It was getting dark when Lloyd started to head home. His friends had kept him training for as long as they could. Getting his nighttime flying license was one of the things Lloyd was most looking forward to when he advanced to his new class. Finally, not having to be grounded all night, to be able to glide through a star-filled sky. Lloyd was sure he was ready now even without the official classes and license, but the adults were very strict about getting the license first.
Lloyd was heading up the staircase that led to the back of the school when he spotted a figure waiting for him at the top. Morro. Great. What were the chances his cousin was here to wish him a good race?
"Hey, Morro," Lloyd greeted cheerily, not letting the older boy get to him.
Morro glared down at him for about five long seconds before finally saying, "Your little friends got you to actually practice for once, huh? I'd almost think you were scared."
Lloyd withheld his groan. Why was Morro like this? Lloyd swore they'd gotten along fine when they were little. He didn't know what had changed, why his cousin had suddenly started disliking him.
Morro wasn't Lloyd's cousin by blood, Lloyd's uncle Wu had adopted the boy when Morro was six. His parents had died from the same sickness that had killed Zelda's mom and Cole's mom. The plague had torn through Skyloft, killing many people. It was the most horrific event to happen in over a hundred years. The adults were still haunted by it. Lloyd didn't remember anything from that time, he'd been too little.
"Can we not do this, Morro?" Lloyd sighed. "The Wing Ceremony's supposed to be fun."
"No," Morro snapped. "it's supposed to be a competition."
"Just don't make this awful for Wu," Lloyd begged, knowing that asking for much more was a lost cause. Morro was fighting with Wu a lot lately, but Lloyd was pretty sure the boy didn't want his adoptive dad to be sad. Like, Morro was mad at Wu for some reason, but he didn't want him to be miserable and he still wanted Wu's approval. Lloyd didn't really understand it.
"What does that even mean?" Morro scowled, green eyes blazing. "You think Wu won't be happy when I win?"
"You already know what I mean," Lloyd said, patience running thin. "don't pretend you don't. I really don't understand what you're trying to do. You could have taken your test early and advanced to the next class a year ago. You would have passed, you're a great student and one of the best fliers in the academy. Everyone would have praised you for passing early and it would have all been fine and great, but no, you had to drag it out. And for what? If you wanted to race me, I'll race you anytime, you didn't need to do this to yourself. You're only holding yourself back." It was so frustrating. His cousin was so talented but just refused to appreciate it.
"Don't patronize me," Morro bristled, fists clenching. "And of course I could've passed earlier, but someone had to teach you a lesson, Garmadon."
"Why do you say it like that?" Lloyd questioned, annoyance finally leaking into his voice. "We have the same last name." No one really called Wu by his last name, it was too confusing to have two Instructor Garmadons in the school, but it was still his last name. The one Morro had inherited when he'd been adopted.
"Wu didn't taint the name by going to Chen like your dad did," Morro hissed.
"What?!" Lloyd startled, thrown by the accusation. Then he got defensive. "That was ages ago. He was young, he made a mistake. He's already made up for all that."
Chen's weird cult lived out in the Dark Cloud Isles. Lloyd wasn't entirely sure what they did out there, his dad didn't like talking about it, but everyone knew they were bad. Anytime one of them left the shrouded islands they caused trouble for the people of Skyloft. And there were all sorts of creepy stories about dark magic, strange rituals, and other stuff they did. Lloyd had even once heard that they ate the Loftwings of their enemies- something so horrific it made Lloyd's stomach turn at the mere thought.
"That they even let him become headmaster after that is insane," Morro argued. Lloyd had to bite his tongue from telling his cousin a lot of people believed Morro might one day go join the cult himself. His behavioral issues weren't a secret. "Wu should have been given the job instead. Garmadon shouldn't even be teaching."
"Is that what you're so pissed about?" Lloyd asked, starting to get genuinely confused by his cousin's rant.
"No!" Morro half shouted, getting so close to Lloyd's face that his long black hair brushed against Lloyd's skin. "My problem has always been you! Goddesses, you are so-!" Morro took a deep breath. "I'm wasting my time trying to get it through your thick skull. Once you lose tomorrow, you'll realize how stupid you really are."
Lloyd watched, bewildered, as Morro stormed off towards the academy.
Would letting Morro win fix- anything?
No, he decided. Probably not. Rewarding bad behavior never helped anything. And Morro would know if he was holding back. His cousin would accept the praise from the public, but still be furious that Lloyd was 'babying' him. He'd accuse Lloyd of thinking he was weak or something.
There was nothing Lloyd could do. Only hope his cousin worked through… whatever it was he was going through himself. Hopefully before he ended up doing something he really, really regretted.
The Wing Ceremony was going to create a whole lot of drama. He just hoped once it was over that everything would settle quickly.