The rest of the weekend (aka Sunday) dragged by slowly. Lyra's thoughts were consumed of picturing how happy Lloyd would be when she introduced him to her origami. She made little to no progress with her Literature power, as the animals kept distracting her.

They accompanied her wherever she went and helped when possible. During Lyra's soul/mind training, all she did was figure out how to make new ones. Her powers seemed to guide her hands when she picked up the sticky notes, and before she knew it there were foxes, hummingbirds, cats, turtles, wolves, cats, swans, and--to Lyra's eternal delight--dragons.

Some of them had to be trained, while others instinctively knew to follow her instructions. Lyra found that the bigger the animal in real life, the less obedient it was. Even though they'd all been made out of the same 3" x 3" paper, the animals didn't care. The dragons, of which Lyra only made three before running out of Post-It notes, took hours to be trained, while the frogs, dogs butterflies, and hummingbirds listened immediately.

Lyra's main commands that every animal knew by the end of the day were: Turn back, where they'd either switch back to inanimate pieces of paper or to live animals, depending on what state they were currently in; Shoulder, where they'd jump/crawl/fly up and sit on her shoulder; Heel, where they'd stay back at her heels; Attack, where they'd attack whatever she pointed at (though they didn't do much, since they were paper); and Defend, where they'd create a bubble around Lyra.

Lyra had found a small, dark purple backpack packed away in all of her luggage and realized that almost all of her origami fit in it without being squished. The rest could fit in her pockets.

She was wearing that, a white zip-up sweater, dark gray leggings, and an ultraviolet T-shirt as she stood outside her room, waiting to give her progress report. She made eye contact with Nya, whose bedroom was across from hers, and smiled. The samurai smiled back but didn't say anything. They weren't allowed to communicate with each other until Sensei Wu was done with everyone's progress reports.

This feels weirdly strict, Lyra noted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Everything else with the ninja is so laid-back and there's randomly a weekend each month where we can't even see each other. I guess it's Sensei Wu's influence or something.

Just then, Sensei Wu turned the corner. He made his way over to the two girls, stopping directly in between them and turning a sharp 90 degrees to face Nya first. He slammed his staff into the wood. "Progress?"

Nya stood up straight. "My form on the spinning hook kick has improved over 50%, I learned about whales and their communication habits, and I designed different wheels for the newest version of the D. B. Express."

Wu nodded, whirled around, and stared directly at Lyra. "Progress?"

"Uhh--" Lyra stuttered. Her mind went blank.

Wu gently hit her on the head with his staff. "Did that help clear your mind?"

"Hey!" Lyra protested. "That hurt! Oh, wait...I practiced a few songs on my flute and improved the articulation for them, found out I can create glitter and invisible paint, my roundhouse kick has more force in it now, and made origami come to life."

At the last one, Wu's brow furrowed. "Whatever do you mean?"

Lyra slung her mini-backpack around and unzipped it. "Turn back. Shoulder."

Instantly, the paper blinked as they were brought to life. They made their way to her shoulder. The ones that didn't fit sat on her head and arms.

"That is quite impressive," Wu admitted, inspecting one of the dragons. "I do not believe Lila, Stella or Fei ever did this."

Lyra knew who Lila was, of course, and Stella was Lila's mom, but she strained to figure out why Fei sounded so familiar before realizing she'd been the Master of Dance.

"Did the other Masters of Art?"

"I...do not remember," Wu admitted. His expression darkened. "That would be a question for my brother, if he were here. But no matter." His expression returned to its usual peaceful one as he yelled, "Isolated Training is hereby done for this month!"

Nya, who'd been gawking at Lyra's creations, seemed to come back to life. She darted around the sensei, grabbed Lyra's hand, and dragged her towards the kitchen.

When they were out of Sensei Wu's line of sight, Lyra let go of her friend's hand and slowed. "One sec."

She turned to the origami, which were all clinging to her clothing. "Bag," she ordered.

The frogs, butterflies, hummingbirds, cats, swans, dogs, and turtles all returned to the backpack. The foxes, wolves, and dragons just stared blankly.

"Please?" Lyra begged. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

At that, the foxes and wolves clambered in, leaving just the three dragons. Lyra quickly zipped the backpack shut before they could change their minds.

"If you don't listen, I'll turn you back into paper and just carry you," she warned.

