The Life of Livana Garmadon

September 14th, 2023

Mia curled up against my side, her hands clenched into fists as she breathed shallowly into me, her forehead shining with sweat. Her breath trembled, and tears slid down her face. I gently pressed my hand to her forehead and realized that she was burning up.

"Mia?" I gently shook her. Poor soul, another nightmare. I thought sympathetically as I hauled myself up and then took Mia in my arms. "Mia, come on. Wake up for me, okay? You're safe. I'm here for you."

Suddenly, Mia twisted in my arms and she opened her eyes wide with a gasp, her mouth open in a shuddering o shape. She looked up and then saw my face, and her own eyes started to leak like crazy. She pressed her hands into her face and then her face into my chest, shaking with violent sobs.

"I dreamed of her again." She gasped, "I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything. And worse... she had possessed Max and Felix." Her form trembled, "It's enough to possess me... but I can't let her get a hold of my brothers... I can't-"

Her voice cracked and I held her close, rocking her gently from side to side. "Shhh... It's okay, Mia. You're safe here. You're with me."

Mia's form slowly stopped trembling and she looked up at me, tear streaks lining the corners of her face. "I... I'm scared, Livvy. What if I end up losing everything all over again? I lost my parents to the streets. I have only my brothers. What if... I'm not capable of taking care of them anymore?"

"Oh Mia..." I shook my head, "No. Never. That will never happen. I'll always be here for you and your brothers to protect you three until the end. I won't let you lose each other. Understand?"

Mia's bottom lip trembled and then she hugged me. "Thank you, Livvy," she whispered, "for taking my family in. You never had to. I was just some raggedy kid off the street. Now I'm just wondering how I can repay you."

"Repay me?" I pulled Mia's shoulders back and looked into her deep brown eyes, "Mia, what are you talking about? You don't need to repay me or do anything in return. That's not the reason I asked you to come and stay with me. I know what it's like to be out on the street, fending and fighting for yourself. I know it can be hard, and I want to help you make it less hard, even if it's just providing you a good place to sleep."

"You're providing more than that." Mia leaned against my shoulder and blinked, her breath slowly ceasing its hitching and becoming more smooth.

"Of course I am." I gently brushed aside a strand of her hair, "I want you to experience happiness. I don't want you out there and I know that as much as I love Ninjago City, some people tend to not help because they don't know what's going on. I'm not leaving you in my brother's crazy ex's hands, no way in hell."

"Thank you, Livvy." Mia whispered with a yawn, closing her eyes as she leaned more of her weight into me, "I love you."

I stiffened, not because of disgust, but I was both shocked and honored to hear those words. No one that I've ever met in such a short time period has told me that they loved me. Well, besides Morro, but someone who's told me platonically. All my life, I've grown up to believe that love is earned throughout long periods of time, and sometimes it might never be earned at all.

My hands shook from happiness, and I took a deep breath to steady them. I leaned the side of my head against Mia's and I whispered, "I love you, too."

-:-:-:-:-

"I think that I can get the hang of my dragon form tonight." Fang told me as we were on patrol, walking through the streets of the city in the corner where all the pizza shops were.

"Ooh, that's great! Hope Morro hasn't been too harsh on you." I waved at someone who waved at me, and then looked over at Fang. "I know you've been working really hard, and it can be tiring. Make sure you don't actually get sick when we need you though."