[A human is standing in the lairs, looking around. She seems lost]
( @gl-carol-oneil )
*She stared at the human in the lair before running off to tello (trouble went eep)*
"Stranger in lair"
@tello-oneil
Their brow furrows slightly.
"Well... yeah, there's lots of strangers in the lair."
She turns, scanning one of the offshoots of... whatever this place is. She hums slightly, an uneasy expression on her face. She could have sworn she saw movement there.
*She whined, grabbing tells hand and dragging them to the sewers, pointing to the human*
"Stranger!"
They frown a little, tilting their head in question, but let Blue lead them to the sewers. They groan a little, very much not wanting to go into the sewers.
They're distracted by this for a second, but follow Blue's pointing after seeing her sign.
They go slack, eyes widening.
"... Mom?"
She frowns a little, continuing to look around.
She whips around in surprise, heart leaping as she hears Donatello's voice call out to her. She gasps, staring for a moment.
"Donnie? What-?"
*She whined, scrambling away as tello recognized the human, sinking into the sewer water, whining louder*
"Danger! Danger!"
They chirp happily, tail wagging and hands flapping, too distracted by seeing their mom to recognize Blue's distress. They smile widely, running to their mom.
"Mama! "
Relief floods through them as they hug her tightly, chirping happily. Mama's here! They'd missed her.
She catches Donnie, still a bit shocked by the situation. She holds them tight for a moment, relieved they're okay, before pulling back and checking them over for injuries.
"Tello, baby, where have you been? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
She fusses over them for a moment. They'd scared her, disappearing like that.
They click a little at the worrying, glancing back uncomfortably to where Blue was... only, Blue isn't there anymore. Their brow furrows in confusion for a moment as they scan the surroundings, until they hear whining. They look to the source of the sound, recognizing Blue partially submerged in the sewer water.
'Yuck...'
They stick their tongue out slightly in disgust, shaking their hands a little. Blue is definitely going to need a bath. They told Raphie she did! Now she definitely does!
They click a little in confusion at Blue's signs. Danger? No, it's mom!
But Blue hasn't met mom yet, has she?
They chirp reassuringly to Blue, wriggling out of their mom's hold and making their way as close to the water as they dare.
"It's okay, Blue! It's just my mom, Carol!"
They smile encouragingly, hesitantly holding out a hand.
"She's super nice. You'll love her, promise!"
*She hissed, sinking deeper into the water. She hasn't had a good reputation with humans. She wasn't going anywhere near this person*
"Danger! Get away, danger, humans are danger!"
She lets Donnie escape her worrying hands, noticing their discomfort. She's confused though as they walk towards the sewage water, of all places. She's slightly less confused when they start talking to another turtle- and then more confused, because there's another mutant turtle - submerged in the water.
She stays where she is, watching quietly from a distance, though she burns to make sure Tello really is okay and find out where they've been. This new turtle seems to be a little panicked, especially with the way they're hissing, and she doesn't want to freak them out more.
They frown a little, tilting their head in thought. They hesitantly kneel down, getting a little closer to Blue. They shake their head a little.
"No, it's okay! I didn't trust her at first either, but then she saved me from being kidnapped. She's a good human, really!"
They chirp a little, shifting uncomfortably as they sit on the gross sewer floor. They try really hard not to think about it. They're doing this for Blue's sake, and by extension for Raphie's sake. They're trying really hard to trust and include Blue, for Raphie.
"And Raphie trusts her, too! You can even ask him."
*She clicked slightly but left the sewer water, looking at the human*
*now that blue is out of the water, Carol can see a small brown turtle with pale yellow stripes and multiple cracks and scars along her body, the letters 'B-103' is engraved into her shoulder and she has multiple cracks along her shell and platron, her pupils are permanent pinpricks and she looks malnourished* (she is but she is getting better and is actually eating now)
They smile a little, relieved Blue at least came out of the water. Their tail wags a little. They stand up, glad to get off the dirty sewer floor. They click a little. They're going to need a shower, too. They watch Blue.