Immediately, the dragons flew into her hoodie pockets and settled in. Lyra zipped them shut so they couldn't escape.

"That's so cool," Nya breathed. 

"I know, right?" Lyra squealed. "I would've made more but I ran out of sticky notes."

"Does normal paper work?"

"It should, but it doesn't have the right dimensions," Lyra explained.

"Anyways, wanna go catch up with the ninja?" Nya asked, her gray eyes sparkling. 

"Of course."

The two girls ran into the kitchen, almost bumping into Cole at the door, who was doing the same thing.

The three of them stared at each other in shock before bursting into laughter. They opened the door and sat on top of the gray counters, waiting for the rest of the ninja to arrive.

Before long, Jay and Kai rushed in, followed by Zane.

"Where's Lloyd?" Lyra questioned.

"He usually goes back to bed after the progress report," Kai told her. "Isolated Training takes a lot out of him. It takes a lot out of all of us, but him especially. His Element drains him quicker than ours do."

Lyra nodded. It made sense that the Element of Energy would feed off of energy.

"Why do you wanna know where he is?" Jay smirked. "Do you liiiiiiiiiike him?"

"I mean, he's my friend," Lyra said, forcing her body to remain relaxed. One thing she could not control, however, was the warmth making its way up her neck and to her cheeks.

Cole snorted. "Sure."

"Wait, is he not?" a bolt of panic struck Lyra in the chest. She sat up straight. "I-I don't know how to make friends. Ionlyhavetwootherfriendsthataren'tSkylorsoIwouldn'tknowifthere'sanything--"

"Slow down," Jay said. "He's your friend. Don't worry. For now."

Lyra's posture sank at least an inch as she realized Lloyd really was her friend, though Jay's last sentence worried her. "What do you mean?"

"He means that you two appear to have a mutual attraction for each other," Zane stated bluntly, "and you may one day be even more than friends."

When what the Ice Ninja said registered in her brain, Lyra's eyes widened. "I don't--I don't know what you're talking--"

Cole cut her off with a chuckle. "You two are more obvious than Kai and Skylor."

"Hey!" Kai protested. 

"I wouldn't say they're more obvious most of the time," Nya disagreed. "Only when they're staring into each other's eyes for hours on end."

"We do not--" Lyra started.

"Cut the crap, Lyric." Jay held a hand out to silence her. "It's just a crush. They're natural. They happen to almost everyone."

"I don't think I've ever had one," Lyra argued, though she noted the use of her nickname. "Unless women in fantasy novels count, but I don't think so."

To be fair, women in fantasy novels were really pretty.

"You're bi?" Jay blurted out. "Same!"

"Me, too," Kai admitted.

"Technically, I'm pan, but same difference," Lyra corrected.

"I'm also pan!" Nya held a hand out to high-five her friend, which Lyra promptly did.

Awesome, Lyra thought.

"Cole and I are heterosexual," Zane added. "Unless your preference has changed, Cole."

Cole shook his head. "Nope. Still straight."

"You know what?" Jay turned to Lyra, a grin on his face. "I bet Lloyd's gonna skip out on his rest just to see you."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "As if."

"'As if' what?" Lloyd asked, strolling in. His eyes lit up when he spotted Lyra. He sat on the counter beside her, pushing Cole off in the process. "Also, good morning."

"Morning." Lyra yawned, shooting Jay a look to stop his snickers.

"That was mean," Cole whined from the tiled floor.

"So are you," Kai pointed out. "Also, what are you doing here, Lloyd? Aren't you gonna go back to sleep?" 

Lloyd's cheeks turned a faint shade of red. His eyes flickered to Lyra, then back to Kai. "I couldn't sleep. Also, I was really craving Froot Loops."

"Suuure," Jay chortled.

At Lloyd's confused look, Lyra jumped off the counter, clasped her hands together, and faced them outward. "SOOOO...Froot Loops?"

"Um, always," Nya agreed, clambering around Jay and opening the cupboard door. 

She threw an unopened box down to Lyra, who just barely caught it. Kai snickered as she fumbled, so, naturally, Lyra threw it at him.

He immediately dropped it, causing everyone to laugh.

"Fuck you, Lyra," Kai sighed, getting off the counter and picking the box up.

"No thanks," she replied, giving him a faux sweet smile.

They made their way to the dining room, with two cartons of milk, many bowls, and tons of spoons. 

They all watched Jay put his milk before his cereal. Jay merely smirked.

