#Mud Dogz | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

twignotstick · 2 months ago

Text

Mud Dogz - How to be Homeless 🏚️

Warnings (if there's anything I should add here, tell me please!): homelessness (as if that wasn't already obvious), eating thrown out food, violence involving children, fire, happy ending [More spoilery tags at the end! This story doesn't get too dark, but read at your own risk!]

Words: 7,440

Summary: Eight year old Daniel Tesseau, who would one day become the infamous Dastardly Danny, runs away from his family after finding out about their criminal business. However, living on the streets isn't as easy as he first believed. Can he earn the trust of an unlikely ally to survive?

Notes: This is the first fic of my Mud Dogz AU! The goal of this AU is to expand on the many questions left unanswered by the Hidden City in ROTTMNT, specifically following the lives of the Mud Dogz before, during, and after canon. I hope you enjoy!

----------------------

For the first time in his life, Daniel Tesseau had no idea what he was doing.

He had done all the research he could. He read countless books, even some from the surface. He had packed his bag to the brim with filling, easy to carry food and other necessities.

And yet, only a week after running away, he had no idea what he was going to do.

He knew that, in the end, this would be better than staying with his family. He didn't want to be what they wanted him to be. Ever since, two weeks before his great escape, his mother had told him about what he was destined to become.

He had known that his family was composed of powerful mages. He, himself, was one. He knew that they specialized in enchanting artifacts. They had a nice shop, too! He just hadn't known about their underground dealings with one of the most dangerous people in the Hidden City, and their history of selling dangerous things to dangerous people.

When his mother finally showed him the terrible, besmirched inheritance he was set to overtake, and set to start involving himself in scarily soon, he knew he had to leave.

So here he was. three weeks after his world fell apart, one week after he left his broken world; sitting in an alleyway, contemplating whether or not he should try dumpster diving.

Daniel knew he needed to eat. He could potentially go for longer without food, but he had already proven that his reaction time and street skills weren't the greatest in a less than fortunate encounter with some birds. If he didn't keep his body in the best shape he could, he wouldn't stand a chance on the streets.

He glared at the dumpster like it owed him money. The smell was utterly awful to Daniel's heightened senses, but he knew statistically that there had to be something salvageable in there. It just might take some… digging. The thought made him want to gag, but his stomach was too shallow to risk that.

“Why are you in my spot?”

Daniel flinched at the voice that appeared at his side. He looked over to see a green skinned yokai around his age with a large nose and unkempt, black hair. He had a strip of light blue fabric struggling to keep the hair from his face, and a tank top seemingly made of the same material. A pair of baggy brown pants hung around his waist, held up by a piece of rope tied into a sloppy knot slipped through the belt straps. He had a single tusk showing through his grimace.

“Dang, with ears that big, you'd figure you hear me fine.” The green yokai leaned down to get closer to Daniel's eyeline. “What are you doing at my dumpster?” He asked, slowly emphasizing each word.

Daniel's eyes widened and he struggled to stand. “O-oh, is this your building?” He stuttered. “I can go if you-”

“No, it's not my building. It's my dumpster. Now go away before I make you.” The yokai grabbed the lid of the dumpster and flung it open, leaning over to dig around inside.

Oh. So he had the same idea.

Daniel watched the kid, obviously already experienced in this, open a trash bag and start digging. He threw a good amount of napkins to the side before coming up with what he was looking for.

A greasy pizza crust.

He took a bite and glared back over at Daniel. “Well?” He asked, raising a bald eyebrow. “I said scram. Go back to whatever rich people convention you came from.”

Daniel looked down at his clothes. He had almost completely forgotten that he wore some of his most comfortable clothes when he ran. He had a purple sweater vest over a soft off white undershirt, and his most casual dress pants. He basically didn't own anything less fancy.

“I didn't come from a ‘rich person convention’. That isn't a thing. You sound stupid.” Daniel crossed his arms and stared back at the boy.

The yokai's eyebrow rose higher. “Why are you here, then?”

Daniel rubbed his heel into the floor, deciding what information he should tell this complete stranger. “I'm… on a mission. From my family. T-to prove my worth without my magic.”

“Here?” The boy questioned, leaning back into the dumpster to dig out another crust. “This place is the pits. Why would you come out here?”

“B-because it's the best place to prove myself, obviously!” Daniel tensed his shoulders, seriously contemplating jumping in the dumpster to find anything to get rid of this terrible hunger in his gut. “It's better to prove yourself in a tough situation, not an easy one.”

“You don't look like you're ‘proving yourself’ that good. You look like a runaway.”

Daniel's ears flipped up and his tail straightened. “I-I'm not a runaway! I didn't run away! You can't prove that! O-only stupid kids run away from their family!”

“Woah, man, chill out!” The kid backed out of the dumpster to better look at Daniel. “I'm a runaway, I get it.”

