The thought of the lights going down and all that becomes visible is the neon paint that Cole had covered his clothes in was the single idea that started the entirety of Nightowls. Dancing Cole and neon paint.
Having someone be aware of a secret isn’t always a bad thing. It can sometimes be a relief even, the knowledge that someone else knows. That you’re not on your own anymore. That there’s someone to talk to.
Chapter 09 - You Seem Happy, 2477 words
The walk back to the Monastery was pleasant that morning, even though they were a little later getting away from the studio than Cole would have personally liked. A full conversation with Chamille when the studio announced it was time to clear out for closing about actually organising a day to meet up with the other elemental masters; because there really didn't need to be a world ending disaster as an excuse to be in the same place at once. Then Lloyd and her had gotten to talking whilst Cole had excused himself to clean off in the bathroom; well that resulted in them leaving as the sun was cresting over the horizon line, more than an hour behind when he usually left.
Lloyd could really talk sometimes.
Yet it had been a relaxed silence since they'd set off. Cole was in a clean set of clothes, with a hoodie over the top to keep the morning chill away. The grass that sprung up at the side of the path was dusted with a light frost and a thin mist hung low over the lands.
He took in a deep breath, enjoying the cool sensation that was brought with it.
Then Lloyd turned to him, poised as if he was about to break the silence that had settled, which he promptly did, "So, that was fun." He grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets which didn't hinder the bounce in his step. "I mean, dancing is one thing, but you and Chamille not even having a plan?"
"Free-styling." Cole provided casually.
"Free-styling. And a random song too, it was brutal giving you opera music, I mean, how do you even dance to that? Then you and Chamille were just like," Lloyd made a half-attempt at doing the robot, with an elaborated, "Woosh!"
"And then, then Chamille was all like," An arm wave, a pretty good one if Cole's eyebrows shooting up was anything to go by. Though he just carried on watching the scene with a small smile, and the fact that Lloyd was basically dancing down the single dirt road that led back to the Monastery. It was a long trip, but he had a feeling it would go fast.
"And then you were--"
"Lloyd," Cole interrupted quickly, placing a hand onto his shoulder, "You haven't slept all night, you're getting your second wind. Take a breath."
Lloyd paused and did as he was told, though he was still smiling far too much for that hour of the morning.
"You were so cool!"
He'd said that multiple times already, and Cole was starting to believe it.
"You can't tell anyone." He added after a short second and maybe half a block down the path.
Lloyd kicked a pebble in his way, before nodding his understanding. He brushed some hair back from his face, "I know, I know. You said so earlier."
Even then, with that vein of conversation at a resolute end, Lloyd still looked like he had something to say. Cole tilted his head, "What?"
"I'm not shocked you got into Marty's."
That was a bit off track, Cole rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Yeah, well--"
"You've been sneaking out for a while, haven't you?"
There it was, the supposed crux of the conversation. Abrupt, but sort of expected if he was being honest. If he took into account the clear worry that everyone had expressed, it was obvious that this talk was going to turn into an insightful one-to-one.
There wasn't much point in lying anymore, so Cole simply nodded, "a couple months."
He didn't miss Lloyd's wince, "Have you even been sleeping?"
"Big talk coming from the guy who knows I've been sneaking out, staying up and spying?"
Lloyd's eyes widened, then he schooled his expression and fixed his gaze on the path ahead. They'd get to a woodland soon, and then the base of a far too long staircase, then home.
"Don't try and change the subject, Cole."
There was a nervous laugh, and he was more than content to let everything go back to silence again. Just the sound of crunching gravel beneath their feet and the intermittent noise of bones popping as Cole went through his joints to help release any pressure, but eventually the evasion tactic wore out, and he relented. "It started because I wasn't sleeping." He explained losely, "Or like, when I went to sleep all I had was nightmares."
There, he'd said it.
Lloyd seemed to falter in his walk, almost drawing to a full stop as he watched and listened with far too much maturity for someone his age, and too much focus for someone who was wide awake at near six in the morning.
He was going to crash so hard around lunch time, Cole could tell a mile off.
