"I win!" Lloyd grinned, helping Lyra off the floor. A spark of heat ran through his hand as it connected with hers.

Lyra ripped her blindfold off, scowling. "That was a dirty move."

"It's not like I haven't used it before," he pointed out, letting go of her hand. "Just yesterday I won because of it, too."

It'd been a week since Lyra moved in. They'd quickly fallen into a routine of eating breakfast (usually Froot Loops) together, training their powers, eating lunch with the ninja and Nya (usually something Zane whipped up), training their combat and strategies, having supper (generally with everybody), then playing a game and going to bed. Lloyd had to admit he enjoyed his time with Lyra, and he dreaded the quickly-approaching weekend. The first weekend of the month, to be exact.

Why did he dread it? Because the first weekend of every month was the time for the ninja to train in complete solitude, with no distractions from video games, social media, or even the other ninja. For a reason Lloyd didn't quite understand, he didn't want to go even two days without seeing Lyra again.

It didn't help when he thought of how confused she'd be when she tried to train on her own, as Sensei Wu gave them no guidance during their Isolated Training. He never even explained how to train properly. He just gave them a rough schedule to follow and, on Monday, demanded to know their progress.

Lloyd already didn't like having to be alone for that long, but not being able to talk to his newest friend made the entire situation even worse than before, for some reason.

"Lloyd?" Lyra's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "You okay?"

Lloyd looked up, making eye contact with her.

He was once again reminded of the sheer beauty her eyes held. Lloyd wondered if she knew how many different shades they could turn, depending on her mood. When she was happy, they were a bright sky blue. When she was sad, they were more dull and gray, similar to the ocean. If she felt anxious or scared, they'd take on a faint indigo shade. The few times he'd seen her angry, they were a frighteningly intense royal blue tint. Her eyes were a glimpse into her very soul, yet he seemed to be the only one to take note of their enchanting effects.

No matter her emotions, though, they always glittered like gemstones. The prettiest gems ever created, in fact. Lloyd had gotten stuck staring into them many times, though Lyra thankfully never seemed to notice. The way they glinted in the light drew him in, then he was frozen in place as if her eyes had the power to turn his veins to cement.

Lloyd didn't mind, though. Her eyes were as breathtaking as they were dangerous, so he was perfectly fine with being oblivious to the happenings around him as long as he could gaze into them forever.

"Lloyd?" Lyra repeated.

Lloyd squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them, Lyra was staring at him with evident concern.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just...a bit dizzy," he lied.

There's no way she'll believe that. Lloyd cursed himself. Should've thought of something better. Lyra's too smart for that.

"I don't believe you," Lyra stated bluntly, proving his prediction right. "You're never dizzy after just two rounds of sparring. What's up?"

"It's Saturday tomorrow. The first one of September." He sighed and laid down on the ground.

"What's wrong with that?" Lyra looked extremely tall from Lloyd's perspective as she peered down at him.

"Isolated Training," he reminded her. At her blank look, Lloyd frowned. "Did Sensei Wu not tell you?"

Lyra shook her head. "I got no idea what you're talking about." She sat down criss-cross-applesauce style beside him.

"On the first weekend of each month, we undergo a specific type of training where we can't interact with anyone else unless there's an emergency," Lloyd explained. "It's mostly unstructured training where we get to choose what we want to work on. We just have to do whatever we do by ourselves. Most of the time, we try to unlock our Elemental Discharges, while Nya works on whatever vehicle she feels like or does minor missions as Samurai X."

"Sounds fun, actually." Lyra's eyes were a clear sky-blue. "Though the whole 'isolation' part seems...annoying."

"That's one way to put it," Lloyd snorted. "We all hate it. The rough outline of what we're supposed to do is wake up at dawn, eat three healthy meals, and go to bed at dusk, making sure we don't even see anyone else in the process. Sensei learned it from some monks long ago."

"That does sound less fun," Lyra admitted, "though I do enjoy watching both the sunrise and the sunset in the same day."

Of course she does, Lloyd thought. Can she get any more perfect?

He had to force himself not to picture she and him sitting down together during dawn and dusk, legs swinging off the railing of the balcony as they gazed at the rising or setting sun. The thought of it made his heart beat too fast to be considered normal, especially when Lloyd remembered how Lyra's hair glowed reddish-gold in the sunlight.

"What type of training are we supposed to do?"

"Powers, combat, mind/soul," Lloyd said. "Plus, every Saturday night we're allowed to use our computers for two hours to research."

"How do you train the mind and soul?" Lyra wondered aloud. "Also, what sort of research do you do?"

