3am

Nicholas couldn't sleep.  Well, he had been sleeping.  Actually sleeping, rather than passed out.  But then the nightmare had woken him up.   Henry's body, the blood, the maze.  His mind didn't even need to make anything up for it to be terrifying.  It just was.  And every time he woke up.  But he usually could get back to sleep.  But this time, he had laid in bed for what seemed like forever before he finally got up.

He'd started to just go find a window to smoke gillyweed in, but as much as it helped he didn't want to go to class high.  Especially since it was Storm right after breakfast.  There was not caring about detention and then there was not caring about your life. So instead he'd decided to wander the halls in his pajamas and slippers. It didn't take him long to realize that his feet were taking him to the counselor's office. 

It was barely past three, he was definitely breaking curfew and standing in front of an office.  He'd been putting it off for nearly a month because he didn't want to talk about it.  But then he had talked about some of it with Peyton.  And he had a good thing going there.  And bloody rooms and torture and nightmares did not make for fun times.

He started to raise his hand to knock but then thought better of it. He could wait till later.  There was no need to wake the woman this early. 

He dropped his arm and then sat down next to the door.  He also had no desire to head back to the dorm. Or the common room.  He'd end up waking someone up and they'd ask questions.  Or just bother him in general.

There was a chance of getting caught breaking curfew but he wasn't drunk or drinking.  He wasn't high or smoking.  He wasn't having sex or nude. So all in all, better than any other time he might have gotten caught.

Maiko had charmed several different pieces of jewelry (including some that she wore in her ears) that heated up to alert her when somebody approached her office door and stayed.  She also had an alarm clock at home that did the same thing, which certainly helped when it was the middle of the night and she was half asleep. Sometimes it took more than just heat disturbance to wake her up. To help encourage patience, she kept a sign on the door when she was out that let students know that she would be there as soon as possible, regardless of the time.

At the sound of the alarm, she rolled out of bed, joints and back popping with the movement. She glanced at the time.  3:00 in the morning. Her earlobe felt warm-- two warnings.

She quickly threw on some clothes-- yoga pants, runners, and a burgundy sweater, and stepped out the door with a jacket in hand. She apparated outside the grounds, forever grateful that her office was on the ground floor.

When Mai approached her office, she saw Nicolas Bevans, sitting by the door. "Couldn't sleep?" Brow furrowed with concern, she opened the door to her office before kneeling down beside him. She took a quick glance at the clock. He hadn't waited long.

Nicholas had been sitting there, knees pulled up to his chest, contemplating just obliviating himself.  Not by himself of course.  He didn't care to forget every spell he knew.  But it seemed like an enticing option if he could just get someone to do it.

It wasn't long however until he heard footsteps approaching.  He thought about trying to move but really what was the point.  They could either cut him some slack or he'd shove a wand so far up their—or it'd be the counselor.  So much for not knocking.  And she at least wasn't threatening detention or points.

"Not sober," The smart ass answer he'd have given to his friends leaving his lips before he could stop it. "No, nightmares.  Again."  Not that the second answer was any better.  He stood up as he saw her look at the clock. "Sorry, I really didn't mean to wake you.  I just..."

"No, it's fine," She insisted. Really, it was. Mai didn't mind losing a few hours of sleep for her students-- especially for students in crisis. None of them would wake her up or bother her for no good reason. And she knew that. So. Bevans was not sober, and he was not sleeping due to the nightmares. He had been one of the students who were abducted-- and like the others, the abduction had left its marks on him. Mai could hardly blame him for not being sober. It was a coping mechanism, and it made it easier to handle everything. Or forget it.

She didn't know if he had actually talked about it with anybody. It wasn't exactly easy.

She unlocked her office and let him in, closing the door behind him. As she waited for him to get settled, she got a pot of tea ready.

"So. The nightmares." Maiko said, "How long have they been keeping you up?" Some people could go back to sleep easily after, but others didn't have that luxury.

Nicholas slowly and quietly took a seat after the counselor let him in.  He wasn't intentionally trying to take his time, he was just trying to figure out what he was going to say.  He was hunched over in the chair, tired from not getting enough sleep and from just everything. 

He sat there a moment after she asked her question, staring at the floor, he really shouldn't have made the crack about not being sober.  Especially since at the moment, he was sober and that was why he'd been able to wake up at all.  "Umm... Pretty much ever since getting back to the castle."  There might have been a night or two when he first came back but he couldn't remember.

"It's every time I close my eyes," he sighed, "Unless I make sure that I can't...that I won't dream."