Malitec moved as he hummed, the magic flowing effortlessly. Â It danced through him, deep in his veins. Â He could feel the ebb and flow of the energy just as he controlled the water around him. Â It was a wonderful feeling, it was. Â Just breathe and be alive. Â Just feel the pulse and keep on. Â It made him who he was. Â It let him be himself.
The world around him shifted and suddenly.  What was once peaceful turned into shattering and chaos amok.  And burning.  So so much burning.  It crawled through him and gods did it hurt.  Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop…!
“Malitec!”  The shaking sensation abruptly brought him back to the world of the waking.  He shot up with a gasp and nearly collided into the one that woke him in the process. “He-hey, watch it, you dummy!” Malitec blinked his eyes a few times as his vision finally focused and he looked over at Rez.  “…You were having that dream again,” she quietly told him after he apologized.  “You were practically screaming.”
“I apologize,” he quietly said, wanting desperately to rub his arms or something to try and help relieve the pain.  But there was nothing he could do.  The healers wanted to keep his arms bound for the time being while they figured out how to approach taking care of him.  With their magic abilities unpredictable at best, it was out of the question to take care of him that way.  Of course he wasn’t the only one that suffered from a magical surge…Just one of the more vocal ones about it.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Rez quietly replied, offering a gentle smile.  When he didn’t return it, Rez sighed and shook her head.  “Okay, well, maybe it isn’t okay, but you don’t have to apologize about shouting or anything.  Everyone has things they’re scared of, ya know?”  As much as he appreciated Rez for watching over him, she really wasn’t helping at the moment.
“I’m sorry Rez. But, can I just get some fresh air? Alone?”  He added when Rez started to stand up.  Her expression fell, but she understood.
“Yeah…Yeah, that’s fine.  Sorry, not the best with the whole comfort thing.  I’m trying.”
“No, I appreciate it, but…”  Malitec had to debate the words in his head, but in the end, couldn’t find a way to properly communicate his frustrations.  “I just…I still really haven’t wrapped my head around everything just yet.  I need some time to collect myself.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll be here if you need me, okay?” Rez offered a reassuring smile and eventually Malitec returned it.  A lot has changed.  What once flowed through him just felt like pinpricks at his fingertips now.  His body felt stiff without it there, as if every movement was mechanical and precise rather than how it once flowed. Eventually they said the feeling of magic should come back proper.  And Malitec clung to those words.  Magic made him him…And without it, he felt empty.  He had to hope though.  Hope that things would change in the future. Â
