Ninjago: Heart of the Storm (Slow Editing) (Re-Write)

Chapter Fifteen: Stars Combined

As the sun started to rise, it had caught the colors of a blazing, aflame ember as it rise in the east. The faint outline of the moon was in a pale circle of silver, glowing faintly in the dawning sky.
After everyone had breakfast in the dining room of the Monastery, Lloyd excitedly took Audra's hand and showed her around the Monastery as an excited tour guide to her. Once they were done, Lloyd led Audra outdoors to the backside of the Monastery.
Audra nodded quickly, so Lloyd pushed open a set of doors for her. She stepped out onto the cobblestone path and admired the sand garden to her left, crowning the small pond Zane was watching before. A few monks were tending to the gardens. A lot of them stared at her curiously; no doubt already knowing who Audra was. It seemed that word travelled fast within Lloyd's world, if Skylor was anything to go by. Audra wondered how long it would take for her to find her place in it, if ever.
Lloyd let her explore at her own pace, lumbering behind contently as Audra followed the path across small wooden bridges and through the forest of maple, sakura and willow trees. He watched as Audra paused by magnificent greenstone statues of dragons that sat hidden amongst the trunks, smoothened by weather and age. He watched as Audra tried to identify the medicinal plants that Zane had mentioned.
"What's that?" Audra asked, pointing across the small pond. Beside an outdoor training yard was a fenced-off area, craftily hidden by towering bamboo. The fence was twice her height.
"It's an onsen." Lloyd found a door that was cleverly disguised and opened it for her, revealing a sizeable heated spring with smoothened stone edges and seats. The water was teal and a few pink petals from the sakura drifted across its surface. Steam rose, curling up to the sky, letting me know how hot it was even if she couldn't already feel its humidity. But Audra noticed that Lloyd had disappeared again.
She soon found him at the trunk of a nearby tree with a smile. Lloyd turned on his seat, resting his bare arms on the smooth trunk of the tree and smiling warmly, unsurprised at her sudden arrival as he relaxed in the warm and yet breezy shade of the tree. He would've heard Audra wandering the place curiously.
"Hey, Sunshine," Lloyd happily greeted as Audra approached him.
"Hey Emerald." Audra smiled to him warmly as she sat down next to him. She bent down to kiss his forehead. "What have you been doing?"
Lloyd's eyes drifted to the side. "I've been drawing."
Audra recalled him telling her weeks ago that he liked to draw but didn't have much time for it. She was glad he found the time for it during his recovery. Art was therapeutic. "What have you been drawing?"
Lloyd's voice went quiet. "...You."
Audra had to take a few moments to calm the sprint of fluster her heart had just bolted away with. She smiled as Lloyd laid his head on her lap and searched for his avoidant, embarrassed gaze. "Can I see?"
Lloyd shrunk a little. "...One day."
Audra melted at his cute hesitance and pushed no further. He was adorable when he was bashful, and the confession that he was drawing her left an imprint on her mind. She knew she'd be thinking about this for months.
She smiled softly as Lloyd laid his head on her lap as he snuggled on her. Audra's hands gently scratched across his hair, and he closed his eyes blissfully and started purring like a cat. His hair is so soft and silky to the touch. The silent tension that weighed on his shoulders was started to fade by her gentle fingers, causing him to relax like a sleepy cat. He's so adorable.

The sun was low, and the sky was on fire with a blazing sunset and into a calming twilight. As the moon slowly rose in the place of honor on the darkening violet backdrop, the stars around it had deviated drastically from the night before. Prominent constellations moved in a wide arc parallel to the moon's path, while the lesser ones framed them intermittently. The North Star was shining brightly as the moon.
At the Monastery, everyone was fast asleep in their respective bedrooms. But sharing in Lloyd's bedroom was himself and Audra. But the two of them were both speaking to each other in hushed whispers and laughter.
"Lloyd." Audra's fingers stoked through his soft hair, causing him to purr. "I can't always be here."
He planted his face against her neck and groaned. "I don't wanna go."
"You gotta." Audra smiled at him softly.
He whined from the back of his throat pitifully and snuggled deeper against her. Audra chuckled a few octaves higher than usual at his clinginess. She was quickly learning that Lloyd's love language was physical touch. She carded her fingers through his hair and pressed a kiss to his temple. He sighed, becoming motionless, and simply held him as though he were about to fall asleep.
"Great Green Ninja, rendered motionless in my hold," Audra murmured playfully. "What would your enemies say, now?" Her gentle scratching caused Lloyd to fall into her arms limply and she smiled as his face was laid on her left shoulder, completely relaxed. Lloyd's breathing evened and he stilled nearly of all movement in her gentle grip, making her certain he was asleep up and she soon fell asleep next to him peacefully too.
Audra jolted from sleep when Lloyd began to shift. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes and hid a yawn behind her hand. Audra's weary eyes fell to Lloyd when he thrashed. It took a moment for her exhausted brain to take in his wet cheeks, the contorted frown and the whimpers has made her connect the dots quickly. He was having a nightmare, and it looked to be a really bad one. Audra rested her hand above his forehead. Audra had never seen Lloyd cry before.
She didn't quite know what to do. She was never really the first person someone would turn to for comfort, and if someone did, she'd always put her foot in her mouth and say something wrong. Audra rubbed her thumb along his temple and thought of what to do. How does one reassure someone who'd went his traumatic experience? How could Audra ever even begin to understand the magnitude of Lloyd's trauma? She couldn't. It was impossible to.
"You're okay," Audra whispered, and wiped away his tears. She smiled wryly. "I'm not going anywhere."
A few more tears had escaped yet again. She pushed her thumb along their tracks, stealing them away. She lined his jaw with her fingertip and watched his flickering, closed eyes while he dreamed. Audra traced the line of his dry lips, and they parted beneath her touch. Maybe in the morning Audra'd try to find him some balm.
"What's going on in that head of yours, hm?" Audra hummed. "Do you need me to go in there and punch away the nightmares? I'll do it."
Lloyd's head turned towards her. His whimpers seemed to have calmed a little, and Audra realized that talking must've soothed the nightmares. Audra shuffled closer and held him firm, careful not to jostle him into waking.
"We're so wrapped around each other's fingers." Audra chuckled with a small smile. "And you know it too." She quickly returned to her gentle scratching, and smiled warmly as his purring was heard from her mix of her presence and her gentle scratching. She carded her fingers through his hair and pressed a kiss to his temple. He sighed, becoming motionless, and she simply held him as he slept.