Lia entered the dorm room following the selection of her classes. She was not even remotely tired. As she entered, Page was sitting in the dining area. She was snacking on something light. Lia wasn't sure what it was, as she is incredibly unfamiliar with knowing what actual food is.
Lia herself wandered over to the refrigeration unit and opened it. She removed a small pouch of blood and began to sip from it. Unluckily, cold blood always tasted worse and it showed on Lia's face.
Page turned to her and chuckled. "Not a fan of cold blood I presume?"
Lia shook her head. "Not in the least, but it's edible at least."
Page nodded. "Well, roomie, I'd tell you to take a bite out of me, but I am not super comfortable with that."
Lia chuckled. "Nope. I wouldn't do that unless you specifically asked me to. It is...sort of a breach of privacy and...immoral in a lot of ways."
Page thought for a moment. Lia was pretty sure she was trying to recall any information she could remember about vampire culture. Eventually, she shrugged.
"Well, I'd love for you to tell me about vampire culture sometime. Not right now though, I am quite tired."
Lia nodded, sipping on her blood pouch. "I will be up for...quite some time and will speak with you at a later date then."
With that, Page headed off towards her designated room; leaving Lia alone in the dining area. She began to wander the small apartment-like dorm, assessing the layout.
The entrance to the dorm apartment lead into a dual purpose dining room and seating area. To either side were two doors that lead to separate bedrooms.
The main dining area had a small gray couch, clearly there to provide a place to relax. The dining area had a small magic stove-like appliance, a refrigeration unit with a door on top that opened to reveal blood packs-likely for Lia's sake.
Aside from that, it appeared to be relatively barren. There were no windows or any manner of "entertainment" provided. Well, aside from an empty bookshelf next to the couch. Lia mentally made a note to go check out the school's library.
Her bedroom was quite large, with a small end table at both sides of the king sized bed. They were located right next to the headboard. The sheets were black and red, but the bed itself was relatively simple in design.
Lia thought for a moment as she took in the whole room. In a rather rare moment, her royal upbringing showed it's effects on her expectations. 'My bed back home was much nicer. I liked the canopy and the sense of...closed space that it provided. It appears that vampires, or at least, I prefer to sleep in more enclosed spaces.'
Saro spoke up suddenly. "In my home, vampires slept in coffins."
Lia mind scoffed. "That's ridiculous. How could that even be comfortable?"
Saro mind shrugged, but didn't say much else.
Lia climbed into the bed and seemingly relaxed a bit. She crossed her legs and began concentrating on her headspace. She was yanked out of her concentration when she felt Hysteria climb into her lap and settle into the fetal position.
Lia softly pat her head before truly entering meditation.
.....
Meditation is a higher form of "psuedo-sleep" for any long-life species, including but not limited to: Vampires, Dragons, Elves, Fae, etc. It allows them to extend the productivity in their daily life. Meditation can be achieved by circulating their mana to rejuvenate and rest their bodies.
Elves and Fey are the most proficient in this specific skill, as it comes naturally to them. If you are not confident in doing it, it can wreak havoc and jostle or even sometimes ruin your mana circuits.
If anyone knew Lia was capable of performing this feat, they would be astounded. It is incredibly dangerous for younger people to perform this exercise, mainly due to the issues that can stem from it. As individuals age, their mana circuits grow stronger. Lia is confident in her supernatural healing and ability to repair her own body, or she would never attempt to perform this.
.....
Lia felt herself sink into that deep pool of consciousness, the field full of nothing but bones and bleak-gray grass. It was familiar to her at this point. Her mind split apart, separating into the various pieces of her consciousness as she let go of her troubles.
Each noise, movement or slight variation in the environment around her registered as something different.
For instance, Hysteria's slight movements while she slept registered as a very light breeze. If someone new were to enter the space, it would resonate as the crunch of a bone, or if someone yelled, a strong breeze.
Lia herself, however, does not use this ability often, as it can slowly wear down one's mind and cause their capacity for thought to slow down. As young as she is, she cannot use this method unless she is sure she does not need sleep and can recover rapidly from any potential injuries it might cause.
Lia spent roughly four hours meditating like this before she woke herself.
.....
Lia wandered from her room to the main seating area with Hysteria in tow. She sat down on the couch and Hysteria crawled into her lap. Lia began to softly pat her head.
"Hysteria, why do you feel the need to sleep? Do you require sleep or is it something you just...do?"
Hysteria speaks in her unusual, even and flat tone. "I sleep because you are comfortable to be around and sleeping is peaceful."
Lia chuckles a bit, still patting Hysteria's head. "Sometimes I feel like I have a small child instead of a sentient weapon."
Hysteria didn't say anything, but continued to enjoy her soft petting.
Lia herself began speaking to Saro. "Meditation is rather fickle for me, I have not quite mastered it just yet. Luckily, it will allow me the additional time to study while I enjoy this...academy experience"
Saro mind shrugged. "True, but you will get better with practice. It is a miracle that we are capable of even doing it at our age."
Lia mind nods in response before getting to work on practicing her magic.
She summoned a ball of Decay, as a peculiar smell began to emanate from it. She narrowed her eyes and the stench disappears as quickly as if appeared.
Lia took a moment to stretch and pull the small orb into various stages. She had been incredibly blunt with her casting during the tournament.
Lia separated the orb into four distinct orbs of varying sizes. She then ordered one to begin spinning, another to begin bouncing, one to remain still, and the final one to move horizontally.
The task was...grueling for a variety of reasons. Having multiple connections of mana weaved that all act independently is far harder to sustain than just giving one overall order.
The training exercise ended when Lia felt Page beginning to awaken. Lia herself was left in a mentally spent state, as practicing multi-casting is incredibly difficult to train. She was...tired, but her exhaustion seemingly vanished a moment later. Lia realized that Saro had taken the exhaustion from her.