When I first met you, you were hostile

Prideful yet protective, a defender of your town

Over time we got to know each other better

And it makes me wonder if we were meant to meet for a reason.

~a Coliel tale~

I, for the life of me, could not remember the last time I'd eaten.

     The dry season had been sweeping through Ninjago again, carrying droughts and fires with it. It was only natural for these things to take place, but that didn't mean it wasn't a pain to deal with. I steered the Bounty towards the sight of my most recent call for help, which happened to be Nom. I found it a tad bit strange that Seliel hadn't already handled the fires, but nevertheless, I was on my way to help.

     Things had been different lately.

     Only three days ago Harumi had surprised us all by giving birth to not one, but two boys. Two sons of Oni and Light. Everyone had laughed and cried like they did at the birth of every other child, yet I could tell we were all asking ourselves the same question. If the Oni and Light had two sons, then who was the fulfiller of the prophecy?

     My hands tightened on the helm as Nom came closer into view. I wished Nya or Zane could have been around for these missions, but they were long gone now. Nya had to deal with being a mother to two very loveable children, and Zane was busy working with PIXAL and Cyrus Borg on some sort of confidential project. He had told me that he was also doing some research on a new virus that had appeared in the outer corners of the island.

     My stomach growled again as the smoke reached my nose. I could only dream of a smoked venison dinner with a cilantro sauce waiting for me at some obscure restaurant. In the hypothetical scenario I'd eat it alone (since none of my friends were ever free anymore) and miserably think about how nice it would be to have my own family.

     I didn't mind being single, but there was always this voice in the back in my mind reminding me of how much I loved 'raising' Baby Wu. I adored babysitting Bea and Storm, and I was sure Lloyd's sons would be just as sweet. Even Kai's daughter, as fake-snobby as she was, was a delight to be around. Spending time with them constantly made me wish I could swing my own kids in the air, picnic with a family, or become a full-time teacher to my own flesh and blood. I had to want that for a reason... right?

     About a hundred people started crowding around the Bounty as soon as I landed it.

     "Hold on," I put my hands into the air, "What's going on? You're all talking at once."

     "The mayor's daughter!" One woman shouted.

     "Miss Seliel went into the house to rescue someone, but she hasn't come out!"

     "She's trapped in a burning building!"

     "MY CHILDREN ARE IN THERE WITH HER!" A frantic mother's voice rose above the rest. "YOU HAVE TO RESCUE THEM!"

     "It's going to be fine no one panic—wait Seliel's in what now?" I immediately launched myself over the side of the ship into the crowd. The frantic people were happy to give me directions to where she was trapped, and to my horror, the two-story cottage was on the verge of collapsing. The smoke was so bad that no one in the crowd would even step close to the burning neighborhood, so it was up to me to get in there and risk my life.

     I pulled my hood over my head and rushed into the flames. The house's floor protested loudly as I entered, the whole building reminding me that it wanted to fall. The fires had claimed the wallpaper and furniture, leaving only burning hot metal items scattered across the dilapidating house. I ducked low to avoid the flaming chandelier, and mustered up enough air to call out, "Seliel!"

     No one answered.

     I climbed up the stairs, feeling the whole house shake with each step. I didn't have long.

     The smoke was even worse on the second floor, causing me to not be able to go a second with feeling like my throat was having all the air sucked out of it. Coughing, I stuck my head into each of the bedrooms, looking for signs of life. As I headed for the furthest room from the stairs, a piece of the roof collapsed and fell through the ceiling behind me.

     "SELIEL!" I tried again, finding the last door locked. A support beam of the floor buckled near the stairway, which meant this whole house didn't have more than five minutes. Unlike Kai, I was not immune to fire and would probably be mortally injured if I was still in the house when it collapsed.

     The people of Nom apparently made very good locks. I hacked up a spitball trying to clear the smoke out of my throat, then slammed my full force against the door. A scream sounded from inside, then I could hear another raspy voice quieting it.

     "Seliel, it's Cole!" I tried to force the door open a second time.

     Only a very bad sounding hacking fit responded.

