The Amastacia grimoire was large and many inches thick. It was bound in smooth, aged leather with runes and sigils that he did not yet fully understand carved into it. He did learn the meaning of some of them from reading through its pages. There was one for prosperity, another for wealth, and another for good luck or something along those lines. The grimoire held such a large collection of spells, rituals, and whatever other findings those in his family before him thought important or interesting enough to add. Kleo couldn’t imagine needing or being able to do a fraction of the spells, let alone find something unique to add to it on his own.

He sat at a desk in the workroom, fingering through the pages and taking notes in his own journal of anything he thought would possibly help him understand the issue he was facing with his own power. He yawned, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. He tapped his phone to check the time: half-past three in the morning. He had to be up to meet Sean at 8 to join him in getting some last-minute Christmas shopping done. He stretched his arms back until he heard the satisfying pop and went back to the section he was reading. He’d give himself another half hour before he’d make himself go to bed.

He flipped through a few more pages detailing herbs and their importance to enhancing spells when he became when impatient, began to leaf through pages, scanning for anything that would pop out to him until he came to the remnants of a page that looked like it was ripped from the book, only a piece of the bottom left portion left behind, similar to a footnote.

The ring and other jewels or items alike have the capability to funnel magic.

The page that followed explained something about a spell of transference but didn’t seem to mention anything regarding the footnote.

“What does it mean by ‘funnel magic’?” He asked himself, brows furrowed as he thought of what it could mean. Did it mean it to be something he could channel his magic through? If that were the case, then theoretically that could be helpful. He penciled it down, reminding himself to ask Nox about it later when he was awake. He stifled another yawn that made its way up his throat and looked at his phone to check the time, only to curse at himself to find that it was nearly 5. He groaned, knowing that he was going to be exhausted the next day.

***

After the fire took away basically everything he had ever known, Sean stepped up for Kleo and helped him learn to build himself up again. Sean was like a father to Kleo. Even before the fire, when he knew him as his mother's friend, Sean seemed to look out for Kleo and treated him like the son he never had. Helped him learn that he isn't just the one horrible event that happened in his life, but that he was even more because of how he grew from that. Things may not always be a hundred percent, but they're certainly better than they could have been given the cards he'd been dealt. Kleo knew he was fortunate despite that tragedy and he would always be thankful to Sean for all that he does and has done for him. He loved him like a dad, and would certainly do anything for him even if it meant spending an ungodly amount of hours helping him find Christmas gifts for the Crows and whomever else Sean had on that list of his.

They started shopping as soon as the mall opened and now it was well into the afternoon and Kleo, who was already exhausted, was now feeling like death on stilts. He could even feel Nox's own annoyance regarding the ordeal begin to sneak its way into his own mood and it took so much self-control to not let it show. One would think that years of staying with Sean and experiencing shopping trips such as those would make you used to them or at the very least, prepared. However, that is not the case.

Kleo loves Sean, he really does, but boy was he tired and thankful once they finally had everything needed and made their way back home.

"Wow, it's looking really nice in here!" Sean said with a bit of a laugh as he stepped through the door and set down the shopping bags he held. "When you said you guys decorated, I didn't realize you went all out."

"I wouldn't say we went all out," Kleo muttered as he dropped his own bags before glancing around and wondering if they really did do too much. Now that he was taking in the tree, the garlands, the lights, and all the other Christmas related knick-knacks they had found in his mother’s belongings with a fresh set of eyes, he was second-guessing himself. Maybe they did go a bit off the deep end but the three of them spent an entire evening putting everything together and he was proud of their handy work. It was worth it, even if it meant he only slept a grand total of 3 hours before he had to get up for his shift at the Apothecary the next morning.

"I'm not saying it's bad," Sean said, hanging up his coat. "I'm glad you were able to find some of your mom's old stuff," he smiled, setting his keys down on the bar before stepping further into the living room and towards the fireplace where the stockings were hung. "I didn't even realize this stuff survived the fire," he said almost to himself.

"Yeah, it was a pretty pleasant surprise," Kleo said, setting his keys down on the entryway table near the door and noticed the stuffed toy elf sitting there beside the bowl. He looked at it for a moment, trying to remember when it had moved there before shrugging it off and making his way to the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker. "Want any?"

Sean looked his way and Kleo motioned towards the now brewing pot of liquid gold.

