46
The next morning Cole woke up to Jay prodding him. Ironically, it felt like old times. Cole buried his head under his pillow.
"C'mon, Cole…we have to snag some breakfast before heading out…"
"Your perky morning personality is still super annoying…" Cole mumbled through his mattress. Jay ignored him, pulling the curtains open to let the light in. Cole finally came out from under his pillow, squint-glaring at his friend. Jay tutted.
"I technically let you sleep in…Nya's been wanted to go for an hour but I said…"
"You didn't account for the time difference." Cole complained as he shut his eyes and laid back down. "There's a time difference between the realms…"
"Well, then you'll have to take a nap later cuz we got to go."
After another ten minutes or so of prodding Cole finally emerged from his bed to get ready. As he walked down the stairs he could see Nya, Kai, and Zane waiting below. Nya looked more than a little impatient.
"Alright…the sooner we get out there the sooner we can get this done…"
Cole rubbed one eye, still not really awake.
"Get what done? What are we doing?"
"Suit shopping," Jay cut in, bounding down the stairs next to him. "We had to wait on you, boulder brain. It's the last thing to buy for the wedding and we're all set."
The group set out to Ninjago City, forming their dragons to make the trip. Cole shook himself awake and took a big bite of the breakfast pastry Nya had shoved into his hands on the way out. He didn't remember being this tired last time he had come…but he was pretty sure he had gotten to sleep in longer.
The suit shop was a rather small place and the group had to squeeze to get in. The four males stood back while the suit tailor showed Nya piece after piece. She had a hard time deciding. Though she claimed she didn't really care about the suits that much, she was also being very particular. All in all the process took a long time and Jay finally pulled one out he liked. It was a color in between charcoal and blue and Nya finally agreed on it, commenting that it would match her dress. Cole frowned.
"But…isn't your dress gonna be white? It would match anything…"
Kai laughed.
"Nah…leave it to my sister to want a blue wedding dress!"
"It's my favorite color!" Nya said defensively. "And besides…the white wedding dresses brought back bad memories…"
"Like what?" Zane asked, intrigued. Jay jumped in with a bit of nervous laughter.
"Alright, how about we get these tried on so we can get out of here?"
Each of the ninja allowed themselves to be measured by the tailor, and then they were each handed a suit to try on. Cole went into the changing room, pulling it on and frowning at himself in the mirror. It had been awhile since he had dressed this fancy…
He walked out and Nya scrutinized him and the others as they came to join him. Kai scratched his neck, wincing.
"It's itchy…"
"It's just for one day, Kai…you'll manage," Nya said, rolling her eyes. "They look good…"
She trailed off as she looked over at Cole, brows furrowing. He looked down at himself, feeling self-conscious.
"What?"
"When's the last time you got a haircut, Cole?"
Cole frowned, running a hand through his dark locks.
"What's wrong with my hair?" He asked defensively. Jay and Kai laughed.
"Nothing…it just looks like you haven't cut it since you left Ninjago…." Kai said.
"Have you?" Jay added.
"Haven't needed to…" Cole mumbled, yanking at the silver bow tie around his throat.
"It's fine, Cole…we can ask Pix to clean it up when we get back to the temple," Nya cut in. She turned to talk to the tailor about payment and Cole shot Jay a look.
"It's ok Cole…Pix cuts our hair all the time. She's pretty good at it…probably something to do with her super accurate robot capabilities…"
"Alright boys, we're good! You can change back now and we can head out!" Nya interjected from the front of the store. Cole disappeared back into dressing room, eager to get back into his comfortable gi and out of his friends' scrutinizing gazes.
Keyda walked through the hallway on her way to her office. As much as she hated writing there were more than a few reports she should probably get down. She was nearly there when she ran into Heavy Metal in the hallway. She blinked in surprise.
"So you're up and about, I see…" she finally said, and he shrugged.
"Told you, I was getting cabin fever." He gave her a long look before continuing. "He's gone, then?"
Keyda glanced away but tried to pull off a nonchalant shrug of her own.
"For a few days. He'll be back." She cleared her throat. "Actually, I'm glad I ran into you. I've been trying to figure something out…"
He raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to continue.
"The thing is, we have proof that two of the three remaining Oni leaders helped staff the recent rebellion…their guards are down in the dungeons right now." She paused for a moment. "They were some of the first to give in to my mercy offer—seems they were just following orders. At any rate, what do we do about it?"
"About the fact that two of the leaders committed treasonous acts from a distance?" Heavy Metal clarified. Keyda nodded and the Captain of the Guard scratched his chin.
"Law would dictate execution…but there's already a power vacuum in the west as it is…we don't necessarily need two more…"
"So we just let them get away with it?!" Keyda asked, glowering at the thought while folding her arms. Heavy Metal turned and gave her a ghost of a smile.
"In a way…you wouldn't have to prosecute them directly, so to speak…but there are other ways to establish dominance."
"Like what?"
Heavy Metal shrugged and began his slow walk down the hallway once again.
"I'm sure you'll think of something," he said, a twinkle in his eye.
Cole sat rigidly on the stool as P.I.X.A.L stood nearby with some hair-cutting supplies. The others were tucking into lunch in the dining room next door, and Jay was in the doorway, watching as he ate his sandwich.
"Not too short, Pix…" Cole said as he felt P.I.X.A.L pick up a lock of hair.
"Do not worry…I have your usual style in my database…" the android assured, and Cole sighed. He didn't know why he was feeling so weird about all of this, but there was a worm of stress gnawing at him. P.I.X.A.L worked in silence for a few minutes, and Nya came over to join Jay in the doorway.
"Sorry, Cole…it's just in that suit it was painfully obvious that you had let your hair go…" Nya apologized as she watched P.I.X.A.L work. Cole shrugged and a few moments later he felt a tug as the android discovered something in his hair.
"I'll have to take this out…"she started, right as Nya asked "Is that…a braid?"
Cole's hand flew up to the braid, yanking it out of his friend's hand.
"You can't take it out," he blurted automatically, but then he flushed as he caught sight of his friend's confused faces. He swallowed and tucked the braid back into his hair. "It's needs to stay in." he finished lamely.
"It will be very obvious with your shorter haircut…" P.I.X.A.L warned, and Nya shook her head.
"It's gotta go…I mean, no offense, but the whole braid thing isn't really…"
"I said I'm not taking it out." Cole snapped, and his friends exchanged wary glances as Cole stared angrily at the floor.
