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The man winced as he felt his face heat up and tossed to his back. He could swear he hear voices all around him but he wanted to shut up, leave him in peace for one day. Lloyd grumbled as he placed his forearm over his eyes with a curse leaving his mouth as he grew vexed. He couldn't quite recall where they were, all that he could hear was the rustling of trees in the air as squirrels ran across branch from branch or a bird crying that made him clench his fist. He didn't want to wake up yet.
He wished to his grandfather to let him sleep a little long, let his dream last just a few more seconds. Let him hear the cranking of gears and pounding of leather by fists or heads crashing onto them before a rumble of lighting strangled through the area. Let him hear the distant boiling of tea or the ding of losing a game again. He didn't want to hear the fire crackling just a few meters away from his face but it was undeniable now as he heard something hard hit the flamed and make it laugh.
Lloyd groaned before lowering his arm and dragging himself up from the matt he found himself on. He winced as he found his right arm aching and bruised along the shoulder that made him frown in displeasure. He also felt light headed but Lloyd just puts it up with the fire and being disturbed in his sleep. He looked up and found no stars, just jagged rocks and moss that lined above him with twisted carvings chiseled out to resemble a swirling snake into an eye.
"What the..?"
"I ssee you're awake, Green Ninja."
Lloyd jumped at the thick voice that brought him more deep into his curiosity but now there was a sense of urgency as he heard someone- No, some Seprentine. Had one caught him off guard- No. This wasn't Pythor, even he was long gone by now even if it took a while for fate to get to him.. Lloyd turned around and felt his heart drop as he had to look up at the looming figure above him. Their scales only being illuminated by the fire that casted over them showing them as a very dark indigo or blue. But their crimson eyes shined through the darkness like a torch but Lloyd forced himself to look away as he noticed the black rings that circled in the iris.
"Skales..?" Lloyd found himself questioning, his voice a bit raspy and hoarse.
The hypnobrai shook their head as they reached over their right and picked up a pointed stick before reaching forward and pressing aside some of the newly ignited wood being slowly burning away in the flamed. "Ssorry to disappoint you, Green Ninja, but my father isn't here right now. He is asssisting with a Fangpyre complaint at the moment. " The young serpentine laughed a little.
Lloyd blinked in confusion before his face relaxed. "Skales Jr?" He asked in surprise.
"Just Jr. Pleasse." Jr corrected as he pushed large piece of fire wood down to a lower level in the fire.
"Ah.. Sorry." Lloyd winced as he brought his right arm to rub at the back of his neck. But his questions didn't waver as his eyes glossed around the old Stone Warrior's Tomb from many years ago, some scraps of helmet and swords still forever dug into the ground with little attempt to get the artifacts unstuck. Left to chip away with age. Not many Serpentine seemed around though, some looked in his direction but quickly went along their way with only the young having their gazes question him before being ushered away. "..Where's Zane."
"The metal Ninja? He went out try and find something for you in the plaza. He insisted you were coming down with a fever, though I think it's ssomething more deeper then that."
Lloyd gaze on Jr wavered a little, puzzled before nodded and raised his head just enough for the burning embers to be sent through his eyes. Jr braced himself against the logs that surrounded the pit, small scraps of tiny bones were covered in dirt around the pyre that seemed to resemble those of birds or rat. But the green ninjag couldn't help but put a hand to his forehead, as far as he could tell he didn't feel any different. He felt no heat to his head or buzzing feeling through his nerves.. Something told him Zane wasn't Jr the exact truth.
"...So why are you here with me?" Lloyd asked as he pulled back his sleeves to his elbows. Just barely amongst the orange light he could see the longated body that was The Leader of The Serpentine in front of him. Glistening right besides Jr was the golden staff that helped ruled them all still in pristine condition. "You still have your tribe to lead."
Jr seem to ponder for a moment before answering. "Watching over a guest for a minute sshall not hurt the tribe. If they need me, they will fetch me. Though they still go to my father first for more.. meddling mannerss.They will still sssuffice."
Lloyd looked down at the hoodie he wore before he murmured underneath his breath that made the hypnobrai look at him with intrigue before their eyes also laid on the fastened hoodie the city's hero wore. On the left side, stitched down with what looked to be work of a professional in their craft, spurls of colors wrapped around the area with colored stitch work to separate them neatly. Each patch work had a symbol corresponding to an elemental that held dear to the boy's chest and heart. Crimson, navy, turquoise, white, grey, and black were all sewed in.
"...That is quite a particular hoodie you got there." Jr voiced with a slight narrow to his eyes but the voice was light in tone.
Lloyd didn't look up and instead traced his hand along the area right above his heart where all the colors intertwined together. His fingers clung to the fabric like he would to a fiend, it was almost comparable to a Constrictai's coil on one's prey as his fingers clenched the material. "It was for them."
