#Elasia OC

[elasianstar]

Group Training

Ever since the guys had their awakenings last June Wednesday night has become elemental night. After daily training with splinter the guys would take a short break and then, they were mine.

Training started with meditation, linking with the spirit of the elements. When linkage had occurred each of the Turtle’s elemental marks would glow in the corresponding color. Yellow for the eastern winds, Green for the northern earth, Blue for the western waters, and Red for the southern flame. Once all four elements had been called a ring of silver cordoned off the sacred circle. Once my own energy, deep Purple for the spirit of the self, was called the silver circle was sealed in gold and practice could begin.

Placed at the four cardinal directions were items dedicated to each specific energy for the guys to practice manipulation on a small scale.

Mikey had feathers of various shapes and sizes, he was tasked with manipulating the wind to move them in specific ways. building his sense of control by reigning in his boundless energy.

Donnie was given a small sand garden with buried crystals. His task was to manipulate the sand to reveal the crystals without manipulating the crystals themselves or scattering the sand. Focusing on releasing energy gradually instead of in extreme bursts built by bottling his energy. This was intended to help him find balance instead of bouncing between extremes.

Leo had a simple bowl of water. To help him learn to relinquish control I tasked him with dipping his hands in the bowl and letting the water flow where it wanted, allowing the element to bind with his energy without him being in direct control. To feel and learn the natural flow.

Raph had his penny candles. Controlling his more volatile emotions to direct the flame to burn the target object hanging above without burning the others surrounding it. or melting his candle into a useless puddle of wax as he had many times already.

As they worked I stood guard, ready to act should anything go wrong. My hold on each colored soul loose yet ready to pull it from the form of its vessel and break the connection to the element should things get out of hand. The disconnect between body and soul acting as an emergency shutoff switch. Luckily I hadn't had to use it yet.

Mikey had been the first to crack the secret of control on the second practice session at that.

“I've got it! I've got it look!”

He had picked up a single feather with a breeze, making it flip end over end. His arms moving as if he were hitting the feather with his nunchaku instead of performing with visualization alone as I had instructed. We all learn control in our own way I suppose. And if you think about it the fluid yet rapid motion of nunchaku isn't much different from the motion of wind.

From there he had been tasked with learning to further manipulate the element, performing different “Tricks" with the feathers before moving to less and less aerodynamic objects.

Soon after Donnie followed suit. Learning to use his voice to manipulate the sand as it would behave if it were placed in a subwoofer. From there he experimented with other methods of sound making, relying on his sense of touch to feel the vibrations he couldn't differentiate by ear. He even used tools such as his bow staff to produce the specific vibrations needed to control his element, keeping the flow of energy steady and constant to manipulate the material. Soon we will be ready to experiment with large stones and begin work with the more organic aspects of the element such as plants.

“After Beethoven lost his hearing he cut the legs off his piano so he could feel the vibrations to differentiate between notes. Though I'm only tone deaf I figured a similar technique would help me pin down the resonant frequencies of the stone.”

Raph was the most recent, just last week he managed to lift the tip of the flame to its target and the smile on his face was just as bright as the fire. All week he had been sparking little flames along his fingers and making them roll and jump across his skin. After splinter got after him and sent him to the hashi for accidentally torching his new altarcloth we finally convinced Raph that keeping a fire extinguisher of some sort around was probably a good idea, And to not practice around flammable objects. Let's just say I've started tying my braid into a bun at the base of my neck, just in case.

The only brother yet to manage his task was Leonardo. Every week he would sit with his bowl and meditate with his opal only to get increasingly frustrated. He was trying to coax the water to flow across his skin and would often times get a small rivulet to run up his arm, only for it to burst and send water across the dojo floor. It was like watching a child try to tame a skittish pet by repeatedly picking it up and wondering why it struggled to get away.

Well I was going to get him properly bonded to his element before I left for school if it killed me.

That’s where we were now, the guys clustered behind leo as he focused on the calm pool.

“Water is an extremely dynamic element, often displaying much of its own will. You have to learn that you do not control the mischievous nature of the creature, you simply learn to utilize it as it is. You can dig a new bank for a river but its course will always shift in its own way.”

His hands dipped into the pool causing slight ripples across the surface and not much else before stilling again. Time passed in silence leo’s eyes never leaving the surface as he kept his breath calm and meditative. After a while though the eldest became impatient, the glow of his element mark growing in intensity as he urged the water to begin to flow up his arms. When it reached his elbows however it burst from his control and splattered over the dojo floor. In his frustration Leo flung the bowl and began pacing around the room muttering under his breath and rubbing at his face with his still damp hands. Drops of rampant fluid drained down the razor edge of his katana to gather unnaturally at the tips, giving me an idea.

“LEONARDO.”

He stopped in his tracks, instinct telling him to pay attention to his teacher.

“I have an alternative plan. Would you entertain me to attempt it?”

The defeated look on his face softened and he nodded, eyes still glued to the spilled water on the floor.

“Come on...hey Donnie?”

“Yeah E?”

“Grab one of the overhead sprinklers from the greenhouse and bring it to the main room for me?”

“Yeah sure thing, Come on Mikey, ill need another set of hands to keep it from getting banged up on the tunnel walls.”

“What do you have up your sleeve this time Myojo?

“Just watch Red, you'll see.”

…

Once everything was gathered i set my plans in motion.

“Allright Leo, i want you to stand in the pool at the bottom of the entrance slide, ready your katana and close your eyes. Ok Donnie, start up the sprinkler. Now leo i want you to go through your katas, don't pay any attention to the water beyond keeping your connection strong.”

With a steadying sigh Leo started going through the familiar motions, his feet planted securely in the flowing chanel as the pricking of falling water kept his mind scattered from focusing on any one source of his element. After a few minutes the water at his feet inexplicably stilled, retaining a glassy smooth surface despite the movements of the katana wielding kappa or the raining droplets coming from above.

“Well i'll be damned, the son of a bitch actually managed it.”

“Quiet Raph, OK Leo, keep doing that but slow down, focus only on keeping your motions as smooth and calm as possible, as you would if you were doing tai chi.”

As his speed decreased and his breath evened out to the point of being nearly undetectable in his chest the water at his feet began to gather, lifting above the surface proper in a smooth mound. A thick rivulet about as big around and as long as a human arm started to form, flowing up one of his legs to slither over his shell and his left shoulder. The falling droplets helped give the creature form, long spikes supporting flowing fins sprouting from the writhing curling mass of its body as its tail thinned out to a trickle of a point and the squarish face took shape and sprouted its own fins. The creature looked like a mixture of a fancy koi and an eastern dragon, twirling along Leo’s arms and down the length of his blades with its translucent and wavering body.

“What is that?”

“Uisce, the spirit of water. A mischievous trickster of a creature who does not take to rigid orders, the ancient japanese called her mizu.”

Mizu continued to follow the motions of her host for a while before losing form and becoming a strong torrent that followed the tips of Leo’s katana like a set of divining rods.

“Leonardo continue your motion but do not open your eyes until i tell you, when you do you will not stop, you will not hitch or falter in your breath, you will remain calm and finish whatever motion you are currently in before reacting. Do you understand.”

I did not wait to be given an answer signaling for him to do as i had instructed. When his eyes opened he was greeted with the sight of twin torrents, dancing from the ends of his blades like a gymnast’s ribbons.

“Good focus only on suggesting the path, do not force your element. Speed up, let's see if you can hold it.”

His nod was slight, sharp eyes trained on the swirling and crashing water. I picked up an apple from the table and threw it at him so that he would be unable to block it with his blades. The water moved against it's flow to sweep up the fruit, rolling and bobbing it amongst itself.

“Don cut the sprinkler.”

The rain stopped and the water fell back to settle in the pool but the apple still bobbed as if being played with by a cat. Leo looked at me and I gestured to the now partially eaten fruit.

“Try and take it.”

When he pulled the apple away the water burst forward to follow it, taking the form of the water spirit again as it attempted to snatch it from Leo’s hands.

“No, it's mine now. You've had enough.”

It perched on his arm and just sat there looking at him for a moment before spitting a jet of water into his face.

“Ah! Ppphhhhh! You little…”

The creature disappeared again but not before Leo managed to knock the apple away to roll across the floor and rest at Raph’s feet. A spark jumped from his fingers as a wavering canine form fell on the fruit in a spreading bloom of flame before taking a more solid shape to gnaw.

“Lasair, that isn't yours… oh no Leo stop her!”

The water spirit jumped on her brother and a burst of hot steam filled the room, revealing a third competitor for the prize. It had a body like a serpent with three sets of wings and a razor beak.

“great now Goath is after it too, Mikey, Leo, Raph get ahold of them before i do.”

“....”

“....”

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE THINGS!!”

Really thought they’d be used to this by now, really didn't want to have to do this today but with three fighting chaos beasts threatening to destroy the lair i'll have to.

Raph’s POV

What in the hell? When you think you’ve finally seen it all you see three supposed elemental spirits battling it out for a half eaten apple in the middle of your goddamn living room. I can't even be surprised anymore, i didn't know what to even start doing about this and on top of it Elasia just up and disappeared. She was the one who knew how to deal with all this shit.

Great now there’s another one, this one was so dark it looked like it was just a hole in reality with sharp gold eyes and wide wings. When it landed one three toed foot grabbed the apple and stared the others down. This one was bigger than the others, and not as weird lookin. It was just a shadow shaped like…. Really? A damn raven, she was behind this.

The raven took the apple in its beak and broke it into four chunks, dropping one piece in front of Me, Mikey, and Leo. the creatures followed and started crunching at the bait. Now they were well behaved, figures. The raven took the fourth piece and hopped to the couch, it dropped the piece and nudged it behind and a thin vine wrapped around it and pulled it into its hiding hole. The raven fluffed itself all self satisfied and cawed like it was bitchin at us before it took off for the shadows of the tunnels.

Elasia’s POV

“What are you waiting for get a handle on your spirits! Do i have to do everything?”

“What if it bites me?”

“Mikey, Goath isn't going to bite you. If anyone should have control of their element its you. Now just grab the thunderbird.”

The smokey bird serpent slithered right up his arm and wrapped itself around his neck where it promptly fell asleep.

“Awwww, he’s so fluffy! Who's a good bird.”

“See, now get a hold of the others before they act out again.”

Leo’s jumped back in the water and crawled up on the retaining wall to sit next to her master. Otherwise ignoring him until he came to her, sitting on the wall next to the Koi dragon and reaching out to stroke its fins. Raph’s just looked up at him with the same look of fed up confusion as his master.

“What did you say his name was again?”

“The celts call him lasair, it literally means flame so whatever tongue you want to use.”

“Kaen, here.”

The hellhound looked at the floor in shame as he shifted closer to his master. He looked like a doberman with way too many teeth but he was acting absolutely pathetic as he gazed up longingly at Raph. it didn't take long for the big softie to break.

“Don't give me that face….fine, up! Good boy. Ah don't, gah! God what’s with dogs and lickin my damn face!”

“It won't come out.”

Donnie was tugging on one of the vines trying to dislodge his spirit from its hiding place.

“That’s because she doesn't understand. Crann is shy so you have to be gentle. You know how to handle your element, its part of you.”

Donnie got down on all fours and peered behind the couch, taking a minute to breath and try and get a good look at the creature. He made a low rumbling sound almost too low to hear and held out his hand, waiting for the creature to make the first step. A thin vine edged out of the darkness, soon followed by an eldritch abomination of various plant parts that wound itself around his arm.

“See, she’s a sweetheart.”

Donnie looked like he was expecting her to bite his limb off.

“What is...she.”

“She’s a yateveo, a devil tree.”

It looked at Donnie with what could only be described as it's face, a single purple orchid about the size of a tennis ball. The blossom tilted this way and that before slowly moving to rest on his shoulder, the mass of vines following and wrapping to get a hold on most of his upper body.

“I think she likes me? Hey hey heyheyhey! watch the vines Ki! And give those back I need those….”

Ki dropped Don’s glasses back on his face and started in on some other method of curiously exploring her new master.

“So what are these things.”

“Mizu was laid back over Leo’s lap, every once in a while trying to snap at the long tails of his mask.

“They are the spirits of the elements.”

“But I thought you said we were the elements?”

“No I said you were the Guardians of the elements. You are mortal, the elements have to be around even if you’re between lives so they take the forms of elemental spirit beasts. When you are alive they are bound to your souls by nature and that is why you can control them. There are five, one for each of the elements air, earth, fire, water, and spirit. When you figured out how to control your element you in turn tamed your beast and by building your skills you work to train it.”

Like a Pokemon?!”

“Yes, I never quite thought of it like that but the process could be considered similar.”

Mikey looked down at his elemental and gently ran it's long smoke tail through his fingers.

“I was going to name you Kaze, but now I have to call you zapdos.”

“Do they go away or are they permanent, like pets?”

“They do go away, they can only manifest when you are connected to your element. When you break the connection they are released back into the aether. They won't come every time, usually only when they're called, but Mizu drew them out this time and just had to start a fight.”

The water dragon cowered behind her master’s arm.

“I think you're leaving one little question unanswered babe…”

Raph was looking at me through squinted suspicious eyes, still petting kaen so he obviously wasn't too upset yet.

“I don't know what you're talking about?...”

“Elasia, do you think I'm a fucking idiot. The thing was a black hole in the shape of a raven.”

“I've told you that before.”

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and rolled his toothpick between his teeth.

“Well delight me with a re-telling then.”

Great, I would have to word this just right. I spun my ring around my finger to center my train of thought and spoke to the open air, not really looking at anyone in particular.

“Do you guys remember how I said in our mythology Elasia is the guardian of stars, which in turn are the spirits of our people? Well it's more than mythology, my mother is the angel Lunis and I'm literally the guardian of the firmament, the resting place for souls out of circulation. The Black hole raven as you put it is what I look like when my mortal form is between lives. I'm the spirit and the guardian in one package where you are the Guardians to your individual elemental spirits, connected but not one.”

“Which means, come on I'm sick and tired of not getting the whole damn story. Kick the mystery shit. Explain how that relates to us, and these.”

He gestured a bit too roughly toward Kaen and the poor thing whimpered. Raph immediately started to scratch behind its ears in silent apology to the innocent beast.

“The four earthly elements were born when the earth was formed, first in earth and fire, then water, and finally air. Spirit however came much later when the earth and the heavens met and formed the firmament around the time of the start of intelligent life. When spirit was born into a mortal body and the 200 year cycle of souls began the elements became a problem, a threat to life. Their first forms were those of monstrous beasts who carried the full power of their element within themselves, you would know them as titans. They fought constantly and brought chaos to the earth so the highest power separated them into two forms, mortal guardian and immortal elemental. one to perform the duty of the element and hold the majority of the power and the other to hold the living mind, the connection between the conscious world and the natural order. The element of spirit because of the direct tie to the soul couldn't be separated from her body completely so she was tasked with watching over all intelligent life and maintaining the cycle of souls in her firmament along a cycle congruent to her own life. To do so her form was split into one mortal and one of her mother’s ether connected by the soul of spirit. The mortal form was tasked with guiding and teaching the guardians of the elements. The five are supposed to act as a governing force, being reborn every 200 years to guide the realm of intelligent life, which once included humans, to balance and prosperity with the planet. It is my duty to make sure you can handle your elements or you could lose control and harm someone, or worse expose us all and ruin any chance of restoring the balance.”

Leo spoke first, making the connection I feared my friends would make.

“So is that why you're here? some sense of duty, you feel obligated.”

“I didn't say that Leo.”

“Elasia wouldn't do that shit bro, She’s our friend. Look at all the stuff she's done, she showed us we weren't alone, we don't wear patchwork scraps from the junkyard anymore. We have real jobs, we aren't freeloading off April and Casey. We have people like us. Elasia gave us dignity, showed us we didn't have to grow up loner street rats!”

“Grow up Mikey and stop with the rose colored glasses shit. It's obvious she’s been manipulating us, anything for her precious people. She couldn't even tell us what she was, let alone what she did to us to make us even bigger freaks!”

“Raph…..”

He looked at me like he didn't even know me, like I had stabbed him in the back, and then he wouldn't even look at me. I felt heartbroken, was he that mad at me? Over this?

“Raphael, just listen please. This means nothing, you're still my best friend, my sparring partner, my bonded. I wanted to be all those things long before I knew what you were, screw prophecy, screw mythology.”

At least he stopped, he was listening.

“I love you Raphael Hamato. Me, Jazz the 21 year old girl, not the star loving the flame. I. love. you! Leo, Mikey, Donnie, you brothers are my closest friends!! I give you my word by my soul. You feel that at least right? You know that? Guys?”

Donnie stood up first

“I believe her, you wouldn't do half of what you do if you only felt obligated by your nature. You treat us like family E.”

“Donnie…. I promise I'll always be your family.”

I felt Mikey’s hand grab mine and I looked behind with tears in my eyes at his smiling face.

“Super awesome gaming buddies?”

“The best gaming buddies. Thanks Mikey.”

He gripped my hand in our special handshake, eyes sparking with loyalty and friendship. I was blubbering like a baby but my grin was nearly exploding.

“Ah stop that, you know I love ya like a big sis Jazzycakes.”

Leo was next, his eyes stayed on the floor.

“I apologize for doubting you Elasia, don't cry due to my insensitivity. I should have known better than to think you regarded us as any less than friends.”

“I'm crying because I'm happy Leo, you guys are my best friends. I always wanted friends, don't ever think I don't care, that I think you guys are an obligation.”

Mikey wrapped me up in a hug and Leo went far enough out of his comfort zone to squeeze my hand real quick.

“Mikey you're squishing me….”

“feel the all mighty power of my friendship!!!”

“gah! I'm going to have plastron shaped bruises for an hour! Noooo let go!!!”

Mikey had licked all up my face before dropping me, gasping for air, for Don to catch.

“Gross little ass.”

“You already said you love us can't take it back!!”

“Get ready E, he’s never going to stop, You're family.”

“Great…..Thanks for the lift Don but can I get down now?”

He put me down and went to pet my head. I grabbed his neck and pulled him down to my height and tapped his cheek to my own.

“That's how family shows affection where I'm from, it's like a hug.”

He tapped me back, whispering as he gestured over his shoulder.

“I think there's still someone you have to speak to.”

Raph was staring at the wall across the room, Kaen mirroring him. None of the elementals had left, choosing to stay and comfort their masters.

“I think that's been enough training for today.”

“What do we do about the elementals?”

“Keep them around and get to know them or send them back to the ether to do their jobs, it's up to you. Just keep them out of trouble.”

The guys took the hint to disperse leaving me alone with Raphael, who was still staring at the wall.

“Raph, Big Red please just talk to me. We both know you stewing in this will only make it worse.”

Before I could touch his arm he pulled away, sulking his over to the edge of the pool where he sat heavilly on the cement retaining wall. I wasn't giving up, instead I followed him, jumping up on the wall and balancing on my toes as I made a show of creeping up beside him. When I plopped down beside him he didn't get up so that was a good sign.

“Raphie, please talk to me.”

Nothing, but he didn't pull away when I took his hand. He was still wearing my studded choker necklace on his wrist, I lined up our hands by the matching bands, two of my clawed fingers to each of his. His hands were always so cool, absorbing energy like a sponge. Their smooth calloused texture was addicting to run my fingers over, I always enjoyed playing with his hands.

“There's just one more thing that I need to know. If this is love, why does it scare me so? Well, it must be somethin that only you can see? 'Cause I can feel it, baby, when you look at me.

So tonight I'll ask, the stars above How did I ever win your love? What did I do, what did I say To turn your angel eyes my way?”

We just sat there for a while, him staring off in thought letting me lean against his arm, humming our song with his big hand clutched in both my own.

“Why didn't you just tell me?”

“Because I knew you would react exactly how you are now. You would doubt the fact that you even meant anything to me and think of yourself as just a mission or an obligation. And I was afraid, afraid that when you found out about my lineage that you would turn me away, treat me like a goddess above your station like everyone else. I was afraid you would force yourself to forget how much I care about you under some delusion that you aren't good enough for me.”

He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me up onto his lap, burying his chin against the base of my neck and pressing his face into my wings and hair.

“Nothing since we met you has been normal. I just feel like I'm being swept down a river with no way of seein the rocks on the bottom or where I'm going. I don't even know what to do or think anymore because every damn day it seems like another off the wall thing happens. Last night I was a mutant turtle with fire powers and shit and you were my bird human hybrid girlfriend that could work with souls, I can deal with that easy. Today I discover that my brothers and I are titans of creation reincarnated and you're literally a goddess of death and the afterlife.  Apparently it's our job to lead a whole race of people across the world and we barely manage to keep New york from some major apocalyptic tragedy every other year! I'm scratching the ears of a hellhound made of fire for Christ's sake! It's a little much to take in at 10:00 in the goddamn morning!!!”

I laid back against him, wrapping him in my feathers and tucking my head up under his chin. Maybe a little teasing would help.

“If it makes you feel any better Mr.Titan, the term is demi-angel, reaper works too, I'm far from being a goddess…..And Raph, you don't have to worry about this all on your own, you've got your brothers, and you've got me. Between the five of us what can't we manage?”

He was looking at me again, sizing me up as he thought things over, the edge of his lip jumping with a smile that didn't know if it wanted to form.

“What the hell am I going to do with you?”

“Why don't we just start with the understanding that we aren't hiding things from each other anymore and go for a nice drive to the dog park. I bet Andromeda would love a nice run with her new brother, we can pick her up from April and Casey’s on the way.”

“Sounds damn good to me.”

I jumped up off his lap and shook out my misplaced feathers, beaming at him over my shoulder.

“Well come on you big pain in the ass, we’re wasting moonlight!”

There was that smile, he knocked me out of the way with a playful shove as he tried to get a head start to the garage. But he didn't notice the shadow that flew past his head until he found me waiting for him, laid over the back of his bike like a showgirl with my wings spread and fluffed.

“What took you so long loverboy…”

“Get on your own bike and we’ll see who can ride harder. Oh and Myojo?”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me roughly against his plastron as he kissed me so roughly I saw supernovas behind my eyes.

“I love you too.”

It took me a few moments to work through what had happened, until I heard his engine roaring away from the shop.

“You cheating motherfucker! Get back here Raphael!!!”

...

BACK AT THE LAIR

“BOYS! WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE? IT LOOKS LIKE A TORNADO CAME THROUGH MY LIVING ROOM!!!!!! IT HAD BETTER BE CLEANED IN FIVE MINUTES OR YOU'LL SPEND THE NIGHT IN THE HASHI!”

“How much do you want to bet Jazzy knew dad would find out about the mess and that's why she and Raph took off.”

“Oh I know that's exactly what happened mikey.”

“Come on guys, just let the two have their fun. Help me fix this table Leo.”

“Still not fair they get to go have fun and we’re stuck cleaning. I was going to the skate park with Mondo and Alley Cat tonight!”

“Just help Mikey!”

[elasianstar]

Realized I never really drew a good pic of my OC Elasia Aquila.

[elasianstar]

MIKEY MEETS ALEX NOVO! (Shapeshifter OC)  Warning: Themes centered around abuse.

Mikey was an interesting person to say the least, most would probably say two faced if they knew but really a coin is not understood completely until both sides are seen. Around his brothers it was always the Same, Mikey was the little brother stereotype. He was energetic, immature, irritating, and regarded as unintelligent.

He didn't have to me the mature forward thought brother, Leo had that covered and there was no use trying, Mikey would only be seen as getting in the way. With an emotional hotbox like Raph in the group, Mikey's emotional outbursts were seen as coppycattish and overdone, better to hide behind the smile and act to soften the emotional turmoil of the group. He could deal with his own problems, in comparison to his brothers they were made to seem not as severe. Compared to the flaunted intelligence of Donnie, Mikey was seen as of lesser intelligence, simply because from time to time something he said would be corrected by the elder. Though many times his way of thinking would prove to be a viable solution to the issue at hand, the fact he had even said anything would be overlooked because he was viewed in such a light. The fact he was brave enough to voice his ideas and ask questions about what he didn't understand brushed aside by the reputation that had been built around him.

When in reality Michelangelo really was a triple threat, and more.

When he joined me on my trips to the compound I got to see a different Mikey. Sure he was still a happy go lucky jokester but he wasn't held back by that aspect of his personality. This Mikey was confidant, intelligent, and brave, and he was quickly becoming somewhat of a sensation amongst the people of the underground. His work with the scroungers causing him to make a bit of a name for himself, Tutela meaning safeguard or protector. No scrounger failed to return when under Mikey’s care.

After an expedition he was often found helping the elderly, often being rewarded with snacks as many considered him as a son at this point. If he wasn't helping someone he was usually at the school, playing drums on the equipment for the kids to dance to if not joining in on their play.

It was one of those days when he caught the eye of Alex Novo. They worked in a bakery nearby and when they saw him playing kickball with the 8th years on a delivery they couldn't help but laugh at the orange banded kappa’s antics. Their walnut eyes shone in the lamplight and their spiky blonde hair streaked with orange in their mirth. It was then that Mikey noticed them, just in time to miss the ball and have it smack him square in the face.

“Oh dear, are you alright?”

There was a bit of blood trickling from his nose, who knew a snallygaster could kick so hard? They helped him to his feet and for a moment neither could form a single word. they were really cute, not like April, this girl was the cutest person he had ever seen!

“Yeah I'm cool, thanks…”

“Alex. I'm sorry I distracted you, I didn't mean to get you hurt. I was just heading back to the bakery and saw you playing, it looked like so much fun.”

Their eyes were glued to the ground, a hand pressed to their mouth in either nerves or embarrassment. Mikey couldn't quite tell but it was cute.

“Its fine, really. No harm no foul ange… Alex. I'm Michelangelo, you can call me Mikey.”