"You could redo it once the wedding's over…" Jay pointed out carefully, but Cole's hands clenched on their place on his knees.
"It's got to stay in." he muttered again, his tone making it clear that it was non-negotiable. There was an awkward silence and P.I.X.A.L finally picked up another lock of hair.
"I will work around it," She promised softly.
Hershel glanced at the door of the tent, biting his lip as he sliced through another fever leaf. The small jar he was filling was nearly three-fourths of the way full. He worked for a few more minutes, lost in thought. Suddenly Phos came in from the front of the tent.
"Fever outbreak to the north, so we've got to…" He trailed off as he looked around the room. He sighed, irritated. "Where's that sister of yours?"
Hershel recovered from his surprise and corked the small jar of gel, sticking it into a nearby satchel.
"I never know these days," he admitted, and Phos shook his head.
"You need to be keeping a better eye on her…"
Hershel looked up at him, straight-faced as he shouldered the satchel.
"She's been like this ever since you yelled at her," he pointed out. Phos narrowed his eyes but Hershel changed the subject. "I've got fever-sap and a few other herbs in here…do you think that'll be enough? How big is the outbreak? It's well past fever season at this point…"
"There are always a few late cases that spring up," Phos grumbled, grabbing a satchel of his own. "Messenger said that the cases are already pretty bad…we'll have to leave without Syn."
Hershel nodded, hoping that his sister would guess that they were out on a healer's trip. There should be enough food for her to help herself to dinner, if they weren't back by then.
"Which village is it, exactly?" He asked as he followed Master Healer out the door and hurried to keep up with the elderly Oni's quick pace.
"It's a few miles away…halfway between here and the Northern Fortress, I would say…"
Hershel stopped suddenly, and Phos turned, irritated.
"Near the gorge?" The boy asked quietly, and the Healer nodded.
"You know of it," he commented and Hershel clenched his jaw.
"Yeah." His brows furrowed as he shifted the satchel further up his shoulder as he renewed his quick pace. "Let's go get this over with."
Jay came to sit next to Nya on the couch, and she pulled her feet up as she leaned up against him. Zane and Pix were studying some blueprint or another on the floor of the room, with Kai busy with a video-game in the corner.
"Where'd Cole go?" Jay asked, frowning as he noticed his friend's absence.
"He said he had to go see Ronin about paying off a debt or something." Nya explained. Jay scratched his head.
"Didn't know Ronin did debts…he's generally more of the 'pay me now or kiss it goodbye' type…"
Nya shrugged and Kai groaned in the corner as the screen dissolved to black, his avatar meeting an unlucky demise. He turned to face the rest of his team.
"Cole's been acting weird, right? It's not just me that thinks so?"
Nya scoffed.
"Wow, if Kai's noticing it then it must be bad…" she mused, causing her brother to narrow his eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"His behavior has been quite irregular," Zane agreed as he frowned down at the blueprint.
"I mean, he was always kind of closed off…" Jay pointed out. "But at the moment he's way worse than he's been …" he trailed off, thinking. "Honestly I don't think he's been this bad since we all first met each other back in our team-forming days."
"Perhaps it is from the strain of trying to fit into two different realms…" Zane wondered, but this just caused the others to become more frustrated.
"He's only been in that realm a few months, and he was in Ninjago his entire life before that!" Jay argued.
"Besides, there's more to it than just trying to 'fit in' or whatever," Nya argued. P.I.X.A.L nodded her agreement.
"There is a lot he is not telling us," the android offered.
"So how do we get him to tell us?" Kai asked, resting arms on the back of the couch as he faced his friends.
Zane looked back down at the blueprint.
"We cannot … I think we will have to wait for him to be ready to come to us."
Cole leaned on the counter, irritated that it was taking Ronin so long to look everything over.
"Well?" he finally asked, tired of listening to Ronin hem and haw.
"Well….this should cover the rest of your debt, at least…" the theif finally said. Cole sighed.
"And….?"
Ronin scratched his chin.
"To be honest, I was hoping for a few more jewels…precious metals…that sort of thing…"
Cole rolled his eyes, gesturing at what he brought.
"It's a desert, Ronin. You got dirt, plants, and random creatures," he argued, pointing to each thing in turn as he mentioned it. "Not really in a position to be digging up jewels and whatnot…"
"Well…I guess I could give you another 150 for the rest…"
Cole made sure not to betray his relief on the outside. He frowned at the theif.
"150? That's all?"
"You brought me dirt and dried up plants…"
"That's what you said you wanted! You said that it didn't matter what it was, as long as it was from the first realm…"
"Well it's kind of hard to sell a jar of dirt…"
Cole knew it was a lie….he wouldn't be surprised if Ronin had already been selling jars of Ninjago dirt claiming they came from the first realm. Cole ran a hand through his newly-cut hair, trying to appear angry.
"I'm gonna need more than just 150…"
"Or what? You take your dirt back home with you? 150 is all you're getting." Ronin said, folding his arms. Cole exhaled slowly, matching the thief's stance.
"Fine."
The thief raised an eyebrow and reached under the counter for a pre-tied bag and tossed it over to Cole. Cole couldn't help but smirk a little.
"Already got it all counted out, huh?"
"Just call me Mr. Efficient," Ronin said unapologetically as he swept the first realm paraphernalia into a box. Cole dumped out the contents to count them, and Ronin scoffed as if he was offended as he carried the box into the back of the room. When Cole was finally satisfied that the money was all there…and all real…he pushed it back into the small pouch and put it in his pocket.
"Got a plan for all that, huh?" Ronin asked as Cole went to leave.
"Just a few errands," Cole answered. Ronin brushed off his counter one last time.
"Feel free to bring more stuff on your next visit…but if you could find something a little more worthwhile….that'd be great."
The bell ringing on the door as it closed was the only reply the thief got.
47
Hershel exhaled slowly as the village came into view. Memories cropped up, but he shoved them away angrily. They had a job to do. He was here for a reason…and there was no need for him to be scared. No need.
They crossed into the village and Phos glanced around, scratching his scruff as he inhaled deeply. Hershel waited until the ancient healer turned and gestured to a tent.
"That's quarantine," Phos muttered confidently, and the two of them headed to it. A few other villagers were milling about, and they glanced over as the healers reached the tent. Hershel kept his head down as he followed Phos inside.
The smell of ill, unwashed bodies hit hard and Hershel closed his eyes as it overwhelmed him for a moment.
