#little leo grew up amongst little green faces so much like his - aside from two glaring red differences

[turtleblogatlast]

I adore the idea of Leo developing a love for glam rock not only because he likes the music but also because of how many glam rock bands had vibrant and extravagant eye makeup - looks that his own red stripes were right at home with.

Like just imagine a little Leo rifling through his dad’s music and choosing to vibe with glam rock specifically because he was like “:0! Like me!:)”

[maine-writes]

Facing the God of Death

Our heroes stood atop the Great Wall, the first and last line of defense for the City of Kera, their iron gaze fixated on the horizon. They numbered only four; Sir Hardin, the stalwart paladin and defender of civilization; Mara, a beautiful elven songblade of the feywild; Leopold, a humble monk of the sun god; and Crunch-Bite, a kobold who was just lucky to count himself among them. 

Hardin’s bright blue eyes caught glimpse of what they were wating for; the shifting, shadowy form of a long-dead god. Once sealed in the form of a young girl, their enemy manipulated them into releasing it into the world. Now it sought out the Eternal Flame, the last physical manifestation of the god of civilization and only remaining link between the heavens and their realm. This was their doing, now it was up to them to undo it. 

The dark form seemed to shift and change shape, below the afterimages was a black form; human-like, but with elongated arms and a mass of writhing tentacles where the legs should be. As it came over the hill, the creature let out a horrible shriek that struck fear into the hearts of all those who heard it, save for the heroes that faced it. 

Two skeletal drakes erupted from the earth beside the dead god; unholy fires burning within their skulls, giving them life. As they spread out their wings, devoid of skin, scale, or feather, a foul stench filled the air, and the undead monstrosities took flight. 

“Remember everyone,” Hardin began, “She must not reach the Eternal Flame. Mara and I will deal with her. Leopold and Crunch-Bite, stay and take down those necro-drakes.” 

“Sure, you two be heroes again.” the kobold remarked, “Leo and I will just be here, ladling punch for the big party after all this.”

“Don’t complain.” Mara chided the little lizard as she ran her hand through her brown hair, “We’re the one’s with the holy weapons.” 

“Weapons we got you.” Crunch-Bite murmured. 

Hardin and Mara jumped down from the wall, falling from several stories high, only for their fall to be slowed by Leopold’s spell. Like feathers floating from the sky, the pair gracefully touched ground. 

Hardin’s gleaming armor beared the symbol of the god of the Eternal Flame, a golden insignia resembling a swirling fire. In his hands, he wielded a great sword, a shimmering red jewel embedded into the hilt. Mara, clad in leather and steel, carried twin blades; short sabres with black blades of unrivaled sharpness. 

As they rushed toward the shifting form, the god raised one of its arms, summoning its undead army from the earth below them. One by one, shambling corpses rose from the ground, like the skeletal drakes before them, with unholy fires burning within them. 

Bathed in golden light, the paladin struck down one of the undead, and then another. Mara, unlike her companion, seemed to dance through the crowd, their forms falling to pieces as she passed by. Although surrounded, they were not outmatched, as the horde slowly fell to their strength. 

“Remember, my friend!” Leopold said to the kobold, “Darkness must always give way to the light!” 

“By that logic, the day must always give way to the night.” Crunch-Bite said. “So yeah, it sounds poetic, but it’s a vicious cycle.” 

The priest grimaced, obviously unamused by the kobold’s deconstruction of his words. As he held his holy symbol up high, rays of golden light radiated out from it. The shining radiance then focused into a single beam, fixated on one of the drakes. A brilliant mote of light, like a flickering star in the night sky, quickly ran down the beam. As it struck the drake, the monster became engulfed in holy fire, leaving nothing but ash falling from the sky. 

“That’s it? That’s the big spell you’ve been saving?.” Crunch-Bite chuckled, popping knuckles, “Let me show you how a dragon deals with drakes.”

The little green lizard gazed up at the other undead drake in the sky, his yellow eyes brimming with determination. A pair of leathery wings erupted from his back, ripping through the cloth of his robe, and he dove from the wall before taking flight. 

As he met the skeletal beast in the sky, the little kobold surrounded himself in a cocoon of swirling fire. The conflagration quickly grew in size before being dissipated into countless flicking motes of fire, with a single dragon with bronze scales in the center of it. 

