Sha’Carri stood in front of a large set of ornate, wooden double doors. With a good kick the doors shuddered but held. “Hey old man I’m here!” The annoyance evident in her voice. The door creaked open and a skinny man with a hook nose and slender face sneered at the much shorter woman.

“Rude as ever I see Sha’Carri.” She ignored the man and shoved her way past him into the large office.

“Not here to see you Bootlicker Von’Omi.” She rolled her eyes at the man in the ornate orange and green robes with the hook nose and stared instead at the young child sitting behind the very large wooden desk in front of a window that took up the entirety of the wall. The child was barely visible behind the stack of scrolls and pieces of parchment littering the desk.

“I am the Deputy Headmaster of the prestigious Crane’s Orange Grove Academy and you will address me as such, instructor.” He attempted to reprimand her, but at the glare she shot him his high and mighty attitude quickly left him.

“Since when have I ever listened to the foolish boasting of a trainer in the GrandMaster realm.” Von’Omi felt the violent intent wash over him and paled in that moment.

“Stop it you too. I’m already annoyed that I’m here sorting through paperwork don’t agitate me anymore than I already am.” The voice came from the child that looked no older than six. He was sitting on a large fluffy pillow that helped him to see over his large desk, and fit comfortably in his chair. With a closer look you could see the fluffy pillow moving up and down as if taking light breaths as if napping.

There was no frightening power or oppressive intent laced within the child’s words, but when he spoke both Sha’Carri and Von’Omi listened and without hesitation bowed in apology.

“Sorry for my behavior, Headmaster.”

“My apologies old man.”

“You two never could get along.” The ancient figure that looked like a child leaned back in the chair with a far away look in his eyes. Neither of them dared to take him out of his day dreaming. “Sha’Carri, it seems like you made an impression on the students today.”

With a devilish grin she answered. “Just trading pointers with a fellow instructor, Sha'Koma.”

The child known as Sha’Koma and old man slowly climbed on top of the needlessly large desk. After shoving some of the papers and scrolls to the side He stood there with his arms behind his back and stared at her for a moment.

‘She’s in for it now,’ Von’Omi smiled devilishly. He was appalled to hear that the thorn in his rear Sha’Carri had the nerve to pick on an instructor and of course did his due diligence as deputy headmaster to come running to snitch…no inform the headmaster of her abusing her power. If the person who caused him many a headache would get in some trouble, it was just icing on the cake.

“Seems like Von’Leafe incurred the wrath of the Tiger Lord I see,” the headmaster’s jovial tone was like a dagger in Von’Omi’s heart, while Sha’Carri just rolled her eyes at his use of her moniker.

“Hey, I'm just a simple instructor here, old man. No need for the title.”

Sha’Koma walked towards the edge of the desk, and after motioning for her to stand in front of him he placed the back of his hand on her forehead. “You don’t feel like you have a fever. Sha’Carri actually showed humility. For a moment I thought you were ill.” Even though he spoke in jest, very few people would dare to make a joke at her expense, and even fewer would come out of it unscathed.

She took it in stride, plopping down in the chair in front of the desk. Her leg swung over one of the arms “No, just enjoying my…retirement?” Sha’Carri uttered the word slowly, but shook her head. Not liking the way it sounded. “Time off.” She didn’t like that one either. “No, it sounds like I'm just taking a few days off to run errands.”

“I think calling this a sabbatical for you wouldn’t be too far off.” Sha’Koma put in his two cents. His tiny bottom landed on top of the fluffy cushion, but this time he sunk deep into the soft wool, and to no one's surprise there was an indignant “BAaah’” that came from his very fluffy pillow.

“Yeah let’s go with that.” She agreed with him after saying it aloud a few times.

“Do you even know what that means?” Von’Omi asked dryly.

“What, did you say something bootlicker?” She placed her hand near her ear. “I can’t really hear you from all the way up in the Supreme Realm.” She could feel Von’Omi’s blood pressure rise from where she lazed about and it brought her endless amounts of joy.

“I can take things from here, deputy headmaster.” Sha’Koma intervened before they could start arguing again,

“This isn’t over instructor,” Von’Omi hissed, while retreating from the headmaster’s office.

With a deep sigh the headmaster stared at Sha’Carri with disappointment. “When I see you two act like such children I can’t help but think I failed you both as a teacher. Sha’Koma stroked the fluff of his pillow, his eyes having that far off gaze to them.

Sha’Carri could only pout at the ancient child’s words. “Please master, I’m only half the trainer I am because of you.” With a ‘pop’ a simple glass bottle appeared on top of his desk with two glasses. “Won’t you share a drink with your wayward student?” It wasn’t really a question as she started pouring the alcohol into both glasses.

