At first, she could not say what had awakened her. 

She lay on her back in the gloom, looking around the room for some clue, listening. All was silent and dark; it was still deep in the nighttime. Her body was not in any pressing need. She was about to turn over and go back to sleep when it came again. 

Almost a whisper, a mental noise from the room next to her. 

Stiffly Ghia got out of bed, slipped on her soft leather shoes and put on her housecoat; shuffling across the room, she left as quietly as possible, careful not to wake her aunt. 

The next room was her room, where Jules slept. She opened the door and saw with eyes adjusted to the dark that he still slept, but fitfully. 

She closed the door and made her way across her room to the bedside. Now she was closer she could mentally hear him more clearly. He was in the midst of a nightmare, close to waking. 

Not wanting him to ruin what little sleep he was finally getting, she placed her hand on his back and worked on sending calming energy through him, trying to soothe the nightmare. She did not try to glance at the contents of the dream, for she had no wish to give her own subconscious any images to use for possible night terrors when she did get back to sleep. 

She knelt by his side, hand on his bare back, for he’d kicked most of the blankets off, trying to calm him by presence and powers. Eventually he settled down, and she could sense his dreams taking a turn for the better. Satisfied, she removed her hand and tucked the covers around him again before crawling into the chair by the head of the bed, still exhausted, to curl up for a little more sleep.

If she dreamed, she did not remember.

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