Thicker than Water (Sequel to Bloodthirsty)

Chapter One

Crying. A baby's tears. Wailing. Anguish. Hunger. Pain. Crying-

"Jay..." Nya muttered tiredly. "The baby..."

Jay groaned, rubbing his eyes before swinging his feet off of the bed, Nya's arms slipping away from his torso. "I got her, babe, don't worry..." He stumbled out of bed, yawning loudly and entering their baby's small room.

Their baby was crying loudly, her little hands balled up into fists and her face a deep red. Jay hushed her and scooped her into his arms, bouncing her around a bit. "What is it, Jay Junior?" He whispered. "Don't you know your mommy's trying to sleep?"

She quieted down slightly, taking quick little breaths before opening her mouth to cry again. Jay sighed and stroked his little girl's face. "Are you hungry?" He glanced at the magenta sky and noted the low supply of blood they had. "Can't you wait for a little while longer? I can get more blood when it turns to night..."

Nya appeared next to him and took the baby from his arms. "You're really going to starve her?" She rose a brow and carried the baby to the kitchen. "I know you get cranky when you don't have your blood right away, Jay, but little Maya comes first."

"I don't get cranky." Jay protested, watching Nya pour the last of their stored blood into the baby's bottle. "... You want her name to be Maya?"

Nya fed the baby from the bottle and nodded. "Maya was my mother's name."

"Can't that be one of her names?" He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "I still want her name to be Jay."

"Jay Maya Walker. That sounds lovely." Nya smirked and pulled the empty bottle away from the baby's mouth. "We should have already named her by now. It's been four months since she was born."

"But there's so many to choose from!" Jay sighed dramatically and leaned against the fridge. "Who would have guessed being a parent would be so hard?"

Nya laughed. "At this point she'll have everyone's and their parents' names." She tickled their baby's tummy and glanced outside. "Sundown. Do you want to hunt this time, or should I do all of the work, as per usual?"

Jay rolled his eyes and gave his two girls each a kiss on the cheek. "I'm leaving, alright? Since you want me out of the house so badly." He pouted.

"Get outta here, you animal." She grinned, pulling him in and kissing him tenderly. "Be careful out there."

"I always am." He smiled softly and held her close, gazing into her daring eyes before grabbing his supplies and flying off into the night.
~
Although filling jugs of blood was an efficient way to prevent frequent hunts, it was still difficult, transportation-wise, when it came to living in Ninjago City. For the most part, it was due to the fact that Jay wasn't able to turn into a bat and carry the heavy jugs, or transform into his humanoid bat form and risk his family's life and security. Instead, Nya and Jay had decided to move out to the countryside, near Nya's old home, and drain blood from wild animals in the area. While human blood was far tastier than animal blood, Nya and Jay both understood that feeding off of human blood would only harm them more, as well as put their baby at risk. Sacrifices had to be made in order to keep human lives safe, their baby free from addiction, and ultimately keep themselves in check.

When Jay finished draining the final cow dry, he capped the fifth jug of blood tightly and tossed it into his knapsack with the others. He dragged the carcass away and tucked it into some bushes with the others. He strolled through the lush forest, passing by a large lake. Curious, he glanced at the waters, wanting to see if he had a reflection or not. And, to his surprise, he did, although it was slightly transparent and faded away here and there.

He ran his finger through his hair and carefully examined himself; he had changed a lot in four months. For starters, his hair was a lot darker than before, not pitch black like it had been when Bliv had possessed him, but a darker auburn. His eyes were a little more tired, perhaps due to becoming a father and losing a few years of his youth because of it, and his freckles were beginning to diminish. He was looking a little less boyish than he was before, more muscular and firm, and perhaps a little taller too. He smiled wide and his teeth glittered a bright white, his fangs prominent as always.

Satisfied, he smiled to himself and went on his way. Perhaps becoming a vampire with Nya and the baby wasn't so bad. He had to admit he looked much more confident and definitely more handsome, certainly a lot more clean-cut than he was when Bliv had taken over his body.

He also noticed that vampirism looked good on Nya too. In fact, she had gotten a lot sexier, something Jay never would have imagined he would say out loud, but he would in a heartbeat, because it was true. Perhaps it was from having a baby, but she had definitely become curvier, her breasts a little bigger, her lips a little more plush, her dark, daring eyes sharper than her fangs. She was maturing quickly, leaving her mortal teen years behind and embracing her new immortal life like the badass she always was- except this time she's a badass and a sexy vampire.

Jay shook his head and tried to clear his mind. "Gotta focus on other things." He mumbled to himself. "Think of baby names. Blood. The burdens of killing innocent people in order to feed. Anything." He bit his lip, his face growing hot as he thought about Nya. "Damn that ass of hers..."

"... Jay? Is that you?"

Jay stopped dead in his tracks, recognizing the wise, raspy voice from anywhere. It couldn't be...

"Sensei Wu?" He turned around and faced his old master, who was holding onto his staff with one hand and the shoulder of his nephew with the other. "Lloyd? You're... you're alive?"