She watches as the turtle emerges from the water. The poor thing looks awful, dirty and covered in scars. They're smaller than Donatello is. And is the poor thing branded? What kind of monster does that to a child? She feels her chest heat up in boiling hot anger. That brand proves that those scars were made on purpose. Mutant or not, a child deserves to be loved. She'd love to give whatever sick, twisted sadists are behind this child's scars a piece of her mind. Probably in the form of a fist. Or a chair.
She grits her teeth a little, careful not to let her anger show. She doesn't want to scare the poor turtle. She takes a deep breath, doing her best to push aside her rage. Whoever they are, they're not here right now. There's nothing she can do about them. However, she can do her best to be there for Tello's new friend.
She smiles softly, waving slightly to the new turtle.
"Hello sweetheart. I promise, I won't hurt you."
*She whined, sinking into her shell slightly, looking around. She wanted raphie. She was stuck here with two new strangers that she didn't know very well..*
*She stared at Carol, hiding behind tello, whining more while tugging at their hand, scared*
"Don't like her.. scary don't like humans.."
They frown a little, humming slightly as Blue hides behind them again. She grabs their hand and tugs at it, whining softly. They look back to her.
They huff a little, not sure what to do about that. They glance back to Carol, clicking slightly. How would mom handle this? Or Raphie? Or Mikey? Or even Yi?
They sigh a little, gently squeezing Blue's hand. They hope it's reassuring.
"Okay. Um... why don't you go and find Raphie?"
She winces a bit as the turtle hides behind Donnie. She hums, holding her hands up placatingly. Glancing to her child, she notices them glancing to her, unsure. She wants so badly to just go over and show the new turtle that she's not a threat, but she knows that going closer at the moment would probably signal the opposite to them. She continues watching, concerned, making herself stay put.
*She shook her head no, raphie was sleeping she can't bother him! She tugged at tellos hand again, chirping quietly, trying to drag them away from the stranger lady*
"Wanna go back, please"
*She signed quickly, staring at Carol, unsure of what to do without tello*
They squirm a little, uncomfortable. They chirp quietly, glancing between Blue and mom. Blue tugs again at their hand, trying to pull them back to the lairs. Their tail twitches a bit. They hum uneasily, unsure what to do.
She watches Tello for a moment. She can't quite make out what the other turtle is signing from this angle. She tries to think how she got Donnie to interact with her before they trusted her.
She feels in her pockets, finding a pen and her phone. The phone isn't exactly helpful at the moment, but the pen... well, her kids- April included, honestly- seemed to enjoy chasing the laser pointer dot around. She's found that turtles are surprisingly similar to cats. Maybe this turtle will enjoy it, too?
It's worth a shot. She pulls out the pen, clicking the laser pointer on and pointing it by the feet of the two turtles.
They huff slightly, shifting. They glance back at mom again. She's digging in her pockets, for some reason. They turn back to Blue, flapping their free hand uneasily.
"... um... mm..."
They trail off, eyes zeroing in on a familiar red dot on the ground between them and Blue.
*She clicked quietly, whining slightly, staring at carol before she pulled our something*
*Her pupils grew wide at the strange dot before trying to attack it, chirping quietly*
She smiles, moving the pointer around for the turtle to chase. Works like a charm.
They watch Blue chase the laser dot for a moment, blinking in mild surprise. They then look to mom, if only to keep themself from wanting to chase the dot as well. They're glad to not have to make the decision on what to do right now.
*Thanks. That's blue.*
They think for a second.
*Name is B-L-U-E.*
They add to clarify.
She nods a little, still playing with the turtle, who she now knows is Blue.
*She chirped quietly, chasing the small dot, trying to attack the dot, twishing her tail around, clicking. She was going to catch this dot or die trying*
She chuckles softly, fondly watching Blue chase the dot around.
They awkwardly shift in place for a moment. Blue doesn't seem scared anymore, at least, but only because she's distracted. They wonder how long it'll be until Raphie wakes up.
They pull out their phone, pulling up Raphie's contact and shooting her a quick message. That way she'll know, whenever she wakes up.
