"Are you doing alright, (Y/n)?"
"I'm okay," You quietly said. You were currently in a spare room, seated upon a lengthy bed. Your legs were being supported by a pillow, and you sat up against a wide array of extra pillows.
Wu had entered the room and approached the bed. He held a large tray with a small bowl of ramen and a glass of water. "I am glad that you are taking this in stride."
"I kind of have to," You offered a smile. You've been doing your best to power through your injury, primarily to stop the others from worrying so much about you. You were certain that if any of the others saw you cry from your pain, they wouldn't leave you alone until you were completely healed.
Wu set the tray upon the nearby nightstand before approaching the foot of the bed. You had already noticed that your ankles began to swell, with one being a bit worse than the other. Your worse sprained ankle had a couple of miniscule bruises, as well, though nothing beyond that.
Wu went through a quick inspection. "It doesn't seem as twisted as your previous injury," Wu held a small smirk as he spoke.
You softly chuckled. The last time you twisted an ankle was when you were simply a teenager. You were distracted, one day, as you ran through the training course. You had caught your foot on a small bar and sprained your ankle. It was bad enough to force you to use crutches to get around for two weeks. You had completely torn a ligament when you tripped, you wanted to assume.
You couldn't exactly head out and get an x-ray from a professional, so all you could do was assume.
This time, though, it didn't seem as bad. Maybe a small tear, but you didn't rip through anything this time.
"Perhaps a few days' worth of rest shall do," Wu mentioned.
"I thought as much..." You sighed. It certainly wasn't all that bad, but in the midst of an emergency, it definitely wasn't the best outcome. "How is Lloyd doing?"
"He is in bed, resting," Wu stated. "He had been completely unharmed during the fall. Perhaps he will thank you tomorrow."
"Maybe, maybe not," You laughed. "Not sure if he's okay with me, yet..."
"I am sure he will warm up to you in time," Wu told you. "He is a brave and strong child..."
You held a smile. Lloyd definitely seemed like so if he was able to get three separate tribes of Serpentine to listen to him, even if it didn't last as long as Lloyd wanted.
You thought of the parchment the purple Serpentine stole from Lloyd. Was it a map of sorts? Was that why Lloyd was able to find these Serpentine. And if the purple Serpentine took the map...
It seems the rest of the Serpentine may be released soon.
Until then, you're stuck here, in bed, unable to fight the good fight.
"I hate this," You leaned back in your pillows with a sigh.
"Being injured is never a fun event," Wu stated. "You should get your rest, however. It will only cause more problems should you not properly heal."
"I know..." You replied. "I still hate it, though..."
Wu held an amused grin. "Don't we all?"
Wu handed you your very-late dinner, and you quietly enjoyed it. You engaged in a small conversation with Wu. You talked a bit about everything, though the conversation did eventually turn towards the four ninja.
"I think I scared them, though," You eventually mentioned. "When they were planning on dropping the... metal... hook."
"The anchor," Wu said.
"Yeah," You nodded. "I said I couldn't make it if I went with the anchor... So falling from the school roof probably scared them."
"You certainly have a knack for scaring others," Wu jokingly mentioned.
"Ha, ha," You sarcastically laughed. "I know I do."
Wu grinned. "I am still glad that they care for you as much as they do."
"...Yeah," You nodded. Despite how annoying it can get, occasionally, you still really enjoyed how much the others cared for you. They might freak out over a paper cut, sure, but that was just because they weren't educated on what was and wasn't dangerous to you. "I'm glad, too. Even if they think I'm dying from a paper cut or an illness. Or a sprained ankle..." You had said the last part in your language. Ninjagoans didn't have a word for "ankle," which is something you will never understand.
Your father chuckled. "It is a bit amusing..."
You exhaled a laugh. "You were the same, too, Dad," You turned to Wu with an impish grin. "Don't forget."
"Do not worry," Wu grinned. "I have not."
You soon finished your late meal, and Wu cleaned up after you. You bade your father goodnight, and you slowly sunk back into your bed to try and rest your body.
~ ~ ~
In the morning, you were awoken by Cole knocking on your door.
You were half-awake when the door gently opened. You slowly but surely sat up as Cole approached with a plate of pancakes.
"Hey, uh... You doing alright?" Cole asked you.
"Yeah," You nodded. "Tired, hurt... but I'm okay."
Cole let out a sigh before he held out a plate of pancakes. "Before you ask, I followed the recipe perfectly," Cole quickly explained.
"Thank you," You took the plate. "You and the others okay?"
"We're all doing fine," Cole told you. "The kid's a bit annoying, but—"
"Woah," You had just taken a bite of your breakfast. "Hey, this is pretty good!"
"Really?!" Cole pumped a fist. "Five out of five! Yes!"
"The others said the same?" You excitedly asked.
