Sorry I forgot to mention, but this is a reworking of canon that will become an AU later.
77,000 years later
Shadalaine blinked into evening sunlight as she walked down the main street of Ga-metru, Vhisola by her side. The other matoran had been the first to find her, and Shadalaine had latched onto her from sheer instinct.
She had never figured out what she was doing on the Ga-metru beach. Immediately after waking up, she was taken to see the Turaga who assigned her a home. Two weeks later Vhisola was explaining some basics about refining protodermis to her in a classroom.
Fitting into this life was easy, but sometimes she would climb up onto her roof, watch the stars come out, and try to remember who she had been before she ended up on Ga-metru's main beach.
"Hey! Are you even listening?"
Shadalaine blinked, coming back to reality to find Vhisola staring at her.
"Sorry. Just thinking."
"Ah. So, I was asking you if you heard that sound too."
"What sound?"
"That funny whimpering." Vhisola pointed towards one of the deep channels through which protodermis ran. This one was dry at the moment. "I think it's coming from there. Want to go see?"
"Umm, ok?"
The two matoran trotted over to where the lip of the canal extended to the road and peered over. Puddles of protodermis still pooled in the very lowest areas, but for the most part the canal was dry. There was no sign of anything that could be whimpering.
Vhisola shrugged.
"Okay. Guess that I was wrong."
Shadalaine frowned, then grabbed hold of the lip of the canal, dropped flat onto her stomach, and peered over the edge.
Bright golden eyes stared back at her, and a loud chirp issued from the shadows. Shadalaine yelped and jerked back.
"There is something under there," she told Vhisola. "Grab my leg, will you? I want to get it out."
Vhisola gave her a strange look but complied. Shadalaine went flat onto her stomach, wiggled out so that she was halfway suspended over the canal, and made a blind grab for the thing she had seen. She yelped as several sharp points dug into her hands, and a yowl came out from under the lip.
"Pull!" she yelled back at Vhisola. The other Ga-matoran did as she was told and pulled. Shadalaine wriggled backwards with the impetus and emerged completely, with a wriggling ball of fur in her hands.
"What's that?" Vhisola asked, dropping her friend's legs. Shadalaine scrambled up, still keeping a firm grip on the wriggling thing.
"A rahi—I think."
The rahi uncoiled a little and snarled, clawing at Shadalaine's face. The matoran avoided the tiny claws and held the little thing at arm's length.
"Looks like a baby Muaka almost," she remarked. "But this thing's adapted to water."
The fur, what little there was, was already tightly packed on the creature's frame, and little fins ran along its back, neck and head.
"Let's go show it to the archivists," Vhisola said. "Maybe it's a new species."
There was no reply, and Vhisola turned to find that the rahi was now curled around Shadalaine's chest. It looked very young.
"I guess," Shadalaine said slowly, glancing down. "Where to?"
"Archives," Vhisola answered, heading off.
"I don't think we can take her," the Archivist said, examining the little rahi.
The two Ga-matoran frowned at him, and Vhisola asked, "Why not?"
"This little one's too young. The Archivists and others who study the contents of the Archives want to study adult specimens. I'd be willing to bet this rahi is less than a year old. Bring her back when she grows up, and then we'll take her."
"Well-what do you want us to do with her then?" Shadalaine asked. "And how do you know it's a her, anyway?"
"As for knowing she's a she, well, I figure it out the same way as we do with Muaka, and I'm not going to say any more than that," the Archivist told her. "As for what to do with her, put her back where you found her."
"But the channel's going to be opened again any day," Shadalaine protested. The Archivist shrugged.
"Dunno then. Not my responsibility to worry about balls of fluff. You deal with it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go back to work."
The two matoran stared after him for a moment, then Vhisola shrugged.
"Oh well. I guess that's all we can do."
She tried to scoop the little rahi up, only to be halted by a growl and the flash of tiny claws. Shadalaine picked the little creature up without any trouble whatsoever, and the rahi snuggled into her armor.
"Actually..."
"Oh you're not serious."
"I am perfectly serious."
"You don't even know how to care for an adult rahi, let alone a cub!"
"I can learn."
Vhisola stared at her friend, then sighed and crossed her arms.
"Fine. But count me out!"
"Very well," Shadalaine replied, already turning to go. "I will see you in class tomorrow."
"Same to you."
Please Review! Tenth, twentieth, etc. reviewers can request a oneshot with their choice of pairing, setting and prompt. The only thing I won't write is slash.