Ninjago NG Book 2: Dark Mysteries

4: Getting Ready

Seth sat on a stool in his mother and father's room, trying not to end up purring like a cat while his mother brushed his curls. He only brushed through them once, maybe twice if he felt like it. Seliel kept the brush in her hand and continued to brush them, Seth could see the shine of his ebony locks after what felt like an eternity of them being combed through. They were now fluffy and still curled, hugging his face.

"Aw! You look cute, Pebbles," she ran a hand through his fluffy curls, making sure they stayed in place. Seth's face heat up at the mention of his childhood nickname.

"Mom!" He cried out, his cheeks flushed as he stood up. Seliel chuckled as she grabbed a mousse and ran it through Seth's hair, taking one last brush to his curls that reminded her of Cole's.

"Alright, your hair is done since you won't let me cut it," Seliel clicked her tongue. Seth rolled his eyes and stood up, heading to the bedroom and then to his bunk where his suit and dress shirt laid out. Brook and Karl were still out training, so that left him some time to get ready, and put up with his mother's sass of how untamed his hair was and how much he reminded her of his father. "At least your suit doesn't need ironing."

"Mom! I can get dressed by myself! I'm sixteen!" Seth complained, his face still red from being called 'Pebbles'. He flopped onto his bed, hearing Seliel click her tongue.

"You're going to mess up your hair that I just spent an hour brushing! No, you can't get yourself dressed for this event, I've seen what you consider formal; a sleeveless hoodie and some ripped jeans with your hair untamed. Not today, Pebbles. Today, I'm picking out what you're wearing since you don't have a lick of fashion sense," Seliel responded as she handed Seth his suit. Seth growled quietly, taking the suit. "Besides, you have to match Homura's dress, that's how these types of things go."

"Mom! I know! Can you let me get dressed now?!" Seth whined. He went to the bathroom and changed; he returned a few minutes later as his mother began to fix the collar of his dress shirt and rearrange his tie. Seth sighed, running a hand through his hair to keep him from snapping off at his mom. Seliel placed the corsage on his wrist, seeing Seth observing it.

"Give it to her before you guys go tonight," She finished fixing his tie and stepped back, a smile on her face. Her gaze went to her son's curls that were still holding the shape she had brushed them to be. She took two of them and pulled them from behind Seth's ears, allowing them to frame his face before she hugged him. "I'm so proud of you."

Seth looked down before he pulled his mom away, looking at her with confusion dawning on his features. She brushed one of his stray curls back, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"You put others' needs in front of your own...that is something many strive and fail to do. I know you, and even if it meant you'd lose your own life, you'd take that over watching innocents or your own comrades perish," Seliel whispered as she ran her hand through Seth's curls before placing it back on his shoulders. Seth sucked in a deep breath. "Never let go of that son, promise me."

"I promise Mom, I won't," Seth responded as he embraced his mother.

˚˚˚

Karl was laying on his bed, pondering his powers. He knew he was fine if he used his light matter as a ball or stream, that wouldn't make him go insane for a few hours. It was the darker half of his power that he feared. Like the yin and yang, Karl had both the powers of light and dark matter. It took a lot out of him to control, and it sent him into a mood that was hard to explain, it was like he was there, but didn't have any sort of control over his body as he went rampaging for a few minutes to a few hours, depending on how long he had used the darker side of his power.