The dragon quickly grabbed hold of the necro-drake in his great claws, his fierce maw clamping down around the skull of the drake. As the skeleton went limp, the dragon spewed out the bony fragments and released his grip. He flew down to his friend, perching on the stone wall with a pleased smile on his draconic face. 

“Don’t say a word.” Leopold said before the former kobold even opened his mouth. “You wasted your dragon trasnformation on a necro-lich.”

“Worth it.” Crunch-Bite quickly answered. 

At the foot of the wall, Hardin and Mara stood amongst piles of smoldering corpses. They faced the shifting black form approachng them, struggling to catch their breaths. 

“Is that all?” Mara dared, a slight smile curling upon her lip. 

The dead god raised its arm, pointing its palm past the pair. An alien warble warped the air around them, and the wall suddenly exploded, spewing rubble in all directions. 

With not even a second to catch themselves, Crunch-Bite and Leopold toppled down with the wall, crushed beneath the debris and suffocated by the cloud of dust.

“Leo! Kobold!” Mara cried before turning to the undead god. She lunged forward, brandishing her holy weapons. 

But without so much as any visible effort, the god waved its hand, throwing Mara aside with an unseen force. Hardin, shocked with how easily the god fought off the elf, raised his great blade up high, enveloping it in golden light. As he brought the blade down, the shifting form caught it in its twisted claw, and shattered it with relative ease. 

Pain shot through Hardin as the other claw ran through his armor, rending his flesh and bone. The unknowable god drew the paladin closer, cocking its head slightly as if to mock him. 

Suddenly, the god disappeared in a flash of light, and Hardin fell to his knees. As his vision failed him and he was consumed by darkness, he peered into the fading dust cloud where there wall once stood. Lying there was the kobold, returned to his diminuative form, pointing a short length of wood in his direction. Beside him was a scroll, the runes inscribed upon it glowing an ethereal blue. 

He didn’t know what happened. He didn’t understand how. But Hardin felt that he witnessed a miracle; the world was safe, the god was gone, but to where, he did not know. Nor did he care. 

Deep in the feywild, stood a grand castle of elegant marble and shimmering gold. Motes of flickering violet and yellow floated about in the cool air, unwavered by the breeze. Elves in graceful robes of green and white tended to an orchard of ancient trees; the living history of their people. 

There was a bright flash of light, and an ominous wind swept through the orchard. A shifting form appeared amongst the trees, which began to twist and splinter in its presence. 

This was the beginning of the end. 

Another story based on a tabletop adventure! This time; Dungeons & Dragons!

[twilightpony4]

