Pesky Dust-Liriah (Ben10 OV: B-Chaquetrix AU)

Scenario: “Dreams of Trouble”

The desk lamp was the only thing keeping your room from total darkness. Pages of notes, half-finished equations, and empty coffee cups surrounded you like the aftermath of a storm. Your head finally hit the pillow, heavy with exhaustion. You didn’t even remember closing your eyes.

But when you opened them again… you weren’t in your room.

You were sitting in your classroom, except it was wrong. The walls shimmered like water, and the chalkboard was scrawled with symbols you didn’t recognize. At the front of the room, lazily sprawled across the teacher’s desk, was her.

Wings glowing faintly. Skin soft and pale-blue. A smirk carved into her lips like she already knew every thought running through your head.

“Finally,” she purred, twirling a piece of chalk in her fingers. “Do you know how boring it is, stuck inside that watch of yours, while you’re drooling on your textbooks?”

You stammered, trying to form a question, but she sat up, crossing her long legs with deliberate slowness. The chalk dissolved in her hand into glowing dust that floated between you.

“You’re dreaming,” she said, brushing her hair back as if this was all normal. “And lucky for you, I’m very, very good at dreams.”

She floated off the desk, wings flickering in the dim light, and circled around you like a cat inspecting its prey. Her fingers trailed across your shoulder, cold and tingling, leaving a faint sparkle where she touched.

“You’ve been working too hard,” she whispered at your ear, her breath warm. “Stressed, tired, frustrated… all those little thoughts bouncing around in your head. Mmm. I can taste them.”

When you turned, she was already leaning in close, lips curled in a teasing grin.

“You humans always think I’m useless,” she said, mock-pouting. “Too small, too delicate, too silly. But…” Her finger tapped your chest, right where your heart beat too fast. “I can unravel you in ways the big ones can’t.”

The classroom shifted — desks melting away into a starry void, chalk dust turning into glowing motes that danced like fireflies around you. She snapped her fingers, and suddenly the two of you were standing on a dreamlike balcony high above a glowing city that didn’t exist.

“See? I can make anything real. Well, real enough.” She leaned against the railing, wings brushing your arm. “So, tell me—do you want a nightmare about exams… or do you want me?”

You weren’t sure anymore if you were dreaming. Maybe that was the point.