Thunder rumbles in the distance like a cranky dragon with a sore throat. It rolls through the air, a low growl that makes its way across the plains to the little village of Ignacia. Lightning flashes near the horizon and Nya watches, waiting, counting the seconds in her head.

One... two... three... four... five... six... seven...

The thunder rages again and it's closer.

KA-BOOM!

"Wow." Nya mutters, looking out her bedroom window at the sky. It was just past sunset but the clouds had blown in and blocked out the night sky, making everything outside a deep grey and blotting out the stars. She looks over at the little blacksmith she and her brother run, but Kai is nowhere to be seen. He had probably already closed up and gone inside their connected house, so there wasn't much to do there. She stands from her chair and leaves her bedroom, going down the short hallway to their tiny kitchen.

"The rain is going to be loud tonight, you sure the roof won't leak?" she asks Kai.

"Positive," he responds without looking up from the stove, where he's boiling water. "I double-checked everything after we fixed the smithy. There's no way water will get in. Do you want tea?"

"Sure."

He reaches into a cupboard and grabs a few mugs. "You can go get some sleep if you want. You've been working a lot."

"So have you. You need rest, too."

Kai shrugs. "I will when I'm done."

"How long will that take?"

"I dunno."

Nya frowns. "Okay, well, how long have you been awake?"

"Um..."

"I don't want you to get sick. Or burn the house down."

Kai looks up from the stove, raising an eyebrow at her. "You really think I'd be that dumb?"

"I know you would."

He opens his mouth to retort, then closes it, frowning. "Okay, fair point. But I'm not going to."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Okay." Nya shrugs, trying not to smile. "Sorry. Just wanted to make sure."

"Uh-huh." Kai gives her a seriously unimpressed look and crosses his arms. "Well, I could say the same thing about you," he retorts.

Nya's eyebrow shoots up in mild curiosity. "Oh?"

"Don't pretend like I haven't noticed you staying up late too. Doing what exactly?" He asks, staring her down incredulously.

"Tinkering."

"With what?"

Tinkering with prototypes for a samurai themed mech, but she doesn't want to disclose that information to Kai, yet.

"Girl stuff," she responds instead.

"Ugh fine, forget I asked."

Kai scrunches his nose in disgust and throws his hands up, surrendering the conversation.

She turns and walks to the front door.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"Just gonna sit on the porch for a minute."

"Why? It's going to pour soon."

"I just want to see the storm." Nya opens the door and steps out. The humidity is so thick she can feel it coating her skin. The air is heavy and dark, and a light fog has started to form over the grass. The wind blows, rustling the landscape, and thunder cracks once more.

"You can stay up, but try to get some sleep, okay?" Kai smiles at her.

"Okay. G'night."

"Night."

Nya closes the door and sits down on the front steps, taking a deep breath. It was always nice, living out here away from the rest of Ninjago City.

Lightning strikes again, this time closer. The bolt is beautiful, lighting up the world in shades of white, blue, and yellow. Nya counts in her head again.

One... two... thre-

Thunder roars, a much louder crash than before, and she winces, covering her ears.

KA-BOOM!

There is a flash of lightning followed by a clap of thunder. Then another and another, the storm rolling ever closer.

Nya sighs and leans against the side of the house, looking out at the land. She's not sure why she likes thunderstorms so much, but she has liked them ever since she was a little girl. Unlike most kids, the lightning and thunder never scared her. In fact, she found them exciting. When she was younger, her and Kai would often sit out in the rain and splash around in the mud.

She smiles at the memory. Those were simpler times.

Her thoughts are interrupted as a drop of water falls on the ground. Then another hits the roof, and then the deck. A second later, it starts to pour, and Nya is thrilled by the elegant view of water cascading down in thick sheets.

The rain is refreshing and cool and she lets her mind wander as it washes over the house. She thinks of her and Kai's parents. They had left home years ago and she never heard from them since. Not even Kai knew where they were. It was as if they had disappeared without a trace.
Another strike of lightning illuminates the land, and Nya finds herself longing for those simpler times again.

The rain starts to pour harder. Lightning flashes in front of her, illuminating the sky in a brilliant shade of white. The thunder is louder than anything she has ever heard.

KA-BOOM!

