We Are Descendants {Ninjago}

* Chapter 3: Skipping Stones

A 13 year-old young girl sat on the grass just on the shore of a small pond of the New Ninjago City park.

Her red hair was tied in a high ponytail and her round face was scrunched up in a scowl.

As she sat alone, she tries to pass the time by skipping stones across the water's surface. Many times she tried, no stone got far.

She hated it when the stone she throws doesn't get far. Just like how she hated not being able to beat her brother at absolutely anything! She works so hard, and yet she's still the worst compared to her brother.

Their parents have them learn taekwondo for safety purposes, and their parents teaches them other fighting styles during weekends. But no matter how hard she tries, or how far she aims, she can't seem to win against her brother. She hated it. No. She despised it! She can never do anything! Her brother was always the best at practically everything!

The young girl growled in frustration, fire blazing in her amber eyes. She picked up another small stone and threw it at the water in anger. The stone didn't skip, instead it straight on sank.

What's the point? She found herself thinking. I'm never gonna be better. I'll always be the one who can't get anything right. Why do I even try? No matter what I do, it's always him that gets the praise. It's always him who is better.

"Mind if I join you?"

The girl looked up to see a woman with the same hair and eye color as her. Her mother had a smile on her face, the kind of smile that only mothers can smile. The girl didn't answer, instead she turned back towards the pond.

Skylor sat down beside her. The pair were quiet for several minutes, until the former master of Amber decided to break the silence.

"I knew I'd find you here," she said with gentleness to her voice. "I used to come here all the time when I'm upset with something."

The girl scoffed and threw another stone into the pond. She picked up another, but instead she held it tight in her fist. Skylor decided to try another approach. If the girl has taken after anything from her father, it's that she's as hotheaded as him and will take some time to cool off.

"You know, you'll never get the stone to skip if you throw it in an arc, Ember. The stone will only end up sinking down to the bottom." She said, a smile tugging at her lips. Ember didn't say anything and continued to glare at the stone she picked up. Skylor continued.

"When you throw the stone in an arc, it sinks instantly, right?" Skylor grabbed the stone Ember was holding and held it in front of them. "Now, you'd want the stone to get far, right? But how can the stone get far if you keep on throwing it downwards? How can you get far if you keep on throwing yourself down?"

Ember blinked, realizing the meaning behind her mother's words. Skylor placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ember, you won't be as good as your brother if you keep on throwing yourself down." Skylor said gently. Ember frowned and turned to her mother to protest, but the former ninja continued. "I'm not comparing you to Kyle. I'm just telling you that if you really want to be like your brother, you have to take things step by step. And not throw yourself down."

Skylor gave the stone to Ember and motioned her head towards the pond with a smile. Ember took a deep breath and threw the stone, this time throwing it straight instead of in an arc. Instead of sinking instantly like she expected, the stone skipped several times on the water's surface before sinking.

"I did it!" The young descendant looked up at her mother with a wide smile. She skipped a stone! And Kyle didn't even know how to skip one! She finally did something that her brother can't! She knew being happy about something this small was stupid, but right now, she didn't care.