“Wait, you're Mikey! As in Tutela Mikey? I heard all about you saving those Dewayo teens from the tunnel collapse! You're a hero!”

Mikey was shifting from foot to foot, tiny whirlwinds kicking up around his feet as picked at the scales on his arms.

“Thank you, Could…...you said you were headed to the bakery, could I walk you there?”

Alex’s hair streaked grey and pink as they nodded, unable to find any words as Mikey offered them his arm.

“I like your hair, why does it change color?”

They brushed some fallen spikes from their face, tucking the short downy fluff behind their ear.

“I'm a halfling, half shifter and half human My hair does that to match my mood but I can change it if i want.”

Their hair became long enough to reach their waist, forming soft chestnut curls.

“Can you change anything you want? Can you become an animal, or something silly like a toaster?”

Their laugh was light and snorty, Mikey found himself thinking he had never heard anything that made him happier. Their hand blocking the sound as they looked down again in embarrassment.

“Never tried a toaster. But I can turn into all sorts of animals, I just can't change my eyes, or this.”

They lifted the edge of their green hoodie to show a rune made of crisscrossed slashes enclosed in a looped cursive c shape.

“Every shifter is marked with a unique sigil at birth, that way we can be identified in any form.”

“That is so awesome! But I think you look pretty good like this.”

He couldn't believe what just came out of his mouth! He didn't even know if this was what they actually looked like, was he being rude?

“Alex! Get your FUCKING LAZY ASS in here GIRL! I'm not paying you to chat up kappa, I'm paying you to deliver orders!”

They winced sending an apologetic look to Mikey before giving them one of the fliers with the bakeries phone number on it.

“It was nice meeting you Mikey, after hours the bakery phone is mine, call me?”

Mikey was over the moon, a cute girl was giving him her number! God he had to be Cool, he was better than this!

“Sure thing Angelcakes! I'll text you.”

She met his smile, waving over her shoulder as she rushed off.

…

The next time Alex saw him was a week later, they had talked back and forth several times since then and their friendship was quickly growing, Mikey was really funny and always had something cool to say when they were bored stuck at home. Alex was delivering baked goods as usual when across the street they saw Mikey chatting with another kappa at the farmers market. This kappa was a bit taller and had darker blue eyes, a cobalt bandanna was wrapped around his face and twin swords were strapped to his shell as he sold corn and squash in his little makeshift stand.

“Hey Mikey, do you know him?”

The orange banded brother looked out over the crowds of creatures at the market.

“Know who leo?”

“That dark skinned fairy guy with the light grey hair and wings. He was staring at you?”

“No I don't think I've ever met him before. Maybe he wanted to come over and say hi, probably just too shy.”

…

Three weeks later Mikey ran into a woman with bright red hair and spines running down her back and forearms to support fusha fins.

“Oh I'm sorry miss, are you hurt, can I help you up?”

“Oh! Hi Mikey, thank you.”

“Have I met you before?”

She brushed herself off before looking up at him with big dark eyes.

“Alex?”

She seemed confused, walnut eyes scanning cerulean.

“How did you know it was me?”

“You said your eyes don't change.”

“Oh, nobody ever actually noticed them before.”

“I don't see how, they're really unique. You have a little spot of green in the left one shaped like a sunburst and the right is ringed with gold.”

Mikey flinched, rubbing his neck with one hand while fiddling with the chain on his nunchacku. he was really acting like a dork wasn’t he.

“My best friend is a forensics student, details are kinda her thing. Guess it rubbed off on me, it's weird sorry.”

“No, it was sweet. No one has ever been able to recognize me by my eyes before, most shifters have really colorful eyes, mine are boring old brown.”

“I think they're nice.”

“Hey Mikey? you’re really cool......Would you maybe want to go out later? Maybe get a coffee?”

His brain short circuited for a second and his heart was beating so hard he was sure it had cracked his plastron. was she asking him on a date????? act cool, act cool.

“Sure Angelcakes, sounds fun. Maybe we can sneak into a movie after? I’m pretty sure there's a new Disney movie showing tonight.”

Alex couldn't help but be excited, shifting back to the way they looked when they met Mikey. Their shaggy blonde hair was streaked with bright joy filled yellow and pink.

“Wicked. That is still so cool. Is that what you really look like?”

“Well its not how i looked when i was born but I like this form best so its my default.”

“I like it, you’re….(cough) you're a cute girl.”

“Oh um thanks i guess?”

Alex was fidgeting a bit grinding her tie-dyed shoes into the dirt, fighting with some unpleasant thought.

“Is something wrong?”

“Well i'm not a girl…”

Mikey seemed surprised but unbothered.

“Well then you're a cute guy, sorry.”

Alex still looked uncomfortable, but they were suddenly stricken wordless. They hadn't had this much trouble coming out since their dad, most shifters chose one gender or another to stick to but neither really fit Alex. Their dad still called them Alexandria and violently refused to use the right pronouns. What if their new friend decided to trap them behind a word as well?

“Person, i'm a person, they/them.”

Mikey didn't even flinch, a big reassuring grin on his face.

“Ok that's cool, is it a shifter thing? Id guess that if you could change into anything you wanted that stuff wouldn’t really apply.”

“Wait...you don't care...at all?”

Mikey just shrugged, playing off his nerves by acting cool, channel your inner fonz.

“Nah angelcakes, you're still an awesome person. It does clear up your taste in memes.”

A loud sound blared suddenly from Alex’s pocket,

"Uh, sama lamaa duma lamaa you assuming I'm a human What I gotta do to get it through to you I'msuperhuman InnovativeandI'mmadeofrubber Sothatanythingyousayisricochetingoffofmeandit'llgluetoyouI'mneverstating,morethaneverdemonstratingHowtogiveamotherf---in'audienceafeeling likeit'slevitatingNeverfading,andIknowthehatersareforeverwaitingForthedaythattheycansayIfelloff,they'dbecelebratingCauseIknowthewaytoget 'em motivatedImakeelevatingmusic …"

The sound of the unexpectedly loud music startled both of them and Alex frantically dug for their phone. It flew from their fingers causing a strange panicked squeak to fly from them as they swatted for the tumbling device. Seconds before making contact with the concrete it was stopped by a ragged black tennis shoe and flipped up into mikey’s skilled hands.  

“Here.”

“Thanks, just let me get this.”

“Its cool.”

(ALEXANDRIA NOVO YOU HAVE BEEN GONE FOR HALF AN HOUR GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE YOUNG LADY OR YOU ARE GROUNDED. I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE TWENTY OR NOT ILL KEEP YOU FROM LEAVING THIS HOUSE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS DO YOU HEAR ME?!!!!)

Alex flinched like they were about to be hit and something started to twist in Mikey’s stomach. 

“Yes papa, ill be right home, i'm sorry papa.”

“He’s really mad i need to go i'm so sorry.”

Alex took off before he could say anything, hair turning a sickly green and black as they sped off as fast as they could.

“WAIT WHEN TONIGHT?!!!”

they disappeared.

“Well I think that was the most interesting conversation you've had in about a week Mikey. What is up with you dude! A cute person actually shows interest in you and you turn into the verbal equivalent of a dead fish. I mean the saving their phone thing was pretty cool but really MC, you're supposed to be the triple threat, sweeping folks off their feet! I'm the cool brother!”

His reflection just stared at him as he yelled at himself, two sides of Michelangelo. Why couldn't he be the happy go lucky people pleaser around them?

“sick, I really am starting to sound like Jazzycakes with all this self analyzing. I need to go see if I can find Mondo, maybe he’ll be able to help me out.”

…

When he got to mondo’s skatepark he saw the green mohawked gecko shredding rails on his board, as usual the area smelled strongly of pot.

“AAAAAY MC Mikey! You come to chill bro? Maybe smoke a bowl with your good buddy Mondo?!”

Mikey couldn't keep from smiling at his friend’s antics, no matter how bummed out he was Mondo usually knew how to make him feel a bit better. Normally he would lounge on the halfpipe with him and enjoy some of his quality stuff but…

“No dice Mondo Dude.”

“WHAT?! Did leo catch you sneakin back in smelling like a chill ass time again? Dude is such a party pooper bro, totally not radical.”

He still joined the reptile on his perch, swinging up to the top of the half-pipe with one arm and settling next to his best bro. He may not be able to smoke tonight but the smell still helped him get his head on straight.

“Nah bro, nothin like that. For one i think leo is realising that smoking helps my hyperactivity shit. Donnie suggested caffeine but all that does is knock me out. When i smoke i feel more like me, like i can actually focus and not be a total dipshit all the time. Messin stuff up.”

“HEY HEY HEY, don't you go dwellin on all that gnarly self depricatin crapola, you know you're the shit dude. Say it, go on, i'm the shit.”

“Mondo, do we really have to g….”

“I said say it MC, If you don't ill do the thing, i swear dude!”

“OK OK ILL SAY IT! I'm the shit. Can you get off me now?”

“Yep sure thing.”

The green haired lizard jumped off Mikey’s lap but not before lapping his big slimy tongue all over Mikey’s face with the biggest shit eating grin.

“DUDE!”

“What, i didn't say i wasn’t gonna do the thing, you still deserved it for starting the depression train rolling. Just being a good buddy, keeping my promises. Now whats got your mask all twisted and shit.”

Mikey was still wiping his face clean, throwing the spit soaked mask at Mondo who just dodged it and stared back at him with unblinking eyes.

“Its this person i met, they're really cool and i swear the cutest I've ever seen. But they’re shy and a bit awkward and i can't get myself to act normal when i'm around them. Plus every time i get a chance to talk to them for more than three seconds they end up having to run off because their dad is yelling. We were supposed to go have some fun tonight but they got a call from their dad and ran off before we could figure things out and now they're not answering their phone. I don't know if it was me or their dad or what but my stupid brain keeps telling me its…”

Mondo hopped back up in his friend’s lap, eyeing him with one slit pupil as he licked his own eye clean.

“Do i have to do the thing again bro?”

Mikey nudged him off, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes before starting again.

“But my mind keeps telling me its my fault. I know not to trust it but i have trouble not believing that bad things that happen are my fault.”

“AND?!”

“And i'm getting better at that.”

Mondo took another long huff on his dragon pipe, giving Mikey a satisfied grin.

“Good job. Now have you tried going over and talking to this person?”

“Well no, i don't even know where they live.”

“Met them down at the compound right?”

“Yeah, still pissed that you knew that place existed all these years and you didn't tell me.”

“Well give me this totally tubular chicks name and i might be able to help you out! Or is it a Bro, i know you swing both ways like that Mike. let your good buddy mondo help a homie out!”

“They aren't either, they’re just a person. Alex, Alex Novo, they're the baker’s kid.”

“WAIT!, You mean Alley Cat?! They used to ride all over town stickin the raddest tricks on that bmx bike of theirs! But their dad is super strict bro, when he found them out he broke their bike in Half! Scared them so much they lost their sick spiky hair and shit, turned into a little black haired mousy chick and he hauled them back by their wrist bawlin. Haven't seen them around in about two years.”

Mikey’s stomach dropped he had a feeling something was terribly wrong.

“Dude you're crushin my tail!”

When Mikey realized what he was doing he dropped Mondo’s tail like it had burned him. Mr. Novo sounded like bad news and by the sound of Alex’s phone call and the way they were acting when they took off… they could be in major trouble.

“Where did you say they lived?”

“Last i heard somewhere near Harlem River Drive in the heights……….Mikey? Michelangelo?!”

…

His rocket board couldn't take him there fast enough, he kept trying to call them but they still weren't answering their phone, they always answered. Something had to be wrong, and now that he knew their dad had a possibly violent history. God why can't this thing go any faster!

He could smell them the moment he got above ground on the street, the smell of his favorite honey oat bread from the bakery and cigarette smoke. It was coming from a three story building that must have been an old burned out bodega. The lights were on in the third floor windows and he could hear voices coming from inside. There was the sound of a man screaming through where a bottle had broken the window, pieces of it had gotten stuck in the wire mesh covering the outside, And then he heard a woman screaming in pain and his heart stopped.

“ALEX!!!!!!!!!”

Mikey didn't care if he was seen, he leapt across the street and ripped the wire mesh off of the window in the full glow of a street light. Inside stood a beast of a man with the leg of a broken chair in one hand, the limp form of a tiny Latina woman in the other. At the sound of him busting the rest of the way through the window the eye that wasn't swelled shut peeked open.  

“Mikey…..”

His blood boiled and he doubted he had ever been this furious in his entire life as he blindly grabbed a marble end table top and brought the edge sharply against the grizzly man’s skull. Snatching the unconscious girl he took off again, clutching her to his plastron as he jumped back out the window ran over the city rooftops as fast as he could. Alex wasn’t breathing well.

“HELP!!”

Elasia’s POV

We heard Mikey’s voice echoing through the lair, it was breathless and filled with terror that caught everyone’s attention. He wasn't fooling around, i smelled blood and felt the presence of an unfamiliar soul with him. When i made it to the common room Raph and Leo were already there rushing him into the needle room where i could feel Donnie already prepping his equipment. I hurried after them.

Inside Mikey was knelt by the operating table, blood on his hands and chest as tears welled in his eyes. Laying on the table was an absolutely tiny Latina girl, maybe 5 foot nothing if she were standing. Her body was covered in cuts and dark bruises and one of her eyes was a swollen mess. More blood clotted in her extremely long black hair. Mikey refused to let go of her hand, mumbling under his breath as i got closer.

“All my fault, i should have been faster, should have been fucking faster….”

“Don what’s the status report?”

“Looks like aside from the obvious wounds she has a concussion and her left forearm is broken but i can't tell the fracture’s status without an ex-ray. Some blood loss but not enough to be too harmful, I've got Raph cleaning any lacerations and stitching the major one on her shoulder. we should be able to handle most of her injuries so she can heal naturally but i need you to take a look at her arm.”

Her arm wasn't misshapen so only one of the bones were broken, by the bruising on the pinkey side of her arm i was guessing the ulna, probably a defense wound, blunt force trauma. The girl looked like she had been beat with a broken stick or a glass bottle.

“Is she securely unconscious?”

“Yes we gave her a mild sedative she should remain unconscious for about 12 hours.”

Taking her slender arm in my hands i felt along the length of the bone until i could pinpoint the fracture, compound, this was going to be tricky. When Mikey heard the bone snap back into place he lunged at me with white eyes, luckily Leo had been looking after him and was able to stop the youngest’s outburst before he knocked the bone back out of place. Once i was sure the bone was correctly set i regained my focus, patching my own energy to hers, rich dark sunset orange muddied by the dull brown from years of lack of care and abuse. Whoever this girl is Mikey most likely saved her life tonight. Her bone healed quickly and we got her stabilized and situated in one of the more comfortable rest beds, Mikey never leaving her side.

I had a talk with leo as soon as we got out of earshot.

“Leo leave the boy alone for the night, he is obviously upset over the young woman. You can interrogate him tomorrow after she wakes.”

“But we have absolutely no clue who this person is, whether or not she’s trustworthy…”

“Mikey would not bring her here if she wasnt safe and you know that. The boy isnt some air headed irresponsible kid, give him some credit. Plus she’s on our side.”

“How do you know?”

“The tattoo on her right lower back, its a shifter’s sigil. She’s a mystic, and she obviously needs a safe place right now, her soul was muddied by a lot of abuse. Just leave the two to sleep in peace.”

I heard Donnie’s heavy boots coming up the corridor long before he actually got there. His holoscreen was pulled up to a page showing the face of the young woman in the other room.

“Elasia.”

“Yeah Don what did you get?”

“Well i ran the sigil design on her back through the database you gave me and i got one positive hit. Alexandria Novo, 20 years old, daughter of shifter Bertram Castro and his unwed mate Human Marina Novo (deceased). she’s one of us.”

Don wasn’t done, taking a moment to switch to another page on his holoscreen and push up his glasses before continuing.

“I pulled the name up on the new york police database and apparently the police had been called to the father’s home several times in the last month on suspected domestic violence charges. No concrete evidence was ever found but if the girl shares her father’s abilities…”

Leo’s eyes hardened and his hands balled into fists behind his back.

“He could be forcing her to hide any signs of physical abuse. I know her father, he runs the New Castle bakery in the compound across from where i usually set up my stand. I thought he was a nice guy, Lets just say ill be paying him a visit. You were right Elasia, She can stay with us until we can find her a safe place to stay. I hope you don't mind sharing the guest room.”

“You can stay with me babe.”

“Thanks Red, How’s Mikey doing?”

I could tell by the look on his face and the fact that he had yet to wash the blood from his hands that it wasn’t good. I heard Don’s phone ring and he took off before Raph could speak.

“He isn’t talking much but i can tell he isn’t doing too hot. He won’t leave that chick’s side for anything. Keeps muttering the name Alex.”

“Alex...My stars i should have seen it earlier!!!!!!”

“What?”

“Alex, Mikey kept telling me about an Alex he met at the compound, they've been talking for about a month and he’s been totally over the moon about them but they haven't had a chance to really meet up. That must be them! No wonder he’s been so protective.”

Don was back and his face was the wrong shade of green, brown eyes wide and a little panicked as he stuttered through explaining.

“I got a call from M-ondo and Mikey may have been a little t-too pro-t-tective, with a slab of marble. We have clean up to do on Harlem River Drive.”

…

It took most of the rest of the night but we managed to make it look like the dirtbag had up and taken off in the night, leaving the apartment and it's content to his daughter as he left for portugal and a life with his new girlfriend. Knowing the authorities in the area they wouldn't search too hard, not like they would find him. He's now a spattering of ash washed away into the bay, I made sure every single bone fragment that survived cremation was crushed and spread with the rest of the ash, Bertram Castro was gone without a trace. Not even a star in the sky to mark his absence, I personally made sure of that.

…

Mikey’s Pov

I woke up as soon as i felt Alex start to shift in their sleep. They still looked pretty rough but Elasia and Donnie had promised they were stable. The heartbeat monitor took off and Alex started thrashing, crying out and striking haphazardly in their unconscious panic.

“Alex, alex you're ok, angelcakes you're safe. Shhhh shhhh.”

I held her as tightly as i felt safe so she wouldn't hurt herself, trying anything i could to calm her down or wake her up. Soon though she jerked one last time and settled down.

“Alex?”

“Mikey? Where am i?”

“You're safe, i brought you back to the lair, i thought he’d killed you.”

“Papa.”

“He won’t hurt you ever again, i promise.”

I was feeling so many emotions i couldn't concentrate on any one thing so i just held them as they cried in my arms. This Alex was so small and frail in my hands i thought any moment they would blow away as dust in the wind and be lost forever. I couldn't not see them, held in that monster’s hand like a rag doll as he beat them, Alex could have died last night and i might not have ever known. I didn't even know i was crying until tiny fingers brushed my cheeks, those deep and compassionate eyes looking at me with worry. Alex wasn’t the one who was supposed to be doing the comforting here.

“Mikey, its ok. I'm safe. You saved me Mikey.”

“Well isnt that cute. Looks like little Mikey found himself a girlfriend after all.”

“Raphael, stop teasing. They’ve obviously been through a lot in the last 24 hours.”

Elasia and Raph were leaning against the door frame and i wondered how much of that they saw, Raph wasn’t going to let me see the end of it. Especially with how much shit i give him over Jazz. i didn't really care.

E slapped his arm teasing, and gave him a look to stay back as she came up to the bed. She was using the priestess act but her eyes were soft and kind as she asked Alex for their arm.

“It looks like the breaks in your ulna healed well, if you could look here for me?”

She shone a light in Alex’s eyes and they jerked back, grabbing my forearm for safety. My heart swelled and i almost growled before i remembered this was Jazzycakes, she wouldn’t hurt them.

“You still have a slight concussion, i would take it easy over the next day or two, don't go doing anything to further the injury. But you should be healed up enough to release you from extensive care.”

“Yes Priestess, thank you my Elasia.”

Jazz smiled, placing a careful hand on the top of Alex’s head before brushing it over their cheek in an almost motherly manner.

“just call me Elasia child, there is no need for formality here. We are just glad you are safe, you gave all of us quite the scare when Mikey came home covered in blood with you in his arms.”

She stopped halfway to the door, digging in her pocket before she spoke, she didn't look at me.

“Oh and Mikey, just thought i would let you know we cleaned up your little mess, you may want to give them this when they are coherent enough to understand.”

She tossed me a chain with a little silver ball on it, engraved in the surface was a sigil that looked a lot like Alex’s but the center slashes were surrounded by the shape of an axe blade instead of a letter C. there was a piece of bone inside.

“Why did she give you a reliquary? Who died?”

I killed him, i actually killed him. good.

“He won't hurt you ever again.”

I slid the delicate silver chain over Alex’s head so the charm hung over her throat, it was still bruised from his hands. My own fit over the bruises almost perfectly, she was so tiny, i felt so much hate for that little silver ball, she shouldn’t have anything to do with that….. Man. she pushed my hands away, lingering a moment before inspecting the charm.

“But that’s Papa’s….”

She sounded completely heartbroken, how she could feel any empathy for the creature that beat her within an inch of her life, who strangled her and cut her and beat her. How could she still love her…. How could she not love her father, And i took him from her in a moment, by saving Alex i had made her an orphan.

Elasia’s POV

I only heard one choked sob from Alex before they tucked the reliquary into their shirt. They were strong, and a smart person, they would be fine. I snuck one last look over my shoulder to see Mikey watching over them with concern heavy in his sky eyes. He was fighting with himself over the whole ordeal i could see it on his face, but he comforted Alex anyway, gently rubbing their back as he let them nestle themselves into his shoulder. I knocked twice on the doorframe and his eyes darted to me though his body didn't flinch so as not to disturb Alex. i signed one small phrase before i disappeared from his sight.

“You did the right thing, everything will be ok.”

Over the next two days i watched as Alex recovered and came to terms with her father and abuser’s death, Mikey stayed by their side through it all. He did his best to keep them happy and cheerful but also knew when they needed to just be in it all, when they just needed him to be a shoulder to contemplate everything on. In turn i saw the trust blooming in Alex, the way they seemed to walk taller and how their eyes shone just a little brighter when Mikey was near. Their friendship was already strong, and something else was growing between them, something that would prove much stronger.

[elasianstar]

R #13 Accidental anger (Angst fic)

“I think I want to try for a degree in physics and mechanical engineering, oh but chemistry….”

“I can get you all the necessary paperwork Don, it'll be pushing it but we might be able to even get you in for the fall semester. You just have to decide on a major.”

“But there are so many choices! Physics, mathematics, engineering, psychology, chemistry… I can't choose!”

“Well can you narrow it down to your top 3? A double major and a minor is doable in 5-6 years if they're all in similar disciplines.”

“Ok, I think I'll stick with physics and engineering…. And a minor in inorganic chemistry.”

“Are you sure?”

“mmmmmmm! Yeah just put it down before I change my mind again. I can't believe you got me in, I'm going to be an actual college student!”

“Yep, as soon as we send these enrollment papers in and get your classes finalized you will be an official Columbia college Cougar.”

From where I stood in the tunnel outside the lab I heard it all.

I couldn't believe it, Donnie was going off to college with Elasia in the fall…

That evening Elasia’s POV

Raph has been acting really strange today, I mean not entirely out of the ordinary, but I haven't seen the red banded brother this irritable in months. He was stalking around the lair and bouncing from thing to thing in an attempt to keep himself in check, beating the snot out of his training dummy, cleaning random spaces, he even started knitting after a bit but his restless mind wouldn't let him relax. I tried approaching him to see what was wrong but he just brushed me off without a glance.

“Don't worry, Raph just gets like this sometimes, let him work off the steam and he’ll be fine. This is nothing like the explosions we endured as kids, Raph was a real live wire back then. This is most likely nothing that won't blow over.”

“I don't know Leo, I've never seen him quite this steamed, not even at you. He's been so good at keeping himself in check recently, he's been so proud of his self control. This isn't normal, something is wrong and I know it.”

“Guys! Fajitas are ready!!!”

Mikey's voice brought us all running to the kitchen, the chaos of flying plates being caught and the chatter between the brothers feeling normal and comfortable compared to the funk of the rest of the night. Then Raph made it to the kitchen and the atmosphere chilled almost instantly as he roughly snagged a plate and plopped into his normal spot on the bench between me and Mikey. He didn't make eye contact or even spare a kind word just started serving his portion of food and eating in a fuming silence. The others acted like nothing was wrong and soon the usual chatter started back up.

“And I helped this old lady with eyes all over move a futon we found out at the dump into her apartment. I think her name was Sicily if I remember right, her son is coming home from serving with the coast guard soon and she needed to set up a place for him to stay until he could get situated. She was really nice, afterwards she brought out homemade cookies and showed me a few of their old photo albums.”

Mikey was chattering away, he's been so much happier since he started volunteering at the small mythic community. His eyes were brighter and he seemed more willing to express himself.

“The scrappers are treated like heroes over in the compound, I don't see why you guys don't stop in and help out some time.”

Leo smiled a bit between bites of the delicious roasted peppers the younger had prepared, gesturing with his fork as he talked.

“Things are going pretty good at the market actually, selling my extra fresh produce is working out. I even have a few return customers, there's this older guy with hooves, Devin, who comes up every week from new Jersey. He cleans me out of hot peppers every time I take some down. I can't believe we lived down here our whole lives and never knew they were over there. Feels good to actually help people who are like us, who can look at us without seeing a bunch of freaks.”

“Oh and Don, your gadgets are actually selling pretty well. The kids love your little tin toys. You could start up your own shop and do nicely, or I bet I could convince Tobias to set up a little section for your stuff at the toy counter in his shop.”

