#out pupils dialate slower than others

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Autism & Bright Lights

The Autistic Teacher

[aweebwrites]

Where Be Dragons? Pt.1

(Another installment of my dragon!Kai fic for anon!)

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Part 1 of Series

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"Hey Nya, have you seen Kai anywhere?" Cole asked as he stopped by their shared room.

"He's with Lloyd outside, most likely having another round of tug of war." Nya says as she sharpened her sai.

"Huh. Then I guess I should look for another partner for weights." Cole says, tapping his chin.

It's been roughly three months since the whole interdimentional jump thing and they all seem to notice how much Kai prefers his half dragon form over his normal one. Sure he spends half as much of the time as his normal self but whenever he gets particularly excited or upset, he shifts without realising. It was only recently that they discovered he spent as much time as he did looking normally because he thought they found his other form disturbing. It took a lot of reassurances to let him realise that they didn't care what he looked like, just that he was here and safe. After that, he's let go a lot. He insists on a game of tug of war with Lloyd each day for the past three days since that discussion. While Lloyd wasn't weak by any standards, Kai was very strong in his other form. He lost every time.

That gave Nya an idea.

"Or maybe you don't. Kai's pretty strong in that form. Maybe tug of war could be a new workout routine for you both." She suggested and Cole thought on it.

"That's... Actually not a bad idea." He says then turned out. "Thanks!" He called over his shoulder before heading out to the training yard.

He was amused to find both Lloyd and Jay tugging at the rope Kai held in his mouth, seated on his back haunches, looking bored. He then tugged them both forward with ease, making them yell as they fell into the blow up pool of water he insisted needed to be in the middle. He laughed as they pulled themselves up, walking over on all fours.

"Wanna go again?" Kai asked Lloyd, wagging his tail as he tilted his head to the side.

"I think it's my turn." Cole says as he stepped out and Kai looked over his shoulder at him.

"So you think you have what it takes to defeat me?" Kai asked with a low croon, flexing his wings.

"I know I do." Cole says with a smirk as he walked over as Lloyd and Jay walked over to where Zane was spectating.

"We'll see about that." Kai smirked, picking up the rope with his mouth as Cole went over to pick up the other end.

"Alright. Ready..." Zane says and Cole wrapped the rope around both hands as he smirked at Kai. "Go!" He yelled and both immediately began tugging.

Cole noted immediately how strong he was like this but smirked. He could do better. He tugged roughly and Kai skidded forward before digging his claws into the ground. Alright. No more holding back. He reared up on his back legs before tugging hard, making Cole yell as he was pulled off his feet, landing directly into the water.

"What was that about defeating me?" Kai asked, walking over on his hind legs, reaching a taloned hand to help him up.

"You may have won this time but you won't win again." Cole vows as he took Kai's scaled, padded, half paw hand.

"Sureee." Kai says with a roll of his eyes, helping him up.

"Look alive boys." Nya says as she walked out with Sensei Wu behind her. "We have trouble in Ignacia."

"The citizens are reporting an unfriendly dragon terrorising their village. Considering the only dragons that should be on Ninjago are your elemental dragons whom have already returned to the First Realm, I have reasons to be concerned." Wu told them and Kai frowned.

"Then we'll go right away. Maybe I can talk some sense into them." He says as he shifted back to his more humane appearance, his eyes remaining slitted with small fangs in his mouth.

"Then let's suit up and go!" Jay yelled and they took off.

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They could hear a loud roar upon their arrival as most villagers ran, screaming.

"Woah! That guy sounds big!" Jay yelled as they hoped out of their vehicles, trying to spot the danger.

"Sounds... Familiar..." Kai whispered with a frown.

It sounds like- but it couldn't be. They were in a completely different dimension.

"What are we standing around here for?! Let's go!" Nya yelled and they all rushed ahead to where the villagers were rushing from.

They could hear a loud wing beat and yelling just over a hill.

