Suddenly, hands grabbed him. He was hoisted to his feet by the shoulders. One of them shot a jolt of pain down his arm, and he groaned in protest against the pressure against his wounds. Despite the pain, though, the hands were gentle. Wearily, he looked up to see a woman and one of the dog-people—this one being a golden retriever—holding him up carefully, looking at him with astonishment. Looking toward the trees, he saw that the entire group of Pawreles rebels had ventured out of cover, surrounding the fallen and burning airship. Out of the crowd, Kaeden and Jukeni pushed themselves forward and rushed toward Kai. They stopped in front of him, wearing identical expressions of shock. “You’re alive! And barely hurt!” Jukeni launched himself into Kai in a happy hug. Kai grunted in response. Kaeden gave Kai a long look, then raised his head to gaze at the massive ship, whose giant balloon was in blazes. “You know, I’m pretty glad now that we found you in those woods,” he remarked calmly.
* * *
Despite the massive wreck and the flaming balloon, the Pawrelesers were able to get into the fallen airship and retrieve dozens of crates carrying weapons, armor, and bags of something that made Kai think of gun powder. The fire eventually went out by itself, though singeing a few trees and the grass around it in the process, and the people threw a few buckets of water on the wrinkled black mess of ashes and twisted metal that once was the massive balloon. The cargo was loaded onto several horse-drawn carts and taken away quickly.
Four Pingous survivors were discovered among the wreck, most harboring burns. They were captured and cuffed together, although they did not seem very intent on escape, as their injuries were painful. Rantan ordered their delivery to the base as well, so that Tinny Bird would decide what to do with them. All throughout this, Kai sat away from it on the sidelines. He would have liked to help, despite the pain throbbing up and down his body, but Rantan ordered him to sit still and rest. “You’ve got some burns up your arm and neck,” he said, gesturing to Kai’s side. “We have people back at base who can take care of that. Just sit tight for now.” “I hate sitting tight,” Kai muttered as he eased himself to seat upon the grass, several yards away from the smoldering wreckage. A wry grin crawled up Rantan’s lightly-whiskered face. “We’ve noticed. You’re really something, kid.” After a pause, he added. “The rebellion owes you for what you did today. This could really change things. Thanks.” Without waiting for a reply, he walked away. The team of rebels returned to the ancient castle victorious that evening. Kai was immediately taken to the hospital wing, along with the other wounded soldiers. There a couple of women treated his burns, cuts, and scratches with a cool, soothing ointment that smelled sweet. Typically, Kai would have made an effort to catch the young ladies’ attention, what with them rubbing that ointment up and down his burns on his body. This time, however, the pain outdid his want for attention. The only thing he kept his mind on was gritting his teeth so that he wouldn’t grunt from the burning sensation making the side of his body ache. The nurses had him lie down and keep still in a cot for a while, which was just fine with him.
The ointment turned out to be some pretty effective stuff, because a couple of hours later, Kai walked out of the hospital wing by himself feeling nearly good as new. In his absence, the Pawrelesers were celebrating their victory. Tables had been dragged out into the courtyard, since the evening was warm and clear, and food and drinks were brought out to be shared among the people. Flaming torches lit up the courtyard. Someone had brought out a small, funny-looking musical instrument similar to a guitar—which Kai later discovered to be called a “lute”—and began filling the evening air with foreign, but cheerful, music. Everyone was talking and laughing happily together. Kai noticed a good number of them had removed their camouflaged cloaks, as everyone was more relaxed and happier. A few people cheered when they saw him walking out of the castle. Kaeden and Jukeni soon found Kai and brought him to their table, slapping him on the back and talking jubilantly. Even Kaeden was excited. “Everyone can’t stop talking about you! You’re a hero!” he exclaimed over the noise. Kai realized a good many faces were turned toward him, and this time with more looks of admiration and approval. Feeling a flush of pride, he granted a few nods and broad smiles at the spectators. Despite the attention, though, the first thing he wanted was some food. Thankfully, steaming dishes of roasted turkey doused in thick, luscious sauces were delivered to him, as well as a hot soup filled with chunky vegetables and sweet-smelling spices. None of the foods were familiar to Kai, but at the time, he didn’t care one bit. He scarfed down everything, up to the point Jukeni had to warn him to go easy on the kimbachi juice. Sometime during the celebration, Kai paused in eating long enough to catch sight of Tinny Bird’s short, stout figure making his way through the crowd, occasionally smiling and sharing a word with a person or two at a time. The man did not seem to have any point to where he was going; he looked simply happy and idle, which was quite a different mood from when Kai had first met him.
