Aureole (Discontinued)

Post S3 - Fernweh

(n.) Wanderlust; an ache for distant places or a strong desire to travel.

Lloyd and [M/n] spent several hours a day at Borg's Tower, searching the factory and repeatedly watching the footage, hoping to catch something. One day, Lloyd, having been upstairs with Borg, met an old friend of his, a zoologist, Esmere who was looking for guards for an exploration job.

While they were eating dinner, Lloyd brought it up to [M/n]. "So, a friend of Borg's stopped by. Said she was a zoologist, and that she had a history degree, I think. Her name's Esmere."

"Interesting. Why, specifically, are you telling me this?" 

"Oh, yeah. She's the head of an exploratory team that plans on exploring the Nakahi Jungle. Said it's almost completely unexplored and when I asked about Hiroshi's Labyrinth, she told this jungle is at least assumed to be 5x as dangerous. I forgot to asky why though, so . . ."

"It's assumed to be dangerous because of the village guarding it, Pythia's Himirai. Any who try to enter are warded off with threats of death within the forest, so I'm surprised their allowing the jungle to be explored at all."

Lloyd winced. "I don't think they're allowing it to be explored, she made it sound like they don't have a choice since they don't technically own the jungle. Esmere thinks there's money to be made since there could be hundreds of undiscovered species, or plants, and there's a chance of new medicines being discovered."

[M/n] scoffed, shaking his head, "Φυσικά." (Of course.)

"What?"

"People have been trying to explore Nakahi Jungle for centuries, but the village has been adament about keeping strangers out of it. They're the only ones who can come and go from the forest, they know it better than anyone. They'll defend it till they die, it's their way."

"Well . . . What if you joined them? You obviously know a lot about the jungle and the village, and you care that the wishes of the village are being disrespected. You could be a negotiator or something, maybe help them see reason, I mean, she needs another guard, and you would be perfect for the job."

"Lloyd. Nakahi Jungle, and Pythia's Himirai are nearly on the other side of Ninjago. I mean the closest village, is Stixx and they're not fond of strangers. This kind of job could last months, even years if they find undiscovered species or something goes wrong. Are you really okay with me being gone for that long?"

"I think you should do it. Maybe some time away from the city would help." Lloyd set down his plate on the coffee table, with [M/n] doing the same, so Lloyd could curl on top of him and tangle their legs together. "You're still hurting, Ai, but maybe this will help." (love)

"What about you, Λιακάδα? Zane was your brother too. I know I haven't been the best partner lately and I'm sorry for that. I don't want to leave you on your own, while I'm across the country."

"My dad's been talking to me about coming to stay with us again for a bit. He's worried about the both of us. I think he could stay with me, while I continue guarding Ninjago. You could go do this, get out of the city and heal, [M/n]. Me and Dad can stay here. We can handle Ninjago for a couple years if we need to."

[M/n] fell silent. This was both the same dilemma and a completely different one, he had faced the year before when Garmadon had asked him to be a Sensei. He knew this was different though. "Alright. I'll head to Borg Tower in the morning and discuss it with her. If I agree to the terms, I'll have Borg help me write up a solid contract."

Lloyd practically lit up, lifting his head up from [M/n]'s chest so he could press his lips to [M/n]'s. He happily initiated a make-out session, keeping it slow and lazy since neither of them had anywhere they needed to be. 

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The next morning, as he'd promised, he met up with Esmere, who he realized was an eccentric, wild woman, within about 2 minutes of meeting her. Barely 5 steps into the lobby and she'd been in his face, eyes practically sparkling. "OMD! You must be the [M/n], Lloyd was talking about! Oh I can't believe this! The Silver Ninja wants the job! It's just such an honor!" She violently shook his head, squeezing tightly, though he wasn't bothered by the pressure.

"It's nice to meet you too. I was wondering if you could tell me the details of the job. I just want to make sure I have all the details before I draw up a contract and join you." She nodded, completely unbothered by the request. 

"Well, your job would be to guard us from the villagers if they choose to attack us or try to stop us, and protect us on our trek through the jungle, from predators mainly. You'll be the ones in charge of our gear and making sure none of our samples are lost or destroyed. We can hash out pay and any other details in the contract if you like." 

[M/n] nodded, gesturing for her to follow him. They took the elevator up to Borg's office with Esmere happily explaining what they expected to find within the jungle, and her own theories as to why the Village was so protective over it, ranging from an ancient burial ground to a temple filled with treasure. He listened closely to her theories, even if he didn't like the idea of invading the village's privacy. 

Borg was happy to see them and helped write up a contract for the two. As Esmere read over it, she noticed a couple of odd things, and she was quick to point it out. 

"What are these three clauses about? Here?" She pointed them out. 

[M/n] didn't even have to look at them to know which ones she meant. [M/n] Caelestis is to be tasked with full control of all hired guards. "I won't take orders from mercenary's who've never had to survive in a jungle before, no matter the experience they've had."

Esmere nodded in agreement.

All orders given by [M/n] Caelestis given within the jungle are to be promptly followed. "This is because I will be tasked with the safety of the group and if no one is listening to me, then how can I properly keep you safe from harm. And the last one -" [M/n] Calestis will be apart of the negotiations as a neutral party to help make decisions. "-is because I'm not going to watch you and your group cheat these villagers out of their jungle."

She nodded, finishing the rest of the contract. "Alright, all of this is, surprisingly, tame to some of the other contracts I've had to sign, so I see no problems with signing it." With a flourish she signed where she was supposed to before passing it over to [M/n], who read over her conditions and terms she'd had Borg write, making sure there were no loopholes that could exploit him. 

Once he was sure of the contract, he signed it, passing it back to her so she could put it away. Grinning she held out her hand for him to shake. "Welcome to the team, Silver Ninja!"

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A/n: Sorry for the late post. Hope you all enjoy.