"Yeah!" Cole grinned. "They're all as surprised as I am!"
"Good job!" You kindly congratulated. "These are great!"
To drive your point home, you rapidly finished your breakfast. The entire time, Cole asked how you were doing and if there was anything you needed.
You had to remind Cole a few times that you weren't going to die or anything. Far from that. You ended up attempting to explain that what happened to you is generally a minor injury (at least, compared to what you've already been through). In your poor explanation, you said you simply moved your foot farther than it should be allowed and "strained a muscle."
It was easier to explain it that way than saying "I tore something" and causing further chaos and concern.
Still, Cole offered to get an ice pack, and you eventually agreed.
"Does it still hurt a lot?" Cole had asked when he returned with a pair of ice packs.
"Not as bad anymore," You mentioned. "I can't walk still, though..." You shouldn't be walking, either, but you kept that to yourself.
"...How long will it take to heal?" Cole nervously asked.
"Maybe a few days for both," You mentioned.
"What?!" Cole panicked.
"Well, I can't just get up now!" You protested. "It'll get worse if I don't rest!"
Cole stared at you. "How do you survive?!" He questioned.
"With the power of friendship?"
"(Y/n)."
You nervously laughed. "I'm kidding..." You quietly said. "...I don't really know how I survive, either. Usually, Dad does his best to make sure I stay safe, and... and Morro did his best to learn about me to help me feel comfortable." You offered a smile to Cole. "You and the others do the same, too. You've all helped me out and do your best." You offered a meek shrug, "So I guess friendship power is a good answer, since I get better with all your help."
"It... doesn't really feel like I'm doing a whole lot," Cole half-heartedly mentioned.
"You are, though!" You stated. "Bringing food and ice packs... You brought me up here to get help from Dad, and a while ago we watched a movie together when I was feeling sick to help me feel better..." You shrugged, "You might not be able to fix what's hurting, but you're still helping me by doing all those things."
"Really?" At your nod, Cole sighed, "Still... I feel like I'm not really doing enough."
"There isn't much else, really," You sighed. "It sucks. It always does, but I just have to wait."
Cole sighed. "Well... I'm glad I'm able to help a bit."
"Thanks," You smiled.
Cole eventually left you to your own devices. When Cole left the room, you mentally cursed yourself out for not asking him to bring you some paper and pencils to draw with.
So, you were stuck in bed, within nothing entertaining to do within arms' reach. You lied back in your pillows and shut your eyes with the hopes of sleeping the time away.
Then, however, fifteen minutes after Cole's departure, the door opened.
You opened your eyes and sat up. You curiously stared at the young Ninjagoan boy that just entered the room. Lloyd held what appeared to be an ancient notebook in one hand and a teacup in the other, trails of steam rising from the liquid inside.
"Uh," Your eyes flickered between Lloyd and the two items he held. "Hi?"
Lloyd nervously shuffled closer. He quickly set the teacup on the nightstand beside you before stumbling backwards. "...Sorry-about-you-getting-hurt," The boy rambled before he quickly left the room, loudly shutting the door behind him.
You slowly glanced between the shut door and the teacup next to you. You gently reached for the teacup and glanced inside. The liquid inside was a deep, translucent purple. It barely smelled like some type of flower. You couldn't tell which one, however.
What did the kid bring you? You gently swirled the contents within the cup, considering your options. Lloyd definitely wouldn't try to poison you or anything, right? He did apologise about you injuring yourself in an effort to save him.
Well, worse comes to worse, you'll get sick for a day or two.
You sniffed the tea once more before taking a small sip. It wasn't all that bad of a taste, in your opinion, but if you were given a choice of different teas to drink, you probably wouldn't pick this one. It tasted like the original tea had been filtered a dozen times before someone added a lot of hot water.
Still, you drank all of it. You weren't going to pass up on it just because it wasn't the best. Lloyd was trying to apologise.
The least you could do was accept said apology.
You drained the cup and soon set it aside. You lied back and, as you had nothing better to do, went to sleep.
~ ~ ~
What in the hell did that kid feed you?
You had woken up feeling rather refreshed. You moved to sit up, and you immediately noticed how little your ankles hurt. Sure, you could still see some bruises along the worst of the two sprained ankles, and you probably should continue to stay in bed, but your ankles seemed to have healed up a notable amount.
It was as if two days of healing had passed within the short nap you took.
You heard voices from outside of your room. You sat up and did your best to listen. Though your door was shut, you could hear what might be a distant argument between the four ninja. It didn't seem like it was anywhere close to your room, so you were almost impressed to be able to hear the argument from all the way over here.
You sat back to try and tune out the argument, though only a few seconds passed before you narrowed your eyes and groaned. Whatever the four were arguing about, they weren't going to let it go. And it seemed that Wu and Nya either couldn't get them to calm down or simply weren't trying.
