Shifters of Night and Day

"Jakob and Onyx!!! Get in here and sit down! You both are so late for today's lessons." Adelaide scolded them both. As kind as she was, she had very little patience for students who couldn't be on time. "This is the second time this week boys. Once more and I will stop teaching you. Now sit down and get settled i'll be back. I've got to get the books for today." She soon exited the room leaving the two students alone.

Jakob looked down at Onyx rolling his eyes. The tiger seemed to not be too worried about making their instructor angry, but Jakob was. Anxiety drove him to tap his foot and fiddle with the strings of his hoodie.

Kalysta didn't have much experience with seeing her grandma scold students and was really bewildered by it. For some reason Adelaide seemed extra determined to share everything she knew with these two and when they fell short of her expectations it frustrated the old woman more than anything. Feeling upset that they were bothering her grandmother she asked, "Why are you guys running late a lot? I've never seen Nan so upset over a student before."

Jakob looked down at his hands. He could tell that Adelaide was not happy with them. He also felt a sting in his chest when he realized he was delaying his own mission. Looking up at Kalysta he decided to confide in her.

"There is a woman here who sells the breads at market. Her husband has been sick and lost a lot of muscle mass. He needs extra protein to help him gain back weight. With you busy training and your step father busy with your siblings the woman asked us to go hunting for her. The community doesn't have very many people with that skill set. As tigers we can easily hunt and Onyx thought it would be a good lesson for him to teach me how to stalk my prey."

Kalysta met his gaze after he spoke and furrowed her brow. "Mr Parsons is sick? I had no idea. I've been so busy. I feel like I've let them down, but you've been hunting for them? Why, you don't even know them well."

"Do you feel so little about me that it's hard to think I'd go out of my way to help someone?" Jakob looked back at her feeling a bit disappointed. He wanted to get along with Kalysta so she could teach him how to hunt on two feet as well. His goal was to become friends with the girl. Not because she was beautiful but because she was skilled. She killed with finesse.

Carrying some books Adelaide came back into the small study. She set down two copies of astronomy and mythology books giving one copy of each to her pupils. Kalysta noticed Jakob's eyes light up. She could already tell he would like today's lesson.

After Adelaide sat down across from the two students she began her lesson. "First we will start with the mythology book. There are only two higher beings that I know for fact exist. We will be focusing solely on them because to put it simply all of the other gods or goddesses are irrelevant. They make for a good story but are simply fictional characters."

"The astronomy book ties into the lesson because space is Father Time's domain. I am not sure how Time came to be in existence or if there was ever a period in which Time did not exist. He controls obviously the flow of all timelines. His powers are what created the gravity that pulls earth along its axis. That same gravity is what holds Earth's moon in place. If you open your astronomy books to page ten you will be able to read about how different planets and stars have either stronger or weaker gravitational pulls."

Jakob raised his hand. "Yes Jakob," Adelaide said while acknowledging that he had a question. Jakob looked at her and asked, "Is this why Father Time was the one who was able to stop the normal 24 hour day to night process? I mean gravity is what keeps all of the planets in place on their axis. As the earth spins around the sun that is what causes daytime. It's the light shining on that half of the earth facing the sun and the earth spins as it does it's rotations. Time would have had to pause the spin, the rotations in the axis, and he had to of directed the gravitational pulls in a different manner so that our planet stays still."

"Yes Jake that is correct. Space and the flow of time is his domain. It is even named after him. So it is him who paused us and only he can hit the play button again. We just have to deserve it." Adelaide was impressed with Jakob's understanding. She knew he had interest in the subject but was unaware of his knowledge about it.

Feeling curious Kalysta asked, "Okay, so how do we un-piss off Father Time? How do we even get all of humanity to work together towards that goal? We aren't even able to travel around to pass the message along."

Adelaide looked back at her granddaughter. Answering her question she replied, "We don't have to get the rest of the world on board with our plans. We just have to take care of our portion of territory. Other people from different nations have been reached by Nature's whispers. She strongly believes in us and gives us all a nudge in the right direction from time to time."

"What do we all have to do to fix things? I mean this is all I've ever known but I would love to see the moon and sun both within 24 hours." Jakob was genuinely interested in this task because Onyx mentioned the great father as being a part of personally orchestrating their link.

Adelaide looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes, "We have to take down the biggest source of pollution this side of the Mississippi river. We have to put an end to Violet City."

Jakob paled in his seat. Curiously he asked, "Why the city?"

Adelaide put it simply, "It is because they produce so much toxic smoke our atmosphere will begin to become acidic and will rain down caustic showers on us. They put so much waste into water ways that the fish and amphibians have began to mutate already. Some are developing cancers so that when caught their afflicted meat is inedible. They bury so much trash in a hurried and uncaring manner that as the trash breaks down and rots it emits fumes that become trapped under the soil. These fumes begin to concentrate and heat up causing large fires underground that have the potential to break through to the surface and explode like a man made and rather stinky volcano."

"There is the drugs too," Jakob added.

"As impossible as it sounds they have synthesized ultra violet light into a liquid drug that people inject like heroin. They manufacture this drug and though I don't have proof I think that it is their real cash crop. Not the lights but this substance they've made."

"How do you know about the drugs?" Kalysta had never heard about that before.

"It's not important," Jakob said. "We just need to make a plan once we are done with our lessons and have had training with our link beasts."

Onyx raised his head, "I am a majestic feline, not a beast."

Jakob thought back to him that it is just a figure of speech. The cat scoffed and turned his rump towards Jakob.

"What if I am too afraid to do the tasks Nature has asked if me? I'm only 19 and because I found my link I have to take down that big of a city?!?! Why don't other people with links have this big of a task too? I'm still not sure why I was hand picked."

Adelaide smiled at Kalysta, "My girl others do help. We are the supporting characters in your journey, we will be your army and anything else you need us for."

"Why was I the only one chosen?"

Jakob tapped Kalysta's shoulder to turn her attention from Adelaide. "You're not the only chosen linker in this class."

Her eyes widened as the words soaked into her brain.