Spirit's Awakening (Book 1 of Spirit's Calling)

Halloween Special

A/n: Surprise! Thought it was over? Hahaha! Wrong!

Happy Halloween! Here's a little side adventure with our favorite fruit-colored Ninja :)

M/n = movie name

F/c = favorite candy

Y/n held a steaming cup of tea in her hands as she made her way to the bow of the Bounty.

A crisp wind blew her hair back and ruffled her new Ninja gi. She sat on the wooden dragon's head with her knees pulled up to her chest and gingerly sipped the tea, relishing the warmth that spread through her body.

The stars glittered with their everlasting glow and a full moon bathed the flying ship in silver. Over the low rumbling of the boosters, Y/n could hear crickets.

It was so quiet, so peaceful. Nothing like what she was used to.

With her tea half-finished, Y/n set the cup down and laid back to watch the stars, heart jumping with excitement when she saw a shooting star.

"You know, you're supposed to wish on a shooting star."

Y/n sat up, alarmed, before realizing it was just Lloyd. She lay back down using her arms as a pillow and continued looking up.

Back on Chen's island, she was never allowed outside after dark. Not only that, but whenever she managed to sneak away, the trees always blocked the sky. This was the first night Y/n truly had the opportunity to view the sky uninterrupted.

"I didn't know that," she returned quietly, glancing at Lloyd as he sat next to her. "But I don't know what I would wish for."

Lloyd's eyes clouded with grief. "I do," he replied in a whisper, gazing at the horizon.

Dad. Y/n's eyes widened in alarm and she sat up again. "Lloyd, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine," he interrupted in a weak voice, briefly closing his eyes before meeting her gaze with his blank one. "I came to check up on you. Normally we don't lay down on the figurehead in the middle of the night."

Y/n tilted her head up just in time to see a particularly bright shooting star pass overhead. "It's the first time I've seen the stars," she admitted.

"The first?" Lloyd repeated in astonishment. When Y/n nodded in confirmation, he sighed. "That's a shame."

"Yeah," Y/n agreed. "They're beautiful."

They sat in silence for a while, just watching the stars as the Bounty drifted lazily over the landscape, with no real destination in mind. Lloyd pointed out several constellations to Y/n, which she found confusing. Why did people decide to connect those specific stars to make a shape?

"How are you supposed to remember all of that?" Y/n wondered.

Lloyd chuckled. "I dunno. It just kinda happens when you look at the stars enough." He glanced over at Y/n's now-cold unfinished cup of tea. "Are you doing alright?"

Y/n blinked in surprise and followed his gaze to her mug. With a sigh, she replied, "Mostly. It's all so overwhelming — going to the mainland for the first time and seeing everything, and the fight, and my powers..." She glanced down at her open hands as if they held all the answers. "I don't know what to think."

"I get it," Lloyd agreed. "I was the same way after the Tomorrow's Tea incident."

"What?" Y/n's brow furrowed. They'd never mentioned a 'Tomorrow's Tea' before.

"Right. I guess no one told you yet." Lloyd sighed heavily. "This one time, my father used a super weapon to make the Ninja little kids, about ten — my age. Then this dinosaur thing attacked and the best way to defeat the dino and make them older again was Tomorrow's Tea. I used it, and it made everyone older, including me."