This is a short filler chapter, just to give some background information and introduce a few more of the main characters. But I think this version is much improved over the original one.
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Chapter 3: Meet the Housemates
As Jay and Lloyd rode on their dragons towards the forest, the two new friends happily chatted to each other on the way. Well, it was mainly Lloyd who did the talking.
And people always tell me that I talk too much. Jay thought.
But to be honest, he didn't mind. The son of one of the most successful families of dragon breeders and trainers in Ninjago had many interesting stories to tell. And despite their age difference, they very much enjoyed each other's company.
Jay was delighted to have already met his first friend at the tournament. And it was apparent that the younger boy felt so as well.
Before leaving home for the Dragon Games, Jay had of course done some research on the Garmadon family – and their business.
Unlike Jay, most riders preferred to purchase a fully trained animal rather than a dragon egg or hatchling. The Garmadons were the most famous dragon breeders in Ninjago. The stud had been established many years ago by Lloyd's grandfather and was now run by Lloyd's father and his uncle Wu. Lloyd's mother Misako, who had been a successful dragon rider in her youth, now was a very successful trainer to both dragons and riders.
According to the international Dragon Protection Law, any owner would lose their claim to ownership as soon as their dragon departed for the Spirit Coves. After their transformation, mature dragons could still be ridden (only if they chose so themselves) but were not allowed to take part in competitions anymore.
And while most creatures decided to stay in the wild anyway, some of those brought up by humans would choose to return to the place where they were hatched, which was the foundation of the Garmadons' success. For by establishing a strong bond with the young dragons during their first two years of training, the caretakers and trainers ensured that a high number of dragons would return to their childhood home and their children would consequently become domesticated dragons as well.
After reading all this, Jay had thought that growing up in the heart of the Ninjagian dragon breeder community must be the most exciting life a child or teenager could lead.
But now that he had met the youngest member of the Garmadon clan, Jay had learned that the Garmadon stud was actually a much less exciting place to live than it sounded. The estate was very isolated – the closest village was on the other side of the forest – and Lloyd was the only (human) child on the whole campus. Sure, he got to meet all the famous dragon riders and trainers, but those would only come for short business visits and would most certainly not care much about a fifteen year old boy.
In summary, Lloyd was quite lonely sometimes – and just as desperate to make friends as Jay himself, even if it would just be for the three weeks of the Dragon Games.
He was enjoying their conversation so much that Jay found himself slightly disappointed that he and and Lloyd had soon arrived at his cabin and got off their dragons. The house was a small wooden building located just at the edge of the forest.
"What's that?" Jay asked, pointing at the cave-like structure right next to the cabin.
"These are the dragon stables." Lloyd answered. "They are made out of vengestone. It's the only material known to withstand any dragon's power. You don't want to know how many buildings were burnt down by fire dragons before it was discovered…"
"I can imagine…" Jay laughed. Even his Lightning Dragon had set her stables on fire with her lightning powers once in a while, when she was in a particularly bad mood.
Lloyd left his dragon outside, while Jay took Wisp inside the stable. Three of the four luxurious boxes were already occupied by interesting and beautiful looking dragons.
Lloyd explained the different types to his new friend:
"Next to your dragon is a female Fire Dragon. Be careful, she might bite! Fire dragons are among the most intelligent dragons and absolutely fearless, but are also very stubborn and quite hard to control. Over there is a male Earth Dragon, they are usually very kind and super strong." The boy smirked. "And they are always hungry, so you should leave anything edible close to him. And this one here is a male Ice Dragon, a very popular crossbreed between Snow Dragons and Water Dragons. They have nerves of steel, and some people say that they are have a sixth sense, because they can feel their rider's emotions."
After making sure Wisp was settling in well, Jay followed Lloyd to the cabin. Lloyd knocked on the door and, after someone called from inside, opened it.
The two boys entered the building and Jay found himself standing in the cosy main room. In one corner was a comfortable living area. Three boys of about he same age as Jay himself were sitting on the two sofas.
A boy with shaggy black hair stood up to greet them. He looked at Jay's backpack.
"Hallo Lloyd. Did you bring our final housemate?" Cole greeted the younger boy. When Lloyd nodded, Cole smiled at Jay. "Hi. My name is Cole."
"Hi. I-I am Jay." Jay replied. If Cole didn't tell his last name, neither would he. At leats not yet.
"Kai." The boy with spiky brown hair nodded in his direction. "Hi."
Jay's third housemate was a pale with very short platinum blonde hair. "I am Zane. It is very nice to meet you, Jay."
Said boy looked around and noticed a small kitchen area in another corner. Three doors were leading from the main room.
Cole pointed at the different doors. "Over there is the bathroom. Then we have two bedrooms. Kai and Zane are sharing that room, so you will be sharing with me." He explained. "I hope you don't snore, otherwise you'll have to sleep on the sofa."
"N-no. I don't think so." Jay was a tiny bit intimidated by his muscular roommate.
Cole grinned. "Just kidding. Welcome to your new home."
Jay went to their shared room to just leave his backpack on the free bed and then quickly freshened up from his journey in the small bathroom.
When he returned to the living area, he saw that Lloyd had used the opportunity to stay around and was talking to the other three. And just like Jay, his housemates didn't seem to mind the younger boy's presence at all.
I guess we are all in the same boat, having no team to spend our spare time with. I hope these guys will become my friends as well. They all seemed pretty nice and relaxed. Especially Cole.
When Jay joined their conversation, they started talking about their backgrounds and, most importantly, about their dragons.
As the other boys had already met each other earlier that day, they first wanted to know about Jay, before telling him about themselves in return.
Cole was an only child. He and his father lived in a small town very close to Ninjago City, the capital. Although they had just met, Jay could easily tell that he was a natural leader.
Out of the five boys, he was the only one not to own his dragon. Rocky, the black Earth Dragon, belonged to Cole's uncle, his late mother's older brother.
"My uncle Yang is a riding coach, I've been training with him secretly. My dad doesn't like dragon sports at all. He wants me to become a performer, just like him." Cole explained. "He thinks I am at a summer camp at the Marty Oppenheimer School for Performing Arts right now…"
Zane was the owner of Shard, the stunning Ice Dragon dragon. He lived in a cabin in Birchwood Forest with his father, the famous inventor Dr Julien – being a passionate inventor himself, Jay got very excited upon hearing this. The older boy was a very calm and quiet person and obviously very smart. Jay was impressed to hear that Zane had trained both himself and his dragon almost completely on his own.
Kai, the final housemate, was from a small village called Ignacia where his parents ran a blacksmith shop. He was just about to talk about Flame, his proud Fire Dragon, when he got interrupted by a knock on the door.
"I am sorry to disturb you, but I am looking for Kai Smith." A female voice called from outside. "He didn't tell me his cabin number so I've been looking everywhere for him…"
"Hey, no secrets between housemates." Cole smirked at the spiky-haired brunette. "You should have told us you have a girlfriend."
"That's not my girlfriend." Kai replied. "That's my sister."