“I might actually consider that Leo, making them does give me a nice break from upgrading our stuff and my lab projects.”

“what's the point.”

Raph's comment was almost too quiet to hear as he shoved off from the table.

“What's that all about Raph?”

“I said what's the Damn Point! You'll just end up leaving and then what! You'll be too busy with your stupid degrees to do anything else!!!”

His plate went whizzing past Donnie’s head and crashed into jagged shards that littered the floor. Something broke in behind Donnie’s eyes and soon he was launching himself over the table to get in his larger brothers face. Bo staff caught between twin sai as they struggled against eachother.

“Well sorry if I want my chance to better myself! You know more than anybody that I've always wanted This, to actually have a chance to be a part of the scientific community!”

“Well whoop de fuckin do! Donnie’s the smart one, he's going to make something of himself!”

Raph managed to throw Don away, his sai still buried in Don’s staff. But his anger was growing, all his wards were down and his eyes glazed over white as he lost himself.

“IS WHAT WE DO NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU DONATELLO, HUH! IS PROTECTIN PEOPLE AND HELPIN PEOPLE TOO DEMEANIN FOR MR. EINSTEIN! YOU'VE GOTTA ABANDON YOUR BROTHERS TO BE HAPPY HUH!”

“Raph honey calm down no body is…”

“DON'T YOU OPEN YOUR SLY CONIVIN LITTLE MOUTH! YOU WERE FUCKIN IN ON IT! I HEARD YOU! IT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR YOU TO JUST LEAVE, YOU HAD TO TAKE MY BROTHER AWAY TOO! GET YOUR HANDS OFFA ME!”

“He flung me of of his arm like i weighed nothing, sending me flying across the kitchen to crash against the steel cabinet. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and warmth running down my chest from where the edge of the cabinet had bitten into my flesh. I couldn't process anything else in that moment, he actually hurt me.

“DON'T YOU DARE TREAT HER LIKE THAT!”

Mikey swung on his older brother, his smaller form not allowing him to do much more than further anger his behemoth of a sibling when his punch glanced off Raphael's jaw. A whirlwind picked up, grabbing heavy iron cookware and flinging it at Raph in an attempt to fight him off as the enraged turtle charged the perceived attacker. Mikey's arm was caught in the larger’s grasp and a harsh pop was heard as his shoulder was wrenched out of place and he was tossed to land beside me on the floor.

“RAPH COOL IT. YOU'RE HURTING YOUR FAMILY, IS THIS REALLY WORTH IT? WE CAN TALK THIS OUT!”

Raphael was past getting loud, his anger turning his voice to embers, a low crackle to match the fury in his eyes. He had his oldest brother pinned high up to the kitchen wall, trying to fight back would only lead to more injuries.

“You were in on it to werentcha Leo? Sendin MY brother away. you never thought Don was a good enough fighter, drove him to spendin all his time in that damn lab to try and earn your approval. Now you're sending him away and he's never gonna come back.”

Raph's scales were starting to glow with heat, the edges turning black as the air around him started to shimmer like the mirage over the highway in summer. Tongues of flame started to flick over his fingers, climbing the thick columns of his arms as he reached for his eldest brother's throat.

“ENOUGH!”

Donnie’s voice shook the lair like an earthquake, causing a shower of dust to overtake his brothers flame, and smother the oxygen from him. The sound of the two falling to the floor and Leo’s harsh coughing gasps signalling for Donnie to stop.

When the dust cleared, the level of chaos became extremely apparent. Mikey was trying to use the counter to push his shoulder back in, my own blood had stained the floor as more seeped from the deep gash in my shoulder and I was sure my collar bone was broken. Kitchen utensils were embedded in the wall and a thick layer of dust covered everything. Leo was regaining his breath in the corner, burns in the shape of Raph's hand and forearm across his chest and shoulder. In the middle of it all was Donnie, on his knees looking absolutely shell shocked. His glasses were missing and blood trickled from the side of his head where he had been struck as Raph charged Mikey. He had Raph’s head in his lap and he was wiping the dust off of his unconscious brother’s face as he checked to make sure he was breathing.

“this is all my fault…”

Stopping the flow of blood i hauled myself up off the floor with my left arm just as Mikey managed to snap his shoulder back in. A small whisper of pain the only sound in the room as he approached his brother with cold yet worried eyes.

“No Don, this is as much my fault as it is yours. But I don't understand what the problem was.”

By now Leo had gotten himself up off the floor and was helping Donnie haul Raphael's limp body to the needle room.

“Whatever it was I think the two of you owe us all an explanation. But after we get everyone patched up. Elasia, do you think you've got it in you to help out?”

My calm mask wasn't fooling anybody, my ankles were shaking and I was holding my arm funny to ward off the pain in my shoulder.

“Yeah but I'll need Mikey to go get one of the bags in my fridge upstairs. Do you think you can manage it MC?”

“Y-yeah, but why?”

“Don't question it, just go get it please.”

Donnie’s wounds were the most troubling so I tended to him first. Having Leo check to see if his skull was cracked from the blow while I checked his eyes for sign of concussion and readied the disinfectant.

“Here, I don't know why you needed this but…”

Biting into the bag I ripped off the corner and drained the entire contents in front of all of them, sighing when the quick release of energy flowed into my shoulder to repair the broken bone.

“Works faster than solids, I needed the energy to heal myself before I could help any of you. Couldn't wait the three days for the bone to re-fuse. Now Donnie hold still, this is going to sting like a big bitch but I have to clean the wound before it's healed.”

Pouring a thin stream of disinfectant over the wound to wash out any dirt Donnie just set there, staring at the turtle charm hanging around my neck as I dabbed clean gauze over the wound before sealing the flesh in gold light.

“Mikey are you ok?”

“Yeah, just a little sore but I think my arm is ok.”

“Could you try and find Donnie’s glasses? Come on Don let's get you laid down, try and close your eyes for a bit. Get calmed down.”

Mikey left to find Donnies specs as i moved on to help Leo. His burns weren't severe enough to warrant an emergency but he had to get cleaned up soon or risk infection. His plastron was discolored and he had several blisters along his shoulder and forearms.

“I have to wash the hide before I drain the pustules.”

“Just do it. I can handle a little pain Ane.”

The cleaning cloth accidentally popped one of the larger blisters while I was cleaning and Leo gripped my free arm to steady himself. His grip got stronger as I lanced each obtrusion to his hide and flushed the whole area with anesthetic. I would surely have a bruise for a few minutes, but what was another bruise. What was another scar.

Mikey returned with Donnie’s glasses, miraculously without damage and I had him help both of his brothers to their quarters to let their bodies continue healing on their own. Now to deal with Raph.

There were no burns to deal with, just a few superficial cuts to be cleaned. He was breathing fine and a dark bruise was forming on the side of his head where he had been struck with a chunk of concrete. I cleaned him up and left him there to heal. Keeping my emotions controlled and sterile until the boys had left the room.

I placed my hand over Raph's chest, feeling the familiar tug of our bond as I drew his energy from his body. As it coalesced into its solid form I cupped the softball sized soul in my hands. The surface of it blazed with fire but it did not burn me, it refused to hurt me. I felt my chest tighten and my throat swell as I dropped the thing back into his body and turned to face the mirror. The cracked glass obscured my figure somewhat but there was no missing the new scar slashed cleanly across my shoulder. The edges of the tight silver flesh were pink, signs of my body fighting an infection due to the wound being sealed uncleaned. My skin was covered in coagulated blood, flecks of gold making the macabre sight seem alien in the flickering fluorescent light. My eyes were blown out gold and my teeth were sharp, body wound tight and ready to fight. Though I had been unable to land one blow against him to protect my friends, he had flung me without a second thought

I leaned my forehead against the shattered mirror and just stared back into my own eyes for a while. I didn't move, I tried not to think, i just let my mind and my emotions run their course until I was too exhausted to hold back anymore. My eyes welled with tears and my knees gave out as I fell to the floor. For the second time in as many hours I couldn't move of my own volition, my body just sitting there, rocking back and forth as I was forced to stare at my pathetic self in the mirror.

“You call yourself a warrior, but you didn't even try and do anything. You could have shut it all down but you just sat there and watched. You're pathetic, you're weak and spineless, you don't deserve to carry their name. You aren't the Elasia, that mark on your arm holds as little value as you do. You're nothing but a coward, a guinea pig, a worthless animal. J.4.2.2. J.4.2.2 J.4.2.2. J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2

J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2.J.4.2.2…..”

I didn't feel the hands on my shoulder, I heard voices, but they sounded far away, through deep water. In a different time, past heart rate monitors, past the whirring of drills and saws, past dripping IV’s that made my blood run thick in my veins and my lungs heavy with fluid.

“Elaaaaaa…...elasiiiiiii….Elasia!....JAZZ!”

J.4.2.2

I started breathing again, my eyes wide with panic as my body thrashed and clawed at my binds, thick leather wrapped tightly around my wrists and waist holding me in place. Unable to fight, unable to protect those who looked up at me through thick iron bars. Wide innocent child's eyes, bright blue…

I came around to bright blue eyes filled with tears, to a bear hug squeezing me tight.

“Come on Elasia, Jazz, wake up please. Come on..”

“lemme go.”

The words passed my lips as a hoarse whisper but they felt like panic. My body moving to scramble away from my binds despite the hurt look on my friend’s face.

My vision cleared as I allowed myself to breath, the smell of antiseptic fueling my fearful visions never leaving but being overtaken by visions of my friends as they watched over me from a short distance.

“What's happening, what's wrong jazzycakes?”

The green souled one put his hand on the blue eyed one’s shoulder.

“Panic attack Mikey, just let her breath.”

Mikey, Don, Leo, …., My friends, safety, home.

My heart rate slowed and I was able to get up off my knees and forearms to sit comfortably again. Mikey slowly got closer and I held out my arm for a hug. Safe, my friend, I was safe.

“Mikey….”

“Yeah Elasia, it's Mikey. I'm right here.”

“Donnie, Leo.”

They moved as if they had been holding their breath, moving closer to comfort me as well. One hand on each of my shoulders. I was crying again, little hiccup skene sounds bouncing out of my fluttering ribcage.

“I did nothing, i couldn't protect anyone. I, I, I…”

“You did nothing wrong, things just got out of control. It was all a massive misunderstanding. Donnie explained everything.”

“Leo?”

“Yeah?”

My face must have said what I meant because I couldn't find the word. I felt his hand tighten slightly around my shoulder for a moment, a small twinge in my collarbone helping bring me back to clarity.

“You're welcome. Sis.”

It was then that the sound of coughing from the cot across the room caught all of our attention. Donnie and Leo left to take care of the issue, leaving me with Mikey as he continued to stroke my wings to keep me calm and grounded.

“Raphael.”

“Yeah sounds like he's finally woke up, perfect timing as usual.”

Mikey sounded less than pleased as we listened to the conversation behind the curtain.

“How bad was it?”

“You dislocated Mikey’s shoulder, threw Elasia across the room, almost gave Don a concussion, and I'm wrapped up with 2nd degree burns. How bad do you think it was.”

“I'm sorry Leo, I don't know what came over me I just…”

“Its nothing we haven't gotten through before, wounds heal. No permanent damage was done.”

“You didn't tell me what happened to Elasia. Is she alright? I didn't hurt her did I?!”

“Raphael, sit down.”

“No I want to see her. I have to see her!”

“She is in no state of mind to see you.”

It got really quiet. Raph’s voice getting more dejected.

“What happened.”

“We think she had a panic attack, she wasn't breathing when we found her. When we got her around she kept mumbling a string of code on rapid repeat looking like she was lost in another world.”

“J.4.2.2.”

“Yes, what does it mean. We have to help her... without you.”

…

“It's her identification code, her name JAZZ, from when she was a child. She was kidnapped, taken to a lab. Held there for years, they did things to her. I'm not telling you any more without her, I promised.”

“We still need to know how to help her, Elasia is our friend too.”

“There's really nothing you can do, just don't leave her alone with her thoughts until she gets back to normal.”

“Hey, Leo.”

…

“How bad is she? I don't remember much past Don coming over the table at me.”

“You broke her collarbone and sliced her up pretty bad, but she's resilient. She patched us up, all of us.”

When they came back around the privacy curtains I was standing, my hair rebraided and my skin washed as well as I could manage in the needle room sink.

“How is he doing?”

“He’ll live. But for now I think it's best things stay a little distanced between you two. Go on with Mikey, He’ll help you get fixed up and help you keep your mind off things while Don and I straighten this out.”

Once we got most of the way down the hall I heard the fighting start, no screaming like last time but the tenor of their angry voices echoing down the corridor had me shaking slightly.

“Come on jazzycakes, let's finish getting you cleaned up. Then we can play some Spyro while you get back to normal.”

“Thanks Mikey.”

“Hey you did the same for me when that hurricane blew through the city. I've got your back girl.”

…

That night after I'd gotten tucked into bed I heard a light knock on the door.

“Come in.”

It took a minute but the door creaked open slow and Raph stepped through. His bandana was wrung between his hands and his eyes were on the floor. i could see the edge of Leo’s shell around the edge of the doorway. he was obviously behind Raph’s sudden burst of apologetic courage.

“I said come In Raphael.”

He just nodded, closing the door behind himself before sitting in the chair by the bed.

“Are you not going to look at me?”

“I don't want to see the damage I've caused.”

“Then leave, because living stuck in the past is no way to spend an eternity. We must all learn to move past our mistakes and better ourselves for the ones we love.”

He lifted his head and I could see that one of his eyes was nearly swelled shut. A big purple bruise taking up the entire side of his face from his temple to his jaw. His good eye was puffy from tears.

“Tell me Raphael, what damage do you see?”

“You've got a new scar.”

“Yes and on this body what is another scar.”

“You're favoring your left arm.”

“I am still sore, my collar bone was snapped. But it’s whole now, the pain will have completely faded by morning.”

“Your eyes are cold. I can feel mistrust like slime running under my shell. I hate it. I hate that i made you feel like this.”

“Then know it and just realize the consequences of your actions. Learn to talk to someone instead of stewing in your own mind and letting a situation spiral out of control. I don't believe Donatello enrolling in an online program with a few supplementary night courses demanded the events that transpired earlier today.”

“No it didn't, i’m sorry. I feel sick, I can't even bare to be alone with my own thoughts knowing I hurt you the way I did. If there's any way I can earn your forgiveness…”

“Raphael… Raph, baby. There is no forgiveness to be earned, it is already given. I know in your soul that you would have never intended to hurt me had you been in your right mind. Yes trust may become bruised, but it heals quite easily in the right circumstance.”

A choked sob broke from his throat as he reached for me, only to stop himself, harshly withdrawing in fear his advance would be unwelcome. 

“Raph, hun. set up here on the edge of the bed next to me.”

He moved like anything he touched could shatter in an instant, his hands still wringing the fabric of his bandana. I reached out and touched one of his hands, causing him to completely freeze. He hardly even breathed.    

Taking his hand in both of my own I moved it back and forth in my grasp, running my fingertips over the uniquely shaped bone structure and tracing the lines in his palm. I did this a lot when we were alone together and it helped soothe both of us. There were no blocks now, everything was shared between our bonded souls. When I was content I took his hand again and held it to the side of my face. it nearly enveloped my skull in its breadth and the hide was rough and battle worn, but it felt cool and safe against my skin. His eye shifted from his hand to my own face as we simply held eachothers gaze for a moment. From there i felt him trace over my new scar, fingertips grazing from the crest of my shoulder nearly to the upper swell of my breast and back. My own hand having slid down his arm to trace over his bruised face.

“Scars are nothing more than marks of trials you were stronger than.”

My hand grew warm as the energy flowed between our skin, restoring his eyesight on his right side but no more. After some time we both withdrew, hands tucked into laps and words left unsaid to hang in the mindspace unneeded. We knew what the other was thinking, the looks on our faces and the emotions flowing along our bond were more than enough.

“I had better let you get some sleep.”

“Yeah rest does sound pretty good after such a stressing day.”

He stood to leave but before he could turn the handle of the door I spoke.

“Did I say you could leave?”

“No ma’am.”

“Red….”

“Yeah?”

“Get your scaley ass in this bed before I have to get up and drag you over here myself.”

Without another word he climbed up into the bed, resting on his plastron as I tucked myself against his side to lie on my own stomach. The feeling of his arm draped over my lower back was safe, nothing could harm me like this and even our minds lay still. His breath slowed to the rhythm of sleep and I wiggled upward to be on the same level as his head. Gently pressing a kiss to his bruised temple I whispered in his ear before falling asleep.

“Even though I may leave your side, I'm never gone from you. I promise.”

[elasianstar]

D#1 destruction therapy

(Authors note: ok this didn't turn out exactly like I had planned but I needed to express my frustration over finals week some how. and now that that's over I should be more regular in writing more shorts for my tmnt alchemical au featuring my OC Elasia Aquila's growing relations with the brothers! @tmnt-l0ver and @waterstar2016 here's that destruction therapy fic I was thinking about, hope you like it! Now back to our usual unscheduled programming.)

...

“No Mikey for the hundredth time I can't play assassin's creed tonight. I'm sorry but this organic chemistry final on Thursday is more important right now. If i don't get at least a B in this class my scholarship could drop a tier, I'm right on the cusp of the 3.25 requirement.”

“But Elasia! Do you know how impossible it was that I found a copy of Black Flag at the dump! It's only been out on the 360 for 5 years!! You have to play it with me, the guys already said no and I need to check out the multiplayer features so bad!”

“Michelangelo, leave the young lady to her studies she is obviously stressed my son, And I don't need any more plucked feathers littering my kitchen floor.”

“But!...hai sensei.”

“Now my daughter, what has you so stressed to be mutilating your skin and wings in such a manner.”

Realizing that I'd chewed four of my talons to stumps and my face was bleeding where I'd picked at my lips I quickly wiped my face clean and in a dull gold glow healed my self inflicted wounds before speaking.

“Sorry Master Splinter, I'm just worried about this organic chemistry final, I retook the class over the summer to try and improve my grade but I'm still worried about dropping my GPA below the requirement for my scholarship. You wouldn't happen to know anything about the reactivity patterns of aromatic compounds would you?”

The blank look on his face was one I've been quite familiar with on friends and family. Beside some comforting wisdom I knew the fatherly old rat would be little help.

“I'm afraid I find myself a bit lacking, but perhaps if you asked Donatello…”

“Ask me what Sensei?”

Distracted I hadn't noticed the tallest turtle brother slip into the kitchen, but by now I was used to being snuck up on. I even managed to turn the tables from time to time, seems even ninjas forget to look up every once in a while. Anyway…

“Ah, there you are my son, it seems Elasia is having quite a stressful time studying her organic chemistry. Would you mind assisting her, I'm sure it would be appreciated, though she would never seek help of her own accord…”

It took all I could muster not to shoot a look back at the teasing old man, I was fiercely independent and he often liked to poke fun at the trouble I would get myself into because of such habits.

“Yeah sure, I could use a break from updating the tri-dimensional stealth apparatus.-"

“3D maneuver gear bro!!! You always forget my cool names!”

“- You just ripped that off attack on titan Mikey! Anyway yeah I'd be happy to help, let's head to the lab and we can buckle down.”

“Thanks Don.”

…

“So if I poison this with a lindlar’s catalyst I should be able to stop the hydrogen bonding and replace one of the newly bonded hydrogens with a bromine and magnesium to create the grignard reagent. Right?”

“Not exactly, you're still missing part of the equation.”

“God Dammit! We've been at this for hours and im still a bumbling idiot!!”

“ Youu Just keep telling yourself that, this is difficult curriculum and not everyone is wired for chemistry. You're doing pretty well, for a biologist.”

“You try identifying the race, sex, and age at death of a mutilated skeleton and get back to me. But that still doesn't mean I'm going to do well on this stupid standardized test. I'm screwed.”

“Hey you said yourself that nobody does well on that test, and with the curve you're sure to get a decent grade. You're more than proficient at this Elasia, you just have it in your head that you're an idiot because you don't understand absolutely everything and you feel like you have to beat yourself up about it in some sort of self depreciation based motivational technique.”

“Because it's expected of me ok!!”

My forehead hit my hands and I stared at the symbols on the page. I'd say it was like interpreting hieroglyphs but I know how to read those.

“I've always been the smart one, ever since I started school I've got good grades and brought back what I learned to teach others. It's expected of any of us that manage to get through education. We bring our knowledge to the communities and fill in the gaps left by the self taught, bring new information in to better ourselves. Felix was good at literature, Toni was good at agriculture, Gabe was the nurse and Charles was the mechanic, I was the family scientist. I'm supposed to be good at this!”

“science is a spanning and specialized discipline, it's highly improbable that you would be expected to become an expert in every field. You know what, come with me. We're taking a break, you need one.”

“No I have to study.”

Donnie picked me up under the arms and hauled me up against his ribs like a sack of flour. Trapped short of possibly harming the slender terrapin I hung there in defeat as he carted me off down the tunnels.

“Now you aren't leaving here until you've worked through this frustration. Grab a sledgehammer.”

We were in a chamber somewhere near the city dump if my internal map was correct. Sitting in the center of the space were a couple of old lemon cars, their windshields shattered and their bodies severely smashed. A row of different sized sledgehammers hung on a far wall.

“Damn, someone have issues?”

Donnie didn't make eye contact, he just tossed me a good medium ranged sledge. 15 pound head, about 2 foot long in the handle. It felt good in my hands.

“Raph isn't the only one who needs to blow off some steam sometimes. I simply prefer this to accidentally damaging one of my projects, or beating my frustration into my brothers. But only the car on the left is mine, the right hand one is mikey's.”

The right hand car I think used to be an old Ford aspire, I say I think because it's not much more than a twisted mangled mess of scrap metal.

“Damn Mikey has more issues than I thought.”

“He doesn't like to talk about it, got pretty good at hiding his emotions when we were little. I think he believes he has to be the family sun, like it's his job to keep all of us happy. But that's his story to tell, you've got the honor of first contact. Give it a swing.”

I looked the car over judging the dented and torn chassis to find the optimal striking point. The handle of the sledge itched in my hands, begging me to get to destroying. Eyeing a spot over the back fender I pulled back and swung the thing like a baseball bat. The contact sent a burst of kinetic energy through my arms and my hands felt like they had been bit by stinging ants but seeing the crumpled dent I left behind in the body of the old car made something bubble in my chest. Narrowing my eyes I swung again, and again, and again, the head of my hammer tore through the body of the car and dented the trunk lining so badly that the trunk hatch popped open and I proceeded to beat at the hinges of the hatch until I could easily tear it from the vehicle. God it felt good, to hear the rending of metal and feel the numbness in my arms chest and back from the exertion of beating the living shit out of the old Taurus.

An angry war cry of a skene erupted from my throat as I picked my next target and I found it matched by a much lower growling sound that seemed to shake the cavern and rattle my bones. Looking over at Don I got an idea, I brought my hammer down against the roof of the car I was now standing on and let my skene echo with the clashing of the metal, staring at Donnie in challenge. He returned my challenge with his own battle cry, a warped sound between an angry churr and a heavy metal scream as he crushed the hood of the car into the engine cavity. The walls shook again but neither of us seemed to care as we egged the other on, more and more violent sounds bursting from our pent up rage and frustration to echo through the tunnels. I'm sure we could probably be heard at the lair with how loud we were being. I bet it  sounded like we were trying to rip each others heads off though we couldn't care in the least. It felt good to beat the shit out of something, and even better to voice our fury at such a level.

What I hadn't taken into account however was the effect of Donatello’s earth shaking bellows. Not until a large concrete slab worked it's way loose from the chamber ceiling above.

We both noticed the shifting air pressure at about the same time, ducking and rolling to the safety of the tunnel moments before the stone could make impact. A cloud of dust and debris raining on shell and feathered flesh as we shielded ourselves. The screaming of crushed metal and the clacking of falling stone the only sounds before the cavern went dead silent.

Laughter, my brain had nearly shut down in response to the danger and now all I could manage was to fall back on my wings in raucous laughter. I couldn't breath as my lungs fought to hold on to the air my body was quickly expelling. My stomach hurt and my eyes were fuzzy with tears as my mind fought to reboot through the remaining adrenaline. When I came back to my usual level or relative sanity Donnie was also laughing softly, wiping wetness from his white eyes.

“Holy shit, that was close.”

“That was so your fault…”

“What! You're the one who started the whole ordeal.”

“But I'm not the one who operates at what I'm supposing is the relative resonant frequency of shifting tectonic plates. Note to self, don't get in a screaming contest with a golem underground, or anywhere near a volcanic fault line.”

Wiping the dust from his glasses he blinked his eyes back to normal a hint of adrenaline fueled craziness still on his face.

“Remind me to avoid Hawaii and Montana then. Woah…”

The clearing dust revealed a nearly 10 ton slab had landed where we had been standing minutes prior. The old brown Taurus crushed beneath it like it had been made of rice paper.

“Yeah, no more screaming in the tunnels for Donatello.”

“That could have seriously crushed us.”

Jumping to my feet I clapped Don on the carapace, keeping my face light and jovial despite the nervous sweat beading between my wings.

“Yep, but it didn't. All fingers and toes are accounted for so let's scoot our asses the hell out of here. Please.”

“Heh, yeah sure...let's go…”

Don was in a daze most of the way back to the lab. His fingers smoothing over the various gadgets and gizmos strapped and even bolted to his body, counting buttons in his head and twisting knobs to feel the subtle clicking of gears. I let him have the first go at the dojo shower while I cleaned up the stuff from our earlier study session. Compared to the chaos we just experienced the final didn't seem like that big of a deal. Not when realization hit that I was living with four volatile young men with the untapped potential to command the fury of nature and little to no training to control  such energy. Organic chemistry looked like a cakewalk in comparison.

