Day three! Whoo!

Candy! 🍭🍬🍭🍬

Prompt: Inspired by a song.

Song: Cause It Hurts

Singer: Alec Benjamin

(And a little inspiration from "Ghost" by Au/Ra and Alan Walker)

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The only way I know that I'm alive is cause it hurts

So anything that takes away my pain will make it worse

Cause if I'm numb, I might as well be underneath the dirt

The only way I know that I'm alive, that I'm alive is cause it hurts

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"Cole? Buddy, you in here?"

Jay quietly pushed open the door to the cabin of the Destiny's Bounty that was designated as Cole's room. The room was dark as the curtains had been drawn over the portholes.

The blue ninja stepped in, everything still and silent except for the deep humming of the ship engines and the creaking of the hull as the flying ship floated through the air, on it's way to Blind Man's Eye.

The other Ninja could be heard above deck, their grunts and yells piercing the cold air of the mountains as they practiced Airjitzu. Jay had done his fair share of spinning through the air and had decided to check on Cole – or rather ghost Cole.

The Master of Lightning's electric blue eyes sweeped the room, trying to find his friend's silhouette in the dark. He stopped as he saw an unclear, murky green figure hunched in the corner by the bed. The figure seemed to be shaking and hugging its knees.

After closing the door behind him, Jay walked over to the ghost on the floor. He could now hear dry sobs as he got closer. The blue ninja dropped down beside Cole, a little farther at first but slowly he shifted nearer.

As soon as the ghost realized someone was invading the privacy he hadn't really wanted, his hands shot up to wipe the tears – only there were no teardrops on his cheeks. He sighed and looked away as he remembered that water was like acid to ghosts therefore ghosts couldn't cry.

Both of them sat in silence — Jay mulling over on how to start the conversation, Cole trying to avoid the conversation altogether. The auburn haired teen cleared his throat, thinking that anymore time wasted was going to make it difficult still.

"Um . . . hey," he muttered, trying to smile brightly but failing. Um, hey?! he thought. Seriously, was he this bad at small talk? That's not how you comfort someone who just lost his living self.

The ghost raised his head and scrutinized Jay's nervous expression. The blue ninja could see the wall of the room through his friend's translucent body. He gulped as his eyes met Cole's empty, ghostly ones. He couldn't help but feel like this wasn't his cake-loving brother at all — just an empty shell of a man who had lost everything.

Cole stared at him with a creepy silence which was starting to worry the Master of Lightning. He couldn't make out if Cole was breathing or not. He was sure ghosts didn't need oxygen. That was basically the first signs of being dead — still lungs.

Jay's throat was dry from the uneasiness he felt in the presence of his brother in all but blood. He forced some saliva down his oesophagus to moisten it up. "Uh . . . Cole, look–"

"What do you want?" Cole rasped coldly in his new, scratchy, "ghostly" voice.

Jay tried to crack a good joke but sighed in defeat as he came up with nothing. His shoulders slumped as he lowered his blue gaze to the ground. "I'm so sorry, Cole," he muttered, sadness evident in his voice. "I- I can't imagine how you must feel right now."

The Master of Earth turned away, dropping his gaze to his translucent feet. "Don't . . . don't be sorry," he mumbled, wincing at his own raspy words. Jay wasn't used to this sound as well and it was going to take time to feel at home with it.

"Why not?" He inquired, itching to put a comforting arm around the ghost but stopping himself.

Cole slowly raised his right hand, his new skin giving off a subtle green glow. He spread out his fingers and looked at Jay expectantly. The blue ninja lifted his own gloved hand and brought it closer to Cole's.

Slowly . . . slowly the black ninja's hand met with Jay's – before phasing through it as if it weren't there. Jay felt his fingers beginning to freeze to the tips as he pulled back his hand. However, just as quickly as it came, the cold feeling vanished, his warm blood resuming control.

Cole let out a choked sob as he stuffed his hand out of sight. "I . . . I can't feel anything. Nothing at all." His tough walls were cracking gradually and he was afraid they would crash down in front of Jay.

"When feelings disappear," he went on, "when your body stops experiencing change, that's when you know that you're . . . dead."

Jay slowly shook his head but Cole ignored it. If he wanted to feel alive he had to let his family know — he had to let them know to stop healing his wounds. "But I know that I'm alive . . . because it . . . it hurts." His voice shook before breaking.

He closed his eyes as if he hoped that this would all be a dream and he would wake up, true, solid and alive. He lifted his eyelids, leaning his head back against the nightstand. "I feel the agony of it all – and that's what makes me believe that I'm alive."

Jay's eyes stung as tears glazed his blue irises. He couldn't listen anymore. But he would for the sake of his friend who sacrificed himself for the Airjitzu scroll; sacrificed himself to bring them one step closer to stopping Morro and saving Lloyd.

"Don't say that, Cole," he started. "You're not dead, you hear me?" He reached for Cole's hand and — to their surprise — it remained solid in Jay's grasp. "You're as alive as me or anyone in this entire flippin' world!"

"Stop," Cole mouthed suddenly, his mouth unable to produce sound. He shifted away from Jay and shrank back in the space between the wall and the bed. "Don't take my pain away," he managed to rasp out. "Don't make me numb to the only thing I can feel."

"Listen to m–"

"It's the only way," Cole stated stubbornly, cutting the blue ninja off. "The only way I know that I'm alive . . . .  is cause it hurts."

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Yay! I got this done sooner! I hope you liked it.

Day 4 coming soon!