"Why did we park so far again?" Zane questions as they ran up the hill.

'I mean no harm!' Kai's head jolted up.

No. That roar. He knows it anywhere. He pushed himself faster and stood at the top of the hill, staring at the massive black dragon with wide eyes.

"Garmadon?" Kai whispered, watching him carefully trying to not trample the homes he was standing amongst.

"Woah! Big!" Lloyd says with wide eyes.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall." Cole says and Kai threw his hand up in front of them, preventing them from taking off.

"I know that dragon! But how did he get here?" Kai whispered, looking confused.

"Wait- he's one of the dragons you lived with?!" Jay asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah..." Kai whispered, the moment seeming so surreal.

It was however interrupted by the angry villagers holding spears and torches.

"We have to help him!" Kai yelled, rushing ahead, his friends behind him. "Leave him alone!" He yelled as he pushed past them.

"Excuse us." "Official ninja business." "Nothing to see here folks." "Leave it to us."

Kai stood before the black dragon, eyes big as he looked up at him. But he looked wary. Didn't he know who he was? The thought broke Kai's heart. Has he forgotten? He tightened his fist. He wouldn't give up that easily. He let a low croon slip and the dragon went perfectly still before lowering it's large head, startling the villagers and making his friends nervous.

'It's me... It's Kai... Do you remember?' He asked in an assortment of croons and growls.

'Kai?...' Garmadon crooned low before giving him a sniff, his pupils dialated now in recognition. 'Kai!' He crooned happily and Kai grinned, rubbing up against his muzzle once he nudged him, transforming as he did.

'It's been so long. I'm glad to know your world is the one we stumbled into.' He says fondly and Kai's eyes widened.

'We?' He asked, surprised.

'Yes. It is a long story but we need your help. Jay is injured and we aren't familiar with the flora here.' He told him and Kai gasped.

'Then I have to get sensei.' Kai says quietly then looked back at his friends. 'You need to get Sensei Wu right away.' He told them urgently.

"Yeah, I didn't catch any of that." Cole says and Kai realised he was still speaking dragon.

"We need Sensei Wu right away. They're all here and one of them is injured." Kai told them in English.

"Roger." Zane says and he and Cole headed.

"You guys should go too and bring the Bounty. We'll go ahead and I'll direct you through the comms." Kai told Nya, Lloyd and Jay.

"Roger that." Lloyd says as he and Jay took off.

"Be careful Kai." Nya says softly and he smiled.

"I will." He says before turning back to Garmadon.

'Let's go. My friends have gone to get our Sensei. He can help Jay.' He told Garmadon who nodded.

They both took air then, Kai allowing Garmadon to lead the way.

'I don't understand. How did you all end up here?' Kai asked Garmadon from where he was flying next to him.

'The Oni. They appeared to have stumbled across some strange power source and used it against us so they can plunge our world into eternal darkness.' Garmadon told him, leading him further into the mountains. 'The other dragons can fend for themselves and the dragon lands but the rest of the world will need us.'

'This is bad. There's only one person we know of who can send you all back but we haven't seen her since she brought me back almost three moon cycles ago.' Kai told him with a frown.

'Three moon cycles? It has been almost six winters since you had gone home.' Garmadon told him, confused.

'Right. Time here runs slower than your home world.' Kai explained as they came down for a landing, deep in the mountains.

'I see. This makes the situation more dire.' He says as they touched down. 'I am back and I have an old friend with me.' He spoke as Kai looked up at the dragon made hole in the mountain, no doubt Cole's handy work.

Kai saw green eyes open in the darkness of the cave and his breath caught. He watched as the eyes went up and up and up. He walked out then and Kai found himself looking up at a nearly fully grown Lloyd. His tail flickered back and forth on its own as a wide smile pulled at his lips

"Lloyd..." Kai whispered reverently, watching as the large green dragon walked forward towards him, eyes narrowed.

