The quill gently floated in the air, swaying softly to and fro before touching down on the parchment beneath it. A gentle scratching sounded as it elegantly inked words in a lovely cursive script as if of its own power. Each letter perfectly formed with exact precision, completely uniform and practiced. Ijna sat comfortably a few feet away in a plush armchair reading a massive tome, the only evidence of her being the writer being the gentle movements of her right hand in the air. Every important piece of information was fluidly transcribed onto the paper, perfectly organized for future review using her well-developed format. Incantations, rituals, reagents, somatics, all perfectly placed in their appropriate boxes. She smiled lightly as she turned the page. This test so far promised to provide no difficulty at all, but she could never be too prepared. Conjuration was a notoriously complex subject, and practice was always useful. And besides, she enjoyed this. While her dormmates were out watching the college's sports in that loud, messy stadium, she was relaxing in her dorm, cozying up in her nice comfortable chair, reading a truly engaging tome of lore, keeping her mind nice and focused. So focused, in fact, that she didn't even realize someone else had entered the dorm until a shadow suddenly covered her book. “GAH! What?!” The quill clattered onto the table as she looked up, finding herself staring at a mischievous grin.

Ijna grumbled. “What are you doing back already, Ajess? I thought you were watching the game with your friends. I was counting on that, in fact.” Ajess chuckled. “Oh, I was, but, well… We're getting absolutely scrambled, so I figured I'd cut out a bit early to come prepare for tomorrow's test!” Ijna rolled her eyes. “Finally studying the material, huh? That's new.” Ajess shook her head. “Well, not studying the material, exactly…” She cutely placed her fingertips together. “I was thinking of maybe studying… Something else?” Ijna glared up at her. “No.” Ajess pouted. “Come oooon! You're the smartest in our class, I just need a little peek!” Ijna shook her head. “No. If you want to learn, then do so the right way.” Ajess grumbled and folded her arms, beginning to walk away.  Noticing where her dormmate's eyes were wandering, Ijna clicked her fingers, and a thick, shimmering fog descended over her notes. Ajess glared at her. “...Now you're just showing off.” Ijna grinned smugly. “Maybe if you actually read the material, you'd be able to do that too.” The quill floated back up and began writing again, completely unaffected by the mist. Ijna continued her reading, but suddenly found a strange, shimmering crystal swaying before her eyes…

Ajess whispered softly, her voice sweet and silken. “Watch the crystal sway back and forth~... Let it make you so, so sleepy~...” Ijna rolled her eyes. “That's not going to work.” Ajess quietly clucked her tongue. “Oh, but it will~... You'll watch the crystal swing, and you'll get sleepy~... You'll start to feel fuzzy and floaty, and you'll fall into a trance~... And then you'll obey my every command~...” Ijna snorted. “You're just waving a necklace in front of me. Why would that do anything?” Ajess chuckled softly. “Because you're being hypnotized~... With every swing you're becoming sleepy~... Open to suggestion~... Willing to obey~...” Ijna scoffed. “Hypnosis? Really? That stuff mortals made up to try and replicate enchantment magic? Why are you even trying that on me?” A grin crept into Ajess's voice. “Because you're so curious~... Admit it, haven't you wondered what it'd feel like to be hypnotized~? To be put under a trance without a glimmer of magic at all~... Just some soft words and a pretty necklace~... Wouldn't you like to find out what that feels like, Ijna~?” Ijna… elected not to dignify that with a response. She began reading again, attempting to ignore the necklace swinging back and forth before her eyes…

Ijna was well-trained in ignoring distractions while she studied. She'd have to be, with how rowdy her dormmates could get. Though, just because she could block them out doesn't mean she preferred having to do so. That was mental space she'd rather reserve for focusing on her studies. At least this new form of distraction was pleasantly easy to tune out. The movement was smooth and constant, the shimmer oddly not too distracting. Going back and forth, just like her eyes over the page. Reading from the start of a sentence to the end. Scanning over a diagram, left to right. Just letting her gaze travel along the page… Back and forth, left and right, reading about… About…She blinked, quickly skimming over the page. She didn't quite remember reading that part… Her eyes had just passed over it… That was why she hated having to tune things out. She tended to zone out and miss important information. Sighing lightly, she returned to the last part she recalled, hoping she hadn't accidentally noted something incorrectly. Ajess continued swinging the necklace, but there was no need to acknowledge her distraction was working. It'd only encourage her. Ijna just needed to focus a little harder…