Swallowing the hunk of meat he’d been chewing, Kai leaned over to Jukeni and muttered, “So… Tinny Bird. What’s his deal?” Jukeni gave Kai a querying look and asked with his mouth full, “Wha’ ‘o ‘ou h’ean?” “I mean…” Kai shrugged, then gestured with his fork. “I guess I can see why he’s leader—tough and all that—but, if this Bird guy is leader, why doesn’t he join you all on your missions? Or was this just a one-time thing?” Jukeni, shaking his head, gulped down his food and replied with a swig of strawberry-colored juice, “He used to lead all our missions, all the time. Believe me, back in the day, this guy was—you know—the guy. He could kick your butt before you even knew he was there. “But a few of the more recent missions gave him some pretty bad injuries that he’ll never recover from. See?” He pointed through the crowd at Bird. “You can’t really tell sometimes, but he often walks with a limp. That’s just one of the things that makes it hard for him to fight anymore.” “Like his hand?” Kai muttered back. Jukeni chuckled, “Oh no, he’s had one hand since he was a kid. But back then, what he used for a hook was made out of an old tin can he put together himself.” He leaned closer in a low mutter, saying in a theatric voice, “Legend says, when he was barely fourteen years old, he ended three men with that tin hook of his. It made him one of the most feared warriors in all the Western lands. His opponents would mock him with the name ‘Tinny’, after his tiny little hook, but that name grew to become a feared one the more men he defeated in combat and in assassinations.” “Ohh, cut it out with the drama, Jukeni,” Kaeden leaned over Kai and gave Jukeni a mildly rebuking slap over his head with the palm of his hand-paw. “But, he’s right, Kai. That’s how he got the name ‘Tinny’. As for ‘Bird’,” Kaeden gestured over to one of the courtyard walls. “See that tapestry there, the one with the red bird shape on it?”
Kai peered through the crowd, and caught sight of a long, wide piece of fabric hanging upon one of the moss-stained walls. As Kaeden said, there was a shape of a bird in flight colored in red, with a white background. Other than that, there were no other designs of the tapestry. “Looks newer than anything else in the castle,” he commented. “It is, because it’s one we made ourselves,” Kaeden explained. “That’s the symbol of the rebellion. Our leader named himself after the Red Bird. Maybe he was trying to escape the name that came from his tin hook, even though he got a proper one years ago. But,” he shrugged, with a wry smile crawling up his muzzle, “people simply started calling him ‘Tinny Bird’ instead, even his own men. He probably doesn’t care, but we make a point in not using that name too often in front of him.” Kai nodded, mentally shrugging to himself. The story and meaning behind the rebels’ leader’s name was mildly interesting, to say the least, although since it had very little to do with him personally or getting back to the Ninjago, Kai wasn’t overly fascinated by the tale. Though, he could tell by their admiring glances that Kaeden and Jukeni looked up to the small man they followed as leader, as no doubt did the rest of the members of the rebellion. It was barely five minutes after this conversation that a new, feminine voice broke in behind them. “Hello, Kaeden.” Abruptly, Kaeden stiffened and stopped chewing. He turned around and faced the speaker. “H— hi.” Kai forced himself to stop eating once more to twist around in his chair and look at the new speaker. To his interest, one of the dog-people stood there. Curious about this strange race of people, Kai scanned the stranger. This one resembled a golden retriever, with long, pale blond fur spilling over the collar of its dark blue tunic. Black leggings fit upon the canine hind legs, and it walked barefoot—or bare-pawed?—on the ground. A long, shaggy tail protruded behind it. Though the head and face were very much like that of a dog, like Kaeden’s, something humanoid in both its mouth and its eyes made its gaze glimmer with intelligence.