     Left with no other choice, I readied my lava arm and busted a hole straight through the door.

     Seliel was on the floor, coughing do hard I could see blood trickling from her mouth. Despite this setback, she continued to shield the little children that were in the room with her. When she met my eyes, I could tell she was relieved, but she was too sick from the smoke to say anything.

     Behind us, I could hear the front-side of the house start to fall.

     "I'm going to get you all out of here." I promised the children, using my hammer to smash the nearest window. Nom was a smaller town, and I could see the water-starved trees crookedly leaning from about a mile away. The road behind the house wasn't on fire; if I could get them out of the house, it would be easy for me to have them walk to an area with less smoke.

     I adjusted my mask, then started to feel for the earth beneath the road. As soon as I had my powers attach to it, I lifted it up out of the ground. The roads began to crack as the dirt rose.

     "Come on, come on." I hissed through gritted teeth as Seliel's coughing turned to something that sounded somewhat serious.

     Just as piece of flaming wood burst through the ceiling, the road's pressure cracked, and the earth shot up out of the ground. It lifted to the window, forming an awkward slide to the ground.

     I helped the two small children out of Seliel's grip and onto the slide. I turned back to get Seliel but she waved her hands.

     "They'll need help." She rasped, shaking so hard from her spasms that I considered dropping everything to get her as far away as possible right there.

     Reluctantly I turned back to the children, who were too frightened to even attempt going down the slide. I helped them onto my back and made my way down onto the road as quickly as possible. The frantic citizens from before were gathering behind the house, screaming in delight as they saw the children alive. Their mother was sobbing when she finally was able to take them back into her arms. I half-smiled at the scene, my heart twisting once again with that desire that never seemed to leave me.

     The cottage groaned loudly from behind me. I rushed back up the dirt as quickly as possible, getting to Seliel's now collapsed form right as the floor started to give way. I was able to drag her unconscious body onto the dirt right as the house buckled and fell.

     Several burning bits of wood and plastic hit my back as I shielded my friend from the carnage. Shrieks of terror sounded from the crowd, and they all moved forward to see if either of us had survived.

     My eyes glazed over from the pain, but it was quickly forgotten when I felt a callused hand graze my cheek.

     "Protecting people is my thing, Rocky Boy." Seliel wheezed, attempting to smile through her delirium. I buried my face in her hair, trying to hold back the sobs of stress, adrenaline, and the relief that I had actually saved everyone. It never got less scary, rescuing people who were about to die. There was always the fear that I would fail and lose them forever.

     "They're alive!" A few braver citizens rushed forward to helps us down the pile as the shattered house's fire began to spread to find more objects to feed on.

     Slowly but surely, we were both helped into the crowd of gathering refugees as the town continued to burn.

     A week later, Ninjago City's fire department finally got enough manpower out in the city to completely shut down the fires spreading through the outside areas. PIXAL and Zane had to take a break from their important business to help with the refugees, since I had been kept in the hospital for some time due to my back injuries.

     I wasn't concerned about my own health, however. News had reached me during my short stay that the smoke had caused a significant amount of damage to Seliel's lungs. I had heard the doctors discuss everything from a permanent breathing aid to her just having to take medication for a few months.

     When I was finally allowed to visit her, I found her attempting to do something her the doctors would not have approved of.

     "Hey Sel—wait a second, what do you think you're doing?"

     She paused from her activity. "Sit-ups. How else... am I supposed to not lose my... my physical prowess?"

     "Seliel, the doctors told me that you have serious lung problem. You need to stay in bed and rest." I rubbed the bridge of my nose.

     "It's not... that bad." She insisted before attempting to lift herself up. She dropped back on the floor before she was even halfway to a sitting position, groaning with frustration at her own incapability. Loose strands of brown hair fell loose from her bun; I realized she probably hadn't had her hair dyed in a while.

     I crouched down next to her, wincing slightly at the soreness in my back. Seliel glared at me for stopping her next attempt, then burst into a coughing fit.