Garmadon chose not to tell him, waiting for him to find out himself.

'An old friend?...' Lloyd spike and his voice was definitely deeper.

Kai kept grinning like a loon as he watched Lloyd's eyes widened.

'Is it-' He hesitated before leaning down and taking a sniff at Kai.

He jerked his head back as if burned but his slitted pupils were blown wide as he hopped from paw to paw, his tail now wagging rapidly.

'Kai!' Lloyd yelled, tacking him and Kai laughed as he licked at him, stroking his snout as he did.

'Look at you! You've gotten big!' Kai laughed, getting on all fours and nuzzling along his snout, Lloyd rubbing against him as well.

'You haven't grown at all!' Lloyd grinned, hardly able to contain his excitement.

'Hey I take offence to that. I've grown a whole centimetre, thank you very much.' Kai huffed and while Lloyd didn't know what a 'centimetre' is, he'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

'Hey! No-one's allowed to have fun while my leg is busted.' Jay's voice came from the cave.

'Not even if it's Kai?' Lloyd called back, circling his brother happily.

'... You're kidding.' That was Cole.

'He really isn't!' Kai called out.

Seconds later, he was being tackled by four excited dragons.

'Kai!' 'It really is you!' 'You haven't changed at all! 'It's great to see you again!' They all echoed at once.

'A friendly face is exactly what we need right now.' Kai grinned at Sensei Wu's voice before rushing in, Lloyd trotting after him.

'Wu! It's good to see you!' Kai says with a grin, nuzzling the elder dragon who was looking over Jay in greeting.

Said blue dragon was laying down- most likely by Wu's orders- with his head craned up to look at him.

'Well! Look who we have here!' Jay says, flashing his teeth.

A low growl caught his attention and he looked over into a secluded corner to see a dragon he's never seen before.

'Who's that?' Kai asked Wu curiously.

'My adopted son.' Wu explained and wasn't this news. 'He had went off on his own a few years before we met you to find his own destiny. We've just recently reconnected.'

Of course it's Morro. But this Morro could be different. He'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

'Nice to meet you. I'm Kai.' Kai says as he walked over, craning his head up for a greeting nuzzle but Morro only looked at him with poison green eyes, much darker and murkier than Lloyd's glowing green.

'He's... Not very talkative.' Jay says sheepishly and Kai frowned before turning back to him.

'Speaking of...' Kai says then shifted back to his normal look. 'My friends should be bringing our Sensei to help you out Jay.' He says, checking his comms.

'Nice.' Jay says, laying down again.

'Which in turn reminds me.' Garmadon says as he walked in, the other dragons before him. 'Earlier, you called your Sensei 'Wu', the very same name you've given my brother. Why is this?' He asked curiously and Kai scratched the back of his head.

'Well... You see, the thing is... My friends, Sensei and I... We're actually this world's version of you guys...' Kai says with difficulty, hoping they take it well.

'Our theories are true then Wu.' Zane says as he walked over, sitting down close to Jay, tempted to lick his opened wound.

'You two knew?' Kai asked, surprised.

'We suspected. You and Blaze shared quite a lot in common. We had come to the conclusion that you and he must be the same- but from different worlds.' Wu explained.

Before Kai could ask any more questions, he got a hit on his comms.

"Kai, were inbound. Where should we go?" Lloyd asked and Kai held a finger up to the dragons as he turned away.

"Head over Ignacia into the mountains. Go around needle peak and you should see the cave they have set up." Kai instructed.

"Got it. ETA 3 minutes." Lloyd told him and Kai nodded to himself.

"See you soon." He says then turned back to the group of dragons.

'My friends are on their way. They should be here in a few moments.' He told them. 'By the way, what did you do to hurt yourself so badly?' Kai asked Jay who gave a sheepish huff.

'Well, you see, there was this bird and a mountain...'

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"This is it. Drop anchor." Zane instructed and they did so, all of them sliding down said chain and landing on the ground just outside the cave.

