Sleep is the enemy and I'm losing the fight
Who: Michael and Yansa
Where: Yansa's office
When: Tuesday afternoon
Michael showed up at Yansa's door, and knocked politely.
Yansa opened the door, and smiled. "Hello Michael, come in."
"Hi, Yansa," Michael said, and headed on in to take a seat. "How was your weekend?"
"Not bad- pretty relaxing, really. We spent some time with Gregory's brother and his boyfriend," Yansa said. "How was your weekend?"
"We hunted down these witches who were hexing Anna to make her suicidal and lose her self-confidence," Michael said.
"I read the report on that. How are you feeling?" Yansa asked. "I understand you absorbed a lot of magic."
"Well, I'm finally starting to feel less than wired again," Michael said, "which is good. I slept a little bit last night."
"That's good. Do you need me to help you relax? We could do some meditation," Yansa offered.
"Eh... maybe. I've tried that -- it helps for a while, but my focus seems to wander," Michael said.
"Have you tried a focus object?" Yansa asked. She fished around in her desk a while and offered over a little crystal suspended from a frame on a chain like a pendulum. "If you touch the crystal, it'll sway... then you can watch it and try to clear your mind."
"Not really... it's worth a try, I guess." Michael snagged it and gave it an experimental poke. The crystal swayed, catching the light. Ooh, pretttyyyy. Michael settled in to sit and try to zone out for a bit.
Yansa lowered the lights and turned on some soft music to try and help him rest.
Michael seemed to be relaxed and calm.
Yansa went about doing some paperwork, and just letting Michael rest for as long as he comfortably could.
For a while, Michael rested, but eventually, he twitched into wakefulness. "Goddamnit."
"At least you rested some," Yansa said. "I'm going to give you this crystal, and some of my herbal tea. Drink a cup of that tonight, and lay down and watch the crystal and see if it helps you sleep. If it doesn't, come and see me again tomorrow. But for now... let's talk about things."
"Alright... thanks," Michael said, rubbing his head.
"So talk to me about how you're feeling," Yansa said.
"I dunno... I've been pretty wired up lately, and trying to avoid using magic -- 'cause I used it a few times immediately after, and it felt ... dangerously easy," Michael summarized.
"It's probably wise that you let your body become accustom to the extra power you've absorbed before attempting more magic," Yansa said. "So unless there is an emergency, that's a wise plan."
"Yeah... heh. I kinda figured that, and Kit confirmed it," Michael agreed. "Which sucks, because we know where to go next to look for more of these guys..."
"Though you must understand that to some extent, it will be easier for you now - because you have effectively increased your power - and doubtlessly, tapped into some of the untapped resources inside yourself in the process," Yansa said. "I can feel the change in your aura- you've definitely done that. Not all of it is the power you've absorbed."
"Yeah... well, I just want to be sure that I won't try to call upon the inferno and end up blasting everything in the area," Michael said.
"Right- that's why it's best to not cast for a while, and then when you get back to casting- do it under controlled conditions, with someone keeping an eye on you," Yansa said. "Like myself or Gregory or Kit."
"Alright..." Michael said, somewhat reluctantly.
"I'm sorry dear, but this is what is safest for you and those around you," Yansa said. "How have you been feeling otherwise - has it had any psychological effects?"
"Eh... I've had a lot of time to think," Michael said.
"And Ming's sort of annoyed by my wakefulness - I think she'll be happy when it wears off," Michael added.
"What have you been thinking about? And have you and Ming been fighting?" Yansa asked.
"Not exactly..." Michael shrugged. "But she's worried about me, and the fact that it's hard to get much sleep at the moment isn't helping."
"That must be stressful," Yansa agreed. "And you have the holidays coming up and all- how are you planning on spending Thanksgiving?"
"I'm inviting some of the employees and friends over for dinner," Michael answered.
"That sounds nice," Yansa said. "We're going to have Gregory's brother and his boyfriend over to our place for dinner."
"Cool..." Michael nodded.
"But if there's anything you need this week, please give us a call," Yansa said. "If you need me, you know I'll be there."
"Alright, I'll remember... heh. It seems like bad things just love to happen on holidays," Michael said, frowning.
"Yes, unfortunately that seems to be true," Yansa said. "Earlier you said you'd been thinking a lot about things with all this extra time- what's been on your mind?"
"Well... for one thing, we've still never found out what happened to Chantarelle," Michael said, frowning.
Yansa frowned too. "Yes, I read about what happened with her- one of your close friends, yes?"
Michael nodded. "Yeah. That bothers me, you know? Especially with... what was done to her body and everything."
