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The Sky was awake.
It was a rare occasion in the desert, a strong storm with lightning and thunder was hitting the trailer window, it was possible to hear the sound of raindrops hitting furiously on all the metal and junk on the outside.
Jay love times like that.
It's freeing for him, staying up late listening to the furious rain and dangerous lightning flashing on the gray screen of clouds, followed by the monstrous rumble of echoing thunder. It was a song, a symphony of nature that showed how wonderful and deadly heaven could be. He knew that many people, especially children, didn't like this, for them it was a time to lock up themselves inside their houses and keep Heaven out, because it could threaten them with water, wind and electricity.
These kind of people were clearly not in tune with the Sky and clearly could not understand its awesomeness and powers.
Of course, not even Jay fully understood, heaven was mysterious like that, but he was still much more connected to the winds and static than the earthy ground where he was trapped, incapacitated of feeling truly free to use the lightning that made his skin crawl.
He remembered his childhood days spent at the Monastery, the building that was on the top of a mountain that you could only reach after braving a countless number of stairs. On those days, he felt closer to the sky and closer to the lightning that he so loved and admired. Countless were the times were Wu or Garmadon found him hiding on the top of the roof in the middle of a lightning storm.
"I know this is kind of inevitable for you, but please, don't get caught in the middle of storms, you can still get hurt if lightning hits you, and even if it doesn't, you would still get sick because of the water and the cold wind." — It was something Wu said when he was ruffling a towel through his curly ginger hair after bringing him inside, an exasperated and endearing tone in his voice.
With Garmadon it was different. When he found him on that hidden ledge on the roof, amidst the thunder and white flashes, the Elemental Master would sit next to him and enjoy the corner of the sky with him.
"You know, it reminds me of the time when your mother was still with us, at the time of the Serpentine Wars and when the Elemental Alliance was still standing." He said, a wistful smile on his face as he looked at the occasional flash of lightning streaking across the sky. "There were several times that I, Wu or Lilly found her at the highest point of the Monastery in the middle of rain and storms. She said there was no better time than the time when the Sky was awake. That it was when she felt at peace, energized, calm and... That she felt like herself."
Jay hummed to himself, his notebook brushstrokes slowly taking shape as he drew his vision: a storm at the sea. One of nature's most dangerous combinations. The treacherous and powerful sea water hitting the sharp rocks in the corner of the paper, the tumultuous sky so dark that it took on a threatening bluish color. It was a canvas of blues, grays, blacks and occasional thunder whites. In the background of the painting, a vague silhouette of what looked like a giant sea serpent coiling upwards from the sea to reach the sky, like a typhoon. Of all the scrolls that Jay read hidden from Wu, the legend of Wojira and the Merlopian Nyad was his favorite. Ironic, the Lightning Elemental's favorite story was about a battle won by the first Water Elemental, but in his defense, Wojira was a spirit who controlled storms, lightning included, even if it wasn't exactly the same lightning as his.
Suddenly, a low noise interrupted Jay's thoughts. Turning to the bedroom door, the boy saw a short figure in the dim light of the room. Untamed blond hair due to the headboard, red eyes slightly bright and wide, a loose green pajamas hugging the little one's body, while he himself clung to a green stuffed dragon that Jay had sewn several times.
Lloyd opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting around the room, looking at everything other than Jay. It was when a white flash illuminated the room and thunder reached their ears that Lloyd decided to speak, shuddering.
"Can I sleep with you?"
Jay didn't miss the way his little brother's voice shook at the end. Giving a friendly smile, Jay patted the spot next to where he was on the bed. Lloyd promptly climbed into bed, hiding under the covers and grabbing Jay's forearm.
"Did the thunder scare you?" Jay asked calmly, he reached over to put the brush, paints, and painting on the small dresser next to the bed.
He lift the blanket a little off the youngest's head to look at his little brother. Lloyd nodded.
"Mom and dad were sleeping, heavy, but I knew you would be awake." Lloyd muttered, he moved to grab Jay's blue stuffed animal, Mr. Cunddlywomp. Jay chuckled as he watched Lloyd's face get obstructed by the two stuffed animals.
"Well, I must say this storm is looking great." Jay said. The blonde looked up at his brother, his face scrunched up in mockery.
"Yeah, it's great for getting the trailer to the sky through a hurricane!" The little one sat up, swinging his arms up with the plushies in a dramatic display. Jay couldn't help but snort, this boy was picking up on his drama.
"You only say that because of the sound of thunder. Because they catch you off guard." The teenager poked the smaller one, hitting mainly the spots that made Lloyd shiver from the tickle.
"OK! Okay!" Lloyd pushed Jay's hand away with a huff, sitting up and leaning toward his brother's larger body. "It's just... The noise is really loud and... I don't like the flashes very much." His voice became a whisper and Jay could tell he was looking at the small window inside the room.
After a few moments with the only sound being the splashing of water outside, Jay sighed.
"Well, look..." He pulled Lloyd a little closer, running his hand through the little boy's blonde locks. "The sky, Lloyd, is a really dangerous thing when it comes to storms. It is a force of nature and one of the four Elements of Creation that were mastered by the First Master Spinjutzo." Jay began, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, the story of Ninjago's creation was etched in his mind, told to him by Wu and Garmadon, but also told for him with much more detail by Misako. "And really, it's something you should fear, but you should also respect. Even admire it, if you can."
"It's not something you can avoid, there isn't a place in the land of Ninjago where there aren't storms, even in the desert it's possible, even if only a small percentage of it is possible for it to happen." He looked at Lloyd, the boy was staring at him with attentive cat eyes, waiting for where Jay was going with that talk. "... But you must always remember that even with all this power, all the lightning, thunder, hurricanes and heavy rain, Heaven can't reach you, not while you're with people who know him and know that at some point he will calm down and go back to sleep and then you will be fine."
Lloyd seemed to consider that for a moment, a smile formed on his lips, and he nodded.
"Okay, I understand. The sky is a powerful and unpredictable thing, but nothing can touch me when I'm with a weather nerd." Lloyd laughed and Jay gasped dramatically, offended.
"That might be one way to put it, but don't ever call me a 'weather nerd' again, you brat." Blue grabbed Green and ruffled his hair, while Lloyd screamed.
The brothers push each other apart, laughing loudly, bless the storm for stifling their laughter, otherwise Ed and Edna would certainly already be at the bedroom door, telling them to go to bed because they woke up early tomorrow to get to know the job at the junkyard.
AIn the end they lay down on the bed, just enjoying the sound of the rain, now lighter, and each other's company. Lloyd let out a yawn, snuggled against Jay's chest, and soon fell into a peaceful sleep. Jay just smiled, the sound of more distant thunder echoed after he let out a yawn himself.
The Sky was going to sleep, and as such they, Jay was going with it.