Dyllan sighed, and put his hand on the doorknob, trying and failing to give it a turn. Just as expected, the knob didn’t even budge - refusing to give him so much as the slight rattle and click given by a locked door, almost like it had been frozen in space and time. If only the doorknob believed in him as much as he believed in the door, this would be so much easier.

Maybe he should just wait outside? He’d already tried and failed to get through the door twice, and though the third time was supposedly the charm, it usually took him six or seven tries to phase through the door. It wasn’t like he had to manually re-enter his physical body either, he just had to wait until it woke up. Still, it was hours until dawn, and without his dreams to occupy him…

…One more try.

Dyllan walked a few yards back, closed his eyes, and charged the door. Once again, his charge was interrupted by the unforgiving “thud” of his head hitting… thin air?

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A quick look around revealed Dyllan to be inside his family’s apartment, a few feet past the door. It seemed he’d been saved by his own inability to judge distance, and hit his head on where he’d thought the door was. That was the final straw, he didn’t care if he was the only one that couldn’t reliably phase through physical mass, tomorrow he was leaving his window open.

A framed photograph caught Dyllan’s eye as he stood up and started to walk to his room. It was a picture of his dad in uniform, and as usual, it brought him… mixed feelings.

Dyllan had never really gotten a chance to know his dad, though he’d heard stories. When he was younger, he used to worship the man, dreaming of growing up to be a hero like him. To be a soldier willing to lay down his life for his country, for his family. That changed after Dylan became a pacifist. For a while he’d even hated his dad, though it broke his mother’s heart that he did.

Not that it lasted long. No matter how wrong Dyllan believed war was, he couldn’t bring himself to give anything less than his utmost respect to a man who was willing to sacrifice so much for others.

…God, these photos always made him feel so confused…