9 Chapter 8 - Charms

Omisha walked towards Ash's room. Glancing out the window nearby, she saw that it was late in the afternoon which meant he'd probably be getting ready for classes. Omisha herself just came back from her classes so she was still in her uniform. She glanced down at her hands and she was holding the transcription Ash had given her a week ago. Omisha had recently finished it and decided she should return it today.

Phoenix stepped out of her room, yawning. Noticing Omisha, she grinned, "Oh, Omisha!"

"Hey, Phoenix."

"Hm?" Phoenix glanced at her hands, "What are you holding?"

"Oh, it's a book I borrowed from Ash," Omisha replied, holding it up to let Phoenix see.

Phoenix's eyes widened as an unreadable expression graced her features. She suddenly swiped the book from Omisha's hands and turned around. She began to frantically flip through the pages, mumbling something inaudible.

Omisha stared in surprise and stepped towards her, "Phoenix? Is everything alright?"

She froze, "You said you got this from Ash, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Phoenix turned around, a fake smile plastered over her features, "Sorry, I thought I recognized it but it turns out I was wrong…" she laughed awkwardly.

Omisha perked an eyebrow, "Ok… if you say so…."

"Well uh, I just remembered something so, uh, see you later!" Phoenix spoke quickly before rushing back into her room, slamming the door.

Omisha stared at the door for a few minutes, "What's up with her…?" After a bit, she recomposed herself and continued walking towards Ash's room.

Standing in front of his door, she knocked a few times. She waited patiently outside and heard a few noises coming from inside.

Then the door opened and Omisha found herself laughing at how messy Ash looked. His hair was even more messy than usual, his clothes were slightly wrinkled and his tie hung loosely around his neck.

Ash sighed, combing his hand through his messy hair, "Do you need something?���

Omisha handed him the book, "Yeah, I finished reading it so here."

He took the book, "Oh, thanks. I forgot about this."

Omisha observed him closely, "You ok?"

He walked away from the door and to the bookshelf, "Hm? Oh yeah." he replied, placing the book in an empty space, "Just tired." he muttered before yawning.

"Did you stay up late again?" Omisha asked, entering the room. The room itself was messier than usual.

Ash sat on his bed with a groan, "Not like I want to. I'm a nocturnal species so it's hard to sleep at night."

"So why not sleep during the day?"

Ash scoffed, "With you guys squawking outside all day? Impossible."

"Wow, rude," Omisha remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Anyways I can't sleep during the day because I have to do a lot of stuff," Ash sighed.

"Like what stuff?"

"...Why do you want to know?"

Omisha shrugged, leaning against the wall, "Just curious."

"Sure."

"Well?"

"...fine, it's just stuff like homework," Ash muttered.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Ash took a crumpled up piece of paper and threw it at her, "Why don't you shut up?"

Omisha ducked with a smile, "That wasn't nice."

Ash laughed, "When am I ever nice?"

Omisha giggled, "True." The memory of Phoenix acting strange flashed through her mind. Thinking for a bit, she asked, "Hey, does Phoenix ever act strange?"

"She acts like a madwoman every day so I'm not sure what you're talking about." Ash deadpanned as he combed his hair.

Omisha stifled her laugh, "Ok, that was mean and you know it. Anyways, I'm talking about her not being herself, like, quieter and stuff."

Ash tilted his head, glancing to the side as he thought, "Hm...I don't think so. Why?"

"Ah, well she acted like that just a few minutes ago when she saw that book." Omisha gestured to Phoenix's door down the hall.

"Hm, I guess that is weird." Ash nodded and sighed, scratching the back of his head, "I don't know what goes on through that crazy mind of hers so I can't really say."

"Hah, yeah."

"Anyways, what time is it?" he then asked.

Omisha took out her phone, glancing at the digital clock, "It's 3 pm."

He groaned, "Shit…" Ash muttered, "Classes start soon…"

Omisha laughed, "I'll leave you to that," she left with a wave. She walked past Phoenix's door and she remembered what had happened earlier. She paused in front of the door, debating whether she should check up on Phoenix or not. After a few seconds, she knocks on the door.

There was no answer.

"Huh…?" Omisha tilted her head, 'Did she leave?' Omisha thought to herself.

Thana then popped into existence, circling around her legs.

"Oh, hey Thana." Omisha greeted her with a small smile and Thana greeted her with a soft meow. Glancing back up at the door, she knocked again. A minute passed and there was still no answer.

Omisha sighed, "I guess I should talk to her later…" she murmured. Bending down, she picked up Thana and began walking towards her room. Opening her door, Thana jumped down and looked at her.

"Be wary of those around you," she spoke.

Omisha tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"

Thana didn't reply and instead ran off to hide under the bed.

"...?" Omisha sighed before glancing out the window. "Wary of those around me, huh? If I had to choose the people to be most suspicious of, it would be Adryen," Omisha muttered to herself, "He's way too shady."

