Wisps: Recollection (Ninjago X Reader)

35. Spirits

Warning: Actual alcohol consumption and nicotine use. 

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You need a break, an escape. Away from the vultures waiting and watching for you to drop dead. You want off this hell. You stirred from your spot on the bed, knowing most of the vultures had fallen asleep. Except for one keeping watch. The ship creaked -almost like short cackles- as the waves smacked the sides, masking your footsteps. In the stagnant silence, noises seemed twenty times louder and you cringed at the noisy squeak when shutting your door. A teal light came from the hallway, and you hurried into a closet, carefully sealing the door. Your lungs collapse under a heavy inhale squeezing your heart.

"Hey... are you asleep?" You can't breathe. "Guess you are... I don't think you'd want to talk either way." Nothing but the wind flying past the sails howled. Kai was still here. Confusing and wringing out your drained mind. What was he doing? Why didn't he just leave- "We both, no, I got heated there—" He suppressed an exhale, a quiet: "What am I even doing here?" Heat and light crawled through the crack in the closet door, and you pressed yourself into the wall. He muttered something that wasn't aimed at you but still hounded your veins to thrum faster under your skin.

"Do you think... things wouldn't be this way if I listened to you?" Part of you wanted to come out and say something, and your jaw pulled taunt. Your tongue laid heavy, that afternoon took root in your mind with the flicker from the flame Kai used to navigate the dark halls. He sighed, a sorrowful note in it, and his voice faded, "...No, probably not."

He's gone with the sweltering temperature and the fickle fire. You stumbled out of the closet, your nose stinging, and you chewed on your bottom lip. Would anything have changed if you stepped out and answered him back?

'No, would've made everything worse.'

...

On your short trip from the Bounty, you spotted a police car that patrolled the docks, which was easy to get past. You humored the idea of them catching you... You moved on, through the strangely familiar streets, to a bar that struck a string of familiarity. People were shady here, it was a seediness you're accustomed to and recognized. You're in a less, criminal-filled bar - no not in Yang's Tavern where there was a fight every hour, staged or not. You brushed it off, and entered, pulling your hood further down. Were you seeking a degree of familiarity, or a less than ideal, immature way of escapism? You couldn't tell until you paid for the drinks.

Fresh ice clinked on the sides of the glass, reflected in the limelight of the bar. You fill the tumbler, your eyes staring back at you, mocking, knowing this first glass won't be the last. It slides to the back of your throat, warming it slightly. Compared to that sip of beer on special you had before this, it didn't take much to tell the one you're drinking is smoother- doesn't make you want to gag. Though, that is expected from umeshu. The plum wine. Morro said that it was one of his favorites when he wanted to unwind... You take another gulp. You don't think it had much alcohol. You eyed the other drink he liked. Morro complained that the pub didn't have a quality one on the trip to Domu. You never liked whiskey. Yeah, that sip was a mistake. It scorched a path down your throat. You slide the nearly full glass to the empty seat, the air dead still. You buried your hooded head in your arms after a gulp of umeshu to wash down the sour feeling that persisted.

Instead of getting that buzz from drinking - you're getting the dizzy sickness and self-pity you were afraid of. Your hand reached for the tumbler and froze. A breeze swept the atmosphere and took place next to you. You rolled your head towards the man drinking the whiskey. Your frown turned into a scowl.