Chapter 2-Brumation

Lloyd awoke to the sound of birdsong. He yawned wide enough that his jaw cracked and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was dawn, even though he had only gone to bed a few hours prior his internal clock still got him up at the same time every day.

He turned to look at Harumi, who was still unconscious next to him. He gave her a quick once-over while he was sitting up, seeing that her IV’s had stayed put and her bandages were still clean. He would need to make time to change them later, though. He stretched his arms up over his head until his back cracked, his shoulders were still killing him, and he somehow felt more tired than he was when he went to sleep. But as much as he wanted to get back under the covers, he could smell breakfast cooking from down the hall, if he didn't show up the others might come looking for him.

The wooden flooring was cold under Lloyd's feet as he got out of bed, he made sure to gently pull the covers back up so Harumi was warm. He knew how cold it could get on top of this mountain, even during the day. He quietly walked out the door and closed it behind him, securing it with the magnetic lock hidden in the frame.

Lloyd padded down the hall to the kitchen, the smell of eggs and sausages making his mouth water, as soon as they got back from the first realm Zane had been dead set on packing as much protein into their meals as they could so everyone could regain the muscle they had all lost during those difficult months. And Lloyd would never complain about extra meat.

Lloyd stepped through the door and into the kitchen, where Kai and Zane had already made themselves comfortable, with Kai sitting at the kitchen island while Zane minded the multiple pans full of sausage he had on the stove, the grease popping loudly. There were already two large plates set out, one with eggs and the other held stacks of pancakes, with small bowls full of various toppings laid out next to it, Lloyd all but dove into his chair.

“Someone's excited this morning” Kai chuckled as Lloyd bounced in his chair as he waited for the sausages to be ready. Lloyd swiped at him playfully.

“Shut up, you would be excited for a good breakfast too if you had to live off scraps for as long as I did” Lloyd regretted saying that the instant the words left his mouth, seeing the way Zanes shoulders had stiffened at the mention of Lloyd's time without them.

Kai swallowed and looked away, the whole room suddenly blanketed in awkward tension, Lloyd silently cursed his big mouth. He should have known it was still too soon to be joking about that, ugh, he should just go-

The tension in the air snapped like thread as Cole, Nya and Jay came in and sat themselves down, carrying their own conversion that Kai was quick to jump in on, something about grappling hooks? Either way Lloyd was grateful for the change in topic. Zane set down a large plate of sausages and sat down to join them.

Lloyd filled his plate quickly, grabbing mostly eggs and sausage, he was serious about needing that protein! But he did grab some pancakes and topped them with chocolate chips and banana slices with a drizzle of maple syrup. He ate quickly, practically inhaling his food, almost crying at how good it tasted. Skylor was an excellent chef, don't get him wrong, but even if she wasn't stuck using whatever the resistance could scavenge, she still wouldn't hold a candle to Zane, not to Lloyd anyway.

Lloyd was so caught up in his eating that he didn’t even notice that Nya was trying to get his attention until he felt her hand wrap around his wrist. “Lloyd” she tugged his arm closer to her, her brow pinched with worry. “What happened to your fingers?”

Lloyd felt a ball of ice form in the pit of his gut, shit , the skin around his cracked nails was still raw from digging through the rubble, he hadn’t even noticed the stinging pain until now because he was so tired. He needed to say something, fast.

“Uh-”

“We should get this patched up” She sat up, pulling Lloyd along with her, his wrist still caught in her gentle grip. “C’mon, I was gonna go to the med-bay any-ways” 

“But, breakfast-!”

“Will still be here when we get back” Nya replied coolly. Bidding the others a quick goodbye as she excused the two of them.

~🩸~

Lloyd let Nya guide him by the hand to the med-bay, his throat tightening briefly as they passed by his room, terrified for a moment that somehow, someway, everything would come crashing down. But nothing happened, they quietly continued down the corridor and Lloyd let himself relax slightly, passing through the curtains to the med-bay (which Lloyd was proud to note looked pristine ) and sitting down on a chair Nya had pulled out for him.

He squirmed slightly as Nya examined his fingers more closely, beads of blood welling up at the cuticle of his nail. Nya tutted slightly. “Lloyd… have you been picking at your fingers again?”