Yet this time, the silence was a physical feeling. Cole had finished making his point, it wasn't in depth, but it was there. Yet Lloyd's staring just brought more words to the surface, "Of, you know, when I fell from the Bounty."
There's a pregnant pause, and Cole cleared a lump from his throat.
"It's all I could think about and I would just wake up panicking--"
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Lloyd questioned, with concern lacing his voice.
Cole just brushed it off, but the worry was warranted. If it was anyone of his family in the same situation he was in, he'd be worried for them too. Maybe that was a testament to what they were actually feeling in that moment. He would feel hurt if someone kept something like this from him, since Cole knew he could help in some way. "A walk fixed it, I didn't want to annoy anyone."
"Cole, it's not annoying if you need help. We're all here to help you with whatever problems you have. That's what family's for."
Cole shrugged, smiled, then focused his attention on some of the neon orange paint stuck under his nails. He picked at that, stared at it.
"I know that." he whispered. Of course he knew that, he knew that he could have turned to anyone and asked for help, or just someone to talk to and have them listen. Even Jay would have taken the situation seriously, he wasn't always so immature. Cole had to give him some credit. "I just… Found something that made me forget about my problems. At Nightowls, I have, like, a life." He paused, considering how that sounded, "Not that I don't have one at the Monastery, with you guys, but--"
"It's something normal." Lloyd said. Hit the nail on the head.
Yes.
Cole laughed, and nodded, "Yeah. I've never had that. My dad's a famous singer, I was expected to follow in his footsteps in some way, I went to Marty's and then I ran away, then I became a Ninja." his life, summed up. In a way, everyone's lives paralleled that in some way. Particularly the one he was talking to in that moment.
Feeling as though they had to follow in their father's footsteps only to realise that they had their own lives to live, even if it was vastly different from what had been envisioned for them.
"You were really good, though."
Cole laughs.
"You were, though. You seemed so… Relaxed."
Cole draped one arm over Lloyd's shoulder and pulled him into a sideways hug, which dissolved into him ruffling the younger ninja's hair to within an inch of its life. "Do I not normally look relaxed?"
"No," Lloyd managed out in the midst of batting at Cole's hand and arm until he was released, at which point he moved over to the safety of the other side of the path. Not that Cole couldn't reach him from where he was situated, "recently you've looked tired." He sighed, then his voice dipped in volume, and he just sounded that bit more worried, "We've all noticed, you know? We knew something was bothering you." Lloyd admitted slowly, then "We just… Wanted to wait for you to bring it up."
At that point, Cole realised that him bringing the issue up would have probably never happened by his own choice. He'd planned to, that first night. Then he just hadn't.
They eventually made it into the woodland, sunlight moving through the gaps in the canopy crafted by crown shyness, leaves dusting the road.
"How're the nightmares now?" Lloyd's voice was loud amongst silence.
Cole ran a hand through his hair, "Honestly, better." He admitted, then paused, "Actually, I haven't had one recently, I didn't realise that."
Lloyd smiled, "Because you've been distracted by sneaking away and having fun."
"I mean, yeah, technically I have." He smiled, "I've been spending days training and nights dancing, truly I am living a double life."
They both shared a laugh.
"I mean, you're basically a dance vigilante with that mask."
Cole gave Lloyd a deadpan expression, "Never say those words together again."
Lloyd smirked, "Ninja by day,"
"Lloyd--"
"Dancer by night."
"I swear to the First--"
Lloyd quickly moved forwards and plucked Cole's mask from his belt, then pulled it on himself. There was a bit of adjusting, and the elastic was a little too large, but he got it comfortably sat on his nose at least.
In the light of day, it was a funny sight. Lloyd, entirely dressed in green with a bright orange mask on that was definitely not as impressive as it was in the dark.
"This is uncomfortable." He said after a moment.
Cole just nodded, "It hurts the ears."
Lloyd took it off and stared at it, "It hurts the nose too. I don't know how you wear this and dance, you could have put some cushioning in it."
"I don't notice it when I'm dancing."