     "I'm fine, Cole." She protested between wheezes. "I'm not—I'm not helpless."

     "You were so bad they put you on O2 for a few days. Don't try to argue with me."

     She just laid there, refusing to meet my eyes. I could see her struggling to take breaths, but she was desperately trying to pretend that nothing was wrong.

     "Are you going to go back to where you're supposed to be?" I raised an eyebrow when she didn't move.

     "I can't... get up!" She burst out, immediately gasping for air. "My... stupid lungs... won't... let me."

     I hesitated, then reach forwards. She muttered bitter things about her state in life as I gently carried her back over to her bed.

     "Are you going to... going to tuck me in too?" She crossly folded her arms. "Or did... did you want to call the nurses in... in for another lecture on my future health?"

     "I just don't want to wake up one day and find out you're dead." I sighed.

     She was silent; the only sound between us was her interrupted breathing pattern.

     "If you don't mind me asking," I said slowly. "Why did you trap yourself in the room?"

     Seliel wasn't exactly the type to run and hide, even when life called for her to do it. In the fight-or-flight response, she was always the fight, even when the enemy was bigger, stronger, and generally more powerful than she was.

     "They... were just little kids... Mr. I-Need-To-Know-Everything. I couldn't... just ask them to... to walk through fire and escape. I knew... you'd been called... so I figured someone would... save us."

     "That was smart." I reasoned.

     "Aren't... I always?"

     I laughed at her weak joke, already feeling more at ease. The past few months had been stressful; it was nice to finally have someone to laugh with.

      "Hey, Cole?" Seliel patted me on the arm.

      "Are you going to require me to do chores?"

      "No, you weirdo. Tell me about... everyone's kids. I want... I want to know everything that's... been happening with your friends. They... they never really contact me... anymore."

     And that's the story of how I was stuck in that tiny room for the rest of the day.

     The hospital soon allowed me to return to the Bounty, though they did give me specific orders not to do any 'ninja business' until the end of the month. I was itching to help with the fires in some way, so I received permission to help the citizens of Nom rebuild the town.

     Seliel also was able to weasel her way into attaining permission to leave the hospital, though I think that mostly came from her act that she was not feeling terrible. She may have been able to get an excuse from the doctors, but there was no way I was letting her off the hook. I could see the tightness in her eyes behind her mischievous smiles. She would use her inhaler when she thought no one was around, and constantly have to stop walking just to catch a breath.

     She wouldn't take care of herself, because she thought it was a sign of weakness to show what state she really was in.

     It was getting dark outside earlier and earlier as the days passed on. I was hoping for a winter snow, or some sort of moisture to fall from the sky to help with the droughts. I sat in the Bounty as I heard something rumble outside, immediately shoving the forkful of peas into my mouth before I ran out of the mess room.

     It was raining.

     Scratch that—it wasn't just raining. It was storming.

     I laughed as the droplets soaked into my dark hair and covered the town in a metallic scent. Lightning flashed from far away as the thunder cried above our heads. It was raining. It was finally raining.

     A few other citizens emerged from their homes to feel the wetness of the droplets against their palms. Cheers started going up through the town as the storm raged on harder and harder.

     My phone buzzed in my pocket.

     Help.

     I froze, waiting for Seliel to elaborate before I realized she might not be able to.

     I can't breathe.

     "Sel! SELIEL!" I burst through her front door a few minutes later, surprised to find it unlocked. The house was silent, except for the faint sound of a tv playing in another room. Concern rushed through me, but it was mixed with something I had never recognized in myself before. Seliel never asked for help, so this had to be pretty serious.

     When I finally found her collapsed form on the couch, she was trying her hardest not to cry.

     "Sel! Are you okay? Can you speak? Where's your inhaler?" I scanned the area to find something to help her with. All I could see were discarded blankets, old magazines and newspapers, and the achingly blue light of the television flashing across the dark room.

     I felt her grasp my forearms, squeezing it for strength as she forced out the words, "My medicine... on the kitchen counter... I can't get up... please..."

