The village was remote, being located up in the mountains. It was a small settlement that not many people traveled through, but it was told to be one of the major point for a serpentine battle that happened 20 or so years ago. Not that sentient snake people exist, of course.. or so Dareth and many others believed. The drive there was simple, passing under a few scattered rain periods followed by sunshine. Dareth thought it was a nice change of pace; he was happy with Lou wanting to get out of ninjago city for once, the city has seen enough of them and expanding their horizons would be good for new opportunities. Lou, however, had a different motive.
The mysterious woman who he had eyed multiple times was said to reside here, or so what Jeremy informed him of, and requested that the quartet perform for the town. It was an opportunity his heart would not dare pass up, even if it was costly and timely. The close to the village the group got, the more excited and worried Lou felt. Would he mess it up? Would she not be here? And most importantly, would he ever see her again after the performance? A plan slowly started forming in his head…
"Dang it's cold!" Ollie chattered through his teeth. He was the only one who didn't bring a jacket due to boasting that he could handle any temperature the world threw at him. "And we have to perform outside?! Uhhnng.." The others gave a light laugh around, strolling under the gate to the inside. Despite the size, it was quite lively; children playing, a small market exchanging food for money, people pulling carts of rice and vegetable plants, parents coddling their young away from the streets to do chores or help with some thing or another. Roger couldn't help but let out a noise and smile, the setting feeling homely to him. Lou's eyes fidgeted somewhat frantically around, looking at all the faces to try and find the one he recognized in his heart. The boys were stopped by what seemed to be someone who ran the town, or was well known.
"Good afternoon! You must be the Royal Blacksmiths, hmm? We are so grateful to have you all here today to perform tonight!" the relatively short man chirped. Dareth stepped in front of the group.
"Nice settlement you have here, everyone looks so busy."
"Of course! We all have very busy laborious lives here in Jamanakai, ahm– about that offer negotiation–" Lou didn't hear the rest of it. He had stopped when he saw her again. She was helping carrying in wood from the outside, a tree in each arm. Holy heck she was strong… holy heck she was tall! Her braid playfully swished as she walked, laying the two logs down by the pile that was forming. She glanced over and noticed him staring, her face growing into a bright smile. Lou wasn't sure if he could feel his. She walked over and gave a gentle wave.
"You came, it's good to see you again. Thank you for performing tonight, it really means a lot to me." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Y-yeah, uhuh." Lou choked, face burning up. She giggled in response, causing him to redden more. "I-it's nothing too fancy but its a routine the boys and I have been keeping a secret for awhile," he attempted to explain without revealing too much, but his efforts to divert her attention from him were in vain, "Y-you have very nice eyes."
"Oh yeah? Look at yours. They're prehnite," she giggled, "Mine are just brown.. Black, almost."
"Lou! Good news! I got the negotiation down," Dareth slung an arm around Lou, abruptly ending the moment, "Since a lot of people go to sleep around the time you wanted to initially run through, Its been bumped back to four. You have two hours until show time, shouldn't be too hard, right?" Lou glared at him while they were walking.
"Do you mind?! Two hours?! You think I can teach a new routine in two hours?!" He hissed through clenched teeth.
"You just said it was a kept secret like you've been practicing it for while but never performed it!" Dareth scrunched his eyebrows.
"Well, I lied! We've only been talking about it but never practiced it! Now I have to teach myself and the other three in two hours?!" he protested, in which Dareth shook his head disapprovingly.
"Is that so? No wonder I get so lost in them." Lou playfully stated, chuckling. She looked somewhat surprised, her face lighting up a light rosy red. The two seemed to stare at each other for what felt like forever..
"You should've told me, Lou. Now look at what you put yourself into! I can't change this to any other time, it's set in stone, so you're gonna have to figure this out on your own or call it off." He gave Lou a hard pat on the back before walking off, leaving him with his quartet. Lou sighed harshly, scratching his elbow before regrouping.
"Boys, we have two hours to learn a new routine to do perfectly for tonight. We'll practice on the bus, lets work it out." There was a general nod of understanding amongst them.
"Just like finals back in MOSPA, huh?" Ollie laughed, still shivering, "Please can we hurry up? I'm freezing."
–
The show was a success, as usual. There wasn't a stage for the quartet to perform on, so they did their routine atop the first rung of the town fountain. While the crowd dispersed back to their normal routine, Lou had slipped from the scene and found himself stand next to the tall, dark brown-eyed woman. She glanced down at him and laughed, looking away and catching her breath before looking back down at him again. "I love it when you sing, ah…"
"Lou. Lou Brookstone." He offered.
"Yes, Lou. Oh what a handsome name for a handsome man… oh what a shame. I am guessing you're going back to Ninjago city now, huh?" She somewhat deflated, looking down. Lou reached out and placed a hand on her back.
"Yep… would you.. Like to come back with me..?" her eyes lit up at the sudden question.
"Is that even possible? Where will I stay- would I be able to even stay- how much do I owe-" Lou held up a gentle hand to silence her.
"Don't worry, I have it all planned out. My manager might be a little miffed, but he can suck it up. What do you say?" He offered her his hand.
–
The ride back went smoothly. The quartet sang, laughed, followed by a few extra giggles from the front and small whine of lazy annoyance from the back.