"You're here. Good." Kai says as he stood by the front, waving them over. "So- uh. Just a fair warning, these guys are actually us but from another dimension." He says and they all looked at him alarmed.

"What?" Wu blinked and Kai grinned sheepishly.

"I know this sounds weird but you'll see. Come in." He urged them and they all followed, looking at each other curiously.

Kai ignited his fire on his hand, using himself as a human torch and the others startled, seeing the cave full of dragons.

'Guys. This is Nya, Jay, Cole, Zane, Sensei Wu and Lloyd.' Kai introduced and the dragons looked them over, intrigued.

"Guys, this is Nya, Jay, Cole, Zane, Sensei Wu, Lloyd, Garmadon and Morro." He told the ninja who all gasped at the last two names.

"If they're Garmadon and Morro, doesn't that mean-"

"It means nothing whatsoever." Kai says, cutting Zane off. "Garmadon is a father to me and one the nicest dragons you'll ever meet. Morro I just met for the first time today but things are different there. They're just as much as my family as you guys are." He says, taking a defensive stand before them.

"We didn't mean to offend Kai. We respect your feelings." Zane says as an apology and Kai nods.

"They may be us but they're also very different." He told them.

"Well said. But perhaps it is time we treat that wound. The longer it is left opened, the more likely it is to gain an infection. And we aren't sure how their bodies will react to our pathogens." Sensei Wu says, approaching Dragon Jay who looked cautious.

'Don't worry. He's just going to patch you up.' Kai reassured Jay, stroking his uninjured leg as Dragon Lloyd lingered close.

"How about everyone else get friendly with themselves, hm?" Kai suggested and the ninja all looked at each other before shrugging, each going towards their respective dragon selves.

'So you're me huh.' Blaze says, walking over to Kai. 'I should have known. Only I can be so awesome.' He says and Kai grinned.

'He's supposed to be me?' Kai glanced across at Dragon Lloyd who was looking over Ninja Lloyd warily.

'Yeah. I guess the only difference aside from the obvious is that his Garmadon, his father hadn't been around to raise him and when he finally was, he had to sacrifice himself to save everyone.' Kai says, noticing the looks he was throwing Garmadragon when he thinks no one was looking.

'Is that so?' Garmadon says, walking over to the human version of his son.

'Yeah. It's a long story but our Garmadon really loved him and would have stayed if he could have.' Kai told him as Garmadon lowered his head to sniff at him, well aware of the eyes on them.

'I see.' Garmadon murmured quietly, tilting up Lloyd's chin with a claw like he had done before with Kai.

He then gave a low croon before nuzzling Lloyd, taking some of the tension out of the room.

"Kai. I need you to translate as I work." Sensei Wu says once he was ready to patch dragon Jay up.

"Yes Sensei." He says, walking over before sitting next to him, explaining to Dragon Wu everything Sensei Wu was about to do and why for when he didn't understand the purpose.

Only Kai calling Dragon Jay a hatchling made him keep quiet as Wu stitched the large gash closed.

"Now that Jay's all patched up-"

"This is gonna get confusing really quick, I can tell." Nya says, cutting him off.

"But you know which Jay I mean right now." Kai pointed out before crossing his arms. "We need to get in contact with Vortica somehow." He told them.

"That is an unlikely feat." Zane spoke up with a frown. "She is able to travel dimensions. Dimensions whose time runs differently from ours. The chances of us being able to get to her are critically low." He told him.

"Well, I wouldn't say that low." Nya says with a smirk ans they all looked to her, confused. "What? You think I wouldn't look further into the crazy chick that sent my brother to another dimension? She has family in Ninjago. A father. Mother unknown. If we could get her father to send word that we need her, then we should be able to get these guys home. Only problem is, he lives on rhe very southern tip of Ninjago, thousands of miles away from here. It'll be a long trip to get there, even with the Bounty." She told them.

