Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 18: Catching the Mole

Her eyes narrowed to slits as she finally realized what Cole was insinuating. "You think I'm a traitor."

"Or a werecat," was his cold response.

Liana glared unseeingly in his direction, sudden anger roaring in her ears. She clenched her jaw, and she could feel her heart racing faster in her chest.

Slowly, softly, she felt for the sai positioned behind her.

Cole took another step. He was so close she could hear him breathing. Liana heard the sound of a knife slowly, nearly soundlessly, being pulled out from its sheathe.

She wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the sai.

* * *

"Nya?" Jay knocked gently on the door of her bedroom. "It's me—"

To his surprise, the door swung open under his hand, and when he looked in he saw that it was empty.

He frowned and stepped back, then ventured down the hallway. "Nya?"

He stopped in front of the doorway leading to Kai's bedroom. Finding that it hung half-way open, he peered in. To his surprise, Nya was kneeling at the side of the bed, arms over her head as pressed her face into the covers. She was quite still and silent, and didn't seem to hear Jay.

He paused before quietly stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He walked up to Nya and hesitantly laid a hand on her shoulder.

She jerked up with a gasp and stared at him. "Oh. Sorry..." She stood up, looking embarrassed. "I— I didn't hear you coming."

"It's OK." Jay glanced at the bed. The covers were slightly wrinkled where Nya had laid her head down. Gently he asked, "Are— are you all right?"

"Yes. No— I mean..." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Kind of."

Jay's gaze softened when she murmured, "I— I miss him. I mean, I miss all of them, and I'm really worried about them, but..." She bit her lip. "He's my brother. You know what I mean?"

Wordless, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. With a small, shuddering sigh she buried her head into his chest and hugged him tight.

"Was there something about Kai in that vision when Rip Claw attacked you?" he murmured quietly.

Nya shut her eyes tight. After a long silence she said, with her voice slightly muffled through his shirt, "I saw him lying on the ground. There was an arrow in him... he trying to breathe, and it looked so bad..."

"Hey." He turned so that her back was pressed against the wall. He cupped her chin and one hand and said soothingly, "We'll find him, OK? We'll find all of them." He gazed into her eyes. "It's going to be all right."

Nya let his presence soothe her as she buried herself in his arms. Jay rested his cheek on her head and stroked her hair gently. She closed her eyes and pressed herself against him, breathing in slowly.

Finally Nya looked up at him. "Jay, I—"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "You don't need to say anything. It's all right."

With a faint smile, Nya cupped his cheek with one hand and gazed up into his bright green eyes. Lips parted, she began to lean forward—

—then stopped. She blinked and looked again.

Green eyes?

Jay's eyes were blue.

* * *