Until It Sleeps

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Even though she'd only been left on her own for a few days Alex hadn't taken to the solitude very well.  During the day the young mage was the epitome of cheerful happiness.  She skipped through each day seemingly without a care.  There was always a skip in her step, a smile on her face and a song in her heart.  Even with recent tragedies defining her still short stay in Goldcrest Alex never failed to cling to a certain optimistic hope for each day.  Everything changed when night fell behind closed doors.

With the darkness that came after every sunset Alex struggled to maintain her demeanor.  Night brought a fear and anxiety that remained held within the folds of terrible memories.  In the night sky Alex saw her parents, broken and dying at the hands of bloodthirsty mage hunters.  She felt the dread that came with never feeling safe or settled.  Until she'd landed in Goldcrest she spent most of her life on the run, living on the fringes of civilization with her parents out of fear of the young mage being persecuted by those who feared her mystical abilities.  Being left alone in the wake of Grayson's absence only served to make these feelings worse.

Alex didn't notice the door to the chambers she shared with her sister open.  Horrific nightmares had long driven the young mage out of bed.  The fearful tears had stopped flowing by the time the door opened and Alex lingered in a restless state between exhausted sleep and terrified awareness.  The tiny girl was sitting in the corner of the chambers, knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs.  She'd slumped against a cabinet that held the copies of ancient magical tomes the two sisters used to study their craft.  The troubled yet sleepy features upon her face were shrouded by the dim, flickering light of the dying fire in the chamber's hearth. 

[Grayson Sawyer]

The exhaustion the young mage felt as she trudged down the dark hallways of the institution were somewhat lifted a little as she slowly approached her room. It was still strange adjusting to the idea that she now had family waiting for her in her room.

It was quite late so she made sure she was quiet coming into the room. She didn't see the form slumped in the corner at first as she placed her things on her bed. When she did, a small flicker of fear passed through her before she recognised who it was.

"Alex?" She whispered, approaching the younger woman slowly.

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex didn't respond to her sister's voice until the elder Sawyer drew closer. Moving shadows across the floor snapped the half-asleep mage awake and she let out a soft, yet surprised yelp in the process. Large brown eyes fluttered open and looked all around in confusion before finally lifting to settle upon Grayson's form. Even though Alex was staring up at her it took a few long moments before what, exactly, it was she was looking at began to register.

"G-Grayson?" Alex's voice was small, soft and weak as she stammered out the name. Slowly but surely she began to grow more and more aware of her surroundings. With a start she scrambled to climb up to her feet. "Oh! I was, uh... just..." She stuttered and tripped over any words as she looked around, obviously flustered and thrown off by her sister's sudden arrival.

After a long while Alex finally stopped, her arms falling to her sides. She swallowed hard and lifted her hands up to gather her long, crimson hair in a tail she could pull over her shoulder. "Oh, so... uh... welcome home..." The greeting came out almost like a question. Alex was still disoriented and thrown off. Even though she couldn't deny the surge of pleasant emotion that came with Grayson's return it was obvious something was wrong. She spoke softly, her tone subdued and she kept her gaze averted as if she was ashamed of something.

[Grayson Sawyer]

It wasn't difficult to realise something was wrong when the younger woman's delayed response was met with stuttering. Though it was still going to take awhile for them to actually come to terms fully that they were family, they had both overcome being nervous around each other. So this display was something new to Grayson and alerted her big sister senses.

"Thank you...were you waiting up for me?" Grayson asked.

[Alexandra Sawyer]

"Um..." Alex frowned a little. Both hands idly fidgeted with the tail of her crimson locks and she still refused to look at her older sister. She debated for a few seconds if she could use waiting up as an excuse for why she wasn't in bed at such an ungodly hour but she thought better of it. After all, she had no way of knowing Grayson would be home tonight.

She slipped off to the side, seemingly avoiding Grayson for the time being and took a few tentative steps toward her bed before stopping, standing with her back to her sister for a moment. Slowly she turned, finally now bringing her gaze up to Grayson. She froze upon seeing the curiosity in Grayson's deep, blue eyes. Another pause came as Alex attempted to gather her bearings yet again before speaking. Her lips parted but no words came. Without warning she lunged forward and flung her arms around Grayson, grasping her tightly in a bearhug.

[Grayson Sawyer]

Growing worried at the sight of the nervous younger mage, Grayson moved to get closer to her sister but Alex moved away, leaving the twenty-three year old confused and just a little hurt. Which, in hindsight, was a little silly seeing as Alex wouldn't have known Grayson was trying to get closer.

When Alex turned to her finally, Grayson kept her eyes on the younger Sawyer woman, blinking before the wind was knocked out of her.

Grayson was still not very used to physical contact but the younger mage was definitely wearing her down. "Alex...what's wrong, love?"

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex's eyes closed. She didn't pay any mind to whether or not Grayson returned the affectionate gesture she simply allowed herself to fall into the comforting warmth of physical contact. She buried her face into Grayson's shoulder and issues a long, slow, contented sigh. She couldn't put into words just yet what Grayson's presence had meant to her since she'd arrived in Goldcrest. Grayson represented a new life without the dangers and fears Alex was all too familiar with it. When the elder Sawyer left Alex stayed behind feeling just as lost as ever.

"I just missed you." Alex said quietly. She did finally release her hold on Grayson and pulled away just a bit. She lingered close, not wanting to stray to far away from Grayson lest she shimmer and fade like a mirage. Alex averted her gaze once more, this time she did so as she stifled a sniffle and brought a hand up to wipe at the corner of her eye. "How was your trip?" She asked, hoping to keep any and all conversation away from her current condition.