"Long, but necessary." Sensei Wu spoke up, walking over. "Nya, you Zane and Cole head there immediately. The rest of is will stay and look after the dragons." He told them.

"Aww but dragon me is so cool..." Cole whined as Jay grinned.

"Considering that half of the team won't be with you, your strength may be needed if you receive unpleasant company." Sensei Wu pointed out.

"Yes Sensei." Cole sighed, disappointed.

"We'll be back before you know it." Zane says, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"But before you guys go for however long, it might be a good idea for us to grab some toiletries and food." Jay says, running out of the cave.

"And some tea supplies as well." Wu agreed, leaving with the other ninja.

'So what was that all about?' Dragon Lloyd asked and Kai glanced behind to see him laying down, watching him curiously.

'We have a lead to getting in contact with the one who sent me to your world. It may take a while to get there and back though and we're still not sure if we will reach her.' Kai told them all, reaching his hand up and smiling once Lloyd rested his snout in his hand.

'But it's a start.' Wu says and Kai nods.

He turned to them all, feeling as if it was just yesterday he had been in the wilderness of another dimension with them.

'I've missed you all.' He says softly, heart filled with emotion.

'We missed you too Kai.' Nya says as they walked over to him.

'Fishing got pretty lame without you there to compete with.' Jay says as he nuzzled him.

'I didn't have any real competition in flying races anymore. It was actually fun to lose.' Blaze admitted and Kai grinned.

'I missed having a tiny brother to ride on my back.' Cole huffed and Kai laughed as he hoisted him up on his back then.

'I missed the conversations... And the experiments.' Zane says, walking over to Cole who pranced around in circles with Kai on his back.

'I missed the team up against these guys.' Nya says, using her tail to pick him up off Cole's back and setting him down again before he got dizzy.

'I missed having you as apart of our family.' Wu says and Kai looked to him as he watched them.

'I missed having you as a brother.' Kai looked to Lloyd and felt his heart swell, nuzzling him the moment he lowered his head close enough.

'I missed having you as my brother too...' Kai says softly, stroking along his snout as well.

'And I...' Kai turned around to look at Garmadon who had ninja Lloyd seated against his massive paw, keeping him close. 'Missed my son.' He says and the tears did fall then.

He ran over, shifting mid run before he hopped up on his snout, hugging it tight.

'I missed you too... Father...' Kai says softly, looking up at large glowing red eyes before grinning. 'Hi.' He says and Garmadon's deep chuckles rumbled.

'You're lucky. I can't climb dad anymore.' Lloyd says wistfully, walking over and nuzzling his father.

'Then I'll climb him for us both.' Kai declared before climbing further up his snout, using his wings as balance.

He sat atop his head proudly, between his horns and they cheered, making Kai grin.

'You know what the best part about being this small is?' Kai asked, looking at Lloyd who was roughly half his father's size.

'What?' Lloyd asked, tilting his head curiously.

Kai grinned then took flight, gliding across and landing on his head.

'I can climb you too.' Kai says, patting his head and Lloyd laughed.

'I guess you can!' He says gleefully.

Kai laughed but then Ninja Lloyd caught his attention. Kai frowned before flying down to where he was, seated against Garmadon's paws still.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kai asked quietly, walking over on all fours.

"What? Me? Oh, um- nothing. Nothing at all." Lloyd says, snapping out of it, putting a grin on his face.

"I'd you think I believe you, you have another thing coming." Kai says, sitting on his haunches, raising a brow as his tail coiled around his hind and front legs.

Lloyd sighed, looking aside.

"It's just-"

"Hey Kai! Lloyd! I brought your stuff!" Ninja Jay yelled as he walked in with their respective duffel bags in their colour with their symbols on it.

"Bad timing Jay." Kai sighed then looked to Lloyd. "Later then." He says and Lloyd nodded.

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'Please tell me there's something we can eat in this world...' Dragon Cole spoke up and Kai froze, having never thought of that.

