She approached him confidently, murmuring something under her breath that didn't sound like any language he had ever heard. He wanted to back away but his legs felt stuck to the ground. He wasn't sure if it was a spell or he was just too scared to move. Her hand came up to his eyes and then a whisper in his ear. He could not make it out but in an instant it was all black.
Gasping, James sat up quickly in his bed. Chest heaving and forehead drenched in sweat, he had to grab his chest lest his pounding heart burst out of his chest.
The tent, the crowd, the smell of straw and booze was all gone. Replaced by Downy fabric softener he had used on his sheets and his bedroom.
He calmed himself as best he could. "It was only a dream. Had to be." He kept reminding himself. His breathing slowed and his heart calmed. James pulled the sheets away and looked down at himself.
Same old stomach. Same old legs. Same arms, feet, dick, knees and everything else. He wasn't sure what happened last night but he made a pledge to never drink again as long as he lived. Or until next Friday.
Plopping his feet on the cold hardwood floor of his bedroom, he arched his back and let the stiffness of the night out in a yawn. He stood and walked straight to the bathroom. Clicking the light on, he leaned over his sick and looked in the mirror.
He looked the same as always though his hair- which he never remembered letting get this long, obscured his eyes but brushing that away revealed the same eyes he had since he was a baby.
"Madame Illusia? Right." He scoffed. Usually, James' dreams were much of a memory past standing up. Last night's dream, though, seemed like it was only minutes ago. Such vivid memories were uncommon for him but he wasn't too interested in dwelling on it either.
Sidestepping to the toilet, the urge to pee was the only real concern he had. The night had built up a massive reservoir which he was eager to get rid of. Flipping the seat up, he grabbed and aimed and 'let go'. The expected splashing of water didn't come though.
James gathered himself and tried again but, as before, nothing. It was as if all that pee had been released but didn't have a way to get out. Shaking himself, James was certainly bothered by this at first but just passed it off at morning jitters. Resigned to take care of it later, he turned around- his longer hair whipping into his face, annoyingly- and started to walk back to his bedroom when...