It was cloudy today.

The usual colors of the city were washed over with shades of blue as [[02.) Conri]] peered out the office window. The therapist's office matched the city's tone with its washed out grey walls and large faded brown desk that sat in front of matching cabinets. He sat across the desk in an arm chair that he moved closer to the window while his therapist sat at the desk scribbling away. The pen was off beat with the music he always listened to during his sessions; he had been allowed one ear bud given the agreement that it wouldn't completely distract him. It never did, in fact, it was one of the few reasons why he managed to focus at all. He had a playlist for nearly every sort of occasion in his life, including therapy, which he shared during one of his first sessions with Dr. Bromley.

Conri's therapist had finished and finally turned his attention back to his patient.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," he had learned that despite Conri's music, he didn't need to raise his voice too much. "so then what did you and the academic counselor talk about?"

"I explained what happened during the dinner, or at least what I could remember." Conri continued to stare out the window. "He wasn't phased as his job is basically educating those who want to study magic, but said that it was something that could be further studied if I applied to the academy. He then offered me a book from his personal library and that was sort of it."

He could hear Dr. Bromley's pen again.

"That sounds promising. What kind of book was it?"

"It was some sort of introduction text to understanding the arcane language. Its not that easy to read."

The therapist's blacked out sclera's widened with glee.

"The ancient language really isn't easy, but understanding it does make studying the arcane arts much easier. All magic is connected in some way, except each has its own diction. The history behind it all is simply fascinating if you are considering moving forward with it."

Conri considered the elf's words and simply nodded trying to avoid a history lesson as it was one of Dr. Bromley's hobbies. The arcane comes easier to specific races and elves are probably one of the lucky ones next to vampires, dragonborn, eladrin, devils, giants and the like. Everyone else in between would either require dedication to studying these 'languages' or rely on artifacts or drugs to amplify what little they possessed. Conri could guess that the counselor even had to spend years studying and apprenticing under others just to get where he was today. The thought of applying himself to study then to take the entrance exam on a 50/50 chance of succeeding wasn't at the top of his goal list.

He'd like to better understand what his abilities were capable of, but considering he'd just got out of a year long relationship, struggling with trauma from a different ex and living in a society that is showing signs of potential power struggles between citizens and its current ruling council, his potential could wait until he had the rest of his life sorted out. He had friends he could rely on, but his family had distance themselves after Conri moved to the city upon learning of their differentiating ideas for his future. They're on speaking terms which he was thankful for.

"How has your sleep patterns been? Have the nightmares stopped?" Dr. Bromley interjected.

"Oh," Conri thought looking back to the previous week. "I guess they've mostly ceased besides the occasional one. Those are few and far between thankfully." He turned his attention away from the window to look at Dr. Bromley, Conri's eyes went to the elf's pointed ears that stuck out from the neatly combed nest of brown hair. Their bare presence made his own ears feel heavy with the weight of his own piercings. "Though there are moments where everything feels off. Like the dream is being projected from a broken TV; there's either no color or distorted sound or even both at the same time."

Dr. Bromley took his final notes and checked the clock on the wall noticing their time was soon to be up. Conri's comment was curious, but perhaps they could explore it further next week. As he dated today's session, Conri took his cue to collect his own things and readjust the chair back to its original position away from the window.

"Is that one new by chance?"

Conri paused before placing the second earbud into his right ear to address the question. His middle finger reached up and touched what he assumed Dr. Bromley was referring to: on his front helix was a burnt crimson stone. It stood out amongst the silver hoops and studs.

"Yes. It was a gift actually from someone special."

"How...thoughtful of them."

"It was this time." Conri's gaze drifted to his phone to change the playlist. "Same time next week?"