"That should be illegal," Lyra murmured, sitting down.

Immediately, Cole and Jay sat on either side of her. Meanwhile, Kai shoved past Lloyd and Zane to sit across from her. Once the three were in their chairs, they cracked up.

Lyra, who'd been planning on sitting in between Lloyd and Nya like she usually did, furrowed her brow.

"You should see your expression," Jay cackled. Like a witch.

"Yeah. It's priceless." Cole brushed a tear from his eye.

"You guys." Nya exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes, pulling up a chair beside Jay.

Even Zane was smiling. He sat down and poured a few Froot Loops into his bowl, then began to eat it without any milk. This was something that'd caught Lyra's eye a few times.

"Zane, I don't mean to be rude but..." she hesitated, not sure how to word her question.

"How am I consuming food, even though I am a nindroid?" Zane guessed. When she nodded, he continued. "I was built to replicate all human body systems, including the digestive system. Just like you, food is imperative for my survival. I do not consume liquids, though, as they could disrupt my circuits. And I do not find your question to be rude, so don't worry."

Lyra nodded. "That makes sense."

Lloyd, who hadn't grabbed a seat yet, shoved his way in between Cole and Lyra's chairs. "Can I show you something I figured out during Isolated Training?"

Lyra turned to face him, a smile on her face. "Um, of course." 

An energy sphere formed between his hands. When Lyra looked closer, though, she realized it wasn't a sphere. It was a butterfly. Upon spotting her, the butterfly flew from Lloyd's fingertips and flitted around her head. It left a trail of green flecks that looked similar to Lyra's fairy dust behind it.

Lyra froze, so as not to disturb it. Her eyes sparkled a vibrant sky-blue. "Oh my goodness, that's adorable. I love it!"

Lloyd's cheeks were flushed bright red. "I found out I could do that on Saturday, during research time."

"Is it able to turn into any animal?" Lyra wondered, cupping her hands and allowing it to land. It felt warm, as if it were an Elemental manifestation of the underlying emotion in Lloyd's eyes.

"DON'T!" Lloyd shouted, raising a hand as if to stop her.

Startled, Lyra almost dropped the butterfly. "What?"

"That should--that should've hurt you." Lloyd's mouth was wide open. "How--"

The butterfly curled up in Lyra's hand and promptly fell asleep.

"Obviously, it doesn't hurt people." Jay rolled his eyes and reached to poke the butterfly. "See? AHH! HOLY SHIT, THAT HURT!" He yanked his hand back and blew on his finger, wincing. He gaped at Lyra, who was still gently handling the Energy-fly. "How are you doing that?"

"Maybe you're just a baby," she quipped, poking the butterfly in the same place he had. She just felt the same warm, safe feeling as before. "This feels like it'd heal me before it hurt me."

"It was burning hot!" Jay protested. "But also freezing cold? I don't know, but it hurt like hell."

"Is that normally what your Element feels like to other people, Lloyd?" Lyra wondered.

"When he hit me with it the other day when we were training, it felt like it," Kai commented.

"Same here," Cole added.

"Hmm..." Lyra tilted her head to the side and turned to Lloyd. "Do you think you could just, like...throw a bit of your Energy at me?"

Lloyd frowned. "No! It could hurt you!"

"Well, so could this butterfly, but it isn't," Lyra pointed out, shifting the Energy-insect to one hand and putting the other on her hip.

"Yeah, but that could be different!" he protested. "I don't want to hurt you."

I wonder if the others' Elements work on me? 

Lyra whirled to face Kai. "Can you try to burn me?"

"What?" Kai stared at her like she was insane, which she kind of was. "No! Why?"

"Jay, how about you shock me, then?" Lyra asked, ignoring the Fire Ninja. "You did it before, right? It's not like it hurt."

Jay nodded and tapped her arm. A blue spark travelled from his hand down her arm, making her jump.

"What are you doing?" Cole frowned.

"Hmm...can you put a bit more power into the electricity?" she wondered. "Like, enough to sort of hurt me, but not really hurt me?"

"I'm not sure..." Jay's eyebrows furrowed. "What if I hurt you more than I meant by accident?"

"Zane?" Lyra questioned. "You know what I'm doing, right?"

"You are trying to figure out whether our Elements injure you or not, correct?" Zane asked.

"Yup."