"I usually meditate," Lloyd answered. "I know Kai lights a fire and stares into it, just listening to the sounds it makes. It helps him become more in-tune with his Element. Zane generally bakes something, which gets distracting because the scent sometimes brings me out of my meditation. I think Jay quizzes himself over and over again on different strategies or machines, and Cole just lies down and unwinds. Sensei Wu usually makes Nya watch a documentary or two, which is weird because he usually never interferes with Isolated Training. Then again, she doesn't have an Element, so maybe that has something to do with it? I dunno."

Lyra nodded slowly, probably still processing the information. Her stained hair that always intrigued Lloyd fell in front of her shoulders. "What about the research?"

"It can be about anything, really. I know Jay, Zane, and Nya always use the time to come up with new machine ideas," Lloyd said. "Cole and Kai try to research different natural disasters that are affiliated with their Elements, such as earthquakes and wildfires."

"What about you?" Lyra questioned.

Lloyd sat up. The breeze gently messed up his blonde hair, not that he cared much. "Usually Ninjago's history. A lot of the time, I'll look through different scrolls we have and try to translate them. This time, though, I think I'll ask my mom for scrolls beforehand. Ones that could help find..." he trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence.

Words couldn't describe how sorely Lloyd missed his father. The universe was cruel, he'd deduced. It forced him and his father to be mortal enemies, then, when they'd finally found peace, it ripped them apart.

At least he's not in the Cursed Realm, like he originally planned, he kept reminding himself. At least you know he's alive.

It only eased the pain a miniscule amount. The main reason he wasn't moping in his room was the girl sitting in front of him, actually. Whenever he tried, she'd drag him out before he could start to feel really upset. She was always there to distract him and make him feel better. With how close they already were, Lloyd felt as if he'd known Lyra for much longer than three weeks.

Lyra nodded. "That's completely fair. As soon as I really start to understand my Literature power, I'll be right there, figuring out where Khalik's tomb is." She paused, as if considering something she said. "Well, not right there, because we're supposed to be isolated, but you get what I mean."

Lloyd's heart swelled. He didn't get why she would do such a thing just for him. And he knew she was doing it for him, and not so she could understand her Element more. That's what made her actions so meaningful to him. She was so selfless it hurt. "Thank you."

Lyra grinned. "Anytime."

Lloyd shuffled to sit beside her, his heart pounding so loudly he was certain Lyra could hear it, and let their knees touch. Just the tiny amount of contact made his entire body heat up. He would've moved to brush his hand beside hers, too, but it was sweating too much.

Lloyd's watch started to beep and glow red, ruining the moment. He pressed the button in the middle of it, and a blue holograph of Nya appeared above it.

"Lloyd! Is Lyra there?" she asked.

Lyra sat up straighter as Lloyd nodded.

"There's trouble with some Serpentine in Jamanakai. They're requesting Lyra specifically."

Why's it always Jamanakai that has Serpentine problems? he wondered. Wait, that was my fault. Nevermind.

"How far away is it?" Lyra asked, moving closer to Lloyd so that Nya could see her.

Lloyd tried to ignore the heat coming off her in waves. He found himself wishing to be even closer to her, which was crazy. Despite knowing how insane it was, he leaned an inch or two toward her until their shoulders were almost touching.

"Not even ten minutes away if you take your dragon," Nya replied.

"Wait, Lyra, you're not actually gonna go, right?" Lloyd asked, frowning.

"If they're asking for me specifically, they obviously need me," Lyra told him.

"Lyra, Serpentine are dangerous. 'You should never trust a snake,'" Lloyd recited what his uncle had taught him when he was a child. "Especially if they're wreaking havoc throu--"

"Actually, these Serpentine aren't doing anything wrong," Nya interjected. "They're the ones that called in for help. So please hurry!"

With that, the hologram disappeared. The screen on Lloyd's watch showed a map of Ninjago zoomed in on where they were, with a red line leading to Jamanakai Village.

"I'm helping them," Lyra stated firmly, standing up and pulling her hair up into a ponytail. At Lloyd's obvious concern, her eyes softened to a pale blue-gray. "I've faced worse, remember? I've fought off literal Anacondrai. I think a few smaller, less aggressive Serpentine are less of a threat. Plus, the Anacondrai Generals used their weird ghost-snake powers to let the Serpentine know I'm a friend."

"Ok." Lloyd hesitated for a moment. "Can--can I go with you?"

Lyra merely motioned for him to follow her before jumping off the side of the Bounty. Lloyd rushed to the railing, just barely stopping himself from crying out her name. Not two seconds later, a purple dragon rose above Lloyd, Lyra on its back.

Lloyd concentrated, summoning his own Power Dragon. They caught an air current and swiftly swooped in the direction of the village. Lyra was slightly ahead of him, not that he minded. Every once in a while, she'd glance back to make sure he was still there.

