Author's Note: Ooof. It's such a relief to finally have "Dancing Through Life" finished. School has been killer lately, and as you've probably noticed, I've also managed to get distracted by March of The Oni, so… Yeah, updates have been a bit slow. But, I'm super happy with how this turned out. It's a tad different than most of what we see in the show itself, and I had to really draw on my inner theatre nerd for it, but, I'd say it was worth it! "Dancing Through Life" takes place not long after the previous chapter and is heavily inspired by the fact that it is canon that Cole has taught Lloyd ballet at some point during his green ninja training. I hope you enjoy it!
Replies to Reviews:
Spider-Man Super-Fan: Yay! It makes me so happy to hear that! I loved writing our sweet grean bean, even if I did end up torturing him a little bit. And the sibling fluff is also really fun to write. Thank you so mucb for your review!
Jbomb217: Okay, good. Wouldn't want you to kill any more brain cells… Yep, Lloyd is a sweetheart who's always willing to give his big brother food. Onesies are amazing, and it's super cool that you have one. The poor green ninja is just too overwhelmed to enjoy it… He's definitely got a green fedora in early s6, so I decided to give his fashion sense an origin. I've decided that Lloyd's major sweet tooth is especially strong when it comes to gummy candy. Yeah, I am sorry about that, but, he had to break down sooner or later… Jay strikes me as the sort of person who'd know a lot about panic attacks, unfortunately. Both things he did to help are either things that I or my friend with major anxiety have used, so they are effective for some people, at least. Thank you so much for your review, and I hope you have been having an amazing weekend!
Random Dragon 2. 0: I know! *tears* I feel a bit bad about what I did to Lloyd, but he definitely would have an emotional reaction to everything he gets saddled with during s2. But I'd give him a hug, too, if I could… thank you so much for taking the time to review! Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
Grungekitty: Ooh, really? I'd never noticed that before. Makes sense, though, that Lloyd would pick up his brother's sense of fashion! I'm working towards having more moments with Kai (and the other ninja) now that I've gotten a bit better at writing for them. This next one sort of features Cole. Oof, thank you. I do my best to cover the stuff the show ignores. But seriously, I appreciate your feedback! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!
"What on earth happened to your face?" Nya gasped, when she found Lloyd in the Bounty's infirmary, nursing the beginnings of a particularly nasty looking black eye. She had just returned from a self-designated samurai x mission and was on her way to the kitchen in search of a snack. His skin was already starting to turn a yellowy purple color; this was going to leave an impressive bruise. A really impressive one. It had been several days since their trip to the mall and the others had begun attempting to get the blonde back into the habit of training with them. Had someone punched him a little too hard? Because, if so, they'd definitely be hearing from her about it.
"Uh… I fell into a doorknob?" She stared at him in stunned silence, questioning whether or not she'd heard him right. If there had been a cricket nearby, this would have been the perfect time for it to start chirping.
"Could you repeat that?" The samurai asked after a moment.
"I fell into a doorknob." He replied resignedly. His lack of coordination was really starting to get old.
"You fell into a doorknob?" She repeated, eyebrows raised. His face reddened.
"See? It even sounds stupid when you say it…" He groaned.
"Sorry… I just. How did you even?" Nya inquired, admittedly concerned by the revelation.
"Don't ask…" The blonde mumbled, looking away momentarily.
"Okaaay? I won't. So, how did training go – or is that off limits too?"
"Better than it could be, I guess." Lloyd told his adoptive sister, "Getting pretty tired of my current relationship with gravity, though." Not for the first time, images of clumsy golden retriever puppies filled Nya's brain. She almost laughed. Oops. That probably wasn't the best thing to be thinking about just now.
"Will I ever get back to being normal?"
"Because normal is a thing we have so much experience with, huh, green bean?" She reminded him teasingly. He rolled his eyes. Coming to stand next to the youth, the girl continued with a sigh,
"Hey, try not to stress about it so much. You're not the first clumsy person to walk the face of the earth, and you definitely won't be the last. It takes time to grow into yourself, and you know I'll dropkick anyone who teases you about it. Now, lemme take a look at that eye?" The green ninja complied with the request and slowly lowered the (mostly melted) baggie of ice from his face. Ouch.