HomeFront: 41. Search For the Promised Land

“I can't believe you took my horse!” Mona exclaimed heartily, trying to keep the stick of kâo ròu from falling into her mouth from which it hang from. It had been a while since they've all gotten back. Miwa had already prepared an easy dinner for the additional four, large teens she was to receive. The boys showed up first after Mona “insisted” she rode her horse back and not Leonardo. This, they've been properly entertained by the older man who used every insulting word to come by to show his disgust of them all showing up. No one really took it to heart and played it off as the old man who's just a little “coo coo in the head”. They gathered around the table, either standing or sitting (giving Miwa and the Ancient One first priority, of course) as they came together, loud in reverie. “What do you guys feed him? He's a bucket full of crazy!” Leo spoke, clearly remembering his experiences with the little cyclone she called a horse. “I prefer free spirited.” She defended with a smile, knowing to the fullest extent how Nan could be a handful. A gathered laugh from the table emerged. “You can fix him to calm him down, right?” The blue banded terrapin took a bite after asking. “He is.” The room quieted. “Yujin is the one not castrated.” A look of shock took over the leader’s face. Nan’s rambunctious cords; cut but don't stop. Then Yujin, intact and gentle. “Whoa.” Was the only response Leo could give them. His priceless expressions created another wave of laughter. “I can't believe you guys drove the plane over here.” Venus exclaimed, chewing as she spoke. The voice she created was too much for Donatello not to mimic back comedically. The turtle girl closed her mouth and smiled but not before giving him a playful shove. He did not retaliate for she was sitting in one of the chairs amongst the older people. She still hurt some and it was best for her to chill out and rest up. It's not everyday you get hit by a stinging, magical mass meant to kill you. “Wasn't easy either.” Vern chimed in on his behalf. His head rose from the two arms placed on the table so he may briefly rest his head there. “I had to dodge either mountain or tree, then avoid crop fields.” He gave himself a little ‘whoo’ for his efforts. With no quicker way to get over in time, they resorted to driving the plane over. Could you imagine? Just watching a plane drive slowly, not at all in the sky, around your village to some unknown destination? “That was an art in itself, especially since I did it with 0 sleep.” A hand of his pushed up against his right eye. Miwa, removed her tea cup from her lips and set it down with both hands. “You are all welcome here for as long as you like.” She offered. “Speak for yourself!” The Ancient One spoke out loud in utter disgust. The heads turned to the little old man who was stuffing his face as he continued talking. “Too many green monkey boys to feed! I needed more food than what we started with!” His sneer was followed by a scowl when he pulled up hit hat that he instead to wear even when he was at the dinner table. Based on the brushed off reactions the native family bore, the rest paid no mind to the grouchy, greedy old man. “Thank you, Miwa, but we promised our father we'd be home as soon as possible.” Explained Donatello. He gripped the top of Venus’ chair tight. “If you are regarding about tomorrow, surely you would like the morning in the village?” She suggested, voice growing higher in pitch along with her sentence. “From what I know, this is the rare chance to walk above ground and interact with people.” Finished with her own meal, the woman rose to collect her trash and offered any others. Raphael and Donatello were the firsts and thanked her when she turned away. “Don't tell me we’re not going to take advantage of that!” It didn't take long for Leo to get a heavy shoulder caused by the pulling hands of Mikey. The little child stuck out a lip and busted out the pleading eyes in order to break him down. There was no need for that as he dusted him off. “We are, we are.” He repeated, nodding his head as he grinned. Leo wouldn't mind another lap around the village before he left anyways. It'd be cool to show his brothers all the things he's seen and were he and Venus had gone. “You children did a wonderful job today.” Miwa complimented as she took away Michelangelo’s plate of oily kabobs. “Khan.” she muttered when she turned away. “Our great friend Khan associated with the likes of them!” she exclaimed in disbelief. She did not want to believe it, but Mona and Venus would not lie about such matters concerning their friends. To think that he had wanted to dictate over them made her uneasy and questioned his every motive and interactions with her and the village people. The latter of the table turned to her direction as she set the plates in the sink to be washed promptly; kabobs discarded in the trash can. “I simply cannot stand the Foot clan! Makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about them.” “Miwa, why do you hate the Foot so much?” She paused and spun around. It came from Leonardo, whose eyes were as seeking as his question. “I mean, I understand the general stance, but you show an utter disgust to them.” Miwa had to think back. It is true, her true colors concerning the Foot were always negative when the children would bring up their whereabouts since they had arrived. The hand-towel hung from a hook on the cabinet was snatched and used to clean off her gentle fingers. “May I tell you children a story?” She asked invitingly, looking into the towel as she asked. A couple glances, but there was no objection She took that as a yes.