"That's a tricky question, You guys aren't technically from our world so we aren't sure exactly what you would be able to eat..." Kai says with a frown.

"That's not as true as you'd think." Sensei Wu says as he sipped his tea. "You inherited your dragon traits from their world and while you won't eat certain things now, there are several more that you do. We can use what you do and don't eat as a guideline." He says and Kai hadn't really thought of that.

Yes there were things he no longer ate- like chicken. It smelled... Like something he shouldn't eat for some reason. But he did take a liking to mud newt of all things and even Wallipers. (Only Sensei Wu and Nya knew about the Walliper for good reasons).

"They're omnivores but they lean more towards carnivores. They usually hunt. I mean, there's enough Wallipers around they can eat for now but it depends on how long they'll be here." Kai shrugged.

"They will have to do for now." Sensei Wu nodded.

"Wa-wallipers?" Jay whispered and Kai scratched his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Jay. They need to eat." He shrugged as he got up.

'Chow time.' He says and Cole perked up, getting to his feet. 'Jay, how's the leg?' He asked, watching him slowly stand.

'Actually, pretty good.' He says, testing it.

'Do not push yourself. You'll stay here with me. Brother, you watch the younglings.' Garmadon says and the dragon ninja huffed.

'We're not younglings! I'm almost a hundred winters old.' Blaze says and Kai rose a brow.

If he was that old and looked that young... How old was Garmadon?

'You all act like it.' Wu says as he got up, walking towards the front of the large cave, pausing for a moment. 'Would you care to join us, son?' He asked, looking over at Morro.

'I'll pass.' Morro gruffed and Kai arched a brow.

'So you're in a completely different dimension from your home and you're telling me you're not even slightly curious about what it looks like?' Kai asked him and Morro glared before getting up.

'Fine. But not because you convinced me.' He huffed and Kai rolled his eyes.

Riiiight.

"Ooh! Can I tag along?!" Ninja Jay asked excitedly.

"Sorry Jay, these guys go saddle-less. You wouldn't be able to hang on." Kai says, climbing up Lloyd's side and onto his back. "Let's go." He says to the dragons and they all flew out, Kai using the claws on his toes to keep steady on Lloyd's back as he flew.

'So! What are we looking for exactly?' Nya asked, flying next to Lloyd.

'A really fury animal with big, curled horns. It's surprisingly good. But I was thinking about having us explore below the mountains as well. The only problem is that the jungle below has a lot of monsters but you guys are all bigger than them.' Kai told them, sharp, slitted eyes on the mountain range. 'Its more likely to have more variety to choose from however.' He says and they all looked towards each other.

'Can we uncle?' Lloyd asked with large eyes.

'It would be unwise to take risks.' Wu says to them and they all awed. 'But... If we are larger then there shouldn't be a risk.' He says and they cheered.

'Bank right and descend Lloyd, you'll be able to see it past the cloud cover.' Kai instructed and Lloyd nodded as he does so.

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'Get some rest Jay.' Garmadon spoke low and Jay only grunted, already half asleep now that the hype of leaving is gone.

He then looked back to the- what was the word Kai used?- human Wu, Jay and Lloyd who were seated around a fire Kai left them. Jay was talking to Wu about them it appears. He couldn't say for sure. He understood enough words to properly assume from his time spent with Kai. His concern wasn't directed towards them however. It was this world's version of his son. He was a child who wore many masks but he knew as well as Garmadon did that he could see through those masks, through the lies he's told himself.

'Lloyd.' Garmadon spoke and Lloyd stiffened. 'I know you can understand me. All I require is for you to listen.' He continued, even as Lloyd stiffened even more.