….

One week later.

“Yes Hell Yeah! SKEEEEEEE!!”

A happy little wiggle, and kicking feet as i rolled up off the couch and jumped up to hang from the rafters in joy was what the guys rushed in to see when they heard me.

“What the hell? What's goin on in here babe?”

“I DID IT!!!! I GOT A B+ IN ORGANIC!!!!!!!”

Swinging down to land in front of Raph I couldn't control myself and gave him a big celebratory kiss. Right in front of his brothers. Raph froze in shock and embarrassment but I hardly noticed as I was practically bouncing on the balls of my feet between each of the guys as they congratulated me.

“good job jazzycakes! Looks like I lost our bet, I'm making you a big dinner of fried fish to celebrate fluffball.”

“Good work Elasia, I know you had been worried, but you stuck through and reached your goals. I'm proud of you.”

“Hey I told you didn't I, you need to give yourself more credit. You're pretty bright, for a biologist.”

I couldn't help but beam, light radiating from me like a star in my excitement.

“Thanks D! I guess you were Right, all I needed was a little destruction therapy, or should I say disaster therapy.”

[elasianstar]

R# 11 FIRST DATE GOSSIP (featuring Mikey)

"Ok jazzycakes, I've got the snacks, the drinks and I'm comfy. Lay it on me sister, how'd it go. Spare no details!"

“Mikey i really don't think, you tease him enough as it is and this was special. He worked so hard on it.”

“and who do you think helped him hook it up girl? Raph knows nothing about romance, you're lucky he had enough balls to get you two together in the first place! Now spill, what happened, how'd it go.”

Well….

“When you guys got back from your evening patrol Raph had asked for me to be dressed up nice, Apparently he had a surprise. He took me out to the roof of a nice restaurant where he had gotten April to pick up the food, he’d taken the time to set up a picnic blanket and scattered the petals of my favorite flowers around.”

...

“Raph babe you did all of this for me?”

He shifted from foot to foot his eyes darting from thing to thing, anxiously checking placement, is the blanket big enough, are the petals too much, is the food right, are the candles burning fine… i could almost see the thoughts running through his head.

“Yeah, totally my idea. I wanted to take you out like a normal person but since--” he gestured to himself, “-- i had to get creative. You like it right? Its not too much, or too little…”

A touch was all it took to quiet him, his glance was practically begging for approval.

“Its perfect Red, you did a good job, and how did you know i loved lilies.”

…

“That was totally me! He came asking about all kinds of stuff, flowers were a big topic of conversation. He thought lilacs but no I know my fluffy bird bud, lilies are 110% the way to go…”

I couldn't help but smile at the idea of Raphael and Mikey discussing flowers, the fact that he went to such lengths made the gestures seem even more genuine.

“and I was all, Black, red or purple, none of that white and pink stuff, jazzy ain't no frilly girl…”

“Ok ok! Thanks MC, but can I get back to the story?”

I swear he looked like a freaking puppy, hands tucked in his lap, wide eyes waiting to hear more juicy details.

“After what I swear was the best gyudon I've ever eaten he gives me a gorgeous black lily that I'm guessing he had you drip with red and gold paint. It was absolutely beautiful and he even wove the stem into my hair so i wouldn't lose it!”

...

When we got back that night I pressed the flower into a book so it would last. I wanted to have something to remember the night by.

After dinner Raph drove me to the venue on his motorcycle, he held me tight to his chest the whole way as we zipped through the back streets of the city. It was truly exhilarating, to feel the wind whipping past us as if we were flying together, leaning with every curve and turn of the bike. I swear if you had put your hand to my pulse point at that moment my heart would have been pounding. To fly with him like that, even if it wasn't real, i swear if he had asked i would have forgone the rest of the date in a second.

…

“Aww gross Elasia! That's my brother, I don't need to hear that…”

“Ah ah ah, you said ALL the details Mikey. And that means Alll.”

“I don't want to hear about you bonin my Bro, that's just gross!”

“we’ll you're in luck, he hasn't even tried to get past second base yet mikey. He's been a total gentleman.”

“Well good, cuz I don't even know who's butt I was going to have to kick. His for going at it with my best friend, or yours for letting him at you so quickly, I mean it's only been a month since you two became official and Leo is totally playing the overprotective authority figure so that leaves me with the big brother role.”

“Big brother huh? I see you more as a baby bro mikester.”

“Aw come on, let a guy have a little fun. Plus I'm like half again as big as you sis, I'd so be the big bro. Anyway what happened next! I didn't help with this part!!”

…

We parked the bike in a brush pile a ways off and snuck into rockfest out at the city fairgrounds where we made ourselves comfortable on the roof of a building nearby. It was so much fun! We spent the whole night listening to the music and enjoying our time together. There were so many great bands there I couldn't help but sing and dance across the roof all night long. Raph was never far behind, humming along with the music or half swaying with my movements. His eyes, reflecting in the distant stage lights, were following me without shame and don't blame me if I decided to show off a little. Shaking my hips in just the right ways to keep his attention.

After a while we watched the people from the rooftop, pointing out the weirdos and laughing at all the ridiculous antics and fights below. Raph wanted to get in the mosh pit so bad, I could see him wishing he could actually take me down there. Leaving him with a peck on the cheek I managed to sneak down and got him a new band tee for his collection. Just a little something to make him feel better.

“Babe, you didn't have to do this for me.”

“I wanted you to have something to remember tonight, plus you only need a couple more shirts for that new quilt you've been working on so now you're one closer. Got a problem with it?”

“you're such a smartass.”

Swinging up to perch on the top edge of his carapace I kissed the top of his head, my hands smoothing over the back of his jaw and his neck in the way he likes.

“I'm your smartass and don't pretend like you don't love it.”

He grabbed my arm and I let him yank me down into his lap, my wings didn't flare even an inch to catch myself as I landed in those big strong arms.

“What am I going to do with you woman?”

“I could think of a few things.”

The mischief sparked in his eyes and the way he trapped that deliciously plush lower lip between his teeth had me wanting to pounce. Instead I let him lead, calloused hands cradling my head and shoulders like I was a precious gem as he kissed me. It was gentle at first, like the smooth bass guitar, rolling and steady as my breath left me in a sigh. My heart was buzzing with the snare as his thudded out a strong heavy base, hands wandering with smooth melodies and tongues sliding with the dulcet tones of the singer. The searing press of flesh a countertone, shifting the song to unexplored keys. The guitar ripping into a solo as breaths got frenzied and heavy, hands pulled at cloth and squeezed at tender flesh as claws raked against bony plates and fangs scraped at kiss swollen hide.

A kiss unforgotten, like a song stuck in your head. A kiss to make your chest swell with the crescendo and your thighs clench with the crashing of cymbals. And as the song ended and the area went silent, the roar of blood in our ears matched the cacophony of applause.

“Mama always said I'd fall for a man with eyes like fire and a kiss like rock n’roll.”

…

A loud snore broke me from my poetic memories, Mikey was out cold. his head in my lap as he snored away, limbs sprawled haphazardly amongst the usual snack wrappers and cans of crush and Arizona tea littering his nest. One can stood out, black and acid green aluminum more like something I'd find in Donnie’s mini fridge.

“Really Mike, a monster? You know what these things do to you. Well I guess I'll leave you to your energy drink induced coma.”

Dislodging myself from the grip of the youngest turtle brother I replaced my form with a pillow and gently slid his mask off of his face. A gentle pat on the shell serving as my good night wishes before I jumped down to the floor of the room below. Before I could turn out the light and slip out however I heard him mumble a name in his sleep.

“Mmmm Alex…..cuemmmmm.”

“heh, night Mikester, don't worry you'll find yours bud.”

I hadn't realized how late it had actually gotten until I noticed the silence in the lair. The only sound being Leo's ambiance music quietly playing through his closed bedroom door. I considered sneaking up to Raph's room for the night but my own lingering thoughts from our date night had me thinking otherwise as I slipped into the guest room that had been made up for me.

The black and gold knit blanket was soft against my skin as I settled down. Jeff Healey’s Angel Eyes bringing other memories from that night to the forefront of my mind. A smooth tenor voice with a rough edge that buzzed across my flushed skin overtook the sound of the recorded singer as I remembered being cradled to his chest as he sang for me alone. My fingers copying the path much larger ones had taken across my form before wandering of their own accord. As he had sang to me fireworks had burst across the sky and now lost in memory I was surrounded by fireworks of my own creation.

[elasianstar]

R #10 KICKING ASS

“You know good and well i can hold my own in a battle Leo!”

The eldest brother stood his ground, arms crossed across his chest as he stared unblinking down at me, Trying to intimidate me. I could practically feel my plume and feathers puffing as i bristled under his gaze.

“Really  leo? You know good and damn well she can kick your ass. Pull the stick outta your tail and just let her come on one fucking patrol!”

“I thought you were the twin Don…”

The snickering from the younger two caught my attention and i realized just how closely Raph and i were mirroring each other, even our aggressive body language was similar. But that didn't change the fact that i was still pissed off at the blue clad brother. I had been asking to go on patrol with them for a month and every time he would just throw a harsh no in my face before running off. Never giving me a chance to plead my case. I know it had caused a few fights between the eldest brothers but Leo was immovable once he had made a decision.

Smoothing my plume down and shaking out my wings i put on a calm mask, even managing a small smile, grin and bear it, thats how you move on.

“Fine i recognize you have made your concrete decision Leonardo.”

Spinning on my heel i moved to march my happy little ass to my room. But not before stopping to pat Raph’s bicep, my expression telling him to try and let it go, just wait…

Raphael’s POV

“What the everloving fuck. This is the third time Leo. When are we going to actually get to smash some heads!”

The last two robberies on the police scanner had been hit before we could even get there. We found the thugs already thoroughly beaten and hanging from the street light in both cases. This time though the criminals hadn't been so neatly packed, They were strewn across the floor of the jewelry shop they had been ransacking. There were a few bullet holes in the wall high up as if the hero had attacked from above or the thief responsible had been knocked to the ground before firing.

“You think it was spidey?”

“No Mikey he and Deadpool are in charge of the South side. They wouldn't interfere on our turf.”

Don’s scanner damn near blinded me and i shoved him away by the face, bout the only place i could touch without possibly breaking some techie shit.

“Plus I'm not getting any traces of the nylon-carbon nanotubule solution his webs are made of.”

“Daredevil then?”

couldn't help but huff at his wild accusations.

“No that lowball super micrromanages the Irish quarter. We wouldn't be crossing over with him here.”

“It doesn't matter who got them, the cops are on their way. We need to roll out.”

...

We watched the cops haul them off from a nearby rooftop.

“This is the fifth bust Joe, the tartaruga brothers are really on their toes tonight.”

“Nah Griffin, this ain't them. No, their calling card is different, they use that little squiggle symbol thing. This guy isn't leaving a sign. Gotta be new.”

“Guys! Not even the cops know what's going on, there might be a new hero in the area!”

Mikey looked so frickin excited I half expected him to bounce off to find this new mystery vigilante. Though that might not be such a bad idea, scope them out and everythin, even the other supers tended to get a bit...antsy, around freaks like us.

the static on don’s scanner was interrupted by voices and police code, he checked his holographic map a red dot popping up a few blocks from here.

“Hey Leo we got another hit, it's close. Providence and Christopher, gang activity in the old shirtwaist factory.”

“Maybe we’ll actually get to do somethin this time.”

The look fearless shot me was perfect, I was getting under his shell in all the right ways. I could practically see him steamin as we took off across the rooftops, pouring on the speed, he was going to get there first this time if it killed him.

…

When the vent popped open in the factory and we looked down everything looked fine, no gunshot holes in the wall, no tied up criminals. Looks like we got here first this time.

“We got a tag, unknown heartbeat twelve o’clock. Looks like our new buddy just got here too.”

There was a motion in the shadows of the steel girders above the gangster operation, a smooth sweeping that melted into the darkness. Something small and thin. A low humming sound started to echo through the factory, followed by a high pitched whistle that scattered the sound, making it impossible to tell the location of it's source. The gang members scrambled to find the intruders, guns pointed into the shadows as they broke guard and rank. It was the perfect moment to attack but Leo signaled us to hold back.

Apparently our little friend thought so too.

It moved down the wall like a spider, keeping an impossible grip to the imperfections in the old brick walls and industrial piping. Thin pale limbs stretching from the black shadows of the body to grab the next hold as it slunk down behind the oblivious goons. From there it slid underneath the large industrial vats filled with laundered cash and waited. The gang members were becoming more and more scattered as the piercing whistle bounced around the warehouse.

When one got to close it sprung, grabbing them by the legs and slamming their head against the ground before dragging them into its cover. It did this four or five times before moving to a new spot and repeating the process. Never once did it make itself visible, moving through shadow like an animal. It stalked them like a predator, and they were on the menu.

The remaining gang members, there must have been maybe six by now, were starting to get paranoid. A few poc shots ricocheted off of cast iron and brick, cautious of the shadows. The creatures trick wouldn't work this time.

The humming and whistling stopped and the warehouse fell silent except for the heavy breaths of the survivors. Gun barrels whipped around the room, eyes wide and searching in the low light.

A laugh exploded through the silence, an animalistic sound laced with insanity. The surviving gang members cowered as the shadows grew and took shape on the far wall. Long, spidery grasping arms, a heavy form with curling horns and a thrashing tail,  long jaws filled with dripping teeth. A torrent of gunfire burst toward the form and the creator of the shadow used the sound and the sparking of the shots as cover to attack.

In the flashing of gunfire I was only able to make out pieces of action. Pale skin as strong slender arms wrapped around a throat and squeezed. Sweeps of shadow accompanied by the thud and squish of fists hitting flesh. The spark of steel as it sliced shallowly to incapacitate someone much bigger than them.

Glowing gold eyes.

The attack was swift and the attacker soundless, leaving the gang members strewn in bruised and bloody heaps. Those golden eyes shot to the ceiling from the shadows toward our position and in a second they were gone again. Melding into the night as if they were made of darkness, disappearing.

“Holy shit, what was that thing! It didn't just take them down, it was like it was hunting them!”

“I’m not sure I didn't get a good look, Donnie did your feed catch anything?”

“No, but scans show that a few of the gang members are down a few cups of blood. Other than that they're relatively unharmed”

“We have to try and catch up with them, come on!!!”

“according to the scanners the police are already en-route. These guys aren't going anywhere any time soon.”

“Come on then! Let's go try and catch them!”

Mikey took off, swinging up through the steel girders and scrambling back through the vents before anyone could snag him. This was definitely going to be interesting to say the least.

“Keep on his tail but stay vigilant, weapons at the ready.”

With a swift nod I followed Don into the vents, keeping guard at the rear in case that thing decided to come out of the shadows again. I was cautious, but something was telling me we had nothing to fear. I didn't trust it, my hand on my sai anyway.

Back on the roof Mikey was anxiously scanning the skyline for any sign of the new vigilante. A shifting shadow, a sound, anything that would give away their position.

“Aww come on! They couldn't have gotten far! Donnie, are you getting anything on the scanners? Maybe we can find them at the next bust.”

“No Mikey the sun is going to be up in under an hour, we’re going back. Maybe next time.”

The sound of shifting stone caught our attention. In a small patch of shadow behind the air conditioning units, three o’clock. My sai clutched tightly in my hands I prepared for a fight, my brother’s shells at my back as we watched the shadows. Something small was crouched there, it was completely hidden in the darkness, but I could feel it move as it breathed. My barbels were pricking slightly under my chin with each silent breath.

“Dude we aren't gonna hurt you, we just wanna talk. You're super stealthy bro, you gotta show us some moves!”

The shape grew, back pulsing with each breath as claws scraped across the loose stone of the tar roof. A low growling from the creature had our formation tightening.

Except that wasn't growling, this thing was churring, or trying too. Gold eyes flashed too low on the creature to be anatomically correct.

“Come on babe, it isn't funny anymore, time to show yerself.”

The shadow seemed to disappear, but only if you thought that what you were looking at was really that big. The sharp snap of the steel heels of her boots was the only sound as she revealed herself, Gold eyes burning like stars until the light touched the edge of her face. Her head was thrown back in pride, eyes never leaving Leo as that smug grin showed off her fangs. she was preening, and he knew it.

“Really Red, I had a jumpscare planned and everything. Party pooper…”

“Gonna take more than that to get past me babe, I knew it was you as soon as I saw those eyes of yours.”

The grin on her face seemed to literally twinkle, her eyes shifting from green to gold as she blinked, getting as up in Leo's face as she could at 5′4″.

“Can't handle myself huh? Have to protect me huh? Who just took down several armed assailants single handedly?”

“Yeah totally jazzycakes! You were a living shadow, you might not be a ninja but you got skillz gurl! High three… high three...total props.”

Leo’s glare had Mikey drawing back into formation eyes on the floor and fists balled.

“Though you showed promise my decision still stands.”

Elasia mimed polishing her talons leaning against the air conditioning unit as if she were bored.

“And I acknowledge your decision, but due to the fact that it was a stupid ass decision I have elected to ignore it.”

She flicked something across the roof and turned to look old fearless in the eye. I felt a little proud, she was under half his mass and she still stared him down like she could knock his dick in the dirt. Her whole body was coiled and her plume was puffing with her breath, feisty little viper.

“ I'm not one of your soldiers Leonardo. I'll help even if I have to tag along from afar. I'm sick of waiting around while you guys protect the city! Every night I cook and clean and doctor out of the goodness of my heart while I sit in the lair wondering if you four will even come home, I'm sick of it!”

The sound of her talons scraping against his plastron was the only noise as she shoved him. Her calm and arrogant mask had near completely fell as she forced herself to speak that last statement out loud.

“You four put yourselves at risk every night and expect me to just sit back and be fucking fine with it? Well guess what Leo, I might be bonded with Raphael but you guys are my family too. If any of you are gonna die I'm gonna be right there too whether you like it or not! I just found you guys, i’m not waiting a whole lifetime to see you again if you do something stupid. So you can say I'm not going on patrol as much as you want but as long as I'm in New York I'm going to watch your backs!”

Her eyes just stared up at him in silence, brimming with tears from her emotional supernova. Leo wasn't moving on this.

“Elasia, maybe there is something else you could do, I could always use help designing gadgetry. That has saved our shells on numerous occasions.”

“Yeah, that and you're always helping us hone our skills! Look I can already make whirlwinds!”

A loose wrapper blew in a few circles around mikey's feet before rolling away on an actual breeze. A hint of happiness and pride sparked across her face but Leo froze it over again.

“The sun is rising, let's go team.”

Leo leapt from the building without looking back, Mikey and Don were right on his tail but they kept glancing back, apologetic looks on their faces. God Leo needed his face pounded into the concrete. Elasia just watched them go, her face taking back it's usual mask.

“Babe…”

“Red don't… I just, don't want to hear it right now.”

Her eyes were on the brightening sky, her shoulders slumped in defeat as she chewed her lips. I could tell her mind was racing into places she didn't want it to go. But I also knew talking about it would only make her “mental train keep going down that track.” Her words not mine.

Instead I put my hand on her hip, pulling her close until her wings brushed my chest. Her wings were so freaking soft I wanted to bury myself in them and just hibernate for a month, but I also knew they were delicate and didn't want to damage the feathers. or invite her to make me spend another several hours helping her preen like after Mikey and I got her with the whipped cream bomb. It was 100% meant for Donnie I swear…

After a while of just holdin her she began to rock gently back and forth, dancing to a song I couldn't hear as I swayed with her. I couldn't help but nuzzle my face into her spiky hair, her feint flowery scent mixed with sweat dust and blood. I remembered watching the attack in the factory and seeing the aftermath of every battle I hadn't seen and something in me swelled with pride. My girl, beautiful and deadly as hell.

“So proud of you babygirl, you kicked some serious ass tonight.”

I felt her laugh more than I heard it. She looked up at me and I felt those soft lips on the underside of my chin.

“Did you ever doubt I could?”

I held her a bit closer as she wiggled deeper into my arms.

“Never, just wish I'd been there to see all of it, to help you out.”

“Babe nothin taking me down short of a direct shot to the head, and that ain't gonna…. Well shit.”

She stilled against me and her hands flew up to smack against her forehead. Common body language when she believed she'd made a fool or ass out of herself.

“What's wrong?”

“It was never about me.”

The questioning sound was caught in my throat when she pushed off of me in favor of frantically pacing the roof. Her hands were carding through her hair as her gaze shifted from the ground to the lightening sky and back.

“It was never really about whether I was good enough or about protecting me! Leo knows I can handle myself in battle, he never denied that. This was about you!!”

The way she looked at me was like she had just solved the world's hardest puzzle. And I was a bit confused, but that isn't uncommon around her, or Don.

“Yeah I can handle myself, even if I am hurt my soul energy will patch up any injury to my vessel pretty quickly. What Leo was so worried about was you Raph. He's afraid that should worse come to worst you would drop your guard to get to me, to protect me. He knows how to use your protective instinct amongst the four of you but I'm a variable.”

Her hands were gesturing through the air like crazy and she was talking pretty fast but I think I heard most of that.

“I think he fears that you would feel more compelled to protect me than your brothers! But that's ridiculous, if I needed protecting I wouldn't be so adamant about helping. And if worse came to worst… there's always the next time around. Death doesn't mean the same thing to an elemental, yeah it's painful and it sucks and the first few years of the next life are always awkward. But it isn't the end, there's no need to get all bent out of shape about one round ending a little earlier than expected!”

The look on my face stopped her, I couldn't breath all of a sudden… her head cocked to the side like a confused puppy before her eyes widened in realization.

“But you would wouldn't you. If I were to fall you'd break for me…”

“Mother moon why am I so stupid! You and your brothers, you're elementals but you haven't had a rekindling yet. Your minds are still hardwired to relate death to the endgame. No matter how things would really work you would see me as gone if I fell, you would still feel compelled to mourn me as if I were gone forever…”

Her arms were around my neck in an instant, gentle cooing sounds breaking me out of suspension as her hands smoothed over my neck and scalp. Was it dusty out here?

“How could I be so blind?”

“yer Stubborn and emotional babe. I get it.”

There was that silent laugh again.

“Yeah I guess we aren't that different. But Raphael…?”

ok this was serious… she almost never uses my full name anymore.

“Hm?”

Her grip on my tightened and she borrowed her face into the crook of my neck.

“If something, theoretically, did happen...You promise me you won't mourn too hard will ya? I mean we'll always see each other again.”

I didn't respond at first, looking down at the triangular mark on my wrist, this strange new energy that's taken hold in my brothers’ and my life. This new world that opened to us thanks to her. I still didn't understand most of it.

“I don't know if I can promise that Myojo, but I’ll try.”

I felt her nod against my neck before she let me go. Her eyes were on the sun as it sat on the edge of the skyline, my finger grasped tightly in her small pale hand.

“I guess that will have to do. Come on Red, the sun is almost up and I owe Leo an apology.”

[elasianstar]

R #7 Bump (Slightly NSFW)

The boys were heading off for patrol without Raph tonight. he pissed off Leo again, shirking orders and almost getting the four spotted, so he's benched. Master splinter would be in the meditation room all night with explicit orders not to disturb him.

So since Raph was in trouble I spent the night in Donnie’s lab, working on four specialized batches of masking serum. I had my music up a little loud, allowing myself to get lost in the sound of the guitar, hips swaying to the beat as I made the calculations and measured out the exact weights of each reactant needed. Stewing some to extract oils, grinding others between mortar and pestle before adding each batch to the still Don had leant me. The resulting bottles of grayish fluid would need much more refining but they were a positive step in the right direction.

“You know I can feel you watching me.”

His voice was low and careful from where he had been watching from the lab door.

“Can't a guy watch his girl work?”

Corking the second vial of potion I turned to lean back against the lab bench, goggles perched low on my nose so i could look over them.

“Not when said guy is in time out and is supposed to be practicing his kata as punishment.”

“Awww come on Myōjō, ya know good and well Leo’s just power trippin.”

“Don't you Myojo me Raphael, I agree with Leo, your stealth could use some major improvement. Especially when you get riled up.”

“I can't believe you're taking his side on this!.......Fuckin fearless leader boy…..doesn't know teamwork if it slapped him upside the damn head….”

I reached up and grabbed his jaw turning  his face toward mine as I held my ground, his hand, raised by instinct, stilled mid air.

“I never said I was taking his side, merely that I agreed that you needed work. I don't think making you mindlessly go through your Kata is the way to do it, but Leo is the leader. In order to make a functional team you sometimes need to just grin and bear it, no matter how much you may disagree.”

He sighed, shaking his head out of my grip and running his hand over his bandana before looking down at me through the corner of his eye.

“Why do ya always gotta be the sane logical one?”

I hooked my arm around his leading him to sit in Donnie’s skateboard chair.

“Because somebody's gotta drag your scaly ass back down to earth. Get you thinking rationally again. Now you can take a short break and watch me work if you really want, but when Leo and the others get back you'd better be back in the Dojo or it'll be another useless fight.”

“Yes ma'am.”

I smirked over my shoulder at him as I started up the still for the next batch.

“Damn straight mister.”

…

“Alright, I've got the stock solutions made and they should keep in this form. Now I just have to separate the solution into a carrier oil over the course of a few weeks and then further refine it with the pollen of ghost orchids until it turns periwinkle blue.”

I felt his hand on my waist as he looked over my shoulder at the tangle of laboratory equipment.

“And that should turn us human?”

“No, there's nothing that will actually accomplish that feat. This will however cause you to appear as human for a number of hours per dose. If I got the calculations right, I'm not used to working with a quasi cold-blooded metabolism.”