"Hm… I think you'll live," Decided Nya as she carefully inspected the injury.
"Good to know. I was super worried about dying. Cause what would the others think if I got taken out by a door?" Lloyd deadpanned, "It would be so embarrassing. Just imagine the headlines – Local Green Ninja Murdered Viciously During Run In With Inanimate Object." His companion giggled. It was good to see him joking around again.
"How about Favorite Baby Brother Becomes Ridiculous Drama Queen, you goof? But you are gonna be a bit sore for a coupl'a days. And you'll probably want more ice, while we're at it. Try not to get yourself into any more trouble while I grab some, okay?" She commented, leaving him to brainstorm even more ridiculous newspaper titles – because, what the heck? They were brilliant and entertaining. And... Maybe it was also distracting him from the constant throbbing of his face...Okay, yeah, that too...
As Nya wandered down the hall, towards the kitchen, where she knew she would be able to locate more ice, she found herself in the company of her brother and boyfriend, who had just exited the training room.
"So," She began after greetings (and a quick kiss for Jay) had been exchanged, "A doorknob. Do I even want to know how Lloyd managed that?" The duo glanced at each other.
"It was like a moment out of one of those reality TV shows where the people are on some horrendous obstacle course that's out to get them." The ninja of lightning commented animatedly.
"One second, he was on his way to refill his water bottle, and the next, he was flying through the air – prolly' tripped over his own feet again—and then, bam! Right into the door, face first and everything." Kai explained. They all cringed; the incident didn't paint a particularly pretty picture.
"Ouch."
"Yeah, it looked like it hurt." Jay agreed.
"Of course it did! You should see the bruise he's got. Did none of you think to maybe keep an eye on him after that?" The samurai questioned, looking unimpressed.
"We-ell… In our defense, he did say he could handle it himself?" Said Jay, awkwardly scratching his head. She pressed her fingers to her temples, exasperated.
"He literally grabbed a plastic bag and put maybe 10 ice cubes in it? It was pretty much completely melted by the time I came along... We better add first aid to the list of things he needs to learn how to do competently." Nya stated, stepping into the kitchen. She immediately sought out the ice packs she knew they kept in the freezer - they'd be much more effective than a few measly ice cubes had been so far. Satisfied, she turned back to the others.
"Ah, that's more like it. I'd better go give this to Lloyd before he has a chance to cause himself any more pain. Anybody know where Cole is? I have some ideas for tomorrow's training session I want to run by him."
"Uh… Are you sure Cole's the best person to ask about first aid?" Her brother questioned. Both Kai and Jay seemed a bit skeptical. She shook her head.
"Oh, I have something else in mind for him. It's… Well, you'll just have to wait and see, now won't you…"
"Are you sure this is necessary?" Lloyd complained the next morning, giving his loose attire one last (very self-conscious) glance. Their usual training regime had been forgone in favor of something a little less… Orthodox – at least, in his opinion. The training dummies and other miscellaneous equipment had been pushed against the walls to make room for their venture.
"I mean… We're not gonna force you, but yeah, we think it'll help. We wouldn't have suggested it otherwise." Nya told him, reaching up to ruffle his hair.
"But I wasn't that good at it to begin with. And to be honest? I wasn't exactly paying attention most of the time…" He worried.
"Trust me, we know. Just remember what I told you before." Commented Cole, unconcerned. The blonde stared at him.
"That I should never eat cake out of the fridge without asking first?" He joked. The master of earth rolled his eyes as Jay gave the youth a high five.
"No. That football players do different styles of dance all the time to help with balance and stuff. And that we won't judge you, no matter how much you suck at it."
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence…"
"Be glad I'm not making you do river dance. That stuff's way more challenging… You'll be fine. Just show me what you remember. First position – ballet." The teen instructed. Lloyd scrambled into something that felt… like it might sort of resemble something to do with a position of some kind. Catching the way Cole was looking at him, he sighed.
"I'm doing it wrong, aren't I?"