“My father, Hamato Yoshi, had a pet rat. Her name was Rōzusōn and he loved her like no other. One time, he had bred her, but when she bore, only one had survived. He called him Hehen for the young rat was “a thorn in his side” or, at least his teeth usually sunk into his fingers.” She giggled at the memory. That warm expression of her remembering her father brought a collective smile throughout the family’s faces. “Shortly after, Rōzusōn had fallen ill and passed away. Just as I, he was a ninjutsu master who used his dark arts for good as many urban ninjas now do. For years, he meddled with the Shredder’s plans while he reigned in Japan. One day, he confronted him. I was not there and neither was my mother. Till his death, my father fought to rid of his control on Japan, but had failed. Before Oroku Saki could leave, he spotted the young rat in his cage. He took the grey animal, believing he would make use of him as an experimental intelligence creature and shipped him off to his new domain in New York.” Miwa removed the towel she had dawdled with her hands and hung it on the hook. There was a knowing look about her that directed to each brother. With the fashion of doing so, the four wanted to believe there was some speculation. They looked to one another, silently asking each other what could be meant by that. “It’s not a riddle, stupid monkey boys!” the Ancient One criticized as he got up from the table. He left the room; no further comment and did not put away his dish. Miwa shook her head as the old man left for his nap. All of a sudden, Raphael smiled. He brought it up from the floor and showed it to his brothers. The other three were confused until Donatello had himself an “ah ha!” moment. Not a second passed by shortly after until Leonardo realized. Unfortunately, Michelangelo was still trying to figure it out, replaying it back in his head. Her dad had a rat. “A Thorn in his side”. Shipped to-.” it hit him; big eyes and all. He raised his hands to his head until showing them the gesture of ‘mind blown’. Finally understanding, they were able to share the moment properly. Venus and Mona slowly understood and shared the moment with one another with knowing glances. “Thank you, Miwa.” Leonardo removed himself from behind the chair and approached her by the sink. She knew what was coming as she watched the young one straighten up and leaned over slowly in her honor. “For everything.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. He cranked his neck to see her pleased expression. “Anything for one of my favorite students.” Slowly, Leonardo rose to grin. Miwa really did give him the chance of a lifetime, and now, he was finished with his training. What more can a turtle ask for? Behind Leonardo, a hand raised. The older woman, leaned off to the side to see past Leonardo. Noticing, he stepped aside and also wanted to see what was happening behind him. The hand came from Mona Lisa whose face was blank and expressionless. “But I'm first, right?” She wanted to assure for bragging rights. The table was in another fit of laughter from her joke. For the sake of it, Miwa nodded, but couldn’t contain her giggles. One would have no idea how good it felt to be at this dinner table. “Ready to go back to NYC?” Michelangelo pushed Donatello away some to get to Venus. He squatted by her side, using hind hand to grip the top of the chair to keep him from falling on his shell. The action frightened her, but for a moment. “We've got some pretty cool surprises waiting back home.” “Oh, no. What is it?” The blue banded terrapin asked in regret. “Gonna have to find that out for yourself!” Michelangelo winked, but that brought no ease to the older brother for he anticipated a groan for later on. Venus, on the other hand, wasn’t looking so easy. Her body weight shifted on the chair and kept her eye contact to the ground. “I’ve been thinking…” the female terrapin drifted off, deciding whether or not she wanted to admit to them. “I have to stay.” The breaths at the table were held in. Maybe this was a mechanism to hear her better for surely they didn’t hear her right. Did they? The air grew awkward from the stillness up till a point where Raphael had to break the silence. “Venus, if you don't want to leave-.” “No! Heavens no! I'm ready to go back to New York!” She cried; now, a collective sigh of relief. Donatello leaned over the top of the chair to catch an angle of her face. “What's keeping you?” “The Wizards Council.” she breathed, quite tired. Her wounds were taking a toll on her. “Khan is right. It's dying with Chung I and even more so with Khan in absence.” A hefty breath escaped her lungs. Donatello placed his hands on top of her shoulders in exchange from the chair. Michelangelo proceeded similarly, placing a hand atop her knee. The female terrapin grinned from the kind gestures. “It'd be only fair if I stay to sort things out. I am the daughter of Chung I, it is my duty.” Her explanation was thorough and sensible. She was trained personally by the great master. Surely, she will find a way. But, of course the brothers (and sensei) would dislike the idea of losing their gentle sister for a while longer. Alas, she has a responsibility and not one was to get in her way. Meanwhile, Mona was thinking up an idea of her own. “Well, if that's the case, then I'm staying too!” Mona offered. Venus turned quickly towards her sister. “Mona, you have no obligation to stay. You aren't