"You get started on that side…" Phos murmured, giving the boy a small push. Hershel opened his eyes and nodded, headed to the furthest body. They worked in silence, administering fever sap and making the herbal tea to give those who were well enough to drink it. Hershel had treated fever enough times to know which poor souls were too far gone, but he did what he could to make them comfortable.
He was digging in his small jar of gel for the dregs when he heard a wheezing from behind him.
"Hershel?"
He froze, a stab of icy panic shooting through him as his heart started pounding. He tried to just ignore the voice, digging deeper in his jar for the rest of the salve with a shaking hand.
"It is you…" the voice continued, jeering. He could hear someone pushing themselves up off the floor behind him and his mind raced, trying to think of what to say, what to do. He spread the gel on the forehead of the unconscious man in front of him. A sweaty hand suddenly clamped on his shoulder and he balked, twisting out the grasp and dropping the jar. From the other side of the tent, Phos looked up.
"Don't touch me," he said, glaring at the woman behind him. Her long hair was sweat-soaked and ratty, along with the rest of her body. She let out another wheezing laugh.
"So high 'n mighty now…eh? Woulda thought they'd sell you lot to a fortress…but 'parently you got picked up by a healer. Didn't even know healer's needed slaves…"
Hershel inched away from her, not willing to look away from the sick woman as he felt around for the dropped jar. He reclaimed it and her eyes darted towards it.
"You got medicine there, huh? Not much left….but surly you'd give the last of it to your dear old mother wouldn't ya?"
She lashed out and grabbed his arm. He tried to yank himself out of her grip, but her grasp was like a vice and she jerked him closer to her.
"Let go…" he said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. She seemed to sense his fear and shook her head patronizingly, her fingernails digging into his arm.
"Always were worthless, weren't you boy? Only a matter-a-time before the old healer figures out how useless you are…."
"Get off!"
"That's enough."
It wasn't clear whether Phos's harsh command was geared towards Hershel or his mother, but she finally released her grip as she slinked back into herself. Hershel rubbed his arm ruefully, trying to hide the fact that he was shaking as his heart still pounded in his throat.
"Finish what you started," Phos commanded softly, and Hershel nodded without looking up, turning back towards the sick man he had been helping before. Phos knelt down near Hershel to help another patient, and silence fell again. Hershel's heartrate had almost finally returned to normal when his mother spoke again, her quiet voice raspy and grating.
"Where's your sister, eh? Didn't make it? That girl was always a wortheless scrap… never good for anything but carrion to keep the sniffers busy…"
Hershel's eyes blazed as he whirled around, but Phos's hand clamped down on the back of his neck. The Healer yanked him up to his feet.
"Hershel. Get out."
Phos's stern tone snapped Hershel out of his reaction, and his face burned with humiliation and fury. The Healer watched him rush to the exit, shoving the door flap out of the way as he stormed out. The Healer turned slowly to fix the scabby woman with an intense look, and she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, breathing raspily through her mouth.
Hershel had left the small jar with the dregs of salve sitting in the dirt, and Phos picked it up slowly. The woman stared at it hungrily, finally looking up at the Healer.
"Just enough left…." she hissed plaintively, and Phos fished out the very last bit of salve from the jar. He didn't even glance at her as he spread it on another victim of the fever. He glanced up at her incensed expression and then back down to study the empty jar.
"How unfortunate…nothing left," he said quietly before standing and leaving the tent himself.
Cole went to knock on the door and hesitated. He turned to the doorbell and, after shaking his head, rang it. As he pushed the button jovial tones sang out and he waited awkwardly on the step to see if his father was home. He was about ready to leave when the door opened.
"Pop!" he said, and Lou was equally surprised.
"Cole! You're lucky you caught me…I was about to head out…"
Cole held up his hands.
"Oh…well, I don't want to make you late…"
"Don't be ridiculous; get in here, son." Lou opened the door wider to allow his son entrance before shutting it tight behind him. After it was shut he turned and gave Cole a hug, which his son returned, relaxing slightly. Lou noticed the braid sticking out of his hair and couldn't help but give it a tug.
"Trying something new?"
Cole winced and straightened, hand immediately going to the braid to protect it.
"Yeah…. something like that…."
"Reminds me of my old friend Joey…had braids all over his head, down his back….he was a drummer, that Joey. The braids were a good look…till he got lice, that is…"
Lou chuckled to himself as Cole followed him into the kitchen. He stood awkwardly in the doorway while his father put on a kettle onto the stove. He turned and raised an eyebrow.
"Just getting some tea started…you can go take a seat if you'd like," he said, and Cole turned towards the couches.
"Oh…yeah."
He headed over to the couch and Lou watched with a slightly concerned expression. After putting the kettle on he came out to join his son.
"You still have a bit of a limp…" he noted. Cole looked up in surprise.
"I do?"
"Not that noticeable," Lou assured, lowering himself next to his son. "Now, this is quite the surprise..." he trailed off, thinking. "No, I probably should have expected it, actually; Jay's getting married soon, isn't he?"
"Yeah," Cole said, shifting. "Day after tomorrow."
Lou nodded, seemingly lost in thought a moment before something occurred to him.
"Where's Keyda?"
"She couldn't come along…" Cole answered, giving him a small smile. "Just me this time."
"Ah." Lou turned to face Cole straight-on. "And how are you?"
Cole shrugged. "I'm fine, Pop."
Lou studied him a second and finally shook his head.
"Oh, are we doing this again?"
Cole frowned, leaning back on the couch.
"Doing what?"
"Where I ask how you are and you say fine and we both just pretend it's the truth?"
Cole stared at him for a few moments, lost for what to say.
"Pop…"
The kettle whistled from the kitchen and Lou stood to go get it and make tea. Cole sank down into the couch, dry washing his face while he waited for his father to come back. After a few minutes Lou walked into the living room with a tray carrying the tea-pot, and two cups. He sat back down in his spot on the couch, pouring Cole a cup of tea before handing it to him. Cole studied it for a few minutes.
"I am fine…"
Lou raised an eyebrow and Cole sighed as he seemed to shrink around the cup he was nursing.
"….at least, I'm trying to be…."
"What do you mean?" Lou asked quietly, picking up a cup of his own. Cole stared at his reflection in the murky liquid, brow furrowed.
"It's been hard, Dad…it's been really hard." He finally admitted, and he set the cup down on the coffee table so he could cradle his head in his heads. Lou sipped his drink slowly, waiting for Cole to continue.