"Not… Not completely," he replied patiently, "You just got the order mixed up a bit is all. Your feet are angled great, but they're a liiittle to far apart to count as first position. What you got right now is really more like second."
"Oh." The green ninja adjusted his stance.
"That's better! Now your arms go like this." Cole demonstrated. He reluctantly followed along. So far so good.
"Okay, what about third?" Lloyd did his best to dredge his memories of dance instruction from the dark forgotten corner they'd been relegated to. He surprised himself by actually remembering which foot was supposed to go in front.
"Not bad," The raven haired ninja commented, gently adjusting his arms, "What about the rest of you?" He asked pointedly.
"Us?" Kai responded warily.
"Uh, yeah. You didn't think I was gonna let you let you stand there and watch while we did all the hard stuff, didja?"
"I agree. It would be way more fun if I weren't doing this by myself, guys..." Lloyd agreed, looking pleadingly at his adoptive brother.
"Sure. That's just what I was hoping to do with my morning." The master of fire said sarcastically, trying to resist the puppy eyes (because Nya's comparison was spot on, honestly, and the kid was still an expert at getting his older siblings to do his bidding).
"It cannot be worse than having to perform while battling snakes," Zane pointed out, a hint of enthusiasm obvious, "And I, for one, find dancing exhilarating."
"Good for you, buddy…" A bemused master of lightning decided,reaching for his girlfriend's hand and twirling her with a wink.
"Though I actually prefer a good waltz or tango to boring old ballet, myself." She giggled lightly, grabbing his other hand.
"Ballet is not boring…" Jay heard his best friend say, but he ignored him. They attempted to take a turn around the room in a complex series of lunges and spins. Flying across the floor, the pair looked glorious and epic and way cooler than anything Lloyd would've been able to pull off, but it wasn't long before a,
"Hey! You stepped on my foot!" Followed by a,
"Sorry! You're supposed to let me lead…" Could be heard. The pair smiled at each other sheepishly.
"Okay, maybe we should focus on the basics for now…" Admitted Jay. Nya nodded breathlessly, still grimacing slightly from being trod upon. Kai shrugged, realizing that he wasn't going to get away with protesting. Someone needed to keep an eye on those two, anyway.
"Might as well get started, then."
They ended up having to do a significant amount of backtracking due to the fact that most of the group hadn't been subjected to any form of structured dance instruction since their brother unlocked his true potential. And also because Cole insisted on spending a good 15 minutes stretching, since, as any dancer worth their salt knows, one should always make sure to warm up properly before engaging in any form of rigorous activity. It can save you a lot of time – and pain – later. He did, however, have music playing in the background the entire time, which made things slightly more enjoyable.
"Jay? What are you doing?" Zane asked at one point during their stretching routine. The energetic blue ninja was bent at an angle that would have been impossible for most people.
"I'm stretching?" He replied, looking slightly confused.
"Well, yes, I can see that. But I can assure you, it is not normal for you to be able to bend your arms so far in that direction… Doesn't it hurt?"
"Well, no. Not really. I'm double jointed, remember? I do this all the time…" Jay informed them nonchalantly.
"How have I never noticed this before?" Lloyd, who wasn't sure if he should be fascinated or grossed out, wondered aloud.
"Well, usually, we don't spend quite so much time stretching, so you wouldn't've necessarily had a reason to see his weirdness in action. Though, we probably should be doing it more often if we don't wanna end up with pulled muscles during a fight." Observed the ninja of earth. It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.
"Okay, no offense, but you're getting closer and closer to being just plain disgusting…" Kai complained as his curly haired brother bent one of his arms even further to illustrate his point.
"Aaaand this is when I remind everyone to focus… I know that might be super hard for some of you, but I'd kinda like to be done in time for dinner… Zane promised he'd make cake !And I think we're good for now, so moving on…" Cole asserted, deciding that they were sufficiently prepared to continue. He began drilling them on various dance forms. First came the basic ballet positions – there may have been a small amount of cheating involved, as Kai and Jay were clearly copying whatever their companions were doing. The green ninja did his best to follow along as new moves were demonstrated, trying his hardest not to lose his balance too many times. Zane and Nya looked a bit too happy to be participating, and, unlike some of the others, were actually capable of catering to most of Cole's demands.
