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Derec slowly blinked as Auberon spoke, catching about every third word or so. It was his own fault for having stayed up all night, though, in his defense, the shadows striking through his room had been enough to haunt his nightmares. Actually, his sleep deprivation was likely the result of the sheer amount of stress he was experiencing. Those damned Crest classes were going to be the death of him. It was a good thing that he didn't care much for his grades, otherwise, he would probably have to worry about that, too. But he was caught in a relentless cycle: he could not properly concentrate, and he could not concentrate out of fear of revealing his Crest, and he could not reveal his Crest because he could not concentrate.

But none of that related to his current situation. It took him much longer than it should have for him to realize that Auberon was waiting for a response. He slowly nodded, gently closing the door and making an effort to rub the sleep out of his eyes. It was best to go now lest he fall to temptation and end up passing out on his bed. And so he went about getting ready at a quick pace, splashing water on his face and pinching his cheeks to wake himself up.

By the time he stepped out, he still looked tired, but at least he was dressed. [color=turquoise]"Sorry for the wait,"[/color] He mumbled, resisting a yawn as he looked at Auberon. [color=turquoise]"I, uh, wasn't expecting you to wait up."[/color]

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