"Have there been any similar incidents?" Yansa asked. "Not that we want there to be- but if we could find an incident that has similar characteristics, maybe we could look at the two together and try to piece together some clues..."
"I don't know. I'd think someone would mention if they found a body filled with corn syrup," Michael said.
"Well, maybe not that exact same thing," Yansa said. "But a similar act of psychological warfare."
"Yeah... I dunno. But I'd like it looked into. It really bothers me," Michael said.
"I'll see what I can do," Yansa assured him. "I'll check through our records and see if we have any similar incidents on record, or if there's any previously uninvestigated material from the incident itself."
"Thank you," Michael said. "I know it doesn't sound related to any of the stuff that's been going on lately, but..."
"But it's something that's important to you, so either way it deserves being looked into," Yansa said.
"Yeah." Michael nodded, and looked grateful.
"Is there anything else you want to talk about- or do you just want to take the tea and the crystal and try to go get some rest?" Yansa didn't want to keep him if he wanted to try and sleep.
"Well... nah." Michael shook his head.
"You sure?" Yansa asked, feeling like he'd been about to say something. "You know you can talk to me about anything, dear. It's okay."
"Eh. I've been feeling pretty weird, but I think it's mostly due to the magic," Michael said.
"Weird how?" Yansa asked.
Michael pondered. "Just more aggressive than usual. You know?"
"How so? Fighting with things?" Yansa asked.
"Yeah, stuff like that. And just ... more physically active and such," Michael said.
"What sort of activities?" Yansa asked.
"Well, you know... fighting, practicing, sex..." Michael fidgeted slightly.
"So a lot of physical activities. Have you had problems with any of them?" Yansa asked. "Anything unusual?"
"Well... Ming's been exhausted," Michael commented.
"Too much activity? You haven't hurt her, have you?"
"Well, no. Not really..." Michael said.
Yansa raised a brow.
"Though I think she'll be glad when we're both sleeping on the same schedule again," Michael said, reddening slightly.
Yansa reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, I'm sure it'll be fine as long as you're not actually causing her physical harm- a bit of tiredness never hurt anyone. Just try to respect her need for rest, and hopefully the crystal and the tea will help you get some sleep as well."
"Yeah... Thanks, Yansa." Michael snagged the crystal and the tea.
"You're welcome, Michael- call me if you need anything - and have a wonderful Thanksgiving," Yansa said.
Where: Yansa's office
When: Tuesday afternoon
Michael showed up at Yansa's door, and knocked politely.
Yansa opened the door, and smiled. "Hello Michael, come in."
"Hi, Yansa," Michael said, and headed on in to take a seat. "How was your weekend?"
"Not bad- pretty relaxing, really. We spent some time with Gregory's brother and his boyfriend," Yansa said. "How was your weekend?"
"We hunted down these witches who were hexing Anna to make her suicidal and lose her self-confidence," Michael said.
"I read the report on that. How are you feeling?" Yansa asked. "I understand you absorbed a lot of magic."
"Well, I'm finally starting to feel less than wired again," Michael said, "which is good. I slept a little bit last night."
"That's good. Do you need me to help you relax? We could do some meditation," Yansa offered.
"Eh... maybe. I've tried that -- it helps for a while, but my focus seems to wander," Michael said.
"Have you tried a focus object?" Yansa asked. She fished around in her desk a while and offered over a little crystal suspended from a frame on a chain like a pendulum. "If you touch the crystal, it'll sway... then you can watch it and try to clear your mind."
"Not really... it's worth a try, I guess." Michael snagged it and gave it an experimental poke. The crystal swayed, catching the light. Ooh, pretttyyyy. Michael settled in to sit and try to zone out for a bit.
Yansa lowered the lights and turned on some soft music to try and help him rest.
Michael seemed to be relaxed and calm.
Yansa went about doing some paperwork, and just letting Michael rest for as long as he comfortably could.
For a while, Michael rested, but eventually, he twitched into wakefulness. "Goddamnit."
"At least you rested some," Yansa said. "I'm going to give you this crystal, and some of my herbal tea. Drink a cup of that tonight, and lay down and watch the crystal and see if it helps you sleep. If it doesn't, come and see me again tomorrow. But for now... let's talk about things."
"Alright... thanks," Michael said, rubbing his head.
"So talk to me about how you're feeling," Yansa said.
"I dunno... I've been pretty wired up lately, and trying to avoid using magic -- 'cause I used it a few times immediately after, and it felt ... dangerously easy," Michael summarized.
"It's probably wise that you let your body become accustom to the extra power you've absorbed before attempting more magic," Yansa said. "So unless there is an emergency, that's a wise plan."
