Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Ten ۞ The Return

Valeriana did not want to recall what happened between her and Corvan, however, it only seemed like he had completely forgotten about it. Either that or he was trying to forget about it.

It was awkward. It seemed that she dragged them down again. The whole ritual with the 'send off' took a while, and it was unexpected for everyone who were rushing because of the zap on their energy. It made the whole purpose of 'speeding things up' in vain, making her feel bad again.

Even so, they said that it gave them time to rest and recover their energy. She noticed that the time she 'rose', they were all camping. For the meantime, they called off their familiars until it was time to summon them again.

"Here you go, Valeriana." Aneeka gave her a rare, proud smile that she returned with her own. "I tried to find the best carrying belt for that weapon."

The tenth's gift was one that came with a similar color to Cifaro. It had ivory white leather and a silver clasp to help hold it in place. It was much simpler than the sword's intricate design, but it was enough to balance out the ostentatiousness of its appearance. In fact, it accentuated its beauty further.

"Thanks! But, I don't want to refer to this as just a 'weapon' or a 'sword'." She gave it a fond look. "I at least want him to be called my partner of some sort. If not, maybe Cifaro would be fine."

Aneeka shook her head but found the smile lingering. "Well, whatever you say." She briefly paused. "I tried to find the best carrying belt for Cifaro." She rephrased. "Is that better?"

Valeriana nodded. Soon after she received the belt, the sword sort of popped and reverted back to its crystal form.

"What? What happened?" She eyed it with confusion.

What made it weirder was that the crystal lost its shimmer and glossiness. The color turned gray and gloomy, in comparison to its former self.

"Hm." Tamara came forward after she saw the sudden turn of events and looked down at it scrutinizingly. "Does it lose 'charge'?" She sipped on the drinking cup she held as she wondered.

"It loses 'charge'?" Valeriana repeated.

"What happened?" Genevieve asked, approaching the bevy of her co-female rankers.

"It sort of just . . . popped and became like this."

They all stood there, pondering.

"That only means you have a time limit until you can use it again." The younger twin later concluded.

"Does the color have something to do with it?"

"Maybe it returns to its original color when you can use it again?"

"Aw." She sighed in disappointment. "And this belt looks awesome too."

"Keep it." Said Aneeka. "It's able to carry two swords at once. Keep the one vacant and carry another one just in case. If Cifaro transforms, he'll have somewhere to sit in."

"You'll have to find a safe place to put the crystal in, though. What if you lose it?" Genevieve worriedly quipped.

"I'll find something . . ." She trailed off. "Are you guys feeling fine already?" Valeriana guiltily asked them, specifically Tamara.

"I--"

"Though I want to put a blame on somebody, I wouldn't dare do that to you, my dear." Raziel overdramatically responded, giving her his trademark smile as he slipped between the girls. "Energy is a renewable resource but you are irreplaceable."

Valeriana turned to him as soon as he spoke, only to turn around again and roll her eyes. Talk about pick-up lines.

"It isn't a big deal. We have spare energy formulas Charles brought in case." Tamara held up a warm cup of it in front of Valeriana and flashed the girl a wink. "I'm all up and ready to go!"