Lloyd blinked in confusion, his brain stalling for a moment until he remembered, Back in the resistance he had picked up a bad habit of picking the skin around his nails, often to the point that they bled. He wasn't trying to hurt himself on purpose or anything! It was just that since he was his father’s Garmadon’s main target, he had to stay cooped up in whatever base they were currently occupying and he couldn’t run off all his nervous energy like he normally did and things just… happened. 

He had tried to hide it at first, but eventually he got an infection and had to tell Nya. And the way she looked at him sometimes afterwards, all quiet and sad and guilty like he was doing this because she had failed him somehow still made bile rise in his throat, that was the look she had now as she stared at his hands in hers, her thumbs rubbing over his knuckles in a soothing gesture. Her brow furrowed and her lips quirked into a half-frown, her eyes glossed over as she probably chastised herself in her head for not noticing sooner. 

“Hey” Lloyd said flatly, lightly kicking at her shin. “Quit that”

Nya looked up at him in surprise. “Quit what?”

“Trying to find a way to make this your fault”

Nya looked away, flustered at being called out. “... And how’d you figure that out?” She grumbled.

Lloyd smiled. “You’re my sister, Nee, I know all your tells” He burst out laughing as she playfully punched his shoulder in response. Despite still being exhausted, Lloyd felt more energised than he had in months, the playful banter with his sister soothing him like a cool salve on his soul.

FSM, he missed this, just being able to sit and joke with his family without the pressure of saving the world hanging over their necks. He almost wanted to hope that destiny would be kind enough to give them a break, just a few months where they weren't expected to risk their lives on the regular, but he had learned better than that a long time ago.

~🩸~

The sun continued its lazy path across the sky as the Ninja went about their day. Cleaning, training and generally just taking the time to reacquaint themselves with their home after being away so long, each of them slowly coming out of ‘survival mode’ and letting themselves relax. 

All except one.

Lloyd tapped his foot anxiously as he watched Jay and Zane spar. His eyes flitted over to one particular section of the courtyard that was closest to his bedroom. The smooth walls almost seemed to taunt him, knowing what lay behind them. Lloyd had quickly checked Harumi over again as he got changed into his training clothes, but still hadn’t found the time to actually change her bandages. And he was getting worried, well, more worried about her than he normally was, anyway.

Zane yelped as Jay managed to flip him onto the ground and pin him. And Lloyd sighed in relief when Master Wu announced that training was over for the day. This was their first day of training since everything, and Master Wu had been insistent on giving them half days, with them all still recovering and Master Wu still adjusting to his younger-but-still-looks-the-same-as-it-did-before body. Lloyd made to leave, but was stopped by the familiar hollow ‘thunk’ of dried bamboo on stone.

“Nephew” Wu greeted. “May we talk for a moment?”

Lloyd swallowed. “Sure”

Lloyd followed his uncle as he led them both to the small library within the monastery, ancient scrolls and books lined the shelved walls, and floor cushions were piled in the corners and circled a low table in the centre. Wu sat and gestured for Lloyd to do the same.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, Lloyd softly drumming his fingers on the table as he waited for his uncle to speak. Wu folded his arms on the table. “Lloyd, tell me…how are you feeling?” 

A beat. “...alright I guess”

Wu stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Just alright?”

Lloyd swallowed, sweat beading on his brow, why did he feel like this conversation was leading to something? “I guess I’ve been a bit drained lately”

“Ah, understandable Nephew, you have been through much in these past few months” He reached across the table and placed his hand over Lloyd's. “I am sorry I and the other Ninja could not be here to aid you”

Lloyd sucked on his teeth. “You don’t need to be sorry, Uncle, it was out of your control, plus, Kai’s told me you guys had your own share of troubles in the First Realm”

Wu chuckled. “oh?”

Lloyd smirked. “Yeah, something about you crushing on some sort of bad-ass dragon hunter?”

His uncle coughed into his fist and tilted his head so the brim of his hat covered his face. Lloyd could still see the faint flush dusting his cheeks though. Soon Lloyd started to chuckle to himself, quickly turning into a full blown laugh, Wu eventually joining him.

