Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 85: Lou's Story

Cole woke up late the next morning. He suspected Matilda's healing potion had some sort of sleep-inducing ingredient—that, or yesterday had simply left him drained. Both options seemed plausible. Either way, he woke up feeling rested and a little more refreshed than the afternoon before. Finding himself alone in the ninja's quarters, he got dressed quickly in his now-clean uniform—someone must have washed it last night, probably Misako—and wandered the interior of the Destiny's Bounty in search of his friends.

Down the hall he heard muffled noises coming from the lounge room. Quietly, he drifted to the door and opened it. In front of him was the couch facing the opposite wall. On the wall the TV was playing a "Starfarers" movie; characters in outlandish clothing were presently in the midst of a space battle on the surface of some remote planet. The lights were all out save for the TV, but in the dim lighting Cole recognized the backs of three heads: Lloyd, Jay, and Nya. All of them were watching the movie.

The sound was on so loudly, nobody noticed Cole amble over to Jay, who sat on one end of the couch. Cole glanced between the TV screen and his friends. Then he poked Jay in the arm. "Nerd."

Jay swung around in his seat and faced Cole with happy surprise. "Hey! Took you long enough to wake up!"

"What are you guys doing?" Cole hissed with incredulity. The Moon Tribe was still running around after having attacked a village and run off with Matilda, and everyone was sitting here watching movies?

Jay snickered and grinned broadly. "Take a look!" He gestured to Nya, who sat beside him.

Perplexed, Cole looked. For the first time, he saw that Little Leaf, in her small bakeneko body, was sitting in Nya's lap. The expression on the calico's face was one of complete awe and fascination. Her eyes were nearly as wide as dinner plates and her jaw hung open by a few inches as her gaze remained solidly fixed upon the flashing TV screen. More than a few times she'd flinch and bristle at some explosion. In these moments she'd sometimes duck her head beneath Nya's chin or bury herself in the human's arms, trembling from head to paw. When this happened, Nya would grin mildly and give a reassuring pat on the back or stroke her around the ears.Yet in all this, the little Moon Tribe shapeshifter seemed to be having the time of her life.

"Can you believe it?" Jay whispered, following Cole's gaze. "Little Leaf's never seen a movie before! A movie! I decided it was time to culture her." He beamed up at Cole. "And what better way to introduce your little sister to the world of theater than getting her into the Starfarer fandom?"

Cole gave Lloyd a quick glance. He was sitting at the other end of the couch, also watching the movie and occasionally giving Little Leaf an amused look. Cole figured he was sitting away from her so as not to inhale her fur and give himself an allergy attack.

"She's not my sister," Cole muttered. "We have different sets of parents."

Jay shrugged indifferently. "Well, you both share a brother and a sister."

Cole felt a scowl trying to edge its way onto his face. Jay didn't seem to notice his irritation, turning his gaze back to the movie.

One of the main characters was in the middle of their death scene. Fritz Donnegan—the lead hero of the series, as Cole recalled—was crouching over them and desperately and dramatically exchanging final words with his friend (or his brother—Cole couldn't really remember).

"Oh, no!" Little Leaf's stricken cry made Cole glance at her again. The little cat was bristling all over, and her ears were flat upon her head with horror. "He'd dying! What's going to happen? Is there anything we can do?"

"It's OK, Leaf, shh," Nya soothed, stroking the little cat again. Cole could tell she was holding back the majority of her amusement for the werecat's sake. "Remember, it's just a story. None of this ever happened."