Okeydokey Guys I wanted to save starting this until Thanksgiving Day Because it was on a Thanksgiving Day like...Two years ago I think that I finally decided on Eartha being a Mole and Ringo being a Ringneck Snake so I treat Thanksgiving Day like their birthdays, plus Thanksgiving is always my 'Philosophical Holiday' where after the meal I start thinking about stuff like the meaning of life and mortality and then freak myself out and have to start imagining fun stuff to feel less freaked out but I realize I had to strike while the Katana was still hot so here is the first chapter in the Heart of Life.

Edward Nygma soon learned what the Roosters in New Eden do to prevent themselves from crowing at the sun in the mornings and revealing they were in New Eden...When the sin started to rise and the Roosters felt the urge to crow...They all stuck their heads into the cave's hot springs and Edward and several other people awoke to the sound of gargled crowing!

Unable to fall back asleep after that and seeing from the mouth of the cave it was real late in the morning, probably approaching noon, Edward Nygma decided he would take this time for a dip in one of the many hot springs in New Eden.

Edward removed all his clothes and slowly lowered himself into the hot spring, first taking the time to scrub all the dirt he could see off himself...He really wished he could have some soap at the moment but what was soap but processed animal fat and while he was grateful to know he could have bivalves, milk and unfertilized eggs here in New Eden, like meat soap generally required that an animal be killed and not as far as he knew a brainless bivalve like he had had for lunch yesterday. So instead he began to swim leisurely around the crystal clear hot spring, loosening up some muscles that were tight from sleeping curled in a tight fetal position through the night, at one point he tried dipping his head under the hot water but found that was a bit much for him.

Soon he felt he had had enough and went to pick up his clothes...Then remembered those clothes were dry clean only...So best not to put them on while soaking wet, instead he just put on his underpants...No one here would give a rat's tail if he just walked around in his underpants and took a stroll in the warm Summer sun to help dry himself off. A bit down the way he could see Eleanor Capra, she was completely naked (The Mutant Sheep's large body was prone to overheating especially when wearing clothes) and was holding a bouquet of daisies...Actually...She was eating a bouquet of daisies. Edward decided he would have a chat with the Mutant Ewe while things were still relatively quiet.

Donatello also awakened by the Roosters' underwater crowing saw now was the perfect time for basking and so the purple banded Turtle walked out of the Dragon Cave to a large flat rock he had found earlier the day before and determined it was the perfect spot for basking...He lay flat on his plastron...Stretched out his legs...Typical of the Red-Earred Slider species when they bask...Rested his chin on his folded arms and started in that most reptilian of pleasures basking in the sun.

He probably got 10 or 15 minutes of basking in...When he heard footsteps and could simply feel...Eartha's warm furry body approaching him.

"Basking?" Eartha asked

"Yeah." Don said

"I would sometimes ask Ringo why he liked basking so much..." Eartha said "...He said if he didn't do it he would feel ill for the rest of the day...I guess I didn't get it because I liked darkness so much better...But is it really true? Do Reptiles get ill if they don't bask?"

Don had to think a bit before answering that question...He and his Brothers were not normal compared to normal reptiles and most of the Humanimals believed they were not truly cold-blooded but ad some kind of weird ectotherm/endotherm hybrid metabolism...Donatello had to agree with their conclusion he simply never really got around to thinking about how their unique metabolisms could be classified...But they really did feel better after basking...Long ago they had gotten a large sun lamp because previous years they had gotten shell rot. After thinking about all these things he simply turned to Eartha and said "Yeah, it's true...Reptiles do become ill if they don't get enough sun...Me and my brothers have experienced it more than a few times...Really all animals need the sun to live...Even nocturnal animals and other creatures who live in the dark."

"Really?" Eartha cocked her head "Maybe I should bask too!"

She lay down right beside Don, their sides touching...While her musky Mole scent wasn't that unpleasant...It was more than Don wanted to deal with at the moment so he sat up and said "What do you want Eartha?"

"Ringo...Really wants to talk to you." Eartha said "He knows something happened between you and Morgan but he doesn't know what...Rory's song didn't really help explaining much..."

"I bet it didn't." Don said he winced, now that he had finally patched things up with Morgan he didn't want to potentially stir things up again by revealing to these two Innocents what had happened between the two of them…

"The truth it is a very long story...I think I need to start from the very beginning...Why don't you take me to where Ringo is, and I'll tell it to both of you."

Eartha took Don by the hand and she led him to a shady grove of trees.

I was originally gonna dedicate some time to Riddler and Eleanor's conversation and Don telling Eartha and Ringo a story but I think I'll leave those for the next chapter.