Her multicoloured hair flew in the wind, just barely staying in its high ponytail. Realizing this, Lyra quickly pulled it into a bun. Lloyd admired how she seemed ready for anything, even with such short notice. She fit in with the ninja so perfectly, as if she'd been a missing puzzle piece that they finally found. Lloyd could tell his friends already liked her and definitely thought of her as family. Maybe Lyra was thinking of them as family, too.

It was evident she was going to become a ninja soon. The question was just when. There was no rush, of course, because Ninjago was at peace and didn't particularly need more protectors just yet, though larger numbers would always be appreciated. Lloyd couldn't deny the excitement he felt at the prospect of fighting beside Lyra, though it was pretty evenly matched with worry for how she'd fare. What if she got hurt? Everyone else in their squad had been majorly injured at one point or another. She seemed to be good at combat, especially for having no professional training, and she was definitely a quick learner, but was it enough to stop her from being wounded?

Lloyd was pulled out of his thoughts as a row of familiar beige houses appeared on the horizon. He pulled back a fair amount, allowing Lyra to assess the situation first. When she'd deemed it safe, she motioned for Lloyd to follow her with a flick of her dragon's tail.

They dove into the streets of Jamanakai, landing in between a small group of Constrictai and a gang of teenagers who appeared to be Lloyd's age. The purple dragon forced the two groups, which had previously been yelling, away from each other. Lloyd remained a bit farther away on top of a nearby roof. He tensed his muscles, ready to jump in and blast anyone with his powers at the first sign that Lyra was in danger.

There appeared to be five teenagers and three Constrictai. One Constrictai had a large, nasty-looking gash above her left eye. The other two were bleeding from various places around their shoulders and arms. The teenagers, meanwhile, looked unharmed, but they were radiating hostility and hatred.

"What's going on?" Lyra demanded, putting her left hand on her hip and the other on the hilt of her dagger. Her dragon dissolved underneath her and she landed more smoothly than Lloyd ever had, not even flinching at the impact.

"They're invading our town!" a brunette girl wearing all black shrieked, pointing at the Serpentine.

"Yeah," a blonde boy wearing blue jeans and a blue sweater agreed. "They're trying to steal from us, just like they did before!"

Lloyd winced, once again remembering that the last time Serpentine had been here was because of him.

"That was not us!" one of the male Constrictai hissed. "That was the Hypnobrai! Plus, we were merely trying to buy groceries when they snuck up on us and threw rocks at our heads!"

The female Constrictai nodded and put a scaly hand on her head, which was dripping blood. "We did nothing wrong!"

"What about when you unleashed the Great Devourer?" a boy wearing dark red pants and a bright red T-shirt--which clashed terribly--accused.

"Do you call that nothing?" a girl wearing all white scowled.

"We were tricked!" a Constrictai claimed. "Pythor--"

I hate Pythor, Lloyd thought. I don't care that he helped us. He still made me lose Dad and tricked me into giving him that map. And drained my golden powers.

"Yeah, right." A girl with red hair that had a green sweater, green pants, and a ton of gold jewelry rolled her eyes. She was at the front of the gang and, with how every other teenager seemed to be hyper-aware of her actions, she appeared to be the leader. "As if we'd believe that!"

"What I'm hearing is that you five," Lyra gestured to the teenagers, "attacked these innocent Serpentine because of something that has been legally pardoned."

Lloyd, sensing the teenagers' irritation, jumped off his roof, tucking and rolling when he hit the stone path below. He walked up beside his friend, causing the gang to emit large, almost comedic gasps. They crowded around him, talking about how they loved the ninja.

Not this again, he sighed. 

"We're your biggest fans," the boy in blue claimed.

"We created this group, which is inspired by you, to protect Jamanakai," the green-and-gold girl explained.

"Yeah, and we're just trying to help the ninja defeat--" the boy in red started.

Lyra interrupted the chaos by forming a bright, glowing purple sphere above them. The teenagers hissed and covered their eyes as they were temporarily blinded. "Are you done?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Not reall--"

"Too bad." She snapped her fingers, making the sphere disappear. The girl wearing black scowled at being interrupted. "This sounds like assault to me. You five attacked these Constrictai under the assumption that they were evil when all they were doing was buying groceries."

"But they are evil!" The leader interrupted, flipping her platinum hair over her shoulder. "They're Serpentine! I mean, you heard of the fight that happened at the Corridor of Elders, right? They tried to kill all of us! If not for Garmadon, the ninja, and that girl, we'd be dead right now, all thanks to the Serpentine."

"All those 'Serpentine' were actually just humans who used a spell to become Anacondrai warriors," Lyra informed them. "The actual Serpentine even fought with us. I would know, because I was at the front lines. I even talked to the ghosts of the Anacondrai Generals--which helped us win, by the way--after the battle. They were nothing but kind."

