Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 44: Thing 1 and Thing 2

Nobody was in the corridor. All was quiet and still, the lavish furniture and decorations undisturbed. Lloyd tread softly in his boots, and drew away the green hoodie from his head to let his hair fall free.

"Little Leaf?" he murmured softly. There was no reply.

He continued down the corridor, and the sound of the party in the grand hall faded away. Colorful tapestries and paintings lined the walls, which were lit by flickering torches attached to the stone. There was no sign of any guards or gangsters. Lloyd was alone.

Or so he thought.

"Great greedy guts!" A weird, slightly warped voice suddenly broke the silence.

Lloyd froze in his tracks. "Who's there?"

An odd thumping noise was the response. Lloyd looked ahead to his right to see a door standing ajar. Strange, muffled sounds were coming from the room.

Slowly, cautiously, Lloyd crept to the door, stepping lightly and keeping his breath soft. With one hand he tentatively opened the door, making it creak quietly. He froze at the sound, but when nothing happened, he finished swinging it open and peered in.

He found himself looking into what appeared to be a lavish sitting room. It was dimly lit; only one torch was lighted. Elaborate couches and low tables lined the carpeted room, with a piano sitting at one side and a large fireplace at another. At the other end of the room a wide glass door led the way to a balcony, the window lined with heavy, stylish drapes.

It was obviously some sort of public room made for holding many guests, though right now it didn't seem to be in use. It was a rather stunningly luxurious area, and Lloyd might have stared at the rich dwelling if it weren't for the bizarre sight taking place at the center of the room.

Beside one of the plushy couches stood a tall metal stand, upon which a bright green parrot sat, cocking its head inquisitively this way and that. Around one of its little legs a thin chain kept it to the stand.

The parrot itself might have been odd enough to see if it weren't for the small calico cat hopping up and down at the stand, lashing its tails and growling with frustration. The cat appeared to be trying to jump up and snatch the bird in its claws, but the stand was just too high.

Lloyd watched in bewilderment as the cat hopped up once more and swiped its paw at the bird. It missed, and the parrot seemed to know he was safe from the cat. It flapped his wings and squawked, "Ay, chapstick! Missed again!"

"Mouse dung!" The cat glared resentfully at the bird. "I'll get you yet!"

Lloyd's eyes widened. "Little Leaf!"

The calico whirled around and arched her back with a hiss, startled. Then she recognized the young man staring at her, and the hairs on her back lowered. "Lloyd!" she mewed.

With a delighted purr, Little Leaf ran up to him and rubbed his legs with her head and tail. "Why, what in the world are you doing here?! I last saw all of you in that valley, fighting those smelly men! Oh, you wouldn't believe what I've been doing all this time! Can you guess? Guess! I've been spying on this human Dog Bone and his tribe-mates! I thought it would be really exciting and good for the team, but turns out it got boring most of the time, although there were a couple of times when I was almost caught, and that was scary. I've been trying to get out of here because it's so boring and—!"

"Little Leaf," Lloyd interjected hastily. "It's great to see you're here and you're all right and all, but could you—? Ah-CHIEE!" He sniffed and rubbed his nose.

"Oh, yes, sorry!" The werecat squeaked and morphed into her human form. Her pelt was replaced by the animal skins acting as a skirt and a top, and the ginger of her fur darkened as it became her messy ponytail. The creature grew until she was around the same height as Lloyd, and the cat was replaced by a young teenage girl. Little Leaf's face broke into a broad smile. "I can't believe it! What are you doing here?!"