I had been in this forest forever and it seemed like not a soul ever passed through it. I was usually alone, save for the creatures that lived within the forest, and I hardly ever got any visitors. But then in walks something that was not natural, not normal.
This creature walked like me, talked like me but had a shell like a turtle. A walking, talking turtle. He wore a violet or purple bandanna over his eyes, but there were holes for him to see out of. Even from my place on the rock, this turtle being was carrying a long staff attached to his back, um shell. The moment he looked at me, and I to him, he stopped. But I got the impression that he was not evil, or a threat to the forest.
"Uh, hi." He gave a wave. This turtle being had three fingers on his hands and a little more investigation on my part showed that he had only two toes.
"Greetings, Turtle. You are a turtle, aren't you?" I asked sliding off the rock I was perched on.
"Um, yeah. I'm a turtle. Who are you?"
"I'm called Morgan. And your name?" I asked as I came to stand in front of him.
"I'm Donatello."
My mind went back to a painter, who lived some time in the past. Ah yes, the Renaissance painter. But this was no painting come to life, he was something different. This made it so I had to look him over again. Apparently that made the green creature even more anxious.
"Where am I?" He finally asked me.
"You're in my forest. How did you get here? I know all the creatures in my forest but I don't think I know you." I studied him, head to toe and toe to head. "So, what kind of creature are you? I mean besides the obvious turtle features."
"I'm a mutant turtle. Um, you're not scared of me." It was a statement, not a question.
"Should I be?" I leaned slightly to the side to look at his shell. It was dinged up in places, no doubt there were stories behind them but I wasn't going to push the issue.
"No, you shouldn't be afraid of me." I smiled back at him gratefully. "I just don't know how I got here. I swear, I was asleep at my desk in my lab and then I'm here."
"Well, now that you're here, how about I ask you something? If I teach you something then you must teach me something."
"Like what?" He asked, his brows rising slightly.
"If you teach me how to use your weapon, I'll teach you some of my defenses." I said, holding my hands open.
"Um." He looked me over as I had done him. "I don't know."
"Well if you ever come back the offer is still open." I flipped my hand as I walked towards the bolder.
"Can I ask you some questions?" He asked as he approached my previous lounging spot.
"If you must. But it will depend on the questions on whether if I will answer them or not." I responded hopping up onto the bolder and leaning back. "What are your questions?"
"Well, aren't you afraid of me?" He asked.
I gave a slight laugh, my head tilting up slightly, showing him my neck. "You're a turtle, why should I be afraid of a turtle who carries around a long pole like yours?" I asked, indicating behind him where there was a stick pole thing appearing over his shoulder.
Apparently I did not answer that question right. His eye ridges shot up, his mouth turned down and head slightly turned to the right as if I was the creature to him. Maybe I was. Maybe I was different than what he had assumed.
"It's called a bo staff, just so you know."
"Oh, a staff. Something as simple as a walking stick is unassuming." I sat up, holding the knee of the leg that was bent under me. "Of course, a staff would be an excellent weapon for a trickster because of it unassuming nature."
"Some how, some way, I actually understood what you said and most people just stare at me strangely when I speak my techno geek lingo."
"Is that surprising to you, Donatello?" I asked, my own head tilting as I kept looking at him.
"Most of the time it is. I have to 'dumb' down my language so that the others can understand me." Then his head snapped up and his shoulders got rigid. His clad covered eyes opened wide in shock, teeth bared but not in a bad way. "You weren't supposed to know that."
I shrugged. "There are things that people either aren't supposed to know and things they don't know for a purpose. So there are others like you then, Donatello?" I asked.
He made a noise, refusing to meet my eyes now. Ah, so there were more of these mutant turtles. That was actually quite alluring, considering that there weren't many that could handle crossing over into this forest. In a place like this, only those really capable could come into it. He must have been one special case. And he was a human experiment gone wrong, no doubt. I had heard horror stories of that going on in recent times.
"Ah, but since we don't know each other all that well, let us drop the subject then. Would you like to sit down, Donatello." I patted the rock next to me.
"No, I really need to get going. I need to get back home. Uh, how do I get out of here?" He lifted his arms slightly, hands raised in question to the trees that surrounded us.
"Going back the way that you have come from usually helps." I pointed in the direction I had seen him come from. "So, if you just go back that way, you may find your way out of here."
He faltered a little, between looking at me and the way he had come from, it was like he was considering things.
"If you come back again at any time, you'll be a welcomed guest." I assured him. "People come and go, but always remember to hang on to the memory of them that way you're not lost without them."
"Thanks, that means a lot." He mumbled, before heading off to where I had pointed to.
He was a unique creature, I'll give him that. As I mused over the thought of this turtle creature named Donatello, I had an unexpected, but welcoming visitor to my favorite spot in the forest.
"He'll be back." I heard a voice say, making me looked over my shoulder.
It was a figure I knew all too well. He kept me company from time to time, during the light time of the year. And as usually the Hound was with him.
"I suppose you are correct, friend. But much like him, there is more to this than just as what it appears to be."
"I think he's smart enough to realize what it is, in time at least, once he's grasped that not everything is what it appears to be here." He replied.
And that much I did know.
What made Donatello realize that he had been sleeping was that his neck hurt. He'd been laying on his arms for most of the night, at least. Blinking at the pain he had experienced in his head, he sat up. It was still fairly early, in that Leonardo and Master Splinter weren't up yet doing their early morning routines.
