Disclaimer: Joss/Mutant Enemy/Universal pwn. That's all there is to it. And we can't stop it.

Warning: The following contains slash.

***

His name was Dylan Haymer, and he is the single most influential person in my life.

Over the course of this autobiography, the reasoning behind this will become clear. If I were to disclose the full nature of just how much he changed me at this point in the story, anything that followed it would seem anticlimactic to you, the reader. There is nothing anticlimactic about what is to come, however, so I therefore must keep it from you for the moment. Begging your pardon, I will forge on with my tale. My "hero's journey," to put it in technical terms, was only just beginning.

After I left him in that alley and made my way back to House Jami'ah, I felt a tiredness wash over me, like it had been draining to be in his presence. Maybe it had. Whatever the driving force behind the weariness, I did not dally before returning to my quarters. At once, I collapsed onto the silk linens of my bed, but sleep didn't find me right away. Rather, I lingered in that dozing, semi-conscious state where one is awake yet still dreaming.

Strange things found me in my slowly fading consciousness and I became lost in my own mind. I was a child once more, watching companions come and go, helping them whenever they allowed. Only, the corridors of House Jami'ah seemed to go on forever and I could never seem to find my way to the gardens, which I was striving so hard to locate. Around every corner was another companion, each of them giving me that trademark flick of their eyes before turning and walking through dark doorways from which icy drafts emanated and slamming the doors behind them. It was the first day of my training, and I was hanging on my instructor's every word, just as before. He was explaining guild laws and taboos. For some reason, every student in the class was staring at me, all with the same look of anxious desperation on their faces. I vaguely recalled seeing that