"Yeah... heh. I kinda figured that, and Kit confirmed it," Michael agreed. "Which sucks, because we know where to go next to look for more of these guys..."
"Though you must understand that to some extent, it will be easier for you now - because you have effectively increased your power - and doubtlessly, tapped into some of the untapped resources inside yourself in the process," Yansa said. "I can feel the change in your aura- you've definitely done that. Not all of it is the power you've absorbed."
"Yeah... well, I just want to be sure that I won't try to call upon the inferno and end up blasting everything in the area," Michael said.
"Right- that's why it's best to not cast for a while, and then when you get back to casting- do it under controlled conditions, with someone keeping an eye on you," Yansa said. "Like myself or Gregory or Kit."
"Alright..." Michael said, somewhat reluctantly.
"I'm sorry dear, but this is what is safest for you and those around you," Yansa said. "How have you been feeling otherwise - has it had any psychological effects?"
"Eh... I've had a lot of time to think," Michael said.
"And Ming's sort of annoyed by my wakefulness - I think she'll be happy when it wears off," Michael added.
"What have you been thinking about? And have you and Ming been fighting?" Yansa asked.
"Not exactly..." Michael shrugged. "But she's worried about me, and the fact that it's hard to get much sleep at the moment isn't helping."
"That must be stressful," Yansa agreed. "And you have the holidays coming up and all- how are you planning on spending Thanksgiving?"
"I'm inviting some of the employees and friends over for dinner," Michael answered.
"That sounds nice," Yansa said. "We're going to have Gregory's brother and his boyfriend over to our place for dinner."
"Cool..." Michael nodded.
"But if there's anything you need this week, please give us a call," Yansa said. "If you need me, you know I'll be there."
"Alright, I'll remember... heh. It seems like bad things just love to happen on holidays," Michael said, frowning.
"Yes, unfortunately that seems to be true," Yansa said. "Earlier you said you'd been thinking a lot about things with all this extra time- what's been on your mind?"
"Well... for one thing, we've still never found out what happened to Chantarelle," Michael said, frowning.
Yansa frowned too. "Yes, I read about what happened with her- one of your close friends, yes?"
Michael nodded. "Yeah. That bothers me, you know? Especially with... what was done to her body and everything."
"Have there been any similar incidents?" Yansa asked. "Not that we want there to be- but if we could find an incident that has similar characteristics, maybe we could look at the two together and try to piece together some clues..."
"I don't know. I'd think someone would mention if they found a body filled with corn syrup," Michael said.
"Well, maybe not that exact same thing," Yansa said. "But a similar act of psychological warfare."
"Yeah... I dunno. But I'd like it looked into. It really bothers me," Michael said.
"I'll see what I can do," Yansa assured him. "I'll check through our records and see if we have any similar incidents on record, or if there's any previously uninvestigated material from the incident itself."
"Thank you," Michael said. "I know it doesn't sound related to any of the stuff that's been going on lately, but..."
"But it's something that's important to you, so either way it deserves being looked into," Yansa said.
"Yeah." Michael nodded, and looked grateful.
"Is there anything else you want to talk about- or do you just want to take the tea and the crystal and try to go get some rest?" Yansa didn't want to keep him if he wanted to try and sleep.
"Well... nah." Michael shook his head.
"You sure?" Yansa asked, feeling like he'd been about to say something. "You know you can talk to me about anything, dear. It's okay."
"Eh. I've been feeling pretty weird, but I think it's mostly due to the magic," Michael said.
"Weird how?" Yansa asked.
Michael pondered. "Just more aggressive than usual. You know?"
"How so? Fighting with things?" Yansa asked.
"Yeah, stuff like that. And just ... more physically active and such," Michael said.
"What sort of activities?" Yansa asked.
"Well, you know... fighting, practicing, sex..." Michael fidgeted slightly.
"So a lot of physical activities. Have you had problems with any of them?" Yansa asked. "Anything unusual?"
"Well... Ming's been exhausted," Michael commented.
"Too much activity? You haven't hurt her, have you?"
"Well, no. Not really..." Michael said.
Yansa raised a brow.
"Though I think she'll be glad when we're both sleeping on the same schedule again," Michael said, reddening slightly.
Yansa reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, I'm sure it'll be fine as long as you're not actually causing her physical harm- a bit of tiredness never hurt anyone. Just try to respect her need for rest, and hopefully the crystal and the tea will help you get some sleep as well."
"Yeah... Thanks, Yansa." Michael snagged the crystal and the tea.
"You're welcome, Michael- call me if you need anything - and have a wonderful Thanksgiving," Yansa said.