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Update: I’ve watched it. Some of y’all said it was good but all of you were understating it’s magnificence

I’ve been meaning to watch Dragons Rising…

But every time I go to watch it something “distracts” me. I’m so worried this season is going to disappoint me.

[flaming-firecracker]

I’ve been meaning to watch Dragons Rising…

But every time I go to watch it something “distracts” me. I’m so worried this season is going to disappoint me.

[flaming-firecracker]

Can anyone tell me what a fic rec week is?

Fic Rec Week: Prompt Selection!

What should be the prompts for our rec week?  You can weigh in on them here and even suggest your own!  Prompts will be picked by highest level of interest, so if you’re dying to see one make sure to fill out this super quick form to let me know :D  Fic rec week will take place either the second or third week of July, so make sure to get your replies in soon so I have time to consider them.

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Lava Through Time Chapter 1

I had someone ask me to write a story following Kai and Cole through time, so I'm working on it slowly.

I don't think there's any trigger warnings, let me know if I need to add some.

Kai gave the pot poured the spaghetti back in the pot, the water having just been drained from them, before turning back to the sauce he was making. Giving it one final taste, he decided it was finally ready. If only the other half of his family was home so they could eat. 

He ran a hand through his hair as he stepped back to look at the clock on the microwave. 7:36, Nya should have been back hours ago. School let out at 3:30, and it only took 30 minutes to get back home. Before she had left this morning, she had said that she wanted to go to the mall with some friends. Kai had assumed that meant an hour or two at most. Looking back, he probably should have clarified which friends they were and where exactly they were going, but he didn’t want to be too clingy. Even though he was raising her, he didn’t want her to start looking at him as a parent instead of just an older brother. He’d give her until 8:00pm, that was her curfew after all. After that he would go out and look for her. 

Taking a seat at the table, he pulled out his phone in hopes of distracting himself from the anxiety currently encircling his mind. About fifteen minutes later, he heard the front door open, followed by Nya’s voice as she yelled at him from the hallway. 

“I’m back!”

“Where have you been?” Kai accused, darting away from the table and walking towards her. “I was getting worried.”

“Relax, it’s not even my curfew yet. I’m not late.”

“But you almost were. Who were you out with anyway?”

“Just some friends from school,” Nya replied casually, refusing to meet Kai’s eyes.

“Define ‘friends?’” He specified. Nya knew how to get around questions she didn’t want to answer, he’d learned that the hard way. She never straight up lied to him, she just phrased her answers in ways that made it seem like you had an answer. 

“Just friends. Pearl, Jack, Crystal, some other girl I don’t know the name of.” 

She started heading towards the kitchen, stopping to check the stove before continuing to the table. 

“Why are you so worried? You worried I have a boyfriend or something?” 

“Yes, Nya. That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

“You’re just jealous because you don’t have a boyfriend.” 

Kai spluttered in denial. “That’s not the point! I just want to make sure you’re safe!”

Nya simply raised an eyebrow at him as she dished up her food. 

_____________________________________________________________

“Come, my feet or tired. We will take the horse carriage.” With the final declaration, Wu closed the door behind him. 

“We have horses here?” Jay asked. “Unlikely. We’ve been here for months and have explored these grounds many times over. We would have come across any animals by now,” came Zane’s response beside them. 

Cole simply rolled his eyes at his teammates, instead turning towards the newest member of their group. “It’s Kai, right?” 

“Who’s asking?”

Cole chose to ignore the teens snarky response, as the leader he had to set an example. He wouldn’t let this hot-headed boy break him. “My name is Cole, it’s good to meet you new guy.” 

Kai only narrowed his eyes. “I take it you’re also new to this ninja business. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” 

“Thanks, but I won’t need your help. I’m going to get my sister back, then I’m leaving this place and all of you behind as soon as I can.” 

Cole gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze as he moved to stand in front of the shorter male. “Hey now, that isn’t much of a team spirit.” 

“Because we aren’t a team!” Kai shouted, pushing away from Cole and retreating out of his reach. “I don’t need a team! I don’t need anyone!” 