a magician.” “But as Chung I’s other daughter, I say I do.” Her offer was firm and proud with a look to match. Venus couldn't argue with that. In fact, it will be fun to have her sister here to relieve and create new memories. The turtle girl grinned, and soon, the lizard lady copied. “Aw!” The sudden loudness coming from the youngest turtle caused a jumpscare at the table. “How long y'all gonna stay here?” he groaned. “Not too long.” “Just enough time to get these old guys in line.” Mona elaborated playfully. The orange clad terrapin immediately tensed up. Then, he relaxed as he lifted a knowing brow and lifted up a hand to snap with. “Okay ladies now let's get in formation!” he sang, moving his hand rhythmically with his snaps. “Exactly!” Mona pointed out. To further his act, he lifted up a ‘wait’ finger and patted his body, looking for something. “I got some got hot sauce in my bag.” he said as he kept looking for the imaginary bag. “Swag.” Raphael nodded across the table. “Hot sauce?” Leonardo asked the next oldest. “You missed out, bro.” was the only explanation he could give him. Although confused and usually wishing to seek out an answer, Leonardo just couldn’t this time. So many secrets, so much sleep needed. “I'm down for the count.” he put his hands up in surrender. They did notice his eyes were half closed and he appeared less animated at the table. Saluting them first, he turned and sought out to head back to the house in which he stayed in. “What do you mean? I'm all types of awake!” Mikey stood up, trying not to use Venus’ knee as his push-off. He lifted his big arms, stretching them out wide. Leo turned, pointing at the ground with both of his hands as he walked slowly backwards. “Nighttime here. Darkness. Chinese people sleep at this hour.” he replied flatly and smartly. His younger brother had a realization and dropped the matter quickly. “And so does the Falcon.” Vern rose. Upon standing, he yawned, but tried to keep it quiet to be polite to his hosts. “I'll lead you to one of our guest rooms.” Miwa pressed a hand behind his back to gently guide him away from the kitchen light. When they passed Leo from the entryway, he eyed them until disappearing into one of the hallways. “Falcon?” His brow was raised and pointed a thumb in their direction. Donatello waved him off. “We’ll tell you when we’re on the plane.” that sounded like a groan to him. Surely, it’s something stupid Vern came up with. One more mystery he’ll have to figure out for later. “No reason to be awake now. I'm going to try to fall asleep or something. Care to join?” He asked the remaining family members. Venus nodded. He offered a hand and she graciously put hers on top of it. The girl couldn’t help feeling like an elderly woman as her body rose slowly with the aid of the kind boy. Still sore, he held her up as she explained where they were to go. With a ways to go, it was best that they should get going. “Not quite.” Mona pushed off the chair she stood behind. “I want to see my colt.” Quickly, she made an exit to the back door where her gelding and the stallion were tied to a tie bar for the night. “Right behind you.” Raphael pushed in his chair and followed out back. He slammed the old door behind him, sending a ring throughout the room. The only ones left were the three youngest of the bunch. “You guys can hang with me in my room tonight.” She offered. Donatello nodded, not quite sure how to respond but focused his energy on getting her home. He knew that she hated to feel helpless and weak, so carrying her was off the table. Before they could leave the Wu Kwan, Michelangelo impatiently tapped on his brother’s shoulder. Unable to turn around completely for Venus’ sake, he only turned his head. “You wanna be my snuggle buddy?” the young one asked childishly. The purple clad terrapin remained silent; his expression blank as he carried on moving his best friend through the door. “Is that a ‘yes’?” There was no light outside. The subtle glow of the village’s lanterns kept the landscape around them from being utter darkness. Miwa had lit some lanterns on the back porch, yet they could only outline the bodies of the tied animals and show a reflection in their eyes. Raphael was just taking a seat on an empty space of the bar when Mona hopped on Nan. Although bareback, the horse recognized her voice and touch and allowed her to sit atop his back. He shuffled in his spot as she leaned over, placing her head on the side of his neck and stretching her legs and tail out until they hung off the back of his hindquarters. His smell, his warmth and fur, hearing his heartbeat eased her and took her to another planet as she lay there. Raphael hung out in the silence, not wanting to spoil the moment with his voice. He knew darn well how much being with this animal meant to her. He simply enjoyed watching her take it all in being home and with everything she knew once more. “It's going to suck having to leave everything again, especially my little cherry bay baby!” Loving hands caressed the furrows cheek of the wild beast. It snorted, lifting its head to a high position as she scratched him. The lizard girl giggled at her pet’s reactions and had to move her head in respect to his own. He's never changed. “Not really.” He spoke uneasily. Good thing she really couldn’t see his face. “Sure, he'll be in my heart and all that…. Blah, blah, blah!” “No. Mikey and I found that picture of him in your room.” At the moment, he could feel the silence as well as a look that showed ‘YALL WERE IN MY ROOM?!?’ was surely there, in which he made his explanation quick. “We made a few calls and now, they're ready to go. When you leave, or course.” “What do you mean?” she pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Jamboree cow horses. April made arrangements for them to stay there. They're a family friend and the closest neighbors to her family estate. Full visitation rights and use. If Venus would allow it, they'd like to use Yujin as a stud. Of course, you can't use Nan, as we learned earlier, which would be a bummer.” he chuckled, pointing at the wild spirit who was on his better behaviors. “Yeah,” She sighed agreeably. “we don't need any more ponies like you out in the world.” a loving pat on his shoulder brought no objection from the animal. She slid off his side and went in to engulf the base of his neck into her arms.