conclusions. I'd been accused of that once or twice, but I'd been trying to think situations through now that I had others to worry over.
Still, Neil had been showing up quite a bit lately, and I didn't like it. While I didn't believe he had the mental ability to block planets, I wondered if he didn't have some part in the events. The age of the essence on Earth alone obviously knocked him out of the head bad guy spot, didn't it? But then again, despite it being illegal, some Reapers had been known to insert the partially cleaned soul into the next child born to a family member, so they inherited their own things.
Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't paid much attention to where we were, so when Master Akai herded me to my right, I went along. And nearly ran straight into a Guard standing outside of a door. I stopped short, then fell in after Master Akai as he turned again, entering the small office.
Relatively plain for the palace, the office only held a single desk and chair. Behind that sat the King. The other Masters stood in a clump on the opposite side of the room. The image they made reminded me of young children waiting for a teacher to call on them. Then we joined them, and just like the other children, we waited.
At the desk, the King busied himself with a ferrule. He spent long periods of staring, followed by a few slow taps of his fingers on the surface. He paid no attention to us, though he had to be aware that we had entered.
The so-called whispers of the other Masters grated on my nerves, and my fingers itched to turn around and pinch the Masters' lips together. Apparently, they'd only paused their bickering for the earlier meeting, and with nothing else to do, they'd picked it up again. Perhaps it amused them, or maybe they truly hated each other. Whatever their reason, it was not how I wished to spend my time, particularly when I had far too much left to do.
Next meeting, I'm putting my hood up. At least then, I won't have to expend energy to hide my distaste at their behavior.
Indeed, it took an effort to remain impassive, standing still with my arms at my side and my face frozen into the mask I always used. To distract myself, I peeked at my monster. It seemed to be… diving?
As I watched, it pushed itself out of the water higher than usual, its hands pressed together above its head as it arched forward. It slipped beneath the surface, and its long, thin body followed, leaving its kicking feet as the final image before it disappeared. Then it would reappear, its clasped hands breaking the surface to repeat the moves.
If I were physically there, standing at the well's edge, I would have scratched my head. I'd never seen it do that before, and I honestly had no clue what to make of it. Though being trapped in such a small area for a lifetime must have been rather dull. I hadn't really ever thought about it before that moment.
Outside, in the real world, the muffled voice of the King alerted me I needed to leave. Just as I began to withdraw, the monster's head rose above the surface. It peered up at me as it continued the diving routine. Then it winked.
“Bah,” the King exclaimed as he stared at Master Akai, who stood halfway between King Lorian and our group. “If they want a larger percentage of the new recruits, they should petition for their own school.”
Master Akai jerked his chin down in a quick nod but didn't speak. Nothing he said would make a difference, anyway.
“If that is all, I believe we will move on to the next Office now.” The King glanced down at the ferrule, poking at it once again.
When Master Akai turned and walked towards the door, Master Ralkin, used to the routine, took a step forward. He stopped short when the King didn't call his name.
Instead, King Lorian looked up, his eyes skipping over the group until they paused on me. “Investigations, Earth Branch, report.”
Oh, goodie.
Ralkin slunk backwards with awkward, stumbling steps. I didn't look at him as I floated forward and took the same spot where Master Akai had stood. A chilly, tickling swish of a tail brushed my cheek. Shadow had been uncharacteristically subdued since we started the binal, but the reminder that she