Zavier was livid with fury. But he hid it well. He was surprised that despite his perception skillset, somehow, Valarie had managed to creep up on him without warning. Quickly, Zavier made a move to hide the key.
Faster than the average eye can follow, Zavier immediately transmitted the key back to the system to prevent it from being discovered. With her head poking through the tent, Valarie inquired after his well-being;
"Zavier! How long have you been awake?"
Zavier mischievously feigned a yawn and answered something inaudible and vague. Valarie took a closer look at him and noticed that he was drenched in sweat.
"You had bad dreams huh?"
The clueless look on Zavier's face showed that her question was lost on him. Valarie pointed to his sweaty face;
"You're sweating like a pig Zavier, get a hold of yourself."
"Yes ma'am!" He replied promptly.
Alissa who had been asleep all this while stirred. The voices in the tent had awakened her from her slumber. Both Zavier and Valarie watched her as she yawned and stretched. Valarie's cold, sharp voice mocked her with sarcastic humor;
"Nice of you to finally join us Alissa. I am glad you had your beauty sleep while you left my nephew unattended."
Though Alissa was awake, she wasn't fully awake. So, Valarie's humor was lost on her. As she finally became aware of her surroundings, she noticed that Zavier was also awake. Her eyes suddenly brightened and she assaulted Zavier with what sounded like an unending stream of questions;
"Zavier are you okay? What happened…?"
She yawned briefly before continuing.
"…and why did you suddenly faint like a girl? I thought you were supposed to be tough…"
Alissa kept yawning, and yet she still somehow found a way to balance her yawning with bombarding Zavier with questions and conclusions, inadvertently ignoring Valarie who was standing at the entrance.
Zavier didn't even get a chance to reply any of her questions, he simply sat there as Alissa let loose on him a torrent of words. Valarie watched the drama unfold before her with little interest. She rolled her eyes and exited the tent, leaving the kids behind her to chatter on.
"Okay Alissa that's enough. Go back to sleep."
She stubbornly protested;
"But you haven't answered any of my questions!"
"I promise I will answer all of them when you awaken from your sleep. You're obviously still very sleepy."
Even as Zavier spoke to her, she was still yawning. She reluctantly conceded and turned to her side to snuggle with her pillow. She was already fast asleep even before Zavier left the tent.
Zavier stepped out and was greeted by a gust of fresh air. It was late evening and dusk was fast approaching.
Zavier scanned the camp site looking for his aunt. He didn't need to look far, his eyes wandered up ahead and found her just a short distance away. She had taken a vantage position and was scoping out the lay of the land.
On a normal day, Zavier would admire her constant need to be on top of things, but Zavier was in no mood to pay compliments right now.
He walked up to her and stood by her side. A few minutes passed by in silence before Valarie finally broke the silence;
"How long Zavier?"
"Ma'am?"
"How long have you known you were under an illusion?"
Zavier shook his head.
"I wish I could tell you Aunt Valarie. But I really don't know."
She turned to face him fully before she asked his next question;
"So you can't place the exact time you fell under the illusion spell?"
The clueless Zavier shook his head once again.
Valarie searched his eyes deeply looking to uncover some sort of devilry, but his eyes were as empty as they could be. Truthfully, it seemed like the boy knew nothing.
"Something's been off about you Zavier…"
Zavier froze. The statement itself was ambiguous. He had to thread carefully or risk exposing a whole lot more than he should. Trying to sound as normal as he could, he replied her casually;
"What do you mean aunty? Are you referring to the illus-"
She cut him off briskly.
"Don't be coy with me Zavier. You know I am not just talking about the illusion spell…"
Her deep piercing gaze was fully fixated on Zavier now. The young man felt like the woman standing before him was gazing into his soul. He knew that any slip up right now would set a different course for him. So he smiled his best smile and encouraged her;
"Don't worry Aunt Valarie, I assure you I am still me."
After a very uncomfortable fifteen seconds, Valarie decided to avert her gaze. Although Zavier didn't show it, he was very when she did.
"Well…"
She began again with in a fresh tone;
"In lieu of everything that has been happening, this mission has been upgraded to at least a level B mission."
When no protest came, she continued;
"That being said, it goes without saying that the three of you have to quit this mission on account of you being high school students."
Zavier remained quiet while she continued with the update;
"Of course, there is definitely a possibility that the three of you might get ambushed along the way back, so for that purpose I will be escorting you all back to school. There I will regroup with other top mages and we will conduct further investigation and plans. Do you understand?"
Zavier nodded firmly in agreement. He tried his best not to sound too enthusiastic about calling off the mission as he answered her.
"Yes ma'am. Everything you've said is correct. It's the right call to make given the circumstances."
"Good. I'll inform the others."
As Valarie left, Zavier felt no shame in finding joy in the fact that this whole thing was over. He wasn't the type that got excited by difficult challenges. That was for the likes of Valarie and Dahila. In fact, right now, he was particularly afraid of dying. The threat now seemed too real. Right now, he need to stay off the grid. He agreed with everything Valarie had put forward. This was definitely not the best time to go off on a mission.
It was already too late to begin the long and tedious trek back. So Valarie ruled that they would camp there for the night. She went ahead to draw a schedule that guaranteed everyone took turns keeping watch. The night passed quietly. Nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Dawn broke on the group the next day. The new day came with a fresh wave of hope for both teacher and students. It was a refreshing change of pace for everyone, the hope was contagious, and it was undeniable.
Maybe it was the thought of returning back to school, maybe it was the feeling of gratitude that no one had been hurt, it might have also been the silent agreement which no one voiced out loud, the agreement that stated that they had all bonded during this mission.
Whatever was the true reason, they all reveled in the liveliness as they made their way back.
Back to her chirpy self, Alissa skipped and ran ahead like a young buck. Occasionally, Valarie would caution her to fall in line and maintain formation, but there was no imminent danger, so the lead teacher indulged her playfulness.
Even the usually cold Dahila didn't seem as tense as she usually was. They had all settled in to a relaxed mood, everyone except Zavier.
From Alissa's point of view, it truly seemed like Zavier had decided to wage a full war against all things pertaining to relaxing. Alissa playfully teased him as they journeyed through the woods;
"Hey there Mr. I-have-to-be-serious-all-the-time! Why don't you lighten up a bit?"
Zavier sighed in exasperation.
"Stop it Alissa, I really am not in the mood for your shenanigans this morning."
Alissa skipped closer to him with the energy of a ten year old who had just had her first taste of candy.
"Shenanigans?? Look at you bringing out the big fancy words!"
Zavier ignored her. After several failed attempts at cheering him up, Alissa soon found something else to occupy her attention.
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