So, against all your better judgement, you got out of bed.
Your ankles didn't feel all that bad. Sure, it hurt to move them around, but you're sure you could suffer through a small walk. You arose from the bed and stood on your better ankle. You tried your opposite ankle, though it still hurt far too much to put pressure on. You hobbled around the medical room for anything that could be of use, and you soon found a few makeshift crutches within one of the nearby closets. You only brought one with, and you soon went for the door and headed out.
The moment you opened the door, the voices were a bit clearer. The four ninjas' voices overlapped each other, but you could understand enough to know that they were each blaming one another for different things.
You shuffled towards the sounds of their voices, and you quickly appeared before the door to the large shared bedroom. You peered inside. The four ninja were too absorbed into their argument to notice your appearance, though you did notice Wu standing far from the argument, and he glanced your way in shock.
Before he spoke, you threw the door all the way open and shouted, "Would you all stop yelling?!"
Immediately, the four ninja stopped their arguing. Just as quickly, the four rushed your way and began bombarding you about your safety.
"Shouldn't you be resting?!"
"You can't just get out of bed this early! You need more rest!"
"Guys—"
"Your injuries require more time to heal, (Y/n)."
"Yeah, but—"
"Go back to bed, (Y/n)! You can't just start running around like—"
"Guys!" You yelled, and the four ninja stopped. You sighed. "Sorry. I'll go back to bed when you explain why you are arguing."
"The four are merely blaming one another for things they did not do," Wu stepped forward from the corner of the room. He moved to the nearby closet and gently opened it. Inside sat Lloyd, and he was manically laughing to himself.
"You did this?!"
You exhaled at the four ninjas' reactions.
"Guys, I get first dibs—"
"No dibs," Wu raised his staff and pointed it at Cole. "I put him up to this to show you the destructive power than rumours can bear. Did you ever ask to see if these accusations were true?"
"No offense, Sensei," Cole crossed his arms, "but today's lesson is lame. He ruined the cake I was working on!"
"Yeah, it stinks!" Jay exclaimed. "My robot hurt me pretty bad! I had to destroy it to stop it from fighting everything that moved!"
"He 'misplaced' my favourite video game," Kai argued. "And I've got a feeling he did more than that."
"And nearly all of my outfits are pink!" Zane held up a rather-vibrant pink ninja gi. "How can I strike fear in this?"
You were a bit glad you weren't a part of this. Who knows what Lloyd could've done to ruin something of yours.
"Uh, good luck," You jokingly told your father. "I'm going back to bed."
"Hold on, (Y/n)," Wu crossed the room and stood before you. "How are you able to stand?"
"Uh," Your eyes flickered to Lloyd, whom had stopped laughing. "My wish to make everyone stop arguing was stronger than my pain?"
"(Y/n), please be honest with me," Wu stared you down.
Though you wanted to claim you were fine, you don't think you'd be able to lie to your father. You hadn't been able to move your feet at all yesterday without fighting back tears. To be able to stand with the help of only a single crutch less than twelve hours later was far too early. Even Wu knew that. "Uh, so—"
Lloyd sprinted from the closet and dashed right past you, nearly startling you enough to fall over. You stumbled back as the boy thundered down the hall and disappeared.
Looks like you're on your own.
"...So, Lloyd gave me a tea that helped, I think," You quickly came clean. What was the point in lying?
Wu tried to hold back his terror, but you knew your father well enough to see it within his eyes. "What sort of tea?"
"Uh, kind of purple, smelled a little bit like flowers," You quietly explained. "There was a lot more water than tea, though."
Wu sighed as relief filled his expression. "I am glad to see there are no adverse side effects."
Now, it was your turn to be scared. "...What?"
"What did the brat do to (Y/n)?!" Kai stepped forward.
"Nothing inherently terrible," Wu explained, "though it was certainly quite risky. Lloyd had brewed a special tea for (Y/n). It holds the ability to heal injuries," He turned to you, "though I never offered it to you as there was too great of a chance that it harmed those that weren't Ninjagoan."
"Okay, well, I'm glad that it all worked out," Jay interrupted, "but that does sound extremely risky! What would've happened if it didn't work?!"
"Well... Maybe that's why he put so much water in it..." You offered. It would make sense, at the very least. If the tea ended up being poisonous to you, at least it wouldn't have been a high dose. "So there was, uh... less tea in it, I guess." Once again, your inability to explain your thoughts in Ninjagoan get in the way.
Nevertheless, Wu seemed surprised at Lloyd's ingenuity. "Perhaps, he did."
A crackling sound echoed from above. "Hey, uh, if you guys are finally done arguing," Nya's voice called, "I need you guys at the Bridge. We've got a snake problem to deal with."