"Then I will freeze your pinkie finger. Not enough to cause permanent damage, but you will feel mild pain for a few minutes. Is that okay?"

When Lyra nodded, Zane shot a ball of ice at her. Lloyd, who'd been staring at Lyra in shock throughout the entire conversation, tried to interfere, but Lyra put her arm out and stopped him.

Lyra watched the ice encase her left pinkie finger (the one the butterfly wasn't on). It didn't hurt at all, just felt...well, cold. Not even that cold, though. It was around the same temperature as half-melted ice cream, if even that.

"You aren't in pain," Zane noted. "How intriguing. I wonder..." He pinched his fingers together, and the ice turned a faint shade of blue.

Lyra watched it turn a deeper and deeper shade, until it was almost cobalt. The second it hit that shade, she hissed in pain. She felt like she'd just dunked her finger in ice water.

"What'd you do?" Lloyd demanded, rushing to Lyra and gingerly holding her finger. "Are you okay?"

Zane released his fingers from each other, and the ice immediately turned back to its original powder-blue colour. "My apologies. I wanted to see how far my Element could go without harming her. It appears I must concentrate very hard to even slightly hurt her, and even that doesn't hurt even half as much as it should. With that type of ice, her finger should have fallen off."

"What?" Lyra asked.

"Your finger should have fallen off," Zane repeated. "Not only because it was so cold, but because it was so dense. "Do not worry. It was completely safe. I was monitoring your body temperature the entire time, and it was regular. Your pinkie was only two degrees colder than usual, though it's now three degrees colder."

"So Lyra's, like, immune to our powers?" Kai wondered.

"That's so unfair!" Jay whined.

"Not immune," Zane corrected. "More like...resistant."

Awesome. My Element keeps getting better and better.

"How so?" Lloyd frowned. "Are you sure she isn't just immune to the cold? And my Element?"

"No, I get cold easily," Lyra said. "And my pain tolerance is fairly low, so your Energy probably would've hurt me more than it hurt Jay if I wasn't resistant to it."

"But how did my power hit you?" Jay frowned.

"Can you try to hurt me with it?" Lyra asked. "Last time, it didn't hurt, it just surprised me."

"Okay..." Jay slowly reached out and tapped her arm. Lloyd looked like he had to force himself not to try to interfere again. 

Lyra jumped again. "That felt the same as before."

"That electricity was a lot more concentrated than before," Jay said. "It totally should've made you at least fall on the ground for a few seconds."

"So your Elements can't hurt me unless you try as hard as you can," Lyra realized. She grinned. "That's so cool."

"But why?" Zane asked. "It's illogical. Do no other Elements affect you?"

"Well, Neuro couldn't read my mind," Lyra remembered. "But I think that's because we're related."

"You're what?" Nya asked.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys about that. Heh. I'll explain later," Lyra promised. "Anyways, Tox's Element, Poison, still works on me. So does Amber, though it's weaker than usual. Gravity also works, as I learned the hard way with Chen."

"He used Ice on you, too," Lloyd remembered.

"Yeah, but it never really hurt me," she realized. "It just made me stuck there."

"So just our powers don't hurt you?" Cole asked. "That's strange."

"Ever since I met you guys, things have been strange," Lyra pointed out. She finished her Froot Loops and stacked Jay and Cole's bowls on top of hers. "This is just...another feature of my Element, I guess? I dunno. Do your guys' Elements hurt Lloyd?"

"Yes," Lloyd groaned. "They hurt like hell."

"Lyra, does your Element hurt us? I wonder if it wouldn't," Zane theorized.

"She blinded me earlier," Jay reminded everyone.

"Did it hurt, though?" Lyra asked.

"No, just made me dizzy," he admitted.

"The only way I know how to hurt people with my power is by putting it in their eyes," Lyra said. "Any volunteers?"

As if I'd do that to them. The thought was almost laughable if the prospect of her injuring the ninja wasn't terrifying.

"I believe you should start with me, as my pain tolerance is much higher than everyone else's," Zane told her.

"Oh, I was joking." Lyra blinked. "I'd never try to actually hurt you."

"I am not joking, however. I would like you to try to harm me with your powers."

No, thank you. 

All the ninja were nodding as if they thought it was a great idea. Lyra didn't quite agree.

Lyra quickly stood up, almost knocking her chair over. She picked up the stacked bowls, and Lloyd's butterfly flew onto her head. "You know what? I think it's my turn to wash the dishes, so..."