     I rushed off to find it. When I finally did spot the pills, I brought them back to her then facepalmed for forgetting to get her something to swallow them with. Seliel weakly insisted she didn't need water and choked them down. I stayed by her side as she did so, gently rubbing circles in her shoulders to help alleviate her stress.

     Thunder crashed outside, and Seliel let out an involuntary yelp. She flushed, attempting to sit up again before uselessly flopping back down onto the couch.

     "Can you breathe better now?" I asked, while she tried her inhaler again.

     "Stupid... stupid storms." She responded, shaking as another clap of thunder sounded.

     I gave up watching her various attempts at sitting up and lifted her up so her back could rest against the couch's cushion.

      "You're... too nice..." She stuttered as I sat down beside her.

     I fumbled for the remote, flicking through the channels in silence. She messed with her hair, frowning at how little pink was left in it. The storm continued to rage on outside, and each sound of thunder had Seliel inching closer and closer to me.

     "Are you afraid of them?" I asked, my eyes not leaving the tv. My stomach growled at me (I had left my dinner unfinished), but I ignored it. "The storms?"

     "My mother died because of... because of a storm." Seliel's voice was barely audible. "Every time... I have to live through one... I'm afraid that... that it will take me too."

      I wasn't sure how to reply to that, and she caught my silence. Seliel buried her face in her hands, "I just overshared... didn't I?"

     "No," I said, watching as she drew in each stunted breath. "You just never talk about your mother. I had no idea how she died."

     Seliel groaned at herself, forcing down rising coughs.

     I bit my lip and scooted just the tiniest bit closer. "Tell me about her."

     "About Mother?"

     "Yes." I was pretty sure neither of us were even regarding the tv or storm's presence anymore.

     "She was tall... like you. She taught me... how to darn socks... and how to make a killer... apple pie." Seliel didn't elaborate; she just nestled into my side as the tv switched back the show it was playing. I hadn't realized we had gotten that close, but somewhere inside of me, I didn't mind.

     "Tell me more." I whispered, suddenly realizing there was a lot about Seliel I didn't know. She barely talked about her personal life; all our interactions were always based on problems that didn't concern the flitting trials of everyday life. I was always out and about, trying to save Ninjago from chaos. I was never able to spend a lot of time with Seliel, which was saddening when I thought about it. She was a really good friend. "I barely know anything about you."

     "That's because you're never... never around anymore." She mumbled after a minute. I could feel her head rest gently against my shoulder as she took a couple extra breaths to steady herself. "I don't know a ton about... about you either. Maybe we both want things... to be different."

      "Sel—"

      "I think it's great that you're still... still looking out for Ninjago. It's heroic and selfless, which are two things I... two things I admire about you. But I never get to see... you or your friends. I've faded away... and it hurts. You guys are the only ones... ones I can relate to."

     The tv screen flashed in front of me once again, switching to commercials I could care less about. Yet, they were all I could keep my eyes on as I felt my arm move to start rubbing circles onto her back. That helped with breathing, right?

     "What do you want to be different?" I murmured, gently leaning my head down to rest on top of hers. "And I want the whole truth."

     "I-I... I wanted... this."

     "This?"

      We were so close. Two halves of the same being, yet two completely different people.

       She murmured something I couldn't hear, but at that point I was pretty sure I knew what she was going to say.

      "Seliel?"

      "Hmm?"

      "Do you like me?" I listened with bated breath for her response.

      "You're half... decent. On a good day."

      "Do you like the way I smile?"

      "Perhaps."

      "Do you like the way I try to help others?"

      "It's kind of... kind of nice."

      "Do you like it when we're like this? Two friends chilling on a couch?"

      "I suppose." Her voice was softer, but at this point I didn't care how she responded. I may have been the one asking her questions about me, but in reality, I was really asking myself the same questions about her.

     Did I like Seliel?

     Would I mind seeing her smile every day?

     Would I love to see her at my side through each challenge I faced?

      And, most importantly, was she more than a friend to me?

      "Hey Sel?"

      "No... I'm not getting up to grab you... grab you more popcorn."

