Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 31: Story of the Red Battle

Matilda's gaze drifted over the line of faces gathered around the campfire. Over thirty years after she'd left the Elemental Masters, she now found herself surrounded by the few remaining offspring of some of her closest friends. She could see Maya's serious yet gentle frown in Nya as she and Zane passed out plates of half-burned fried rice. She could see Garmadon's jawline and eyes in Lloyd, who sat upon a fallen log beside Liana, wiping a line of sweat from his brow. She could see Julia's teasing expression reflected in the face of Jay, though he lay motionless by the fire. She could also see Arianna's surly yet thoughtful mind through Cole's reserved expression. In a way, it was as if nothing had changed.

Wu didn't recognize Matilda. She didn't expect him to. The only times she had ever seen him was back around the time of the Serpentine Wars, when he was a young, handsome youth not much older than the ninja today. Even then, those had been mere glimpses; the two had never met face-to-face, and back then Wu was more of a name than a person in Matilda's head.

The witch of practical mind saw no point in going to the old man and introducing herself as an unnamed ally that had helped him and the Alliance a score and ten years long past. What use could be gained by bringing up ancient history? Nor did mentioning the ones who produced half the people sitting here appeal to her. All that would do is arouse pointless questions, and Matilda was a woman who had little patience for curious children. Thus she kept her quiet.

Her eyes drifted over to the two werecats sitting a few feet away from the others. Little Leaf looked slightly daunted by the amount of humans they were keeping company with, while Eagle Talon merely scowled and let his green-eyed gaze wander towards the shadows of the trees. No doubt the now-humanoid creature was being tempted to dive into the forest and hunt quarry—such as warm, tasty rodents—for his dinner.

Matilda's gaze rested thoughtfully on Eagle Talon. Somehow, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it, the young man—or cat, however one would prefer to look at it—seemed familiar to her. There was something about the way his dark hair fell around his face, how his scowl lined his strong jaw—how the boy looked in general that tugged at the witch's brain constantly, but no matter how hard she attempted to delve for the memory explaining the sense, she simply could not place where she had seen that face before. It bothered her that she could not remember.

Lloyd's voice broke her train of thought. "Hey, Little Leaf, you wanna eat something?"

The ginger-haired girl blinked, as if she wasn't quite sure he had been talking to her. "What?"

"We're having fried rice." He held out the little bowl he had enticingly. "You wanna try some?"

Eagle Talon glared at Lloyd suspiciously, but Little Leaf only looked curious. "Maybe..." Uncertain, she hesitated, then approached Lloyd and scrutinized the contents of the bowl. "Smells funny."

"It's just fried rice," Lloyd said.

Little Leaf eyed the oily contents. "But I smell something like prey in there."

"That would be the chicken."

"What's chicken?"

Eagle Talon answered curtly from the other side of the clearing. "It's a type of bird that humans keep and eat. I think."

"Yeah." Lloyd nodded. "It's good."

"For you, maybe." Eagle Talon sniffed, "You eat plants and roots like rabbits and stuff like carrion as crows would, and I wouldn't try any of that trash you call food if I was starving—"

"But I would," Little Leaf chirped, snatching a piece of meat from Lloyd's bowl. She chewed it warily, then swallowed and grinned mischievously at her half-brother.