*It doesn't take long until loud thumping steps are approaching. Slightly out of breath, Raphie comes to a stop, staring at everyone before staring even more Carol*
"M-Mom!!"
*She cries slightly, running up to Carol to hug her*
*She attacked the dot, chirping quietly, twishing her tail around, determined to catch the dot before turning her attention to raphie and running to her*
"New stranger!"
@tello-oneil
She looks nervously to the source of the noise. Seeing Raphael, she makes a noise somewhere between utter relief and pure confusion. She drops the pen, catching Raphie in her arms.
"Oh, darling... Raphael..."
She squeezes her child close, shaking a little. Raphie has been missing for months. Wet, warm tears of relief roll down her cheeks as she cuddles the turtle close.
"Oh, baby... I thought we lost you..."
She continues to hold tightly onto Raphie, sweet, choking relief filling her every pore. She's okay. Her sweet baby is okay, and she's here.
They watch as Raphie runs up, smiling slightly as she reunites with Carol. Mom's been so worried about Raphie. It'll be good for both of them to have each other back, they think.
They watch Blue run up to Raphie, chirping slightly. They move closer to her, reaching out and tapping Blue's shell lightly, chirping for Blue's attention.
@raphie-hamato-oneil
"I-I'm sorry mom! I- It- I didn't want to vanish!! But- but you all were suddenly-y go-one!"
*Raphie cries and hiccups, trying to explain. She clings to Carol like her life depends on it*
"I- I missed you so much!"
*He wipes his tears away, glancing at Blue. Slowly, Raphie sign to her*
*M-O-M. Safe.*
*She chirped quietly, clinging onto raphie before turning her attention to tello, chittering quietly to them, grabbing hold of raphie's hand*
"Safe? Mom?"
"What's mom?"
@tello-oneil
She leans back slightly from the hug, cradling Raphie's face in her hand and brushing her tears with her thumb, looking into her baby's face for a moment. She shushes the turtle gently, pressing their foreheads together.
"It's okay baby, it's okay. I'm so sorry that happened to you, but it's not your fault."
She squeezes Raphie tightly back.
"I missed you too, sweetheart... I missed you so much."
They chitter softly back to Blue, focusing on her rather than the emotions of the situation. They frown slightly, trying to think of how to explain the concept of a mom, if she doesn't know what it is already.
They chirp to Blue, waving at her before beginning to sign.
*M-O-M, or mom, is someone who takes care of you. Someone who keeps you safe, and loves you. Um... Like older siblings, but different.*
They look slightly confused, chirping slightly. They're not entirely sure how to explain it, but they're trying.
*Family. Mom is family.*
@raphie-hamato-oneil
*Raphie laughs slightly, starting to calm down. He takes up Carol's scent, feeling a warm, safe feeling*
"C-can we go back home now? To April? A-and Mikey?"
*She looks up at Carol with big, pleading eyes*
*She thought for a second, nodding slightly and clinging to tello, looking at the stranger and carol*
They sigh a little in relief that Blue accepted that explanation for now, and that she isn't trying to hide in the sewage water anymore. They both still desperately need a bath, though.
Not the point. They gently squeeze Blue's hand, chirping in reassurance.
Her expression melts at Raph's plea and his big puppy dog eyes. She hugs his head close, kissing her on the head.
"Of course we can baby. Of course."
Their brow furrows a bit in confusion. They click a little, tilting their head and tugging gently on Raphie's arm. They frown a little.
"I thought you said we couldn't get back, though..?"
@raphie-hamato-oneil
*Raphie churrs, his tail wagging happily. He looks to Tello, his eyes widen*
"But Mom is here. That means a way back home opened, right? She knows how to get back home, right?"
*She smiles slightly, showing her snaggle tooth*
*She chittered softly, inspecting the new person slightly before grabbing hold of carols hand, trying to grab the laser pointer*
"What's that?"
They look at their older sibling with an expression somewhere between exasperated, concerned, and mildly hurt. They click a little.