Daniel sucked in a gasp. “Oh.” Daniel dug his heel harder. “Sorry. I didn't mean that. Runaways aren't stupid.”

The yokai laughed. “Eh, it's alright. We're all a little stupid.” He glanced from the dumpster back to Daniel. “Are you hungry?”

Daniel grabbed his tail to fidget with. He nodded just a bit, looking away.

“Here!” The yokai reached back into the dumpster and tossed a pizza crust into Daniel's hands. Daniel fumbled to catch it, but managed to do so. “I'm Leonard.”

Taking a small bite of the slightly stale and weird smelling crust and holding back a pout, Daniel responded, “Thank you.”

Leonard watched Daniel uncomfortably eat. “Y'know, when someone tells you their name, you should usually tell them yours.”

Daniel quickly finished the crust, forcing himself to swallow the last of it. The aftertaste wasn't great, but it was good to have something more on his stomach. “Uh,” he mumbled, “I'm Daniel. Daniel Tesseau.”

“Daniel? Cool!” Leonard walked over to him, stopping just a bit away. “Why'd you run away?”

“None of your business.”

Leonard's face flattened at the sudden aggression. “Oookay.” He looked Daniel over before gasping. “You're like, a literal street rat!”

“Wha-” Daniel scoffed. “I'm not a rat, I'm a yokai. Just like you are. I'm just a rat-like yokai. What kind of yokai are you supposed to be, anyway?”

“I'm an ogre. Obviously.”

Daniel squinted at him. Sure, he had the green skin, the pointy teeth, the offensively big nose, but something was wrong.

“Why are you so skinny, then?”

Leonard puffed out his chest and crossed his arms, pushing his biceps to make them look bigger. “You're one to talk! Y-you look like you can't even lift five pounds!”

“Anyone can lift five pounds.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-huh!”

“What about babies?”

Daniel paused. “Okay. You have a point. But I'm not a baby. I'm almost eight.”

“Hey, me too!” Leonard grinned. He glanced back at the dumpster, then at the sky. “I should probably get going. I've got something I need to do. Seeya around, Danny!”

“It's Daniel.”

“...uh, okay. Bye ‘Daniel’.”

“W-wait!” Daniel held up a hand just as Leonard started to turn to leave. “Uhm,” he swallowed, “how long have you been a runaway?”

Leonard took a second to think, scrunching his face. “Uh, I think I was almost six? So…a year?”

“...that's two years.”

“Oh! Guess I lost track of time. Two years, then.”

Daniel took in Leonard's appearance one last time. He was skinny for an ogre, sure, but he still had a good amount of muscle mass. He looked like he ate well. He looked (relatively) clean.

He was experienced.

Daniel breathed deeply. “Well, Leonard, I hate to ask this of you, but I must admit to my desperation. I have only been… a runaway for a week, and I've discovered that I do not yet have the skills required. I need help learning just how to survive out here without the aid of my magic, as I refuse to use it.”

Leonard squinted. “Are you…” Leonard chuckled. “Are you asking me to teach you how to be homeless?”

If Daniel wasn't covered in fur, his face would have become flushed. The twitch in his ears and tail was telling enough. “N-no,” he stuttered, “I'm just asking you to help me learn how to survive on my own without my magic.”

“Or your parents?” Leonard asked slyly.

“...yes.”

“Or your rich people house?”

“...yes, Leonard. I'm proving this to myself. Now will you help me or not?”

“Hmm..” Leonard leaned back on the alley wall, rubbing his chin. “How about this?”

Daniel looked up, his attention fully taken.

“I have a scheme to pull tomorrow. Tomorrow night, same time, meet me here. I'll tell you the details then. If you swear to help me pull it off, then I will promise to give you my money-less wisdom.”

Tapping his toe on the ground, Daniel weighed his options. He could accept Leonard's offer and possibly be getting into way more trouble than he bargained for, or he could refuse and possibly die because he doesn't know how to… be homeless.

Or he could just go home.

“Okay.” Daniel stood straight as he could. “I'll help you enact this… scheme that you're planning. But you have to help me.”

“Sounds good to me!” Leonard patted Daniel's shoulder, causing him to flinch and grab his tail again. “I'll see you tomorrow then, Danny!”

“It's Daniel!”

Leonard was already prancing away.

----------------------

When Leonard returned to the dumpster the next night, he found Daniel standing with his heel dug in the dirt and his tail twisting in his hands. He was side-eyeing the dumpster again, glancing side to side intermittently. Leonard approached more comfortably this time, making sure to make a little noise.

“Hey Daniel!” Leonard greeted. “You ready for the coolest thing ever?”

“Hello, Leonard.” Daniel tried to gather himself and swung his tail behind him. “Uh, I guess? I don't think a ‘scheme’ is exactly the coolest thing ever…”

“It will be!” Leonard almost ran forward to grab Daniel's arm, but stopped when he heard a grumbling sound from Daniel's stomach. He looked Daniel up and down again, asking, “When did you eat last?”