“But I love you all the same.” Mona assured him, though he lifted his head up again when she squeezed. Anticipating any further antics, she immediately let go, giggling. “Thank you so much, Raphael!” Mona quickly trotted up to the turtle to squeeze him herself. He almost fell backwards, but was quick to tighten his grip around the bars to keep himself up. “You have no idea how much this means to me!” She spoke on his shoulder. Although he couldn’t hug her back, she could feel the love in his relaxed posture as time went on. “Uh… um… Mona?” “Hm?” She released him. His hands relaxed when he was able to regain balance on the bar. “About the ride over here…” His voice trailed off, as well as his gaze. A nervus scratch of the neck confirmed such allegations. “Why did you do that?” She cocked her head to the side, or he could tell in the little light they had. “Knock you out a few times?” she finished the thought. “What! A few times?!” He exploded. “Hush! What about it?” She dismissed him due to the hour of the night and to get to his point quicker. “Why did you do that?” he paused. “Knock me out a couple times?” Mona Lisa shrugged, turning to go back to her horse. “Who needs to know?” Her voice was flowy and unsuspecting as she went to smooth the hindquarters of the cherry bay animal. “Surely your brothers would use that type of information against you.” “What?” Did she have to spell it out? “You're afraid of heights.” “Nope, not afraid.” He shook his head violently, wanting to get such a thought out of both of their heads. “It's flying. And...the heights that come with it.” He played. She had him, and there was no way to hide it. Having caught in a corner, the two laughed it off for a short period. “You did it because you didn't want the guys to blackmail me?” “We already give you a tough time. No need to add to the list.” “That's decent, Mona.” “I know.” A cocky smile and tilt of the head as she smoothed her horse over. “Besides, you're not always the big brute of the clan. You just stand out a little more. Big bodied, big voice.” He was standing up now. Raphael shook his head and his arms as he approached her. Did she really just say that? About muah? “We're not talking about screamin’ matches ‘cause if I remember correctly, you're the one yelling all the time.” He cleared his throat to create a higher pitched sound. “‘Oh my gosh! Donnie, again with the pop tarts?! Leo! Stop letting the kettle whistle! Mikey! If you drop another piece of food and leave it there you're gonna end up missing!’” he joked (although it was plenty truthful). The lizard lady dropped her jaw in disbelief. “I don't say that!” She defended herself, combing her fingers through Nan’s mane. “I said ‘you'll never be found again!’”. She added, laughing at herself. A sigh escaped her lips, as well as Raphael’s. It had been a long night, but hanging out here proved relaxing (despite the short term yelling). “Remember when we used to have little screaming matches?” her voice mellowed out with the quiet night. “How can I forget? I was accused of having a baby with you.” He relived the memory, the painful memory of being in the hasi for absolutely nothing. Totally not cool, Splinter. Slowly, he approached the two. Wanting to get the feel of the fellow, he outstretched a careful hand. After hearing how wild he was, he was cautious as to how and where he was to place his hand. If all goes wrong, his legs were ready to bound out of there. Each second, he struggled to when he could do it and didn't have enough bravery to carry through. Tired of waiting for the action, Mona took the matters into her own hands by taking his. She gripped his wrist evenly and pressed it against the horse’s skin. Once there, she let him go feel for himself. The horse did nothing, much to his relief. His courage gathered up quickly as he began to rub and scratch along the animal’s side. “Yeah, that was messed up of them.” Mona agreed. “Feels like a long time ago.” “We've gone a long way. Now we’re just kicking it, with psycho-pony over here.” She patted him on the neck, but with love of course. When she stopped, so did the sound in the world. Crickets were off at a distance despite the long tall grasses that surrounded them. “I'm really gonna miss you, Raph.” she admitted. Being with Venus again was going to be wonderful, but of all the fun things she had done with her three brothers, and he especially, it’ll be just as bad as missing Venus. The red clad turtle smirked, but it was quite genuine. If you could see in the light, it was actually his reaction to blushing. “Can I say one more thing?” he asked. “No one’s stopping you.” “I just figured, you know…” His hands kept moving along the horse’s back to keep him together. “Since we’ll be