"It's like…I'm trying to figure everything out, and be helpful, but the truth is that I'm never going to really be accepted there, except by Keyda….and Wu, I guess…"
He sighed, dry washing his face again.
"And then I come back here and it doesn't really feel the same anymore…like I don't really belong like I used to? And I don't know why or if that will ever change or if that's just how it's gonna be from now on…" He trailed off, and they sat a few moments in silence. Lou thought for a moment before speaking.
"I think that's a natural way to feel, son… I mean, take my time at Marty Openhiemers…"
Cole scoffed, glancing away. "I guess I asked for this one…" he muttered, and Lou tsked.
"I promise it applies…" he chastised, setting down his own cup of tea. "When I was there it was great…I was living the dream, things were going the way I planned, and I didn't really know that I needed anything more. But eventually I had to graduate—I couldn't just keep going forever. And then I had to move on to real life…which, granted, was a little harder…"
He tugged at his mustache, as if living a memory. Cole looked at him while he continued.
"Your mother and I were happy….but it's hard getting started on your own, especially as a performer…" he glanced at his son with a sudden wry smile. "I wasn't always the famous quartet member I am now…"
Cole rolled his eyes but he couldn't help smiling a little.
"I missed my time at Marty's. Everything seemed so right there…and yet I didn't want to necessarily give up the life I had gotten to either. It was a tricky transition."
"When did it get easier?" Cole asked softly. Lou shrugged.
"I got a few gigs….your mother did too." He chuckled to himself. "Always was more popular than me, your mother. And then you came along, and…" he trailed off, glancing down as his eyes became misty. "And it didn't seem to matter as much anymore, being in a new chapter of my life. I still pined for Marty's some days, but I was happy in the life I was living too." He paused a moment before looking back up at Cole. "To me it was the best path, really…with everything working out and all the amazing memories….I guess that's why I wanted it for you so badly. But now I know a little better…I've learned that we each have our own paths."
He smiled sadly as he picked his cup of tea back up and took a sip. He shook himself out of his memories and turned back to Cole, a little sheepishly.
"Ah…well, I hope that helped. Made sense in my head, at least."
Cole had reclaimed his cup as well and was leaning back on the couch, thinking.
"Thanks Pop….it did."
Hershel ignored the strange looks people gave him as he bolted out of the village. His hands were clenched as he sprinted, and soon the ground began sloping downward as he headed into the gorge nearby. His lungs were burning and he finally had to stop, his constricted throat making it hard to breathe. He turned and powered up his fist as he slammed it into the nearest thing, which happened to be the side of a large formation. The power blasted through the rock but he winced at the pain in his hand. The throbbing brought him back to himself and he sank to his knees, nursing his fist.
He should have told Master Healer before they went…in fact, he just shouldn't have gone to this village. He knew what the chances were for running into one of his parents. He exhaled as the rage inside melted into humiliation, and tears pooled and threatened to fall. He had thought he could handle it. He knew he was far different from the terrified, submissive boy he had been when he had lived there years before. He had just hoped that he had changed enough that no one would recognize him.
It was windy in the gorge and as it whipped around him it kicked up dust into the air and into his face. The dirt got stuck in the tear tracks and he grimaced as he wiped the dust out of his eyes, chiding himself for being immature and foolish.
Another fear hit home and his blood ran cold. Not only had he appeared juvenile to the Master Healer during the incident, he had almost exposed his powers. He had no idea what the consequences for that would have been if…
A hand rested on his shoulder and he flinched as he jerked away from the touch. As he turned, however, it was Master Healer's stern face that was looking down at him. Hershel's eyes darted away, ashamed.
"I am sorry, Master Healer…I…I did not control myself…"
"You were too close this time, Hershel," Phos reprimanded softly, and the boy bit his lip. The Healer didn't say anything else and after a few minutes Hershel risked a glance up. Phos was staring out into the distance, scratching his chin.
"They say this is where the outsider made his impact…" Phos finally murmured, and he began walking further down the gorge. Hershel watched him go, perplexed, and after another minute he slowly stood to follow his teacher. They walked together for a few minutes in silence.
"So that's where you grew up," Phos stated, and Hershel winced slightly in reply. The Healer continued, still staring straight ahead. "I can see why you left."
"We didn't leave. We were sold." Hershel answered in a quiet, bitter tone. The ancient Oni didn't reply and after another minute the boy continued hesitantly. "They thought Syn would be able to help more with the harvest than she could…and then the famine hit…" His expression clouded over and Phos glanced over at him. "They stopped feeding her… so I stopped working. When the traders turned up at our village they sold us both without another thought. Slavery was awful…but at least we finally got away from them."
The Healer didn't comment and they rounded another corner. Hershel stopped, blinking in surprise at the landscape ahead of them. What must have once been tall formations were lying in heaps of broken stone, and the ground itself was torn up for as far as Hershel could see. Wind had softened the breaks in the torn up earth, but the expanse of the destruction was still visible.
"Cole did that?" Hershel asked. He had heard the rumor, along with the other slaves, of the powerful outsiders that the Baron had been hunting. He remembered something about an attack that had taken out the army and gotten the outsider captured…but to actually see remnants of the aftermath….
"Mmmm, so say the rumors." Phos answered. His gaze flicked across the decimated ground. "Must have been an elemental overdrive….explains how Shazier caught him afterwards. A foolish move, really…"
Hershel walked over to a broken formation, the top half of which was still mainly intact in its place in the dirt.
"I'm sorry I lost control back in quarantine, Master. It won't happen again." Hershel finally said quietly.
"You need to be more aware of your emotions…more prepared to deal with triggers…" Phos commented, and Hershel's shoulders drooped as he stood with his back towards his master. The Healer's hand came to rest on the boy's shoulder once again.
"Don't beat yourself up too much, boy. It could have been a worse reaction….especially considering your past experiences...and the woman was asking for a blast to the face, in my opinion…"
Phos's tone was gentler than normal and Hersh turned to look at him. The Healer's expression became distant for a moment, as if thinking of something. Eventually Phos cleared his throat, returning to his normal gruff tone.
"But we can't have you exposing your powers, not in this political climate. You knew this could happen, when we were coming here. In the future I expect you to be open with me, boy, so we don't have a repeat…."
