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Being a flying ship, The Bounty often carried a chill when it was in the air, though it was never too overwhelming. Today was different. A blizzard ravaged most of Ninjago, leaving The Bounty grounded. Training was called off for the day, Master Wu barricading himself in his room. He always did that when the weather got cold enough and the ninja wouldn’t hear from him for the rest of the day.
Zane was making hot chocolate, talking to Pixal in his head.
He heard Pixal wistfully sigh in his head. Zane blinked.
“Is something wrong, Pixal?” He asked. Pixal blinked back to him, shaking her head with a gentle smile.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Zane frowned. He stirred hot chocolate mix into the colour coded cups; red, blue, white, black, green, and maroon. Zane didn’t need to drink or eat, but the bonding experience of sitting with his friends—his family—and drinking hot chocolate on a snowy day sounded delightful. So much had happened recently, much of which he didn't get to experience due to being trapped on Chen’s island.
He felt like Pixal wasn’t telling him something, but he decided not to pry. He simply smiled solemnly, “I wish the others could communicate easily with you.”
In the corner of his eye (literally) she nodded, standing sheepishly, “I do as well, but as long as I get to be with you and be of use, I am happy.”
There were more unspoken words, but Zane was satisfied with what he got. They had all the time in the world together with her being inside of his head. In time, maybe she’d find the words. Until then, Zane was content.
The red mug’s hot chocolate was much hotter than it really should have been. Knowing Kai, he’d likely heat it up even more with his fire abilities. Aside from the heat, it was plain. For how boisterous Kai could be, he was humble when it came to treats.
On the other hand, the other most eccentric member of the team —Jay—enjoyed his marshmallows and whipped cream. He once scolded Zane for giving him an ‘incomplete hot chocolate.’
Zane was similar to Kai when it came to how he liked his hot chocolate. Granted, Zane preferred his drink to not be scalding hot, but he also liked the plainness of simple hot chocolate. Though, after a bit of probing from Pixal, he did relent and added whipped cream.
Next were the two sugar fiends, Cole and Lloyd.
Cole’s love for sweets was much more centralized to chocolate flavoured things when he couldn’t get his hands on cake. On top of the whipped cream and marshmallows, Zane added more cocoa powder and a little piece of chocolate as garnish.
Meanwhile, Lloyd just had a general sweet tooth. Whipped cream and marshmallows, though he was also a big fan of minty flavoured things. As garnish, Zane added a peppermint stick over the side.
Lastly was Nya. She was also similar to her brother with simplicity. Zane wondered perhaps it was due to their upbringing. After dating Jay though, she grew a small appreciation for marshmallows. Not many, but a small amount.
He wondered what Pixal would drink if she was here in person.
Hearing his thoughts, Pixal pondered the question out loud, “I’m… not sure. In truth, I’ve never had hot chocolate.”
Zane placed the cups onto a tray. He briefly wondered if Master Wu would like some before deciding against it. Their Master never answered the door to anyone on cold days like this. Zane glanced out one of The Bounty’s windows with deep thought.
“About what you said Pixal.”
She blinked, nodding with acknowledgment.
Zane smiled, hoping his intentions came through, “You don’t need to be of use for me to want you here.”
She seemed a little stunned before smiling back to him.
“Thank you.” Pixal placed her hands on her hips, “Now, let’s get these to the others before they get cold.”
Zane traversed The Bounty, finding the living room with everyone huddled up together. Jay and Cole were arguing over the remote with Nya huddling up to her brother for the natural warmth he extruded. Though, upon further inspection, there was one person missing.
He placed the tray on the coffee table in the center, “Where’s Lloyd.”
“I don’t know, probably still sleeping.” Kai shrugged, kicking Jay and Cole away when their squabbling got too close.
Zane frowned. The clock on the wall said it was in the middle of the afternoon. Lloyd was the youngest and perhaps most restless member of the team. He’d often go off on his own small quests just to get out of The Bounty or wherever. Perhaps it was all the training they had put him through in his younger years, he was always awake with the dawn. Sleeping in was unheard of for the green ninja.
Seeing his expression, Kai stood up, Nya whining at the loss of warmth.
“I’ll go get him.”
“HAH!” Cole said triumphantly, holding the remote high above Jay’s head with the lightning ninja pinned below him.
Jay grumped and whined, “Get off me! You’re so heavy!”
“Hey!” Cole pouted, though his biting response died in his throat when he saw the hot chocolate on the tray, “Oh, thanks Zane. You’re the greatest.”