Daniel mumbled something, grabbing his tail again subconsciously.

“Huh?”

“Last night.” Daniel spoke louder, obviously upset by the fact.

Leonard's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. “Do you not like digging in there?” He asked, pointing to the dumpster. Daniel shook his head.

Leonard stood up straight. “That's alright, I'll do it for you!” He jumped onto the dumpster and tossed the lid open, talking as he started to dig. “There's a group that always throws their crusts away that comes once every week. I think they came in yesterday, but I still might find- oo, jackpot!” He hopped back out with a half eaten slice of pizza in his hand. “This works, right?”

Leonard took the way Daniel's eyes lit up hungrily as a “yes” and handed the slice over. Daniel almost took a bite before pausing and ripping the slice in half, holding one half to Leonard. “Oh, I ate before I came,” Leonard said. “You go ahead.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah! You need it more, anyway.”

Daniel started eating, mumbling a “thanks”. Once he was done, Leonard grabbed his arm, shouting, “Come on, I'll fill you in on the way!”

Daniel nearly tripped over his own feet, but eventually the two boys fell into stride. He still felt very uncomfortable about using his talents to help a total stranger, but it was better than going hungry. Leonard tried to make some small talk, but nothing seemed to land right. When they were closer to their destination, Leonard started getting to the point.

“Alright Dan, you're a man with a plan, right?”

“Daniel.”

“...okay. Daniel, you're a maniel with a planiel, right?” Leonard rephrased condescendingly.

“I would say so,” Daniel replied, equally condescending.

Leonard sighed heavily. “Well,” he started, “there's a shop over here that's got a big exchange going on. I want to try to take some of the moolah from right under their noses. I've seen them do exchanges before, but I don't know exactly how to get the cash. Got any ideas?”

Daniel slowed a bit. A robbery? He needs to steal money to earn this kid's trust?

Well, correction.

He needs to steal money to get this kid to teach him how to be homeless.

“...well,” Daniel said, “I'd have to scope out the place first. But if we can somehow make our move during the exchange, then we could have an opening to take some… ‘moolah’.”

Leonard nodded along as he explained the vaguest plan he had ever thought up. “Do we know what they're exchanging?” Daniel asked.

“Nope,” Leonard said bluntly. “She sells meat, though. Mostly fish.”

“Do you know the owner of the shop well?”

“She's some bird yokai, I think. Not too old, so she's probably not blind or whatever.”

“Okay,” Daniel nodded, “and the other party involved?”

“Dunno. She gets stuff from a couple different groups. I've been scoping the place out for a while, and I think I've seen her trade with, like, eight different people?”

“So we have to be ready for anything?”

“Basically. But she always brings the meat and stuff inside and sets it on a table before bringing the money outside, so if you can come up with a good plan, it'll be a breeze!”

Daniel slowed their pace a bit, rubbing his tail in his hands. “Where does the exchange usually happen?”

“At the back door. And there's not really any good windows into the back room where the cash is, I've checked. The building's sorta… split in two.” Leonard tried to illustrate the floorplan with his hands. “It's like, one big room for the shop, and a smaller room where she does all the meat cuttin’. And they always park their big mounts in the back to unload.”

Daniel nodded in understanding. “Okay. So all we'll need is a good spot to wait, and then a good opportunity to slip inside. And then… I guess we'll figure out the way out from there.”

“Sweet!” Leonard pumped his fist. “Slip in, grab the cash, slip out, profit!”

Daniel grabbed his tail tighter, looking to the side to hold in a smile and a giggle. “I guess.”

“Great! Well, here's the spot!” Leonard said, holding his arms out in a grand gesture. They were standing before a shop that could easily be recognized as a butchery, with many advertisements for various meats hanging in the windows. There was, as Leonard had previously mentioned, an emphasis on Hidden City seafood. In addition, there were ads for more exotic, hard to find forms of seafood. It was easy to assume that those were the kinds of things that required a late night exchange.

The storefront was closed, and there was a thin alley that allowed for access to the back. Leonard sidled into it, keeping his back braced to the store wall. Daniel, hesitantly, did the same.

The area behind the building was basically what Daniel expected. The space was pretty open, obviously to make space for any mounts or vehicles carrying heavy cargo. The back of the shop was nothing interesting, just a single door with a few steps in front of it. There weren't even any windows.

Leonard looked over at Daniel, waiting for him to speak. The yokai in question met his look with an exasperated one. “This isn't much to work with.”

“Well, it's what you got.”

“Do you know anything about the inside?”

“...it's a fish store. There's a door behind the desk that goes to the back.” Leonard pointed at the closed door. “That's the back.”

“Do you know what the back looks like?”