"Yes, Master. I promise I will be better about it," Hershel responded solemnly, but his expression had relaxed. He glanced up at the setting sun. "We should get back now, right? Syn'll wonder where we've been, and she'll worry if we aren't back by sun-up…"
Phos nodded. "Still need to collect the tribute from the village, but then we can head back." He started walking back the way he came, and his voice became soft, almost like he was talking to himself. "It's a good thing she didn't come with us today…"
"Yeah." Hershel agreed softly. "It is."
Jay came downstairs as Cole was lugging the bags inside. The blue ninja shook his head, incredulous.
"You went grocery shopping? That's where you've been all day?"
"Well…I went to Ronin's, then stopped by my Dad's…" Cole grunted as he hefted three more bags inside. "Then I went to the grocery."
Jay made it to the bottom of the stairs and glanced in the bags.
"It's all canned stuff…" he looked up at Cole. "Are they not feeding you in the first realm? I actually thought that you looked like you had lost weight for once…"
"They're feeding me fine, Jay," Cole cut in defensively, trying not to glance down at himself self-consciously. "The food's for the orphanage..."
"Ah yeah." the ninja in blue replied, remembering the conversation from the night before. "Are you going to be able to get all this back there? Where'd you even have the money to pay for it?"
"I just had them put it on your tab…" Cole replied nonchalantly, and he smirked a little at the expression Jay gave him. "I'm just kidding, motor-mouth….I got a little cash from Ronin."
Jay rolled his eyes and slapped Cole on the back.
"Well…I guess it's at least nice to see you're still capable of making jokes…"
"What'd you mean?" Cole straightened and stretched out his back, the bags all safely inside.
"What do I mean? I mean how you've been ever since getting here!" Jay retorted, gesturing around as if doing so proved his point more. "Zane said we're not supposed to ask you about it….but frankly you've been really distant and grumpy the entire time and…"
"I told you, I'm just tired," Cole snapped. "If you didn't want me to be grumpy than you shouldn't have woken me up early…"
"Dude, I've lived with you for years!" Jay countered. "I know what 'sleep-deprived' Cole is like, and this isn't that! There's something going on with you… and it's driving us crazy trying to figure it out…"
"Nothing is 'going on'..."
Jay shook his head, narrowing his eyes.
"If nothing's going on and this is you when you're 'fine'…then you've changed, Cole…you've changed a lot…"
"I have not…"
"Guess we should have expected as much, with you hanging out with Keyda all day every day…"
Cole's arms flashed as he took an angry step forward.
"This has nothing to do with…"
"GUYS!"
Jay and Cole turned to see Kai standing on the stairs with a raised eyebrow.
"Geez, it's actually starting to feel like old times around here…" he commented dryly. He turned to Jay. "Nya's looking for you upstairs…something about last minute table placements, or something; you'd better hurry on up."
Jay gave one last glance towards Cole and sighed angrily before heading up the stairs. As he disappeared onto the next floor, Kai took a few more steps down.
"You ok?" he asked, and Cole scowled at the ground, shoving his grocery bags against the wall for lack of a better place to put them.
"I'm Fine. Why is it that everyone has to…"
"Hey, if you're fine, then great. It's just we haven't seen you for a while…I guess we all just thought you guys would visit more…"
Cole kicked another bag to the wall and winced at the pain in his foot.
"Yeah, well, things have been…"
"….busy. We know. We aren't blaming you, Cole…we just wanna make sure you remember you don't have to be strong by yourself." Kai cocked an eyebrow. "Remember that? We're still here for you, buddy…"
Cole sighed heavily, staring at the floor a moment before turning back to Kai, expression neutral.
"I know. Thanks Kai." He turned to go up the stairs and then turned around. "Where's Lloyd, by the way?"
"He and Garmadon have been travelling a lot more lately—repairing villages, reputations, that sort of thing." Kai explained. "They're coming back for the wedding though…should be back tomorrow."
Cole nodded, but then it looked like he didn't really know what else to say.
"Well…see ya around…" he finally said awkwardly, turning as he headed back up the stairs again. Kai frowned as he watched him go.
"…See ya."
48
It was nearly daybreak when Hershel and Phos finally made it back to their tent. Phos began putting things away out of the satchels as Hershel wearily walked straight into the back room of the tent to make sure Syn got home ok. He stopped dead as he looked down.
Syn was on her mat, sleeping soundly, one little fist right next to her face. But rather than clutching a blanket in the other arm, she was holding what appeared to be a young night sniffer close. The animal looked up and bore its teeth at Hershel as he came in, its yellow eyes piercing in the darkness.
"What…." Hershel finally managed to say, not quite processing what was going on. The healer came into the back a few moments later, also freezing as he saw the situation. He shook his head, turning to Hershel.
"Well, wake her up…seems she's got some explaining to do…"
Hershel blinked, still trying to comprehend how Syn had gotten ahold of a night-sniffer.
"Syn…" Hershel tried, not wanted to be too loud and trigger a reaction from the nocturnal animal. The small girl didn't stir and he tried a little louder. "Syn."
The curly-headed child mumbled something and shifted position, eyes blinking sleeping in the dark. She saw the animal before the two figures in the doorway.
"NIP! You can't be here…what if…"
"She gave it a name…." Phos commented dryly, and Syn turned to the doorway in a panic.
"I….I…." she started, but Hershel shook his head, incredulous.
"Syn…what is this?! Where did this night sniffer come from?"
She shifted uncomfortably, and Nip growled at him, not liking his angry tone.
"She must have followed me home…." Syn finally admitted. "I…I didn't mean to bring her…"
"But where did you get it to begin with?!" Hershel demanded. A sudden thought hit home and he groaned. "This is why you've been sneaking off every day?"
Syn's arms wrapped protectively around the dusky grey animal, and her brother sighed and looked to the Master Healer for some help. The ancient Oni just scratched his chin.
"What do you want me to do about it? She's gone and named it…there'll be no getting rid of the beast now, not without killing it…"
Syn's embrace tightened.
"NO….you can't! I won't let you!"
Hershel sank down to be more on his sister's level, hand pressed to his forehead as if staving off a headache. She glared at him defiantly.
"Syn….that's a wild animal. We can't keep a wild animal in here…"
"I could train her! She already…"
"Even if we could, how do you think the rest of the village will react when they find out we have a night sniffer in this tent?"
"We've got lots of stuff in this tent that people don't usually have." Syn pointed out, stubbornly. Nip started nibbling on Syn's thumb and the girl glared down at her. "Stop it."
"It has got to go." Hershel said, his tone adamant. "I'm sorry, Syn, but when this thing reaches it's full size…"
Syn frowned, thinking for a moment.