Lloyd's voice was rough this time with his eyes narrowing to that they felt like daggers once one looked at his face despite the dirt that scrubbed against his skin. His hand ran through below to his stomach where he felt the bandages wrapped around his abdomen, undoubtedly needing to be redone now. His light blonde hair was sprawled out on the left side more but it was still quite messy in all sides. Violet bruises of fatigue faded into Lloyd's skin just below the eyes, a few centimeters below that was a slightly fresh cut along his chin that had freshly constructed a scab ontop of it.
"Didn't think many surface-dwellerss still took up knitting. I would have thought all of Ninjago City would have moved out by now, especially after The Merge.." Hissed the Serpentine thought some pain now struck his voice." Messed even our tunnelss up."
Lloyd let out a nervous laugh, the sharpness in his eyes becoming slightly dull. " It was just something I picked up a while ago but never had a lot of time to get good at but I was able to find a Tailor Gecko to do it.
"I don't ssee the Titanium Ninja's color of there." Jr commented, his eyes flexing as Lloyd flinched at such an observation.
"And his probably won't be for a while." Lloyd responded as he but back his tongue. "A long while...I hope."
Lloyd's brushed his fingers against each symbol, cherishing then like a crow admiring a golden coin on the ground before flying it up to their nest. He felt his abdomen tighten with pain and discomfort, knowing well that it was underneath the patches of bandages that had been tightened around his skin. Lloyd raised his hand up to his head and rubbed at his temple despite a steady buzz erupting through his ears, almost like a constant sizzling of lightning but the burning sensations of his fingers were present this time as well while he felt Jr's glare on him shift.
Jr spoke slightly solemnly."I may not know much of you humans and your- technology..Especially after that...'Nindroids' I believe you called them? That Nindroid attack and how my father had tried to vouche that Sserpentine would not meddle with Surface-Dweller affairs." He shrugged before chuckling a little."Well you know how well that turned out. But what I know, you sshould not expect your friend there to live as long as you."
Lloyd's mouth twitched into a frown. " I am- quite aware Jr. Just like your father, very... attentive." Lloyd said as he diverted his eyes to a small group of young Fangpyre's practicing their defense mechanism on trashed or old house hold appliances.
Lloyd couldn't help but wince as a kettle glowed the Fangpyre's signature venom as soon as a youngling punctured its fangs deep into the metal, creating small divots once the sharpened teeth were pulled out, a bright green fluid dripping out where the fangs once were. The metal faded into a sickly bright green as it's handle curling back and small pieces of metal scrunched up and turned more circular with a sharpened end facing down towards the newly formed tail. A hiss of steam pumped out from the top before slim narrow eyes and fangs protruded out onto the opposite sides with another hiss
Lloyd found one of his hands clinging onto the other from the display, despite hearing the cheers of the young red and white snakes. Cringing at an old memory of Ed & Edna's Junkyard – Did he ever apologize to them for that?
Jr stifled a laugh. "Not a fan of Fangpyress? Don't worry, their venom is only as bad as their diet."
Lloyd shrugged, "they can only eat nuts and clams, right?"
"Anything with a sshell really." Jr corrected.
Lloyd thought for a moment before speaking again."Thought so. Their teeth are strong but imagine everytime you eat you have a chance to turn your food alive..." Lloyd shivered at that." I know..Cobsra, I believe their name was, did that with a fish once. Made the entire tribe flip out."
A short laugh came from the green ninja whipe Jr looked on in surprise. "I don't recall you ever- 'hanging out' with the Fangpyres before. " He said with a click of their tongue.
Lloyd paused for a moment, mild surprise on his face before blinking it away."Ah that's right..You weren't born yet. Have your father not tell you?"
Jr looked longingly got a moment off-set from the city's hero in front of him, trying to think back of the many tales and many myths he had been told by the other tribe generals if he could recall something regarding the Green Ninja except the old tale regarding The Overlord and the segregation of his kin as that had come to pass years ago. He shook his head.
"Not that I can remember unless he told me while I barely jusst a hatchling." Jr pointed out. "Sso what is this story you are trying to tell then?" He said with some suspicion leaking into his tone.
"Not a long one." Lloyd clarified as the grip on his hands softened but that didn't help a weight being pressed onto his chest."Before I was said to be the Green Ninja, I was a-...'brat' as the guys would call me."He let out a broken laugh." At the time, Serpentine were seen as myths and just stories to scare children. So I decided to go out and find them myself, to get revenge on the Ninja for humiliating me once. So I found and released the Hypnobrai– It was under Slithraa's rule of the time – For exchange for me releasing them, they'd help me out. Skales then challenged Slithraa and gained control of the tribe. He..I guess banished me and so I instead found the Fangpyre to try and help me instead and to start a war between the Hypnobrai and Fangpyre, having been told the two were great enemies.. That also fell through as your Father and Fangtom are quite close."