A glint from one of her drawers in her desk then caught her eyes, "Ah right," and walked over. Omisha pulled open the drawer to see the mana stones laying on the bare bottom. She held one of them up and the sunlight reflected off the surface of it, "I had forgotten about these…"

There was a knock at the door and Omisha turned to it, "You can come in!" she called out.

The doorknob turned, opening the door and in came Tyler.

"Yo! Me and Katherine want to go out to the shopping center, do you want to come too?"

"Oh, uh, sure!" Omisha spoke, hurriedly putting the stones in her pocket without thinking. She rushed to the door before remembering, "Thana! Are you gonna stay under there or do you want to come?"

Thana poked her head out from under the bed, "You go ahead, I'll be taking a cat nap."

Omisha giggled, "Alright then."

Omisha followed behind Katherine and Tyler, glancing at the stores. Most shops were ones that she's never seen before with an occasional shop she was familiar with popping up here and there. She didn't mind too much though and happily looked through the shops with Tyler or Katherine.

They walked by a charms store and Omisha's gaze lingered on the name that stood atop the entrance, "BlueMarble Charms".

She glanced inside the store to see shelves and hooks lined on the wall. Many charms hung on the hooks or rested on the shelves and in the middle of the store were display cases with charm rings lying below the glass. Keeping its namesake, many of the charms all had some kind of blue coloring to them.

"Oh, charms!" Tyler walked up looking at the window with a grin.

Omisha smiled, "Let's check out the store, Tyler."

Tyler grinned, "Yeah!"

They walked inside and were quickly greeted by smiling employees. The two greeted them back before wandering through the store.

Omisha walked past the walls of charms, noting that the charms were in different forms, ranging from multi-layered necklaces to even beautiful wrist cuffs. They were all colored and made differently, some being beaded, others made of chains, and more.

"They're all so unique…" Omisha murmured to herself. She then felt a presence behind her and swiftly turned around. Behind her was an old man around the age of 70, supporting himself up with a cane. He looked at her with a gentle smile and Omisha relaxed. "Uh, who are you?"

He chuckled, "I am this store's owner and the maker of all these charms you see in the store."

Omisha looked at him in surprise, "You are?"

He nodded, "My name is Henry. what is your name, young lady?"

"Uh- Omisha Vermillious."

"Huhu, it's nice to meet you Vermillious. May I ask if you have mana stones with you?"

Omisha's eyes widened in surprise as she placed a hand on the pocket with the mana stones, "How did you know?"

He chuckled once again, "Compared to your aura, the stones have a dull-like presence yet they still seem to shine brightly."

Omisha tilted her head, not sure what to make of this old man.

"May I see the aura stones?"

"Oh, uh, sure," Omisha took out the mana stones and handed it to him.

He hummed as he took the stones and observed them closely, "How interesting…" he murmured.

Tyler then appeared, "Yo! What's going on?"

"Oh, I brought the mana stones I grabbed a while ago and this old man noticed them," she explained.

"Ohhh!"

"He's also the store owner and the person that made all these charms."

"...Wait seriously?!" Tyler exclaimed in surprise.

"Huhu, yes I am, young man." He looked up with a smile before looking at Omisha. "These mana stones that you've brought are actually rarer than most. Of course, they don't have that much value compared to a larger sized one but they're still better than most."

"Huh, rarer than normal…" Omisha murmured to herself, observing the reflective surface of the stone.

"...Would you mind if I take these and make them into a charm?" Henry suddenly asked.

Omisha looked at him in surprise, "Huh? Uh, sure…?"

He smiled, tucking it into his jacket, "Thank you. Come back in a week then." he waved before walking away.

"H-huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tyler speaks up staring after the man.

Omisha stared at the direction he left in with a confused expression, "I-uh, I'm not sure…?"

Tyler glanced at her as an evil smirk crept onto his face, "Ooo~ Maybe he wants to make you into his next meal~" he joked.

Omisha laughed, "Yeah, as if."

He pouted, "You're boring~" he whined.

"Yeah, yeah, anyways let's go, I bet Katherine is confused and lost." Omisha joked and headed for the entrance as Tyler laughed before following her.

They walked for a bit before finding Katherine hanging around in a nearby herbal store. Omisha glanced at the herbs lined up by the window as they walked towards Katherine. As they approached, she asked, "You're interested in herbs?"

Katherine smiled, "Yep!"

"Oh yeah, your major is something like herbology, right?" Tyler asked.

"Yes it is, I want to be a herbalist in the future." she smiled gently before placing a few herbs inside a bag. She walked towards the desk, leaving Tyler and Omisha behind.

"Hah, your bet was totally off!" Tyler laughed as

"Oh shut it," Omisha laughed as she gently punched him on the shoulder.

Katherine quickly returned and the three of them returned by evening.

Phoenix quickly greeted them with her usual smile, "Why didn't you invite me??" she huffed.

Tyler laughed, "Sorry, sorry. We tried asking but you never opened the door or answered our texts!"

Phoenix sulked with a sigh as Tyler laughed.

