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“...Who is it?”
Nya's voice croaked as she opened the door, blinking sleepily into the dark.
Her throat was dry again. She wanted water. Ever since getting her powers back, she couldn't have enough of it. Glass after glass, all drained dry.
(It was missing the essence of seaweed and salt.)
The door squeaked loudly in protest as it gave way. They hadn’t yet greased the new hinges.
A fuzzy blob stood in the hallway, waiting. The blurry details soon became clear.
A long-sleeved, baggy t-shirt that hung loose on his form. The pale, messed-up mop of her little brother's blond hair.
Faintly glowing green eyes, large with worry, flecked with purple.
It was Lloyd. It took a moment in the dark to see he was trembling slightly.
“Lil' bro?” Nya rasped. She touched his arm. “You OK?”
What a dumb question.
At the sound of her voice, finding her solid and human, Lloyd gave a sharp inhale of relief. It came out again. He blinked quickly.
Was there salt water in his eyes?
Was he crying?
Nya’s heart cracked. “Lloyd…”
“I-I’m sorry, Nya,” he mumbled, and rubbed at his eyes. “I shouldn't've woken you up. I just—I forgot if—I was checking again.” He dropped his gaze to the floor. “It was dumb.”
No, no.
“Lloyd, it's not—” Nya was cut off. He’d crashed into her.
Enveloping her in an embrace, like a wave of the sea.
…Or, you know, her little brother.
“I missed you.”
His voice was quiet. It sounded like his heart had been broken.
And broken.
And broken.
And this time she hadn't been there to pick up the pieces.
Nya's chest ached, and not from the dry air in her human lungs.
“I—”
I missed you too.
Just four simple words, but the lie caught in her throat.
She hadn't.
A whole year, and she hadn't even remembered his name.
How could you?
How could you forget Lloyd?
In her mind, Nya knew it was understandable.
She'd been the ocean. Endless and vast. Brimming with salt and life, darkness and death, light and cold and worlds of wonders.
Her mortal head ached to remember just a fraction.
She’d danced with the moon, in the sweet, slow pulse of the tides. Breathed in the waves that crashed against every shore. Currents had flowed through her being, the lifeblood of her waters.
What was one half-human mortal, to the sea?
She had existed long before his great ancestor, his dry world of earth. She would continue much longer—no matter its fate or his. Long after he was dead and gone, just a snuffed-out flicker of green and goodness and life—
No.
The mortal—Lloyd, she remembered—was still breathing. Shaking. Crying silently into her clothes, the salt water seeping through the fabric onto her skin.
It sang to her. Calling, comforting, yearning.
It's beautiful.
The sea smiled.
No.
The smile faltered.
She wasn't the sea.
She was Nya.
Master of Water.
Kai's sister.
Jay's Yang.
There were…others. Her…friends. They were blurry.
Who were they?
The mortal held on tighter. His new claws pricked her damagable skin.
Like guilt, some might say.
It was…Lloyd.
Her friend. Her…brother?
She'd forgotten him.
Again.
How could it be so easy?
She'd fought so hard on that rooftop to remember their names. Jay. Kai. Her predecessor—her mother.
The rest—and soon the others—had already slipped away. The waters were louder.
Mortals. They were insignificant, to the sea.
Remembering—her shape, her Yin, the brother who raised her—had been one of the most difficult struggles for Nya to ever attempt.
(The rest of her “friends” had still remained vague.)
All that power, and so little of herself.
She'd come back. They'd saved her.
And now a drop of those powers had returned.
The rest called to her.
Lloyd clung to her.
He's more important.
Nya's heart cracked, again, and she welcomed it.
“I'm sorry,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around him in return.
Why hadn't she done that earlier???
It hurt.
(Probably hurt him a lot more.)
“I'm so sorry.”
Her fingers combed through his hair.
It was tangled.
She worked through it.
Silence. For a long while.
“It's OK,” Lloyd said at last. “I mean… it wasn’t, really?” He gave a shaky little laugh, that wasn't funny at all. “But I…I get it. It's not your fault. And…You came back.” He rested his head on her shoulder. “I'm really glad you came back.”
“So am I.” Nya held him tighter. “Thanks to you.”
“Mmmm.” Lloyd was getting sleepy again. His limbs were growing heavy and limp.
With relief, or pure exhaustion, Nya didn't know.
She hoped that someone had made him take care of himself while she'd been gone.
“Come on, let's get you back to bed.”
Lloyd whined. His claws dug slightly into her back. “Don' wanna go…” he murmured.
“I know. I know.” Nya carefully led him back to his room. She helped him get into bed and pulled up the covers. “You need some rest, Lloyd.”
“Nya…” He reached after her. “Please don't leave…”
Nya gave a sad smile. She slipped her hand into his, one last time.
“I'll be here in the morning.”
Lloyd hesitated. “...Promise?”
“I promise.” She squeezed his hand. “I'm not going anywhere.”
If she said it a bit too loudly for the hour of night, it was for the water to hear. Or maybe herself.
“...OK.” Lloyd swallowed and allowed her fingers to slide away. “G'night, Nya.”
“Good night, Lloyd.”
Nya silently repeated the familiar shape of his name on her lips. She studied his sleeping expression for a long time before shutting the door quietly behind her.
She didn't know what would tear their family apart next. With their work and combined luck, it was nearly inevitable. An occupational hazard.
Maybe one of them would die for real. Gone for good.
Maybe the sea's call would drown out everything else.
Maybe she'd forget them again.
Maybe she wouldn't remember this time.
Even this far on a mountain, her veins still thrummed with the pulse of the tide.
Nya might fail. It was a very real possibility. She'd done it before. For a whole year.
But right here? Right now?
The present was hers. She had her brothers. Her friends. Her Yin.
Jay. Kai. Lloyd.
Cole, Zane, Pix. Master Wu. Everyone else, their real, clear names flowing through her mind.
She'd hold on tight. And by FSM she'd try, or her name wasn't Nya.
Master of Water.
Not the other way around.