Jay and Nya both reached over for their cups, their hands slightly brushing against one another. They both blushed but quickly pulled away. Things had been tense since the whole love triangle fiasco and their relationship wasn’t clearly defined.
“It is clear they both like each other.” Pixal stated. Zane nodded, but did not vocalize his agreement as to not embarrass the two.
Cole took a hearty slurp of his hot chocolate, earning a disgusted glare from Nya and Jay. Cole couldn’t care less.
“Mmm, you always make the best hot cocoa, Zane.”
He smiled, though couldn’t help but notice Pixal in the corner of his vision with that bittersweet expression. Zane reached for his own cup, taking a sip. Pixal couldn’t drink it herself, but he hoped she still got the sensation of it.
Pixal hummed, clearly savouring at least the feeling of the beverage, “It’s good to see your taste buds are working nicely.”
It didn’t take long before Cole was over halfway finished with his hot chocolate. He had turned on a festive movie about a kid being left home alone and fending off burglars.
“It’s not even the holidays.” Jay complained.
“Hey, it doesn’t need to be a holiday to watch festive movies. You don’t NOT watch horror movies just because it isn’t the Day of the Departed”
“That doesn’t even make any sense.” Jay argued against Cole’s rebuttal, “Not all horror movies are about the Day of the Departed, but all festive movies are about the holiday.”
“Nuh uh, this one just happens to take place during the holiday.”
Nya rolled her eyes and groaned, “Knock it off, I can’t hear the movie.”
Jay anxiously giggled, rubbing where his neck and shoulders met, “Sorry Nya.”
Zane didn’t miss the two previously arguing teens sticking their tongues out at each other, Jay scornfully and Cole playfully. Zane was just glad. The tension that had been building in their friendship due to both vying for Nya’s affection had been sufficiently snuffed out enough for them to go back to playfully teasing each other and bickering.
“I wish I never showed Nya that program.” Pixal said exasperatedly, rubbing her temple. Zane could only chuckle.
Just as he got comfortable, he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a frazzled looking Kai, clearly trying to keep calm and failing miserably.
“Is something wrong?” Zane looked around, “Where’s Lloyd?”
“I uhh” he cleared his throat, careful not to alert the others, “Come see for yourself.”
Zane stood up, following Kai out of the living room and into the hallway. Kai kept walking, a sure stride in his step until they reached the shared bedroom. He recalled Lloyd groggily waking up this morning with everyone else and saying he’d catch up. They trusted he wouldn’t go back to sleep so they all went on ahead. When Master Wu said training was canceled due to the storm and Lloyd made no further appearance, everyone just shrugged and agreed to let him sleep.
Kai didn’t knock on the door. Many people in this household had no reservations about barging into rooms without knocking. Though, it became clear that if he did knock, there would be no response.
All of the beds had their blankets ripped off and thrown onto Lloyd’s bed. Under the stack of differently coloured blankets was a sleeping mound. Already odd, but Zane watched Kai walk up to him.
“Hey, bud. It’s time to get up. Zane made hot chocolate.” He nudged him, trying to wake him up. Lloyd was completely unresponsive.
Zane tilted his head. The life of a ninja basically required one to be a light sleeper, and Lloyd was the lightest sleeper of them all. Already not a good combination with his horrid insomnia. Kai tore off the covers, exposing Lloyd to the mild chill in the air. Lloyd whined, curling in on himself and clawing at the sheets beneath himself. Yet, he was still asleep.
“I’ve tried everything and he still won’t wake up.” Kai turned to Zane, he then put his fingers to Lloyd’s neck, “His pulse is also scarily low.”
“Pixal, please perform a scan.”
“Understood.” After a moment, pop-ups appeared in Zane’s vision with health diagrams and statistics, “Heartrate, metabolism, and respiration are dramatically lower than usual.”
“Do you know what might’ve caused this?”
Pixal shook her head, “No. Aside from that, he is perfectly healthy. Though, his symptoms carry a striking resemblance to that of brumation.”
“I see…”
“What?” Kai asked, trying to hide the worry and desperation in his voice.
“Pixal suggests that his symptoms share many similarities to brumation.”
“What’s that?”
“When temperatures drop and days get shorter, reptiles will seek out safe and insulated environments to maintain proper body heat.”
“So like… hibernation?”
“Sort of, but not quite.” Zane explained, “Unlike mammals that enter hibernation, brumating reptiles will occasionally stir and wake when exposed to warmth. In that time, they’ll hydrate and bask in warmth before returning to their slumber.”
