The Life of Livana Garmadon

August 19th, 2023

"The DX Express is fine, Kai." Nya grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at her brother. "It's not going to break down in the middle of the mountain, okay? You have to trust in my mechanic skills. I mean, you do. You use the mechs that I built you."

"Are you sure that it'll hold though?" Kai asked, eyeing the car skeptically, "Honestly, it looks kinda rusty to me, sis. This thing has to hold up because if it doesn't-"

"Shut up." Nya said firmly, smacking Kai upside the head. Kai protested and I bit my lip, trying extremely hard not to laugh. Nya looked over at me and then grinned, "You have faith in the DX Express, right, Livvy?"

"More faith than Kai does." I said, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. "The name could use a little work though. I say this with all constructive criticism."

"Ah, okay. I'll take your suggestion." Nya nodded her head briskly, her high ponytail doing a little bop before it settled into a frizz on her skull, like it always did.

"How come you didn't smack her?!" Kai yelped.

"Because she said it with constructive criticism." Nya grinned at her brother, who rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, adjusting his red parka coat. Nya, Kai, and I were going up to the second tallest mountain in Ninjago, Mount Tamashii, and we were planning to climb it. I wasn't exactly a mountain climber, but I wanted to test it out.

Kai sighed, "Oh yeah, because that makes it all the better."

"Exactly. Finally, we're on the same wavelength for once." Nya giggled and then opened the front door to the DX Express. "Does everyone have what they need? Parkas? Gloves? Hats? Hand warmers? Water bottles? Food, maybe?"

"Check, check, check, check, check, and check." I said, pretending to check things off a clipboard. "I also got our earpieces, so we don't have to scream at each other in the mountains if there's harsh winds. We might cause an avalanche that way."

"Got you." Kai nodded, "Alright. Let's get going."

"Hop in." Nya said, "Mount Tamashii, here we come."

-:-:-:-:-

Mount Tamashii was so, so, so damn cold.

The chill nearly penetrated through my bones like a knife, curling inside my blood like tiny sharp claws. I snapped the snow goggles that Nya had offered me onto my face and left no skin exposed, ducking my chin down so that the lower half of my face was covered by my dark purple scarf. Next to me, Kai was shuffling his legs, rubbing his arms through his gloved hands and his parka, his teeth chattering.

"T-this was n-not a good i-idea." Kai managed to stutter over his clacking teeth.

"We'll be f-fine. We just ne-need to warm up for a m-moment." Nya said and then she passed out hand warmers for us. "H-here. Take these and hold t-them t-tight."

I nodded and took the hand warmer, the heat from it blazing through my hands just like Kai's fire. I held onto it and then we hiked up the mountain. The cold wind snarled at my face, trying to tear away my scarf and goggles, but I just ducked down my head and kept on hiking. Come on, Liv. Push it. I whispered to myself as Nya, Kai, and I hiked up and up the mountain.

After a little while, the adrenaline of exercise finally rushed in, and we were able to hike much faster. The snow felt less ensnaring, and my breath came out in front of me in small, silvery puffs.

"Hey, guys." Kai said, making Nya and I look over at him. "You wanna know the legend that surrounds Mount Tamashii?"

"Sure. What is it?" I asked, squeezing the hand warmer in my left hand, giving myself a burst of warmth in my palm.