“I think there's, like, a table in there. I've never been in there before.”

“So you're useless. Great.”

“Hey, you didn't think I was useless when you asked me for help!”

Daniel was adequately silenced by the accusation.

He turned back to look at the space, noticing a small movement above. The movement got closer, forming into the shape of a large flying creature. It looked to be a dragon-like creature, though on the chubbier side, and seemed to be turning around in the air. Tailing behind it was a carriage, with the back corners being held up by two gargoyles. As the dragon turned and put the carriage facing where Daniel and Leonard were, it became obvious where they were landing.

Right behind the butchery.

The boys ducked down out of sight behind a trash can. The carriage landed slightly before the dragon, both with loud thuds. Daniel could feel the rumbling of the dragon's throat in his chest.

There was the sound of a latch opening in the carriage, and two tall, muscle-covered yokai, who had the features of bulldogs, came through the doors of the carriage. The gargoyles who were previously lifting the carriage flew inside the open doors. One of the bulldogs was wearing thick rubber gloves and carrying something. A strange chittering noise was coming from it.

The back door of the shop opened shortly after, and a bird yokai walked through. The bird was feminine, with bluish black and gray feathers and light blue eyes. Her hands and feet bore sharp talons. She wore black pants and a matching black jacket, with an apron hanging over her front.

The bird yokai looked mildly upset by what the taller bulldog yokai was holding. “What is that supposed to be?”

“Your catch,” the yokai grumbled, dropping what he had on the ground forcefully. The chittering became eerily childlike screaming.

On the ground, writhing from the force he had been dropped with, was a very small eel yokai. He looked so young, nearing infantile, and the sounds he was making were some strange mix of chittering and squealing. He was orange and a light teal, with freckles across his snout, spots on his body, and short, teal fins. Leonard and Daniel had to cover their mouths to keep from gasping and revealing their location.

“Can it,” the shorter bulldog growled, as he stomped on the eel's tail. The eel squeaked loudly from the impact, but his squealing quickly lessened to whimpering.

“This isn't what I sent you to get,” the bird yokai stated calmly. “I wanted three adults.”

“There were only two adults there,” the first bulldog grumbled, “and they put up more of a fight than you warned us about. Mari’s been knocked out for four hours. So give us our money.”

“Money?” The bird yokai laughed lightly. “That thing's a baby, it hardly even counts as one. I told you to get me three.”

“We risked our lives for this one, Koya!” The dog stepped forward, stepping on the eel's tail and making it scream again. “We aren't leaving until we get paid!”

The bird, Koya, tried to respond, but the eel kept screaming, slamming his fins against his attacker's foot. His screaming reached a peak, and a bright flash and loud zap emanated from him. When the light died down, the dog yokai was curled on the ground, and the eel was desperately pulling himself away, crying weakly.

Koya stepped up to the crying child and looked down on him scornfully. With hardly any effort, she reached down and grabbed the eel's tail, holding him up in the air. He had no more energy to fight, so he just dangled there like a wet rag, panting and shaking. Koya glared into him.

“You will get paid half,” she said to the yokai on the ground, not looking away from her prey. “500 unicorns, that's it. And you should thank me for being generous.”

The bird slowly walked into the building and to a tank filled with water, just barely visible from Daniel and Leonard's perspective, and dropped the eel in, watching it steadily drift to the bottom. His eyes were half lidded. She turned around and walked back out of the building, kicking the shaking bulldog still on the ground. “Get away from my shop before I change my mind.”

The second bulldog yokai helped the first stand up and walk back to their carriage. The gargoyles reemerged and the dragon flapped its wings, lifting the carriage into the sky and away. Leonard and Daniel made sure they hid completely. Only after the shop door shut behind Koya did Daniel realize.

“No!” He whispered, grabbing his ears. “We totally lost our shot!”

“‘Lost our shot’?!” Leonard hissed. “That's what you're worried about?”

“Well…” Daniel hesitated. “...yeah? You said-”

“Yeah yeah yeah, I said I'd help you out if you helped me, but there's bigger problems now!” Leonard started leaning around, searching for some other way to look inside. “This isn't just a freaky meat shop anymore, they're kidnapping people! We need to get that kid out.”

“Woah, that's way more complicated than just grabbing some money and leaving!” Daniel grabbed Leonard's shoulder to get his attention, earning a somewhat intimidating child's glare. Easily the scariest one he'd ever seen. “You said you'd help me if we could pull off a robbery, not a rescue mission.”

“Well, now I won't help unless we can pull off a rescue mission,” Leonard pressed snidely. “And if you don't help, I'll save him myself.”

Daniel scoffed at the disrespect. “You lied!”

“No I didn't! I just…” Leonard contemplated for a second, then sighed. “Things are different now. We can't just do nothing. That's a kid, he looked younger than us!”

