#firstbourne is acting on like 70% instinct here

[razzle-zazzle]

1109 Words; To Breathe Life into the World; First Realm

“Cole!”

Kai looked up at Jay’s shout, only to freeze at what he saw.

“I could use a little help here!” Cole called out, from where he was held tightly in the talons of a swiftly ascending dragon.

Too late, Kai sprung into action, trying to get the dragon’s attention. But the fireball he launched couldn’t arc high enough.

Zane grabbed Kai’s arm, drawing the red ninja’s attention to the approaching dragon hunters, eager for revenge.

“There’s nothing we can do right now.” Zane said quietly. “We can only hope that Cole will be alright.”

Kai looked back to the sky, where the wind dragon was rapidly disappearing into the clouds. Zane was right. Cole would have to take care of himself for now.

“Don’t you dare die on us, idiot.” Kai muttered towards the sky. He turned to the dragon hunters, fists aflame. “Don’t you dare die.”

+=+=+=+=+

Cole yawned, surprised to still be in the air.

Well, in the talons of a wind dragon flying through the air, but that was hardly any difference.

If Cole was still afraid of dragons, he’d probably be shitting himself right now. But he wasn’t.

Mostly.

Okay, maybe he was a little scared, but given that he was currently being held in the talons of what he figured was a predatory animal, much like a scared bunny, Cole felt he had a right to be a little afraid.

Not that he was afraid like a scared bunny, mind you, but he was a little nervous.

Cole yawned again, deciding to focus his tired eyes on the sunrise at the horizon. Sure, it was pretty, but had they really been flying all night?

Fuck, Cole was tired. If he weren’t at risk of falling to his death he might have even fallen asleep.

Suddenly, the dragon holding him took a dive.

Cole would be lying if he said he didn’t scream.

And then Cole saw it. A massive mountain, riddled with caves and plateaus. A cacophony of dragon cries sounded off as Cole’s entourage approached, the sound near deafening as the largest dragon Cole had seen—the Firstbourne—touched down on one of the cliffs.

One moment, Cole was in the claws of a hovering wind dragon. The next, he was being deposited roughly on the stone outcropping, right in front of Firstbourne.

Disoriented from the sudden drop, Cole pushed himself up. Firstbourne roared, silencing the cacophony for a moment.

Cole took a moment to look out over the edge.

“Oh wow.” He said softly. There were so many dragons. Too many for Cole to count.

Which probably didn’t bode well for Cole.

Firstbourne growled, catching Cole’s attention. He turned around to find her face barely a foot away.

Right. Giant dragon.

Cole laughed nervously.

Firstbourne huffed, nudging Cole with her snout. He fell backwards.

“Please don’t eat me.” Cole scooted backwards.

Firstbourne blinked owlishly. “Why would I eat my own child?”

Cole froze. “Your what?”

In lieu of an explanation, Firstbourne grabbed Cole with her paw, carrying him into the cave behind her.

Well, at least he wasn’t in danger of falling off a cliff anymore.

“Um, are you gonna explain what you meant by ‘your child’? At all?”

Firstbourne set Cole down, before bringing her face to him. Considering Cole was barely the size of her head, this made Cole more uneasy than anything else.

“Do you not realize?” She hummed, and Cole took a moment to wonder how he could understand her, only to dismiss it.

“Realize what?”

Firstbourne blinked. “That you’re my son. Or at least, his reincarnation.”

Cole sputtered. “Excuse me, what?”

“I mean,” Firstbourne said, “I think it’s rather obvious.” She poked Cole with her claw. “You have his scent,” another poke, “His eyes,” a third poke, “His voice,” she nudged him with her snout, “You even look almost exactly like him.”

Cole sat down slowly, processing. “H o w.”

Firstbourne gave Cole a look. “Surely you’re familiar with him. He created his own realm when—well, that’s not important—he created his own realm. I believe it’s currently known as ‘Ninjago’.”

Cole stared. “No.”

“No?”

He stood up and started pacing. “No. There’s no way. That’s not possible. If anyone would be the First Spinjitsu Master’s goddamn reincarnation, it’d be Lloyd. Not me. There’s no way. I can’t possibly be—”

“You are.” Firstbourne interjected. She picked Cole up again. “Did you never feel it? Did you never feel as if you were meant for something bigger?”

“I—” Cole didn’t have a response. Yeah, he’d once felt that, but he was pretty sure that that was about his role as a ninja. Not this. “But—but I can’t—”

Firstbourne set him down. “Maybe I’m dumping too much on you at once.” she mused, “Maybe I should have waited until you were older?”

Okay, Cole didn’t like the sound of that. Mostly because it implied that he would be staying here, which he couldn’t really afford.

“Okay, so you think I’m your son, and I guess that’s fine and dandy, but I really need to be going now.” Cole began to move towards the opening of the cave, only to be stopped by Firstbourne’s wing.

“What? Where are you going?” Gently, she pushed him back, grabbing him with her talons. “You can’t go anywhere. You’re too young.”

Lifting Cole up, Firstbourne brought him over to a ledge he hadn’t noticed before. It was small, with ridges set along the edge like walls. It was high enough that Cole couldn’t just jump down from it, but low enough that Firstbourne would still be able to see him. Gently, she set him down in the bedding that filled half the space, cooing softly all the while.

“Hatchlings need to stay in the nest.” She said, as if it were obvious.

Cole glared. “But I’m not a hatchling!” He protested.

Firstbourne blinked owlishly. “But you obviously are.” She set her claws next to Cole, counting off on her other paw. “You’re tiny—”

“Tiny?”

“—Loud—”

“Hey!”

“—and squishy.” She concluded, poking Cole gently.

Cole flushed. “I am not—”

“You’re a hatchling.” Firstbourne declared. “And hatchlings stay in the nest.”

Cole climbed onto one of the ridges, earth power building in his chest. “I can take care of myself!” He protested, summoning a staircase down.

But nothing happened.

Firstbourne watched, amused, as Cole tried and failed again to summon his earth powers.

“Why isn’t this working?” He asked aloud.

“Because you’re a hatchling.” Firstbourne said, pushing Cole back into the nest. She tapped the ridges with her claw, prompting them to grow inwards, effectively trapping Cole.

“And hatchlings,” Firstbourne crooned, as Cole’s heart plummeted,

“Stay in the nest.”