apart it'll give you some time to think it over and not be pressured by this.” Pressured. Oh, boy. What’s this turtle up to? “Yes?” Mona asked, encouraging him to go on. He put his eyes to the ground. It was so quiet she can hear the gulp going down his throat. “Mona…” “All aboard the Falcon express!” Vern hollered for all of China to hear. The gang had returned from their little tour of the village until it came time to head back home. At the moment, the family was in the field in which the airplane was parked. “Hey! If anybody's gonna be naming stuff, it's gonna be me!” Michelangelo yelled back in defiance. “Just tell us when and what plane you guys are boarding. They'll take the horses and you guys can stay with them instead of the cargo hold if you want.” Raphael explained to Mona Lisa, to whom they were saying their goodbyes to. “Thank you, Raphael.” She smiled, then reached out to hug him. No longer on a rail, he was able to use his arms to wrap around her body. “I'll miss you.” “Bringing the horses was my idea too!” Michelangelo ripped their hug apart for his own selfish purposes. His older brother scowled, but Mona took him in open arms. “Of course, I couldn't forget Michelangelo!” She treated him like a child, but he could not deny. He stretched out his arms wide and scooped up the lizard girl in loving embrace. She squeaked at the sudden gesture, but could only shrug when she saw that loving face below her. “You can touch all my magazines, just don't mess them up.” She petted his bald head until he brought her back to the ground. “You got it chief!” He saluted. Mona returned it, skeptically, but let it slide for it was the typical behaviors of her littlest brother. Soon, his eyes looked for someone else. “Where's the other Sista?” “I got her first!” Donatello announced before Mikey could tear them apart. The next morning, Venus was better off’ no longer needing the support, but still slow at the walk. The turtle took the precautionary measures by holding both of her hands as he clown around with her with questions. “When Evil gangs try to take over China again, what do we do?” He asked like a father quizzing their young child. Venus giggled, then composed herself to answer rhythmically. “Call the family.” “That's my girl!” Donnie praised her. Unable to give her a hug, he found the kind gesture of placing a kiss upon her hand suiting enough. The turtle girl blushed for she had never experienced the gesture herself. It was cute. “Until next time, Venus. I have some new projects you'll be excited to come back to.” “Can't wait. I hate to be leaving you again. I just got my best friend back.” her tone was dreary and upset. To fix the mood, Donnie pretended to sound choked up. “It's one of those long distance relationships that got to work.” Venus couldn’t keep a straight face with that act. “You'll stay strong?” Eventually, she had to become indifferent to match his tone with her answer. “Yeah, yeah I think so.” That straight face did not last long when she burst into a fit of laughter. She squeezed his hand. “Later, Donnie.” “Later, V.” The two released their grip on one another. As he went up the plane’s stairs, he took a second to look behind him. Venus waved with a raised hand. He returned the favor until being forced into the plane by the other two brothers behind him. The last of them had his belongings on his back. Having finished his goodbyes with everyone else, now it was the time to say farewell to his travelling companion. Venus could hear him due to the sounds of the pack on his back. “This is it. Ready to go back home?” she asked with a grin. Leonardo took a deep breath. “I can't wait to show Sensei everything Miwa had taught me.” He turned to face her. He couldn’t touch her, but he could touch her with words. “Thank you so much for coming along with me.” “Thank you. You've brought me back to my memories and now I have newer ones with my extended family.” That smile, so genuine and true. Leonardo could not just leave it like that. She wanted her to smile for another reason, or so he hoped she would. “Since I'll be across the world and all, I just… There's been something I've been wanting to tell you since we've been together these past few months.” He stopped. “I just hope this doesn't turn you away-.” A finger pressed upon his lips, silencing him. “A tale for next time. Your pilot is waiting.” Venus reminded him. He did not know what to do, but he knew there was some speculation in the air. Without a word, he nodded and turned away to board the plane. The engine had been revving up as the others boarded. Mona came up from behind her sister. Both shared lovely smiles with one another. Donatello and Vern waved from their higher nests until the plane began to roll forward. Passing by, the three other brothers made their faces clear in the windows by waving. You can see Michelangelo, being the silly goofball he is by making facing; Leonardo, simply waving away; Raphael, who was no longer as afraid of flying as he had, waved timidly. Mona lifted her arm and presented him her bicep. ‘Be Strong’ was her message to him. The red clad turtle nodded in the time remaining to watch the girls before they rolled by. Before the jets could pass them, the girl made their distance away from the aircraft. Both sisters held onto one another as they watched the plane roll into the grass. Soon, it lifted off the ground, carrying away the wonderful bunch off and over the chinese mountains in search of American soil once more. The place where it all began. Book 3: Olá Americano… Turtle?