'I may not know what has happened between you and your father here but I know that if he was like me in any way, he loved you deeply. Even on his darkest days that love lived on. He may be gone here but his love lives on inside of you. You must never forget that.' Garmadon continued and Lloyd clenched his fists as he kept his head down. 'He wouldn't want you to do this Lloyd. To deny your nature and to hurt yourself this way. Your friends love you and they would never-'

'You don't know anything!' Lloyd snarled, startling his uncle and Jay.

He cleared his throat with a similar sound.

"Sorry. Had to clear my throat." He says as an explanation then went back to staring at the fire.

"Sounds like you may be coming down with something." Jay says with a frown and Lloyd waved it off.

"I'm fine, don't worry." He says and Jay shrugged before pulling out his phone and fiddling with it.

No signal didn't mean no games. Plus, he was already a portable charger.

Sensei Wu gave him a lingering look before returning his gaze to the fire as well. Garmadon watched Lloyd pointedly stare directly ahead, his body language is of one who didn't want to talk. He will get through to him some how.

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Kai looked around from the top branch of a tree in the jungle at the base of the mountain range. So far, none of the monsters here even approached them. In fact, they kept a wide berth. They had a chance to get a whiff of them before they left and decided they weren't worth eating. They were just here a few minutes however so they weren't expecting to find something already. There was a river near by and Kai spotted Morro there, watching the fish swim by with his tail flicking. They were smaller cousins of fangfish but slightly larger than the flat fish he used to eat in their world.

He watched him pounce at the completely wrong time. Kai almost choked on a laugh once the angry fish smacked the slender black and green dragon across his snout. He should really help. He waited first through. Once he spotted a fish too distracted by the dejected dragon, he swooped in. He sunk his claws into it, holding in tight so it couldn't escape before using his wings to pull it and himself out of the deep waters.

'You jumped too soon but here you go. I know for sure this good.' He says, offering the struggling fish to the glaring dragon.

'I don't need your pity.' He growled at Kai, turning away.

'It's not pity Morro.' Kai says with a roll of his eyes, flying around to face the dragon. 'I don't know what happened to you or what you've gone through. I do know however, that you're family. And family look out for each other.' He says determinedly.

Morro looked at him suspiciously.

'You don't even know me.' He growled.

'Then let's change that, hm?' Kai says with a grin, offering the the fish once more.

Morro looked at him once more with wariness before he leaned forward hesitantly and took it. Kai let it go, watching him.

'Go on!' He grinned and Morro hesitated again before throwing it back in his mouth, chewing twice before swallowing.

His pupils blew wide as he wagged his tail, liking the taste.

'Good, right?' Kai grinned, nuzzling him.

'Yes...' Morro says slowly before nuzzling him back after a moment of hesitation. 'Could you...' He says then trailed off, uncomfortable with asking for help but he was hungry.

He supposed this was what he got for ignoring his adoptive father's attempts of feeding him when he spent so long on his own surviving off the few plants the Cursed Plains had to offer.

'I'll show you how.' Kai says, landing on all fours next to him. 'It's all about timing...'

As Kai coached Morro, all the other dragons watched from the cover of the jungle, crouched low.

'Amazing. He actually got him to talk to him.' Cole spoke quietly to his friends.

'Human me is more awesome than I thought.' Blaze says in awe, keeping his eyes on them.

'What are you talking about? This is my brother. He's impossible to dislike. If anyone could do it, it's him.' Lloyd says proudly.

'Indeed. He is even showing affection. Perhaps he will open up to us one day?' Zane whispers his hopes to Wu whose heart was filled with joy to see his son opening up to someone.

'Perhaps. But on his own time.' He says then turned away to give them privacy. 'Come. Let us find our own meal.' He says, turning away and foraging deeper into the jungle.

'I caught one!' Morro yelled moments later and Wu felt warmth.

Perhaps it was not so bad they ended up here after all.

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Part 2

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(Here's part one! Editing such a long fic is a witch but it's worth it! I actually dreamt the Morro-Kai interaction that happens at the river and decided that I absolutely had to write it in here. Part two coming to you in a sec!)