Daniel shut his mouth to think. He needed Leonard's help to live on his own, but this was a big job. It would require making a whole new plan, and figuring out another way in.

“Please, Daniel.”

Something stirred.

“Fine,” Daniel conceded. “But only if you promise to help me regardless of if we actually save the kid or not.”

“Deal.” Leonard spat on his hand and held it out. Daniel stared.

“I'm not shaking your gross spit-covered hand.”

“You want me to be honest? This is me being honest.”

“You're being unsanitary.”

“Ugh, what is up with your-”

The sound of a door opening stopped their arguing abruptly, and Leonard grabbed Daniel to pull him back into their hiding place.

“EW!” Daniel screamed, as quietly as he could.

“Oh, get over it! I think you'd per-fer a little germs over getting tossed in a cage!”

“...it's pre-fer.”

“Ugh.”

Koya stepped out of the door again, holding a trash bag. She tossed it to the side of the door, on top of a couple others. She then re-entered the building, shutting the door behind her once more.

After a couple seconds had passed and the boys were sure the bird was gone, they crept out again. Looking at Leonard and feeling safe enough to stop whispering, Daniel said, “I trust your word this time. No need for gross spit pacts.”

“Basically just did one.” Leonard smirked.

“Nope, nuh-uh, not thinking about that,” Daniel said, wiping his arm clean and using just a little magic to be sure.

“Yeah, sure,” Leonard said, rolling his eyes. “You got a new plan?”

Daniel rubbed his chin in thought. “When does she usually get deliveries like this?”

“Every couple days, but she's stocked up good right now, so it'll probably be a while.”

“He might not have that long…”

“W-what?!”

“SHH!!” Daniel rushed to cover Leonard's mouth and push him further into hiding, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one saw them.

“Sorry, sorry, what do you mean?” Leonard asked, lightly pushing Daniel off.

Sighing, Daniel loosened. “When I peeked at the inside, she had display tanks for live fish, and a separate display for dead fish.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Why do you think she has a separate tank in the back? With nothing in it? That tank is for the stuff that's about to be dead.”

Leonard looked almost offended. “You really think she's gonna kill him, just like that?”

“What else would she do? You do know that birds eat fish, right?”

“You think she's gonna eat him?”

“I don't know, maybe she owns a butcher shop!?”

Leonard backed up a bit. “You have a point.”

“Of course I do, I always do,” Daniel mumbled. “Whatever. Look, the point is, if that kid is going to stand a chance, we need to get into that place pronto. And, unless bird lady feels like taking out more trash, the backdoor isn't an option anymore.”

Leonard scrunched up his face uncomfortably, obviously trying to make him look like he was thinking more deeply than he truly was. “Maybe we could just… go through the front?”

“Oh yeah, go through the front,” Daniel said. “In case you've forgotten, the shop's closed. We can't get in until she opens up again in the morning.”

“We aren't supposed to get in…” Leonard said, walking around the building with Daniel close behind. “...but maybe we can!”

“I just-... I just said we couldn't. Are you- are you not listening to me?”

Leonard stepped out onto the sidewalk and stood proudly with his hands on his hips. “We just need a disjunction!”

“...distraction.”

“That's what I said!”

Daniel sighed and pressed his palm to his forehead, looking over at Leonard. “And just what did you have in mind, genius?”

----------------------

“This is a horrible distraction.”

“You're just jealous that I came up with it and you didn't.”

“There is nothing to be jealous of! Why do you have a jar of bugs?!”

“They're not bugs, Danny-”

“Daniel.”

“-they're pixies. They wreck stuff for fun! All we have to do is wriggle through the window, hide in a corner, and let ‘em loose.” Leonard held up the jar of fidgeting fairies. It was nearly the size of his head, and the pixies within were buzzing around rapidly. There were maybe thirty in the jar, but it was hard to count with how fast they were moving.

“And just how did you come to have these pixies?” Daniel questioned.

Leonard moved the jar to hold it under his arm. “I caught them trashing my place. There were like, a ba-jillion of them then, but I was only able to catch these ones.”

“Don't most houses have anti-pixie protections? They shouldn't have been able to get in in the first place.”

Leonard scoffed, mumbling, “Maybe they wouldn't have if it was a house,” and walked up to the slightly ajar window. He obviously hadn't intended Daniel to hear, but with the rat’s keen ears, he did. A slight pang of guilt shocked Daniel's chest, but he did his best to brush it off.

Leonard pushed the window slightly further up, making a good enough opening. “It's a tight squeeze, so don't get your tail caught, street rat,” Leonard mocked as he lifted himself in through the window. It took some shimmying, but he was able to drop down on the tile floor inside with a quiet grunt, picking himself up with his arms.