It was a strange sight, watching the boy of six down the glass presented to him, “Damn that's good rum.” He said in appreciation. Sliding the glass back towards Sha’Carri for another.

Sha’Carri scoffed indignantly at the statement. “It better be more than good. This bottle cost a million High grade spirit stones.” She had stopped sipping her drink so she could watch his reaction to the amount the bottle cost, and she wasn’t disappointed. Sha’Koma had choked on the mouthful of the expensive alcohol, and of course he refused to spit it out. Spirit stones were the currency of cultivators. The different kingdoms and the empire of this world may use their own form of currency, but to a cultivator spirit stones were better than gold. And they came in four grades. Low->Medium->High, and finally Pinnacle.

“Why would you pay for something so exorbitant?” he asked her while staring at the innocent looking bottle.

The act of Sha’Carri looking away while bashfully scratching her cheek was a stark contrast to the fierce demeanor the rest of the continent knew her by. “It’s made with phoenix tears and the fruit from a thousand year old peach tree. I figured it would be good to drink it with the man that got me on my road to immortality.”

Needless to say, the gesture warmed Sha’Koma’s heart. As he stared at her he couldn’t see a trace of the woman she had grown up to be, but the child he had met all those hundreds of years ago. Even back then Sha’Koma was considered old by any cultivator’s standard of time. Sha’Carri, no little Carri, was just an unfortunate soul he had found. Thinking nothing of taking her into the academy he had created, but little did he know he would end up nurturing her as if she was his own child. Unfortunately in his stroll down memory lane he accidentally called her by a pet name that she would rather forget. “My little shadow grew up splendidly, and now has her own little shadow to nurture huh.”

If Sha’Koma was taking a stroll down memory lane, then his words had forced Sha’Carri to spend a moment within a nightmare with the utterance of her ill gotten nickname of little shadow. Contrary to what Sha’Koma thought, it had nothing to do with how attached she was to him, but everything to do with how much darker she was than most of the students and instructors at the academy. It was nothing but an old wound being torn open to cause her pain once more, but in the presence of her master, the immoral being that offered succor to a pitiful dark skinned little girl like her.She had done what she had always done when he called her his little shadow with that look of love on his face. She smiled and said thank you.

“I’ll reimburse you for this purchase my dear,” Sha’Koma’s words where slurred at this point, and the full bottle was nearing its end. His eyes were closed in bliss as he stroked the ear of the napping sheep underneath his bottom. Even after she heard the popping sound and saw the neat sack appear on the desk near her she still waved it off.

“Think nothing of it, old man. Consider it the price I paid for taking up your precious time.”

His face was stern as he shot her a gaze that made her feel like she was holding her breath. Which was preposterous since ascending to the Supreme realm and gaining true immortality has caused her to never need to breathe again.

“Since you’re now a member of this inner circle called immortality I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He raised a finger, but after a brief moment of contemplation he raised a second finger. Sha’Carri sat up right and leaned forward in the chair. Every fiber of her being ready and waiting to soak in the knowledge of the immortal child in front of her. “First, this title they give us. The Sha in front of our given name might seem like a sign of respect and admiration for a vast and hard road traveled, but in the end reaching the Supreme Realm simply shackles you to this world.” He lowered a finger, resuming his words. “The only time you have that’s precious is the moments that you can remember, and I will remember tonight till the moment I cease being.” He downed the remainder of his glass down his throat.

The praise and validation was never anything she cared about until the words came out of the mouth of someone she respected so much. She raised her glass towards the ancient child and downed it in one go before wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Thank you master.” She placed her hand above the neat little sack and it disappeared in an instant. But there was another ‘Pop’ and Sha’Koma stared at another Full bottle of the rum they had just drank. He looked at Sha’Carri dumbfounded, and with her regular stoic self and gruff tone that she was so well known for she bowed to him with her fist in her palm.

“I drank tonight with the man that set me on my road to immortality, but this is a gift to the man I call father.” When her head lifted she was shocked by what she had seen. Sha’Koma was Bawling like a baby. “Old man! Are you okay?” In all of her long lived years she had never seen him like this. She was stunned.

“Leave now child, before I ruin my stalwart visage in your mind’s eye any further.” With those words spoken Sha’Koma waved her away while lowering his head from her view. So she left without saying another word.

Sha’Carri stood against the large ornate double doors to the headmaster’s office. There was still so much she wanted to say to him and thank him for. Even now at the height of her power he was still shielding her like the child she used to be. Offering her a position at the academy so Maddox could be protected and looked after, while she recuperated. In the end she still had so much to thank him for. She left soon after.