“Ya know what? Ya can really put a friggin damper on things when ya go all Don on me. Scientists…”

He wrapped me up so I couldn't move for a few minutes, his chin resting on top of my head.

“Sorry Red. You know I don't care what you are right? I like you all big and scaly.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you're always so nice to cuddle, you stay cool and I really enjoy the textures of your skin and your shell. They're nice to run my hands over, if you'd let me I'd probably be happy just doing that for hours. I also like that you're so much bigger than me, I'm so used to being the one people look to that it's nice to feel like I can be held and cuddled and cooed over from time to time.”

I turned to face him, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck while he held my waist. My fingers found the knot of his bandanna and swiftly undid it so I could get a good look at his face.

“Your eyes, I've never seen such a wonderful shade of green, like sunlit peridot sprinkled with flakes of gold. You’re so expressive even when you're trying to hide behind that faux tough exterior. Your face is well balanced and pleasing to the artist in me. The smooth even planes of your nose and the soft gradient between the darker tones around your eyes and the lighter ones around your beak, I could draw you for years and never get tired of it. Your chubby cheeks and your strong jaw that give you a look of innocence, of goodness, despite your years and all you've seen. And your lips, they’re soft and plush and every time you kiss me it feels like i'm diving, terminal velocity, it takes my breath away and I never want to pull up.”

Before I could continue I felt those very lips press passionately against my own as wonderfully rough hands moved to smooth over my lower back and hold me tight to that perfectly large body of his. Lips parted without question as tongues danced around each other like flint and steel, lighting the fire between us to burn ever so brightly. When my hands smoothed over the scattered scales on his neck and shoulders I felt a shiver spark across both of our skin as his hands moved higher to caress the space right below my wings. Fingertips barely brushing the sensitive skin just a few inches higher…

I was expecting the fall, sweeping one of my legs behind his knees as I pressed against the smooth edges of his chest scutes. What I wasn't expecting was for him to stop kissing me, wrapping himself around me almost in entirety, protecting me, as he fell backwards into the chair.

What HE definitely wasn't expecting was for me to start kissing, hot and open mouthed across the exposed skin of his collar bones and up to the sensitive spot on his neck where the end of his slider marks met his pulse point. That deep rumbling Purr buzzing through his plastron too low to hear but definitely able to be felt as I pressed myself closer to him, straddling his waist as his hands took up their expedition across the valleys and plains of my own form. A happy little skene left my lips as his own nuzzled in to give my neck a similar treatment, hands running over the curve of my outer thighs as I pressed my chest close enough to feel the pounding of his heart behind his armored flesh.

My skin was so hot and his cool hide was like an oasis, quenching the fires his hands had started.

“Ah, Raphael, hmmmm, my angel, my perfect… ahhh!”

The feel of his teeth gently grazing over my pulse point mixed with the roughness with which he grasped my ass sent my head rolling back in pleasure, a shaky chirping sound overtaking the words on my lips as i pressed my hips down against his lower plastron. There was a bulging there, something pressing at the softer, more cartilaginous scutes just under the slope of his hips. When I gave it a testing grind he stilled almost immediately, eyes screwed shut as he fought to control his breath.

“Elasia, please d..don't do that. Not yet babe. Haaaah…”

Pulling my hips back I rolled to the side, tucking myself in the nook between his arm and his body as I sat sideways across his lap. I placed my hand carefully over his heart and we focused on calming breaths until he felt like he could open his eyes again. His lips pressed carefully against my forehead and his fingers matched the rhythm of my own gently running along the tendons of the inside of his forearm in calming, grounding motions.

“You ok Raph?”

I felt his breath huff against my hair.

“Yeah, I'm good........... sorry.”

I looked up at him through my hair where it had fallen across my forehead.

“Don't be sweetheart, it's totally fine if you aren't ready or if you feel uncomfortable to let me know. If you need me to back off I will, every time, without question.”

He just held me, focusing on breathing for a few minutes until I felt familiar souls approaching from the south tunnels.

“The guys are back, let's see if you can be stealthy enough to get back to the Dojo before Leo notices you weren't doing your kata.”

I turned back to my work, the only hint that he had even moved being the gentle touch of his fingers as they brushed across the edges of my hair.

[elasianstar]

R #6 Fire

“So why are we doing this?”

It was Friday night and Raph and I were doing our usual rooftop training. I had him sat cross legged on the roof, a peridot in one hand and a Pyrope garnet in the other. About three feet away a candle flickered on a pedestal at about eye level.

“Well you already know how to recognize and block the emotions of others. I figured this test could not only help you learn to control your own emotional state, but also help you to realize your connection to your element and find a way to control it.”

Moving behind him I put my hands on his shoulders before placing a kiss to the crown of his head.

“Ok. Now I want you to focus on the candle flame, see if you can get any form of reaction from it. We can work from there.”

His eyes never left the faintly flickering flame, breath becoming deep and regular as he worked himself into a meditative state.

He sat there for about an hour, still as a statue and barely breathing as he focused. The flame seemed to mirror him, whether he noticed this or not I didn't know, but the flame had ceased flickering and now stood straight and calm. A thin trail of smoke curled from the tip of the flame toward the sky.

Focusing on memories of joy I questioningly nudged Raphael's energy with the thoughts, feeling his wards loosen to allow the influence in willingly. The flame began to dance again, jumping up and sparking gently in the night.

Memories of sadness caused the flame to dim and the smoke to become heavy, it's scent cloying.

I tried anger and the candle was reduced to a pile of wax in a ball of flame.

“Dammit! I had it!”

“you had the connection, but you were letting me control the intensity of the emotion, when I withdrew that control is when you lost your own.”

I pulled another candle from my bag and replaced the melted mess, relighting the flame.

“You were able to connect with a small flame but I don't want you even attempting a larger flame until you hone your control. Keep trying this, get to where you can control the fire on your own and we can try amping up the intensity of the emotion through your empathy. Your control over your element can only be as tuned as your control over yourself. But still, good work, I wasn't expecting you to even form the connection and you proved me wrong. It took me years to be able to connect properly with soul energy.”

I sat down to his left and ran my finger over the mark on his wrist. It was glowing dimly, casting red light on the surface of the stone in his hand.

“Try Again”

[elasianstar]

New Moon Cleaning

AUTHORS NOTE: i was doing my monthly clensing last night and was inspired to write a short on how the turtles would respond to Elasia preforming a similar ritual on her first new moon at the lair. I hope some of you who find this enjoy it, but it is very self indulgent.

..................................................................................

Leonardo found a sticky note by the door of the greenhouse, right above a spindly potted herb,

"Keep Rosemary by your garden gate "

...

“Why have my herbs been moved all around the greenhouse, the organizational system is all wrong! Mikey, was it you?”

The orange banded turtle brother was scrambling to escape the main living space where a thick cloud of dust was forming. He was hacking and spitting, a thin layer of grit covering almost every inch of his body.

“No, (hack, cough) it was probably Elasia! Dude she's (wheeze, cough cough) gone crazy! She's sweeping (wheeze) the whole place with a feather broom, and muttering in her weird languages! SHE THREW OUT THE LEANING TOWER OF PIZZA BOXES!!! IT'S ANARCHY!!!”

The brothers watched the dust cloud grow before a heavy thwapping sound was heard and the cloud seemed to migrate from the mouth of the tunnel toward the entrance of the lair and out. When the chaos settled the two brothers peeked around the corner to see the winged woman in question flapping vigorously to drive the cloud further down the tunnel. She held an obviously handmade feather broom in her left hand and had a thin stick of white stone pushed through her hair where it held her long bangs behind her head in a bun. Her clothes were covered in splatters of odd colors and she was shaking the last of the dust and grime from her body before sweeping it out the door. Raphael was peering around his bedroom doorway with fear in his eyes and his damp mask pressed over his mouth. A strange crystal mobile hung in the doorway above his head.

Next thing the brothers knew Elasia was scrambling around the space with a spray bottle, spritzing the whole place with what smelled like salt water before lighting a large bundle of what looked like plant parts on fire and using her wings to move the smoke through the lair.

“Dude, Leo why is she wafting pot smoke all over the lair?”

“Why do you know what marijuana smoke smells like Michelangelo…”

Before the youngest brother could defend himself the screens leading to master splinter's room burst open.

“What is going on out here!!!”

Elasia spun, wings and hands held out as if trying to hold him back.

“Stop!!! Please, Don't break the circle!!!”

The old rat stopped, one foot in the air before drawing back and composing himself in his doorway.

“My query still stands my child, what are you doing?”

She sliced the end of the smoking bundle off and let it fall into a bowl of water, wings still fanning the smoke around the open living quarters.

“I'm cleansing the space. The energy in here was so chaotic and stale I couldn't even think. So I swept out the old energy with a ritual besom, cleared the junk that was lying around, and cleansed the area in salt and sage smoke. All i have left is to invite new energies in with water vapors infused with lavender and Rosemerry.”

“Very well then, that still leaves you to explain the strange odor my child.”

She turned a bit red, head ducking in embarasment as she held up the leftovers of the plant bundle so that he could see.

“Sage smoke sir, I'm sorry I wasn't even thinking what it might smell like to someone who wasn't used to it. My RA in the dorm thought I was smoking pot the first time I cleansed my room.”

The old rat nodded.

“I see. when, may I ask, may we have our living room back?”

“Oh I'll be done as soon as I finish this room, I've already got the Dojo and Raphael’s and My rooms completed. I'm sorry for disturbing you sir.”

“All is well my child, though next time a warning may be in order.”

“Every time the moon is new.”

“Noted. I will leave you to it musume, try not to frighten my son's any further if you can help it.”

“Yes Sir, blessed Be, sleep well.”

“Blessed be young witch.”

As soon as the door shut the mayhem began again. Elasia was running around the space, clapping her hands and making strange gestures while an odd egg shaped device spewed sweet smelling steam. The two young men hiding in the tunnels slowly backed away to take refuge in the greenhouse again.

“I'll ask her about the herbs later.”

���Just drop it Bro, Elasia has her reasons. Plus I heard her mumbling about getting you some new plants anyway. Something about lavender and it being lucky…”

“That woman is surely strange.”

“Yeah but she’s our strange, and She makes Raph happy.”

[elasianstar]

R #4 We Care for Eachother

AUTHORS NOTE: This one is very self indulgent and deals with a bit of gore, it might not be for everyone. 

I couldn't get out of bed this morning, my head hurt too damn much, the sounds needed to stop. I called in at work and texted the guys to tell them that i wouldn't be able to make it down today, the best i could with my vision slowly disappearing. Stumbling blindly down out of my bunk i downed some medicine and grabbed a large glass of water. Taking them back up to my nest I pulled the curtains and turned on some low instrumental music while I tucked in to wait it out. That's all i could do.

The soul voices of every being in the area were screaming in my head, they wouldn't shut up no matter how much i tried to shut them down, they only seemed to get louder. So loud that I must have missed my phone ringing, several times.

...

The next thing i was aware of was being carefully cradled in large cool hands as I writhed amongst myself, my skin too hot and my head too loud in my ears. I saw nothing but a dark green blurriness as i was held to a familiar plated form, soothing hands moving over my hair and over my wings. The tones of a rumbling voice reached my ears as if through cotton or leagues of deep dark water, the smell of warm hickory smoke enveloped me and i felt my face burying itself against textured skin to follow it, letting it wash over me. I was calming and though i still couldn't see, the voices quieted a bit as cool skin absorbed the stifling heat from my own. After a while i stilled, my breath heavy with exhaustion as the voices lessened enough to let me slip into slumber.

When i came back to consciousness the voices had faded to their usual buzz in the back of my skull, my breath was low and slow against the rise and fall of the cool plastron i was nestled against. Textured fingers stroked lightly across my neck and arms, once in a while brushing over my hair and wings as he hummed gentle soothing tunes.

“Raphael.”

“I've gotcha Myōjō, I've gotcha. What was that babe?”

“Overload, a bad one. Sometimes all of the soul voices in my head get out of control, being back in the city with all these souls, It was too much, too loud.”

“Do you want to talk about it? Kinda sideswiped me here, didn't know how to help or if I'd jus hurt ya more.”

I nuzzled my face into his chest, taking another big breath of his calming scent. his grip on me was gentle, as if he was afraid a wrong move would break me.

“imagine millions of voices in your ear, all of them screaming for your attention at the same time. It starts my head hurting and all up my spine while my vision starts to blank out. it starts with a shiny spot, I'll notice details disappearing in pieces of my vision and then it'll start to spread, my mind filling in basic shapes and colors In an attempt to make sense of the world as it gets worse. My head feels too full, like it's going to burst, and my skin gets really hot.”

He started to rock gently on the curve of his shell.

“And how do ya deal with it?”

“I bed down with some painkillers, try and keep myself hydrated and high protein foods help too. I just have to suffer through until I can fall asleep, when I wake up it fades away.”

“I kinda understand, i think. Is there anything I can do to help... Fer next time?”

I cracked my eyes open experimentally and my vision was almost clear. The look of concern on Raph’s face was heartwarming, though I could tell he was trying to not make a big deal out of things his arms circled me protectively.

“You did perfect Red, your touches and scent gave my mind something to focus on other than the noise. Textures are definitely a good thing, but when I'm sick like that, heavy or harsh smells don't sit well on my stomach. Your smoky scent was just perfect for soothing me back down.”

“You were burying your face in my neck like you were trying to hide, I guess you kinda were.”

“You also cool me down, I usually can't handle being held because it just adds to the heat, but you're always so cool.”

“Hm, wonder if that's a reptile thing or a fire thing.”

He was slowly calming down, his hands rested on my lower back as his eyes followed the strings of lights in the small space. i was amazed he even fit in my nest nook. I shifted so that I could reach up and peck a small kiss against his jaw.

“Probably a bit of both, I'm not complaining though, you make the best cuddler.”

He chuckled at that one, nuzzling his face into my hair to give me a little kiss.

“I'm just glad you're ok Elasia.”

“Hmmmm, I don't want to move, can we just...lie here a little while longer?”

“Sure. No problem, just let me message the guys and let em know you're ok.”

We lay cuddled up in my nest for quite a while, the warm dim glow of my string lights and the soothing tones of the music washing over us. This had to be the first time since the solstice that we were able to truly be alone together for more than an hour. It was nice. to get to see this side of Raph, without the tough guy act he puts on in front of his brothers, it was a treat. I couldn't help but run my fingers over his chest scutes, enjoying the texture of them against my skin as well as the light rumbling noise he made at the soft gentle touches.

“Mo Stórin.”

“Hm what did ya say babe?”

“Nothing important Red.”

“No I'm pretty sure it was, ya used your Irish voice. Ya only do that when you're mad or if ya want to say somethin and not be understood.”

I made a zipping motion over my lips. And he eyed me with that suspicious, narrow eyed look.

“Fine, if you won't tell me I'll have Donnie help me with some research.”

God if Donnie knew he would never let either of us live it down, Mikey would probably find out.

“Fine. Mo Stórin, it means my darling. Happy now.”

His fingers slid under my chin to caress and cradle my face, lifting my gaze to his own.

“Mo Storin, I like it. But I feel like I've heard it before…”

Shrugging I cradled myself in his arms again, but he had gotten the song stuck in my head and I soon started to hum the tune.

“I swear I've heard that before, in a dream or somethin.”

“Its an old Celtic lullaby, I used to sing it for my brothers, to soothe their night terrors.”

I think it finally clicked,

“When I was sick.”

I nodded reaching my hand up to absentmindedly play with one of the large red christmas bulbs before drifting my hand lazily through the air.

“I never really thanked you for that.”

“You don't need to, you've more than returned the favor. Plus, I like taking care of you.”

...

My stomach growled and we both froze for a second before laughing. Raph scooped me up in his arms and moved to the opening in the loft before lowering himself silently to the floor and carting me over to the kitchenette in my little apartment. Setting me down in one of the chairs in the island he got to work.

“You sit tight, I'm taking care of you today.”

I watched as he headed to the fridge. When he opened the freezer however he stopped, staring at the contents of the icebox in mild horror, confusion, and curiosity as I moved to get around him. I pulled one of the dark red blocks from the freezer and popped the rubber wrapped thing in the microwave for a few minutes before puncturing the bag and dumping the contents into a solid colored blender cup.

“You forget I'm a predator, I don't really eat cooked foods all that often hun. Only when i’m cooking for you guys. I appreciate the sentiment though.”

He pulled another block out of the freezer, inspecting the thick yellowish rubber and the short tubes coming from each bag. On the label was a bright red cross and the letters AB.

“Where did you get this.”

“We have a deal with the global hospitals, when supplies get close to their expiration dates they sell it to our distributors. Then it's portioned out to the members of the community according to need.”

He couldn’t stop staring at the stupid thing, a look of disbelief on his face. 

“Why not animals? Beef, pork, deer for pete's sake.”

the slurping sounds from the bottle as i drank my meal made him shudder.

“hunting isn't a viable option anymore, especially not for city dwellers and not with humans at the populations they've gotten to. I mean animal supplies are collected from local butchers and raw meats are always bought and consumed, but this is also a viable source. It's completely legal, though under the table, and it has lowered human attack frequencies world wide. It's renewable and doesn't harm anyone, we just use what was going to be thrown away.”

the look of disbelief on his face was slowly morphing into irritation as his gaze bounced between me and the bag. i wasn’t going to let this go though. He was bound to a predator, he would have to get used to it. 

“But it's blood, its human, its…”

“Whole blood is only viable for 21-42 days depending on the storage system. Either way there are species that will feed no matter the source, this way works best for everyone involved.”

“why do you have this, I get being a carnivore and the raw meat thing, I'm cool with it, but this.”

putting my cup down i looked him straight in the eyes and said it as directly as i could manage.

“Easily digestible calories that can be translated into soul energy. Being the Star takes a lot of extra energy compared to an elemental. This is also a good source of amino acids, nucleic acids, and iron, all things needed to enable rapid regeneration. Without this i can't heal, myself or others.”

Without this his soul would have burned out before i had even gotten to know him.

He tossed the bag back into the freezer before shutting the door a little too hard.

“Every rose has it's thorn Red.”

“Yeah and apparently this one draws blood. Just… gimmie a few minutes to process all of this.”

He couldn't leave the apartment in the daylight so he went into the bathroom and shut the door. I felt the click of the lock sliding into place in my chest, but I gave him some time. When he finally came out I had finished my meal and had properly disposed of the bio-hazard. I should be good on that kind of nutrients for about two weeks with animal protein supplementation. Granted I didn't have to do too much healing.

I was practicing some kickboxing moves in an empty corner of the studio when he came out and I could feel his eyes on me while I worked through my routine, kicking the bag placed in front of me as well as the one hung at eye level between dodges and upper body blows.

“Yer balance is off, try standing less on the ball of your foot and more on the heel.”

Jumping from my toe I landed three quick kicks to the high bag.

“I know what I'm doing.”

“Fine, don't take my damn advice! Just trying ta fucking help.”

I stopped, wiping my face and neck with a towel while I spoke.

“Its not that I don't appreciate your input Raph, I just know my anatomy better than you do. Have you ever noticed how I usually walk up on my toe?”

He looked down at my feet for a moment before glancing over at my shoes by the door. almost all of them had a 3+ inch lift to the heel.

“my metatarsal bones are more birdlike and it forces my stance into a more forward position. Plus it helps to counterbalance the movement of my wings.”

I moved to the pull up bars and started a set of hanging sit ups.

“We both know that my boxing stance isn't what you're actually worked up about. Talk to me Red, I'll listen and maybe help you think through this.”

He threw his hands in blatant exasperation, crossing his arms and pacing a bit before taking a few swings at my punching bags. His thoughts started spewing out of habit once he started to work up a sweat, he often would vent to me while beating the snot out of something to burn off the destructive energy.

“Its not that I'm mad about the whole blood thing, I understand your logic toward the whole...ordeal. My instincts just won't stop screaming that I should be mad about this, you're a third of my size and something in me keeps telling me to watch my back.”

I stopped moving for a moment, hanging from the bar before swinging down and approaching Raph slowly. I kept my hands where he could see them and held eye contact as long as he would let me as I got closer. When I stood in front of him I was eye level with his clavicle and without the bulk from my wings I was about half as big around as his waist at my widest point. I had to crane my neck to look up at him from this close.

“Do I really frighten you?”

I felt his hand cautiously move to run his fingers over my hair and I closed my eyes as I leant into the touch.

“you don't, not really, you've never made any move against me or my brothers.”

i rested my hands against his, holding it to the side of my face.

“But somewhere in there is the thoughts of that tiny little red eared slider turtle that sees me as something that could swoop down and carry you off in its talons.”

As I said the last part I smoothed my other hand over his arm, the tips of my claws lightly brushing against his skin. I could have swore I felt an involuntary shiver and I pulled my hand back, laying it flat against my chest to draw forth the glow of my soul.

It was such a deep purple that it looked black in all but the perfect light, golden paisley patterns swirled over the opalescent membrane like the leaves of Mimosa trees. Taking a deep breath I gently took his hand and placed the softball sized heart in his open palm.

He looked between the glowing form in his hand and my face, a slight look of panic melting into stunned amazement.

“No wards, no filters, does that feel like someone who would ever dream of harming you in any way? Do you think that if I didn't completely trust and care for you that I would let you hold such an essential part of me in your hands?”

He handed my soul back to me with cautious open palms and I let the shining light diffuse back through my skin to set as a heavy warmth in my chest.

“Even if you were still a tiny turtle, able to fit in the palm of my hands, I would protect you and care for you to the best of my ability. I give you my word.”

Placing my fist over my heart I bowed my head to him and was promptly wrapped in his strong arms before being lifted into the air.

“What did I evah do ta deserve ya. Even when I'm being ridiculous and irrational, ya always take me seriously.”

“Just because a fear or concern is irrational doesn't mean it isn't valid. When we finished that dance in the ritual grounds we made a promise to be our best for each other, that means being there even through the worst and the weird. Even if we weren't bonded I would still listen and try to understand your viewpoint, because I'm also your friend Raph. We take care of eachother.”

[elasianstar]

R #3 Displaying

Red really was not my color, it looked terrible against the rosy tint in my cheeks and upper arms when my skin wasn't bleached white by magic. Before I met Raph I think I owned one red garment, a red and black flannel that I'd gotten for when I'd gone to the markiplier live show last winter. I usually wore black with splashes of blues, purples, and greens. Those colors worked a lot better on me and most of my wardrobe was composed of such hues.

But the way those sharp green eyes would follow me, burning peridot tracking my motions when they were accented by bright splashes of crimson or burgundy.

Let's just say I owned a lot more red and I wore it often.

Some days it would be the light accent of red stud earrings, only visible when the longer wavy portions of my hair were brushed aside. His eyes would snap to me, training on the color like a bull after a matador. On other days it would be more obvious, a red tank top, a short scarf tied around my waist or the column of my throat, or that ever popular flannel. He would always be in a better mood on those days, not snapping at his brothers antics and irritations near as violently, a bit of a smirk or a goofy grin showing off his slightly pronounced canines. He loved it when I called him my snapping turtle. 

Those days would usually end in us disappearing for a few hours to cuddle and kiss off in a tunnel or out on a rooftop somewhere, his hands wandering a bit more than usual, pushing his self set ‘respectful boundaries’ in the early stages of our budding bond. When his hand smoothed over the generous curve of my ass for the first time I turned as vermilion as the low cut tank top that threatened to show off the top of my black bra. My plume fluffed almost instantaneously, my wings rubbing together and my pulse pounded in the sides of my neck as I kissed down the thick veins that ran down either side of his throat.

The low rumble of his churr had me kissing and sucking the spot where his pulse ticked at the base of his throat as those large, battle toughened hands squeezed and kneaded at the firm round of my posterior before gently smoothing over the curve and the back of my thighs. Pulling me closer before starting the pattern of strokes and pets back at the back of my head and down my wings to grab at the tender flesh again. My own hands smoothed over the chest and stomach plates of his plastron before dancing over the tense muscles in his shoulders and up those bright slider marks I loved so much. Small chirping skenes of pleasure falling from my lips as he sucked a dark mark into the flesh above my collarbone, my whole body was warm as it pressed greedily against his cool form, begging for more. 

But too soon it ended, Raph's hands stilling against my lower back as his forehead came to rest against my own in a gesture that was slowly becoming familiar. Our breaths calmed in tandem an understanding between us that we were going to take this slow, that we wouldn't let the more animal sides of both of us sidetrack the more personal aspects of our growing relationship.

It didn't keep me from wondering what he'd do if I were to wear the little red dress with the white cotton lace fringes that I bought the other day at the market though.

[elasianstar]

L #1 Garden

“Hello little lovelies, aren't you all big and strong and green. Yes you are, you're growing so good. I wonder who your daddy is, he takes such good care of you doesn't he. It's hard to grow such pretty herbs and veggies down here.”

“Elasia, Ane?”

The smooth controlled voice and Japanese nickname gave away the identity of the presence coming down the tunnel before I could see them.

“Hey Leo, I'm guessing this is your greenhouse I've found?”

“Yes, Dad and I have been working on it. Donnie fixed up the grow lights when April got after us for our poor diets back when we were teens. We keep the plants cycled and heaters on hand so even through the winter we have fresh vegetables.”

Moving to the far wall he pulled a lever and fresh water started streaming from a system of produce misters and fire sprayer nozzles connected on garden hoses.

“It's such a brilliant idea, and practical for your subterranean environment. Up top we do it the old fashioned way, spending the fall processing and preserving the harvest, canning, pickling, drying or salting whatever we can get. But to have fresh throughout the year, yes it would be more long term work but it would be worth it.”

Leo looked pleased with himself, laying back against the tunnel wall to listen to my rambling, he was quite used to it by now.

