“Achoo!”

Fion let loose another sneeze, groaning as he laid back down in his bed. 

“More tea, master Fion?” Richard asked dutifully, bringing up a serving tray. When Fion didn’t respond, Richard just poured a cup of tea, mixed in a lump of sugar, and left it on the table next to Fion’s bed. “Perhaps standing out in the rain before drinking all night and returning at five in the morning wasn’t the best course of action, young master?” The butler snarked respectfully, bowing before leaving the room as Fion shot him an exasperated glare. 

Fion coughed, glaring blearily up at the ceiling. The doctor had assured him that it was a passing sickness, but that wasn’t even the problem. No, the problem was that he was bored as hell. There was nothing to do besides sleep and wait for his body to recover. 

Then again, he supposed he had this coming. Between Bureau jobs, training with Riley, and training on his own, he hadn’t gotten much rest recently, and wandering through the streets drunk with Darius might have been pushing it. 

“Well, if I’m forced to stay in bed, I might as well catch up on sleep…” Fion muttered to himself, closing his eyes as he began to drift off to sleep. 

___

[i]Fion dreamt again. He was in a dead forest, inky shadows all around him as he ran. In front of him, a little girl knelt down, crying. Fion ran towards her, hand outstretched. When he reached the girl, she looked up and smiled before opening her mouth. And then she exposed a terrible maw, black as the abyss and filled with gnashing teeth. 

The dead forest burned as she ate him.[/i]

___

Fion shot up, gasping for breath as he clutched his head. Damn it, not that bloody dream again. Glancing up, he started to look for that cup of tea Richard had left him...and saw a girl standing by his bedside. Eyes widening, he reacted on instinct and drew the talentium dagger he had tucked under his pillow, swinging it at the girl, only to miss completely as she vanished without a trace. 

He stared at the spot where the girl had been, disturbed beyond belief. [i]That girl had been the exact same one from his dream.[/i]

“...You know what, it’s too early in the morning to question this.” He muttered to himself, actually feeling rather refreshed as the first rays of dawn trickled through his window. It seemed that a good night’s rest had done wonders for him. Getting up, Fion quickly went through his morning routine. After getting dressed, he reached for the sheathed sword he had propped up on the stand next to his bed and frowned as he held it. 

“What the...the balance feels off.” He drew the talentium scimitar, looking it over. Nothing seemed wrong with the sword at first glance, so the only way to see what was wrong would be to actually test it out. “Well, guess I’ll be training, then.” Fion muttered as he belted the sword on his hip and wrapped his cloak around him before making to leave.