Jr had to hold back a laugh. " And thiss was how long ago? This seemed like something my father would have mentioned."
"Skales did kind of hate me to be fair, having a– 10 year old command the tribe's general like a dog must've been humiliating for him. I get why he wouldn't want to spread that to you as even the Fangpyres felt it." Lloyd mentioned.
Jr tilted his head a little as his eyes went towards the staff a little. "10 years old? That would've been around...17 yearss ago by now.."
Lloyd let out a surprised gasp before swallowing deeply. "11 years..actually."
The Serpentine leader blinked at the surface dweller, that didn't seem right.." You are at leasst two decades older then me, going by your humans life span."
Lloyd's eyes narrowed and there was a flash of lightning surging through his eyes for a second, forcing himself not gritted his teeth in frustration and took a deep breath. "That's right..I suppose I never..Told anyone as the Ninja were already there. I don't even think..I told Arin or Sora...Or my mom."
He sighed.
"Are you aware of what 'Tomorrow's Tea' is?"
Jr's eyes widened a little before hissing with his tongue."I ssee. Stripped away from your childhood, destined to be no more then a weapon to save humanity now lost to wonder the lands of Ninjago and Merged... Quite a fate, I will say."
"I.. wouldn't say 'stripped away' but sure."
Jr kept his look of chary on the Elemental Master, perhaps sympathy sipping into his expression. He didn't know much of the surface outside of the pleaks time of when humans went down to their home, whether in help of help or on accident. He could remember countless refugees from The Overlord's takeover being escorted down by his father and other generals to be kept safe until it was all over. But he still remembered the week prior to that where the nindroids invaded his home. They were complicated creatures to him. Destiny even more so.
His crimson eyes stared into the fire as he remembered a white-cloaked women from the Merge that found herself stuck in the sewers and by some Constrictai that helped her to the camp. She spoke of a floating kingdom in the clouds and how writers there wrote the destiny of anyone and anything in the land of Ninjago and the other realms. Many called her crazy but they couldn't help but find her stories interesting at least. If she did help write their destinies, or so they claimed, wouldn't her and her people be to blame for all the suffering for their ancestors? Jr shook his head at that and looked at the flames once more.
There was a thick silence between the two now, only sounds being the laughing flames and the distant speaking and hisses of other serpentine in the distant. Not even a trained Swordmen with the mightiest of blades could cut through it, or so it seemed.
"Glad to see you're awake."
Lloyd flinched and turned to his left, his eyes widened before taking out a sigh of relief as he found his own reflection staring back at him through a metallic coat of the ice Ninja's coding. Zane had a weak smile on his face but also held a small bag in his right hand before taking his seat next to the younger man.
"Zane...! " Hope filled Lloyd's voice for only the call of his brother's in arms name before it deflated." What happened?"
"We were trying to catch some robbers at an Imperium Bank and you were shot down before reinforcements from the police had managed to arrive. Many citizens on the scenes were freaking out and couldn't give the paramedics space to work you." Zane faced towards Jr."And that is when Jr offered for me to take you down here until it had calmed down a little on the streets, especially as you were developing a fever, or at least a hot tempature.."
Lloyd's eyes lowered a little from Zane. "I think that might've just been Kai's fire.."
Zane showed sorrow on his face with a shift of his metal."It is possible.."
Jr spoke softly."The realms have been in quite hysteria since the pasting of the rest of your team... it makes sense for them to worry that another would be taken so soon."
Lloyd and Zane solemnly nodded at the comments, knowingevery piece of truth that filled that statement. It had only been three months since Kai's death, three months since Kai's fire had been bestowed to Lloyd just as all the others had been.
"I.. Just don't think I'm ready- Nor do I want to take on their legacies...." Lloyd turned to Zane once more." You saw what my father did with the of Golden Weapons, he had the power of four of the elements at his finger tips and that of Oni mixed with the anger of The Devourer sinking through his veins. Me taking on the powers of our friends, our family, is a terrible idea. "
"It should also be temporary, Lloyd.. Until You can find suitable inheritors of each of them, and until we can figure out how to pass them as the former Elemental Master of Ice had done to me." Zane voiced.
"I would've thought the Elemental powerss would have found a new host on their own."
Zane sighed. "We thought so at first but.. We soon found out that hadn't the case. Or maybe even gone to the source dragons, maybe find the closest living relative to them but no.. All their powers went back to Lloyd."
Jr eyes glossed over to the green crusader. "Luck isn't quite on your side, nor is faith."
"I'd say it's more of a curse at this point."