"A dragon would have been cooler, and it would have made sense."
Cole took the mask out of Lloyd's hands and held it to his chest, "Wow, I know when my talents aren't appreciated." He smirked, "Besides, it's sort of a joke. Deception, no one knows who I am underneath--"
"And no one knows what you do when you sneak out."
He just blanked that quip, "And wearing the face of a species that was nearly responsible for my death is sorta cathartic. I wear it and I have fun."
"You looked like you were loving it."
Cole grinned, "Yeah. I never thought I'd dance again, to be honest. Not like that."
They finally reached the stairs up to the Monastery and the sun was a lot higher than he would have liked. If it was early, they could sneak in and everyone would be none the wiser. Any time after six was when their absence would be noticed.
So reaching the top of the stairs would end in an interrogation and questioning, most likely. Cole hoped not.
Lloyd started on the stairs first, but as far as Cole was concerned they were always the worst part of the night. It was easier to go down them.
"So, planning on sneaking out again tonight?" the younger ninja asked as they began the climb.
"I don't know, maybe?" He'd probably give it a rest for a day or so. His sleep was nowhere close to being fixed, but he knew that if he managed to stay awake for the rest of the day, there was no way he could pull another all-nighter. He did it once, and regretted his decision immensely.
Also, he knew what Lloyd was actually asking about, "To be honest, I'll probably sleep tonight and go tomorrow. Why, you want to tag along again?"
The silence that followed was an answer in itself, and Cole just laughed, "You're sleeping tonight too. If Sensei Wu doesn't have my neck for you being up most of the night, then I know Kai will."
"Why would they blame you?"
"Because I'm the one in charge." Cole spread his heads as if it was obvious.
"And it's not like they would know I've been awake all night."
"You're starting to look like you've been dragged through the Boiling Sea backwards and then faced off against Sensei Wu's chicken. You look tired."
"Touché."
As they neared the top of the stairs, Cole began fiddling with the mask of the strap. He had all his old clothes in a bag over his shoulder but it was already pretty full to begin with, and he didn't have the heart to try and push the mask in too.
Which left him resorting to holding it subtly behind his back, using the bagginess of the back of his hoodie to shield it from view as they stepped through the gates and into the monastery.
Into the middle of morning training. They were so going to get found out, Cole was so going to get busted for what he'd been doing. Lloyd was going to slip up, it was obvious.
Even as Kai walked over, sword sheathed over his back and spiked hair drooping from exertion, his cut eyebrow was raised and his gaze far too analytical.
He had been doing so well, too. He could already feel his heart rate picking up, but externally he forced himself to keep his cool, "Hey, sorry we’re late."
"You guys didn't even leave a note.” Was the immediate response, and it was tense, “It's one thing Cole not being here and not telling us, but both of you?" Kai questioned, and the speed of which his hands were moving was an indication of emotion that he was trying to keep in check.
Cole winced lightly, "Yeah, sorry. I didn't think, my bad. We were just--"
Lloyd quickly stepped forwards and gave a slight smile, which seemed to quickly sway Kai's mood in a second. Big brother instincts, they could dial back just as fast as they surfaced.
"We just went on a walk, spoke a little." He looked back at Cole and grinned. "I should have written a note but I didn't. We sort of… Just needed to get out for a bit."
He was covering, Cole realised. He'd probably been thinking of an excuse for the whole walk. Something he'd forgotten to even do.
He had to force himself to not look impressed as the words rolled easily from Lloyd's lips. Even he believed them, and he knew the truth.
Kai seemed to cool down, and looked at Cole, "Are you okay?"
He let out a breath, and nodded, "I am now. The walk was good. I'm all good."
"Good." Kai nodded, then added, "You know we're all here to talk to if you need it."
Cole just gave a light laugh and nodded, carefully keeping the mask situated behind his back, "Yeah. Yeah, I know. Thanks, you guys. That means a load."
He looked at Lloyd.
"Thank you."
-
From the beginning
Ch 08 > Ch 09
AO3
Notes: And thus concludes Nightowls, thank you so much for reading!
