Twelve year old Hamato Kayla pulled her blanket over her head, trying to muffle the terrifying sounds around her. She could hear the sound of water rushing through the sewer tunnels through her bedroom wall, as well as the huge waves of sewage crashing against the large door to their new lair. To top it all off, every minute or so, a clap of thunder would make her shudder in fear.
It had been three weeks since the mousers had attacked their lair and caved it in, forcing Kayla, her father, and her four fifteen year old brothers to search for a new home. Master Splinter, their father and Sensei, who was a giant rat, had managed to find this amazing place to be their new home.
It was much larger than their old home, probably about ten times the size or larger, and it had a lot more rooms as well. Their old home had been so small, it only had a couple rooms to sleep in as well as a small living room where they gathered together to eat on the floor. This new home had a large living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and enough rooms for them each to have their own, as well as a few extra for storage, and it had its own dojo for them to practice and work out in.
However, there was a slight problem with it, one Kayla was just now realizing.
See, with only two rooms to sleep in back at the old lair, Kayla and her brothers had to share one room, though they each had their own beds to sleep on. When they were little, they used to all share one bed, which was basically just a mattress on the floor, but when they got a bit older and bigger, Master Splinter managed to scavenge up a few more so they could each have their own bed.
Anyways, Kayla was used to sharing a room with her four brothers her whole life, which does limit your personal space and amount of alone time. So when she found out that they could all have their own bedrooms for a change in their new home, she had been as ecstatic as her bros.
However, that all changed when she heard the first clap of thunder.
When she was little and a thunder storm got too scary for her, Kayla would just crawl into one of her brothers' beds.
Kayla whimpered again and covered her head with the blanket as yet another wave crashed against the door, seemingly making the whole lair rumble.
Finally, she took in a deep sigh as she shakily climbed out of her bed, wrapping her blanket around herself and letting it drag across the floor as it trailed behind her.
She opened her door a crack and peaked out, trying to see if anyone was around. After a moment, she slipped out of her bedroom and ventured out into the open space, pausing near the bridge that crossed the pool of water.
Looking around at the rooms on the second floor, she immediately eliminated Donatello as a possibility. He had been extremely busy all day trying to figure out some kinks in the security system, and had most likely fallen asleep in his lab.
Thinking back on the days events, she realized it would be a good idea not to bother her two oldest brothers either. Raphael and Leonardo had gotten into a heated argument later in the evening, one that had nearly turned into a physical battle had their father not broken them up, sending them to different rooms to cool off. They'd most likely need their space for the rest of the night, if not the rest of the week. And Kayla didn't feel like risking a black eye should she try and bother them tonight.
A loud, harsh snort made Kayla jump, looking around frantically to find the source of the sound. She looked over to where the stack of TV's were sitting in the living room, and just realized that all of them were on. All the screens had some kind of desert scenery on them, with the words 'GAME OVER' flashing in big, red letters.
Tilting her head slightly, Kayla made her way across the lair to stop beside the couch.
The sight before her made a small, involuntary smile spread across her cheeks.
Her youngest, older brother; Michelangelo was sprawled out on his shell on the couch, with one leg up while the other one hung off the side of the couch. His right hand was rested atop a bag of potato chips on his plastron while the other one hung over the side of the couch, a game controller gripped loosely in his hand near the floor. His head was tilted to the side, his orange mask slightly crooked and his mouth hanging open as he snored, with a bit of drool dribbling down his cheek.
Kayla covered her mouth with the edge of her blanket to muffle her laughter at the sight of her brother, but stopped and flinched as another, louder clap of thunder sounded above their home.
The young teen made a sound in her throat between a whine and a groan as she looked around the room, stepping anxiously from one foot to the other.
Her eyes surveyed her brother for a long moment before she made up her mind.
Kayla turned off the TV, took the controller and chips from her brother and laid them on the coffee table, and took off his mask, laying it on the end table beside the couch. Then, she crawled carefully over her brother, nestling herself between him and the back of the couch before draping her blanket over the both of them. Nervously, she nestled down into the small space, curling her hands into her chest and snuggling into her brother's side. Her eyes closed as a small smile appeared on her face; a warm, safe feeling falling over her like a security blanket.
A few moments later, the couch shifted as Mikey moved. Kayla stiffened and kept her eyes closed, hoping he wouldn't wake up and make her go back to her room.
But instead of that, Mikey turned onto his side and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his plastron gently.
Kayla smiled again, ducking her head under the blanket and pressing her head into his plastron. The sounds of the thunder and flooded sewers still echoed through the lair, but it didn't seem so scary when wrapped in one of her brothers' arms. She felt like nothing could hurt her. She was safe.