[And so time passes in Avalon, with two men working on magic and everyday living in the unchanging garden. A daily regiment of training, cleaning, and cooking keeps Watanuki occupied most of the time, though he does still have ample chances to be salty about Merlin's Everything. Interestingly, it changes from "harsh reactions" to "a tolerance of a known gremlin" as the months pass.
Watanuki's magic lessons are slow going too. He's trying, but there's some hefty mental blocks on Watanuki, and working around those takes time and effort. Watanuki is quickly becoming accustomed to waking up on the floor, and he's started to assume that he is just overworking himself. Merlin can know the truth though, that tripping one of those mental blocks means naptime for Watanuki. And given that he usually forgets what he was doing just before passing out, it's probably best to avoid setting them off.
Family. His past before he was 8. The fact that his name is strange and probably not his original name. The fact that he can't taste his own cooking. These are all touchy subjects when it comes to keeping Watanuki awake, and they are best avoided.
It is slow going, but it's not without some kind of progress. And if Merlin keeps peeking in on Watanuki's dreams, he will see the first sign of those latent powers waking up about six months after Watanuki's arrival. Because Watanuki isn't dreaming about cooking, or school, or being chased by ghosts. Tonight, he's dreaming about a future Merlin probably can already see coming. A time in an old city, run by a rough king, fighting a seemingly unwinnable battle against an actual goddess.
Watanuki isn't even tossing and turning in his sleep, as he often does with bad dreams. He's laying eerily still while he dreams of seeing a wave of sludge rush towards the temple steps he is standing on.]
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[And so time passes in Avalon, with two men working on magic and everyday living in the unchanging garden. A daily regiment of training, cleaning, and cooking keeps Watanuki occupied most of the time, though he does still have ample chances to be salty about Merlin's Everything. Interestingly, it changes from "harsh reactions" to "a tolerance of a known gremlin" as the months pass.
Watanuki's magic lessons are slow going too. He's trying, but there's some hefty mental blocks on Watanuki, and working around those takes time and effort. Watanuki is quickly becoming accustomed to waking up on the floor, and he's started to assume that he is just overworking himself. Merlin can know the truth though, that tripping one of those mental blocks means naptime for Watanuki. And given that he usually forgets what he was doing just before passing out, it's probably best to avoid setting them off.
Family. His past before he was 8. The fact that his name is strange and probably not his original name. The fact that he can't taste his own cooking. These are all touchy subjects when it comes to keeping Watanuki awake, and they are best avoided.
It is slow going, but it's not without some kind of progress. And if Merlin keeps peeking in on Watanuki's dreams, he will see the first sign of those latent powers waking up about six months after Watanuki's arrival. Because Watanuki isn't dreaming about cooking, or school, or being chased by ghosts. Tonight, he's dreaming about a future Merlin probably can already see coming. A time in an old city, run by a rough king, fighting a seemingly unwinnable battle against an actual goddess.
Watanuki isn't even tossing and turning in his sleep, as he often does with bad dreams. He's laying eerily still while he dreams of seeing a wave of sludge rush towards the temple steps he is standing on.]