Chapter 3-The First Hunt Goes Fairly Unwell
A/N: I really do sincerely apologize for taking so long to get these chapters up. It isn't that I don't like writing, I love writing and I wish I could have more time to do it, but I'm a high school freshman taking three honors classes and a procrastination problem, so hang in there, and thanks for tolerating me!
The bright sun shone through the trees, throwing bright yellow beams of light on the bloody ground below. One such beam was apparently intent on waking up the battered body below, for it snuck its way into the crude lean-to and penetrated the tired eyelids of the bandaged ninja. Despite his protests, the light eventually found its way into his brown eyes, bringing him to sit up, not even attempting to fight the massive yawn that spread his jaws wide. After about a minute of sitting in a river of dull pain, he forced himself up. Remembering that Jay had been the first watch of the night brought an icy wave of guilt crashing through his painful body, as Jay must have had to have been up all night in order to allow him the much-needed sleep. He felt grateful until he walked up to the smoldering fire pit and found the ninja in question peacefully snoring away on a quite comfy looking pile of leaves. Cole told himself that Jay had most likely just barely fallen asleep, but the relaxed body and occasional deep-sleep mumblings told an entirely different story.
All of sudden, everything that had been established yesterday crumbled as realization dawned on a shocked Cole. Jay had fallen asleep instead of standing guard! They could have been attacked by some sort of crazy exotic creature and would never have had a single warning! His old gripe with his talkative team member came rushing back, and Cole let anger fuel his words. "JAY, YOU MORON! WAKE UP YOU LAZY, GOOD –FOR-NOTHING IDIOT! WE COULD HAVE DIED, THANKS TO YOU!"
Jay sprung up, all the memories of sweet sleep gone in that single moment. A guilty look was apparent on his face as he brushed off the scraps of his leaf bed off his torn clothes. "S-sorry, Cole." His bright blue eyes were apologetic, but that didn't quell Cole's fierce anger. In an attempt to turn his teammate's wrath away from him, Jay started frantically clawing the moist dirt. A quizzical look replaced the fury on Cole's face. "What in the name of the First Spinjitzu Master are you doing?"
After a few more tense seconds, Jay sat up, holding a crudely make spear. "I-I made this last night," Jay stammered, still fearing harsh words. "It can… help us… catch food?"
The anger in Cole's deep brown eyes died down as he rudely snatched the spear from Jay's dirty hands. "Food! Of course! Jay, I'm starving. Catch me food." If he was going to be stuck with this blabbermouth from hell in this death trap, then he was going to enjoy it as much as humanly possible. And that included making Jay do the tough jobs so Cole could easily and comfortably live until help arrived. If Jay died, then it didn't really matter, just as long as he was around long enough to provide for his every need.
His spite-fueled thoughts were interrupted as Jay picked up another crude spear from the hole he had dug. "I made two. Sensei always said that teamwork makes everything better…"
With Sensei's words and two spears against him, Cole couldn't win this argument. He would have to go hunting with Jay.
Apparently the events of the previous day didn't affect Jay at all, for as soon as they set off, spears in hand, Jay was running his motor mouth again, going on and on about the beauty of the rainforest and how much he had always wanted to live somewhere wild and exciting, where every day was a fight for survival and the bloody meat of freshly killed animals was the only food he ever ate. A tired, beaten, and annoyed Cole was trying to fill his mind with cool new fight moves he could practice, but Jay's whiny voice kept poking into his thoughts, eventually flooding his mind and occupying all his senses. Furious shouts rang out, silencing the words painting a picture of an action packed rainforest life. Jay lifted a finger to his lips and motioned to the tree directly in front of him. Colorful feathers stood out from the dull green, but Cole refused to care and kept shouting. Desperate, Jay tried to silence the angry ninja, but to no avail. The colorful bird started hopping nervously, and Jay realized that if he didn't act fast, they would have to search for breakfast elsewhere. Ignoring the furious words of his companion, he silently leapt into the tree, aiming his makeshift spear at the heart of the anxious bird.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU MORON?!" The loud shriek caught Jay off guard, causing him to stumble. A squawk and a flurry of feathers told him that the bird had finally decided to get out of there before it became someone's meal. In a moment of panic, Jay jumped for the bird, tossing the spear with incredible skill that came from years of vigorous ninja training. He would have pierced the bird's beating heart if it hadn't been for Cole's hand grabbing his ankle and pulling him down from the tree with a painful yank.
"I hear fresh berries are very delicious," Jay grumbled as he pulled himself up, brushing off the moist dirt from his torn clothes.
Cole blinked.