Shallan's suggestion was met with a pair of confused expressions, followed by realization. Clair and Mec exchanged glances before rising to their feet.
"I haven't been able to use magic here," Mec said, as he brushed the sand off of his trousers. "I assumed that to be normal. But Clair, you're a dream... Dream magic user?"
"An oneiromancer, yes," Clair said. "Though I suspect no magic would be needed if you willed a thing into existence. Like Shallan said, it's your dream, and you are conscious of it." She paused, taking in Mec's expression for a moment. "But you seem unsure, so I'll give it a try. I could use the practice." She smirked, taking a few steps backwards towards the oasis.
Clair took a long breath, considering how to approach this attempt at magic. As she exhaled, she allowed herself to simply do what felt natural. She raised her arms in front of her in gentle, rolling motions. Naturally, fluidly, much like she may have done once during a performance. As one arm raised, the other lowered, like rolling tide. Then, she turned one hand, joining her fingertips together as if to hold an invisible object. With the other hand, she waved over the empty fingertips in a circular motion, and to her surprise, a swirl of light formed. It glowed brightly at its nucleus like a bright star. Tails shimmered as they exuded from the nucleus, spinning around it with the motion of Clair's spinning hand.
Only seconds passed before the light began to take a different form. From his vantage, Mec could make out the shape of a hilt and a curved blade about the length of his hand. As the light dissipated, the shape remained, becoming a real object. The silver blade glimmered in the moonlight, and Clair's hand grasped the hilt.
The oneiromancer held the knife up to get a closer look, her lips curling into a satisfied smile. She could not help but sigh loudly with contentment, before holding out the knife to Shallan. "Cheating or not, your idea seemed to work."
With their newly found tool, they managed to split the hard shell of the strange fruit. Mec held up one of the halves with both hands. Despite is cautiousness, a few drops of the watery, clear liquid that had been trapped inside trickled down his forearms. The remaining liquid rested inside the curved half of the fruit, inside of its strangely white flesh. "Looks like water," Mec said. "But it smells good. Do you think it's safe to drink?"
Without hesitating, Clair swiped a finger through the liquid. She sucked the liquid off of her fingertip, smacking her lips as she mulled over the flavor. "How peculiar. I wouldn't call it sweet, but it's an appealing flavor."
As Shallan and Mec tried the new water, Clair conjured a few spoons so that they could try tasting the white flesh that was leftover. It tasted just like the fruit's juice, with the added texture of the white fibers. Soon, there was no more fruit left to partake in, only a pair of hard, empty and brown shells.
"What a fascinating discovery," Clair mused aloud. "Though I wish we had the idea to bring a knife before using my teeth." A few silent moments passed, before Clair smiled in an almost wicked way. Clearly, an idea had occurred to her, and she began to conjure another item. A swirling shimmer of light became a lute in her hands, and a sweet sound rang from it as she passed her fingers over the strings. After taking a few seconds to make adjustments, Clair plucked the strings again. A familiar melody rang out, a song the group was familiar with from their previous travels, and Clair began to sing.
After a few verses, the musician nodded towards Shallan, encouraging her to join in. Mec returned to his seat in the sand, happy to play the role of an attentive audience.
I like them, a familiar voice told Mec. G had never sounded so clear before.
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