The swinging continued, unchanging, unfettered, as Ijna ignored it. She was focused on her book. Conjuration was very difficult for most mages at the college, but Ijna took to it quite well. It was by far the school of magic she was the most comfortable with. Reshaping the fabric of existence to bring something into being… There was something oddly calming about it. The fabric may seem chaotic, but it was more predictable and consistent than most worldly pursuits. Evocations fizzled and backfired, Transmutation was thrown off so easily by the imperfections of the material, Necromancy required communing with another plane, and Enchantment… Well, minds were the most chaotic and unpredictable of all. Why try so hard to manipulate and force something so intricate and constantly shifting? A foolish pursuit. Even more foolish were the mortals who tried to recreate it. How could they think they could replicate one of the most unwieldy forms of magic with nothing more than a swinging necklace? All it did was swing back and forth, nothing more. What could they hope to accomplish with something so simple? Just swinging back and forth, nothing more, back and forth, nothing more, back and forth, nothing more… “Pretty, isn't it Ijna~?” Ijna murmured quietly under her breath. “...pretty… yeah…” Ajess giggled softly, and Ijna suddenly realized she had zoned out again. She quickly scanned the page, realizing to her horror she hadn't absorbed a word on it… Nor the previous two! Glaring up at Ajess, she started over again, keeping her focus on the page. The necklace continued swinging, and she considered shooing Ajess away… No, no, there was no need… She could focus fine enough… No need to bother… Hardly a distraction anyway…

Soon enough, Ijna was back to focusing on the book, not on Ajess's annoyances. Maybe if her dormmate spent time on studying instead of trying to cut corners, she wouldn't have to resort to cribbing Ijna's notes. How long had she even spent learning ‘hypnotism’ anyway? Probably far too long, judging by how consistent that swinging was. Why spend so much time working on an inferior mockery of Enchantment instead of the actual techniques? …Although, given that using Enchantment magic on others outside of controlled environments was completely banned, perhaps that was why. No reason to ban something so ineffective. After all, it didn't even work if the subject was unwilling, so she had heard. So it was pointless to try and hypnotize her. She had no interest in being hypnotized. The swinging necklace was relaxing, yes, but she was still in control of her mind. She didn't even know what falling under a trance felt like. Something like zoning out, and becoming focused only on one thing… Like how she felt when studying. She did like how she felt when studying… And something about the swinging was making it easy to slip into that feeling… But she wasn't being hypnotized… Right…? She… Of course not, of course not… She… Needed to rest, she was just sleepy… She closed the tome and pushed herself off the chair. “Need to, uh, go rest…” Ajess smiled. “Don't you want to rest in your nice, comfy chair instead~?” That sounded nice… Ijna sat back down, letting her body relax in the plush chair, as the necklace continued swinging before her eyes… Wait…

Ajess whispered softly. “That's right, just keep watching~...” Confused, Ijna couldn't do much except follow the gentle rhythm back and forth… “What… What are you doing…?!” Ajess giggled. “I told you, silly~! You're being hypnotized~...” Ijna shook her head, but it looked more like she was just following the rhythm. “N-No… I'm not… I… I… I’m not…” Ajess leaned closer. “Oh, but you so clearly are~ Your body is so relaxed and comfy in your chair there~ And not to mention you can't keep your eyes off my necklace~” Ijna weakly struggled, trying to get up but suddenly feeling so warm and heavy. “I… I know you're using magic…! Hypnosis doesn't work!” Ajess gently crooned. “Oh, but it does~ I'm not using a spark of magic, yet your eyes are drawn to the rhythm~ Drawn to the wonderful temptation of trance~ All because you were curious about what it felt like, weren't you~?” All of Ijna's willpower was focused on forming a retort, so her eyes continued to obediently follow the swinging necklace back and forth, back and forth. “N-No… Just pseudomagic… Not real!” Ajess giggled, her voice growing lower. “If it's not real, then surely you can resist it~... Go on~... Resist me~...” Ijna's brain felt so fuzzy and dim… It would be so easy to just let it happen… So easy, and- No, she had to resist! She had to stop watching the necklace swinging back and forth before her eyes… Watching it swing back and forth, back and forth… Mustering up all the strength she could, she slammed her eyes shut. She could still feel the rhythm, but she couldn't see the necklace anymore, so it was fine… She'd resisted it…

Ajess sounded disappointed. “Aww, you managed to close your eyes~... How sad~... I guess I can't hypnotize you anymore~...” Ijna let out a strange combination between a triumphant laugh and a squeak. “You're completely safe now~... So you can relax~...” Ijna relaxed into the soft plush around her. Everything was fine… She'd resisted the hypnosis… “All of that stress is just draining away~... Melting down, down, down~...” Ajess's voice sounded so nice… So quiet… So silky… “You're growing so tired~... Let the feeling of sleep wash over you~...” Ijna relaxed further into the chair. “Listen to my voice, my lovely lullaby~... The gentle, warm embrace of sleep surrounds you~... It feels so nice, doesn't it~” Ijna's head barely moved as she nodded, but a sleepy smile crept its way onto her face. “Let yourself fall~... Deeper~... Deeper~... Deeper~... Deeper into that wonderful, warm, comfy, *hypnotized* sleep~” A part of Ijna's mind jolted awake at the mention. Hypnotized? She couldn't be hypnotized, right? R-

SNAP!