"Jay, could you try to look a little less like a tree? And Kai, loosen up a little. You look like you want to stab something…"
"I do want to stab something!" The master of fire informed him, "And you sound just like your father when you talk like that…"
"So this is what is what was like when you guys were competing for the fang blade?" Nya mused, still holding the position they'd been instructed to take with ease. She'd often wished she had been able to witness it all in person.
"Pretty much. And, in case you were wondering, Zane was the star pupil then, too." Her boyfriend interjected.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say that I was the star…" Zane protested. Jay gave up on maintaining his posture and waved a hand dismissively.
"Psh… He totally woulda tried to recruit you for Marty Oppenheimer's if you hadn't been so focused on saving the world…"
"Well, I'm glad he didn't, as I would most definitely have refused. I would never leave my brothers." The nindroid assured them. Kai punched his shoulder lightly.
"Course you wouldn't. You love us way too much to ditch us for a chance at fame and glory as a dancing prodigy…"
"Take it as a compliment, bro. My father doesn't think that highly of just anyone." Cole added knowledgeable. He turned to Lloyd.
"So, you ready to try something a bit more complicated?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Nope. C'mon, we're just gonna put together some of the stuff I've shown you so far. Like a couple of counts, that's all." The master of earth patted the golden-haired youth's shoulder encouragingly.
"O-okay. I'll try. No promises, though. Knowing me, I'll probably end up trampling someone or something."
"Hey, I've already done that, so you don't have to worry about it." Jay told him with a lopsided smile, which earned him an elbow to the ribs from Nya. He hissed in pain.
"And now we're even."
"Glad to see you two are enjoying yourselves."
"Oh, we are." The samurai answered before her boyfriend could interject.
"In that case, I'm sure you'd love to get a move on with things. I'll show you a sequence of steps here in a minute, but first, we need to work on finding the correct rhythm. Most of the songs on my playlist are written in 4/4 time, which means that there are 4 beats per measure. It goes something like this," Cole clapped out a beat for them with ease. Lloyd cocked his head, trying to connect the rhythm he had just seen enacted to the music that had been playing earlier. Clapity-clapity-clap? He gave his teacher a quizzical look.
"Not exactly. It's more like:" The ninja of earth repeated the beat.
"Sorry? I don't…"
"That's totally fine. We'll try something else. You might feel a little silly, but that means it's working, okay?" The blonde nodded, still looking a bit skeptical. Would whatever Cole had planned work?
"I want you to close your eyes." Cole instructed.
"Close my-" His balance was iffy enough with his eyes open. Closing them could be a disaster.
"Yep. I'm gonna start playing some music. Just listen for awhile. Try to feel the music flowing through you without any other distractions." Though he'd much rather have given up entirely on this particular activity, Lloyd did as he was told. As he adjusted to his lack of vision, the youth heard a song he couldn't quite place begin to play. The master of earth happily hummed along in the background, clearly very familiar with the tune.
"Dancing through life, swaying and sweeping, and always keeping cool. Life's more painless for the brainless. Those who don't try never look foolish…"
"That doesn't seem like a very nice thing to say…" Jay whispered.
"It makes way more sense in context. Clearly you need to listen to more musicals." Cole commented back. Although his time at Marty Oppenheimer has been anything but pleasant, his upbringing had ensured that the arts would always have a special place in his heart. He simply enjoyed them more when he wasn't the one performing.
"Sh…" Lloyd shushed them, "I think I'm starting to get the hang of this…" He let the music wash over him, enjoying the tale that was being told, though it was a little difficult to follow along without knowing the full story. It was relaxing, in some strange way, to just listen, without being able to see the world around him. Certainly, it wasn't as bad as he'd thought it'd be, even if he did have to shift his weight every so often in order to remain upright. Perhaps this would help him after all.Giving a few experimental claps, he found that this way of listening for the beat was working much better for him than the previous attempt. Clapity – clap – clapity – clap.
"There you go!" The master of earth cheered, "See? Told you it would work."
"Y-yeah. I guess you did. So, uh… What now? Do we keep our eyes closed?" Asked the youth as the song came to an end.