She can hear the trees crackling and splintering. Her heart pounds, but not from fear. Excitement and adrenaline pulse through her body. It's as if the storm is calling out to her, reaching for something hidden deep inside of her.

Then the lightning strikes the ground directly in front of her.

She gasps and flinches, squeezing her eyes shut. But instead of feeling pain, she feels nothing.

When she opens her eyes, she sees that the ground is scorched and blackened from the impact.

"Whoa," she breathes, amazed by the raw display of power.

She stares at the black mark in the dirt, wondering how close she had come to death.

She shivers at the thought, but doesn't regret it.

The lightning continues to flash, illuminating the sky in bright white. It's probably time to go back inside, and tinker some more with her mech before Kai yells at her for staying up too late.

The rain starts to subside as the storm passes, and another bolt of lightning races overhead, tearing the sky in half. She can feel the electricity crackle in the air and the hairs on her arm stand on end.

Nya stays out for a few minutes longer, enjoying the fresh air, then stands and heads back inside, the memory of the storm and lightning etched into her mind.

oOo

"There's a storm coming," Jay says, standing on the roof of the monastery and staring at the horizon.

"What are you talking about?" Cole says, "There are no clouds in the sky."

"I can feel it," Jay replies, "it will be here in a few hours."

Cole rolls his eyes. "Whatever you say, dude," he says, clearly not convinced.

"Hey, Jay!"

Jay looks over the edge and sees Nya standing down below.

"Wanna come help me out? I'm putting some stuff away in the garage and I can't reach the top shelf."

"Yeah, sure!"

"Hey, no flirting on the job!" Cole calls out.

Jay flushes and scowls at Cole. "Oh, shut up," he hisses at his fellow ninja.

Jay jumps off the roof with an impressive backflip and meets up with Nya.

"What do you need help with?"

"I'm just putting a few things away. Do you mind?"

"No problem!"

He follows her inside the newly constructed garage and she leads him to the far end, where a series of shelves are lined up against the wall. There are blueprints scattered on the desk and tools laying everywhere.

"Wow, you've managed to make it a bigger mess than me," Jay jokes, looking around.

"You could help with that, too, if you want."

"I can try," he chuckles, "but I doubt I could top this level of clutter."

Nya smiles and picks up a wrench.

"What were you doing up there, anyway?" She asks.

"Just taking in the view," Jay says, picking up a screwdriver and starting to put things away. "Did you hear there's a storm coming?"

"A storm? In the middle of summer?"

"Yeah. I can feel it. Like the sky itself is telling me something is going to happen."

"Is that so?"

Jay nods.

"Well, let's hope it's a nice storm."

"I hope so, too." He pauses for a beat, chewing the words in his mouth. "You can't feel it?"

She shrugs. "Not really, no."

"Huh."

"Is that weird?"

"Maybe. But I think it's just my elemental powers. The master of lightning and all."

"Oh, that makes sense. You're always super perceptive about the weather."

"It comes in handy sometimes."

They continue to work, putting the tools away and tidying up the area.

"You know, I love storms," Nya says.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't you?"

"Oh, yeah. I like the rain, and the lightning. But the thunder... not so much. It's super loud."

Nya tries really hard not to laugh. "I'm impressed, that you find something louder than you super annoying."

"Hey! I'm not loud."

Nya bursts out laughing. "Yeah, okay."

"What?!"

"Nothing."

"You think I'm loud, don't you?"

"A little."

Jay sighs. "That's what everyone says. Maybe I should take a class or something to help me with that."

"Well, what do you expect when you talk a mile a minute? No wonder everyone finds you loud."

"It's not my fault! My brain is a lot faster than my mouth and I just can't keep up."

"So you can't control it?"

"Not really, no. I try, but it's hard. It's easier when I'm calm, but when I'm excited or nervous, it gets worse."

"Do you ever get tired of talking so much?"

"Not really, no. It's kinda my thing, ya know? If I'm not talking, then something's wrong."

"That's true," Nya chuckles.

"Well, except for right now," Jay mumbles.

Nya glances at him, and the corners of her mouth tug up into a small smile.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

"No," Jay huffs, crossing his arms. "I'm just tired of talking, that's all."

"Okay. Well, I'm done putting stuff away, and you look like you're about to fall asleep. Wanna go inside?"