"She can stay outside! She wouldn't need to come in…."
"Oh, sure," Phos said, speaking up for the first time. "And I'm sure the other villagers won't try to kill it the moment they see it…"
Syn bit her lip, looking back at Hershel with pleading eyes. He sighed, exasperatedly.
"There really is no…."
"Though," Phos cut in again, hand on his chin as he studied the creature. "I daresay it would be nice to have a night-sniffer on hand for the ingredients….they're hard to collect from the wild ones…"
Hershel turned to his Master in disbelief as Syn's face cracked into a smile. The boy gestured to the small animal making a strange guttural purring sound.
"This is a wild one!" he argued, but Phos just shrugged.
"Looks like a runt—they usually die off in the wilderness after getting abandoned by the pack."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Hershel pressed as Syn coddled the purring creature.
"But you didn't, did you Nip? You made it on your own and then I found you…"
"Master Healer, you can't be serious," Hershel said, his eyes looking back at Phos, pleading with him to be the bad guy again, just this one time. Phos merely shrugged and Syn shrieked in happiness, releasing Nip so she could jump up and down in excitement. Hershel deflated, and cried out when he felt a sand-papery tongue flick across his face.
"Ugh…cut it out!" he said, shoving the creature away. It made a happy hissing noise.
"That's enough!" Phos snapped, and both Syn and Nip immediately silenced. Phos looked Syn sternly in the eye.
"It doesn't stay in here…and I'm not feeding it. The villagers kill it, they kill it. You hear?"
Syn nodded obediently and Phos sighed, shaking his head at himself.
"Well, go on then, get it out of here."
Syn's serious face broke into another grin as she darted out of the tent, urging Nip to follow her. As they disappeared into the night Hershel turned to give Phos a withering look, raising an eyebrow. The Healer shrugged.
"Hey, she isn't mad at me anymore. You're welcome."
Jay didn't even turn at the knock on his door.
"It's open!" he called, searching under his bed for his other shoe. He frowned; Nya was going to be mad if he had lost one just a few days before the wedding.
"Lost something?"
Jay blinked in surprise as he pushed himself out from under his bed. Sure enough, Cole was standing near the door, looking a little uneasy. Jay brushed the dust bunnies off his gi.
"Uh…just a shoe. I'm sure it's around here somewhere though…"
Awkward silence ensued and Jay sat hesitantly on his bed. Cole looked like he wanted to say something but didn't really know how to say it. Jay wanted to yell at his friend to just spit it out already…but he held back.
"I've….I've been thinking about what you said." Cole finally admitted, taking a seat in the chair Jay used to reach the higher shelves in his closet. Jay picked at a loose string on his duvet.
"About that….I…didn't mean what I said about Keyda…"
"I know." Cole fidgeted a little. "Um…I guess I just wanted to say sorry….I mean, this is a big weekend for you and I've kinda been a troll since I got here…"
"Yeah, well, you kinda have," Jay admitted. Cole looked up and raised an eyebrow and Jay shrugged sheepishly. "I mean, I'm used to you getting after me…but you yelled at Pix about a braid…"
Cole winced. "Yeah." He leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees, staring at the ground. "I think…I guess I'm just used to being on the defensive…"
Jay frowned at that.
"You mean…in general, or with Keyda…or…what?"
"Not with Keyda." Cole said quickly. Then he thought a moment and shrugged. "Well…I mean sometimes but no, I was talking more about the nation of people she's running that all decidedly hate me…"
Jay raised his eyebrows; it was the first time Cole had talked so candidly about his time in the first realm.
"That bad, huh?"
Cole scoffed, not really looking at him.
"Some days are worse than others…." He inhaled slowly and finally just shrugged. "It is what it is, I guess. But it was weird to come back and…and not quite fit in the same anymore…"
"Well, that's your own fault," Jay pointed out, and Cole frowned as he looked up and Jay continued. "You've been all closed off..."
"Well, everything's changed..." Cole argued. "I mean, you're getting married the day after tomorrow!"
Silence fell as Jay bit his lip, thinking.
"Yeah…things are different. But I guess at this point in our life things are always gonna be different. It's not like we can just go back in time to the way things used to be…"
"Time travel never really worked that well for us." Cole noted with a scoff.
"…But we're still family, right? I mean, we're always going to be there for each other…" Jay trailed off, rubbing his arm. "And I know that for a fact for everyone else…but…with you…" he swallowed. "You've hardly visited at all since you moved to the first realm, and I guess we've just been scared that eventually you're just going to…stop coming altogether. Like you'd love your new life way better than your old one…"
Cole snorted at that. "Not likely," he said bitterly.
Jay leaned forward, irritated.
"Then why do you stay there, Cole?!"
Cole's expression became conflicted, and he sighed as he cradled his head in his hands.
"I don't know…"
He looked up immediately, shaking his head.
"Well…I do know. I love Keyda…but the only way for us to be together is…." he trailed off and glared at the floor. "I'm kinda jealous of you, Jay. You get to get married to the girl of your dreams, with your comparatively normal job and family nearby…never having to worry about assassination attempts or getting your powers blocked or your mind erased…"
Jay gave a start, eyebrows shooting up.
"Woah, what? Oh my gosh, Cole…what's been happening …"
"But at the end of the day we're together so it's worth it…but that doesn't make it any less hard, and I just can't help wishing that it wasn't so hard…." Cole finally stopped, sighing again. He stood suddenly, looking uncomfortable.
"Anyways…I just wanted to say sorry, for the way I've been acting…"
He headed to the door and Jay just stared at him in silence, feeling a little blindsided. Just as Cole was about to close the door he called out.
"Where're you going?" It was the only thing that he could think of to say.
Cole glanced back with a small smile and a shrug.
"Just…thought I'd go help out with dinner…"
Jay blinked.
"I think it may be more of a help if you didn't try to cook anything…" he finally pointed out, and Cole smiled a little at the joke.
"Yeah….fair point."
The door clicked closed and Jay stared at it for a few minutes, still trying to process everything that had just been said.
Keyda was resting her head on her arms on her desk, watching a small insect buzz around the room. After a few more minutes she sighed, annoyed, and sat up to lean back in her chair. The last few months it had felt like there was so much to do… and now it had all seemingly come to a stand-still. Not that she missed all the meetings with the other three leaders…but now she had nothing to do to make the time pass by faster. The insect came over to buzz around her head, and she followed it with her eyes, thinking. Jay's event was what…tomorrow? The day after? And then what? Would he leave to come back directly afterwards…or would he stay longer? Surely Wu couldn't stay that long….he had a whole nation to run, after all. She felt a little resentful that the Dragon Master seemed able to leave so easily. No doubt he wasn't working through any of the problems she was.