Omisha glanced at her out of the corner of her eye as she put down some of the bags, 'It looks like she's back to normal…' Straightening up, she stretched before hearing her name. Turning around, Phoenix had hopped towards her.

"I heard that you need to go back in a week?" she asked excitedly.

"Ah, yeah I do."

"Ooo~ Let me come with you!"

Omisha looked at her in surprise before smiling, "Sure."

A week had passed and Omisha and Phoenix prepared to leave for the shopping center.

James walked in as they put on their shoes. "Are you two going somewhere?" he asked.

Phoenix grinned, "Yep! To the shopping center!" she said excitedly.

"...did you finish your homework at least?"

Phoenix froze before running out the door, "I'll wait for you outside, Omisha!" she called out. James sighed while Omisha laughed. Standing up, she grabbed her bag before waving goodbye to James and went through the door.

The two walked through the shopping center, looking through stores and having fun. As they approached BlueMarble Charms, Omisha separated from Phoenix with a wave, "I need to stop by here so I'll meet up with you at the food court later!"

"Kay!" Phoenix yelled back as she went to check out a clothing store.

Omisha walked into the store and she quickly noticed the old man, Henry. He also noticed her and gently grinned, waving her over. She walked towards him, 'I wonder why he wanted me to come back…'

"Hello again, young one." the old man greeted her with a smile.

"Hi...Can I ask why you wanted me to come back?"

The man chuckled before motioning for her to follow him, staying quiet.

Omisha tilted her head but followed him. He led her into a back room where there were more cases filled with charms, finished and unfinished. As they walked past the small and big cases, Omisha glanced at the charms whenever she could.

The old man then stopped in front of a small case. Picking it up, he turned around and faced Omisha. "I had received this commission a while back and I had recently just begun to work on it," he opened the case revealing a black and blue rope bracelet. The aura stones that she had given him had been refined into three smooth orbs. They had been placed together with the rope going through them.

"I wanted to see for myself who this was going to be for so that the bracelet I made would reflect the wearer," he lifted a hand and pointed at her, "as in you."

Omisha found herself drawn into the bracelet but then remembered what he said, looking at him in surprise, "M-me? B-but I didn't commission it…?"

"Fufu, the commissioner said it was a gift from him to you."

"...Can I ask who the commissioner is?"

He chuckled, "I apologize but he wished to stay anonymous."

"Ah…" Omisha looked back at the bracelet, 'I wonder who it could be…'

He closed the case and held it out to her with a gentle smile, "Now, take it, young one."

She glanced at him before she gingerly took it, "...Thank you very much." she spoke with a small smile.

"This charm is a protection charm. The mana stones you brought enhance the magic-making it much stronger. The ropes used to make it have also been enchanted to not rip or break by any normal means, so there's no need to worry about fixing it anytime soon." he explained to her as they walked out of the back room.

"I see," Omisha spoke as she placed the case into her bag.

"Well then, young one, have a good day."

"Right, thank you again for the bracelet." Omisha nodded with a smile before heading out of the store. Taking out her phone, she walked to the food court as she texted Phoenix.

As Omisha approached the food court, she spotted Phoenix as she waved to her.

Phoenix hopped towards her, "So, did you get anything?" she asked with excitement.

Omisha nodded and took out the case, "Yeah, I got a protection charm."

"Ooo~ nice! Can I see it?"

"Sure," Omisha opened up the case and took the bracelet out, showing it to Phoenix.

"Oh wow~ It's so pretty!" she commented.

"It is." Omisha agreed, putting on the bracelet. She could feel the surge of power from it and smiled. "Should we go back?" she asked, putting back the case.

Phoenix held up her bags, "Yep! I'm all done!" she grinned.

They began to walk and Omisha glanced at the bags Phoenix held, "So what did you get?"

"Oh, I got…" Phoenix began to ramble about the many things she bought, making Omisha laugh from time to time.

Omisha walked into her room, a towel over her shoulders and drops of water dripping from her hair. She let out a breath as she closed the door. Glancing outside, she saw the moon shining dimly.

She walked to her bed, smiling as she saw Thana laying near the pillow. She crawled under the sheets and looked up at the ceiling. Listening to the faint sounds of her's and Thana's breathing, she let herself slip into the world of dreams.

Omisha found herself in a desolate wasteland and she looked around. The ground shook suddenly and she swiftly turned around. A large looming shadowy figure was approaching her, the footsteps loud and heavy.

Her eyes widened as it picked up a large rock before throwing it at her. She quickly dodged, falling to the ground. She stumbled to her feet as she ran.

"This is too familiar," Omisha commented to herself as she ran as fast as she could.

The bracelet she had received earlier started to pulse in sync with the chained scythe, detecting the danger she was in. This time though, it acted quicker than before, waking her from the dream.

She sat up, breathing heavily. Glancing at her hand, she could see she was shaking. "Why… why did I...have that dream again…?" Omisha murmured to herself. Looking over herself, she concluded that there weren't any injuries. She sighed and flopped backward. "How long will this go for…" she murmured, putting her arm over her face.