Slowly and steadily, the purple clad turtle rose from his chair, popping all of the stiff muscles in his neck. Though when Raphael had done it, it sounded gross, but now he understood why his brother did it. It released some of the tension that causing the headache in the first place. He eased up and then sat back in his chair wondering what had woken him up.
The dream, it had been that dream with weird woman. The raven haired woman with the green eyes. She had some sort of accent, one that he thought he had heard from a movie he once saw. And she wore a pair of basic black slack like pants and thin strapped top. She also wore a funny necklace around her neck. Grabbing a piece of paper nearby, Donatello roughly sketched out what he remembered of the necklace. It was the easiest thing for him, because of it's star like dimensions and the intricate weave patterns around the edge of the pendant. Once he was satisfied with what he had drawn, Donatello yawned and proceeded to head back to his room for a few more hours of sleep.
Not that he was hoping to visit that forest dream again. And yet he laid there in his bed, looking up at the cold dark ceiling of his room. Questions clouded his brain, questions that made it more difficult to go back to sleep. Where had he gone? Was it really a dream? Who was this Morgan person? As it stood, what was her intentions with him, if she had any at least. What kind of woman was she to not be afraid of him. He was the methodical one of his brothers, always trying to understand things through science.
"But when science is the factor in the equation, how do I figure out what happened?" He asked himself out loud.
Some time later, Michaelangelo came knocking on his door. "Donnie, hey you in here?"
Sitting up, Donatello looked at his brother. "Yeah," he sighed. "I'm in here. I'll be out in a minute."
"Something bothering you, Bro. You usually like totally sleep in your lab or at your desk."
"Yeah, I know. I did that all ready. I thought I would get some better quality sleep in my own bed but apparently I was wrong." Donatello stood up from his bed. "I'm fine, Mikey, you don't need to look at me like that. I'll be down in a little bit."
"Whatever you say, Bro. But you know how Raph gets when he's waiting to get training going." Mikey shuddered before leaving Donatello's door.
Of all the brothers, Donatello was more compatible with Mikey. Sure he had a strong bond with Leonardo as well, but Mikey just seemed to…though there were times when they both shared similar interests, like in videogames and such, it seemed like Donatello could count on Mikey having his shell when the time comes. And though he was the goofball of the group, Mikey was a skilled and trained ninja, like when he had attacked the Foot Tech Ninja that was going to drop Casey down into a churning vortex of water in the sewer. Using the Way of Invisibility that Master Splinter had taught them. Mikey always seemed to surprise people at the very last moment.
As Donatello got down to the training area in the lair where the four mutant turtles and their mutant rat sensai would usually train, he had a sneaking suspicion. Was it his imagination or did his Sensai look at him strangely? It was the way the old rat would look at someone, as if sensing something about them. Could he tell that Donatello had that all too real dream last night.
"Finally made it up to your room last night, Don?" Raphael asked, leaning up against one of the sloping walls of the rounded floor where he was at.
"Yeah, something like that." He mumbled, not trying to look in his brother's direction.
"Today's training, my sons," Master Splinter said as the four turtles gathered in front of him. "Is not going to be about fighting, or training with weapons. Today we will sharpen your minds." He said as he proceeded to sit cross legged on the floor.
All four of them proceeded to follow their master's example.
"Ah, come on Master Splinter, I always fall asleep during meditation lessons." Mikey groaned from his place next to Donatello.
"It is a test for you to understand how your mind works, my son. A sound mind is the perfect weapon for any danger you are faced with." The rat said.
Donatello was nervous about this. If it worked, would he go back to the forest? Would he see that woman again? It was just a dream after all, it wasn't real.
But the part that bothered him, was how real it felt. Everything, from the way she touched him, to how the grass and some of the pebbles felt against his feet. It only made him more tense just thinking about it. But why would he be so scared to go back there. It was welcoming. Or was that just a cover?
"My son, what troubles you?" Master Splinter asked.
"Can you go to places in your dreams if you've never been there." Donatello asked, earning a confused stare down from his brothers. "Never mind, it was a question."
"Anything can happen to a soul in a state of rest, Donatello. Your mind is your essence, and in essence your soul. There is much to be learned, my son. Even I am no expert in such matters, though I try when I can, to be one with my mind and see where it will take me."
"Uh, Sensai, I have no idea what you just said." Mikey said.
"I do. And thanks, Sensai." Donatello bowed to him from his sitting position.
"Now, begin your breathing exercises. Go deeper into yourself than you've ever done before." Master Splinter said, closing his mind.
Regardless of the fact that Mikey was fidgeting around next to him, Donatello tried. Everything went dark as he concentrated on his heart rate, willing it to slow down. Calming every muscle in his body, trying to relax and let go of the thoughts that ran through his head.
And suddenly, as before, he was there again. He was walking through that forest, as he had done before in his dream. He could tell it was the same forest, it was light, bright and it felt warm against his skin. He was aware of everything more now. And even though he had not really paid attention to it, it was different this time. And the moment he walked to the clearing, that all too familiar feeling, there she was. His dark haired beauty. His? What and where the shell did that come from, Donatello wondered as she stood there watching him with amusement.
"Donatello, I wasn't expecting you back so soon." Morgan smiled as she made her way towards him.
I hoped you guys liked this first chapter. Seems like it's always the hardest to get down, you know.
So what do you guys think? I'd love to know how all of you feel about this. Thanks.