A knock sounded at the door, and she leaned forward, grateful for something to distract her.
"Come in!"
The burly looking head dragon master came in, and she beckoned him to the chair.
"Any word from the other leaders, Retrevan?"
The guard shook his head, coming over to her desk but not taking the seat.
"No….we only just sent out the letters, I was just coming to tell you…"
"Oh. Right." Keyda felt foolish for expecting such a speedy reply, and she drummed her fingers on the desk. "Anything else?"
"Nope." The large man shrugged, and Keyda tilted her head. She realized he looked really familiar, but she couldn't quite place what it was about him that reminded her of someone….or who he reminded her of. He continued. "I was just coming to let you know."
"Right." Keyda sat for a moment, posture professional…but then she broke as she leaned forward, holding her head in her hands as she rested her elbows on her desk. "Is there anything else that needs to get done? I'm going a little crazy…"
Ret smiled apologetically.
"Not that I am aware of…"
She sighed dramatically and gave him a little smile.
"Fair enough. You can go…"
He turned to leave, but then hesitated as though he thought of something else.
"Keyda….if you're not busy…"
"I'm not." she replied a little too quickly, and he smiled a little before continuing.
"The other head dragon masters and I are getting together for evening meal…and, well, if you wanted…"
"I'd love to," she replied with a grateful smile as she pushed herself out of her chair. "Lead the way."
They let Cole sleep in the next morning; he was still in bed by the time Lloyd and Garmadon got back.
"Wu!"
The old sensei turned, smiling at the sight of his brother and nephew.
"When did you get here?" Lloyd asked, giving his uncle a hug.
"A few days ago…but I've spent most of it checking in on old acquaintances and seeing how the rebuilding is coming…" He trailed off and stroked his beard. "Seems the realm is more or less back to normal again,"
"We've been doing as much as we can," Garmadon agreed. Wu turned to his brother.
"And…how are the opinions of those you've been visiting?"
Garmadon's face clouded slightly.
"Trust takes far longer to rebuild than buildings," he admitted as Lloyd headed to the kitchen, following the smells of cooking bacon.
"Jay and Nya! How're you guys feeling? Big day tomorrow…"
Jay gulped down a few more pieces of bacon.
"Oh trust me…I'm aware. Glad you and Garamdon made it back for it."
"And Wu made it as well." Lloyd noted, pulling up a seat next to Kai. "Did Cole and Keyda come?"
"Cole did." Zane explained, and Lloyd frowned as he watched his friends exchange looks.
"Is…that ok?" he asked, not sure how to read the expressions of everyone at the table.
Jay sighed.
"It seems like a lot of stuff has been going on in the first realm….but he doesn't really want to talk about it…"
"Like what?" Lloyd asked, leaning forward. "If Keyda didn't come with…do you think something happened?"
"We honestly don't know!" Nya explained. "He's just been super defensive and distant and he won't talk to anyone!"
"Well…" Jay added before he thought better of it. Everyone at the table turned to look at him.
"Has he talked to you?" Kai asked, incredulous. "Or are you just counting the fight you had yesterday?"
"A fight? Why doesn't that surprise me…" Lloyd commented as Jay stabbed at the omelet on his plate.
"Well, he came to talk to me after the fight, to apologize and stuff….and he mentioned a few things…"
"Like what?" Nya pressed, and Jay shrugged, feeling uncomfortable.
"He didn't really explain. Just mentioned there had been like assassination attempts and stuff and then left. I didn't really know how to bring it up with him again….but at least now we know we were right in assuming that a lot more stuff had gone down in the first realm than he's told us."
"Where is he now?" Lloyd asked, the excitement for his friends' wedding now tainted by a worm of worry.
"Sleeping," Kai answered, finishing the rest of the food on his plate. Lloyd frowned.
"Then maybe we can talk to him when he wakes up….all together, as a team…"
"Might work," Kai admitted, but Zane frowned.
"Or he might feel cornered. Like Nya said, he is in a very defensive state at the moment."
The green ninja frowned as he dished himself up some breakfast.
"It's still probably worth the try."
Keyda realized that out of all the places she had been in the fortress, there hadn't really been any need for her to go to the dragon master's dining hall. She blinked in surprise as she followed Ret inside, and she couldn't help but compare it to the cramped and meager room where the slaves were expected to eat. It still wasn't extravagant, but there were sturdy tables and chairs rather than dingy floor mats and she could tell by the smell that the food was higher quality. Though, she thought with a wince, she herself had been eating and dining in better places than this over the past few months.
There were more tables than guards, and she decided it must be due to the fact that there were many still downstairs in the dungeon. She frowned; what was she going to do with them all?
The ruckus and chatter died down as she entered the room, and she tried not to feel self-conscious as she felt everyone's eyes on her. Ret didn't seem at all bothered and he lead her over to a table where she recognized the other four members of the head five guards.
"You eat in here with everyone else?" she found herself wondering, and Ret turned to give her a little smile.
"Where else would we eat?"
She blinked, realizing that even though they had more responsibility, the title that the top five held didn't really set them apart in the hierarchy. Ret gestured for her to take the head of the small wooden table and she glanced up at the other faces. They seemed surprised but their expressions didn't betray that she was unwelcome, so she sat down and pulled up the chair. The talking resumed around the room as the other dragon masters realized she was there to talk to the head guards.
"I…hope I'm not intruding…" she finally said awkwardly, and Jaqah gave her a reassuring smile.
"Not at all. Is there something you needed to discuss?"
"Well…not really…" Keyda admitted, and Ret smiled from his seat at the other end of the table.
"I invited her along…seems that she had a free evening."
"Oh." Jaqah replied. Silence ensued as no one really knew what to talk about. A slave came by to bring them steaming bowls of food, quietly inquiring if Keyda would like something different than what was being served to the rest of the dragon masters.
"Oh, um, no…just the same thing." She replied, and the slave nodded and set a bowl in front of her. They started eating, the silence continuing, and Keyda finally cleared her throat. The five at the table looked up expectantly.
"I'm sorry, I'm not any good at this," she admitted, and they frowned.
"Vat do you mean?"