The two of them laughed together for a time, until eventually their laughs sputtered into silence.

“Um, master Wu, not that it hasn't been good just talking with you again, but is there a… What I mean to say is, why exactly did you want to see me?” 

Wu sighed. “I see these months of hardship have sharpened your observational skills, nephew. Fine, won’t beat around the bush any longer than i have, i wanted to talk with you about your father”

It was as if all the warmth of the room was sucked out in an instant. “What about him?” Lloyd couldn’t keep the tremble out of his voice if he tried.

His uncle turned to look out the window. “What he said as he was being taken to Kryptarium, about ‘Them’ coming, I have reason to believe that it was not an empty bluster.”

“When I was meditating in the night, I felt a dark presence. It was far away, but ever since I’ve felt it creeping steadily closer, and more disturbing still, i found this presence… Familiar, in some way”

Lloyd blanched. “...The Overlord?”

Wu shook his head. “No, this feels different, The Overlord felt like a tidal wave of hatred, this feels akin to an encroaching swarm of ravenous locusts”

“So what do you think we should do?”

“For now there is nothing to be done except prepare, I have already contacted Pixal and Cyrus Borg, and they have expedited the repairs of the bounty, And you and the other ninja are already training as much as you can, until we know what kind of enemy we are facing, there is not much we can do in the way of specifics”

Lloyd nodded solemnly. “You can count on us, Uncle Wu”

“I know, now go, go! I sense there is much you need to attend to”

Lloyd nodded again and left.

~🩸~

The door slid shut silently behind him and locked with a subtle ‘click’. And Lloyd sighed in relief, his arms laden with a bounty of bandages, wound cleaners and bruise ointment. He crept over to the bed where Harumi still lay sleeping, and Lloyd’s heart leapt up into his throat when he noticed that she had shifted slightly under the covers, not much, her head was tilted to the side and her uninjured hand had gently fisted the blankets in its grip, but the sight was still enough to make him almost light-headed with joy. Movement was good, movement meant recovery .

Lloyd deposited his bounty on the unoccupied side of the bed before quickly rounding the mattress until he was standing at Harumi’s side. He grabbed the medical scissors and quickly cut through the thick gauze, only to suddenly stop dead when he came face-to-face with her torso.

Her naked torso.

Lloyd immediately swung his head up to stare at the ceiling so quickly and with such force that his neck cracked. He remembered now, he had to cut Harumi’s top off because he needed to access her chest so he could pull her rib out of her lung (an incredibly terrifying experience he never wanted to repeat.) and patch her up, he had been so focused on his task at the time that he hadn’t noticed the, uh, implications of such a thing.

Don’t be weird. He scolded himself as he slowly looked down again, keeping his eyes locked on the incision on the side of her chest. It was for medical reasons, nothing more , He stiffly disinfected the incision, and the stitches on her abdomen from where he had closed the re-bar wound, taking special care to wipe down both the entry and exit points before once again beginning to wrap her torso in gauze. Very pointedly not looking at her chest during the whole procedure. 

Lloyd deliberated for a moment before quickly walking over to his dresser, he couldn’t leave her in such a compromising state, Harumi deserved better than that! He searched through his pyjamas until he found a soft green plaid cotton button-up, it was one of the many new articles of clothing the team had bought for him just after the tomorrows tea incident, they didn’t know his exact size at the time so a lot of what they got either swamped him or he couldn’t even wear, and this was the former. 

He returned to Harumi’s bedside and after another moment of deliberation, tore of the sleeves of the shirt at the shoulders, once that was done he unbuttoned it then carefully sat Harumi up so he could slip it across her back before gently lying her back down and guiding her arms through the holes before buttoning it back up again. With Harumi’s dignity restored, he diligently went through the motions of checking her IV’s, applying ointment to her many bruises and finally checking her splint, which he found he could now remove.

Lloyd began to gather up the leftover supplies to sneak them back into the med-bay when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to prickle, and he felt the all too familiar feeling of being watched, he turned his head and, sure enough, two jade green eyes bore into him with the cold calculating intensity of a hawk staring down a rabbit. He felt a shiver wrack his spine as her gaze pinned him where he stood.

Harumi was awake .

End notes