Zane pulled a few blankets back over Lloyd, causing the younger teen to relax slightly and curl up under the covers’ warmth.
“Reptiles will only brumate when they’ve found a place of safety.” Pixal added. Zane smiled, then turned to Kai.
Kai sighed, smiling and shaking his head, “So basically he’ll be fine as long as we keep him warm.”
Zane nodded. If Lloyd entered a state similar to brumation, perhaps that’s why Master Wu always hid away on cold nights. Perhaps it was a family trait for whatever reason. He’d bring it up with their Master a different time.
Without prompting, Kai wrapped Lloyd up in a blanket and picked him up. Lloyd was instantly drawn to Kai’s body heat, nuzzling himself closer.
“We should get back before Cole drinks our hot chocolate.” Zane said playfully. Kai’s eyes widened at the thought of his drink being stolen and ran out of the room, careful not to jostle Lloyd too much.
They returned to the living room. Thankfully, Kai, Zane, and Lloyd’s drinks were untouched.
“You’re welcome.” Nya grinned, “Cole made a few grabs but we managed to stop him.”
“She kicked me.” Cole grumbled. Kai and Zane laughed.
Zane sat down on the floor next to Cole while Kai took his spot on the couch with Lloyd still curled up in a blanket burrito on his lap. Lloyd hadn’t been a kid in a long time, but in that moment Zane was reminded of when he first entered their lives. Sleep softened his face and gave them a glimpse of what could’ve been if it wasn’t for that tea.
If their carelessness didn’t force him to grow up too fast.
Nya leaned against her brother’s shoulder again, “Sleepy head, huh?”
“Brumination”
“It’s brumation, Kai.” Zane corrected.
“What’s that?” Jay asked, still watching the movie intently.
“Basically hibernation.” Kai shrugged, “I don’t know the specifics but we just have to keep him warm and he’ll be fine.”
“That is an extreme simplification but, in summary, yes.”
“Ohhh.” Jay, Cole, and Nya nodded. Nya passed Kai’s hot chocolate to him. It was an awkward balancing act trying to hold and drink from his mug without shifting Lloyd too much, but he eventually seemed to find a relatively comfortable position.
“I haven’t seen this movie, what did I miss?” Kai asked. Cole and Jay explained the plot and what had happened so far. They bickered a bit but Kai and Zane got the basic plot synopsis. The little kid’s family—through a series of miscalculations—forgot him at home, the kid did a bunch of reckless stuff with his newfound isolation, and the burglars were dissuaded from robbing the house one night through the kid’s ingenuity.
Zane took his mug, swirling the liquid around a bit and taking a sip. It had lost its previous warmth, but was still very delicious.
The movie watching continued. Everyone watched and made occasional commentary. Nya and Kai distrusted the kid’s neighbour who was rumoured to be a murderer, but were proven wrong when the kid and him met in a church. Zane had many questions about the logistics of the plot.
Over halfway through the movie, Kai alerted everyone to shifting on his lap, “Hey, bud. Welcome back to the land of the living.”
Lloyd groaned, breaking through the blanket burrito to rub his eyes.
“What time is it?” He grumbled.
Jay looked at the nearby clock, “Uhh, two thirty?”
“Master Wu canceled training today because of the blizzard outside.” Cole explained before Lloyd could shoot up and panic.
“Oh.” Lloyd sighed. Kai moved him off his lap and on the side opposite to Nya. Lloyd quickly adjusted, leaning against Kai’s side.
“Zane also made hot chocolate!” Jay said, holding up Lloyd’s “It’s a little cold though…”
“Don’t worry, I can fix that.” Kai grinned, snatching the cup and heating it up in his hands. Once it was sufficiently warm, he passed it to Lloyd. Lloyd nodded and mumbled a thank you, taking a sip and humming.
“We were just watching a movie.” Cole explained, “Want us to rewind it?”
Lloyd lowered his mug, shaking his head, “No, keep watching.”
Zane nodded, “Agreed, unlike hibernation, animals that enter brumation will periodically wake up before going back to sleep.”
“Yeah, what he said.” Lloyd yawned, “Minus… all those extra words.”
Zane smiled lovingly and chuckled. It seemed Lloyd himself didn’t know what caused the sudden sleepiness. Perhaps they could talk about it later when it was warmer and both he and Master Wu were more lucid.
The Ninja went back to watching their movie. Sure enough, after finishing his hot chocolate Lloyd was back to sleep, lightly snoring against Kai’s shoulder.