“It’s been a while,” the feminine voice spoke again, and Kai realized that this dog-person was a girl. Her mouth was quirked in a small smile. “Uhh— yes. Yes, it has,” Kaeden stammered. “It’s good to see you, Cällyn.” “Hi, Cällyn,” Jukeni chimed in. “Here to meet our pal Kai?” He gave Kai a slap on the shoulder saying this. Cällyn’s chocolate-brown eyes flitted to Kai, and she seemed to notice him for the first time. “Oh— right, of course. The Fire Mage.” With an awkward smile, she gave him a nod and spoke in a more formal tone, “By’lännie, Fire Mage. Sorry for not seeing you there— I mean, ah… you fought well today.” She seemed embarrassed. Kai responded with a smile. “Thanks. Are you one of the warriors here?” “Yes.” Cällyn’s gaze settled back on Kaeden. Kai glanced at Jukeni, and realized that his human friend was grinning mischievously at him. He arched his eyebrows significantly at Kai. Perplexed, Kai looked back at Kaeden and his friend Cällyn. Then, he grinned to himself. The two dog-people were looking at each other embarrassedly, with frequent glances in between at obscure locations. Both of their ears—his tall and pointed, hers wide and floppy—were pricked forward with obvious interest, but neither one of them seemed confident enough to say something first. Cällyn stood before them gently wringing her hand-paws together. Kaeden sat on the bench awkwardly, gazing up at her while gripping his drink. If it weren’t for all the fur, Kai was sure he could have seen both of them blushing. Kai exchanged a look with Jukeni, then both of them got up from the table. “Well, we’ll leave you two for now,” Kai announced casually. “I just remembered that… uh, that Tinny Bird wants a report from me, to see how I’m doing after that whole burning-airship incident.” “Yeah, and— and Kai needs me to go with him,” Jukeni added unconvincingly. Before either Kaeden or Cällyn could protest, the two boys left them. As they quickly walked away, Kai snorted, “Smooth.”
Jukeni and Kai went to get some extra drinks at another table, where the thick of the crowd was. Jukeni began asking Kai about the details of his attack on the Pingous airship, and what his powers allowed him to do, such as “the part where you made the magic tornado fly you onto the ship”. Kai obliged him, happy to go over his most recent success. As he told his story, he took note of several people watching and listening to him as they passed by, though few of them stopped to talk. There was definitely more respect and admiration directed at him now, to say the least. One person in particular seemed to be paying him special attention: a young woman assisting in serving food and drinks, who kept making eye contact with him. Whenever their eyes met, she’d give him a lovely smile. Flattered, he’d smile back and wink every once in a while. After going back and forth like this for several minutes, the girl meandered over to him. Unlike the warriors, she wore a simple, long brown skirt with a white top tucked into it. The top’s sleeves were pulled so that her bare shoulders were peeking out. Over this was a wide band of red, blue, and green colors wrapped around her waist. Her dark brown hair fell in loose waves around her heart-shaped face, and her equally dark eyes glimmered attractively at him. Smiling, Kai greeted her. “Hey there.” A broad smile broke over the girl’s full lips, but she ducked shyly—seemingly, anyway. “By’lännie, Fire Mage.” “You can call me Kai,” he responded, still grinning. Beside him, Jukeni shot him a look. The girl giggled. “All right… Kai.” She said his name like it was the most exciting and attractive name anyone could have. “And you are…?” he prompted. “Yarida,” she replied coyly. She stepped closer to him, enough so that he could smell perfume. “Everyone’s talking about what you did today. You must be a really powerful mage to be able to fly and shoot fire like that.” “Ahh, it’s nothing,” Kai responded loftily, shrugging casually at her. “I just do what I can to, you know, save the day. Fight the bad guys. Protect the beautiful maidens.”
