Silverlust

the drakonian sinner (3)

Reid woke up only 30 minutes later with his face against the wall. Unfortunate. He thought he'd be able to get a few hours of sleep in. The pain took a while to register but once it did, his right shoulder and entire head were throbbing. He groggily looked around and realized that he was somehow kneeling before the wall beside Kioplie's still-open door. The dorm was as silent as ever.

Truth be told, he had fully expected Elders to be shuffling around in a panic, or shouting as they shook him awake. Had no one noticed Kioplie was gone yet? Maybe it was still early.

All of a sudden Reid's entire body lurched forward, and his hands flung up against the wall just in time to spare his head from another headache. And then it happened again.

It was an odd little tug of war—he kept hurtling towards the wall at full force, and he equally resisted. It wasn't so much that his body was trying to bash his head in on its own; rather, he was being dragged forward by something he couldn't see.

When it finally stopped, Reid stiffened and hastily propped his feet against the wall, ready for any last-minute yanks. Gritted his teeth and...

Nothing. The phenomena had gone as quickly as it came.

Heaving a long sigh, Reid fell on his back, all his energy gone, as he pressed a hand to the sore spots on his head. He stayed like that for about a minute or two before he sat up.

His mind, no longer muddled, was on overdrive picking out and eliminating ideas that came to mind— Contractual summons? Didn't sign his name off. Gravitational hex? Magnetic? He'd be stuck to the walls right now if that were the case. Binds? The likeliest, but it'd take half an hour just to go through all the binds he remembered.

Reid shook his head. He could leave the spell specifics aside, as long as it was a one-time thing and never happened again.

His eye started to twitch, like a reminder. Right.

Dragging his feet over to Kioplie's bathroom, Reid brushed back his hair and checked the mirror. A thin crown of bruises wrapped around the front of his head, pulsing like some sort of parasitic flesh monster—and who knows how many more in the back. His head would be swollen like a balloon within the day. He'd probably need a large hat or headband to cover the entire thing.

Absolutely atrocious. How was he supposed to show his face to anyone now?

With a click of his tongue, he shoved a spare towel under running water and pressed the makeshift compress to his head. In the middle of reaching for the first-aid kit with his other hand, Reid heard stomping in the hallway.

As it grew closer, he hurried to spread out the towel over his head like a headwrap. No way was he showing his crown of shame to whoever's looking for him.

"Reid!"

His hands stilled. That sounded like...

Face half-covered, Reid peeked out of the bathroom to see Kioplie standing by the doorway, glaring in his direction. He usually saw her seated, so it was a surprise to learn that she was just about as tall as him, maybe a few centimeters shorter. She was also quite dishevelled with crumbs of dirt and a few leaves stuck to her arms and hair.

"You," she growled. Rage flared in her eyes, a frigid electric blue.

"...Me," drawled a relieved Reid as he turned back to the kit. "Actually, hold that thought. Do you know how to treat a bruise? There's no ice pack so I'm thinking if I should tape—"

"Cut the bullshit, Reid. This has you written all over it."

"What? But I really didn't sign my name on anything."