Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong awakens in a different realm with no memory of how! What will she do?
Jinlong voice: Chapter Two: Dragon in the Ninja's Den.
Jinlong, in her 14 years of life, had done some fairly strange things. She'd nearly drowned in sand(thanks, Shashe), swam to the middle of the ocean(with the help of Shuilong, of course), and once even punched a bear in the face(there...there was no explanation for that one). But never in her life had she woken up in a different realm.
Of course, it didn't look like a different realm at first. Lying on her back, all Jinlong could see was the cloudy sky above her. But when she sat up, she knew something was really, really wrong.
First of all, she was seated between two wooden buildings, on a cold grey floor like rock. Huan had no such flooring, and their buildings were much more spaced out. Second, there were people. As in humans. As in not Changing Dragons. She could smell it, even from far away in her human form, that the inhabitants of this strange place were not dragons. They smelled too mild, too young. Dragons, at least Changing ones, smelled ancient, deep, dark red, and distinctly stronger than humans.
"Oh no…" She groaned, cringing. "What have I done this time?"
Well, it might not have been me, she quickly thought, thinking of how angry her mother would be when she found out about this...this situation. In fact, it almost certainly was not. It was likely Maolong or Senshe...perhaps even Lulong. But certainly, most definitely, not me.
Since it had been decided that this odd predicament was not her fault, Jinlong felt she could now get on with figuring out what exactly said predicament was. She stood up, brushing off her qipao, which she was disappointed to see was very dirty, and even torn a bit at the bottom.
"Great," She muttered. "Mother will never let me do anything again when she sees how dirty I am."
Of course, Jinlong would be able to talk her way out of anything worse than a few days' grounding. But before she could do that, she needed to actually find her mother. Cautiously stepping out of the alley, the dragon-girl sniffed the air, her sensitive ears carefully listening for any signs of where she might be. Mostly, the overwhelming scent of humans, smoke, and dust filled her nose, and the too-loud sound of chattering and wooden wheels, her ears.
Taking a few more steps away from the place where she'd awoken, the dragon-girl wondered if she should ask someone where she was. It seemed like a fine idea; after all, Jinlong was a dragon, and according to her lessons, humans respected and feared dragons. But...some of them, like the ones on mainland Kigana, hunted them. A sudden shudder ran through her- what if she was on the mainland? These humans would not hesitate to kill her, since she had no elemental power for them to exploit.
Alright, in that case, I will not be asking for directions. I'd best just avoid these humans altogether, in fact.
Deciding to just make a run for it and see where she ended up, Jinlong pivoted and was about to take off in the opposite direction, when a hand grabbed her wrist. Naturally, she screamed. Very loud.
The hand immediately fell away, and Jinlong spun around, dark green eyes wide in fear, fangs bared. I don't want to die, not yet, not at a human's hands…
"Are you alright, dear?" The presumed owner of the hand asked. She didn't look evil, or like she had any intention of killing and eating Jinlong. In fact, the woman didn't look like she'd be killing anything anytime soon. She was old and bent over, with a weathered face that held only a kind knowingness.
"I-I...uh, y-yes," Jinlong managed to force herself to say, though she was shaking like a leaf.
"Ah, good," The woman replied. "I'm sorry for startling you- you just seem a bit lost."
Curse old people and their uncanny ability to read minds! "I, um, actually am rather lost. Could- could you please tell me where I am, ma'am?"
"This village is called Yame," The old woman said. "The nearest village is Jamanakai Village. Is that where you're from? That is an awfully long way to walk."
"Yes- well, no, actually, but-...perhaps?" Jinlong internally winced. That was it. She'd just sealed her fate, and now she would die.
"Ah, I see," The older commented, nodding wisely in the way elders do. "In that case, my dear, maybe you'd be interested in this flyer I found? I've been saving it for the right person."
Since she decided that screaming 'I'm not a person!' would promptly result in her death, Jinlong forced her shaking hands to take the folded piece of parchment from the old woman's. Carefully, she unfolded it, and read it over. She had only limited success with that, because she could only read in the ancient language of Kigana, which she realized was what that writing style must be based on, because she could make out quite a few words.
Then it hit her. There was only one place whose writing was based on Kigana's, and if her studies were anything to go off of, then she was in some serious trouble.
Looking up, the dragon-girl addressed the old woman in front of her, "Ma'am, we wouldn't happen to be in Ninjago, would we?"
"Of course we are," The woman answered, looking a bit confused. "Where else would we be?"
"R-right," Jinlong nodded, her vision blurring slightly. "Right, silly me. Heh heh…"
Ohhhh no. This is so bad. So, so very bad...
"So, do you think you'll go and ask for the job?" The old woman asked, snapping Jinlong out of her terrified thoughts.
