Cole's Destiny

Chapter 7

Destiny had eventually gone back to sleep the previous night, but not for long. As she wandered to the main training area she let her shoulders droop. She couldn't bear to see Jay, or Nya. Or Cole. As it happened, Cole hadn't come back, so she didn't have to see him. Destiny didn't know whether or not she should be worried about him not coming back, but was too tired to put much thought into it. On a moment's consideration, she decided to skip breakfast. She sat down, leaning against a wall, and closed her eyes. She breathed out, and accidently fell through the wall. She sat back up, this time focusing more, and leaned again. The wall held her, and she smiled weakly. Even if she had been wrong about Cole and Nya being good people, his advice about finding a new normal worked. Her normal was constant falling. Her mind took on a new topic.

Was what I saw last night really them going behind Jay's back? They looked like it, but they also looked like they were telling the truth about just not being able to sleep. I couldn't sleep, so why is it hard to believe they couldn't? But they had been so close, and Destiny had seen the look in their eyes. Especially when Cole ran away. Don't people run away when they are guilty? For all she knew Cole had run so that he wasn't here when she told Jay. Am I going to tell Jay? I mean, it would make everyone's lives worse if I was wrong. But if I'm right doesn't Jay deserve to know? Cole and Nya had never acted like they were anything more than friends. But still.

A loud swoop came to her ears and she opened her eyes. Slate was landing in the open area. She struggled to her feet and moved backwards. She saw Cole jump off the dragon quickly and race towards the eating area, Slate disappearing. Sighing, Destiny staggered after him. When she was just outside the room she sat and listened.

"I found something you guys have to see!" That was Cole. He sounds excited.

"What's that?" Destiny flinched as she heard Nya's voice.

"It's a map of the warriors' bases," Cole replied. "At least, that's what it seems to be."

"Nice job, Cole. You may have just given us an advantage." Sensei Wu's voice now. She stood up; judging by the sounds they were by the door. Destiny walked a little farther, then stepped through the wall. They were standing in a huddled group, and Destiny smiled. She walked over to the table, grabbed an apple, and sat down to listen.

"Ew, what's this?" Jay said, leaning over the paper. Smiling to herself, Destiny bit into the apple. It made a louder crunch than she meant it to.

"It appears to be tree sap," Sensei Wu told him. She gazed at the group. They hadn't realized she was there, yet. If she was younger this would have been the time to yell, "Boo!" but Destiny had a little dignity.

Upon hearing Sensei though, she asked the group, "What kind of sap?" A small part of her was pleased when she saw some of the ninja jump at her voice.

Zane reached out to the sap and said, "There are several matches and possibilities. It will take a little bit for Pixal and I to analyze it and come up with a match."

"Get to it," Sensei Wu commanded.

"Yes, Sensei." Zane said as he hurriedly left.

"I'll take the map over to them as well and download it to our map. It'll make navigating easier." Nya said to Sensei.

Feeling amused, Destiny stood up with her apple and walked back through the wall. She walked out, and, seeing Cole head towards the opposite side of the monastery, she followed him. He walked into a room, and Destiny followed, stopping at the door. She leaned against the doorframe and watched as Cole busied himself. The room appeared to be a weight lifting area. He set up the weights quickly, and started pushing with his arms, up and down. Destiny caught a glance at the weight itself and saw the numbers 200 on it, but Cole didn't stop there. He worked his way up to heavier pounds faster than any normal person could. She let herself feel a smidge of surprise, but kept silent. She had never realized just how strong Cole was. This is probably creepy for me to be standing here. Destiny thought. But she needed to talk to him, and if they were assigned a mission together, this would need to be worked out. Destiny had remembered that his dragon was the only one she could ride on, and at the moment she loathed the idea of touching him.