The spell surprised him, and it took a moment to put his finger on why. It was a logical thing to do, and it did give him a chance to see her better, though at first he did have to squint against the sudden brightness and even briefly raised a hand to shield his face. But there was something about it that struck him, and in the back of his mind he kept chewing it over while he listened to her.
Questions. That was an odd direction for a dream, he thought. Rosie showing up here in his head to seduce him would have been understandable — embarrassing the next morning when he woke up sweaty and hard and twisted in the sheets and had to reckon with the fact that he was still dreaming about her, but it would have made sense. Rosie showing up to say something cruel would have fit, too, if this were a nightmare. She could even have flitted in through the background of an otherwise senseless dream, saying or doing something of no consequence, because even if he hadn't seen her properly in months she was woven into the fabric of his life enough that it wouldn't have been surprising to see her slip in. This was weird, though. A dream that looked so entirely mundane, sitting in his bedroom just as it had been when he'd fallen asleep, and Rosie wanting to ask him questions.
He shrugged and yawned, not sure enough about what was happening in this dream yet to care one way or another. But then he realized what had struck him about the spell: it followed all the rules. Dreams didn't. In a dream the light level might never change until he'd thought to internally complain about it, and then it would have adjusted without any action on their part. And she'd cast the light for her sake, because he hadn't been bothered by the dim light. In what kind of dream did he figments of one's imagination have agency, and care whether or not they could see?
He tensed. "You're — really here? Actually in my room in the middle of the night? What the — how? Why? What are you — what on earth possessed you?" He glanced down at what he was wearing and clutched the blankets up tighter around his hips. He felt very aware of how much of his bare chest could be seen through the unbuttoned v at the front of his neck. "Are you insane?"
Questions. That was an odd direction for a dream, he thought. Rosie showing up here in his head to seduce him would have been understandable — embarrassing the next morning when he woke up sweaty and hard and twisted in the sheets and had to reckon with the fact that he was still dreaming about her, but it would have made sense. Rosie showing up to say something cruel would have fit, too, if this were a nightmare. She could even have flitted in through the background of an otherwise senseless dream, saying or doing something of no consequence, because even if he hadn't seen her properly in months she was woven into the fabric of his life enough that it wouldn't have been surprising to see her slip in. This was weird, though. A dream that looked so entirely mundane, sitting in his bedroom just as it had been when he'd fallen asleep, and Rosie wanting to ask him questions.
He shrugged and yawned, not sure enough about what was happening in this dream yet to care one way or another. But then he realized what had struck him about the spell: it followed all the rules. Dreams didn't. In a dream the light level might never change until he'd thought to internally complain about it, and then it would have adjusted without any action on their part. And she'd cast the light for her sake, because he hadn't been bothered by the dim light. In what kind of dream did he figments of one's imagination have agency, and care whether or not they could see?
He tensed. "You're — really here? Actually in my room in the middle of the night? What the — how? Why? What are you — what on earth possessed you?" He glanced down at what he was wearing and clutched the blankets up tighter around his hips. He felt very aware of how much of his bare chest could be seen through the unbuttoned v at the front of his neck. "Are you insane?"
![[Image: 5WWaDR1.png]](https://i.imgur.com/5WWaDR1.png)