She exited the dining room and entered the kitchen, very aware of the ninja's stares. Her heart rate was twice its usual pace.

I can't hurt him, she thought, placing the bowls on the counter, putting her back to a cupboard, and slowly sinking to the ground. Hurting those Anacondrai was okay, because they were evil. Hurting the Master of Air was okay because she was hurting the ninja. Hurting Zane, however, is not okay. What have I gotten myself into? I should've just stayed with Skylor. 

Lyra's left hand fidgeted with the ends of her hoodie while her right one ran through her hair. The butterfly flew off her head and landed on the tip of her nose. Just then, the doorknob twisted.

"Hey," Lloyd murmured, closing the kitchen door behind him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Lyra squeaked. 

The boy sat across from her. "You sure?"

Lyra closed her eyes and shook her head. Her left hand made its way to her hair and started to comb through it, the same as her other hand. The piece of layer of ice coating her pinkie started to melt, leaving trails of water by her scalp. It felt cool. Almost calming, even.

"Can I move closer?" 

Lyra opened her eyes. Lloyd was staring straight at her, eyes shifting colours as they always did. There was even more warmth in them as usual, about as much as there was radiating from the butterfly.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Please."

Lloyd needed no more prompting. He moved beside Lyra until they were basically touching. "Is this okay?"

Lyra responded by putting her head on his shoulder. "Yes. No. Everything's okay. Nothing is. I...I don't know."

I wish I never discovered my Element was like this, she thought bitterly. Everything was so simple back when I thought I was weak and pathetic. I mean, I still am, but now I don't have an excuse for it. I'm just a blubbering mess that can't even make herself use her power on her friend for half a second.

"Everything will be okay." Lloyd's voice was as soft as his eyes. "I promised you it would be, right? I'm gonna keep trying until that promise is fulfilled. Now, what's wrong?"

"I just--everything," she admitted. "My entire life, I've lived with my three best friends. Skylor, Sakura, and Jalin. There were the other Kabuki, which I was on fairly good terms with, along with the guards, who I always found to be a bit creepy and power-hungry. I also lived with Chen and Clouse. Now, my friends are all over Ninjago, while Clouse and Chen are dead. And I know I should be happy that they are, because they're terrible people, but...life was so much simpler back then, you know?"

Lloyd nodded. "I get it. At Darkley's, it was every boy for himself. It sucked, but at least I was used to it."

"Exactly! Here, I have some prophecy--many prophecies, but we only know one of them--and a destiny and I'm supposed to be all-powerful and there are so many mysteries surrounding me and I don't like it. I...I want to go back to living in the dark. At the same time, though, I wouldn't even be able to do that because Father and Clouse were planning to kill me. And I love living here. I really do. It already feels more like home to me than the island ever did, and the ninja are amazing, but..."

"Everything's so uncertain now?" Lloyd guessed. "It feels like you've been forced into all of this?"

Lyra nodded. "I didn't even choose this. It was my instincts that guided me through all of this. Fate, maybe. I know that I don't regret any of my decisions, deep down. I just...it's difficult. Lloyd, it's my sixteenth birthday in two weeks and I don't know what I'm even going to do with my life. I've been thrown into an entirely different situation where I know nothing that's going on and I just have to deal with it. And I know it's selfish of me to be saying this because you've had it much worse your entire life--"

"No, I haven't," he interjected. "It sounds like we're in the same boat right now. We're both totally unprepared for whatever's gonna happen next and we have to pretend that everything's okay. But I'm here for you, alright? We'll get through this, just like we got through everything else already. Which, by the way, it's absolutely incredible how much you've managed to endure through already, don't you think?"

Lyra sniffled. A tear made its way down her face. "I don't think so."

"Well, I do. Life is difficult. It's so fucking difficult. But you've made it so far already, and that is such a huge accomplishment." Lloyd wrapped a hand around Lyra's waist. "I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but one day, you'll look back and be amazed at how far you've come. You're awesome, got it? Not your potential, not your Element--well, they are awesome, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm referring to you. You are an incredible, amazing work of nature. Got it?"

Lyra wiped her lime-coloured tears before they could stain anything. "Got it."

Lloyd's butterfly rested on top of her heart, making her entire body feel warm and fuzzy. Or maybe that was his arm around her waist. She wasn't sure.

