Silent Progress

An entire month suddenly went by. The students, learning more and more first level spells but mostly improving all their basic skills. Things had finally taken a calm, people had gotten to know eachother better and most of the candidates had come together as a class. Sonya and Ulma kept their rivalry going but had accepted eachother better, while Erica was a great friend to both of them. They talked about all kinds of things with her, while Samuel was still mostly quiet and did his own thing.

They really came to appreciate his cooking skills though, for some reason Sonya found him to be a master chef and had often said he could always make a magical food business, half joking half serious. The girls noticed that whenever he made food was the times he opened up more about himself, so they got to know a few things he liked and disliked.

As they were slowly unraveling the great mystery that the quiet Samuel was, they were also giving things away about themselves. What they were really talented at, like Erica being able to mimic cast, Ulma had a great connection to nature magic and had an ability to summon creatures to her aid if she needed them. Which is why she had become a candidate, while Sonya had showed them a dragon scar close to her heart. She had some kind of dragon manifestation curse, that was under control by a necklace she was wearing.

Something about her dragon bloodline and so on and on, Samuel had not only written down about magic and such things, but he also wrote down everything he thought be important about his teammates. It never hurt to know and that way he could hardly forget and seem like a bad friend. He had made himself a silent promise to become a better friend, and he was silently progressing on all fields, being a friend, knowing magic and even cooking.

He really enjoyed cooking for his friends because it reminded him of his mother and father and he had spent time with them as a child, a hard days work, her mother making food and them all sitting in happiness. He felt like this team was slowly turning into a small new family. He had also sent a few letters to his personal healer Zor to keep her updated on his condition, and he had sent plenty of messages to Faleah about his progress.

He had even gotten a message from her back. "I am so proud of you! I am glad to have been such an important step to help you achieve your dreams! In two years time my military service comes to an end and I will come visit you and tell you more about everything about me. Until then do please continue to send me letters, and continue the great work sincerely your guardian - Faleah."

It had made him smile an entire day which had creeped out all his teammates, it was unusual for him to show genuine smiles, even if they tried to make him smile more often so he would be less creepy they had given up. Sometimes he would give genuine smiles but they were rare times, often connected to him making food for them.

During the entire month Samuel had not actually used his days off to take a break, but he had studied for all of them, so after the month had passed and the next day off was coming up he intended to actually rest because he was feeling quite tired.

He had not missed everything going on just because of his anti social attitude however, even he was growing closer with Erica and Sonya, and all three of them had noticed Ulma becoming more and more distant, she often looked tired a lot of the time, and she was always annoyed and never replied when asked about it.

Finally the evening had before their day off and Samuel had just returned from a long day of sparring with Bregane, he had gotten himself something to eat and gone to bathe and then to sleep for a looong time.

Ulma could not take it anymore, she had come back early from her training and eaten a little before instantly going to bed. She woke up every hour or so from nightmares, she felt like she was going insane. In her light nightgown she snuck up and checked to see that no one was around, she went and knocked lightly on Samuel's door, a few moments and no reply, she was certain he was home though as he had told the girls what his plan was for the day off coming up.

Ulma sighed and stood there for a few minutes not knowing what to do. Until she steeled her mind, 'If this helps then its worth it!' She inwardly thought and gently opened his door, his lock had never been fixed either. Ever since it had been broken down by Bregane, so thankfully she could open it and look inside.

Samuel was sleeping soundly already, she wanted to call his name but she had not actually planned for what she would say, Ulma sighed and decided against it and turned around to leave when he started mumbling and turning in his bed. He seemed to be having a nightmare and she was filled with a need to make it stop by taking his hand.

For safety measure she quickly took his spare chair and used it as a provisional lock for the door by placing it under the door handle, before tip toeing over to his bed. With a pounding heart she sat on the edge of the bed and reached for his hand and grasped it. Samuel instantly grasped her hand back making her afraid that he had woken up.

She quickly tried to wriggle her hand free and leave, her head finally deciding that this was a terrible idea, but she could not get that far before Samuel had dragged her down into his bed and embraced her from behind.

Ulma dared not move laying there with a heart beating so hard she thought it was gonna jump out of her chest, Samuel dragged the bed sheets more over himself covering them both better, she thought for a few moments that he was actually awake, but she heard his slow breathing that indicated him sleeping.

In a embrace from behind she could not escape anywhere without waking him, so she did her best to calm down. But she did not realize how tired she really was, after just a minute or two her head had relaxed on the pillow and she was fast asleep feeling safe in Samuel's embrace.

No further nightmares came to either of them as they slept soundly way into the next day which thankfully was their day off. Somewhere along the line Ulma had turned around and was leaning her head into his chest and had embraced him back with a small smile in her sleep.