“Okay, I deserved that.” Daniel hefted himself in the window as well, a little more gracefully. The inside of the shop was scarily silent, though sound could be heard from behind the back door. It sounded like Koya was cutting through something, her knife repeatedly hitting a cutting board. “Where are we hiding, Leonard?” Daniel whispered.

Leonard surveyed the room, his eyes landing on an empty shelf behind the counter. It was just big enough for both of the boys. “Let's go there, fast.” He ushered Daniel over to the spot, simultaneously starting to unscrew the lid of the jar. The pixies became more excited at the possibility of freedom, and were ready to cause problems.

Once Leonard was sure he and Daniel were properly hidden, he released the pixies. They quickly started filling the shop with pink light, knocking things over and attacking the dried meat still left on display. Daniel pulled Leonard further into the shelf instinctively as the noise in the shop became louder. The squeaking laughter of the pixies was grating on the ears.

The backdoor opened with a slam and Koya stepped through, holding a slightly bloodied knife in one hand. She squawked at the sight of the fairies trashing her store. “Wh- How did you get in?! OUT!” She started swinging her knife at the pixies in a fruitless attempt to cut them down. They only laughed louder and started pulling at her feathers.

Leonard and Daniel eyed the open door and looked at each other, nodding. Quickly but quietly, the pair slunk into the back, away from the aggressive bird.

Finally being able to see the entirety of the back room, they took note of the table to their left with meat piled on it. A small oil lamp sat on the corner, illuminating the space where Koya had been working before. With a tightness in their chests, they looked to the tank they'd seen before; sighing in relief.

The eel was still laying at the bottom of the tank. He only looked half awake. When he saw the strangers enter the room, he tried to push himself backward, accidentally pressing his injured tail against the wall and choking on a yelp. It was hard to tell if he had been crying due to a lack of tears, but his eyes looked irritated. He had at least been rubbing them.

Maybe he just wanted to stay awake.

Maybe he was scared he wouldn't wake up again.

Leonard grabbed a chair and pulled it to the side of the tank, using it to pull himself on the edge and look down at the frightened child. “Hi, little guy…” he whispered.

While Leonard spoke with the yokai, Daniel busied himself with making sure the backdoor was ready for them to rush out.

“We're here to get you out, buddy,” Leonard assured. He put his arm in the water, shivering from how cold it was compared to the outside. “J-just grab my arm, buddy, then I'll pull you out.”

“Be careful,” Daniel pressed, getting Leonard's attention. “You saw what he did to that big dude, imagine what he could do to you.”

“He won't, I know it.”

“How?”

Leonard looked back down into the frightened eyes of the eel, seeing all the innocence and fear in them. He was broken, both mentally and physically. He didn't have a clue what was happening.

“...I just do.”

Leonard reached his arm down further into the tank. The eel looked at his hand, examining every finger. After an endless stretch of maybe 10 seconds, he scooted forward slightly and swam up in the tank, flinching from the pain it caused in his tail. He reached out both fins to Leonard's hand-

-and grabbed on tightly, allowing himself to be lifted out.

He yelped as soon as he hit open air. Koya was still occupied, so it didn't really matter, but the pixies’ laughter was dying down. They needed to get out of there.

Leonard dropped off the chair and lowered the kid as slowly as he could, holding under his armpits. His tail hit the floor somewhat heavily, making him wrap his arms around Leonard and stuff his face into his shoulder to muffle a scream. “It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, we're getting you out, we're gonna keep you safe, just hold on,” Leonard consoled hurriedly.

Unfortunately, the kid was a little bigger than expected. He was thin, but his tail- while not adding to his height at all- made him a little heavier than Leonard could easily handle. Leonard tried to grab him where he assumed his waist was to get him into a princess carry, but his skin was too wet to properly grab.

Daniel was listening closely to the sound from the other room, keeping one eye on the door and one eye on Leonard scrambling. The struggle beyond the wall was nearly gone. “We need to move, now.”

Leonard grit his teeth. “Well, a little help would be nice!” He growled.

Daniel sighed, hurrying over to help lift the eel's other end. He had begun making those chittering sounds again. It sounded like he was trying to ask questions.

The boys finally got the eel off the ground and started moving to the exit.

“What do you think you're doing?”

Koya stood silhouetted by the doorway, the knife brandished in her hand. Her eyes held nothing but discontent. The boys stared, stunned in place.

“Let go of my PROPERTY!” Koya screamed, moving forward.

Both boys felt a surge of electricity through their arms. Not enough to knock them out, but just enough to send them falling backwards. The eel flopped to the floor between them, squealing and sobbing.

“Little freak,” Koya hissed, walking over with purpose and grabbing the eel's tail to dangle him above the floor again. “Thought you could call in some favors, did you?”

The eel yokai screamed.

“Let go of him!” Leonard pulled himself off the ground, still keeping a few feet of distance to stay away from the knife in the bird's hand. Daniel was still on the floor, shaking more from fear than the shock.