"Thanks, Lloyd," she whispered. "You know, you're pretty awesome, too."

Lloyd merely smiled and held her tighter.

~*~

"Zane?" Lyra asked as she and Lloyd walked into the dining room, hands clasped tightly together. "Does your offer still stand?"

Lloyd had convinced her to try. He promised that no one would hate her if she did end up hurting him, and that it would only hurt for a few seconds. He also argued that it'd be best for them to know sooner rather than later, for strategy purposes, which was what made Lyra agree.

"Of course. Before we begin, though, are you alright?"

When Lyra hesitated, Jay spoke. "We've all been in your position before, don't worry."

"Yeah. Life here is tough," Nya agreed. "But it's worth it."

"Promise," Kai added.

How did saving the world fall into the hands of a bunch of children? Lyra wondered. Every. Single. One. Of these ninja appeared to relate to what Nya said.

"We're here for you," Cole said.

"Thanks, and sorry for the trouble." Lyra smiled awkwardly. Before anyone could disagree, she summoned a spark of power. "Zane, you ready?"

When the nindroid confirmed that he was, she sent a sphere of glowing particles at him, waiting with bated breath as the powder disappeared into his eyes.

"I cannot see," he noted. "But it does not hurt."

Lyra sighed in relief. All her nerves washed away as Lloyd squeezed her hand tightly. "Thank Khalik for that," she murmured.

"Indeed," Zane agreed. "Shall we try it on someone else, now?"

"Me," Lloyd offered.

Lyra's muscles tensed. "How about someone else?" she rushed. "Not to say anyone else is worth less than you or anything, of course, but purple and green are really close to being contrasting colours, so the purple light could damage your eyes more than Zane's."

She was lying, and it was obvious. Thankfully, no one called her out on it, though Zane looked tempted to.

"How about you try it on me?" Cole suggested. "I think my eyes are more resistant to light, since they're brown."

Lyra had no idea if that was true or not, but the Earth Ninja seemed fairly confident in what he'd said.

"Okay." Lyra took a deep breath, took the power out of Zane's eyes, and sent it into Cole's.

"Whoa," he murmured, glancing around and rapidly blinking. "There isn't anything. It's just purple, like I closed my eyes but my eyelids were actually amethysts or something."

"Thanks for the visual," Lyra muttered, retracting the power and making the particles dance around the room, resembling LED lights. "Who's next?"

"Me!" Kai offered.

Lyra directed the bright light into his eyes without so much as a warning.

"Whoa, Cole was right." Kai sucked in a breath. "That's cool. Lyra, are you sure this hurts people?"

"It made Anacondrai warriors unconscious, so...probably?" Lyra said.

"But does it affect people?" Kai repeated. "Or just Serpentine?"

"It also worked on Keres," Nya added. "The Master of Air. And she's an Elemental Master, so it's not even like Lyra's power doesn't work on all Elemental Masters. Just you guys."

"We haven't figured out if it works on me yet," Lloyd reminded them. "We should probably figure that out."

Lyra pursed her lips, drawing the power out of Kai's eyes. "Yeah..."

"Look, I'll be fine," Lloyd reassured. "Even if it does hurt, I've been through worse. I've broken my leg, gotten my powers stolen, had my arm ripped out of its socket, went through all my growing pains at once, et cetera. A little headache won't do anything."

Now or never, Lyra thought.

She inhaled deeply, squeezed his hand, and shot her Element directly into his pretty eyes. He didn't even blink. Lyra waited with bated breath for him to start screaming in pain.

"Have you done it yet?" he asked.

"Yes?" Lyra phrased the word like a question.

"I can see, though." Lloyd tilted his head to the side. "Perfectly fine. If anything, it made all the colours more vibrant."

"What?" Lyra frowned as the particles returned to her fingertips and disappeared. "That...that doesn't make sense."

"Neither does the fact that it doesn't pain any of us," Zane reminded her. "Or how we cannot hurt you with our Elements."

"More mysteries," Lyra sang under her breath.

"Does your power hurt me?" Nya wondered. "I'm not an Elemental Master, obviously, but it affected Keres and she is one, so maybe it doesn't actually have anything to do with power?"

"I don't want to hurt you," Lyra said.

"You won't, though," Nya protested. "If it does, it'll take two seconds for you to realize and call your powers back. I used to get killing headaches, so it'd be no big deal."

"You sure?" Lyra frowned.

