Ninjago: Purpose and Meaning

8. Reunion

Nadine looked over at Tierney for what must be the hundredth time that day. She was still in disbelief at his presence. It felt like she had waited for years for the next Master of Wind, even though, it had only been about two months. It felt unreal to have him beside her, almost like she was still dreaming, and she had to check every once in a while that he was still there.

They had been traveling for a week, heading toward where Nepenthe and the other Elemental Masters decided to set up camp. 

She had been silent about her constant contact with the Master of Mind. Nadine only told Tierney they would meet with some other Elemental Masters. It was Tierney's dream come true she quickly realized. Immediately, he started to train. Each evening when they stopped for the night, he spent some time trying to teach himself how to use his powers, determined not to ask for help. So it ended with him standing a couple of meters away, not acknowledging when Nadine called out helpful tips. But she saw how he quietly listened to her advice.

Nadine had always respected the First Spinjitzu Master's choice to step back and not be a public figure anymore, and she always thought she understood how he must have felt, but now, she started to reconsider. 

After traveling for a week with somebody who always had been looking up to the Elemental Masters, she got a new sense of why the First Spinjitzu Master stepped back. It was refreshing but also exhausting.

But finally, they were arriving. Nadine felt her excitement rush through her at the thought of finally meeting the other Elemental Masters again. She had been alone for the past two months, and now, it seemed like it would end, and everything could, hopefully, go back to the way they were.

Nadine looked up happily as they rode around a final corner on the forest road. They came into a clearing with a house in the middle. It had white walls with red details and a roof made of black shingles. A second floor rose in the middle of the house, only a third as big as the ground floor. On top of its black roof,  stood a statue of a golden dragon.

Nadine stopped her horse and looked upon the house with a happy smile. She remembered the first time she saw it; She and Arashi had walked out of a portal together with the First Spinjitzu Master. They had just been recruited to become the first two Elemental Masters. They had stood at this exact spot, wondering what a sudden turn their lives had taken.

She glanced over at Tierney, watching the look of awe and wonder in his eyes, and she understood he was feeling the same things she had. He looked upon the house like it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

"Is this it?" He asked, not averting his eyes from the house.

Nadine turned her eyes back to the house, smiling as she saw the doors open, and nodded.

"Yes," she said, her smile growing wider as people came out of the house. "We're here."

She swung her leg over the horse and jumped down, Tierney quickly following her lead. She kept a hand on the horse's reins and walked over toward the people quickly coming toward them.

She gripped the reins tighter when Naomi, the Master of Gravity, embraced her tightly. The red-haired girl chuckled as she pulled back and looked Nadine in the eyes, her brown eyes clearly showing how much she had missed her.

"Welcome back," she said as if Nadine had been on a semester.

Nadine chuckled, "It's been too long," and embraced her again.

Ember, the Master of Amber, quickly took Naomi's place and suddenly, Nadine was greeting and embracing a whole group of people. The Elemental Masters swarmed her and she barely noticed when somebody led her horse away.