A Day of Solace

Lloyd woke up to oppressing silence.

His room was tidy due to lack of use, but the consequence for neglect was a thick layer of dust everywhere that made breathing harder than necessary. The sun hadn't yet reached the Airjitzu Temple with its golden rays, leaving him alone in silence and darkness.

He didn't like it.

He quickly got up, dressed in his green gi and armor and left before he managed to sneeze himself a snow globe in his room.

When he reached the bathroom he turned on the light and washed his face, clearing his head from irrational thoughts and his mouth from smelly breath. That's when he realized that he had nothing to do today.

It was an odd feeling, for the green ninja and newly dubbed master to have nothing to do. He had already finished his solo-mission at Hiroshi's Labyrinth, no one had called for their help and weekly patrols around Ninjago wasn't until Sunday.

He went back to his room for casual clothes.

*

Lloyd prepared breakfast for himself, as no one else appeared to be home. It made him anxious, but it also let him indulge in childish pleasures he was too embarrassed to do in front of the others.

With his bowl of ice cream and chocolate waffles he decided to watch TV in the living room. It was incredibly boring, so he switched to playing video games until he beat everyone's record in every game they owned. They had played without him, that much was clear, but even though Lloyd was rusty he was still a legend when it came to video games.

The triumphant smirk was wiped off his face as he started to reconsider his actions.

Wouldn't they notice that he had been gaming for hours just to beat everyone? That kind of behavior suited the old Lloyd, the one who kept pranking people and whined when he lost in something. He wasn't petty by any means, he was above those kinds of things. He was an adult now, the leader of the ninja, and he was supposed to be mature and wise and --

Lloyd deleted his high scores.

*

There was absolutely nothing for him to do.

The sun was up and the sky was clear, but he still didn't feel like doing anything. Maybe he should look in their garage and see if Nya had upgraded any of his vehicles.

He summoned a ball of energy with ease. Could he shape these, or was this the only form it could take? It wasn't as if he had ever tried before. He should practice his elemental powers, then --

A familiar laugh, and the ball of energy was gone in an instant.

"What's wrong? Caught you off guard? Perhaps I overestimated you."

All his limbs were frozen up in place, arms and legs refusing to move before he realized: Morro was dead.

Still, he couldn't help but scan his surrounding with cautious eyes, hands grasping for a weapon he doesn't have. Enemies had a tendency to come back, and he had to always be prepared in case of ambush. Heart beating fast as panic stemmed from within, he couldn't be scared, that's impossible, that's --

Another realization: Morro was redeemed.

This one took a little longer for him to process, but when it did it comforted him a little more. Dead and redeemed, he couldn't do anything to him. Maybe. He hoped so, at least.

He remembered that he was completely and utterly alone, and he didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

*