Koya laughed. “You don't have a clue what's going on, do you?” She clutched the tail tighter, grinning down at Leonard. “You're so cute. You don't even know who this kid is, and yet you're risking your life for him. You don't even have the common self preservation to run when you have the chance. Your rodent friend seems to understand how much danger you're in.”

Leonard looked at Daniel behind him, who looked ready to bolt.

“And you,” Koya said to the eel, holding the knife closer to him, “you will behave. You'll thank me for my generosity. I'm saving you from having to live that pitiful life with your pitiful-”

Ears rang with the strength of the blast.

A burst of electricity, blinding every soul in the room.

Emanating from the eel.

Once they were able to properly see again, Daniel and Leonard found Koya lying on the ground with her knife knocked just out of reach and the smallest flame on one of her feathers. The eel was laying on the ground again, close to motionless. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were fighting to stay open. Mostly losing.

Leonard ran over to the kid. He grabbed his shoulders and tried to lift him up again. “You're gonna get out of here, okay? That was so cool! I can't wait to see what else you can do!”

The eel whimpered a little in response. Without him trying to help, he felt a lot heavier.

Daniel was still frozen. He couldn't bear the thought of moving any closer. Even though Leonard needed help. Even though the threat was on the ground, unconscious.

Not unconscious.

He watched as, unbeknownst to Leonard, the bird rose on her elbows. She shook as she reached out and grabbed her knife. She leaned over Leonard and held the knife high.

Something stirred.

Daniel ran to grab the lamp off the table.

“WATCH OUT!”

The glass of the lamp shattered as it slammed into Koya's shoulder. The small flame that had been on one of her feathers from the blast quickly caught the oil that spilled. She screamed as she tried to bat the fire out, but only caused it to spread.

Leonard was the one frozen in place now. Daniel, filled with adrenaline, slapped him on the shoulder to bring him back to the land of the living. With tight breath, Leonard picked up the eel in a princess carry like he'd been trying to before. Both boys, with their rescue, ran out the door to escape the spreading flames.

They didn't stop running until they were blocks away.

----------------------

“He's still not waking up?”

“N-no,” Leonard wheezed, hefting the body in his arms up again. Their adrenaline had faded, and it was becoming increasingly harder to hold him up. “B-but my place isn't too far! We can lay him down when we get there.”

“Let me,” Daniel said, gesturing for Leonard to put the eel down, to which he gladly complied. Sighing, Daniel conjured the magic within him to lift the eel above the ground.

“Woah…” Leonard stared in awe. “But, didn't you say-”

“-that I didn't want to use my magic anymore, to prove I could live without it?”

“...yeah?”

“This isn't for me.” Daniel smiled at the boy floating in front of them. “It's for him.” His smile dropped a bit as he glanced to the side, mumbling, “And you too, I guess. Cause you clearly couldn't carry him anymore.”

“I coulda!” Leonard refuted, before dropping into a calmer state again. “But… thank you.”

Daniel just smiled. He kept a close pace behind Leonard as he directed Daniel to his place. Apparently, this “place” was a garage. Leonard had to put a lot of effort into lifting the large door open, but he did, and he let Daniel pass with the eel. When Daniel got inside, he was genuinely a bit shocked by what he found.

The garage was dark until Leonard pressed a button on the floor. The button was attached to a string of fairy lights that were strung all around the room. Leonard ran around the garage, flicking on lamps and other small lights. He was climbing over pillows, blankets, and avoided running into a sofa that sat just to the side of the center of the room. There was a cooler to the right, plastic battered and broken in spots, but still effective. To the left, on a rug, piles of paper and pencils. Most of the paper was just crinkled posters, flipped to the back so they could be written on.

In the back of the garage, there was a metal tub. On the side, an embossed design of a pumpkin surrounded by three apples. Sitting beside it were two buckets.

“Can we put him in that tub?” Daniel asked as Leonard flicked on the last lamp. “It might help him heal faster.”

“Oh, uh,” Leonard looked back at the tub. “I should probably change the water first. I used it a couple days ago.”

“How long will that take?”

“Ehhhh, five minutes?” Leonard held his hand out in a shaky gesture. “I have to go out to the fountain, cause all the other water nearby is nasty.”

“Try to go fast. We don't know if he's okay to stay out of water for long,” Daniel said as he laid the eel on the sofa.

“Got it!” Leonard ran and grabbed the buckets by the tub, lifted the garage door again and ran out with a bucket in either hand.

Seeing nothing better to do, Daniel sat up on the sofa with the eel. To fit nicely, he had to lay the boy's head on his lap. He noted then that the eel was shivering a bit, his face scrunched up and jaw grinding. Daniel placed one hand on the eel's chest, and used the other to rub his head. He lightly pushed the teal fin on top to the side, and the eel started to relax. He unconsciously rolled his head so he could rest against Daniel's stomach.