[Grayson Sawyer]

There was definitely something else bugging her little sister, Grayson was so sure of it but for now, she let it slide. She eventually returned the hug and when Alex moved away, Grayson caught her hand and pulled her over to her bed and sat down.

"Tiring." Grayson answered, untying her hooded robe and letting it fall behind her. "I must have had to see ten times more patients than I did during the war." She rubbed her eyes with the back of her knuckles and yawned slightly.

"Have you been keeping up with your studies?"

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex's stopped in her tracks when her hand was grabbed but she didn't pull away. She turned, lips parting to protest before she snapped her mouth shut and went along to sit beside Grayson with nary a word. She thought for a brief moment Grayson was going to start digging into why she was acting so strangely but, much to Alex's relief, her sister opted to talk of other topics.

Having little to contribute, Alex merely nodded. She had felt the effects of the war, sure, but she'd been far from the front lines of battle. She remained stoic and quiet until questioned about her studies. This brought out another, albeit more certain nod as she glanced over to her sister. "I have." She said with a faint smile. "My instructor says I'm almost near the top of my class already." Alex beamed a little at that. The praise didn't come lightly considering her history of informal training.

[Grayson Sawyer]

A bubble of unmistakeable pride swelled in Grayson when Alex mentioned her standing in class. It seemed to be a Sawyer trait, being fast learners. A smile spread across her lips.

"That's excellent news." Grayson grew quiet for a moment, debating whether or not she should push Alex. "Maybe the next time we have a caravan out, you can follow us."

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Another nod, this one enthusiastic and contented. Alex issued what could have been construed as a sigh of relief as it seemed as though the sisters weren't going to be discussing the strange circumstances Grayson had stumbled across upon her return home. "I didn't believe him, at first." She admitted. "I thought he was just trying to build me up, you know?" A light giggle escaped then. The light, bubbly traits that defined Alex were beginning to surface again. "It took some convincing."

The young mage nearly issued a gasp at Grayson's suggestion. Big brown eyes widened and yet another nod followed. "Do you think they'd let me?" Alex asked. "I haven't seen anything outside of Goldcrest since I arrived. I would love to see what's out there for myself." She said. She was a curious student, to say the least, and she'd done as much research into what the other lands around her were like but words scrawled on a page were nothing like seeing it for herself. "Do you think we could ever visit Astilon? I've always wanted to see Silvergate Castle."

[Grayson Sawyer]

"I'm glad you're coming along nicely. And in such a short time." Grayson noted. Many of her peers spend years trying to hone their craft and are still not able to fully control their abilities, Grayson included. But to learn enough to get a handle on one's ability was crucial. Even if the war was over.

Grayson nodded at the younger woman's query. "If you've shown improvement, I don't see why not. We can't choose where we want to be stationed but if you want to go on visits, all we have to do is ask for permission." She promised. Grayson was even willing to chaperone. As long as they had a guard with them.

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex beamed happily at the praise. She knew it meant a great deal for her to have come so far in such a short time but she wasn't content just yet. There was still much to learn and she looked forward to unlocking even more of her arcane potential. "Thank you." Alex replied modestly. She lowered her gaze for a moment and offered a sheepish shrug. She was proud of her latent talents, that was obvious, but she still didn't feel wholly comfortable accepting praise.

The enthusiasm and hope steadily died the more Grayson spoke. A thin frown flashed across Alex's features before being replaced with an expression of resignation. She didn't see how her recent exploits could be construed as 'improvement' by any stretch of the imagination. At this point she was lucky she hadn't been thrown in prison or worse. "If that's the case I should just consider myself lucky I'm allowed to leave my room." She said with a sigh. She didn't want to get into recent events by any means but she figured Grayson would have to learn what had happened while she was away sooner or later.

[Grayson Sawyer]

Grayson saw the slow deflation and she bit her lower lip in concern. "Right...I...I forgot about...I mean...but it's not like they're going to keep you prisoner here..." She tried to reason. "Not for too long, perhaps." Grayson shrugged and patted Alex's knee.

One of her kittens showed up, jumping up on to her lap and Grayson played with it for awhile.

"I hate to ask but...were you awake because of..."

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex's head lowered at the resignation. She saw the look in Grayson's eyes, the look that told the young redhead her sister was already aware of certain events that had caused the Enclave no small headache. Alex felt ashamed that she'd sullied her sister's name and presented an entirely new set of obstacles for Grayson to overcome on her behalf. This wasn't how Alex had hoped her time here would be. She hoped her and Grayson could focus on getting to know one another as sisters and not deal with Alex's foolish mistakes.

"You know." She said quietly. A stray strand of crimson hair fell into her face and she brushed it aside. "I..." A sigh escaped and Alex could do little more than offer a shrug. "I'm sorry I got in trouble." She said. "I know we have enough to worry about without me messing everything up."

The further questioning caused Alex to visibly tense. Her first instinct was to deny, though there was little use in that. Grayson, Alex knew, was astute enough to have seen her reaction. "Yes." She said with little hesitation. Try as she might Alex simply couldn't escape the memories that haunted came back to haunt her whenever she closed her eyes. The bright, cheerful demeanor she carried through every day sometimes felt little more than a facade put up to convince herself she was alright. "I don't like sleeping alone." She reluctantly admitted.