Flumptober (Ninjago Challenge)

October 2nd

"I said simple, not easy."

Nya opened her mouth as if to respond, but the gesture was more out of confusion then any attempt to speak.

"You take two imperfect people and put them together in a relationship, things will not always go smoothly. Relationships are hard work and both parties have to put in the effort."

"Fine. I have my checklist."

Seliel frowned. It seemed as though Nya was half-heartedly paying attention.

"And what about taking care of women? Who is giving Jay his checklist?" Nya snapped.

Seliel smiled and her eyes sparkled. "Oh ho ho," she laughed and Nya felt a twang of adrenaline course through her veins. "That is where you are mistaken. Women don't have checklists."

Confusion ghosted the delicate features on Nya's face.

"Men are 'task' oriented. Complete a task, move on to the next. Women, on the other hand, are 'state' oriented."

"State oriented?"

"Women care about 'state of being'. They always want to feel safe, secure, and loved."

Nya considered Seliel's words, mulling them over in her mind. She didn't like it, but there was some truth to those words.

"Where did you pick up this sage advice?"

"I read," Seliel sassed back.

"Phhfff! Cosmo doesn't count."

"Well excuse me if I care about my friend who got pulled into a ridiculous situation."

Nya huffed again. "More like unfortunate."

"I don't know about that, Jay is pretty hot."

Nya rolled her eyes again for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. Everything surrounding the arranged marriage situation was fishy. Why would Jay or his ultra rich parents agree to it? Kai said something about his parents knowing their parents, but that still made no sense. They came from two different worlds. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Look, I know the circumstances are not ideal, but most arranged marriages are successful."

Nya shot her friend a dubious glance.

"I just don't want to see you getting hurt. Jay has," she paused, searching for the right word, "options. If you don't take care of him, he will find someone who will."

Nya's eyes went wide and her stomach felt cold. "Like Skylor?" she scoffed.

"Don't believe everything you read in the tabloids," Seliel chuckled.

Nya sucked in a deep breath. She had not even met the guy yet, and now she was already feeling jealous. What the heck?

Nya pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shins and resting her chin on her knees. She felt small, and scared.

"What about me?" she finally said, focusing on the far wall of the fitting rooms. "Don't I get a say in all of this? It feels like everything is being decided for me."

"Sometimes, there are things beyond our understanding. Sometimes, we just have to have faith." Seliel looked unusually distant and pensive as she said those words and Nya felt a shiver creep down her spine. Nya got the distinct impression that Seliel knew more than she was letting on, but she hurriedly chased those thoughts away.

"So I get to marry a man I don't even know, get thrown into a world I don't understand, and be expected to take care of him or he will find someone else? That sounds terrible." Nya felt her anger returning.

"Well, if you are going to have that kind of attitude about it, yeah it does sound terrible. Think of it this way: you have an opportunity for adventure." Seliel dramatically spread her arms wide above her head. Nya buried her head in her knees and groaned.

"I don't like it!" she whined, voice muffled from her legs.

"Nya, for all the years I have known you, you don't back away from a challenge. What makes this any different?"

Nya shot her head up and raised her eyebrows. "Uh, this is a life changing event."

"Exactly," Seliel smiled as Nya's face morphed into bewilderment. "And who are you to back away from the biggest challenge of all?"

Nya pursed her lips, annoyed that Seliel was making a lot of good points on their weekly shopping trip. She stretched out all her limbs and laid flat on the couch.

"But I still don't like it."

Seliel chuckled. "All you need is a good attitude. You can be mad at everyone else, but Jay seems like he has just as little say in this as you do. Try to be nice?"

"I'll try."

"Good! Who knows, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship! A fairytale in the making!"

"Seliel, seriously, stop with the cheese." Nya rolled off the couch as she rolled her eyes then stood up. "Relationship advice time is over. Back to shopping. Are you getting that dress or not?"

"I think I will. This dress accents my sparkling intellect."

Nya tried not to roll her eyes, instead opting to pinch the bridge of her nose, only to be interrupted by the sound of Seliel's stomach growling.

"Oh shoot! We are going to lose our reservation at Le Chat Noir, can you go and I'll catch up after I buy this?"

"Yes, don't take forever, OK?"

"~kay."

Seliel watched as her friend left the store, then slipped back into the fitting room, her shadow growing smaller. 

Purchasing the dress was uneventful and she quickly left the store, walking out into the main corridor and approached an older gentleman.

"Hello Wu." she said as the posh shopping bag dangled from her wrist.

Wu turned and greeted her. "Mystaké, you're late."

"I had something to take care of, and I bought a dress."

Wu eyed her suspiciously.

"Don't worry, I was just planting seeds, ensuring things go smoothly for us."

"Careful, too much meddling and this will blow up in our faces."

"You underestimate me Wu," she laughed then showed him a toothy grin. "I always know how to hedge my bets. This is high risk, high reward, but I am confident we will succeed and the enemy will be none the wiser."

Wu sighed, then offered her his arm. "Lunch?"

"I'd thought you'd never ask."