The Dreamfarer

19

Folco rolled over onto his side, propping himself up with his elbow. He looked at her with wide eyes, but the grin on his face quelled any nervousness she had over his reaction.

"I am very impressed, Mae," he said softly. She felt blood rush to her cheeks instantly at the sound of his voice, and she wished that she could stop herself from moving closer to him.

"I had a good teacher," she responded, her tone just as hushed. Now that her laughter had abated and they were so near each other, the tent was almost deadly silent. It was imposing, in a way. She might have imagined it, but she thought that Folco dipped his neck so that he was closer to her as well.

"I didn't teach you all of that. I didn't tell you to create a portal into his subconscious so that his fears could infiltrate his nightmare. That was more advanced than I expected you to be," he argued, and neither of them seemed to think it strange that their noses were almost touching. It was sort of normal, at this point, for each of them to be drawn together by their connection. Or at least, that was what Mae assumed, as it was what she felt every time she so much as laid eyes on him or heard him speak.

Mae smiled at him. "Thank you," she murmured. She still felt that without his tutelage, she would not have been able to accomplish what she had, but she was also aware that she had done all of that in the moment, without the slightest assistance from anyone else. She had unleashed devastation and chaos in someone else's dream. She had changed that dream into a horrific nightmare.

He did not respond for a moment; he just stared into her eyes, and she stared back. She wondered what he saw there, and could not deny that she was worried about the possibilities. She might have learned how to hide her thoughts, but she had yet to figure out how to conceal her emotions.

"Let's go see what damage you wrought, shall we?" he finally asked. His breath swept over her lips, and she felt her eyelids flutter closed as she got just a taste of him, as his nearness became more apparent to her than ever and she smelled him; he had a strong scent of boy, and outside, and something else, something flowery...

"Mae?"

Her eyes flew open and she saw Folco standing along her side of the bed, one hand outstretched. She was embarrassed that she hadn't even heard him get up and walk around to her, but she was not about to let that show. She laid her hand in his and allowed him to lead her out of the tent, and she was kind of surprised to see that the colors of dawn were already painting the sky as they headed towards the warlock camp. She felt rested, but she had been active the entire night. What strange sleep Dreamfarers experienced.

However, she set those thoughts aside for now, focusing instead on the visit they were about to make. After all, it was only right for them to check up on their friend's welfare.

                                     ☆★          ☆         ★     ☆ ★        ☆        ★        ☆       ★

"Sir!" 

The voice belonged to one of the male warlocks standing guard in front of Berteph's tent. It held a note of hysteria, and he rose both of his hands in front of him, as if to fend Folco back. Folco paused in his steps, and Mae followed suit right beside him.

"What is it?" asked Folco, and Mae was impressed at how innocent the question sounded.

"Don't go in there, Sir. The prisoner had some sort of attack while he was sleeping, Sir, and now he's gone mad!"

Mae knew that Folco was keeping excellent composure with seemingly no effort on his part, but she had to fight back the smile that threatened. This was my doing, she kept reminding herself, and she had to duck her head down, just in case the edges of her mouth did indeed curl upwards.