“Um, I was there, too,” Jukeni attempted to chime in. “And you got out of there just in the nick of time!” she continued to coo. “When they brought you in, I— I was worried that you wouldn’t make it.” “It’ll take more than a few flames to defeat me. But—you were worried about me?” Kai tilted his head, feigning surprise. “Of course.” Discreetly, her arm curled around his. “It would be just horrible to lose such a handsome— I mean, heroic guy like you.” “There were, like, fifty other guys out there,” Jukeni muttered. Kai ignored him. “Where I come from,” he addressed Yarida smoothly, “being a hero is a duty. I do stuff like that every day.” “That’s amazing,” she said, pressing herself against him. Her eyelashes fluttered flirtatiously. “What kind of place do you come from where you do stuff like that every day?” “I—” Kai stiffened. Ninjago. For just a few seconds, he’d forgotten about Ninjago. He felt Yarida’s figure pressing warmly against his side. Skylor. He’d forgotten about Skylor. Suddenly he tore himself away from Yarida’s grasp. “I— I just remembered,” he stammered, mouth oddly dry. “There’s something… I need to do. Like, right now. Um…” he backed away. “Sorry. I’ll be back.” Jukeni began to say something, and Yarida was looking after him with an expression of dismay, but Kai tore himself away from them. He took off at a slow run, doing through the crowd and heading into the shadows of the castle. Without any idea of where he was going, he followed an empty stone passage for a minute before seeing a flight of stairs. There were no torches, so he lit his hand on fire and held it up to light the way as he darted upstairs. The sounds of the party faded. He was left with nothing but the echo of his boots padding upon stone and the soft hiss of the flames on his hand.
The tower Kai was climbing had been nearly destroyed years ago; the entire top of it was broken clean off, with nothing but bricks and empty space to meet the stairs. Kai put out the fire—enveloping him in the cool shadow of night—and leapt atop the broken edge of the tower. From there he used Airjitzu to fly off and onto the stronger rooftop close by. Stone tiles, old with chipped ends and mold, clinked quietly together beneath his feet. There Kai sat down; he curled his arms around his folded legs and rested his chin upon his knees as he gazed out onto the moonlight countryside of Pawreles. It felt daunting to realize that in all the excitement, Kai had forgotten about Ninjago; his home, his friends, and his duties as a ninja. For a few hours down there, he’d felt content to celebrate with the Pawrelesers—to find joy in his victory in another world, to bask in the awe of these people who were not his own, and to forge new connections in a realm he didn’t belong in. Pawreles was beginning to hold temptations for him, he realized. Now Kai was no longer simply afraid of losing Ninjago; losing his home, his friends, his family, and everything that made that realm the place he loved. Now he was afraid of losing himself.
Eagle Talon had spent the entire day working: from dawn to dusk, he was determined to find some task or another to occupy himself with, so that his mind would have little chance to fester over the most recent nightmare. From volunteering for the early dawn patrol around the eastern end of the Moon Tribe’s territory, to joining a hunting team searching for snow hares in the northern peaks, and even to assisting the younger students in cleaning out the elders’ den and nursery caves. He ate only enough to no longer feel hungry, since the time it took to sit and chew his food let his mind wander, which was precisely what he didn’t want. Idle conversation with a tribe-mate helped every once in a while, but his fellow cats seemed to sense the dark cloud hovering over his mind, and he was left alone for the most part—which was fine by him. Exhausted to the point his mind felt fuzzy, sore and aching from the end of his nose to the tips of his dark-striped tails, Eagle Talon was inwardly pleased that he’d done such an excellent job tiring himself out all day. When he headed into the sleeping den that night—after staying up late to drag old bedding and bones outside and tossed them away—he felt confident that he would have no problem falling asleep tonight. That is, until he actually curled up in his nest. Anxiety made his stomach turn. He felt tired, but not sleepy. Restlessness made him toss and turn. It was the age-old curse of one meeting the day’s worth of fears in the shadow of bedtime after having what felt like a successful day. It was absurd; he was utterly exhausted and he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, so there was no reason for him to not fall asleep right this instant! Yet on the feeling came: it kept his heart beating at a semi-quick rate and his eyes open, roving about the dark. It got to the point where Talon’s body would involuntarily convulse with fear-induced shudders and he’d unsheathe his claws, expecting a life-like, nightmarish vision to come slinking out of the ink-black corners of the cavern. At least thirty other cats were sleeping with him, but never once had he felt so alone.