With that final declaration he turned and retreated inside. But as he walked away Cole heard him whisper under his breath. “I never have.” 

“What’s his damage,” Jay asked. “I didn’t see any physical blemishes. He appears fine to me.”

“No Zane, I mean why is he acting cruel?”

“Perhaps he just does not know how to be part of a team.” 

Cole shook his head as he started to head inside. “Well, he’ll have to get over it. Like it or not we are a team now, he’ll have to get used to it.” 

____________________________________________________________

“Alright, take five!” Lou declared as he slammed the door to the studio. 

“I’m starting to see why Cole’s so sour. It’s cause twinkle toes here couldn’t deliver the goods.” Jay mocked, before switching to a softer tone. “Is that why you ran away?”

“Oh, I could deliver the goods!” Cole shouted back. “Look, let’s just go along with this until we can get our hands on the cup. And then we can leave, and I can erase this whole fucking disaster from my memory!” 

Coles stormed out of the room, and the ninja heard some distant shouting between the father and son before the front door slammed behind him. 

There was a moment of silence before Jay spoke up. “I didn’t mean to upset him.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kai responded gently. “I’ll go talk to him, don’t worry.” 

Kai found Cole outside lying on the roof. The black ninja had the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up and his headphones overtop of them, and his eyes were closed against the dying light of the evening. After taking a quick breather, Kai walked over and laid down next to him. He didn’t speak, opting instead to wait until Cole started the conversation. 

“It didn’t always used to be like this.” Kai raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment, waiting for him to continue. 

“When I was a kid, we got along. Well, when my mom was alive, we used to get along. Our relationship started getting rocky as soon as she got sick. He went a full year without talking to me after she died, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. Then one day, I walked into the kitchen before school. And there he is, the man who has gone out of his way to actively avoid me for months just standing in over the stove singing along to some song to the radio. He had the biggest smile on his face as he flipped pancakes over his shoulder. 

“He said ‘There you are son! I was wondering what was taking you so long! I made your favorite meal, take a seat!’ and I remember it so clearly, those were his exact words, the first words he had said to since mom had died. And I told him I couldn’t. I had to leave or I’d be late. He said, ‘don’t worry about that, you don’t have to go to school today, I thought instead we could bring some flowers to your mom.’

“So, I got to skip school that day, we went and picked out this beautiful bouquet from a local florist in our neighborhood.” There was a soft chuckle at the memory. “She always loved purple and orange, so we got orange roses and purple larkspur. We didn’t know much about flowers than we liked those to, so they filled it in with everything, they were the experts after all. And it was truly gorgeous, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much mom would have loved it. We stopped and got lunch on the way there to, dad let me choose.

“We brought mom the flowers, and we had lunch with her, and we spend hours in the cemetery just… talking. It was so nice, and different, and I finally felt seen again. But after an hour or two I asked him. You know, I needed to know. Why did you ignore me? And he told me that it was because I reminded him of her. He said that everything I said or did, or even just looking at me, all that he could see was mom and he couldn’t handle it. And apparently, he talked to, someone- I don’t remember the specifics- and they told him to use it as an opportunity. That pushing me away wasn’t helping him grieve mom, it was making sure he lost both of us instead. Ad then he looked me in the eye and said that he didn’t want that. He said he lost her, but he didn’t want to lose me too.

“And that day forward things were great. We had conversations, we ate together, watched movies. He listened to things that I said and took an interest in my drawings and hobbies, I went and saw him perform, our relationship was fantastic.”

The two laid in silence for a while. Kai was hoping that he would continue, but it was clear he didn’t plan to without prompting.  “It sounds like you and your father were very close.” Cole nodded, eyes still closed. 

The red ninja sat up, tapping at the others knee as he turned to face him. Cole followed hesitantly. He brought his headphones down to sit around his neck but left his hood on as he looked at his lap. 

“How did it go from great to… how it is now?”

Cole’s breathing got heavier as the time passed, and Kai waited patiently, even as the tears started to fall down the earth ninja’s face. 