     She sounded half asleep. When I looked down at her face, her eyes were unfocused, reflecting the brightly colored commercials of the small tv. Its noise was unimportant, only the words between us mattered to me.

     "Seliel?"

     "Mm?"

      "Would you like to maybe try..." I tucked strands of her long hair away from her face. "Would you maybe like to try... being more than friends—I mean, getting to know each other better? I know you probably have a thousand admirers and we sure are getting on in years—"

     "Are you trying to... trying to ask me out before the commercial break... is over?" She weakly laughed, reaching for my free hand. She examined it her palms, before gently entwining her fingers around it. "That's a romantic moment nailed... Rocky Boy."

     "Is that a girl's way of saying yes?"

     "Absolutely," She murmured, taking advantage of the opportunity to grab the remote and switch the tv off.

     We sat in silence for a second, but then another round of thunder clapped, and she frantically turned the tv back on. "I need noise."

     "Don't worry, I won't let the storm claim you this time."

     "We're not even five minutes... into this relationship and you're already... already making fun of me."

     "Someone has to keep up with your antics." I smiled. She nudged me until I helped her to her feet.

     "I've liked you for... for quite some time, you know?" She wobbled over to the kitchen, where her raincoat was. "Strange thing was... I never thought you'd... ever think about maybe... liking me back."

     "I guess I never really thought about it until now." I rubbed my arms. "But when I thought you had almost died, it scared me more than I liked to admit. You've always been high-spirited and courageous; someone I would have loved to fight alongside. If we're being honest, I only refused most of your offers to help me with my work because I knew you had responsibilities to your dojo. I didn't want your assistant getting overworked."

     Seliel started laughing so hard her laughs turned to coughs. "My... assistant... doesn't exist."

     I had to offer her my arm to lean on before she collapsed the floor. "I still don't know why the doctors let you out of their sight. Secondly, how in the living world of Ninjago do you not have an assistant? What about all those times you left Nom to help with our ninja business?"

     "I tell... my students that... sometimes I need to leave. They... understand." She became quiet, slowly turning away from me. Doubt flickered across her face, stealing away her ever-constant smile.

     "Are you... are you sure about this?" She forced the words out after a minute, gesturing to us. "I'm... still weak."

     "Yes."

     "What if... what if I never recover?"

     "Your heart won't change."

     "What if you... have to take care of me?"

     "As long as you crack enough jokes, I'm sure I could keep you around." I helped her fasten her raincoat, though I had no idea why she wanted to put it on. I thought she hated storms.

     "So... you're sure you want to give... give me a chance?"

     "Absolutely."

     "Truly, Cole?"

     "Most truly, Sel." I gently clasped her hands. "Now, why are you preparing the leave the house?"

     "Watching stupid movies is a... is a lame first date." She grinned, starting to make her way towards the door. "Besides... I'm starving. We need to go out.... to the nice diner a block down. It didn't burn down... and I heard... I heard they have the best smoked... venison dinners."

     I facepalmed as she jumped back from the splashing droplets outside. Only she would be able to guess what food I longed for that very minute. "Seliel, I think you and I are meant to be."

     "Hey, hey... none of that. We're just starting to get... to get to know each other, remember? You can start... start being gushy when Kai bullies you... for being lonely."

     We both started laughing like immature teenagers as we made our way out into the rain. She kept the death grip on my arm as the lightning flashed ahead of us. She was afraid of the storm, yet she was willing to brave it with me by her side. We'd only just agreed to a first date, but I could already feel the pieces begin to snap into place. Perhaps, just perhaps, a little patience was all it took for my dreams to jump one step closer to coming true.

     "Though... if we're being honest," Seliel leaned in, quickly tapping her head against my shoulder, "I can see the chemistry."

     "Yeah," I offered as the rain soaked our shoes. It did nothing to dampen the joy in our hearts. Through thick or thin, I would be there for her until she could finally breathe normally again. And if her injury was bad enough where I needed to spend the rest of my life caring for her... well, that option didn't sound so bad either.

     "I can see the sparks between us."

Finis.