"Sounds good."

"Alright, then. Let's go."

They walk back into courtyard and notice dark clouds encroaching on the view of the horizon.

"Huh. I guess you were right," Nya says.

"Of course I was. When am I ever wrong?"

"Oh, plenty of times."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Bursts of light flicker in the clouds as thunder rumbles in the distance.

Nya crosses her arms, hugging herself and shivering.

"You cold?" Jay asks.

"A little."

He shrugs off his gi jacket and drapes it over her shoulders.

"Better?"

"Much, thank you."

They stare at the sky as the storm continues to move closer.

"Do you ever like to just sit and watch the storm? See where it goes, what it does, how powerful it is?" Nya asks.

"Um... I guess."

"You guess?"

"I mean, it's a natural part of life, right? And storms are so cool, but not really. They can cause a lot of damage. And the lightning is pretty dangerous, especially when it hits a building."

"True."

"But I like the sound of the rain," Jay says. "And the way it makes the air smell different. Lightning is cool and all, but the rain is so refreshing."

"Yeah."

A clap of thunder interrupts their conversation and they simultaneously jump slightly, then look at each other and burst into laughter.

"Maybe we should go inside," Nya suggests.

"Yeah. We should."

They start walking back towards the main hall, where the rest of the team is, when suddenly a large bolt of lightning streaks across the sky.

"Wow," Nya whispers.

The lightning illuminates the clouds and the landscape below. The sight is breathtaking.
Jay stares in awe, unable to tear his gaze away.

"You alright?" Nya asks, placing a hand on his shoulder. A dull buzz fills her hand, like she just touched a live electrical wire in the workshop. Jay's body is tense and stiff, and she wonders if the lightning triggered something within him.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Jay responds, shaking his head, but he doesn't tear his gaze away from the sky.

"Wanna watch the storm?" Nya blurts out before her mind can catch up with her mouth.

"Yeah. Sure. I- uh, I mean, only if you want to. I wouldn't mind, um, yeah. If that would be okay, I wouldn't mind at all. That sounds nice. But only if you- um, wanna."

Jay finally manages to tear his gaze away from the sky and looks at her, cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Yeah, we could. I would like that," Nya says, trying not to laugh at his reaction. She fidgets in her stance. "You know, you could almost say storm watching is a hobby of mine."

"Yeah?"

"Yep."

"What, are you gonna tell me that it's one of yours, too?"

Jay blushes.

"It might be."

"Really? What else do you like?"

"Well... I like making stuff. And fixing stuff. And taking things apart. And seeing how they work. And finding new ways to use old parts. And-"

Nya giggles.

"That's pretty cool," she says, and the two of them turn to look at the sky. The rain starts falling, slowly at first, then in heavier sheets.

They stand in silence, listening to the rain, until Nya breaks the quiet.

"We should make something together sometime. I could use your help in the garage. What do you think?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Nya looks at him and notices that his eyes are a deeper blue than normal, almost the same color as the sky. They remind her of the lightning, bright and energetic, and she finds herself captivated by them.

She's never really noticed before, but he has long eyelashes and his hair is a very dark shade of auburn. It's also soft. She remembers when she first met him and he was so loud around her. He still is, but the boisterous bragging is gone. They've gotten a lot closer over the past few weeks.

"Um, Nya? Is everything alright?" Jay asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing, really. I was just lost in thought." She tries desperately hard not to blush.

"It's okay."

"Anyway, it's getting late, we should probably go inside."

"Right," he says, but he sounds sad that their time watching the storm is coming to an end.

"You want your gi jacket back?"

"Nah, you can keep it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Nya gives him a small smile.

"Well, thanks. We should do this again sometime."

"Yeah, totally. I'll see you around, Nya."

"See you."

They go their separate ways, and Jay heads up the stairs to his room. He smiles to himself, thinking that Nya loos incredibly cute in his gi jacket.

He shakes his head. He's got a crush on Nya. Big time. And he's pretty sure she knows.

He sighs and flops down on his bed. He can still hear the rain, but the sound is faint. The storm is starting to fade, and soon the sun will set and the day will come to an end.

But even if it's over, the memory will always be there. And he has a feeling they'll watch more storms in the future.