Suddenly, hands grabbed him. He was hoisted to his feet by the shoulders. One of them shot a jolt of pain down his arm, and he groaned in protest against the pressure against his wounds. Despite the pain, though, the hands were gentle. Wearily, he looked up to see a woman and one of the dog-people—this one being a golden retriever—holding him up carefully, looking at him with astonishment. Looking toward the trees, he saw that the entire group of Pawreles rebels had ventured out of cover, surrounding the fallen and burning airship. Out of the crowd, Kaeden and Jukeni pushed themselves forward and rushed toward Kai. They stopped in front of him, wearing identical expressions of shock. “You’re alive! And barely hurt!” Jukeni launched himself into Kai in a happy hug. Kai grunted in response. Kaeden gave Kai a long look, then raised his head to gaze at the massive ship, whose giant balloon was in blazes. “You know, I’m pretty glad now that we found you in those woods,” he remarked calmly.
* * *
Despite the massive wreck and the flaming balloon, the Pawrelesers were able to get into the fallen airship and retrieve dozens of crates carrying weapons, armor, and bags of something that made Kai think of gun powder. The fire eventually went out by itself, though singeing a few trees and the grass around it in the process, and the people threw a few buckets of water on the wrinkled black mess of ashes and twisted metal that once was the massive balloon. The cargo was loaded onto several horse-drawn carts and taken away quickly.
O-O
That. Was. EPIC!!! Reading this whole airship take down was like watching a MOVIE!!! ୧⍢⃝୨
Suddenly, hands grabbed him. He was hoisted to his feet by the shoulders. One of them shot a jolt of pain down his arm, and he groaned in protest against the pressure against his wounds. Despite the pain, though, the hands were gentle. Wearily, he looked up to see a woman and one of the dog-people—this one being a golden retriever—holding him up carefully, looking at him with astonishment. Looking toward the trees, he saw that the entire group of Pawreles rebels had ventured out of cover, surrounding the fallen and burning airship. Out of the crowd, Kaeden and Jukeni pushed themselves forward and rushed toward Kai. They stopped in front of him, wearing identical expressions of shock. “You’re alive! And barely hurt!” Jukeni launched himself into Kai in a happy hug. Kai grunted in response. Kaeden gave Kai a long look, then raised his head to gaze at the massive ship, whose giant balloon was in blazes. “You know, I’m pretty glad now that we found you in those woods,” he remarked calmly.
* * *
Despite the massive wreck and the flaming balloon, the Pawrelesers were able to get into the fallen airship and retrieve dozens of crates carrying weapons, armor, and bags of something that made Kai think of gun powder. The fire eventually went out by itself, though singeing a few trees and the grass around it in the process, and the people threw a few buckets of water on the wrinkled black mess of ashes and twisted metal that once was the massive balloon. The cargo was loaded onto several horse-drawn carts and taken away quickly.
O-O
That. Was. EPIC!!! Reading this whole airship take down was like watching a MOVIE!!! ୧⍢⃝୨
@w@ THANK YOU!!! I'm so glad to hear that, I was hoping to capture the action well--! (^w^) Thank yooooooouuuuu
Hours passed like this. He had no idea how many it was before he finally decided enough was enough. This is ridiculous, he thought to himself, sitting up. I won’t get any sleep like this, expecting another nightmare the second I close my eyes. Soundlessly, Talon crept past his tribe-mates, out of the sleeping den, and through the tunnels that led him into the main caverns. From there he padded down the entrance tunnel. A guard—Mist Rise, he noted—was taking the night shift, sitting guard at the opening of the tunnel and keeping watch over the still mountainside. The larger cat’s ears pricked forward curiously when Talon emerged from the tunnel, but he offered no response when Talon muttered, “Just taking a walk.” He only nodded and watched as Eagle Talon padded away, down the rocky hillside. The mountains were somewhat quiet in general, but they were utterly lifeless at night. Shadows enveloped Eagle Talon’s lithe bakeneko figure as he walked. He made his way down the mountainside quietly, disturbing few pebbles. He looked up at the starlit sky, and he wondered if dead cats he loved were really watching him all the way up there. He wondered what they might be thinking of him now. Finally he reached his destination: a variety of semi-large stones set up in an irregular pattern marked the Moon Tribe’s graveyard. It was kept in the shelter of a large hillside that shielded the area from the worst of exposure, in the case that a hungry predator might come prowling by. Aside from the many stones that stretched out for yards, there were no signs to mark the graveyard. The Moon Tribe cats always detected this place by scent—the scent of the mourning, some would say.