“When I was a sophomore, I realized something about myself. And I was so certain that my dad was support me. So as soon as I was sure, I came home grinning and told him that I needed to tell him something. He told me that we had to leave soon if we were going to make it to the restaurant on time, but I had the floor for the remaining of the time. So, I took the floor, and I told him.”

Kai tilted his head trying to get the other to look at him. He was certain he knew where this was going, but he didn’t want to assume. “What did you tell him Cole?”

Cole reached up to wipe at his eyes as his sobbing increased. “I told him I was gay.” 

Kai reached out hold onto his shoulders, trying to offer some comfort. He didn’t want to cross any lines, but still wanted the earth elemental to know he was there for him. None of the ninja had come out to each other, but they all had assumption, none of them malicious. Kai himself was bi and had plenty of unpleasant interactions with people, but it broke his heart that one of his best friends experienced that with someone he was supposed to feel safe around.

“After I told him, he just stared at me for what felt like hours. Until he stood up and told me he was canceling the reservation, and he just went back to ignoring me again. Just like when mom had died. And I felt horrible all over again, and I had to get out. So, I ran away, and this is the first time I’ve come back. He’s talking to me now, but I can tell, he hasn’t accepted it, and I don’t think he ever will.”

Cole fell forward into Kai’s lap, and the red ninja rubbed his back as the other sobbed. “I’m sorry, Cole, that isn’t fair. You didn’t deserve that. But I promise you, no matter what your father may say to you, you are amazing and worth it. And we love you, all of us, me, Jay, Zane, Wu. You’re a part of our family, and we’ll always be here for you.” 

Cole nodded, but otherwise didn’t move as he continued to cry. The two of them sat under the sun set, until the sobs had quieted, and they had both fallen asleep. They only moved when the chill of the night chased them back inside. 

Here's the second chapter:

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Lava Through Time Chapter 3

Here we go, chapter three. The other two chapters are posted below.

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

Just to be safe, trigger warning for panic attacks.

“Why does it say I have to fight Cole? I didn’t say that before!” Jay shouted, waving his arms around in his panic. “I’m not ready to fight! This was supposed to be my day off.” 

“I tried to warn you, but you never listen,” Cole yelled back, squaring up to the shorter ninja. Garmadon pushed through the two, breaking up the fight before it began. “That’s enough! You two are a team, don’t let them divide you.” 

Kai and Lloyd shared a look. Jay and Cole had been at each other’s throats since the noodle house, it only made sense for Chen to target them first. 

“Is there an issue?” Clouse cooed as he sauntered up. He had an innocent look on his face, but there was a spark in his eyes that sent shivers up the red ninjas spine. “You changed the brackets! You cheated!” Jay yelled at him, pushing past Garmadon. 

“Did I? That doesn’t sound like me. Maybe you should take some time to yourself to consider.” He said as he walked away. 

“Clouse is right, fighting is not going to help. Both of you, go back to your rooms, cool down.” Sensei pushed them not so gently towards the stairs, giving them a stern as he continued. “What’s done is done, now you can only make the best of it.”

______________________________________________________________

Kai pushed open is bedroom door, sighing as he entered his room. The day had been a disaster. This trip was supposed to be a team bonding trip, a way for them to reunite. They were going to find Zane, mend fences. Kai never wanted them to disband in the first place, but it had just been him and Lloyd. And Kai loved Lloyd, but it was too painful being a ninja when everyone else had left him. 

Before they’d lost Zane, Kai and Cole had been getting close. He had been gathering the courage to ask the earth ninja out. But then something happened, and he and Jay had been fighting over Nya. Cole had said he was gay, but maybe he was still figuring it out? There was no other explanation that he could come up with. They’d never officially been dating, but it still hurt. 

Kai left out another sigh as he rubbed his eyes. This whole situation was giving him a migraine, and the lights and distant yelling from the hallway wasn’t helping. Maybe a hot shower would help. Pushing off from the door, he locked the door and flipped off the lights on his way to his bathroom. 

