“Only twelve. Rather quick, no?” A cheeky grin spread across the horned girl’s lips as she faced Elijah, her mentor. Compared to his striking cloak of scales, she dressed more modestly in a simple tunic of blues and greens. Her long tan skirt seemed to root her in place, her feet nowhere to be found.

“Quick for elves, perhaps,” said Elijah with a chuckle. “Or silver-haired spirit girls.”

Looking over the dreamscape, Azza couldn’t help but snicker. “It’s good to know that you remember me in such a favorable light, though I remembered it a little differently.”

“Blame my subconscious. We could compare notes if you showed me yours.” He tapped her forehead. “I know there’s more in there than an empty field and a locked gate.”

Still grinning, she swatted away his hand. “I’m still cleaning in there. Give me another year?”

Elijah rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. “Since you’re here, how about some practice? Try setting this dreamscape right side up.”

“But I wanted breakfast. I’ve been stuck in your head all night!”

“Once we’re finished.”

Her grin faded to a frown, but in the end she let out a sigh and shrugged. “Fine, fine. I know the deal. Work first, food later.” Taking a deep breath, she clapped her hands together once, then twice. Upon the second clap, the entire world violently flipped. Mountains spun from the sky to the ground, and the two dreamers landed atop a rocky slope.

“What did--” Elijah’s eyes widened as the new sky rumbled. The ocean rained down in sheets, flooding the new valleys and thoroughly drenching the two of them. “That is not what I had in mind.” He picked some seaweed out of his ear. “But it works.”

She smiled wider than ever. “Can we have breakfast now?”

“I supposed, in a minute…” He trailed off as he turned his gaze to the fresh starry sky. “That’s quite a view.”

“I’ve noticed that your dreams always have stars. I didn’t figure you to be such a romantic to keep a private field of stars in your head.”

He scoffed. “I’m more a classicist than a romantic.”

“What?”

“A lesson for another time,” he said with a short laugh, his eyes still reflecting the stars. “These aren’t my private stars. The Òlosdor, or what the elves call the dreaming realm, is… how would you call it?” He paused, his hands making a searching gesture. “It’s adjacent to the Firmament. These are the very same stars you would see in the real night sky. In fact, they’re usually much clearer in dreams.”

“Usually?” Upon seeing her mentor’s furrowed brow, Azza craned her head back to stare up. She couldn’t help but hum in thought. Elijah had taught her all the stars and constellations, but she still mixed in the names she once knew. “They look different to me. Did I misplace a few or something?”

“I’m not sure.” He frowned, before waving his hand to dismiss the notion. “Breakfast, then.”

“Wait, but--” Before she could finish her sentence, Azza’s eyes snapped open.

The world was upside down… again. Her shoulder hurt and her neck felt awfully funny. She flailed her limbs about to escape the blanket tangled around her, before realizing that she had fallen halfway out of bed during the night, her legs propped up on the brass-framed with the rest of her on the floor. Her sheets and pillows were scattered all over the tile floor, along with an overturned lamp.

“What’s all this?” asked Elijah, standing over her and prodding her with his foot. He was already dressed. How? “Did you fight off a burglar in your sleep?”

“Maybe!” Her lips curled into a sheepish smile, though upside down it looked more like a scowl. “Pretty sure I won.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” he replied with a snort, turning to head back downstairs. “Breakfast is ready, so hurry up. And try to practice some propriety. A less scrupulous mentor might get the wrong idea.”

Azza looked down -- or was it up? -- at herself, realizing that her brown robes had ridden up past her waist during her nighttime struggles. Rolling herself into a more modest sitting position took greater effort than she liked to admit, with half her body stiff and numb.

“Maybe if it wasn’t so hot and stuffy!” she called after him. “You’re lucky I wear anything to bed at all!”

=====================

Breakfast was by far the best part about her apprenticeship. Elijah used to be a chef -- a fact he found every excuse to bring up over their past year together. Today, he had set the table with fresh toasted rye bread, black currant jelly, and crispy bacon. Azza attacked the food with enthusiasm, while Elijah chewed with his customary restraint, smirking at her from across the table. Of course, the she ate would make any cook feel good about their skills.

Morning studies always came after breakfast. Usually, they would review incantations or constellations before moving on to what Elijah called “practical applications,” which often meant something got set on fire. Today was different. Her mentor sat her down with some dusty tomes, clean parchment, and pens to transcribe and study the old elven texts. This in itself wasn’t too strange, but by the next chime of the clock, she realized Elijah had vanished.

She looked around her stiflingly quiet surroundings. Bookshelves of dark wood lined the stone walls from floor to ceiling, stuffed with leather tomes, scrolls, and trinkets. Open books, inkpots, and loose parchments covered the surface of every desk and table. Spherical alchemy lamps hung from the ceiling, casting soft blue light over the scattered maps and star charts. The only empty spot was the chair at Elijah’s desk in the far corner.

’Odd,’ she thought. ’Did he fall into the outhouse?’ This seemed unlikely, especially after the incident with the boar crashing through a couple weeks ago, which had absolutely nothing to do with Azza chasing it. ’A prayer for brother boar, who became the bacon we ate for breakfast. You were brave and delicious.’

She set her books aside and stretched. Where had Elijah gone off to? ’He seemed distracted by the stars last night.’ Azza peered up the ladder leading to the top of the observatory.