Chapter Text
Kai stumbled. The area he’s been in is bare of anything edible to him that he knows. He hasn’t had anything to eat in a week and he needs energy to keep going.
Except he can’t eat any monsters. He can still feel the scars from tearing off a patch of feathers from those stupid Electric chickens, Did master Wu actually get his from here?? The one Wu had was fucking tame compared the wild ones here.
Absently he scratches the spot, daidan walking ahead to scout as he watches from the back.
“Hey Dai? Do you know if we are heading to anywhere with plant life I can actually eat?”
The jade dragon looked over “not for two days at our pace. Unfortunately i cannot fly there” Kai huff “yeah because of those birds we saw.”
“Are you hungry ninja? I thought-“
Kai pinches his nose “yeah, I can last a bit longer but energy’s low and I’m going to need something sometime.”
Daidan hums as she offers her back to ride on “then I shall hunt.” Kai winces as he climbs on “what about the effects?”
As they stalk through the forest daidan slowly responds “I wonder if it’s due to ninjagoans adaptability that causes you to take on those features. But if I’m to be honest, you need to choose. Staying alive or having those features”
Kai closes his eyes as he thinks it over. He needs to get home. He needs his family. But would they recognize him? Would he succumb to the pressure of the monstrous curses of this land?
He muffles a groan as his head pounds with his thoughts, his stomach tight with hunger.
He opens his eyes and looks around. A Shadow deer…. There were a lot of those. The antlers would hurt like a bitch but Lloyd had stubby horns. They could match.
Swiftly he double tapped daidan to let her know he was getting off silently.
Leaping off her back he lands silently in the trees. His eyes scoured the herd he was downwind from. They were peaceful, until one of the Devil chickens got close and a Deer swallowed it like a snake.
Ok… predator Deer. He hated that. But he needed to eat. He needed to get back to his family.
There. One traveled near him. With a swift jump he swiped his sword beheading it. The smell of blood fills the air before he burns the neck. Hefting it over his shoulders he takes off at a quick pace. Daidan scooping him up and into a cave.
“Ah. One of these beasts.” She looks down as Kai takes out his crude skinning tools. Obsidian thankfully being an easy resource. Kai nods as he makes quick slices and scoops out the organs. Except for a select few daidan gratefully eats.
Then he runs into a problem. He is too worn down to use his fire at a steady base. And the wood outside is too wet.
Of course the dragon sees him hesitating
“Ninja- Kai. You need to eat.”
Kai shudders “I’ve never had to actually eat anything this raw before. I’m worried about getting sick” Her snout lands near him ." Have you ever gotten sick from something like foodborne illness or parasites?”
“Well.. no? Huh i know my team has gotten food poisoning and I haven’t from the same meals sometimes..”
“Then you likely share the same trait as Fire Dragons or a few other Fire beasts. Your system burns through them”
Kai looks down again. Taking his knife he gathers the good cuts of muscle, slicing them into strips and chunks. A small blast searing them
“Here goes nothing” he mutters before biting down and chewing. The metallic flesh, surprising him with a tender texture and earthy taste with an almost smoky undertone.
Before either of them know it. Kai has devoured the choice cuts. With a sigh he looks at the deer. His stomach full and drowsiness dragging at his feet, he huffs thinking about the one time Wu took them out hunting.
“Thank you for providing your life shadow deer. May your spirit find peace and a kinder tomorrow”
Daidan stares at him. Her eyes searching the man who showed respect and compassion even in this land. Softly she lifts a wing. “Come. Rest, I’ll protect you for the night.”
“But”
“Kai. You just had to make a very difficult choice. I have rested recently. We can keep moving soon”
She folds her wing over the grumbling master of fire like she would have done for her own child. Over the night she watches, stoic as her mind wanders
The Ninja was a strange being. He is scared, impulsive and even frighteningly angry at times.
But he was also one of the wisest she ever met and she had known many older than her that were considered wise.
He knew his morals, strengths and weaknesses. A Protector and a Family man even if they were separated like this. He fought like an Inferno but also like the hottest of controlled flames.
She looked down. He slept so lightly. Like a drop of water could wake him in an instant.
She went back to her musing. He was a puzzle, but in a good way. She rather liked the way she wasn’t so angry anymore. A renewed purpose. If his stories were true, then it wasn’t the first time his family had a hand in something like that.
Her mind flickered back to an old life. An old tale even. The Mother always had a soft heart for her Protectors and Creators. Most didn’t know that her heart ached for those who loved like her, a Steady Hearth.
That thought was what made her heart ache as she saw the start of horns peek from his headband a few days later. She knew this land changed those who were trapped here. Why did she ever think that even the brightest of flames would escape
Daidan knew. This one was a dragon at his heart. And she would help his family regain their Hearth