unlit alcove in the wall and so forth.

She didn't know how long she was walking, but an unsettling feeling crossed her eventually. She should wake up soon. She had class to attend.

"And you haven't heard from the other masters about the Zealots?"

The Ancient One shook her head, oddly optimistic given the circumstances. "Hazel's been in contact with a few spirits. They tell her that the Main Guest wasn't very pleased with how Kaecilius handled Hazel. It could've been a spiteful attack on his part."

Stephen heaved a sigh. Hazel's hunter seemed as petty and unpredictable as the girl sometimes.

"What else has Hazel heard?" he asked. "Do we have a name for the demon yet?"

"I'm sure we could ask her," the Ancient One twisted to look at the wall behind her. It was about time for Hazel to wake up anyway. However, the spot on the floor under the windowsill was empty save for an abandoned pillow and a blanket left in a careless heap. The Ancient One rose quickly. "Where is she?"

Not a moment later, Stephen and the Ancient One heard some kind of calamity coming from downstairs. Voices shouting, dishes breaking. The pair followed the sound to the kitchens, where Reiko stood warily by the counter, hands outstretched to placate the girl standing in the middle of the room. Hazel stared at Reiko in disoriented confusion, as if she wasn't consciously aware of the large kitchen knife she held.

"Just put it down," Reiko said for the hundredth time. "What are you doing?"

"Hazel!" Stephen lunged for the girl, but the Ancient One held him back by his arm.

"Don't!" the elder snapped. "You'll frighten her."

Stephen merely stood back and watched anxiously as the Ancient One slowly moved in front of Hazel and began walking towards her.

"I'm not mad," she said. "Just put the knife down. You're dreaming, Hazel."

"I know," Hazel said, her voice monotonous with fatigue. "I was just..."

She looked down at the knife in her hand and allowed the elder to take it when she got close enough. The Ancient One left the knife on the kitchen counter and wrapped an arm around Hazel to guide her.

"I'm taking Hazel to the healers," she told the other two. "I'll handle it from here, thank you."

Stephen was about to follow them, but the Ancient One gave him a hard look.

"I'll handle it," she insisted and took Hazel away before he had a chance to argue with her.

Once Hazel awoke in the healer's ward, the Ancient One wavered precariously between merely questioning Hazel and giving her the third degree.

"How am I supposed to know what happened?" Hazel shrugged. "I thought I was asleep. This happens sometimes."

"Do you hear yourself?" the Ancient One demanded, but she digressed a moment later. "How much have you been sleeping?"