“... the use of artificial light increases the amount of harvest able to be grown despite the waning sunlight hours. It would take a while to build up stores but if you canned the leftovers instead of discarding or composting them it would work to maintain food stores in case of crop loss. I could teach you how if you're interested?”

My flaring wings almost knocked over a planter of basil but I caught it in time, a sheepish grin toward Leo in my embarrassment at my clumsiness.

“Sorry, I got a little over excited, nerves. you probably don't want me down here talking your ears off. I'd better be going.”

“I don't mind, you're welcome to stay. You forget I live with Mikey and Donnie.”

Keeping my wings tucked tight I watched as he picked tomatoes, soon joining him.

“Yeah? I guess sometimes you just seem like the type that likes to keep to themselves. You're quiet.”

“I just choose to think more than I speak, listening and observing the harmony in the world.”

“I understand, I just get too wrapped up in my head around people and my mouth starts spewing from nerves. I’ll shut up now.”

I think this is the first time I've heard him laugh, his lips pull back on the right side in the same smirk as Raph’s when he laughs.

“It's not a problem, I feel you spend a little too much time alone with your thoughts when you aren't around us. I don't mind listening to you when you decide to let them loose. It helps me understand why Raphael likes you so much, you two are quite similar.”

“Really, how?”

“You both feel so deeply yet most of the time you keep it locked up in those thick skulls of yours. You express your emotions in odd ways, Raph uses his anger while yours works as a nervous, self conscious, energy and a mothering tendency. You both approach every aspect of your lives with such passion, giving every ounce of yourselves to reach your goals.”

I didn't feel so nervous in the moment. hearing Leo speak so perceptively really calmed my mind, gave me the clarity to use my inner calm.

“Your intuitive skills are really quite impressive, though i suppose it comes with the territory of being the Undine. especially considering your role as a leader and a big brother.”

Moving on to harvest the days ripe peppers and lettuce, Leo took a few moments before speaking.

“There is something I've been meaning to talk with you about since we got back. I've been curious what all of this means, this elemental awakening. Why did it happen to us now and what are we meant to do with it?”

“It was always in you, from the day you were born most likely. Looking back I should have noticed the signs sooner really. As for why now, I honestly do not know, it's possible a higher exposure to certain energies triggered it, or it could have simply been time.”

I noticed the drops of water flowing strangely across Leo’s hands as he worked.

“As for what you are supposed to do with it, all I can say is learn to control it, become connected to it as if your element were simply another aspect of yourself. It may be in this lifetime or it may be in a thousand years, but someday it will become clear. Like watching the ripples on the surface of the lake, every small action eventually has a much larger meaning.”

“You sound like Sensei, but I suppose you're right. All I can do is make the most of it and be prepared for whatever fate throws us.”

Standing to put my basket of vegetables with the others I put my hand on Leo’s shoulder where he was crouched in the herb bed.

“You'll be ready for whatever you need to be when the time comes. I do suggest meditating on your element, find a place you feel connected to it and focus on strengthening the energy between you and it. Facing West would be ideal, and maybe try using stones that correspond with water, I think you may do well with an opal.”

Without another word between us I turned to leave, placing a small shimmering stone in a wooden bowl that had been sitting under the sprinklers as I disappeared down the tunnel.

[elasianstar]

The World on a Turtle’s Back  Chapter 9 (Finale)

The next day I woke to the smell of summer rain. Sending a quick message to the barn aid I decided to take a morning for myself before fixing breakfast for the guys. I pulled on my training leathers and using the side door onto the uncovered patio I jumped up onto the roof of the house. The wind was whipping in from the west, it would be more than strong enough.

Before I could act though I heard a light scraping on the edge of the shingles, a 2 fingered hand having grabbed onto the edge of the roof. Raphael was pulling himself up, his eyes looking over at me curiously.

“Thought I'd help ya with the animals again and I find ya up here. Whaddaya up to?”

“Watch.”

I spread my wings carefully, adjusting them as they started to catch the wind, the rain running off the slick feathers as I spread them wider. As I felt a particularly large gust I slammed them out to their full 14 foot reach and I was ballooned upward effortlessly. Turning my wings just right I stalled on the breeze, floating on the air currents as the storm took me where it wanted. All I had to do was be careful not to drop into the trees.

The feeling of flying outside of my own power is always exhilarating, to be able to shut down my mind and just let my instincts work to keep me afloat, it is a connection to the natural chaos of the world that others don't often get to experience.

Looking down below I saw Raph staring up at me, his hand blocking the rain from his eyes as he watched me float against the darkened sky. Changing the angle of my wings by a few degrees i climbed until he could probably barely see me, hovering for a few moments i slowly leaned back, and free fell. I didn't stoop, instead pulling my wings in tight against the violent bursts of wind as i twisted and turned in the open air, reaching terminal velocity as i fell unabated toward the earth. 400, 300, NOW! Throwing my wings wide i grit my teeth against the pull in my muscles as they ballooned with air, slowing my fall enough for me to pull into a sharp swoop, six inches above Raphael’s head as i snatched his bandanna.

“WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO! Skeeeeeeeeee!”

I tied the scrap of red fabric around my neck, as i rocketed back up to floating altitude Raph returning my whoops and hollers from below. Once i leveled back out i started to slowly pull in my wings so that i would gently lower to the ground in front of him. He must have thought i was falling because right before i landed i felt large calloused hands grab my waist as he guided me back to my feet. My heart was beating with the adrenaline of my fall as we stood there in the rain his hands on my waist. One of his hands brushed against my neck and i raised my face toward his, my wings moving to wrap around him...As the bandana slipped from around my neck and he stepped back to tie it around his face again.

I pulled back into my own space, tucking my soaked hair behind one of my ears in embarrassment, i really thought he was going to, i wanted him to. My eyes flicked to his lips as i felt my face get warm. I turned away from him lifting my face to the sky with a tight fluttering in my chest, the rain was cool on my flushed skin.

I felt his hand on my shoulder but i couldn't make myself turn, not when i had so little control over my physical responses. His other hand circled my waist and i felt his plastron against my wings, his chin coming down to rest on the top of my head. We stood there for a few minutes like that, watching the rain and the wind through the oaks. He was cool in the warm summer rain. I ran my hands over his arms, fingers tracing the muscles there as i felt him shudder.

“We should probably get inside and dried off before i have to start in on breakfast Red.”

He held me a little closer and i could feel his heavy heart beats against my wings.

“Just a couple more minutes Myōjō. I'm not...ready.”

“Ok.”

…

When we made it back inside the guys were already waking up. Donnie had made coffee for himself and Leo and they were sitting in the dining room watching the rain through the open windows. Mikey came slouching into the room while i was shaking my wings out on the front porch. His usually bright eyes were as dull as the sky and he looked like he was wound as tight as a spring, ready for something to jump out and attack him. Then i remembered something Raph had told me, Mikey’s afraid of storms, especially thunder.

“Hey Mikey, you up to helping me make pancakes for breakfast?”

He looked up at me with a weary fake smile, his shoulders rising slightly before he followed me into the kitchen, his feet dragging against the wood floor. Pulling a mixing bowl out of the cabinet i set him mixing batter while i sliced fruit and heated up the skillet. I reached over and lifted a panel in the wall, turning a few knobs before hitting the mute button.

“Don't worry about a thing, Cause every little thing gonna be alright,

Singing' don't worry about a thing, 'Cause every little thing gonna be alright.”

I started singing gently as we cooked, swaying and every once in a while letting my wing bump up against his side.

“Rise up this mornin, Smiled with the risin' sun,

Three little birds, Perch by my doorstep,

Singin' sweet songs, Of melodies pure and true

Saying', (this is my message to you)

Singing' don't worry 'bout a thing

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright

Singing' don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright.”

His smile was slowly returning as we poured the first cakes into the skillet, his brothers watching from the doorway as i sang and danced around the kitchen, towing mikey around after me.

“Rise up this mornin', Smiled with the risin' sun

Three little birds, Perch by my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs, Of melodies pure and true

Sayin', this is my message to you.”

Raph and Leo joined in while Donnie tapped out rhythm on the door frame, i smeared a glob of batter across Mikey’s face causing a small laugh to bubble up from him as he went cross eyed trying to see it.

“ don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh

Every little thing gonna be alright, don't worry

Singin' don't worry about a thing, I won't worry

"'Cause every little thing gonna be alright

Singin' don't worry about a thing

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright, I won't worry

Singin', don't worry about a thing

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright

Singin' don't worry about a thing, oh no

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright”

By the end of the song some of the sunshine had returned to Michelangelo and everyone in the kitchen was smiling softly. Mikey tossed a few pancakes in the skillet with a touch of his usual flare and everything was looking like it would be fine. We got through breakfast and were planning the day’s activities.

A bright light flashed through the house and soon after a peal of thunder shook the air, mikey’s eyes went wide and as the next flash lit the house he disappeared.

We found him in the morning suite, buried under a mound of colored quilts where the guys had lain out their mattresses on the floor the night before. Without as much as a word the guys settled in around him as Donnie set up the computer in the room to stream a movie. After a little deliberation i suggested Spider man and the guys decided it would be perfect to take Mikey’s mind off the storm. Raph snuggled in closest to his younger brother, protective energies rolling off of him as Donnie and Leo took their spots. I decided to lay on my stomach in front of them and after a few minutes i felt two hands smooth across my feathers, one much smaller than the other. After a few test pets the larger hand disappeared and the smaller one started a slow and soothing rhythm. Sometimes when a particularly loud peal of thunder would shake the house Mikey would jerk his hand away but a few moments later it would start up again.

…

By the end of the movie the thunder had calmed to a low steady rumble and Mikey had calmed down somewhat when I felt my feathers start to move in the wrong direction. Looking back the boys were half asleep with calm, none of them touching my wings as my covet feathers lifted and flapped in an unnatural breeze, Donnie, Leo, and Raph’s bandanna tails were also flapping gently against their shells.

“Mikey…”

His eyes blinked blearily, a contented yawn causing him to stretch.

“Mikey look.”

He followed my gaze and looked down at my feathers and around at each of his brothers. His eyes got really wide before he unburied his arm to check his wrist. He showed it to me and right there was a dark triangle, pointing toward his wrist with a smaller dividing line cutting off the point. When I touched it calming yellow light shone from the mark.

“You’ve been chosen as the sylph Michelangelo Hamato. Your soul will survive the test of eternity. Your mind though ever-changing as the summer breeze will point true to your heart, as kind as a sunny day your soul will warm those around you, as the sun drives the slipstream of fate. Be proud of who you are and remember that you hold the strength of hurricanes, yet you choose to be as gentle as a spring shower.”

“Good job little bro. Always knew you were fulla hot air.”

Raph reached up and grabbed mikey's head, shaking it back and forth a bit before swiping his bandana and holding it out of reach.

“Hey, give that back.”

Donnie and Leo were knocked out of their cozy stupor when Mikey accidently kicked Donnie in the face, causing him to head but Leo. Raph and Mikey were wrestling on the floor, the younger trying to get his bandana back from the older. Gusts of wind whipped around the room in frustrated bursts, responding to mikey's emotions. The match ended when Raph had him pinned to the ground, an arm across his throat.

“I can still kick your ass little bro, don't forget that”

In a complete turn of character Raph leaned down and laved his tongue across Mikey's face, shoving the bandana the smallest turtle’s mouth before hopping off with a chuckle. He was jumped from behind by Leo who put him in a headlock.

“Don't forget that I can kick yours little brother.”

Raph grabbed Leo’s arm and threw him over his shoulder and on the mattresses, taking out my light fixtures in the process. Glass and bits of wood rained down over the five of us and the room went dark.

“Ok new rule, no wrestling in the house.”

“Yes ma'am.”

“Sorry.”

“I'll help you install a new one Elasia, even though I didn't break it.”

“Donnie you four eyes scrawny little suck up.”

“Raphael! I said no fighting in the house.”

…

Once Donnie and I had fixed the light and Leo and Raph cleaned up the debris I asked the guys to come to the living room for a bit of a talk.

“I know you four will most likely follow me anyway so I figured I would ask you outright. Who wants to go with me to the solstice ceremony? Since three of you have experienced your elemental awakening you technically qualify as members of the community on principle even though you never had a yule christening so you would be free to participate.”

“What about Raph?”

“He could attend as a confidant, but he would be unable to participate until his own awakening or until he may choose to be christened this yule. Sorry Red, but the elders would never allow it.”

The brothers did that thing they do where they talk without having to make a sound before Leo nodded, turning back to me.

“We were going to tail you anyway so we'll go, but none of us participate without the others.”

I gave him a curt nod, moving to pull a black box from behind one of the armchairs.

“Alright then, you'll have to be given your ritual soul marks.”

I popped the case open to reveal a set of brushes and several different colored jars of paint.

“Who wants to go first?”

Mikey's hand popped up the quickest so I ushered him along to follow me into the guest bathroom off the living room to start the painting process.

When he left the room he proudly showed off the work of art painted onto his skin and shell. Working around his existing tattoos I had used yellow and orange tones to create an intricate maze work of swirls starting at his eyes and his elemental mark and moving up his left arm, down his neck and shoulders, and across his plastron to his right hip. Amongst the swirls the simplistic imagery of feathers and the small forms of fey danced with the flow of color in bright gold.

Donnie was next, his marks followed a similar pattern across his body but his were done in sharp geometrical shapes in shades of brown and grey. Breaking the heavy pattern were gemstones in sparks of color and leaf and branch patterns in sleek contrasting silver lines.

Leo was next, his pattern wasn't as wide spanning as his brother's running along his form as rivulets of water would flow in various shades of blue and white. Across his shoulder the wave of Kanagawa crested proudly. The shadowy forms of great beasts and leviathan were hidden amongst the patterns in silver.

Raphael entered the room last, and gave me the most trouble as he flinched and twitched under the touch of the brush. Where I had started his brother's designs around their elemental marks I started Raph’s around his heart and swirled tongues of flame across his chest and shoulders in bright red tones and vibrant golds. I pulled the flame up either side of his neck, drawing golden accents along his slider marks and framing his eyes from behind with flicks of the molten hue. His peridot eyes burned with the color and the gentle rise and fall of his chest made the shapes seem to dance and flicker with every breath. I added one last detail to his marks that none of his brothers possessed. Directly over his heart a golden spiral acted as the origin point of the flame. The mark of the spirit in its truest form, the star.

The same swirl that grew warm under the thick leather on my left wrist.

Once each design had set and I no longer had to worry about them spreading paint all over my house I called my brothers to show the guys the way to Lilly grove while I prepared myself for the ceremony.

…

Raphael’s POV

I was really wishing that i hadn't let her talk me into not wearing my dew rag right about now, it seemed like every set of eyes in the clearing was on us. Even Mikey was getting antsy, and he's the outgoing one. I was starting to get downright anxious to the point if someone were to touch me i probably would have punched them.

Leo grabbed my forearm and i jerked to keep from swinging as he motioned for us to gather more on the edge of the clearing where the growing crowd was thinner. We were careful not to crush the white lilies that grew at the edge of the trees while we climbed up into one of the larger ones, shiny little creatures like the things painted on Mikey flew from the thin branches where they turned into humanoids with colored skin and dragonfly wings. From here we were able to see the entire clearing without being crowded, eyes still fell on us from time to time but as the sun set that seemed to matter less as the creatures below formed several rings in the grass and the commotion settled down.

A steady drumbeat started from the far edge of the clearing and as if on cue the bonfire in the middle of the clearing roared to life, unnatural colors flickering in the flame as everyone in the clearing went quiet. The drums got steadily louder until they sounded like war drums, string and wind instruments started in low, building a mystic undertone to the beat. As the music reached a peak bursts of color sprung from the clearing at the far end as four women dressed in flying skirts in red, yellow, green, and blue came dancing through the rings of creatures, bare feet making no noise as they spun and leapt before settling at each of the four cardinal directions.

The music stopped suddenly and the entire clearing stilled as a black form seemed to seep from the shadows, they wore a golden helmet that looked like the head of a bird, the beak pointing down between darkly painted eyes and matching metallic bands covered both forearms. A thin whip-like blade hung from their hip amongst smoky black skirts that glittered with stars, shifting in and out of focus as they stalked through the crowd. A violet crystal lamp was clutched delicately in pale white hands, long black claws fluttering over the shimmering glass. When they reached the altar at the base of the bonfire they knelt in front of a statue of a silver owl, one hand over their heart as they bowed their head. They reached up and those familiar hands grasped at their helm, lifting it off of their head to reveal black hair chopped in ragged spikes, two long pieces hung loosely tied behind their head having fell from where they had been threaded through the crown of the helm. They placed the helm at the feet of the owl and stood, a black cloak hiding their form. And then that cloak moved shifting against the smoky skirts before rising high above her head as a pair of ebony wings.

She spun sharply on her toes as her wings moved through the open space like twin shadows against the glow of the fire, scattering silver like stars to hang glittering in the space. Her pale face was painted with black arching shapes resembling wings streaked with gold around the tops and sides of her emerald eyes, stark streaks of black ran from the inner corners of her eyes like the tear tracks of a falcon and her lips looked as if they were coated in wet blood. Black smoke patterns were painted across her arms and neck above the high collar of the dress she wore scattered with silver and gold feathers and deep violet undertones that glowed slightly in the firelight. Her golden horns stood proudly over her brow like the crown of an ancient queen.

“Merry Meet my brethren, in arms or in peace we gather unified by the light of the mother moon!”

The creatures gathered answered her call, their voices becoming a wall of noise in the darkness.

“MERRY MEET, BY THE HIGH PRIESTESS, BY THE DAUGHTER OF THE MOON AND THE GUARDIAN OF SPIRIT. LET THE CIRCLE BE CAST!”

She moved to the east where the yellow clad maiden stood, her form seemed to flow and shift like smoke, bright yellow eyes meeting Elasia’s green in reverence as she used the crystal lamp to light the yellow pillar candle clutched in her hands. A large burst of wind blew into the clearing from the east, circling the clearing before whipping around the two women.

“Maiden ventus, in representation of your guardian element of the east, speak your invocation.”

The woman’s voice was bright and playful as she hid behind her wavy golden hair, she seemed excited yet unsettled by the presence of the wind gusts circling her and i wondered if Mikey had anything to do with it. Looking over he was leaning precariously on his branch, his bright eyes watching the scene below in excitement and curiosity. He didn't seem to be actively doing anything but his mark was glowing faintly in the dark.

“By the first breath of life thou art with us, until the last breath of death leaves our bodies. You spread the pollen from the corn and let the winged take refuge on your breeze, you can bring in the storms that give life to the fields or strip the land with your whirlwinds. We ask the winds of fate to smile upon us this solstice and join us in ritual.”

“Merry meet”

The next woman had dark skin that seemed to crack and glow like the surface of a lava flow, her eyes glowed like burning coals and her hair lay over her head to one side, grey like smoke. When Elasia lit her candle the flame in the center of the clearing jumped high in the air, releasing a flurry of sparks that seemed to dance across my skin, my blood ran hot in my face and my hands.

“Maiden Ignis, in representation of your guardian element of the south, speak your invocation.”

Her voice was harsh and filled with heat as she spoke.

“The spark of passion leads to the gentle burn of life and of new beginnings, as our bodies slowly burn throughout the act of life thou art with us. You warm our winters and bring sunlight to our crops, you protected us in the dark times of our birth and though your rage burned us in the hands of our enemies, it is by your flame born anew that we will rise to stand in your sunlight once again! We ask the fires of genesis and revolution to burn brightly amongst us this solstice and join us in ritual.”

My whole body felt hot, like i was soaking up the heat from the fire, I looked down at my wrist to find it blank, not yet.

The next woman shimmered like sunlight on the surface of the lake, her eyes were wide and unblinking as they reflected the light like glass, in place of hair long flowing red fins of a beta fish wrapped around her form. He wore a respirator device around her neck that was filled with water. When her candle was lit she seemed to come to life, her breath picking up as the skirts of her dress seemed to attract the water from the morning’s rain around her feet

“Maiden Lympha, in representation of your guardian element of the west, speak your invocation.”

“From the waters of birth you move with us, guiding our lives as the moon pulls your tides. Your cool flows quench our crops and livestock and your bounties of the deep fill the bellies of the fisherman. You cradle the mer below as your ferocity crashes against the ships on the waves above. We ask the tides of life to wash us along our intended course this solstice, and join us in ritual.”

Leo looked like he wanted to be down there, his mark glowed brightly and i noticed the water droplets on his branch slowly moving toward where he touched the surface.

“Maiden Terra, in representation of your guardian element of the north, speak your invocation.”

The final woman had rich dark skin like fertile soil, her eyes were each a different color and sparkled like precious stones, her hair was braided with vines of live ivy. Her voice rumbled and rolled like an avalanche.

“From ashes to ashes, from dust to dust you build everything we are. Your bountiful harvests sustain our bodies until the day our mortal shells return to your embrace. You ground us and keep us sheltered from the wrath of your brethren, yet one mighty growl can send cities crumbling to ruin on their foundations. We ask the earth of creation to guard us on this solstice, and join us in ritual.”

The ivy in her hair bloomed with  small purple and white flowers, under my feet the tree seemed to ever so slightly bow toward the north. When I looked at Donnie I noticed slender branches wrapped around his wrist, helping to steady him in the canopy. His mark glowed a calm green.

I watched as Elasia continued the circle toward the east again before moving to the center of the circle. Silver light glowed between each maiden, creating a diamond with Elasia in the center. She lifted the crystal lamp high above her head as she spoke.

“The culmination of everything, the golden life force that flows within all living things past the coils of mortality and into the violet cosmos of eternity. You were, are, and will always be, as the light is rekindled along the circles of creation and destruction. As we came from the stars one day we shall return to live beside the mother as the little and the vast we hold within. I ask the everything and the nothing of the realm of spirit to be in each of us this solstice, I BRING YOU WITHIN MYSELF AS THE GUIDING STAR TO JOIN US IN RITUAL!”

She threw the lantern into the fire and as it broke turned the fire a deep, almost black, violet. The stars themselves sparkled through her dress and across her wings as more dark purple light escaped from under her left arm band.

“Let the dance begin!”

Down in the clearing all of the male creatures moved to the edges along with the older/paired females. The ladies left behind each tied cloth around their eyes and as the music picked back up began to dance in 5 rings with the eldest toward the center of the circles. By the end of the first song the females on the outermost ring had been chosen as well as most of the next. Through the next song though I found that I couldn't focus on the bright whirling colors of the dancers, my eyes kept falling on swirling fabric as dark as the night sky.

The way she danced was different from the other females, they all danced as if they were begging a male to choose them. Open arms swirled softly with colored fabrics and waist length hair. She danced like she was daring anyone to even try to get close. Her movements were sharp and precise yet they held a gentleness as her wings moved as if to brush and caress her unseen partner. Her eyes though blinded never moved from their fixed location a few feet in front of her and upwards as she turned and stepped. Her feet were sure and well placed and her wrists turned sharply yet connected with the strength of her arms.

As if she were wielding a sword.

As the second song came to an end only a small hand full of females remained as part of a single circle around Elasia as she danced dangerously close to the bonfire at the clearing center. A few males stood unmatched at the circle’s edge some already showing damage from their attempts at the raven.

I itched to go down there, my hands twitched to the sai on my belt.

“Do you guys see that?”

“What Raph? Some creep who could use an asskicking?”

I couldn't look away, tracking the way she moved, attacking fiercely before turning to block and disengage the weapon of an unseen attacker. It was graceful, powerful, elegant.

“No, look at Elasia, do you guys see what I'm seeing.”

“I saw her give that mer dude a black eye!”

“No look, does that look like dancing to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on Leo, how do you not see it with how many times she’s sparred with you! She isn't dancing to dance, she's shadow sparring to the music like she does in the dojo!”

Mikey landed behind me on the branch.

“Raph, bro, just go. We all know you want to, and I think she's waiting for you to realize that.”

I looked at Mikey shocked. Elasia was my friend, my teacher, she didn't, she couldn't. Not for a monster like me.

“Raphael.”

I looked up at Leo with shock on my face, he nodded tossing his head toward the clearing as he held onto the tree.

“Go.”

“Yeah you don't see how she looks at you Raph.”

Memories of nights on her roof spun through my head, her soft wings on my shell as she leaned back against It and sang. The sound of her laugh as we raced through the city on our bikes. The way she always knew how to calm me down, how she took my insecurities and made them wonderful. I remembered when she showed me her true appearance on the rooftop, she had called herself a monster.

I leapt from the tree before the last song started, drawing my sai as I took position within her imagined line of sight. The heat of the flame was heavy on my shell as she stilled, drawing her blade from the sheath on her hip.

Shit was about to get real.

As the song started to pick up she began to move, stepping around me in a circle as our blades shadowed each other in swirling figure eights. With the beating of the drum she lunged at me, that whiplike razor of a blade clanging sharply against the steel of my sai before she would turn way with a twist of the blade and a flip of feathers only to strike again. We set up an ever increasing rhythm as she lost herself in the music and the motions as I fought to match her, careful to avoid the flames at my back. We moved around the blaze in a dangerous dance our tempo ever increasing as the blows got more and more precarious and every other creature watched on in stunned silence, afraid even the tiniest sound would break the spell we were under. We moved like one being, our blades less clashing and more caressing as steel slid against steel, glinting in the heat and the light. The music was building to impossible speeds as we moved and flipped and turned, my only thoughts on blocking her blades in time with the music I could barely hear anymore. My blood boiled with intensity as finally my sai caught on her blade and with a twist of my wrist both went flying off into the night as I caught her arm in my hand, pulling her to me as the music slammed to a stop.

