dreaming without sleep [Audie and Yáng]

[Cherry :3]

at least i'm here, at least i'm free

quilted with knit and umbrellas and a mild understanding of irony

It was different at night, she realized. There were the obvious things - the lack of students, the lights dim if on at all - and there were the more subtle - the overpowering silence which over-saturated the air, the feeling of loneliness that crept around corners - but most of all, she realized, she was different. The smile which clung to her during the day left her; her eyes crinkled in emotion, but her face was otherwise a mask. She often imagined that she had some expression of yearning or thought, but knew that they rarely showed themselves so visibly. Her clothes were darker, tighter, less; black shirt and pants, a dressing gown if the weather was cooler, but never did she decorate herself with ornaments as she did during the day. Her thoughts during the day were whimsical, airy - creative but mostly inane; at night, they were linear, calculating, emotionless.

She wondered if she should be disturbed over that, but decided against it. She didn't feel like summoning up the effort to change, if that was true. Audie sighed and slipped into the teacher's office. It was an adequate sized room, perhaps the size of a small classroom. It had several desk and computers, which she rarely used. She had her own computer, but rarely used it outside her bedroom. Older, thought not particularly ratty, couches were placed in the room, along with a small kitchen area, with a small fridge and other little items. Audie flicked the light on in the room, dimming it a second later; it was too surreal to have the room so brightly lit during the full-moon night. At the moment, the room was empty of anyone but her.

She took a mug from a cabinet, tilting it to check if it was dirty; she shrugged, deciding it didn't matter if it was or not. She certainly wasn't going to get ill if it was. Audie set a kettle on the stove, filled with water. She could have used the microwave, but she had time. She always had time.

Blue-tinted light shown in from the single window. She pulled the curtain back, tucking it out of the way. Outside, the grounds were bright, the moon casting a steady light over it all. She felt a sudden longing to go out; she could, it wasn't forbidden, and even if it was she hadn't let rules stop her before, but held back. It was to bizarre, even for her, to be wandering the grounds at the witching hour (and that phrase hadn't been applicable for several hundred years now), and there was nothing for her to out there. Besides staring at the moon, and she could do that here.

Audie poured the now boiling water into her cup, over tea leaves. They would take a moment to seep, but she kept the mug between her hands. It was warm; she supposed it would hot if her nerves hadn't lost their sensitivity over the years. She moved by the window again; the moon was more appealing than anything else she had planned this evening.

[/font] [/blockquote]
[/size][/div]
credit to BABY DARLING ! @ caution 2.0[/center]

[Seraphstye]

[atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 399px; background: url(http://i51.tinypic.com/2j1kc5k.jpg); background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px #110000, bTable][atrb=style, width: 480px; height: 50px;] "It's a beautiful night isn't it?" - Yáng Qí

Yáng walked calmly through the Arden Forest. Obviously not concerned of the dangers the forest could pose for an elf wandering alone. Perhaps they could not threaten him, an expert in magic and in the martial arts. Then again, maybe he was just being reckless. The elf walked without any real purpose, going this way and that, and looking around at the occasional tree or animal. What a peaceful night. As always, the elf wore his traditional white tangzhuang with the purple trims and black cloth trousers. The only alterations were a large, hooded, neutral gray cloak and a staff that was just a bit taller than him. The cloak was of elven-make, a magical cloak indistinguishable from any ordinary cloak of the same color. When it was drawn up and the hood was donned, its magic activated and allowed its wearer to blend into their surroundings. Of course, the staff as well had some magical properties. To the untrained eye, it was just a long stick. When one took a closer look however, they could see that the stick was perfectly straight and wrapped with leather to form a handle. This staff was known to the druids as a spellstaff. Within the staff a single spell was stored, and it could be cast by a proper wielder without fear of draining ones magical energies. The spell stored was a spell of wood shape, allowing the caster to shape any piece of wood to any shape they so desire. Furthermore, the staff was made out of no ordinary wood, but instead a substance named "Ironwood," which looked like normal wood but was as strong, heavy, and resistant to fire as steel. It wasn't a naturally occurring thing, instead crafted by a secret recipe made by the elves and druids of the forest. Yáng was here in the Arden Forest for a specific purpose, in fact he had been there all day and night. It wasn't to create the ironwood spellstaff, for that was made a while back. He was actually here to pray and fast, which he had been doing for about twenty-four hours now. It was a required step to the ritual he was performing. A summoning ritual that he had meant to cast for quite some time now, ever since he arrived at the school. His prayers were nearing their close and soon the creature would be brought to him. The elf kneeled and waited after he finished. "It looks like my prayers have been answered," said Yáng with a smile, now holding out his hand for the tiny animal that approached. It was a rat that crawled into his hand. This was the creature he had prayed so long for, specifically a rat. Quickly a bond formed between him and the rat, and the druidic magic used to summon her was quickly making her much more than just a rat. Each second that passed, the animal grew stronger and more intelligent. It was all part of the ritual, which was now finished. His prayers done, Yáng exited the forest and headed back towards the school. He walked to the office and up to the Teacher's room, it was what he did every night. This was pretty much where he could always be found, resting in a chair, deep in his nightly meditation, the elves' substitute for sleep. Not surprisingly, there was already someone in the room; the other teachers often stayed up late to grade papers. Even less surprisingly, the teacher in the room was Audie, the vampire. The girl probably never slept or even rested, that was Yáng's theory anyway. However, it was the first time he had seen her since his first class, so the encounter did interest him. "Good evening," said Yáng as he entered the room. His staff's abilities activated by his will, turning from the shape of a staff to that of a coat hanger. Gently, he set this new piece of furniture down, and then hung his grey cloak upon it. As for the rat from earlier (which he had yet to name), he brought it over to the sink. With his free-hand he plugged the sink's drain with a stopper, and proceeded to fill the basin with a little bit of warm water using the faucet. Then with a careful hand he placed the rat in the sink, allowing her to clean herself. "It's a beautiful night isn't it?" Yáng turned away from the sink and walked over to Audie. It was almost like he didn't just walk into the room and put a rat in the sink. "It's more beautiful down there in the forest than up here. I've been spending my nights in the forest ever since I arrived, it never gets old." The elf wasn't look at her when he spoke, instead opting to stare out the window. "It's awe-inspiring, to see the moonlight shine through the boughs of the trees at night. It gives everything this calm, but bright glow. The forest is ancient, but sadly all of its trees and animals are sleeping. Such is the way of things, I suppose..." Yáng paused and glanced back to Audie. "So how are you feeling this night?"

Words: 878 Notes: Credits: Eva