Chen might have been a snake, but Kai had to give credit where credit was due. He managed to tailor their rooms specifically to each person. The amount of information he had on each of them was mildly concerning, but he was thankful for the lights. Where the overhead white lights were aggravating to Kai, softer darker lights were helpful. With the flip of the switch the dark blue and red lights lining the baseboards and shelves. It was much more calming. 

Kai turned the shower as hot as he could. While the water heated up, he got his towel ready and turned the fan on. It wasn’t until he stepped into the shower that he realized just how exhausted he was. 

Why is this so hard?

Slowly, Kai lowered himself so he was sitting, the water raining down on his back. His breathe started to come faster as he mentally retraced the week in his head. Was the water on his face from the shower or his tears? He couldn’t tell anymore. 

Kai sat there, the heat turning his skin red, until he heard a loud knock on the door. He ignored it at first, opting to stay in the water. After the third knock he decides he has to answer it. He shuts off the water and, on shaking legs, he steps out and wraps the towel around his waist. As he headed back over to the door, he rubbed at his face again trying to get rid of any remaining evidence of his previous depression. 

When Kai opened the door, he was met by none other than the earth ninja himself. 

“Kai, we need to talk. I can’t fight Jay. He-” Cole cut himself as he turned to the fire ninja. Kai schooled his face into a neutral expression as he watched the other. Cole looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and he was waiting for him to finish his thought. When it was obvious he wasn’t going to snap out of it on his own, Kai opened the door wider and invited him in. 

Cole shook himself out his stupor as he crossed the threshold into the room. “I can’t fight Cole, he’s my best friend.”

“You two don’t look very friendly,” Kai grumbled as he moved to sit on his bed. “That’s only because he thinks I tried to steal Nya from him.” Cole argued back. He paced back and forth across the room, moving his arms as he spoke. Kai pulled his eyebrows together as he looked up. “I’m sorry, did you not?” 

Cole froze and looked over. “What?” 

“Cole, you two went through a whole ordeal. You went on a date with them to figure out who Nya would choose. You can see how he got there, can’t you?”

“Of course, I can see how he got there, but it isn’t true. I don’t like Nya, you know that. I’m gay, I told you!” 

“Then why were you chasing after Nya?”

“Because PIXAL said I was her perfect match, and Jay yelled at me and you’re the only person I’ve come out too! I wasn’t ready for them to know, especially not like that.”

Kai just stared at Cole. He supposed, in a way, what Cole had done had made sense, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t hurt either way. 

“Why did it hurt?” 

Kai widened his eyes at Cole. Shit, did I say that out loud?

“Kai?” Cole walked over and kneeled in front of the fire ninja. “Did I hurt you?” 

Kai felt his breathing speed up again as he looked down at his lap. He didn’t want to have this conversation; he wasn’t ready for it. All he wanted was to find Zane and go back home. 

“Kai?” 

“No, no, no, no,” he mumbled. Kai thought he Heard Cole speaking more, but he couldn’t hear him anymore. Why does this have to be happening now?  

Kai was pulled to the side, right into Cole’s chest. When did he sit down?

“Hey, it’s ok. Just breathe,” Cole whispered, rubbing his arm. Kai pushed his ear against Cole’s chest, trying to match his breathing to that of his teammate. After several minutes, Kai was able to regulate his breathing again. Tears were still slowly falling down his face as he repositioned himself next to the earth ninja. Cole moved to wrap both arms around him, continuing to rub his back. 

“Are you okay?” He whispered. Kai nodded in response, prepping himself for the oncoming conversation. 

“Cole,” he started, pushing away from the earth ninja. He pushed himself further onto the bed, moving to sit cross legged instead. Cole followed, placing himself across from him. “It did hurt. When I thought you liked my sister.” Cole gave him a questioning look. “Why?” Kai took a deep breath, moving to look the other in the eyes. 

“Because I like you.”

Cole didn’t respond at first, he just continued to stare. With every passing second, Kai’s anxiety grew. “Please say something, Cole.” The other blinked at him. “You do?” Kai nodded. “That’s good.” 

Kai shook his head as he let out a huff. “Why is that good?” 

