TW: accidental harm, blood
claire bear:
we'll be there in thirty
Sent 9.42am
Giddily grinning, I texted back a quick reply of affirmation. Excitement curled in my stomach and I could barely keep still - my shoes bounced on the warm concrete, mismatching the song I was currently listening to. I leant back into the park bench I was sitting on and tried to focus on the music pouring from my headphones, closing my eyes; and doing so made it feel like the world only consisted of me, the breeze, and the hot summer sun.
The cicadas chattered around me, piping through the lulls in the melodies. The idle murmuring of passersby joined them, each person as content as I was to soak in the vitamin D. It was one of those days where everyone was slow and happy and on the verge of wanting to nap.
Nothing but bliss surrounded me - the warm sun rays, the gentle breeze, the (now) tapping of my foot to the beat. Even the park bench, which was usually uncomfortable and made my backside ache, wasn't feeling too bad.
But who could blame me? It was the first day of the summer holidays as well as my first day of being an official Ninjago City resident since I was seven. We moved out to Jamanakai when my mother was promoted, and I had missed the erratic city ever since.
More so than the city, I missed my childhood friends; Aaliyah and Naomi. We met at kindergarten when we were only four and although our little group had grown from three to twelve over the years, nothing had come between us - still thick as thieves and joined at the hip whenever I visited the big city during school holidays.
After a few minutes I opened my eyes again, disgruntled by having to wait. I had escaped the house early that morning, still filled with boxes labeled in messy sharpie, so I could meet up with my friends for the first time in months.
And they were running late.
I didn't hold it against them, of course. We had all just came out of exams. They probably spent the night scouring social media and watching vine compilations and then regretting it in the morning when they had to drag themselves out of bed - I was the same, but I had the added encouragement of my mum possibly yanking me back to help unpack which was something I could totally do that night instead of sleeping (again).
I glanced at the time on my phone and grimaced at the fact that I still had another twenty-six minutes before they arrived. I may as well actually do something if my mind was starting to decide that it was bored.
Sighing, I stood and stretched my arms above my head, staring at my fingertips touching the azure sky. Scrunching my nose up at the dirt that had somehow found its way under my nails, I was about to bring my hands back down to scrape the gunk out when a dragon darted across the sky and stole my attention.
I gasped, recoiling my arms to my chest in surprise and awe, wide eyes glued to the beast as it flew above the city. Green mist trailed behind it. A figure sat upon the creature.
I blinked owlishly, watching the mystical beast and rider until they both disappeared from view.
Standing still for a few more low, shocked breaths, I only released the spot from my locked vision when I shook my head and adjusted my headphones, which had slipped down to my neck in my own little kerfuffle.
The world around me continued in its playful, blissful, summer haze and the citizens continued to mill, unaware of the dragon that soared miles over their head like a carnivorous, fire-breathing airplane with very sharp teeth. Or maybe it was such a regular occurrence that they just didn't pay it any mind and I was the only one making a big deal out of it.
I huffed through my nose, stuck my hands in my thin jacket pockets, and strolled towards the park exit with a leisurely gait.
That must be one of the ninja.
Bursting out of nowhere and pushed into the paparazzi and social media's limelight like a newly debuted boyband, the group of heroes had appeared out of nowhere. They certainly weren't around when I lived in the city before, but I heard about them during my early high school years when living in Jamanakai. I never got to see a sign of them whenever I visited the city, though, aside from the magazine covers and news reports. I couldn't even escape it on Twitter - the ninja stans ruled the roost.
It was kind of scary.
The government didn't even like the team of heroes.
