Lava | Ninjago

🜃 | Handling Embers

Cole, gentle as could be, tapped the cotton pad soaked in disinfection around Kai's left eye. The fire ninja sat still like a statue, only the blinking and rising and falling of his chest gave away that there was life still inside. Hopefully. He definitely lacked his fire, although none of their powers came into jeopardy in a good while.

Even his eyes seemed darker than usual; the marigolds had withered. Maybe because of the shadow of his lowered eyelids. Maybe he, at last, burnt out.

But Cole refused those thoughts to even cross his mind, let alone settle there.

"You should stop picking pointless fights. They're not worth your time, you know?" he said, mostly to fill up the silence. He did not expect Kai to answer, albeit he would welcome it with open arms.

And as expected, Kai said nothing. Instead, he just turned his head so Cole would have better access to the injury. His face and body were riddled with fresh and old bruises; avoiding them was like moving around a minefield.

The plastic bag rustled when Cole threw out the last pad. Final touch: a steri-strip just above Kai's eyebrow.

Seeing all the treated and faded wounds, Cole wondered if maybe this was a messed-up, artistic way of portraying the desolation hiding inside.

Kai made no move to leave; he probably waited for Cole to go first. But Cole, rather than leaving the firestarter alone with his thoughts, took his hands and rubbed their backs with his own thumbs. Searching for eye contact was like chasing ghosts, which still did not discourage Cole from trying.

"Talk to me, Firefly," he pleaded. "You haven't spoken in days, I'm worried about you."

As much as he understood him, how he pretended Cole didn't exist added to the hurt already settled in his own chest. But he pushed that aside just as he pushed aside everything else in his desperate attempts to be there for Kai. He hoped it would all pay off once Kai understood that he could open up to him. He hoped.

"You know she wouldn't approve."

Kai's shoulders shook almost imperceptibly. Cole expected the advance before Kai even took a breath and he caught his fist centimetres away from his own, bruiseless face.

All light left the dim, amber eyes. Then Kai pounced on him and before Cole knew it, he had been blocking and dodging his punches, which only grew more desperate and clumsy with each one. Cole entertained the dance only for so long; the moment weariness seeped through Kai's movements, he pulled him in and stood still. Kai, however, still kept on attempting to fight him, to push him off, to hurt him just as he hurt.

And then the fire ninja went limp in his arms and tears began to soak Cole's black gi.

Through it all, Cole stood still, holding Kai, swaying him gently, rubbing up and down his back, brushing through his hair that lacked their usual care. He listened to the ragged breath and murmured soothing words into his ear like his mother taught him.

Then a voice: quiet at first, barely audible. Muffled and hoarse from not being used in a long time. A chorus of I'm sorry's of which Cole had no way of telling whether they belonged to him or his sister. Or perhaps to the entire world Kai cursed so much. Maybe they belonged to the closed-off part of Kai he betrayed with his tears. Maybe they belonged to his parents he believed he failed.

Bony fingers dug into his back, clenching the dark fabric, as if letting go meant willing oneself to drown.

Cole sat amongst the ashes, cradling the flickering ember and for the moment ignored time passing.