Eagle Talon made his way through the rows of graves. They were all small, since every Moon Tribe cat was buried in their bakeneko form, unless they were pure nekomata. Even if a cat passed away in their human body, it would naturally revert to its feline form. The crooked stones marking each one stuck up from the ground like awkwardly-grown gray vegetables, now dark shadows standing out in the pale ground. He sniffed the air, in case any predators were nearby, but he could scent naught but the chilly night air. Content the territory was safe, he sought out one grave in particular. It didn’t take long to find it. He’d visited this grave time and time again, typically to place a flower at the foot of the squarish stone jutting up from the dusty ground. Finding the gravestone now, Eagle Talon regretted not taking the time to pick one of the snowdrops that grew beside the stream so that he could place it here. He didn’t know why he did that; it just felt right. Marks carved into the rock stood out in the silver tongue of moonlight that fell upon the grave. They read the name of the dead cat in the ancient language, carved by one of the Seven Sorcerers at the funeral; that was tradition. Sorcerers were the only cats in the tribe allowed to learn how to read and write, and thus it was their duty, in this case, to write the names of the dead on the gravestones. Talon remembered it was Broken Fang who carved the name of this one. Black Blood had wanted to do it, but she had been told she was too young for it at the time… Talon collapsed at the foot of the grave, suddenly unable to find the strength to stand any longer. The invisible weight he could feel was becoming too much to bear. Weakly, he whispered to the body buried beneath the soil he lay upon. “Oh, Dove Stream…” His heart gave a sharp throb of pain as her name fell off his tongue. His voice trailed off for a second. Then he forced himself to continue, murmuring quietly into the darkness. “Dove Stream, help me. I can’t sleep. My dreams are nightmares. I feel I did the right thing, but I’m falling apart. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe if I sleep here… I’ll just…”
A sob broke from his throat. He buried his face into his paws, feeling himself tremble. “I can’t sleep. Please— please, help me. I need you back. I’m so tired of doing this alone. Please come back.” He inched closer to the gravestone and pressed the tip of his nose into the cool stone. He imagined he was lying next to Dove Stream, breathing in her scent… “I need you. I love you. Please help me.” There was no response. No sound. No movement. There was only the still shadows that closed in, cruelly reminding him just how alone he was. No one’s there. No one’s listening. No one cares. Talon’s body shuddered with a suppressed sob. He curled up into a ball and shut his eyes tightly, pressing against the cold gravestone. A breeze howled softly above him, reminding him of a song of a mourning lover. The howl of wind entered his sleep. Eagle Talon found himself standing on a narrow mountaintop—the same one where he’d murdered Cole in the last nightmare. The night sky above him was covered with angry-looking clouds, and the slight breeze from the graveyard had become a low, menacing whistle that pierced him coldly. Bristling, he shivered and looked around. A pale shape moved into view a few yards away, by the edge of the precipice. Talon stiffened and peered through the darkness. He felt his heart skip a beat. Liana emerged from the shadows. Talon felt a jolt of amazement to see that while her face still bore those signature scars, her eyes were no longer gray and cloudy with blindness; they were clear and wide with sight, the irises glittering bright blue. Her hair was down and flying in the cold wind, but unlike the previous nightmare, she was wearing the purple gi similar to that of the ninja’s. Dread coiled up inside Talon. He dug his claws into the ground. No. Not tonight. Not another one. He gritted his teeth. I’m not going to hurt another one. Liana’s gaze roved over the rocky mountaintop. She froze in her tracks when her blue eyes found Eagle Talon. For several moments, neither one said anything. They just stared at one another. “You.” Liana’s voice broke the silence like a stone dropping in water.
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