Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 25: A Storm of Emotion

The traveling team hunched their shoulders against the cold rain lashing at their backs as they stumbled across mountainside. Little vegetation grew up in those hills, and the only soft thing within several miles was the gooey mud clinging to their feet. The straw hats did little to prevent the rain from drenching the heads.

Wu, Matilda, Zane, Liana, Cole, Nya, and Eagle Talon were all soaked to the bone and shivering in the screaming wind. Fat drops dripped from the end of Wu's beard and the brim of Matilda's pointed hat, whilst Cole and Nya's hair were plastered to the sides of their heads. Liana was constantly shutting her eyes against the water dripping down onto her scarred eyes, and Eagle Talon's face was splattered with mud.

Sometimes, whilst leading the party through the rocky valleys, the werecat would briefly switch into his small bakeneko form and dart away up where it was impossible for even a ninja to climb to make sure they were going the right way. He usually returned a very muddy cat. Cole was skeptical about Eagle Talon's directions, noting that once or twice they had to change direction, and he could tell that Nya—ever hateful of Jay's abductor and imposter—felt the same. Still, Wu insisted they trust the werecat until he proves himself unworthy of said trust.

Despite the miserable conditions, Eagle Talon seemed not to mind the harsh weather. Perhaps he was too proud to complain, or perhaps he relished in the others' misery and wanted them to think him stoic. Or, perhaps, he—being a creature raised in this type of terrain—was simply used to it and saw no reason for the whiny humans to complain. The reason may never be known, for the young man spoke but rarely. He only gave curt orders for where they needed to go and answered Wu and Matilda's questions with the shortest sentences possible, such as, " 'Yes', 'No', 'Maybe', 'I don't know' ", and "Keep your fur on, we're nearly there'."

The journey really had the humans beat. The one who had the hardest time, though, would have to be Liana. In the roar of the wind and rain lashing down on the group, the blind girl felt that she was losing her hearing and found that she was relying on her sense of touch to guide her. There was scarce a boulder, rock, or pebble that her fingers didn't graze to feel her way around, but that didn't stop her from tripping and stumbling.

The travelers were struggling up slopes slick with mud and littered with rocks. The rain in her ears made listening for the echoes of her footfalls virtually impossible for Liana, and wherever she walked her toes, knees, feet, and shins grazed rocks and boulders. She stumbled continuously and skinned her legs until her pants were torn and stained nearly beyond recognition. Yet she never once complained.

At one point the group was stumbling up an especially steep slope. Even Eagle Talon had trouble getting up there, and everyone struggled up the slope by stepping sideways and grabbing onto whatever their hands could reach. Wu was using his staff for support as he followed the werecat up the hill, and the others were close behind.

Liana could hear Cole huffing and puffing with exhaustion ahead of her. She heard the pitter-patter of rain and the drip-drip of little streams flooding downhill. She felt rocks and stones shifting under her weight and the relentless shower lashing down on her hunched shoulders. Her skinned shins stung and burned, but she gritted her teeth and used her hands to grab whatever stationary object there was and use it to hoist herself up.

Suddenly, her foot slipped on a smooth rock slick with mud and rain. She reached out to grab support, but nothing but air met her fingertips. She used her hands to keep from falling on her face, scraping them against stone in the process. With a startled cry she tumbled down backwards in the mud and over sharp rocks.

Liana felt mud splat across her mouth, making her spit. Her body reeled down the hillside for a few yards before she smashed into the side of a boulder. She bruised her shoulder, and she rolled over in the mud with a low groan. Water poured down her face and over her lips, and she tasted dirt.