Querencia

S1 E11: Rise of the Great Devourer

Warnings:

- Talk of Gore and Blood

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In the early morning silence, before the other ninja woke, Lloyd quietly poked [M/n] to get the other's attention.

"Hmmm?"

"Will you teach me some cool ninja tricks? Like the ones you used yesterday," Lloyd whispered, before he realized his mistake. [E/c] stared into green, disappointed that Lloyd had directly disobeyed him. 

"I seem to remember telling you to close your eyes," [M/n] reprimended, keeping his voice low. Lloyd looked away, figuring that meant he wouldn't be learning any cool moves as punishment. Above him [M/n] sighed. "You need to learn how to throw a punch."

Lloyd perked up instantly. "Really?" He tried to keep his voice down but Jay shifted and grumbled in annoyance. 

"Yes, really. You'll have to find some clothes to workout in. Your normal clothes are too restrictive and your GI won't fit for some years."

The two climbed down from the bed, with [M/n] borrowing a pair of shorts from Jay for Lloyd since he was the thinnest of the ninja, before he borrowed a shirt from Nya. Once changed, [M/n] took over one of the inner training rooms for the day and set to teaching Lloyd stretches first.

While originally against learning so many different stretches, [M/n] was quick to drill into him the need for stretches, sparing no detail. He refused to send Lloyd into a fight without the basics within which a strong foundation was created. 

Sufficiently stretched, he fixed Lloyd's atrocious posture and fists and taught him how to properly throw a punch. The boy was at first confused on how he would hold up against older opponents but [M/n] explained that he would need other tricks to do that and for now his priority would be escape. That had upset Lloyd but [M/n] simply pointed out his face off with the Serpentine the day before and how easily he could have been killed without his father's timely arrival. 

After being reassured that Lloyd would stop after a half-hour and would come find him, [M/n] headed up to the dining room where Kai, Nya, and Jay were all eating breakfast and looking over several scrolls Wu had found. 

During their training session, the Bounty had flown into a storm and the ship was rocking unsteadily. 

"Why is it that Torchfire Mountain is the only place we can destroy the Fangblades?" Nya asked, lifting up one of the scrolls.

"Cause the Fangblades are made from the original teeth of the Devourer. They're so strong they can only break down in extraordinary heat," Kai explained. "And Torchfire Mountain has the hottest lava out of any known volcano."

"Uh, could someone pass the salt?" Jay asked, just as the Bounty tipped to the side, sending the salt sliding down the table. Jay snickered to himself. "Hey, thanks."

The door was slammed open by Cole, who looked nauseous as he stumbled inside. "Please. No one talk about food. How much longer until we get there?" 

"Not long. Hey, Cole, you're looking a little green over there. How'd you like a mucus salt sandwich?" Cole gagged and fled to go throw up over the side of the ship. Jay snickered before he was kicked in the shin, making him jerk and yelp. "Speaking of green, who would've guessed little Lloyd Garmadon turned out to be the Green Ninja?"

"I know. He was such a brat at first. Well, to everyone except you, [M/n]. It's hard to believe he's gonna become the greatest ninja that ever lived," Nya said, taking the opportunity to poke fun at [M/n].