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Zane has had every recipe he’s ever made for his family memorized for years. A multitude of pies (cobbler berry, myrtle berry, apple...), rice, dumplings, violet berry soup, and more. Even now, as the newest members of the team train outside, Zane is in the kitchen, peeling and cubing pears for another delicious dish as the sun bleeds gold past the windows. A slight smile rests upon his face while the knife taps on the cutting board; in this small moment pocketed away from the newly knit chaos of the merged realms.
He listens to the birds singing, perched on the eaves of the monastery they built together, as a family… dense thunks as shurikens pierce into the wooden targets Zane himself once stood in front of for hours on end, clangs reverberating from dulled weapons and witty quips as students learn the way of the ninja. The day starts, lessons are passed down and skills put to the test, the food cooks.
The paper doors slide from the courtyard to the monastery’s interior open and shut. Multiple people shuffle their way inside with muffled cries of both exhaustion and excitement. Their voices grow louder the closer they get to the kitchen, chirping about all the progress they made on their new abilities. Arin achieved a faster time on the obstacle course; Sora improved on her blade technique; Wyldfyre learned a more patient way to control her elemental power carefully.
He remembers being that way early on in his training with the others as well. They were always so insistent on competition…
It’s strange almost, to see how different but the same they all are.
“Hey Zane—!
“—Gkh—”
Whatcha doing?” Arin asks; His voice broke sharply into Zane’s fervor of reminiscence. He himself had not noticed when he simply froze there in thought.
Arin’s bright eyes stand wide holding curiosity within them, accompanied by a twinge of perhaps eagerness.
“I’m making pie for everybody to enjoy together…” He pauses for a moment, then, sensing the reason Arin may have gravitated towards the kitchen, finishes with a request.
“Would you like to help? I’ve not quite made it around to making the crust and I’m not certain that I could ‘pear’ it at the moment ha ha.” he chuckles.
“uh—Yeah! I-I didn’t know you baked for everybody…” Arin said as he began to measure out flour; Spooning it into a measuring cup before leveling it out and dumping it into a bowl. The particles clumping together into an imperfect domed shape.
“Not just bake, but I cook as well. Ever since we first began training with Sensei Wu. Cole would sometimes help as well.” Zane went on to tell Arin more about the Ninja’s earlier years together in training: Finding the golden weapons, fighting the serpentine and garmadon, Prime Empire, and The Crystal King. Struggles, and sticking together. As the Ice ninja regaled Arin with stories of ninja past, he began to peel oranges, pulling the tough rind away from the soft, juicy slices tucked within. He ended up leaning with his back to the countertop as he worked, a slight smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.
“You guys are really like a family, huh…” Arin muses.
“I suppose so…” The ice ninja replies, turning his head to stare out a window. A lone falcon glides around on thermals in the distance.
“We certainly became one didn’t we?”
“Yeah…” The apprentice paused in weaving a lattice for the pie. The dough sticking in his hands, motionless. Zane places his orange slices on a plate, neatly arranging them, almost decoratively, in a circle.
“Arin-”
“Zane-”
They say in unison.
“Zane…Do you think I’ll ever find my parents?”
The Ice Ninja pauses for a moment.
“You know, Arin…I think so. Although I cannot say how long it may be until you do”
“What if…what if it’s not the same as it was before?”
“What if instead it means more than it did before?” Zane replies, “Perhaps it won’t really be as different as it seems; I thought I lost my family once, but not only had I found more of it, in the process I found somebody I didn’t know I really missed; my father. You’ll find your family Arin, and maybe you’ll find more along the way as well.”
Arin stares at him for a moment, before jumping at Zane and wrapping his arms around the ice ninja in a hug.
“Thanks, Zane.”
“Of course”
The lattice in the pie crust was completed along with the rest of that day’s meal. It brought them all closer, just as it always did in it’s own special way.
It’s a family recipe.