"But you couldn't get back, and I couldn't get back, and Blue couldn't get back... Why would mom showing up change that pattern? Because she's an adult? There's plenty of adults here, and none of them are able to get home!"
They stamp a little. They're not sure why they're frustrated, or why their words sound so angry. They're not angry. They're just... they don't know... confused? Wary? They're not entirely sure.
They just don't want to get their hopes up. The statistics say that they're just not going home.
She frowns a little, confused. Why wouldn't they be able to get home? She goes to ask, but stops as little Blue grabs her hand. She looks to Blue instead, giving the little turtle her full attention.
She tilts her head a bit in confusion, mouth forming a little 'oh' as she sees what Blue points to. She smiles a little, crouching down and picking up the pen.
"It's a pen. You write with it. But this one has a red light on it, see?"
She clicks the button, showing Blue the red dot. She then hands the pen to her.
"Here. You can have it, if you want."
@raphie-hamato-oneil
[I forgot to tag sorry- xd ]
"Mom always has an answer to our problems... She always found a solution."
*Raphie tucks in his tail, wringing his hand nervously*
*She clicked slightly, grabbing the pen, chirping happily before showing raphie and tello, thumping her tail on the ground slightly*
"It's pretty!"
They falter a bit at Raphie's reaction, guilt pitting in their chest. They hadn't meant to make Raphie sad. They chirp a little, reaching for his hand. How can they fix it? They don't want Raphie to be sad.
She turns back to her kids after Blue takes the pen.
"Why wouldn't we be able to get home, Tell?"
They chirp softly in response to Blue, nodding a little and giving her a small smile. It drops at the question from mom, though.
Their tail flicks nervously, and they glance between Raphie and mom for a moment. They hum slightly.
"Well, Raphie says that home wasn't there when she went to go home, and Yi says there's all sorts of turtles from different dimensions and universes stuck here."
*He makes himself slightly smaller as Tello says his name. Raphie claws on her hands before hugging Blue tightly. She lets out a quiet whine*
"I just- I mean- T-there must be a way home, right.....? Raphie is just not smart enough, to find it..."
*She chittered softly, looking at raphie and tello before whining*
"Oh... sweetheart...."
She places her hand gently on Raphie's shoulder before pulling her into a side hug, so as not to separate her from Blue. She kisses him softly on the head.
"You're so smart, baby. And so, so brave."
They sink in on themself a bit as Raphie does, whining slightly under their breath. They didn't mean to make Raphie sad.
She hums a little, not sure how to respond. Honestly, she has absolutely no idea how to get home. Are they really in a different dimension? She glances at Donnie over Raphie's head, thinking.
"Tell you what. We'll do our best to find the way back together. Okay?"
@raphie-hamato-oneil
[omg I forgot to tag again I am so sorry- ;c; ]
*Raphie chitters quietly, nuzzling her snout on Carol for a moment*
"Okay..."
*He slowly peels off of her and let's go of Blue, giving her a pat on the head*
*She chittered softly, refusing to let to of raphie, chittering softly*
"Home?"
They nod, chirping slightly. That... sounds like a good plan.
She lets Raphie pull away, looking between him and Tello, smiling softly. She's still not sure what's going on, but she absolutely isn't going to just give up on getting home. She still has two kids at home, and two here counting on her.
@raphie-hamato-oneil
*Raphie looks down, still holding on to Blue*
"....you want to draw something, Blue...?"
*She nodded, chirping loudly, tail wagging ever so slightly*
"What about home?"
She coos softly under her breath as Blue perks up at the idea of drawing something. She smiles, letting Raphie take care of Blue for a moment. She turns to Tello.
"You mentioned there are other adults here. Can you introduce me to any of them? I'd like to talk with them."
They hum a little, absently grabbing onto the hem of Carol's shirt and hovering there.
"Um, Raphie and Blue have been here longer than me. I only really know Yi. She's been taking care of us, letting us stay with her."
They twist the fabric slightly between their fingers, fidgeting with it.
@raphie-hamato-oneil
"We will find a way home."
*Raphie grabs Moon's hand carefully, leading her to her hideout to draw*