"Good question." Nya agreed.
"For the time being? Yes. I'll tell you when to open them. Gonna play another song. Let's see how fast you can pick up the beat this time, guys." Selecting another soundtrack to listen to, play, Cole observed his fellow ninja (and one samurai) as they continued practicing rhythm recognition. Something seemed to have clicked, for it took only a fraction of the amount of time that it had before for them to begin to make sense of what they were hearing. Lloyd's clapping sounded much more confident this time, as did that of the others.
"Good job. You can open your eyes, now, if you want. Try stepping and clapping in time to the music instead of just clapping out the beat." He recommended once it was clear that they were ready to move on; it was great that everyone was picking up on the beat, but they needed to be able to do it while multitasking. This was the first step in doing so. Nya was the first to follow his suggestion, taking a moment to adjust to regaining her vision before confidently sidestepping. Zane quickly joined her, transitioning with little trouble. For a few moments, nobody else was brave enough to adopt the alternate form of keeping track of the rhythm. As he blinked slowly, trying not to let himself grow dizzy, Lloyd chose the wrong moment to begin moving and ended up bumping into Kai, who had yet to open his eyes. He let out an indignant huff of pain.
"Can we maybe not turn dancing into a contact sport?"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"I know… just. Be careful. We don't need anyone getting hurt right now…" The ninja of fire sighed. Cole nodded in agreement.
"Which is why we need to keep working. The sooner we get your center of balance back, the better."
"Right, then. What next?" Asked the green ninja, resigned to suffering through any remaining discomfort if it meant having a chance at being able to walk more than ten feet without faceplanting.
"I'm thinkin' something that'll require some footwork. A chasse ending with a ball change maybe?" The former dancer showed him a galloping movement to the side, followed by a sort of backwards step weight shift (Lloyd's technical knowledge of dance terminology left a lot to be desired). Attempting to copy what Cole had just shown them, Lloyd made it through about three fourths of the sequence before his feet became hopelessly entangled. He landed on the floor in a heap, groaning in frustration.
"It's okay, Lloyd," The master of earth said, pulling him back up, "Try it again. I know you can do this."
"But…"
"I'll catch you if you fall, I promise." The Golden haired youth stumbled clumsily again, and again. And again. But Cole, ever patient, was in his element as a teacher. He somehow managed to guide his feet back under him each time, preventing him from taking any more unwanted spills.
"I think you're ready to try it on your own, now." He told him, finally. The others had seemingly mastered the move and were observing the interaction with interest. Lloyd gave him an anxious look.
"A-re you sure? I don't wanna end up with another black eye…"
"I believe in you, kid. It's like the song said earlier, just keep dancing through. Go for it." The green ninja bit his lip, silent for a moment. He took a deep breath, and thrust himself into executing the motions that made up the move. And… for once, he didn't feel like the world's most klutzy human.
"Hey… I didn't fall… I didn't fall!" He declared excitedly.
"Told ya! You just needed a bit of practice!" Cole commented with a grin.
"That was great, Lloyd!" Nya told him, stepping over to ruffle his hair.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be." Admitted Kai.
"Yeah, maybe we should always have dancing as part of our training." Jay agreed.
"Er… Now… Is that really necessary?" The ninja of fire shot back.
"Balance is an important part of being a ninja." Observed Zane, trying to keep the peace.
"I… Could we maybe try this again tomorrow?" Lloyd asked Cole.
"If you want to. It's gonna take a little more time to get your coordination back completely, anyways. I think we've had enough for today, though. Let's go see if we can find some cookies or something. You've earned it!"
"Thanks, guys. For being willing to do stuff like this with me. And for being so patient. I really appreciate it…"
"Anything for you, green bean." His adoptive sister assured him, "C'mon. I think cookies sound great."
Thank you to all my readers! You guys are fantastic. I hope you enjoyed the latest installment in Of Milk and Cookies! Please feel free to drop a review if you have suggestions or feedback on this chapter. Also, I definitely do not own Wicked, otherwise I would not be a poor college student… Have a fantastic weekend!
~GwenBrightly