I don't own Di-Gata Defenders or the Di-Gata Defender characters. I did however, come up with Aquinae, Deirdre, the Drevac Clan and Shantra and her sisters(except Karmi).

Chapter Eleven: Shantra

Adam couldn't believe his eyes; she was here. She stood before him with her curly blonde hair, her white dress with the white sash, her dainty white shoes and that strange white flower in her hair. She hasn't changed the last bit and will probably never. She closed her eyes and gave him a sweet smile as she walked to the side. Adam looked up at Mel and say that she had her arms crossed and was shivering.

"What's wrong Mel? You're shivering like a baby mouse in front of a Dakowolf."

"Don't you feel it Adam?" asked a confused Mel. She looked around anxiously, seemly unaware of the nearby girl

"Feel what?" asked Adam whose eyes went from looking at Mel to the little girl and back again.

"It was like this unbearable chill" said Mel as she shivered less and uncrossed her arms. "I mean, one moment I'm perfectly comfortable and then the next my whole body feels like I'm trapped in an icicle. Even my face felt cold. Ummmmm… Adam?" said Mel with an uncomfortable and embarrassed look. "I'm going to said something weird but you have to promise not to laugh, okay?"

"I promise not to laugh." I have a feeling that I know what you're going to say, though. Once again he glanced in the girl's direction before turning back to Mel.

"Well, this strange chill. It felt like it had a form, like it was some kind of entity." She looked up at Adam and saw that there was no humor or doubt in his eyes. He believes me. He also doesn't seem very surprise. She then noticed that Adam was glancing towards the side with a look of disapproval. Confused, she looked in the direction he was and saw nothing but the trees. "Is someone there, Adam?"

She doesn't see her realized Adam. She's looking right at her and doesn't see her. I don't understand. I thought for certain that Mel, being a Wizard of Yan, would be able to see her. She must not be able to hear her either. "There's nothing there Mel. I just…. A little freak out, that's all. So, it had a form? What type of form?" A little girl, perhaps?

Mel was surprised by the question and wasn't certain what to say. He's taking this seriously, too seriously. "I didn't notice what shape it was, just how cold it felt. Why? Did you feel it too? Did you notice a shape?" She waited anxiously for his answer.

"Ummm… yeah, I felt it too" lied Adam. "That's why I leapt away. The same reasons as you but I'm afraid I didn't notice a form."

"Come on Adam" said the little girl as she impatiently tapped her feet. "Wrap this up and send her away so we can talk. I don't have all night you know."

Adam frowned slightly before saying "it was probably just a sudden cold wind that caught us off guard. We weren't expecting it so it appeared colder and weirder than it really was."

"I don't know Adam…."

"I don't know either, Mel. But, it is a very logical explanation don't you think? Maybe you should head back to camp and warm up by the fire. I'll join you shortly."

"Huh? Why don't you come with…?"

"I want to spend some time alone, to think about… some personal stuff that I would rather deal with on my own. Don't worry my moon goddess…" said Adam as he cupped her chin with his left hand, "…I'll be coming back to you."

"Well…" began Mel as she began to blush, "okay, but come back soon. Otherwise I'll worry too much about you and come back to drag you to the campsite." She started to head back to the campsite but stopped momentarily to smile and wave at him. Adam smiled and waved back until she was out of sight.

"Finally" said the little girl as she approached Adam. "Took her long enough for her to leave."

An annoyed Adam turned to her and said "okay Shantra, this had better be good. And I mean really good."

"That's it! That's it! You just wanted to spend some time with me?!" Adam paced back and forth in frustration as Shantra gleefully watched. "Couldn't you have just snuck on me and then say hi? Mel can't see or hear you so she wouldn't realize you were there." I can't believe that she ruined a simply wonderful moment between me and Mel for this. Everything was just perfect.

"But Adam" pleaded Shantra as she gave him puppy eyes. "If she was there, you wouldn't have talked to me. You've been careful when it comes to talking with me since you were a child."

