Tafel stared at Vur’s face. It was unchanging. His eyes stared straight ahead at the tablet on the table, and a snot bubble steadily rose and fell from his nostril. Tafel leaned to the side and picked up the tablet, keeping her eyes on Vur’s. She moved the tablet to the left, and Vur’s eyes followed. She moved the tablet to the right, and Vur’s eyes shifted to the right. She moved the tablet up, and Vur’s eyes went upwards. She placed the tablet back down, and Vur’s eyes returned to their original position.

“Are you really asleep?” Tafel asked, her expression darkening. She glanced at Vur’s chest when she didn’t get a response. “You’re not controlling his eyes like some kind of meat puppet, are you, Stella?”

Stella’s voice came out of Vur’s tattoo. “No. I’m gardening.”

“What? How?” Tafel’s brow furrowed. “What are you growing in Vur’s body?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Stella’s voice replied.

“Yes, I would very much like to know!”

“That’s just too bad.”

Tafel could practically hear the fairy sticking her tongue out. She was about to say something else, but heavy footsteps from the hall caught her attention. A black dragon’s head appeared, and Grimmy’s mom gave Tafel a nod. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” Tafel said. What else could she say? No? Other than the fact that this was Grimmy’s mom’s home, Tafel also had no plans to refuse any dragons’ demands. “What’s the matter?”

Grimmy’s mom didn’t say anything. Instead, she stared at Vur for a moment before pointing at him. “Is he sleeping?” she asked Tafel.

Tafel’s expression darkened. “Yes.”

“Interesting,” Grimmy’s mom said and walked in a large circle around Vur and Tafel. She stopped behind the table with the tablet, evidently having noticed Vur’s eyes were trained on it. She moved the tablet around and made the same discovery as Tafel. Vur’s eyes would follow the tablet. Grimmy’s mom knocked the tablet over, and Vur’s eyes seemed to glaze over. She took out a different tablet and placed it on the table. The light reappeared in Vur’s eyes. “He’s not conscious at all?”

Tafel waved her hand in front of Vur’s face, but there was no response. “If you want to know more about it, you can always wake him up and ask. Did Ramon fall asleep during your class?”

Grimmy’s mom nodded. She extended her paw and tapped on Vur’s shoulder. When he didn’t wake up, she nudged him a little harder.

“Let me help,” Tafel said. Her horns glowed blue, and an icy needle materialized in her palm. She picked it up and poked Vur’s snot bubble.

Vur blinked and looked around before waving at Grimmy’s mom. “Hi, Gren. What are you doing here?”

Grimmy’s mom scratched her head. It was strange hearing her nickname come out of a human’s mouth—even if the human was technically a dragon. Usually, when humans worshipped her, they used her full name and title. “I had a few questions I wanted to ask you about the technique you taught Ramon.”

Vur tilted his head. “I taught Ramon a technique?”

“Didn’t you?” Grimmy’s mom asked and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes narrowed. “Did Ramon lie to me?”

Tafel cleared her throat and nudged Vur. “Didn’t you teach Ramon how to learn in his sleep?”

“How is that a technique?” Vur asked.

“How is it not a technique?” Grimmy’s mom asked.

“Anyone can do it,” Vur said. “It’s like breathing. Is breathing a technique?”

Grimmy’s mom shifted her gaze onto Tafel. Evidently, the demon had the same thoughts as her. It wasn’t her point of view that was wrong—it was Vur’s. Gren turned back to face Vur. “Can you teach me how to learn in my sleep?”

“Sure,” Vur said and nodded. “You just have to learn, and when you’re learning, you fall asleep and let your body continue learning.”

“How do you continue learning after you fall asleep?”

Vur blinked. “You just don’t stop learning. It’s the same thing as flying while you’re asleep. You fly, fall asleep, and don’t stop flying.”

Gren tilted her head. “You can fly while sleeping?”

“I can do lots of things while sleeping,” Vur said. “I can eat while sleeping. I can read while sleeping. I can fight while sleeping. I can sleep while sleeping.” He nodded. “It’s as easy as breathing. You don’t have to breathe; your body does it for you. Let your body do things for you while you go to sleep.”

Question marks floated above Gren’s head. “Does this require mana?”

“A little bit,” Vur said and rubbed his chin. “You just have to make your mana go ka-chick, ka-chick before you fall asleep.”

Gren stared at Tafel, asking the demon with her eyes, “What does he mean by making your mana go ka-chick, ka-chick?”

“That’s how he describes the movement of his mana,” Tafel said and pursed her lips. “It doesn’t make sense to me either.”

Gren frowned. “But it made sense to Ramon?”

***

Gloria stared at her brother. His head was resting on his table, his cheek pressed against the hard surface. Drool leaked out of his mouth, forming a small but steadily growing puddle on the floor. His eyes were completely shut, and heavy snores echoed out of his mouth. His stomach rose and fell with every breath he took. The tablet that he was supposed to be studying had fallen flat on the table, knocked over by the reverberations of his snores. No matter which angle Gloria looked at Ramon from, she couldn’t see anything other than a dragon in deep sleep. Was he really studying the new language in his head?

Gloria shrugged and turned her attention back onto her tablet. In front of her, there was a slate that she was scratching the letters of the alphabet onto. When she completely filled the slate with one set of letters, she shook it, and it reverted back to a blank state. Although she didn’t know what would happen if she didn’t finish memorizing the alphabet by the time her grandma came back, Gloria had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the giant stick hidden away in the closet. And if Ramon’s technique failed to work, then she’d be able to confirm her suspicions.