“Because of this.” Cole leaned forward and gently placed his lips on Kai’s. It took a second for the fire ninja to get over his shock, but he let his eyes slide closed once he realized what was happening. Cole, the master of earth, his longtime crush, was kissing him. Cole pulled away, looking to Kai for his reaction. 

“Does that mean you like me?” The fire ninja whispered. Cole let out a chuckle at the others expression. “Yes, Kai. That means I like you.”

Kai smiled at him, it felt like some of the weight was lifted off his shoulders. Maybe they didn’t have Zane yet, and maybe Cole and Jay still had a battle coming up later that day, but it was okay. Things were going to be okay, they had each other now. Maybe that was all they needed. 

[flaming-firecracker]

Lava Through Time Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter to the story I'm working on. Below is the link to the first chapter:

The bell rang overhead, cutting off the mixtures of screams and questions being thrown towards the front of the room. Cole watched as his students ran towards the door, practically climbing over each other to beat the others outside. Once the room was empty, he fell into his air, letting out a much-needed sigh as the exhaustion fully set into his bones. 

Being a teacher had never been in his plans. He’d always wanted something with a bit more action, more movement. People that respected him just a little bit more. He didn’t mind the kids though, despite the lack of respect. He’d always wanted a family one day, maybe wanted to have a kid. Teaching these children, watching them succeed the amazement on their face when he could get them to pay attention, that almost made it worth this. 

God did he miss being a ninja. 

A knock sounded at the door; the black ninja looked up to see his best friend leaning against the frame. “Whatcha thinkin about Grumpy?” Cole scoffed at the nickname, “Just thinking about how dumb you look in that outfit.” Jay let out a small huff as Cole brushed past him. The two of them headed towards the breakroom, the others could already be heard from down the hall. 

“Soooo, I was thinking we could head down to the city tonight, the blue ninja started. Cole cocked an eyebrow, looking down at him. “Yeah, and do what?”

“I don’t know. Hang out, find some friends, maybe meet someone cute?” 

“Jay, you know I’m not interested in those kinds of things.”

“What, dating? We both know that’s a lie.” The two of them pushed open the door and stepped into the room. “No, I’m interested in dating, just not interested in scoping out strangers.”

“That’s an odd way to say it.”

“How else would you describe two single men going out to find a cute stranger to ask out?”

“No,” Jay stopped, looking over at the others. “I mean that’s an odd way to say you already have your eye on someone.” Cole spluttered, grabbing his friends’ shoulders and turning him to face him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh, please. I see how you look at Kai, it’s like there’s a fire in your eyes.” Cole felt his heart skip a beat. Was it that obvious? If Jay knew did the others too? He towards the rest of their team, and his eyes met the red ninja’s. Kai beamed at him and offered a small wave. 

He’s so cute!

Cole snapped back to Jay, trying to keep the panic from showing on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he rasped out. Jay raised an eye, “clearly.”

The two looked back over. The rest of the team had noticed them now and were waving them over. “You have good taste, Cole, but I wouldn’t wait much longer. It’s only a matter of time before someone else takes him,” he finished as he joined the rest of the group. 

Chapter 3:

[flaming-firecracker]

Chapter 2 for Say Goodbye to the Kid I Used to Be

Chapter 1 can be found here:

Waking up the next morning felt like dragging myself out of a deep pond. My head was fuzzy, and somehow, I felt more exhausted than I had last night. Slowly, I lifted my hand up to rub at my eyes, dislodging the blankets tucked around me in the process.

Wait, blankets?

Vague memories were beginning to come back to me. Kai picking me up, the trip back to my room, him tucking me into bed. My brother took care of me, moving me off the cold tile. He protected me again, this time against the demons in my own head.

I needed to thank him sometime.

Groaning, I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes again. Today wasn’t going to be a fun day. Training was gonna be hell. I’m sure my alarm will be going off any second to alert me to prepare for the oncoming day. What time was it anyway?

I reached across the desk to check the time. The time read 2 pm.

Whoops.

