Taking Control. (a Ninjago fanfic)

Chapter 93- The day before

C O L E

The breeze carried petals instead of ash. And for the first time in what felt like weeks, there wasn't a single shout, crash, explosion, scream, or elemental meltdown happening around us.

Thank the FSM.

Kai, Jay, and I sat on a fallen tree that had been carved into smooth seating — Kai leaned forward with his elbows carefully resting on his knees, bandages still wrapped up both arms. Jay lounged backward beside me, kicking his heels against the wood as if he were six again.

Out in the clearing, Zane knelt in the dirt carefully, planting seeds in perfectly spaced rows. Lloyd was helping—well, attempting to help—and Nali, the tiny girl from the tribe, copied everything Zane did with complete seriousness.

Which meant she was planting them correctly.

Lloyd was not.

Jay squinted. "Why is Zane planting things like he's performing heart surgery?"

"Because," Kai murmured, "He doesn't know how to make anything  imperfect."

"Lloyd keeps putting them upside down," I commented.

Right on cue, Zane calmly rotated one of Lloyd's seeds while saying something that sounded encouraging and deeply disappointed at the same time.

Kai snorted under his breath, then winced and pressed a hand to his ribs.

"You okay?" I asked quietly.

He nodded, though his voice stayed low. "Yeah. Just... tired."

Jay nudged him gently with his shoulder. "Hey, tired is an improvement. Yesterday you were more dead than alive."

"Thanks," Kai deadpanned.

But there was the faintest tug at the corner of his mouth.

"Shouldn't you be getting some more sleep though? I mean, you aren't in the best of shape—"

The fire ninja raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying, Jay walker? Are you saying that I don't look good?"

"Pfft, you never do with that haircut—"

I leaned back, stretching my legs. "If you two don't stop arguing, I'm throwing both of you into the lake."

Jay made a face. "The lake is cold."

Kai smirked. "Good. It'll shut you up."

Jay pointed at him. "See?! He's recovering. He's being rude again."

Kai didn't deny it.

I watched them for a moment—Jay witty and grinning, Kai smirking but tired, Zane humming contentedly, Lloyd laughing with the kid, petals drifting like snow across fresh green grass.

Yeah.

It was nice.

A little farther off, Nya stood talking to an elderly woman from the tribe. The woman spoke slowly, hands moving in gentle gestures; Nya listened with her head bowed, a respectful calm softening her face. Every now and then, Nya nodded, or laughed quietly, but I could see her eyelids drooping and her posture slouching.

Even from here, I could see how tired she still was.

That girl never stopped pushing herself. I have to say, that's what I admired most about her. Nya was so stubborn that virtually no one could tell her what to do.

Jay followed my gaze. "Think she's okay?"

"She will be," I said. "She just needs rest."

"And maybe a week of sleep," Kai muttered.