Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago or "Loba." "Loba" belongs to Shakira.

Chapter 18: Embarrassment, Songs, and Food

Lupe's POV

"Come on in son. It's been forever," The man then looked at the whole group. "Weren't there just one dog before?"

On instinct, both Relámpago and I growled. We moon wolves try not to be prideful, but sometimes we just really can't stand mistakes in labels.

The man looked slightly tense, and then worried.

"Don't worry, they won't bite. They're good wolves," Kai bent over and pet my head. In response, and to further convince Cole's dad, I licked his hand. Relámpago turned his head to me.

"Me voy a cambiar atrás ahora. Vuelvo enseguida," He whispered. I nodded to him. (I'm going to change back now. Be right back.)

Relámpago trotted to a tight space between two houses, and shortly walked out as Blue Jay.

"Sorry I'm late. I slept in," Blue Jay told us. "And I couldn't find any good food anywhere so I had to get some food,"

"Well then, Cole, what did you bring now? A quartet? Come in, come in. I've got a kettle of lemon honey tea on the stove right now," Cole's dad said.

We walked into the house, and were immediately introduced by the softly playing music in front of a wall of pictures.

Kai and Zane took in their surroundings, Blue Jay happily listened to the music, and Cole was just miserable. I was lying on the floor in front of them.

"Now, does your wolf want something?" The old man asked.

"She's probably hungry," I snapped my head in Kai's direction once he mentioned food.

"What does she eat? Aside from deer and rabbits, I don't have that," The man joked. I huffed in response.

"Got any meat at all?" Kai asked.

"I think I have a few steaks a friend gave me. Oh, but I'm a vegetarian. She can have them all if she wants." I was up on my feet in a fraction of a second.

The man led me to a small kitchen, with a round table in the center, a fridge against one wall, and a stove against the opposite wall. It was simple, and looked as if the man just moved in.

"I don't like clutter. So I don't decorate the kitchen a lot. Here you go," The man handed me a fat slab of meat, of which I ate quickly. Once he saw I had the food in my jaw, he let go.

Smart man, I thought. He gave me two other slabs of meat before he claimed not to have any more.

"Sorry, girl, but that's all I have," He then noticed my wolf tag. "What's your name? 'Cuchilla Loba,' sounds Spanish."

I nodded my head in agreement that my name was Spanish.

"Let's go back to the boys," He led me back to the large room where the ninja, dressed in casual attire, were sitting patiently.

I walked over to Kai and lied down at his feet for a nap. He leaned down and stroked my fur for a few minutes before straightening back up to listen to the conversation.

"Did my son tell you I broke my foot? It was the cha-cha but I swear the percussionist had an input," Cole's dad told us.

"No dad, I didn't tell them about your silly stories." Cole grumbled.

"Silly stories?"

"What he meant was we've been so busy training at the, uh," Kai looked for the location.

"The Martha Oppenheimer, yeah," Blue Jay attempted to save it. I snickered at their attempts.

"Martha Oppenheimer?" Cole's dad stopped the music.

Ohhh, all bets are off when old man turns off the music! I thought to myself, smiling at the notion.

"What he's trying to say is the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts," Zane saved all the ninja with his quick thinking. I huffed again.

"Right, uh, well, um, you see we have this final research paper we're doing on the history of Ninjago Talent. And what we really wanted to know was how can we get our hands on the Blade Cup?" Cole asked.

"You're talking about getting your hands on the Blade Cup. The most prized and heavily guarded award in all of Ninjago." I put my ears down to block out the sound and just watch the old man as he lectured behind the table and made overly exaggerated movements. As if he was dancing. "You four have come to take our place!"

I was at full attention now. The ninja, singing? I would love to video tape that! I thought.

"Let me hear the sweet sound of harmony." Cole's dad waited expectantly for the ninja to sing.

Now this is going to be really good! I thought to myself, smiling. Despite Cole's hand motions not to, Blue Jay stood up, followed by Zane and Kai, while Cole stayed seated in defeat.

I felt the need to ruin his life even more, so I sat up, quickly stretched, and lifted my head to howl.

"If you howl, so help me!" Cole hissed. I just snickered, flashing my sharp canine teeth. Ignoring his plea, I opened my mouth and howled.

I meant only to howl for five seconds at the maximum, but I accidentally howled the first ten seconds of the International Anthem of the United Moon She-Wolves. Or, otherwise known, as "Loba."

"Well, the she-wolf has more of a voice then any of you," Cole's dad stated.

"Look, dad, we just need the trophy." Cole stood up and walked to his father, followed by Kai, who pushed him out of the way.

"Yeah, we're bringing home the gold, and we want you to train us." Had I been human, I would have been in a fit of unstoppable laughter.

Cole's dad seemed honored, and also possibly a slight deafness in one ear.

"I've never been more proud. If you'll excuse me, I need to write a song about my feelings." Cole's dad went into a room that was probably either his room or a studio. If there was any difference.

"What are you doing?" Cole hissed at Kai.

"Look, we enter the competition so we can get close enough to the Blade Cup. Once we have the Fangblade, we leave town." Kai explained the plan. "How hard can this be?"

A few minutes later, we were in the studio. I was lying under a piano, and the ninja were lined in front of it.

The ninja went over their lines again, and then suffered the wrath of Cole's dad's criticism.

"Kai, love the energy, hate the hair." I growled slightly at his comment and how he hit Kai with his stick. "Jay, you're giving a lot, but I need more. Zane, like a machine, don't change anything. And Cole, try to act like you want to be here."

"He's worse then Sensei Wu," Blue Jay whispered to Kai, who slightly nodded.

"OK, moving forward. Let's take a look at the big, show-stopping climax. Cole, can't have history repeating itself."

"Dad, it was the Triple Tiger Sashay, I was seven." Cole responded.

"What's the Triple Tiger Sashay?" Kai asked.

"Only the most difficult dance move ever created." Cole informed him.

No, lying on your side and bringing your upper leg forward and right next to your face, and still being able to move the other leg is the most difficult dance move ever even known to anything. I thought in a huff.

"It's true, many professionals have dared try, but it has never been successfully completed." Cole's dad said.

"Hence my father thought a seven-year-old could! But I ended up falling on my face, humiliating myself, and letting my quartet down." Cole remembered the failed attempt.

"If you're going to win, you have to go big! Alright, time for a break, take five." Cole's father said.

"I'm starting to see why Cole is so closed off. It's because twinkle-toes here couldn't deliver the goods," Blue Jay pointed at Cole. "Is that why you ran away?"

"I can deliver the goods. Look, I'll deal with my father. But let's stick with the plan. All we have to do is keep the charade up long enough until we can get our hands on the trophy." Cole retorted.

"I don't know, I'm starting to think we can win this thing." Blue Jay joked. The joke was short-lived when Cole glared at him. "Okay, okay, we'll stick to the plan."

Let's just hope the plan doesn't change halfway through like too many plans change. I thought to myself before putting my head down and slipping into a brief, shallow nap.