"Why were you at the front lines of the battle?" The Cole impersonator questioned. "The only two at the very front were Lloyd and that gir--ohh. It's you."

Lyra pursed her lips briefly before nodding. "Yes. Me. Who did you think I was when I landed on an Elemental Dragon beside the Green Ninja?"

It took all of Lloyd's years of self-control training to not burst out laughing. Even then, he had to poorly disguise his snort with a cough.

"In Ninjago, we've learned not to question anything," Zane's impersonator piped up.

"Anyways, do you guys understand why your actions aren't acceptable?" Lloyd asked. He wanted this interaction to be done so they could go grab dinner. It was Zane's day for cooking supper, which was always promising.

"No," his impersonator bluntly stated, crushing Lloyd's dreams of food.

Lyra grabbed a bandage out of one of her pockets and began to wrap it around the female Constrictai's head. "Because Serpentine and humans are equals. They always have been, and they always will be. Attacking a human like that isn't okay, so it isn't okay to do so with Serpentine, either. Also," she addressed the Constrictai, "make sure to disinfect this as soon as you get home."

The Constrictai nodded.

The boy in red scowled. "But--"

"Do you understand?" Lyra's tone sharpened and her eyes took on a more royal blue shade. They didn't look too different, but Lloyd noticed.

"Yes," the leader muttered, kicking the ground.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." Lyra bandaged another Constrictai up.

"Yes!" Lloyd's impersonator shouted. "We understand, okay? Now, can we go?"

"Not until you apologize." Lyra bandaged the final Serpentine, who nodded in thanks.

"And pay for their groceries," Lloyd added.

"That's so unfair!" Jay's impersonator cried.

"So is attacking people," Lyra pointed out.

She's not wrong.

Lloyd suddenly got an idea. "You know, paying for the groceries would make you even more like the ninja. It's what we'd do in this situation."

"Oh, okay, then!" the blonde girl smiled, twirling a lock of hair and batting her eyelashes. "We'll do that right now!" she turned to address the Constrictai. "We're sorry."

Lyra's eyes didn't calm. In fact, they shifted to an even deeper royal blue than before, though her words were steady when she spoke. "I trust that you won't do this again? Because there will have to be worse consequences next time."

"Never again," the girl in white promised.

Once they'd paid and exited the scene--with the leader and the boy in red giving Lloyd their numbers and winking at him before they left--Lyra turned toward the Constrictai. Her attitude did a 180. "Are you all okay? I'm so sorry about them."

The female Constrictai merely waved her worries off with her orange hand. "We are all fine, thanks to you, Lady Lyra."

Lyra flushed at the title, while Lloyd beamed. He felt like he was going to explode with pride. For Lyra's first real mission, she'd done amazing. Better than he'd be able to do, really.

"Yes, we are quite grateful," a different Serpentine added.

"When I first heard that the Anacondrai Generals had given a human, especially the daughter of Master Chen, the title 'Lady', I thought they had been mistaken," another Constrictai admitted. "But now, I can see that they were correct in doing so. You truly are the saviour of the Serpentine."

Lyra's face resembled a tomato as she stuttered, "I-I really don-don't think s-so. It-it's just basic dec-decency."

"And that very thought is what makes you deserving of the title, Lady Lyra." The female Constrictai smiled warmly at her.

"I agree," Lloyd spoke up. "I don't think even I could've handled that situation as good as you did."

As impossible as it seemed, Lyra's face got even redder at the compliment. "Thanks." Her voice was once again as soft as velvet. Lloyd could barely hear it.

"Farewell, Lady Lyra," a Constrictai said, bowing. The other two bowed with him. "We hope to see you soon."

Lyra smiled. Her eyes were back to being the same shade as the sky. "I hope to see you soon, too."

With that, the Constrictai all burrowed into the ground. A moment later, they filled up the tunnels they made with dirt, concealing the paths they'd created and erasing any evidence that they'd been there.

"That was awesome," Lloyd admitted. "You were awesome."

Lyra shrugged. "Just doing what anyone should've done. Now," she changed the subject, "let's go before those ninja-wannabes come back. They're so annoying."

Lloyd had to agree.

Word count: 3.5k

Sorry the chapter is so short and that it's been 11 days I'm just rly busy rn and I'm also learning guitar atm and it hurts to type because my fingers are in pain 24/7

QOTD: What's your comfort item?

A: My stuffies :D I have like 5mil of them and I just bury myself in them whenever I'm sad

Please do comment and vote because it really does help with motivation and motivation=frequent updates

Remember to drink water, eat food, and get an appropriate amount of sleep for your age please<3

~Aspen