"Yeah, but…."

"How can you choose that girl over me?" interrupted Shantra, "I've known you since Brackus kept you in that dojo and you barely know the girl. Who was there to keep you company in that lonely place? Who was there to listen to you and to give you a voice to listen to? Me, not that…. ummm… Mel was it?"

"Yeah, her name is Mel. But Mel didn't know about my dojo and couldn't leave hers…"

"I didn't know about the dojo either until I stumbled across it."

"Yeah, well Mel can't walk through walls and everyone would be able to see and hear her… Sigh. Was it really necessary to pass though her? You know that everyone you pass through feels an intense cold as pass through."

"I wanted to grab your attention and get rid of her. What's wrong with passing through people? You used to love it when I did it to people."

"Yeah, but that was when you passed through the acolytes and Brackus. You ruined a great moment for nothing…"

"Jeepers creepers Adam, it wasn't easy to find you. First, I had troubles convincing Karmi to find you for me and then I had troubles finding the place on the map so I would know where to go. Karmi wouldn't tell me where it was and told me to find it on my own, the little meanie, and then Neecona approached me and said that she had a message that she wanted me to deliver to you and I was like…."

"Wait! A message? From Neecona? What is it?" I hope it's nothing bad or ambiguous; although it's probably both. Neecona's messages are almost always ambiguous and she probably wouldn't bother asking Shantra to deliver good news to me.

Shantra looked both ways with a cautious and serious look on her face before gesturing him to come down to her level.

She can be such a kid at times. It's funny; she must be older than me but she looks and acts like she's 8. He knelt down and lowered his head so that she could whisper in his ear.

"She says" whisper Shantra "to be careful. You're in great danger; more danger than you could ever imagine"

Adam frowned a little as he slowly got up. "I'm in great danger? Did she say what kind of danger or does she not know?"

"I'm afraid that's all she told me. If she knew more, she would have told me." She smiled as she reached out and pulled on his sleeve. "I think I'll hang around a bit and get to know your friends but first, I think I'm going to enjoy all this plant life. There's nothing like this at home. Go; your girlfriend is waiting for you."

Adam nodded and said "thanks for the message Shantra. I'm sorry about yelling at you before. I guess I was just mad for another ruined moment. After all, you're my first friend and you've always looked out for me." He turned and walked back to the camp while Shantra waved good-bye.

After Adam left the clearing, Shantra's eyes shifted to a bush to her far left. "Yeah, Adam. I've always looked out for you. Always" she whispered as a sly look appeared on her face.

I cannot believe what just happened thought Seth as he watched Adam leave from the bush he was hiding behind. It's a good thing that I had decided to follow them to… check that they were okay. This bush proved to be an excellent place to hi…. watch from. He had been angry when Adam had told Mel about the new dream and had been even angrier when Mel comforted him. He had been extremely when Adam started to flirt with Mel. I can't believe that Mel liked those stupid lines of his. He had been surprised and relieved to see them suddenly jump away from each other. He was happy to see Mel head to the campsite without Adam and was surprised when Adam started talking to nothing.

He must have totally lost it. He was talking to thin air like it was an old friend and even gave it a name. I wonder if I should tell anyone about this. If I tell Mel, she'll just be more worried about him than ever before. Maybe I could just make fun of him or better yet, blackmail him to…

"Aiyeeeeee!" Seth suddenly grabbed his head with both hands and fell forward. He slowly got up with a dazed look in his eyes as he said "phat wath thab amouth? Ix felbth queally veirth. Ith webber gath thebe obbers." He slowly and awkwardly ventured but to the camp while keeping his right hand on his head.

Shantra stepped out from behind the bush that Seth had come from. The leaves didn't move or make a sound as she passed through but some frost did appear. Shantra looked at hers hands in disbelief. "Wow, I can't believe that it actually worked." She watched Seth leave the clearing in wonder. I better not tell Adam about this. I hope I didn't leave any permanent damage.