"Yes," She said absently, still drowning in utter horror. "Yes."
"Wonderful! I'll walk you to the monastery's steps, but unfortunately, my old knees can't make the climb anymore. In my youth, I'd visit nearly every day, with the other children. There was this peculiar boy who lived there, with a green streak in his hair...but I digress. Come along, darling, it's this way."
Still shaken, Jinlong trailed after her, looking around with wide eyes. The buildings were wooden, tall and painted in bright colors. There were people, but they all looked very similar to one another: light brown skin, dark hair and eyes, no fangs. In Kigana, everyone's human form looked wildly different, even if they were related. But she wasn't in Kigana. She was in a different realm.
"Ah, here we are," The woman said, and the dragon-girl looked up. There was a wide stone staircase that was carved into the mountain, winding up and up until it passed through the gathering clouds.
"It's...so tall…"
The old woman nodded, before turning to Jinlong. "Now, dear, I don't believe I caught your name."
Yes, I am certain you did not because I did not say it. "Oh."
The elder stared at her, expectantly, and Jinlong internally cringed. What even passed for a name in Ninjago? Jinlong the Gold Dragon? Not likely.
"Uh...Jin?"
"Do you have a last name?"
Desperately, she looked at her feet, as if they would save her. "Shoe…?"
"Jin Shu? What a nice name," The lady said. "I am Mrs. Akiyama."
She forced a smile. "Thank you, for walking me here. I'd best be, uh, going now. That is a lot of stairs."
"Yes," Mrs. Akiyama agreed. "Oh, and please say 'hi' to Wu for me. It's been a while since I've seen him."
oOo
Jinlong reached the top of the stairs, gasping, soaked, and shivering. It had started raining only a few minutes after she started climbing, and she'd only just gotten above the clouds.
"What am I even doing?" She muttered. "It's not like I even want a job."
But luck seemed against her that day, and before she could decide what to do, the massive gate in front of her swung open, revealing a short, pale, gangly teenager with red hair, freckles, and electric blue eyes.
"Hey," He greeted. "Who're you?"
"Uh, J-Jin Shu," The dragon-girl stuttered, bowing briefly. "I'm...here because of this flyer."
She held out the flyer- which she didn't even know what it said- to the boy, who was probably 15, maybe even 14.
"Geez, kid, are you cold?" The boy asked, suddenly sounding concerned. "Your lips are blue! Here, come inside. Sensei'll kill me if I let you die of pneumonia or something."
Jin didn't quite know what 'pneumonia' was, but she didn't want to die, so she followed the teenager into a courtyard, then into the monastery itself. Immediately she was greeted by the sight of 4 other teenagers and a very old man.
"I found her outside," The first boy said to the rest. "She wants to be our dragon-sitter."
Was that what the job was? Didn't sound too bad, actually.
"Really? Her?" A boy in red, taller than the first, with tanned skin, spiky brown hair, and almost-red auburn eyes asked.
"Kai, don't be rude," The only girl admonished. She was tall and well-built, with a short bob of black hair, eyes like the ocean, skin the same color as 'Kai' and strikingly similar facial features. Siblings, maybe.
"What?" Kai defended. "She doesn't really look like dragon-sitter material, Nya."
"I dunno," The tallest and bulkiest of the bunch said. He had dark skin, thick black hair, and warm brown eyes that looked kinder than Kai's. He also looked to be the oldest, 16 at the most. "She seems tough to me."
"Regardless, we should let her try," Said the final boy in a monotone voice. He was tall, taller than Kai, with the palest skin Jin had ever seen, platinum blond hair, and ice-blue eyes. "It would be unfair not to."
"Who gave this to you?" The old man asked, gesturing to the flyer. He had a long white fu manchu, smoke-grey eyes, and wore a bamboo hat.
"A lady called Mrs. Akiyama," Jinlong said. Then, as an afterthought, "She says hello."
The man, presumably Wu, nodded slowly. "And you wish to become our dragon-sitter? What is your name?"
"I-I am Jin Shu," She said.
"I'm Jay," The first boy said.
"Nya," The girl dipped her head briefly.
"My name's Cole," The tallest one said.
"I am Zane," Said the blond one.
"Kai," Huffed the red one.
"Pleased to meet you all," Jinlong bowed.
"And I am Sensei Wu," The old man said. "Cole, would you please go get our dragon-sitter a pair of overalls and rubber boots?"
"Sure thing, Sensei."
"I-I got the job?" Jin asked, eyes wide. Wu only nodded.
Curse old people and their enigmatic ways.
Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The monastery burns! How? And will Jinlong be able to get out? Find out next time on Way of the Dragon!