Wait, why hadn’t anyone come to get me? I rushed out of bed, tripping over the sheets that got stuck on my ankles. There was no time to worry about that. There was a knock on the door while I was rummaging through my closets for my gi. I shouted a distracted answer, desperately trying to pull on my outfit.

“Hey bud, how are you feeling today?” Sounded a voice from the other room. “What are you doing?” The next thing I knew there were a pair of arms around me pulling me out of the closet and back into the room.

“Hey!”

“Calm down, Lloyd. Take a deep breath,” Kai said, keeping his hands on my shoulders. I hadn’t noticed my breathing had picked up again. I followed my brother’s breathing again, trying to tap down the anxiety I had been hit with.

It took a couple minutes, but eventually my breathing returned to usual. When it did, I moved in to give Kai a hug, which he accepted gladly, before I headed back towards my closet. Or at least that was the plan. Instead, Kai didn’t let go. He just kept me in his tight embrace, with my head buried in his shoulder. It was comforting. It felt safe.

But I was still late.

“Kai, let go. Sensei’s already gonna kill me.”

“For what?”

“Skipping training?”

“Dude,” Kai started, finally pulling away to look at me. “There is no training today. I talked to him, he’s giving us a couple days off.”

He’s what?

Oh.

Oh.

“What did you tell him?” I asked quietly, looking at my feet. I was embarrassed that even Kai had to find me like that yesterday. I didn’t want my Uncle to know.

“Lloyd, I simply told him you weren’t feeling well. I said we needed a couple days for some rest and relaxation, that’s it.”

That’s right, Kai would never tell him that. He knew I wouldn’t want him to.

“We need to talk though.”

Those words brought back the sinking feeling, like a rug was pulled out from under me. Like the room had suddenly gotten colder, despite the master of fire himself standing across from me. I guess this was the price of his silence.

“About?”

He didn’t respond as first. Instead, he walked over to my bed, picking up the blankets discarded across the floor. With practiced ease, he began tucking in the sheets and smoothing out the blankets, making the bed with practiced ease. I decided to take this time to change into a more comfortable pair of pajamas.

When I came back Kai was sitting cross legged on the bed, thumbing through something on his phone while he waited for me to return. I hovered in the doorway for a couple seconds before moving to sit beside him. There was no way around this conversation.

He put his phone away as I situated myself next to him, waiting patiently until I was ready to start talking.

“How are you feeling?”

The question caught me off guard. I was expecting a lecture, I needed to stop expecting the worst from my brother.

“I’m tired, but otherwise okay.” Kai nodded but didn’t say anything else.

“I feel like my life has slipped by without me,” I started. “Like I blinked and all of a sudden every last piece of my childhood was gone.”

“Does that happen a lot? The panic attacks?”

I took a deep breathe before answering. My eyes stung, but I didn’t want to cry again. “Kinda?”

Kai nodded again. He seemed to be waiting for me to speak again, but I didn’t have anything else. What else could I say? I just didn’t want to feel like my life was over. Eventually he seemed to realize I was done.

“Listen Lloyd. I need you to promise something.” I stopped avoiding his gaze, tearing my eyes away from the loose threads on my blankets.

“If you ever feel that way, to any degree, promise you’ll come find me? I don’t care if I’m asleep, or if I’m reading or anything. You come get me, or one of our siblings. Okay?”

He didn’t mean that.

“I mean that Lloyd.”

Can he read my mind?

“Lloyd, we’re here for you. I am here for you. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

Maybe he did mean that. Maybe I wasn’t alone.

[flaming-firecracker]

I didn’t do any research for this, I hope it isn’t too inaccurate.

Trigger warning for panic attacks

There’s a version on Ao3 as well, but I don’t know how to put in links so 🤔.

Say Goodbye To the Kid I Used To Be

All I had wanted was a shower.

It was 1 am, and I couldn’t sleep. I’d spent the past four hours tossing and turning in my bed, I’d decided that what I’d needed to tame the insomnia was a warm shower, followed by some tea in the kitchen util I either fell asleep on the counter or the others woke up. Which ever came first. Instead, I was crying my eyes off in the corner of the bathroom.