And the quill clattered against the table again.

~~~

Ajess grinned down at her sleeping dormmate. Ijna looked adorable like this. That smug, cold expression replaced with a dozey, sleepy grin… Her body so limp and relaxed… Her hand still limply hanging in the air as if she was still writing… Ajess was tempted to play with her a bit~! But no, that would be unnecessary… She just needed to copy the notes, and then wipe Ijna's memory if she had time. She smirked as she walked over to the desk. Everyone always underestimated hypnotism, and so trancing her fellow mages was wonderfully easy. And Ijna was by far the easiest, too! That calculating mind must have latched onto her suggestions so well, and then Click~! Out like a light. Perhaps she should do this more often! She got some free notes to read, and Ijna got to sleep! A win-win situation!

Ajess carefully picked up the now unobscured notes and began copying them with the one conjuration spell she'd ever really bothered to learn. She glanced over them as she read, not really understanding half of these terms but… She'd definitely understand them when she started studying, yeah. And luckily Ijna's notes were all sorted in order of writing, her classmate probably having developed some spell to push them to the back when they were finished at some point. As she reached the end, she noticed the notes getting a little spacier, the handwriting a bit less refined. She chuckled. It was nice to see written proof of her hypnotic prowess! …Hopefully she hadn't stopped Ijna before she finished all the required stuff. Reaching the final page, Ajess skimmed it to see if it was worth copying… And blushed profusely. She looked over at the sleepy, smiling Ijna, and laughed nervously. She tucked the note inside the tome. “I… I think I'll leave this for you to read later.” Ijna murmured sleepily as Ajess lay the notes down and quickly hurried from the room…

~~~

Ijna slowly stirred awake as the room was suddenly filled with noise. All her dormmates were back, and they were cheering so loudly… She moaned. It gave her such a bad headache… One of them walked past her, chattering excitedly. “...such an amazing comeback, we- Oh, sorry, were you asleep?” Ijna blearily glared at her and nodded. Her energized dormmate shrugged. “Ah, sorry, but the game was just so awesome! Probably gonna go down as one of the best in the school's history! I can't believe Ajess missed it all! I gotta tell her, do you know where she is?” Ijna wracked her sleepy, achy brain. She… She'd seen Ajess, right…? Yeah, she interrupted her while she was studying! Wanted to copy her notes, and then- Ijna's face grew red, and she shook her head. Her dormmate shrugged and continued talking with the others as Ijna quietly grabbed her notes and snuck off to the bedrooms.

Ajess wasn't there, which was good, because Ijna… She was angry! She'd… Probably act out in anger! Because of what Ajess did! It was so… Sneaky! Cutthroat! …Embarrassing! She could only hope Ajess wouldn't spread it around! Then everyone might think they could just get her notes by waving a pretty crystal before her eyes and whispering softly to her and making her fall asleep and- She violently shook her head to stop thinking about such an awful situation. She… She shouldn't think of this right now. She needed to focus on something else. Like her studies! Yes, she never finished them thanks to Ajess! She forcefully opened the tome and started to read… Before noticing a piece of parchment falling out. Clearly one of her notes, but why was it in there? She picked it up, immediately noticing the unrefined handwriting and unorganized mess, clearly from her lack of focus while being hypnotized. And then she actually noticed what she'd written. And her face flushed a deep red.

Feel so relaxed…

So safe…

So warm…

Feel so nice…

So hypnotized…

Feels so good…

I'm a good girl…

Love being hypnotized…

I'm a good hypnotized girl…

Love Mistress Ajess…

Messages of that nature filled the page. She… No, Ajess must have made her write that! She… She wouldn't… She…

Ijna put the tome away and lay down in her bed… She… She didn't think that stuff… Shouldn't think that stuff… Enchantment magic was dangerous! Unpredictable! Manipulative! That… That's why it was banned from college grounds! Who would want to be subject to that! She… She wouldn't… Not really, right? They were just intrusive thoughts… She didn't actually want to be put under a charm spell… Or… Or hypnotized… And hypnosis didn't even work anyway! Everything said that! It was obvious! So… So why did she let herself be hypnotized…? She… She didn't want to read about how good it made her feel… Because that just made her remember how good it made her feel… And that was bad… Right…? 

The clock rang 1, but everyone was still out partying. Ijna had no idea where Ajess was… And she wasn't sure if she wanted to speak to her or not… She yawned, still so tired… She'd never been good at sleeping normally… Always preferred staying up late to study instead. But she'd had such a nice… Sleep earlier. And she'd already written all her notes as well… So… Maybe she should… Try it herself…

Reaching under her bed, Ijna pulled out a box, unlocked it, and took out the jewelry from within. A shimmering, lustrous diamond necklace, passed down to her on her 18th birthday. She'd never told anyone what she tried to do with it… Had tried to block it out herself before now… It hadn't worked then, but…

Ijna watched the necklace swing gently back and forth before her eyes. It wasn't as steady as when Ajess did it, but… She felt herself falling into the rhythm again… And she zoned out, focusing only on the gentle, hypnotizing rhythm…