"Yup." Nya popped her 'p'. "100%."

"Okay..." Lyra summoned more particles and threw them into Nya's eyes.

Everyone watched as Nya went through many reactions within a split-second. They couldn't tell if she was hurt or not. Lyra's muscles tensed, ready to take the Element out at any moment.

"I don't know what you were talking about, Lloyd," Nya said. "Everything's purple."

Lyra absorbed the power. "I was so scared I hurt you," she admitted. "But why doesn't it affect you?"

"I guess you're just awesome like that." Nya shrugged. 

"That's not an actual answer," Lyra huffed.

"Hey, don't worry. Our lives are so confusing, you learn to just go with the flow," Lloyd reassured. "We'll tell Sensei and Misako about this later, and we'll figure it out."

Lyra nodded. Everyone was quiet for a moment, until a phone buzzed.

"Oh, shoot, that's mine," Lyra realized. She grabbed it out of her hoodie pocket, making sure the dragons didn't escape as she did so. "One sec."

It was from Skylor.

Sky
How was Isolated Training? 

Lyra considered what she'd tell her sister. All in all, it wasn't terrible, though it was pretty lonely before she made the origami.

Lyra
It was awesome. I figured out something so cool with my powers, you'll never believe it over text. We should meet up soon.

Skylor responded instantly.

Sky
I'd love that! We should do something for your birthday. It's September 5th already, yk. Only fourteen days to go! 

Lyra

Yk? What does that mean?

Lyra wondered if that was one of the abbreviations Nya had told her about. It certainly wasn't an actual word.

Sky
It's short for 'you know'. Sakura and Jalin taught me it. 

Lyra
Sakura and Jalin? You got their numbers?

Sky

Yep. They came into the noodle house the other day and we talked for a bit. I may or may not have already invited them to your birthday party. We all miss you. 

"Who're you texting?" Kai asked, trying to peer over her shoulder at the phone.

Lyra hid the screen with her hand. "Why do you wanna know? Trying to figure out if it's Skylor?"

"No! Yes. Maybe." Kai rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Is it her?"

"Well, seeing as her number is the only one I have--aside from Lloyd's and Nya's and the restaurant's--there's a pretty good chance it's her," Lyra drawled.

"You don't have anyone else's numbers?" Jay piped up. "Oh, we gotta add you to the group chat!"

"Oh, I forgot to do that earlier." Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Whoopsies."

He whipped his phone out and began typing. A moment later, a notification popped up on Lyra's screen, stating that she'd been added to Ninjago's Sweethearts<3.

"That's an...interesting name," she snickered, tapping on the notification.

Coal
Welcome to the groupchat. Now that you've been added you aren't allowed to leave

Elsa
Affirmative. I apologize in advance for all of the notifications you will receive.

Lyra noted that Zane didn't use his phone to text. He must've used his robot-powers. Just nindroid things, I guess.

"You're acting like this is the worst thing in the world." Nya rolled her eyes. "The only annoying part is Jay's nicknames." She turned to Lyra, explaining, "He made the group chat, so he's the only one who can change our display names."

"So that's why Zane's name is a Disney princess," Lyra said. "Makes sense."

Just then, her phone dinged, reading: Your display name has been changed to Lyric.

To test it out, Lyra started texting.

Lyric
Why Lyric, of all things?

Zappy~Zap
why not

Lyra sighed. "You're annoying, you know,"

"I've been told that." Jay shrugged.

Lyra glanced down at her phone as Skylor sent her another text.

Sky
Do you wanna meet up before your birthday?

Lyra
Yeah. I miss you.

As the two began to plan when and where they'd meet, the ninja all wandered off to do their own things. 

"See you later, Lyra," Lloyd said as he made his way to the door. "I need to sleep."

Oh, I never showed him the origami. Lyra looked down at the magic butterfly, which was still resting on her heart. I can't wait for his reaction.

Lyra waved good-bye and returned to texting her sister, a small smile making its way to her face.

Word count: 5.4k

Sorry I haven't updated in like two weeks but I'm not rly in my Ninjago phase rn so it's difficult to get the motivation to write lol

QOTD: Who is your current favourite fictional character? Doesn't have to be an all-time favourite, just one you rly like rn

A: Probably Shoto Todoroki or Leo Valdez tbh which is strange cuz they're almost polar opposites but they're both my comfort characters<3

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

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

~Aspen