I had finally hit me. My childhood, or lack thereof. I had missed so much.

I’d never had time to dwell on it. I’d taken the tea years ago, but I had never had to time really think about it. Everything has always been so busy, there’s never been a break. From the overlord to losing Zane, then from Chen to the time twins, and losing master Wu to the Oni. It had been three months now since the last disaster, and I had nothing to distract myself with.

After grabbing my clothes, I had snuck down to the bathroom, careful not to wake up the others, before turning on the light. I turned the water on so it could begin to warm up, before turning towards the mirror and saw him.

Staring back at me was man with blonde hair and brown highlights. His eyes were a bright, nearly glowing green eyes. There was a faded scar across his lip, and there was an air about him. As though he had seen intense trauma in his life.

Wait.

That’s me.

I’d never gotten a chance to be a kid. I’d never gotten a to make friends in middle and high school. I’d never even made it through elementary. There’d been no spelling bees, no lab experiments, no chances to skip classes. I’d didn’t have the opportunity to play tag on the playground or complain about my grades to the other kids my age.

No sleepovers at friends’ houses, no coffee house visits or mindless rants about shows we’d found or books we’d read. There were no petty arguments, or the ability to mindless read comics. No time to pursue what I wanted to do in life.

What did I want to do in life?

I hadn’t even had time to figure that out. I wouldn’t even know where to start. Was I always going to be a ninja? Is the Green Ninja all I was really destined for?

A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts, but the tears kept flowing regardless.

“Lloyd? You okay?”

Kai.

He couldn’t see me like this. I was supposed to be the strong one, the one who took everything in stride. What would he think of me? Would he tell the others? That was worse!

“Can I come in?”

No! I wanted to tell him I was fine, to go back to bed. To leave me alone, but I couldn’t speak. My mouth wouldn’t form the words. Why couldn’t I breathe?

“I’m coming in.”

I pushed myself closer to the corner, as if that would hide me. I still couldn’t breathe. Everything was so bright.

There was a voice in front of me, but I couldn’t make out what it said. Was that Kai? I couldn’t see.

A darkness enveloped me, relieving me of the harsh lights that previously were invading my vision. It felt calmer, and I was able to make out the voice from earlier.

“Breathe with me, Lloyd. In and out.”

I focused on my brother, trying to match his breathing as the chaos inside began to calm. After several minutes my focus began to return. Kai was holding my hands, which were shaking in his grasp. The lights were off now, and all I could see were the shadowed outline the bathrooms contents. I’d apparently moved myself to a different corner, instead of between the wall and door I was pushed against the bathtub.

Kai was still talking to me, encouraging me to keep breathing and reassuring me that I was safe, but there was another noise to. Straining my ear, I made out the sound of running water.

Right. I’d turned that on.

I turned my attention back on Kai. My body felt like stone, the thought of moving forced my breathing to speed up again. My brother kept talking to me, helping me calm down again as I tried to make my mouth form words.

“Kai,” I tried, but the voice I heard was dry and far away. I licked my lips and tried to clear my throat. Even that sounded like it was someone else.

“Shower,” That was my second attempt. That was going to be the last for a while.

Kai looked over at the shower, the water still flowing steadily despite everything that had just happened to me. Kai walked over and turned the shower off, leaving only the occasional drip from the faucet to break the silence.

My brother walked back over to me, this time sitting down beside me and pulling me towards him in a hug. He didn’t ask any questions; he just simply held me. I was beginning to feel the exhaustion in my body take over as I leaned against him. Occasionally, Kai would rub my arms and tell me I was safe. I felt my eye lids grow heavy, and I took one more deep breath before letting the darkness take me over.

Lloyd realizes everything he missed because of the tomorrow’s tea

[flaming-firecracker]

Socks

Wu normally makes his students wash their own clothes, but on occasion, he does the team’s laundry—to their chagrin.

One would think that it would be easy to tell what article of clothing belonged to who, seeing as the team is color coded, but Wu learned quickly that it wasn’t so clear cut.

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