“...you're going be okay. I promise. Me and Leonard are going to take care of you. We're going to make sure you get better. Then we'll figure out where you came from and bring you home.”

He sat and comforted the eel until Leonard came back, signaled by a knock on the metal garage door. Daniel gently slipped out from under the eel and helped hold the door open while Leonard brought the buckets in, full of water. Leonard tipped the tub over, emptying it of all the old water as it drained into the grate in the center of the garage. Daniel found it interesting how perfectly everything was arranged in the room, making sure nothing got wet when the tub was drained.

After Leonard tipped the tub back upright, he emptied both buckets into it. “Do you think it should be hot?” He asked Daniel.

Daniel thought for a moment. “Lukewarm, just a little. He's cold now, and we don't want to hurt him or shock him with hot water.”

“Lukewarm,” Leonard confirmed, getting a nod. “I can do that. Give me a second-” Leonard reached into a bag that was sitting near the wall, pulling out an orange and red mushroom. Daniel felt the mystic energy from it immediately.

Leonard dropped the mushroom into the tub, and it started to glow and dissolve. Daniel looked with a curious expression, which Leonard noticed. “I found a patch a couple months ago where they grow,” he explained. “They make water warm. I usually use a couple when I want a warm bath, so just one should do the trick.”

“...cool,” Daniel whispered as he watched the glow fade, the mushroom fully dissolving. Remembering who it was for, he reached into the tub to check that the temperature was good and used his magic again to lift the eel over to the tub, slowly lowering him in.

“...cool,” Leonard mirrored, watching the sparkles of Daniel's magic dissipate.

“He should be okay to leave there,” Daniel spoke. “He was breathing the water before, so we don't need to worry about keeping his head up. We should keep an eye on him, though. Try to be here when he wakes up, so he knows what's going on.”

Leonard smiled. “Sounds good to me. You can take the couch, I'll be on fish duty.” He started gathering blankets and pillows to put next to the tub. “It's late anyway, so we should sleep.”

“W-well, I-” Daniel hesitated. He didn't want to leave the kid alone, even if he was with Leonard. He wanted to make sure he would be okay, with his own eyes. “-I don't think I can trust you with making sure he's taken care of properly when he wakes. I have to be on fish duty.”

Leonard snorted, seeing through Daniel's excuse. “Alright, how bout we both do fish duty. Your loss on the couch, though, it's really comfy.”

“Yeah, sure,” Daniel said, grabbing some pillows before stopping and looking up at Leonard wide eyed. “Uhm, is it okay if I grab these?” he asked shakily.

“Grab whatever you want,” Leonard chuckled. “Just don't touch the food or the paper. And make sure you set up on this side. In case you didn't notice, that part of the floor is still wet.”

Daniel nodded, grabbing what he could and avoiding the wet spot on the ground. He ended up right next to Leonard, laying on some discarded decorative pillows and a blanket with a clumpy, itchy texture. He hadn't seen anything better, but he was hating the way the blanket grabbed on his fur.

Leonard watched him uncomfortably try to settle before speaking. “Hey, how about you grab that blue bag over there? It's got some mouthwash and water bottles in it. You can go outside and spit it out in the alleyway. And… I dunno, pee probably, cause I don't want you peeing on my stuff in your sleep.”

“Wh- I wouldn't pee on your stuff!” Daniel sat up and walked over to the blue bag Leonard had mentioned. “But I will do as you said, for the sake of sanitation.”

“Thanks,” Leonard said as Daniel went out. Without an audience, he walked around turning off lights, grabbing a small battery powered lamp to keep by the tub.

He leaned over the tub. It was hard to see inside it, but he could still make out the shape of the eel. The eel that they had saved. No- the boy they had saved. The boy who almost had his life put in danger, that he and Daniel had saved.

Daniel had saved Leonard's life too.

Putting one hand into the water to rub the eel's head, Leonard whispered, “You're going to be okay. Whenever you wake up, I'm gonna be here for you.” He paused, thinking, then continued. “Danny's gonna be here for you, too. We'll make sure you're loved, and safe, and you can do whatever you want with your life. I promise.”

Leonard laid back down, tucking himself in. And if he had switched his own comfortable blanket for a clumpy, itchy one, no one would complain.

○●○●○●○

Spoiler warnings: kidnapping, black market trade, dehumanization

This fic will (hopefully) be the first of many. I've had many ideas for the Mud Dogz, as well as other new characters for them to meet! I hope that you will stick around to see everything these funny little guys will get up to. :)

#tmnt #tmnt au #rottmnt #tmnt fanfiction #teenage mutant ninja turtles #save rottmnt #unpause rottmnt #mud dogs #loathsome leonard #malicious mickey #dastardly danny #fanfiction #fanfic #twig writes #mud dogz au

11 notes · View notes