Elasia’s POV

When the cloth was pulled from my eyes I was met with burning peridot, the rise of my chest pressing firmly against his solid scutes as his arm encircled my waist and his hand clutched my own. The heat of the battle and the intensity of his gaze amongst our ragged breaths was burning through me like the tongues of fire that surrounded us, yet I felt no pain, i had never felt as safe in all of my lifetimes as I did in that moment.

I wanted to, I absolutely had to, my eyes flashed down to his lips for the briefest of moments before we met in burning passion. He pulled me closer, his hands branding my skin as my arms wrapped around his shoulders, fingers brushing the flaming patterns painted across his neck and scalp. Nothing could quench the fire inside us.

Except the buckets of water that were dumped over us, extinguishing the bonfire we so passionately embraced within. Steam rose from the smoldering coals at our feet and a blazing red light shone over both of us from Raphael’s wrist as we returned to our own plane of existence.

Neither of us could speak as we were drug out of the flame, Raphael by his not so concerned brothers and I by my brothers and the community elders.

“This pairing will not be allowed, the kappa holds no union to our people or to the universal powers! He must be gotten rid of! To allow such a bonding to be permitted would be a disease upon our already diminished way of life….”

Ignoring the blubbering of the stubborn old men around me I squared my shoulders and pushed my way through the crowd toward Raphael. Grabbing his wrist I lifted it as high into the air as I could so all could see the burning red triangle mark pointing to the sky upon his wrist.

“The salamander walks through the flames and is not burned! Deny him as you wish but know I speak the truth! His soul shall burn for eternity amongst the stars with those of his brothers, representing truth in oneself and the passions of the people to which he now belongs! Raphael Hamato you seal the circle, closing it as it had been cast and broken by the eons!”

At this moment Leo came up behind me and ripped my gauntlet free from my left wrist, the purple spiral of the spirit glowed brightly as each brother in turn stood in solidarity with us, their own symbols glowing brightly. Leo leaned down to whisper in my ear.

“Turtles first, we protect our own. Sister.”

Placing Leo's hand in Raph's I got into the head elders face, even though the old lepus had about 6 inches on me my posture and expression screamed murder, causing him to cower under my gaze.

“The four elements have arisen and the bond between Fire and Spirit has been struck in the ritual flame. Enjoy your corrupt rule as it lasts for the balance of the elements has been restored, and when the southern son rises from the sea Elasia WILL step into the light.”

My voice dropped into a deadly whisper as I stood over the cowering man. The old accent slipping back into my voice.

“ I would sleep lightly if I were you, ya bleedin thick! And don't you EVER threaten Raphael or any of his brothers again or Nára bheire an mhaidin ort.”

The acrid stench of rabbit piss assaulted my nostrils as the trio carried him off, the other elders following with nervous glances toward my glaring form as they retreated.

When I turned back to the boys I was met with nervous yet proud smiles as they stood together, nearly shell to shell, against the crowd of creatures surrounding us to watch the commotion.

“Well whatcha gawkin at! This is supposed to be a party not a damn zoo, go on ya dossers! I said go!”

The crowd reluctantly dispersed as the band struck up a song and the food and booze hit the tables.

When I got to the turtles they seemed to visibly relax. Donnie patted my shoulder and told me that I did a good job before tucking himself in closer to Raph, finding comfort in the close proximity to his stronger twin. Leo went to grab my hand only to be surprised as I moved at the last moment to grab his forearm.

“You stood by me in solidarity and you are therefore my brother in arms.”

He nodded his head in respect before I was hauled off my feet by a happy orange clad turtle.

“I always wanted a sister! I'm so happy about you and Raph!

I couldn't help but laugh as I struggled against the smallest brothers iron grip.

“Mikey! Put me down.”

I pushed him playfully, grabbing the top edge of his plastron to pull him into a proper hug.

“I'm happy to have a new little brother too, especially one as cool as you Mikey. Just, let me talk with Raph for a bit while you try and get your brothers out into the party ok?”

When we let go he put his hand out for a fist bump and I ran my fingers over the top of his arm like a running animal, our hands went flat bending to clap together above the elbow and then swing below as we turned around each other, our own little secret handshake/celebratory dance from when we would play video games together. Mikey went toward Leo and Donnie, dragging them somewhat unwillingly into the fray while I approached Raph. My knees were shaking and my wings were rubbing together nervously behind my back.

“So um, that's a thing that happened…”

He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, his eyes on my cheek instead of my own.

“Yeah… I don't really get what happened there, what did you say to that guy?”

“Oh uh, that happens sometimes when I get really emotional… I used to speak irish Gaelic and the accent and some of the phrases tend to come back when i'm not paying attention. I basically told him that he wouldn't wake to see the morning...it doesn't translate very well.”

He laughed under his breath and things got kind of awkward, neither of us being too good at expressing ourselves with words. I reached over and laced my fingers through his the best I could, a jolt of happiness bursting in my chest as he squeezed my hand, his thumb running over the back of it as I looked up at him. Those peridot eyes, they were so warm and soft when he looked at me.

“You ok bud?”

I usually asked him that after a rough training session, when I would lay my wings over his shell and sing softly to calm the atmosphere.

“Yeah, I am now.”

He quirked that little smirk at me before pulling me in to his chest again, his chin resting lightly in my hair. Looking up at him I gently placed my hands on either side of his jaw, suggestively guiding him lower until our foreheads touched, calm energy floated between us as we matched our breath, hands resting on each others necks as we gently rocked to the music.

“How did you figure it out?”

“You, dance for attention? You're too crazy for that Myōjō. I knew right away, just getting me to come down here was the trouble. Nice move forcing me into the flame, how did you know that would work?”

“It was just a hunch, your brothers had their awakenings in times of high emotion so I figured I'd give it a shot.”

“You mean you hinged all of that on a lucky guess.”

i rubbed my cheek against his like a cat, whispering near his ear as i held him closer.

“mhmm, why do you think I stepped into the fire first, if I had been burned it would have been less risk, but you didn't let me.”

“You are actually crazy aren't you?”

“Crazy about some things yes, but you don't mind.”

I ran my fingers over his slider marks and a shiver ran through him.

“What is that, some kinda bird thing?”

I smirked right back at him quickly pressing my lips to his nose before doing it again.

“Yes, but it's obviously a turtle thing too or you wouldn't like it.”

“God come here ya crazy woman.”

He pulled me close lips pressing lovingly to mine as his fingers carded through my hair, it felt like heaven as our shared emotion flowed through our fledgling bond, it would only grow stronger with time. When he let me go I could tell that almost every hair on my head was plumed in my excitement by the laugh that threatened to bubble out of him.

“Ya look like a damn cockatoo!”

Fluffing up even more I stuck my tongue out at him and cocked my hip.

“You totally think it's deadly, so shut yer gob!”

We heard laughing coming from behind me and I turned to see the trio laughing and poking fun at us, I grabbed Raph's hand to lead him into the party but not before giving the three an earful.

“Get outta here ya earwigs, Is ceann de’s na h-óinseacha diabhail thú!”

The three took off, still roaring with laughter when I picked a hefty stone off the ground.

I tossed it back where it was and heard Raph also holding back a chuckle.

“What's so funny.”

“Yer cute when you're mad, I like the accent.”

“Come on Red, yer makin me scarlet, let's go have some fun.”

…

That night the five of us were the last ones left in the clearing, we were all lying on our backs in the well trampled grass as we watched the fireflies against the night sky. The guys all lay in a circle around me, like the points of a compass with Raph and I lying head to head, our hands stretched upward to intertwine.

“Elasia?”

“Yeah Leo?”

“What really made you come to New York last may, surely it wasn't just to check out some domestic disturbance.”

“Yeah, you showing up in the sewers that day totally flipped our lives on their heads.”

“Well I suppose you deserve the truth. I was actually never going to investigate the disturbances, I was just in New York for my forensics internship. Not long after I settled in though I heard the rumors of four unknown creatures prowling the sewers near the market tunnels first hand. Something in my soul tugged me when I heard them, told me to check it out. I'm really glad I did. Not only did I get four great new friends out of it, but I found hope, hope that I didn't even know I'd been missing for a long while. Amongst other things.”

I squeezed Raph’s hand feelling him return the gesture as Mikey started to coo.

“Awww that's so cute! Raph are you gonna turn into a big softie on us, huh Raphie?!”

Raph swung up into a crouch, slapping Mikey upside the head before giving him his ‘talk shit get hit’ look.

“Sheesh dude, ok I get it no teasing. But seriously guys what would their ship name be, turtle dove, red robin, star fire… ow ow owowow,  ok ok! Raph uncle uncle!”

“Can you believe we have to go back to the city on Sunday Leo?”

“Frankly Donnie, I kinda miss the simplicity of it. I have a feeling that one day, the world is going to get a whole lot bigger.”

[elasianstar]

The World on a Turtle’s Back Chapter 8

RAPHAEL’S POV

My brothers were setting up for a movie night when Elasia came into the living room. Instead of being in the pajamas we expected her to be wearing she was in her training leathers, she threw a shiny gold top over it and was wearing a studded leather jacket over that. Her hair was styled and she was wearing bold makeup.

“I'm going out with my brothers for the night on flock business, I want you guys to just stay put while I'm gone. I'll be back around 2AM, don't stay up for me.”

We waited until we heard the sounds of their motorcycles leave before stealing the keys to the van. In our defense they were right on a hook in the kitchen. Donnie had snuck a tracker on her bike the last time she had brought it to the lair and we followed at a safe distance into the depths of the city.

They were in what looked like an old warehouse district, ancient factories with busted windows and graffiti tags line either side of an abandoned railroad line. One of the buildings stood out from the rest, it was about 10 stories tall and painted with an alien landscape. It was just like one of the drawings in Elasia’s sketchbooks. In the foreground however was the beastly figure of a troll with clownish face paint, leaned over the form of a scantily clad woman with a knife held behind her back. The neon sign over the door called the place the dark carnival.

Donnie pulled the van into an alleyway nearby and we took to the rooftops sneaking into the building via the air conditioning vents. Club music echoed through the vents and as we followed the sound, lights and fog let us know we were on the right track.

“Aww no fair, Angelface went partying without us!”

“Like we could go with her blockhead, we'd be shot down as monsters before we got to the door.”

“I don't think so Raph, look through here.”

Donnie was peering through the vents with his goggles as he waved us down.

The whole place was one central room with walkways going around it all the way up. On every level mythicals and humans danced and drank and had a good time while on the stage below a man with hands that looked like bird feet and aviator shades scratched records with another man with the tail of a snake instead of legs. People with colored skin and bug wings danced and performed aerial acrobatics from long silks hanging from the ceiling while furred folk showed off on the lower dance floor. A large twisted tree grew in the center of the building and glowed strange colors in the blacklights.

“Sick, we should totally be down there!”

Leo stopped Mikey from opening the vents by pulling him back by the edge of his shell.

“Hold back, there's a reason Elasia wanted us to stay at the farmhouse. We scope that out first.”

“Well then let's at least find a vent with a dance floor view, I wanna watch Time Reaper and Union Jack drop fat beats!”

“Time Reaper and Union Jack?”

“You didn't see the big shiny sign on the DJ booth man? Crow dude and snake man, Leo!”

“Fine Raph you take him down while donnie and i stay up here.

but we stay put until I give the signal, got it?.”

We found a nice grate just to the left of the curtained stage so Mikey could watch the DJ’s work. On closer inspection the crow man also had a bird’s feet and tail, his body giving off the same smoke as the nightmare back at the farm. He had a broken sword hanging on his hip from a heavy gold chain and his band t-shirt had a hole in the center where red stained bandages wrapped around his scrawny chest. The snake man had bright green scales scattered over his shoulders like freckles and was wearing a tank top bearing a British flag. Around his throat he wore a spiked dog collar and sharp yellow claws tipped fingerless gloved hands that shot across the turntables. His wild blonde hair was streaked with the same acidic green as his scales and his slitted yellow eyes were ringed in thick black eyeliner.

There was a man with frosted hair and glowing blue eyes working the bar, when the hand that wasn't wearing a white silk glove touched the glasses they would become frosted over with ice. He wore a baby blue suit jacket over a slightly unbuttoned shirt, a black bow tie tied around his bare neck.

Two women with grey skin and orange horns worked the bar with him, each wearing different shades of blue. The smaller one in teal wore bright red shades and a bright red leather jacket that ended just above her midriff. Her hair was cut in a bob, the ends curling upwards and streaked with teal. Her “sister" had longer hair streaked with cobalt and she wore a heavy bikers jacket covered in studs over a dark blue tee. Her shades had been broken on one side leaving a sharply winged eye to gaze bitchily at her patrons while the other side glinted with 7 red gemstones pressed into the glass.

I couldn't see Elasia or her brothers anywhere.

After a while of watching the club patrons having fun the lights went out and the music stopped dead. Signaling for mikey to stay put I moved a little further down the vent shaft to try and regain a visual. The sound of the curtains on the stage rising was all I could hear until the crow DJ started speaking in low smooth tones.

“Ladies and Gentlemen and Beings of all configurations, the dark carnival is proud to present to you, Furie and the BFT!”

The scaled DJ was lit by blacklight on the left of the stage, a union jack guitar hung from his shoulders over a white button up shirt that was unbuttoned halfway down. As he started to play a familiar melody the lights faded in on the bass player, a tall young man with shoulder length blonde hair, a single curl hanging in front of swirling blue and violet eyes. He was meek but the notes from his sparkling white bass guitar were strong and deep. A pair of moose antlers stood proud over his skull as long bony fingers plucked the strings. The crow DJ came up behind him to compliment the bass with cool smooth piano notes, his shades were gone and his skin had turned to shadow behind bright red eyes. Finally the drummer came into the light, he looked a lot like the bassist but his skin was California tan, thick muscle peeking out from under a ripped Tee instead of his brother’s sinew and bone. his shorter hair was honey blonde instead of pale cornsilk, a single cowlic stuck up from the front over deep blue eyes the same shade as the blacklight. He had an American flag the shape of a star painted on his right cheek.

the guitarist slithered up to the mic.

--”On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair,

Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air.

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim

I had to stop for the night.”

The dark empty stage was lit by a single amber spotlight through the mist. Elasia stood there, wings slightly spread, her outfit had been replaced by a sheer dress that shimmered, metallic gold outlining every dip and curve. Underneath she wore a skintight black leotard.

--”There she stood in the doorway;

I heard the mission bell

And I was thinking to myself,

‘This could be Heaven or this could be Hell’”

Her bare arms moved like water, tangling themselves in her hair and winding around her body

with the flow of the music. Her wings shifting around her body to show a flash of skin here and there as she danced.

--”Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way

There were voices down the corridor,

I thought I heard them say…”

The other members of the band joined in the chorus as three dimmer lights revealed the trio, each one wearing dark tights, their colored shirts unbuttoned and their wings high and strong.

--”Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)

Such a lovely face

Plenty of room at the Hotel California

Any time of year (Any time of year)

You can find it here”

They stood in pose as she wound her way through them, delicate hands touching skin as she practically used them as stationary objects to flip and twirl off of before spinning away. once again solo in her spotlight as they came to life in the background.

--”Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes Benz

She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends

How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.”

She worked with each one of them in turn, first in waltz, blue light overtaking her form and hiding it under an elegant ball gown. Second in a bouncing fox trot, her dress turning the same rich plum as her lips under ruby light. Third she danced a scandalous tango sparked with twirling gold bathed in rich emerald. Each dance held a spark of intimacy, a strong hand holding the wide-set hipbones of a bird, the other cradling the lower back as if in an embrace. Slender fingers entwined in gold, white, and chocolate hair, she caressed their faces as if they were lovers before spinning away leaving them forgotten. i felt a knot tying itself in my stomach while something in my chest was practically trying to shove me through the vent toward her.

--”So I called up the Captain,

"Please bring me my wine"

He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine"

And still those voices are calling from far away,

Wake you up in the middle of the night

Just to hear them say…

Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)

Such a lovely face

They livin' it up at the Hotel California

What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)

Bring your alibis.”

Dropping to the floor she spread her body long against the smooth dark floor, obscured by the smoke. A flash of a limb or the shadow of an impossible pose being the only sign of her as the three males danced in an acrobatic tandem, wings spread like fallen angels if the faces of nearly every woman watching were any indicator.

--”Mirrors on the ceiling,

The pink champagne on ice

And she said ‘We are all just prisoners here, of our own device’”

Rising up onto her toes like a long silk scarf lifted by a fan she pointed her leg straight up into the air, arms wrapped around it as if chained. Her wings were spread straight out behind her, sparkling with golden stars against a deep velvet night as she spun slowly around her makeshift post. Her skin was dyed gold in the light, only to be broken by her markings and scars, a silver spiders web tempting those watching to edge closer. I lent against the vent, the light squeak of protest causing me to hold back. I wanted to see more of her.

--”And in the master's chambers,

They gathered for the feast

They stab it with their steely knives,

But they just can't kill the beast!”

The trio surrounded her as she faked struggling against her “restraints” each one drawing back as if raising a knife only to bring empty fists down harmlessly against her body. She arched her back in fake pain, eyes having been nearly closed the entire time flying open wide, mouth open in a silent scream before dropping once again to the floor.

--”Last thing I remember, I was

Running for the door

I had to find the passage back

To the place I was before

‘Relax,’ said the nightman,

‘We are programmed to receive.

You can check-out any time you like,

But you can never leave!’”

Her movements changed now, crouched low against the floor. her eyes glowed with hunger and her dance took on a predatory stance. moving sharply and pausing in positions mimicking a wildcat stalking it's prey from cover. The amber light turned blood red and her dress took on a similar appearance against her snow white skin. Emerging from the fog, her golden halo of a spotlight gone, she encountered each man again in turn. Instead of her varying dances of seduction from before she danced a sharp and violent pasodoble. claws raked skin harmlessly, carefully practiced to avoid hurting her partners. As she finished her mouth fell to each one's throat as they fell back into placid compliance.

The Snake man's hypnotic voice faded to the music as each of the men lifted her in tandem from behind, her arms and legs held back as her wings spread wide. She looked like a goddess ruling over her subjects as they twirled her gracefully through the air. Trading her off between them in spectacular acts of timing and skill. Finally she was passed to Francis as their wings mingled in perfect contrast, sunlit white to rich black, spinning together as all the lights faded out.

My hands balled into fists against the jealous fire in my belly.

…

When the lights came back on the dancefloor was empty, each of the dancers placed nonchalantly amongst the crowd and redressed in their clothes from earlier. The crow and snake were back behind the DJ table and the audience exploded back to life with the opening to The Monster by Eminem.

I heard the light crackle of my radio as my brothers chattered across the airwaves.

“Did you guys see that, talk about hot, i can feel my shell tightening!”

“ Mikey show a little decorum, those are her brothers and Elasia is our friend.”

“Those acrobatic maneuvers were impressive though, who knew her body could bend and twist like that. could prove to be a significant combat advantage in close quarters.”

“Now we know why she didn't invite us along.”

“Yeah yeah we get it, now is this little recon mission over? I'm heading back to the fuckin van”

“Somebody has a crush on Elasia!”

Mikey’s teasing tone had me gritting my teeth as i rounded the corner of the vent, when he saw my face his mouth snapped closed and he started crawling away through the vents as quickly as he could and remain silent. I chased him through the tunnels back toward Leo and Donnie’s scout point, making threatening lunges for him to get him to move a little faster, put a bit of fear back in him. When we got to the last corner of the vent though we heard the sound of rending steel before the floor of the vent fell out from under us.

The impact of my shell against the concrete floor knocked the wind out of me so hard that i almost didn't see the glowing tree twist around on itself to break Donnie’s fall, The entire room was silent as every eye was on us. When i got back on my feet and shook off the sheet rock and concrete dust i looked up to meet Elasia’s eyes. Her face was twisted in anger and in something i couldn't place. there was a smudge of something red on the corner of her mouth.

The crowd started to murmer, a single word forming, Golem.

I looked behind me to check on my brothers to stall. The glowing tree was bending down to the floor to gently set Donnie on the ground. leo was helping him out of the tree because his legs were shaking, his eyes were wide behind his glasses where they had been knocked askew on his face during the fall. The chant of the crowd was getting louder, the same word over and over.

“Golem.”

Elasia brushed past me, her wing grazing my arm as she went to Donnie. She grabbed his hand turning it over before wrapping him in a hug. She lifted his arm into the air like the victor of a boxing match for everyone to see. In dark black was a triangle tattoo similar to Leo’s except his was marked by another line that sliced the tip off of the triangle pointing down toward his elbow.

“The Golem has returned!”

Leo grabbed donnie’s other hand raising his arm to show his mark, the word Undine joining the murmurs of the collected creatures.

“The Undine! The spirits of the West and the North live amongst us once again!”

Her brothers and the band members surrounded us to hold off the swarming crowds as Elasia wrapped us in her wings, shoving us through a door behind the stage.

“You four are in so much fucking trouble when we get home, I TOLD YOU to stay at the house and now all of Elasia knows your faces! Splinter is going to kill me!”

“You are the one who just started announcing us to the crowd!”

“I had to, one of the guardians of myth just fell through the fucking ceiling and willed a diamondwood tree to bend! If i hadn't spoken there would have been pandemonium!”

“My scans should have caught the weakness in the vent shaft, this is my fault. I didn't intend for this to happen…”

Donnie’s anxiety was ramping up into high gear, as he rocked gently, running his fingers over his straps to try and calm himself. It hasn't been this bad since we were kids. Mikey got to him first, putting one hand over his chest and one on his shell.

“Its ok Donnie, bro, just breath. That's right in and out, what's the 28th digit of pie... 34th.... 14th.... 65th? Just keep breathing.... steady.... You good Don?”

Donnie nodded, pulling on his mask tails to ground himself. Elasia knelt in front of him careful not to do anything that might trigger an aftershock.

“Donnie, Donatello look at me hun. It wasn't your fault, your soul was merely responding to the danger, just like how Leo shoved us out of the lake. Do you understand?”

Donnie nodded, pushing his glasses back up on his beak.

“You were born with a gift, it would have manifested itself sooner or later. This wasn't your fault, don't ever be ashamed of being who you are.”

She turned his hand over and traced the mark on his wrist, it glowed bright green.

“Donatello Hamato, You’ve been chosen as the Golem. Your soul will survive the test of eternity, your body and mind will be as steady as the ground, your soul one with the plants and the stone of the earth. Be proud of who you are as the mountain never bows to the pressures of the sky.”

Elasia’s pov

I followed the van home on my bike, inside i could see three of the brothers souls huddled together while Leonardo drove. Donnie took a little to pull out of his panic but his brothers were quick to act, even Raphael stopping his brotherly bullying to comfort his hatchmate. I had hoped that the brothers would take their awakenings with more and more ease as each took on their new abilities but it seemed that the mixture of the unexpected fall, the overwhelming attention, and my own outburst had triggered Donnie’s anxiety. I had suspected he had some minor anxiety issues stemming from being the quiet and often overlooked brother but he had gone into a full panic attack. I would have to apologise when things leveled back out with the brothers.

When we got back they all headed to their rooms without a word but a few minutes later I heard all four voices coming from the morning suite. They would probably end up sleeping in a pile, they usually ended up doing that when one of them was overly stressed or injured.

I was dressing down for the night when I heard a light knock on my door.

“Come in Leo, it's unlocked.”

When he entered his eyes immediately scanned the space for potential escape points before landing on me with an ice cold resolve. I gestured for him to sit on one of the four plush cushions on the floor around a short card table.

“Tea?”

I gestured to the black teaset in the center of the table, it was painted with the ethereal forms of running animals in bright silver. After regarding the set he nodded, watching as i poured two cups before taking a seat on the cushion opposite from him at the table.

“You wanted to talk with me?”

“What are you doing Elasia?”

I set my cup down with a sigh.

“Honestly i'm not doing anything, i simply wanted to give you four a week out of the city, a chance to see that you don't need to keep yourselves hidden in the shadows of those sewer tunnels all your lives. I mean i had my suspicions about your latent abilities after handling your souls, but if my radiant magic energies didn't trigger your awakening in the month i've spent with you guys i was convinced that my suspicions were false. The events of today were not a part of my plan in the least.”

He sipped his tea slowly before speaking, his voice taking on his “leader tone”

“So you did have a plan, i suspected as much, watching you train, you never fail to have some hidden trick in place when you would get into a tight corner.”

“Yes, though the main plan was to simply get you four some much needed down time, i was also hoping that through the course of the week i would become closer with one of your younger brothers.”

he sipped his tea, contemplating the swirling tea leaves in the cup as his face subtly twitched through his thoughts..

“You're good for him, since you started your secret training every week, he hasn't been as prone to his usual outbursts. Something about you is almost taming him.”

“So you noticed… i haven't been doing anything to change Raphael, i've only been showing him how to deal with his own abilities. I showed him how to deal with the overwhelming influx of emotion he felt on a daily basis and over time what started as simple acts of compassion, turned into more.”

“I don't understand, you say that Raph possess some sort of supernatural sensitivity to emotion?”

the cup was on the table now, half finished.

“It's called Empathy, it's typically a rather common skill, even humans can become skilled empaths with the correct training. What you interpreted as an extremely brash and aggressive nature in Raph was simply him becoming overwhelmed by the influx of emotions he was naturally feeling from the people around him. Once i taught him to block out and deal with those ambient emotions his true self started to shine through, he really is quite a kind and caring person, he just has a skewed way of expressing that.”

“Yes, chasing mikey through the vents with threats to rip his shell off is definitely affectionate.”

“Well that explains why you fell through the ceiling, but think for a moment, has Raph ever seriously hurt any of you?”

He thought for a moment.

“Not Donnie or Mikey but he has left me with a few good cuts and bruises over the years.”

