Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 17: The Sleeping Strangers

Golden sunlight filtered through the trees of a dense forest, warming the plants and creatures growing beneath the thick canopy of leaves. Ants crawled rapidly among the grass while birds hopped cheerily on branches, chirping wholeheartedly. It was a warm summer afternoon in the woods, and only the sounds of the leaves rustling, birds singing, and a slight breeze whispering were heard... save for the idle chatter coming from behind a thick clump of oak trees.

A lithe figure walked into view and stopped, scanning the endless trees surrounding him. He was clothed in some sort of maroon-colored tunic with a dark edging, baggy pants and medieval-style hunting boots, along with a leather belt around his waist carrying a knife's sheath on one side and a small pouch on the other. The man looked rather young and had dark blue eyes, shaggy, sandy-blond hair, and a lazy, contented expression upon his mildly freckled face.

Accompanying him was a companion that looked—to put it simply—to be half-man, half-wolf. He towered over the first person by at least several inches, even if you didn't count the pointed ears growing out of his head. He stood on his hind legs, which were sort of curved like a canine's, but they ended in a more flat fashion, enabling the creature to fit into boots like that of his companion's.

He was covered in thick gray fur from head to toe, except for the white patches around and beneath his muzzle and the darker patterns about the ears and eyes. A fluffy tail grew from his rump and waved naturally as he walked. His entire head and face looked like a dog or wolf's, but his handsome brown eyes were definitely humanoid. He wore a forest-green tunic similar to the other man's, though he carried no accessories save for a thinner belt with a gold-colored buckle around his stout waist.

The first person stood with his hands planted on his hips. "Man, I don't see them. Where did you say those okidons were?"

"I told you, over by the creek," the wolf-man replied patiently. "At the small pool with the minnows, there were at least four or five bucks and two does."

"'Does'?" The human repeated. "Is that the plural of 'doe'?"

"I believe so."

"Are you sure? It sounds kinda weird."

"'Jukeni' sounds weird, and yet that's your name," the dog-man quipped with a smile.

Jukeni gave him a sharp—but good-natured—glance. "My name is not weird!"

"I didn't say it was weird, I merely said it sounded weird," the wolf replied mischievously.

"Kaeden, are you just trying to get on my nerves?"

"No, I'm just pointing out that some words sound weird, and that's that."

"I still think there's a better plural for 'doe'."

Kaeden cocked his furry head with a smile. "Well, when you find a better word, I'll be interested to hear."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just for the record, though, the plural of 'moose' is— ackpth!" Jukeni's sentence ended in a sputter as he tripped and stumbled into a clump of ferns.

"Hm." Kaeden commented cheerfully, "Now that's a weird word."

"Help me up, Fluffy." Jukeni groaned as Kaeden bent over and pulled him to his feet. The young man slapped at his grass-stained pants impatiently. "Sheesh, what was that I tripped over? Must have been some root or—"

His words trailed off when he peered through the ferns around his feet, and then his face paled. With a yelp he jumped back. "Oh, Magena—! Star Guards save us, that was a body! Ew! Gah, ewewewewewew—!"