I do not own the TMNT or related themes and characters. Kit, her absentee mother and 'Mrs. Shaw' belong to me.
Never Hear the Quiet
"Mom? Mom, I'm home!" Kit called as she hurried through the front door.
Nobody greeted her back.
Frowning, Kit dropped her backpack by the door and walked further into the trailer house. Every step she took made the entire structure creak and the wind whistled hollowly off the roof. Even if nobody was home, it was never quiet in the trailer. "Mom?" Kit called less loudly. She already knew the answer even before she found the note on the narrow kitchen counter.
Kit,
Was called in early,
Sorry I'll be missing dinner but I called Mrs. Shaw and she'll take you out instead.
See you in the morning, don't drink too much soda.
Love,
Mom.
The note was crushed into a crinkled wad with one motion. "But it's your birthday." Kit growled, throwing the note into the trash with an unnecessary amount of force. "What's the point of going out to dinner on your birthday if you aren't there?" Frustrated and angry, she threw a fist at the fridge. It shook but stood as firm, the only thing firm about the rickety old trailer house. Idly, Kit wondered if she would be able to dent the fridge door after she earned her next belt.
She wondered if her mom would be able to get time off to watch her test.
The wind outside gusted. The walls shook, the ceiling echoed the wind, the floor cracked, and joists popped. The heater grumbled as it kicked in to try and combat the fall chill. It was never really quiet in the trailer.
Kit jerked awake at the sound of something wooden splintering into pieces followed by yelling.
She crawled out of bed and ran the claws of one hand through the fur on her scalp, trying to remember the dream. It was fuzzy, but something about her mom… not surprising. The woman would have turned thirty- five today if she were still alive.
Taking a breath to shove aside the cold feeling trying to settle in her chest, Kit stood up and went to see what the yelling was about.
Raph and Leo -typical- were squaring off, yelling at each other in such a way that they couldn't possibly hear the other over their own yelling… that particular pattern was new. Must be both just needed to let off tension… or they were panicking because the kitchen table which was now lying on the floor in not one piece, not two pieces, but six! Six large pieces!
Mikey and Don stood nearby, watching the argument over what looked like a bowl of chips rescued just in time from the table disaster. They were discussing between themselves the fine points of the argument when suddenly both retreated to the kitchen and Master Splinter emerged from his room. With a loud command he brought the shouting match to an end and in the moments before he began speaking Kit's ear twitched and she heard the opening notes of one of Sensei's stories; punishment would be harsh today.
As Master Splinter began chastising his sons the lair was quiet enough for Kit to pick out the faint sounds of a coffee maker humming in Donnie's office, the music Mikey had left on in his room and the shuffling of dishes and pans in the kitchen where the two were up to something.
Kit put her hand against the stone wall next to her and smiled when she felt the faint vibrations it carried from the city overhead. If Master Splinter weren't speaking, if all the electronics in the lair were turned off and Raph wasn't snoring she was sure she would be able to hear whatever sound that vibration carried, but she could never hear it.
After all, it was never really quiet in the lair.