“That is mostly because you fed most of his intrusionary emotions, he was compounding your anger on top of his own. But truly think, Raphael bench presses 1000 pounds as a basic workout. If he really wanted to hurt you, don't you think he could?’

The look on leo’s face told me everything i needed to know, the young man literally wears his emotions on his face. He had never thought about Raph pulling his punches, he was only thinking of the surface emotion of his interaction with his next eldest sibling. Interpreting the words coming out of his mouth as his intention instead of looking any deeper.

“A good leader understands how his charges think.”

He nodded, eyes returning to the cup, his face so muddled with emotion that i had trouble reading him.

“I think i understand what you had meant now.”

“I didn't tell you any of this, i promised Raph that this information wouldn't get out. But i don't lie to my coven. You four are as close to me as my own brothers.”

“They aren't even your real family.”

“The blood of covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. When you've lived as many times as i have you come to realize the truth of that statement, you will as well someday.”

He stood to leave, bowing slightly in thanks before turning to go,  stopping in the door though he turned to me.

“You said you had suspicions, did that include all of us?”

“The Sylph and Salamander will wake in their own time. For now i believe your brothers may need your presence, there is a storm on the horizon.”

[elasianstar]

The World on a Turtle’s Back Chapter 7

Observer POV

When Raphael woke up it was to the smell of bacon cooking. Cracking open his tired eyes the first thing he saw was a pair of sleek black wings knelt by the campfire. Elasia was cooking breakfast by the heat of the coals.

“Wakey wakey eggs and bakey! I've got a great day planned for us!”

The sound of her banging on the cast iron skillet with a metal spatula had everyone up in a few moments. Mikey fell on the food first, thanking her with his mouth full while she passed the hot percolator to Donnie and Leo. His cup already had the energy stone thing she put together for him hanging over the rim.

Her brother was gone, the only sign he had been there was the indentation in the grass where he had bed down.

Elasia turned to glance over her shoulder at him she reached back with a heavy plate full of food. It was as delicious as usual, the bacon was just perfectly between crunchy and chewy, and the eggs were just the way he liked them. His eyes closed as he slowly chewed the food, preying that he would never have to give up her cooking.

“Hey Elasia? If you're a bird why do you eat eggs?”

It was Mikey, already coming back for seconds.

“Well a lot of birds will steal and eat other birds eggs and Corvids are natural scavengers. I wouldn't eat my own egg if I had one, but a chicken egg is fair game.”

“Wait, you actually lay eggs?”

the incredulous look on his face was almost humorous.

“Well I hatched from one and the other Avia in the old days layed eggs. Logically thinking I should, if the time ever comes. But that's neither here nor there, I actually have a few gifts to hand out for today's trip.”

She tossed a bundle of fabric to each of us the patterns were different but they matched with our colors. Putting down my empty plate I picked up the red bundle in the grass by my legs.

“New shorts?”

Leo was holding a pair of blue shorts in his hands, they were marked with white palm frond patterns.

“They're swimming trunks, I figured since you guys wear clothes on the regular that you would probably feel more comfortable than going all natural.”

“Why would we need…”

Mikey interrupted Donnie by bursting out from behind one of the larger trees already wearing the orange trunks that were decorated with little red spots.

“BEACH DAY!!!”

“Well seeing as we're in a landlocked state no… but we will be going to the lake. Figured you could go swimming and I'd teach you guys how to fish if you wanted.”

Leo's eyes lit up like it was his birthday at the mention of the lake. he was rushing off into the woods to get changed, monitoring his movements so he wouldn't seem too excited.

…

ELASIA’S POV

When the boys had all gotten changed we headed for the lake. I naturally felt best flying low beneath the canopy and the Guys made a bit of a game out of trying to keep up with me by jumping from tree to tree. They had obviously practiced a bit yesterday but they were still shaky on exactly how to judge their landings on the branches. This led to a few near falls and a few broken branches when they would misjudge a tree’s strength. But all in all they were improving quickly. Soon they were leaping through the trees with ease, doing tricks in the air before landing almost soundlessly amongst the foliage.

The lake was about three miles from the house sitting in a large cleared area. it had a nice waterfall on one end, fed by the creek the boys had lounged around the day before. On the other end was a small sand swimming beach that led at an angle into the water. Either side was left more to the wild, rocks and sticks poked up through the water, providing cover for bluegill, bass, and catfish. When we got there a large blue crane was picking through the shallows while fish jumped in the deeper water.

Almost immediately a huge splash disrupted the calm of the lake when Leonardo flung himself into the water from a nearby walnut tree. When he resurfaced his wet mask was thrown onto the beach and he paddled slowly through the water, only his head and the crest of his shell visible on the surface.

With a few whoops and hollers the other three soon joined him, diving below the surface only to Bob back up to the surface later.

“You guys act like you haven't swam in years!”

“We haven't, there aren't many turtle friendly swimming pools back home.”

Donnie was roughly pulled under by one of his brothers, starting an aquatic wrestling match. They all seemed completely different in the water, no matter their usual temperaments each of the brothers was a grinning energetic mess. Tossing each other through the water and making plenty of those happy turtle noises I'd come to recognize. They most likely hadn't had the chance to swim like real turtles since before their mutation.

“Come on Elasia the water’s fine!”

Pulling out a book I sat on the edge of the lake, my swimsuit cover wrapped securely around me.

“Aww come on Angelface! You're missing out on all the fun! You can swim can't You? Hey Donnie can birds swim?”

“yes Mikey, most birds produce oils that protect their feathers in the water. Maybe she just doesn't want to, don't go pushing her.”

After about an hour I found myself in a sudden shadow. Looking up I saw Raphael standing above me, I motioned for him to take a seat.

“Something wrong Red?”

“Just wondering why you aren't getting in the water with us, this was your idea.”

Gripping my cover a little closer to my body I feigned innocence.

“I just don't feel like swimming right now, I was just getting to a good spot in my book.”

“Uh huh and even I can tell you've read that one probably a few hundred times before. But if you don't trust me enough to tell me what's wrong I guess I'll just get Mikey to try cliff diving with me.”

I reached out to grab his hand before he could leave.

“You play dirty you know that right?”

“Just using your own words.”

I followed him to the edge of the lake, waiting for him to dive back into the water before I started to unzip my cover.

Raphael's POV

When my head broke the surface I was going to tease her a little bit, give her an extra reason to jump in the water. But then as her cover fell around her shoulders I noticed something, even with all the night's I've spent at her apartment I've never seen her in anything that didn't cover almost every inch of her body. As her cover fell I realized why.

Her usually pale skin was criss crossed with silver scars, some thin like spiderwebs, others jagged and rough. In the middle of it all was a thick T shaped scar, running across her collar bones and down the midline of her body. The other ones were easy to miss when the light hit her in certain ways, but there was no hiding the way that large central scar puckered her skin.

Her two piece suit didn't cover much of it, the short ruffled skirt covered where the scar started to flare back out over her hip bones and the sports bra style ruffled top hid the path of the line over her sternum. The dark fabric covered in tiny silver jewels did help mask the other scars though, making them seem more like strange ornate markings across marble skin.

She when she noticed us staring my brothers kindly averted their eyes but I couldn't look away. She looked me directly in the eyes as she spoke.

“You guys aren't the only ones who've spent some time in a lab.”

When my mind put the pieces together my hands turned to fists beneath the water as my blood boiled. I knew how she had gotten that scar, they had cut her open, dissected her like a frog in a science class. Knowing her usual healing rate they most likely did it several times to make a scar like that. I was so blinded by my rage that i didn't even notice when she dove into the water and swam over to me until I felt her smooth yet slightly calloused hand on my cheek.

“Calm down Raph, I know what you're thinking and I can assure you those filthy bastards burned for their crimes. They died in return for all of the lives of the creatures they had tortured and wasted. I personally made sure of it.”

I grabbed her hand under the water, giving it a light squeeze.

“Myōjō, I wouldn't have pestered ya about it if I'da known, i'm...”

“It's fine, we can talk about it later. It's in the past, No reason to let it ruin our fun.”

She pushed off of my thighs with her feet before diving backwards under the water. When she emerged She was facing away from me and had brought up a gooey foam ball that looked like it had been buried on the lake bed.

“Who wants to play slimeball! Mikey headsup!”

He turned around just in time to get a face full of pond scum. Tossing the ball from hand to hand he chose his target, winging it at the back of Leo's head where it struck with a harsh wet slap.

In a few moments the battle was on, Leo and Donnie against Elasia and Mikey. Several more slime balls having been retrieved from their hiding places on the lakebed. I kept score from the “sidelines” until a wet stinky blob smacked me upside the face. Everyone had frozen, waiting for me to explode until I raised the ball in my hand, scoping out a target.

“SWIM! EVERY TURTLE FOR HIMSELF!”

The game devolved into anarchy. everyone was flinging slime balls at everyone else, laughing and trashtalking between the harsh wet slapping sounds of impact. After a while however we all started to tire and Elasia disappeared beneath the surface.

She was taking a long time to resurface and I was starting to worry until she burst out of the water with a foot long catfish squirming in her arms.

“I don't know about you guys but I'm ready for some lunch.”

The fish made a rubbery squeak sound when she bit into it and if we could have turned more green we probably would have as she swallowed the chunk she ripped out of its side whole.

“What? Oh come on you guys can't be grossed out, turtles eat fish!”

She tried to pass the thing around, trying to get us to take a bit of the thing. It was still flopping around in her hands.

“Nope, no, not gonna do it, love ya Angelface, you're my best gaming buddy but stop joking, where's the food.”

“I think I'm gonna be sick guys, back off.”

Leo looked at her sideways, muttering a familiar phrase. “You are seriously twisted.”

He eyes lit up,

“Thanks! But look, I bet he'd eat the fish.”

She gestured to a weed filled area on the edge of the lake where the head of a wild turtle barely poked up out of the water. Ripping off another chunk with her teeth and causing Donnie to gag she threw the chunk toward the turtle. It exploded out of the water to catch the piece, every inch a 2 foot diameter snapping turtle. In seconds the hunk of fish was gone and the surface of the water was calm again.

“See I told you, now you have no reason not to at least try it.”

She held the thing out in offering, stopping in front of each of my brothers before she got to me. She looked up at me pleadingly and because I still felt a little guilty about the cover incident I took it from her.

My stomach tossed at the idea as it's cold dead eye stared up at me. It had stopped moving but it's gills still twitched in a desperate last ditch attempt at life. Scrunching up my face I took a small bite, holding back a shudder as I felt my teeth break the skin. It was a little slimy… and it wasn't half bad. The texture of the meat was smooth and almost buttery under my tongue and though the flavor was expectedly fishy it was light and pleasant.

I didn't care what my brothers would think, I took another bite. Elasia let me keep the fish, a happy grin stretched across her face as she dove to catch another. By the time she surfaced Leo was curious.

“Alright, give me the thing. God this feels so wrong.”

He bit into it quick, tearing a chunk of flesh from the fish with a pained look on his face before chewing slowly.

“It's not half bad, come on Don try some.”

Donnie was covering his mouth with his hand while he gave the fish the side eye. Reaching out he plucked a tiny piece of meat from Leo’s fish and reluctantly popped it in his mouth.

“It tastes just like sushi.”

Elasia handed him the next catch and he flinched.

“I don't want to kill it.”

She turned away from him and ripped the head off with her teeth, pulling the innards with it and throwing them to the snapping turtle before handing it back to Donnie. A little horrified by the scene he pulled a utility knife out of his trunks pocket and carefully started cutting small chunks out of the side of the fish.

All that was left was Mikey.

“You guys are all insane, there's no way, I swear to god and pizza I'm not touching that nasty fish.”

Elasia simply shrugged.

“Ok, I see I won't be able to talk you out of it so I won't push you. But unless you know how to make pizza from oakleaves and acorns you're out of luck. Raph you want another?”

I threw my bones and fish innards to the snapper. rolling my shoulders and cracking my neck as i prepped myself for a chase.

“Let me try to catch one this time.”

ELASIA’S POV

Raph dove beneath the surface and I could feel the slipstream off his shell as he swam past me. There was a release of bubbles under the surface and a great deal of thrashing before Raph came up again, a catfish clutched tightly in his hand. He was bleeding and cursing as soon as his lungs found air again. I knew what had happened immediately.

“You got spined didn't you?”

He opened his hand, the dorsal fin of the catfish embedded deeply into his palm. His brothers hissed through their teeth as I pulled the spine free of his hand, blood dripping into the water as golden light sealed the puncture.

“You're probably going to start feeling woozy and sick to your stomach soon, catfish spines carry a mild toxin. You should be fine though.”

When I looked up from his palm he was gazing down at me, an expression I couldn't place in those bright peridot eyes.

“You should probably spend a little time in the shallows until we see how the toxins affect you.”

“Uh yeah, sure thing doc.”

I pulled the spine from the fish and handed it back to him.

“go sit down and eat, enjoy your revenge.”

His brothers followed him to sit in the shallows and enjoy their meal while I caught myself a fish. I brought two on a hunch and came back to find Mikey bumming fish cubes from Donnie, I threw him the extra and he fumbled with it in an attempt to avoid the spine before digging in

“I knew your appetite wouldn't let you be picky for long. How are you feeling Raph?”

“A little queasy as you said but nothing major.”

“give me your right hand.”

I squeezed his wrist with two fingers, just below the pad of his hand.

“Feel better?”

He looked at his hand like it suddenly had five fingers.

“Yeah how did ya?”

“There's an acupressure point there in humanoids that relieves nausea. Watch this.”

I hooked my pointer finger just between leo’s collarbone and first ribs and pressed. His entire left shoulder tensed into his neck and his eye twitched.

“Ok ok uncle, uncle!”

“Another pressure point, Charles hates when I use that one.”

Leo rubbed his neck and I could see Raph mentally storing that information away for later.

Once everyone finished eating we relaxed on the beach for a while to give everyone a chance to dry out and rest their muscles. A few of the guys fell asleep warm and with full bellies. Seeing them stretched out together on a log I started to laugh, they were behaving like wild turtles. Leo was resting his head over mikey's crossed calves and Donnie was curled up with his shell under mikey's head. Raph was leaned back against the log, carving on a piece of driftwood with his nails. Every once in a while he would apply a little pressure to his wrist point.

“Whatcha thinkin bout?”

I sat down next to him watching as he carved details into a little statue of a snapping turtle and gathered his thoughts.

“I'm mostly thinkin about a dream I had last night. Wonderin what one of those soul bonds look like.”

I tried to hide my surprise brushing some of the cast wood shavings off my leg before I could speak.

“Well there are a few different kinds. The bond between family usually appears as a white thread, tying the souls together like beads on a cord. The bond between soulmates usually appears as a red string of fate. And the bond between eternals is shown as a fine thread of spun gold. The bonds of the white thread can stretch to the heavens but never stay connected during a rekindling. The soulmate bond survives rekindling but only if new contact is established in the next life as most don't have the privilege of remembering past versions of themselves. The eternal bond however keeps the souls close in both realms, they will remember each other after their rebirth and will actively seek each other throughout the annals of eternity. The last kind of bond only occurs between the ties to a soul of the higher powers.”

He nodded softly, taking note of the information and letting it filter through his thought process.

“And what does this symbol mean?”

He scratched a diamond in the sand, aligning the points with the cardinal directions, the southernmost point connecting to a fifth central point.

“That's the ancient mythos. The diamond represents the four quarters, air in the east, earth in the north, water in the West, and fire in the south. The fifth point represents spirit, or the element of the soul in its purest state, the star. Having fire connected to spirit in such a way is congruent with a tale older than even me. It spoke of the great war and the plunging of our people into darkness, but it was also said that when fire ties the elements together a midnight sun will rise from the depths of the southern oceans and the balance of the children of eve and the children of Lunis and Lilith will be restored. The triquetra will be balanced and harmony will rebirth the world anew, forged in the view of the five elements.”

“You said you dreamt of this symbol last night?”

He wiped the drawing way, scattering sand in both of our laps.

“It was just a stupid dream.”

“I see.”

We were interrupted by a shuffling, dragging noise behind the log. Peeking around the edge we saw the snapping turtle, shuffling toward us with a shiny rock in its mouth. It dropped the rock in my lap and curled up between Raph and I, staying stretched out of its shell to look at us.

“I think he’s trying to repay us for the fish guts.”

“She.”

I looked up at Raph and back at the turtle, it figured he would know so I took his word for it. I scratched the snappers shell in causing it to chur, the low rumbling sound vibrating through my hand.

“She's nice, usually snappers are more bite first ask questions later.”

“Don't judge a turtle at first glance, they might surprise ya.”

The snapper climbed up into my lap and fell asleep, enjoying my gentle scratches.

“She needs a name… you guys all have names from the renaissance so how about Mona Lisa?”

The snapper poked her head out long enough to nibble the fingers of my resting hand.

“I think she likes it.”

“Myojo? Can I ask ya a couplea things?”

“shoot Red I'll answer anything you ask.”

“what happened, to give ya that scar.”

leaning my head back against the log my eyes closed for a minute as i remembered, Lisa nibbled my fingers again when i stopped scratching.

“I was six years old, this lifetime. Felix was taking me around to each of the global safe zones when we got separated around Arizona. I was captured by human scientists and kept in a cage not much bigger than a dog kennel for three years while they would run experiments on me. They would pump me full of chemicals that made me sick, they would force me to run on treadmills and fly in wind tunnels until I would black out from exhaustion all while feeding me only enough to keep me alive.

I would watch as they tried to create creatures like me, mixing various chemical and DNA cocktails and using them on any child they could get, human or mythic. Those poor babies would live torturous lives in cages even smaller than mine, they never lasted long.

When they would get a somewhat stable mutation they would shove me into this domed arena with it. They would be frightened and violent, most of the times they would force it to attack me. The only good thing to come out of those fights would be the fact that I would get a substantial meal afterwards.”

“You…”

the look on his face was a mixture of pity and disgust.

“It was survival, and you should know by now that I'm primarily a carnivore, it takes a lot of proteins and nucleic acids to rebuild tissue. i had no other option.”

“Anyway, when I would...finish a fight, my body would naturally start to repair itself of the damage caused by the constant experimentation. When the scientists found out, well they had a new use for me. For the next two years they kept me pumped full of fresh blood and raw meats, kept me bloated like a tick while I was near constantly strapped to their steel operating table. They would cut me open, systematically damaging parts of me with blades acids and toxins just to watch me heal, one time they cut off my right arm it grew back like a starfish over the course of six months. They never tried that one again. Each operation was done without anesthetic, I was completely conscious and even though I couldn't feel much I could oftentimes lift my head and watch myself work. My heart beating, my lungs inflating and deflating with my breath, my guts bloated and churning the gore and ichor they pumped into me to fuel my constant flow of magic. I wanted to kill each and every one of them, I would spend my days dreaming of the most gruesome and creative ways to do it.”

I traced my fingers over the puckered line on my belly. i didn’t want to see the look on his face. he was seeing the monster i really was.

“and one day I did it. While they were preparing for the days procedure I was slowly working my claws over the leather wrist straps as usual. When the head surgeon pressed his scalpel to my chest I pulled as hard as I could and snapped the strap on my left arm, bringing it around to slash four deep furrows in his throat. His blood helped loosen the bonds around my other wrist and ankles and in seconds I was free. They fired at me with tranquilizer rounds but I moved too quickly. Within a few seconds I had ripped out all five of their throats with my teeth and sliced their guts open with my claws. I slammed my fist against the emergency shutdown button as i entered the hallway, It locked all the doors and windows in case of an escape. I was free to move from room to room then, destroying everyone inside and releasing as many viable experiments as possible before I burned the place to the ground. I wouldn't let them harm another innocent child ever again.”

my claws had made bloody crescent moon marks in my palms, i licked them clean before they sealed shut again.

“When I finally made my way back home I was 11. I gave each of the escaped children a home, helping most of them live a comfortable last months. I used the knowledge I picked up to become a better doctor, I understood how the body worked better than I ever had. I could heal people in more natural ways, reserving my magic for only the necessary cases while I passed my knowledge through the communities.”

his voice was careful as he chose his words, i felt his hand brush mine before settling on his lap.

“Ya used your past to find purpose.”

“Yeah, so in a way my scar is more of a badge, a testament to my trials. Mostly I fear what those who don't know my story will think when they see it. Will they see the strength or will they take me for a captive, someone who simply let it happen and became lost from themselves.”

“Ya said my marks reminded ya of war paint… I think your scars work about the same way. They are your battle trophies, each marking a victory.”

I don't know if he was aware of his motions but his fingers trailed over one of the more jagged scars on my arm, trailing from my shoulder clear to the joint of my elbow.

“You had another question?”

“It doesn’ matter.”

After that Raph decided to tuck in and join his brothers basking so i headed for the forest. I needed some time for myself to clear my thoughts.

…

When i flew back to the lake the guys had woke up and were standing at the top of the waterfall, pumping each other up to jump into the water nearly three stories below. Before they could i stalled, setting my trajectory before tucking my wings against my back and falling into a stoop. If only i could have seen their faces when i streaked past, shooting into the water like a bullet.

“What was that!”

“I think it was Elasia!”

“How was she flying so fast, is she ok!”

When my head broke the surface i waved up at the guys, they were knelt over the edge of the clif searching the surface of the lake about 20 meters from where i had surfaced.

“Come on guys! The water’s great!”

I was expecting Leo to be the first to dive but it was Mikey. He took off at a full sprint before throwing himself through the open air, arms thrown wide like the wings of a bird as he seemed to almost float on the wind for a few seconds before dropping into the water like a stone. When he resurfaced his eyes were shimmering with joy and he laughed like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Leo was the next to take the plunge, when he hit the water it was like it refused to splash, hardly rippling as he slipped below the surface. With a few kicks he surfaced and he looked more at peace than i’d ever seen him.

Donnie didn't have his glasses so he and Raph jumped together, crashing into the surface of the water with enough force to throw a tidal wave over the rest of us. Donnie surfaced first, wiping the water out of his eyes.

I was yanked below the surface by my ankle my eyes turning gold as their protective film sharpened my vision in the dark water. A large shape circled me far enough away to be unidentifiable in the shadows, until i spotted a streak of bright red. His eyes were glazed over with white but he nodded as i motioned toward a small cave in the lake floor. We could hear the others slowly starting to get worried by our disappearances before they ventured into the depths.

We got Donnie first, my wings wrapping around him like the flippers of a fierce leviathan while Raph covered his mouth and dragged him into the cave. There was an air pocket inside.

“You two scared the shell of me! Who’s our next target?”

Mikey was next Donnie wrapped him in underwater plants, adding grabbing tentacles to our false leviathan, his bubbly scream alerted Leo. we would have to work hard to get him.

Leo seemed like he was able to feel the smallest disturbance in the water, avoiding us with ease, but also working himself into one of the lake’s narrow inlets. We had him trapped.

I spread my wings in the water making a shadow that could suggest the spread jaws of our next leviathan. Raph, Donnie, and mikey stayed close to build the bulk of the body, using plants to add twisted limbs and tentacles. The look on leo’s face shifted from horror to determination as he moved to ready himself for combat, fully prepared to fight to the death if need be. With the first swipe however the water seemed to respond to his movement in triple, a strong current of water knocking the breath out of our lungs and breaking our leviathan apart as we were forced out of the lake.

“What in the hell was that!”

“Leo just water bended our asses out of the lake!”

When the turtle in question followed us out of the depths his eyes were wide, both because he had realized our ruse and because of what he had just done. He kept glancing between where the four of us were piled on the bank and his own hands.

“How did I just…”

I choked out his answer around the torrent of water i was coughing from my lungs, being the head of the beast i had gotten the brunt of the attack.

“Undine, only the undine would be able to manipulate the element of water in such a way.”

Leo looked at me like i had just said he was going to grow another head.

“There are four, elemental spirits, They are mythical guardians, creatures that can control the chaotic energies of the universal core elements. Undine is the element of water, sylph is air, golem is the stone of the earth, and salamander is fire. There haven't been reports of the elementals living in flesh for millenia, even before my time they were regarded as mythology amongst my people.”

Having caught my breath i stood, pushing past the younger three as they guarded me with wide eyes and shocked expressions. I approached leo and he pulled back from me in fear as i tried to take his hand. I grabbed it anyway turning it over to see his wrist. There marked in deep black, like a tattoo was a simple triangle shape pointing toward his elbow, the alchemical symbol for water.

“I never believed i would live to see it. I've worked with the elements for years, every ritual calling them to protect and guide us back to the sun.”

She ran her fingers over the mark and it glowed bright blue.

You’ve been chosen as the Undine, Leonardo Hamato. Your soul will survive the test of eternity, beginning the closing of the circle in the west as the east had opened it. Your heart and mind will be ever soothed by the ebb flow of the tides of time, your will as formidable as the crashing waves, wearing the stone of impossibility to sand beneath your feet. Be wise in your journey and know that the river is ever carving new paths.”

Leo looked past me at each of his brothers, begging someone to say something in the face of this terrifying new information. He had been blessed, and they hadn't. What would that mean for their family?

The three spoke almost in perfect tandem.

“Turtles First.”

I had a feeling they would be ok.

I let the guys work over the current events as a family, but i knew Raph wasn't going to share the details of his dream. Under the new circumstances it seemed more like a vision. There was a fair amount of squabbling as expected between Raph and Leo, but it seemed more for the sake of squabbling. But then mikey said something that shut everyone up.

“There are four of us, leo had waves on his heart soul thingy, maybe we don't have anything to worry about.”

“We can't bet on that Mikey, until there’s proof we can't go assuming to build false hope. But that doesn't mean going and risking yourselves trying to trigger anything. This was a fluke, an accident.”

…

It wasn't an isolated occurance.