She looked over at the guard seated to her right. His hair was closely shaven to his head on either side, with a strip of hair pulled back over the very top of his scalp into a long braid down his back. The shaven sides of his head he had scars shaped like different runes. Keyda realized that she hadn't really ever heard him talk much…his voice was soft and had a strange accent to it.
"Um, talking to people….just to talk," she explained. Ret cracked a smile and Omar shook his head.
"You're doing fine," he assured quickly, and the Oni sitting across from the short guard rolled his eyes.
"She doesn't need your sycophanting, Omar…" he chided. Jaqah frowned at the lanky young guard.
"Tolan…." she started, voice stern, and the brown-eyed Oni shrugged, unconcerned.
Keyda stared at the table, wishing she hadn't actually taken Ret up on his offer after all. She had been feeling lonely—that was true—but now she felt out of place. She had gotten to the point where she could command things and run meetings…but just having conversation for the sake of conversing? She had no idea what she was doing.
"Haven't seen your guest around…" the quiet guard said, trying to give them something to talk about.
"He's back in his home realm this week, Ves…" Jaqah said, her expression betraying that she didn't really feel like this wasn't really a good conversation to try and start.
"Outsider's back on the outside…" Tolan mused, and someone kicked him under the table. He glared at his teammates, defensive. "What?"
"Yes, Cole is back in Ninjago…" Keyda said, finally speaking.
"Any particular reason? Is something going wrong?" Ret inquired, and she shook her head.
"No…just, one of his friends was getting bound…or something…"
The five guards exchanged a look that she caught, and her expression darkened.
"What?!"
"Nothing!" Omar said immediately, and Tolan rolled his eyes. Keyda didn't look convinced and she folded her arms, waiting. Jaqah sighed.
"Well…it's just there have been rumors that you…"
She trailed off as Keyda leaned back in her chair, obviously annoyed.
"Why is it that nobody will stop bringing that up?"
"Because you brought it up first." Tolan muttered, and she narrowed his eyes at him. He shrugged, undisturbed. "And you don't really help things by kissing him all the time…"
"Tolan!" Jaqah chastised again, and Keyda's eyes flashed.
"It's nobody's business what…" she trailed off, her brow suddenly knitting in confusion. "Wait, you know what kissing is?"
The five guards stared at her, at a loss, and she felt her cheeks flush. Tolan finally leaned over to Ret to whisper.
"Is she being serious?"
She glared at him.
"It's not an Oni custom….I'm just surprised you knew about it…"
"What do you mean?" Omar cut in, looking just as confused. Keyda looked between them, the color rising further in her face.
"I mean that it's an outsider custom…"
"Um…" Jaqah looked like she wanted to explain something, but wasn't really sure how to go about doing it. "Most oni know what kissing is, Keyda…"
"Did you not?" Tolan asked dryly, eyebrow raised. Keyda just stared dumbfounded at those at her table.
"It's just not very prevelant," Ret offered kindly. "With romance and affection being considered weak...but it happens…"
"Oh." Keyda didn't say anything else, feeling stupid. She was pretty sure she would never go out of her way to talk with people again.
Jaqah cleared her throat, ready for a change in subject.
"The letters you drafted for the leaders went out today…"
Keyda felt both relief and resentment at the rope Jaqah was throwing, but she took it.
"Yes…Retrevan told me earlier…"
"Do you think they'll come?" Omar asked, scraping at the last of the food in his bowl.
"They're the leaders…they have to, right?" Tolan challenged.
"But vith everything going on…." Ves pointed out.
"They're supposed to answer the leader's call for a meeting." Keyda said. "But yes, with everything that has happened I still don't know if I can trust them to listen to me anymore." She trailed off. "I think Tala will come…it's just the other two I don't know about…"
"Just because Tala didn't appear to have anything to do with the rebellion, it doesn't mean that she is necessarily a firm supporter of yours." Jaqah pointed out. "I don't think it would be wise to assume what any of their actions would be."
Keyda sighed, finally finishing her own dinner.
"And we still have all those in the dungeons….I can't just leave them there; we can't feed them. What do we do?"
"Ret actually had some ideas about that," Jaqah offered, and Keyda turned to the large Oni. He hesitated but Tolan elbowed him to get him talking.
"We should at least put them to work…and if it's lack of food we are suffering from, than they should be the ones who work on growing more. Plenty of land around the fortress to add a few more planting fields…"
"Plenty of water from the underground springs as well," Omar added, and Keyda sat back, considering it. It was a simple enough solution….and maybe simple is all the more they needed.
"That may work, Ret, thank you. I'll consider it…"
She trailed off as she looked at the large Oni, and finally she shook her head.
"I'm sorry…but you really remind me of someone…"
Ret's eyes flicked downward and Tolan scoffed into the cup he was drinking out of. He wiped his mouth and smirked.
"Probably cuz he's related to the big meatball that followed your outsider around." Jaqah shot him an incredulous look and Tolan corrected himself. "I mean your…Cole."
Keyda blinked, and suddenly she could see it. Her expression became a little guarded as she studied the generally cheerful guard. Retrevan wiped his mouth slowly, not looking up.
"Dorhn is…or, was…a cousin of mine.." He glanced up, expression serious. "I assure you, we couldn't be more different."
"Oh." Keyda tried to think of what she could say that could express that she believed him…but for whatever reason knowing that the guard in front of her was related to Dorhn made her feel uneasy…even if it didn't make any sense as to why. "…of course."
"I always thought Dorhn was a bully…" Omar offered, trying to take the attention off Ret. "I never really did understand why Heavy Metal assigned him to follow the out…Cole."
"Heard it was because Dorhn was the only one huge enough to keep him in line, if it came to that…" Tolan offered.
"Guys!" Jaqah snapped as Keyda's expression clouded, fists clenching. Jaqah turned to Keyda, sighing exasperatedly. "I'm sorry, Keyda….it appears that we are not really used to this kind of interaction either…"
Keyda just stared at the table for a few moments, and finally she relaxed as she glanced up at Retrevan with a small smile.
"I guess we should have made you his guard instead, huh?"
She pushed herself up from the table, clearing her throat.
"Well….it was good to see you all…thank you for letting me join you tonight."
Each of the head dragon masters stood as well, murmuring "of course." She gave them a nod without really meeting anyone's eye and turned and left the table. A minute later the dining hall door closed behind her and Ves smacked Tolan on the back of the head.
"Owww…what?!"
Jaqah sat, sighing, and they each finished the meal deep in thought.