Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 74: The Vixen

Cole woke up to the sound of birds chirping faintly in the distance. He stirred, trying to get into a more comfortable position, then realized he was lying somewhere cold and hard—and that some warm weight was pressing against his right side. He felt sore. Reluctantly he opened his eyes.

It was still dark, almost pitch-black. However, from the eastern horizon behind him, pale blue light signaled that it was dawn. Only a few, dwindling stars remained in the fading sky. With the still snow and lifeless trees contrasting against one another, the land looked bleak, yet the pure color of the frost gave the picture a sleepy, peaceful look about it.

He shivered in the cold air. His fingers, toes, and nose all felt numb. He lifted his head and tried to move. While his muscles ached in protest, he realized he had something lying against him, and he looked down to his right.

Liana was curled up snugly against him, her cheek on his shoulder and one hand sprawled on his chest. His face would have flushed hot enough if he hadn't realized that he had one arm wrapped comfortably around her shoulders.

"Five minutes", indeed. They'd spent the whole night like that.

Slowly, awkwardly, he eased his arm off of Liana before prodding her. "Liana," His voice rasped sleepily. "Wake up. It's too cold to stay here."

"Mmm..." She stirred—she looked small and peaceful in her sleep. As her mind slowly woke to consciousness, she shifted even closer to him, so that her head was tucked beneath his jawline.

Cole's heart raced faster than ever. He was tempted to let her stay there. Perhaps, if he didn't move, they could just—

Then, her eyes slowly blinked open. There was a long, still moment in which Liana regained her senses.

She jolted up from him with a startled gasp. "H—how long was I asleep?"

He glanced at the sky, partly because he felt too embarrassed to look at her. "All night. It's dawn." Unnecessarily he added, "We— we should go back now."

She nodded quickly in agreement. Her face was blushing pink, and she self-consciously brushed a few strands of her pale hair out of her face. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I fell asleep, too." He voiced an awkward chuckle that died away quickly. "I guess we were both more tired than we thought."

They got up uneasily and stretched, feeling their muscles groan and ache. They clambered up the little hill whose shelter they'd slept under and headed back for the camp. Snow crunched beneath their boots. Somehow it felt colder now that they were up and moving.

Cole hugged his cloak around himself and remembered how warm it had felt last night.

As they neared the dark line of trees, Liana suddenly said, "Hey."

"What?" He looked over at her to see an expression like that of surprise and puzzlement on her face.

"I just realized... I slept well. I slept well tonight."

Cole blushed again. "Yeah...?"

"Cole, I actually slept." A small, wondering smile began to grow on her face. "This was the first time I didn't have Dark Sleep nightmares."

* * *

"Cole? Liana? Is anyone there? Helloooo?"

A strange, crackling voice split the air. Eagle Talon jolted out of sleep. He jerked his head up and blinked blearily into the inky darkness of the campsite.

It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. Dawn was only just breaking over the line of trees surrounding the clearing. He was curled up in the blanket he had borrowed last night, and he shivered when he felt a thin layer of frost coating his thick tabby fur. The brown-and-black striped cat shook off the ice particles impatiently. He froze when he heard the odd noise again.