New Allies and Foes

First Date

Malody knew that she was opening up, and it just happened that she was opening up to Cole. She didn't think it would happen because she had been broken. Being someone who had to deal with the trauma, she had to learn how to live with the pain that occurred, which Theon helped over the years since the incident. Cole, on the other hand, knew how much this meant for Malody because of how long she had to keep her walls up to protect herself, and he had won her heart by giving her time. It made her nervous about the date because of her past, which she was honest about when she joined the team. "So you are going on a date with Cole?" Nya asked when she saw Malody straightening out her dress. "Yeah, and it's my first date as well," Malody said with a smile. Because of her past, Nya knew that Malody held love at an arm's distance outside her family.

"So you are taking my sister out on a date," Lloyd said, looking at Cole, who ensured his shirt was clean and straight. "I am, and we agreed to take it slow, but what's it to you?" Cole said, looking at the green ninja out of the corner of his eye. Lloyd knew he still had to get to know his sister since they hadn't grown up together. "Nothing, and we both know that I want to build a relationship with my sister, which is going slow," Lloyd said. Cole knew Lloyd and Malody were still getting used to being siblings, but were still trying to find that balance. He looked at Lloyd, trying to see if he was ready to meet up with Malody. Lloyd gave Cole an okay because he saw he wanted to slowly take his relationship with Malody because of her past. "It was love at first sight, wasn't it?" Lloyd asked as he walked out with Cole. "It was, but like I said, we wanted to take our relationship slow, considering what happened to her with the Overlord," Cole said with a small smile. Lloyd knew that Cole was telling the truth about wanting to take things slow with Malody, though it was something that he could live with. 

Malody had walked outside into the courtyard, waiting for Cole, but the voice in her mind told her this was a bad idea. 'You are going to get hurt, but he's going to get hurt more than you,' that voice said, which Malody knew well. 'It's time for me to move on and let myself fall in love,' Malody said to that voice. It was something that Malody had heard since the Overlord incident, which resulted in her having her guard up so often that it was a problem for her to open up. "You look nice, beautiful actually," Cole said when he walked out and saw Malody waiting for him in the courtyard. She wore a purple floral dress with flats and a crystal floral hair clip. She rarely wore anything like that because she had no reason to wear something formal, and the last time she could remember, she wore something like that at the gala she attended before her aunt Elena disappeared. Cole was wearing a simple polo and dress pants, which surprised Malody because she didn't think he had a nice polo and dress pants. After the shock wore off, Cole summoned his dragon and offered his hand to Malody, which she took with a smile. 

Malody wrapped her arms around Cole's waist and held tight, knowing she hadn't ridden a dragon that wasn't her own in a while. Cole looked over his shoulder and saw Malody's face, which held a smile after taking flight. It made him think Malody wouldn't have that many chances to fall in love if she had allowed herself to do so in the first place. "Never been on a dragon before?" Cole asked her as he felt her tighten her grip. "I've flown my dragon before, but after the whole thing, I haven't flown dragon back that wasn't my own dragon," Malody said, placing her chin on Cole's shoulder. That gave him a thought because he realized they could lose the ability to use their dragons due to trauma or refuse to. "Who taught you to summon your dragon?"  Cole asked as they got closer to their location. Malody looked at the clouds in the distance, remembering the storm that made her face her fears. "My aunt Elana was the one who taught me how to summon my dragon and kept my training," Malody said. 

Cole remembered that Jay had told him and the rest of the team that he was adopted, and he was trying to find out more about his birth family. "She's Jay's birth mom," Malody said before closing her eyes. "You knew Jay's birth parents?" Cole asked. "I did. They took me in when everything happened with my family when they didn't have to at the time," Malody said, smiling before leaning her forehead into Cole's back. Cole never thought of it that way because they knew where Misako left Lloyd when he was a kid, but when they learned about Malody, they didn't know where she ended up. "So Jay's your brother in a sense without being blood," Cole said, trying to think things through. "He's more my cousin than anything, but yeah," Malody said. It didn't take long after that to arrive at the place that Cole found for their date, so he brought his dragon down for a landing. When Malody's feet touched the ground, she saw the meadow filled with Queen of Night flowers, Moonflowers, and Night-blooming Jasmine. She walked over to a patch where all three grew together and smiled, knowing her favorite flowers were there. 

"How did you find this place?" Malody asked. Cole looked at her with love, seeing a part of Malody that she had forgotten about herself. "I found this place on my way from my dad's when I took the scenic route back," Cole said with a shrug. He picked a branch of Queen of Night and placed it behind her ear before remembering that he had a basket for the picnic that he had planned. Malody was shocked at the sudden affection from the black ninja because she had never felt that affection from anyone before. "You brought a picnic as our first date?" Malody asked, looking over at the basket. "I did, and I know that it's a bit cliche as a first date, but I want to take it slow," Cole said as he lay down the blanket. Malody knew that taking it slow was something that she was glad for, considering her trauma and reluctance when it came to love. One thing that kept Malody a bit stressed was the shadows at the edges of the meadow, but despite that, she felt at peace in the light of the moon. 

"Are you still a bit scared about everything?" Cole asked. "A little, but I've learned to live with everything that happened little by little," Malody said as she saw and felt a bit of her powers in her hands. Cole looked at the small ball of darkness in Malody's hand, which emitted a silver-purple glow from the center. "The only time that I've seen someone's powers glow is Lloyd, but it happens with the rest of us, and it's rare," Cole said with a look of wonder. Malody was shocked because she didn't expect to see that look in Cole's eyes. "I think it depends on the elemental powers, but it's not always the case," Malody said. They talked about their hobbies and learned about the little things others didn't know. Both of them enjoyed the food, and Cole learned that Malody had a love and talent for cooking and baking. After almost an hour and a half, they decided to head back home for the night. "Thank you for the date. I had a great time," Malody said with a smile. Cole looked back before seeing the smile on Malody's face, knowing that he had given her something she thought she would never have. That was love, and he was willing to see it on her face whenever he could.