"Sure, why not," he said and Kleo grabbed two cups from the cupboard before grabbing the creamer. "Long night?"

"You could say that," Kleo answered with a yawn. Even though the end of the semester meant no schoolwork, there were still tons of studying to be done when it came to magic. He figured the faster he learned, the more control he could have over his power. Unfortunately, though, all he's really done is burned himself out from staying up so late trying to perfect each spell he learned. Both Flora and Alexei warned him that this wasn't the best nor the smartest way to go about it, and he hated to say that they were right.

Kleo had busied himself with pouring their coffee when Sean suddenly exclaimed, "Wow, I haven't seen one of these in years!"

"Seen what?" Kleo asked, glancing up as Sean picked up the toy elf from where it sat on the couch. Kleo opened his mouth to explain how he had found it when a wave of confusion hit him. He looked to the bar where he swore he had just placed the elf to find it empty. He looked back at the elf held in Sean's hand and couldn't explain the odd feeling that formed in his chest. His confusion started to ease and for some reason, he felt assured? He didn't understand it, but he also couldn't shake the odd sense of awareness that he got when he looked at the toy. "Um, yeah we actually found it with the other stuff. He was stuffed away in one of the containers and I vaguely remembered him from when I was younger," he said, questioning his own sanity as he brought Sean his coffee and took a seat beside him on the couch, still eyeing the toy elf.

He thanked him, taking a sip before looking at the doll again. "This one's an older one for sure, I'm surprised he's lasted so long," he turned it on its side, noticing the stitching where Kleo had patched him up. "I take it this is your handiwork?"

"Well, he was a bit torn when I found him so I sewed him up," he said, almost absentmindedly as he took a long sip of his coffee, willing the caffeine to wake him up. He must be tired, that had to be what was going on. He had been stressed lately and already hasn't been sleeping too well so exhaustion could quite definitely be the reason for what was going on here. He tried to reason with himself that that was the case but he couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on.

Sean set the elf down on the side table before turning a bit in his seat to face him and Kleo raised an eyebrow at him. "So," he started, letting out a breath as he began to use his parent voice, "how have things been?"

"They're fine," Kleo answered skeptically, taking another sip of his coffee.

"How are your nightmares?" He asked and Kleo instantly sat up. Sean sighed and set his own cup down on the coffee table. "When did they come back?"

"Just a couple of nights ago. They've been kind of on and off, but that one was the worst of them," he answered honestly, not really wanting to look Sean in the eyes.

"Do you think it would help to set up counseling again?"

"No, well" Kleo started but stopped himself. "I don't know? I mean, maybe? I just don't really have the time right now." With school and work and learning magic and dealing with everything that came from that, Kleo didn't know how he'd find the time to start up therapy again. "Besides, I mean, I haven't had to go in years," he tried to reason. "It's probably just from this being my first semester of college and the stress from that. I had that nightmare during finals which would make a lot of sense if stress is the cause of it."

"Okay, well firstly, you don't have to be working at the store. If you are so stressed, maybe you should take a break from that. Secondly, maybe it is stress and yes, it's true that you haven't been in so long but Kleo it's not always a one and done type of thing. Sometimes people go at multiple times during their lives, especially those who have experienced trauma." Sean explained to him.

"Working at the store isn't stressful though, it's more of a break for me from school and everything. Also, yes I know and I know there's nothing wrong with therapy I just," Kleo took a breath to calm himself. "I think this will pass on its own. I want to at least try on my own first." Sean didn't look too convinced with his reasoning but he didn't know what else to say. He couldn't say what was really going on. He couldn't explain to him that all of the stress he was under stemmed from his sudden realization of his magical heritage and the responsibility that came with it. He looked Sean in his eyes, hoping he would at least see how serious Kleo was about this and drop the therapy thing for now.

"Fine," he caved, raising his hands as a sign of surrender. "You're an adult now, I get that, but if this continues and doesn't get better Kleo, I won't hold my tongue. You know I'm only looking out for what's best for you."

"I know, and thank you for that. I just want to try this my way first," he said, relieved that Sean was letting him have this.

"Alright." Sean picked up his coffee with a soft sigh and took a drink from it before standing up. He turned to Kleo with a smile before motioning to the bags of stuff they purchased earlier, "How about we get started on wrapping those gifts then?"