by Shadou-sama
Shadra woke up. At first, she couldn't figure out why. It was still pitch black. The cabin was perfectly quiet, not even Tyson's snoring broke the spell. She decided it was probably Balla stirring, and snuggled back down to go to sleep again. Then there was a faint knocking on the windowpane.
Frowning, she got up. She climbed down to the floor, quietly as to not wake up Ziya. Last night, they decided that Ziya should stay there for the night, so Kai had surrendered his bunk to the blonde girl and slept outside on the floor. Balla sleepily jumped down as well. Shadra didn't even bother changing out of her gray and red pajamas. She only pulled on her shoes.
She slipped out of the cabin. She caught sight of red hair among the brush, so she followed it, ducking under and through the bushes. Balla padded silently along beside her. They came to a small clearing. She straightened her posture.
"Take me through tick infested bushes, will ya?" she asked, saucily.
Tala turned around to face her. "It's past tick season."
"So? There are other creepy crawly bugs."
Tala sighed. "I wanted to talk where no one would overhear us. Unless you want everyone to know you're little stories…"
"Thank you for being so considerate." Hey, it was the middle of the night and she'd barely had any sleep for the last week, she was allowed to be sarcastic.
"You're welcome. Now, on to business. I have something that you want, and also something that you don't want told."
Shadra pulled a poker face. It probably didn't even compare to Kai's.
"And you are something I want."
Shadra raised an eyebrow.
"Want to aid me."
"Oh."
"So that leaves is with two desires that can be fulfilled."
"Yes, it does."
"But you'd be quite useless with the aiding without your bit-beast."
Oh, so that was that was heading to. An exchange, she'd join the Masters and they'd give her Darker back.
"My friends will win my bit-beast back," Shadra said.
"Unless I tell them what you have done, which I'm apt to do if you disagree."
"No."
"No?"
"I'm not going to join you. So you can go and tell them if you like, I don't care."
Shadra, I let you have your fun. I let you get away with lots of things. But it's time for that foolishness to end. Join the Masters, Balla ordered, jumping in front of her.
"No. We can't get back our former glory. It was an end to an era when the Masters lost their immortality, we can't go and bring it back."
Because of your predecessor, the First Master of Time! She released the bit-beasts, nearly ending the world. As her descendant, it is your job to correct it.
Shadra and Tala were shocked. That had never been part of the tale. The humans had done it, their spirit guides had told them. Pulling herself together, she said, "Then she must have had good reason to."
No, she did it because she was a selfish little brat. She decided she didn't want to be a Master anymore, although it was her sole purpose in life. Don't make the same mistake.
"I'm not making a mistake, Balla."
Tala, speak some sense into her. If you have to, beat.
"Geez, me-ow," Shadra muttered.
"She's right," Tala said, taking a step forward.
"You're going to beat me?" Shadra asked, taking a step backwards.
"No. But it was the First's only purpose was to be a Master. And so it is yours. You have to do what's best for the Masters, you have no other choice."
"I do! I can chose to protect human-kind."
"Protect those mud-crawling beasts? You've got to be kidding."
Shadra gave him a reproving glare. "I'm not."
Tala walked to her. She held her ground. He brushed her cheek with a pair of his fingers. Shadra barely held back her gasp. For once, the skin touching her was not warm or hot. "Your skin is cold, like mine. Not warm, like the others."
"So?"
"My spirit guide told me that the colder the Masters' skins get, the sooner the Masters will die out completely. Then it won't matter if you protected them."
"I'm cold because its like thirty below and I'm only wearing my pajamas. I'm going back inside now, I've already made up my mind."
Shadra whirled around and left through the brush.