Fly High (Ninjago Dragon AU)

Chapter 3: The Den

Today was Echo's sixth birthday. Or hatching day, I suppose. While we were celebrating, a bird flew in through the window and couldn't find it's way back out. He mimicked its call perfectly, calling it down so he could catch it and set it free. He looked so happy as it flew away. I told him he was getting very good at mimicking, and he thanked me in my own voice. It's incredible, this ability he has. I find myself wishing I knew of other dragonets so I could check if my findings are unique to Echo or common amongst young dragons... perhaps one day.

-From the journal of  Professor Julien, noted dracologist (current whereabouts unknown)

"Hey, Cole! I'm back!" Kai's sudden yell shook Lloyd back to reality. Judging from the fact that the earth dragon turned his head at the shout, he was Cole. The earth dragon called for the lightning dragon to set something down, then made his way towards Kai and Lloyd.

"Did you get the cheese I wanted?" The lightning dragon asked, darting down from the spot where he'd been hovering to land in front of them. Lloyd blinked in disbelief. He was fast.

"No, I didn't," said Kai, sounding rather irritated by the smaller dragon's question. "Something came up."

The lightning dragon made a disappointed noise and his wings sagged. Kai pulled a loaf of bread from under his cloak and threw it at him.

"All right, that's enough!" the earth dragon chided as he reached them. At the same time, a halo of purple light surrounded the bread, and it floated over toward the dragon with the flower petals. She caught it, smiling. "I see you brought someone new," the earth dragon went on, looking down at Lloyd. Lloyd craned his neck to look back. He couldn't have been more than a year older, but he was really tall, with obsidian-black scales, shaggy black hair, and horns shaped almost like a ram's. Apparently sensing Lloyd's nervousness, he gave a friendly smile, his amber eyes glinting. "I'm Cole. What's your name?"

"Er- I'm Lloyd." 

Cole nodded. "Welcome to the Den, Lloyd. If you need anything, you can talk to me. I think Kai can show you around."

"—After I get this stupid cloak off!" Kai had apparently moved over to a corner and taken off the gloves and boots he'd been wearing. The scales on his arms glittered, as though he was wearing another set of gloves, this one made of rubies. As he struggled with the clasp of the cloak, Lloyd realized how he'd been holding the bread— the cloak had pockets sewn into its interior. Kai finally managed to get it off, then pulled a second loaf of bread from another pocket. "Hey, Nya!" he called. "I got the bread you asked for! C'mon," he added to Lloyd, "we can start with her spring." 

As the two approached the spring, the water dragon's head broke the surface, her webbed ears pricked. She grinned at the sight of the bread and scrambled out of the bubbling pool. "You got it!" she exclaimed, snatching the loaf and tearing a piece off, the water on her claws soaking the bread before she bit down. Lloyd wondered how she could stand to eat it all soggy like that. She opened one eye and used it to look him over, apparently trying to figure out whether she should like him or not.

"Of course I got it!" said Kai. "You said you wanted it!"

"Doesn't mean you'd get it," the water dragon pointed out around her mouthful. "You didn't get Jay's cheese."

"Ye of little faith," laughed Kai. "This tiny skeptic is my sister, Nya," he added to Lloyd. "Nya, this is Lloyd. We met in the village."

"Nice to meet you," said Nya, swallowing. She wasn't very big- in fact, she was pretty small- but she looked tough. Her clawed hands were webbed and turquoise-scaled, as were her feet. Her dripping, black hair was chin-length. Her eyes were blue, neither light nor dark, but a mix, dancing and shifting like shadows on a riverbed. Her horns curved upward to a slightly larger extent than Kai's, making Lloyd think of waves, and her tail ended in a fin like a fish or mermaid might have. Her skin one was the same brown as Kai's. "It'll be nice to have someone new," she went on. "Kai and I were the last ones to arrive."

"Really? When was that?" Lloyd asked.

"'Bout seven years ago," Nya mumbled thickly (she had just taken another bite). "Maybe we can talk more later, but I think Kai's s'posed to finish your tour right now."

"She's right," said Kai. He beckoned as he started toward the corner where the ice dragon and the dragon with purple markings were. Lloyd followed. As they made their way across the cavern, he glanced over his shoulder. Nya was dangling her feet in the water as she ate, her hands still soaking wet.

"How does she eat it all soggy?" he wondered aloud.

Kai shrugged. "I think it's a water dragon thing."

Next up was the library corner, where Lloyd was introduced to Zane (the ice dragon) and Pixal (the dragon with purple markings). Both had been friendly, if a bit formal. As Kai led him to the next location, the sleeping caves, Lloyd asked a question. 

"How did she get those scars? The ones on her leg and tail?"

Kai shrugged. "She arrived before me, and she never talks about it. Jay told me he asked once, and she acted like he hadn't said anything."

"Oh." 

After a quick tour of the sleeping caves and the central hollow, Lloyd was introduced to Jay, the lightning dragon. The green dragon's main impression was that he was... talkative. Very much so. He was feeling a little overwhelmed at this point, to be perfectly honest, as the weight of everything he'd been through that day caught up to him. He'd been cornered in a village, nearly died twice, been rescued and brought to a new place, and found out that he wasn't the only dragon in the area. To top it off, it was nearly sunset, and he'd been awake since just after dawn.

"Tired?" Kai asked. 

Lloyd nodded. "Rough day. Which cave is mine?"

"Any of the open ones. Need anything, just ask."

"Thanks." Several minutes later, Lloyd had curled up on a pile of pelts and drifted to sleep. His last thought was that it was pure relief to finally have a safe place to sleep.

Hallo Wattpad! It's finally up! I admittedly had a bit of trouble with introducing everyone, and I'm sorry if this chapter was a little boring. There will be MUCH BETTER descriptions of everybody later on, I promise! Feel free to speculate on Pixal's backstory, the layout of the Den, and identity and fate the mist dragon from the prologue!

School's about to start, so updates will be more sporadic than they already are, but I have a better idea of where the story's going from here. Hopefully it'll get better as it goes. The next chapter is probably gonna go back to Kai's POV. See you soon!