"Evening Mr. Jones, Miss O'Neil…" Splinter greeted and focused his attention on Who "…and young lady. It is good to see you again after all this time"
The girl bowed her head showing her respects.
"Are they here already?" Mikey yelled form the kitchen.
"Yeah" Don said.
"Darn it! Cookies are not ready yet!" the orange masked ninja said in desperation.
"So you're alive after all, huh?"Raph said coming closer to Who.
"Raph!" Leo elbowed him.
"What!"
"Perhaps we should get inside" April chuckled. Who followed the red haired woman.
"I'll bring your stuff" Casey said while carrying some bags.
The others reunited in the living room with some tea while they waited for Mikey's cookies but the silence in the room was very awkward.
"So… good to see you again!" Don said trying to sound cheerful.
"Yeah, for a moment we thought you had just vanished. Why you didn't text us?" Leo asked. The sound of stumbling feet could be heard on the stairs.
"Careful Casey Jones! That's a violin you have there!" April reprimanded him.
"Geez, relax! S'not like I'm gonna let it fall anyway" Casey tsked and kept walking but the black case that protected the instrument slipped through his fingers.
"Whooa!" Casey tried to catch but the black case had touched the ground already. Who jumped off the couch and ran to pick up her violin.
"Casey, look what you did!" Don said a little angry.
"Er… sorry girl" Casey apologized. Who gave him a cold and angry glare that sent shivers down the man's spine.
"Maybe we should give you a hand" Leo said while helping Casey with the bags.
"Is it broken?" Don asked concerned by the instrument's condition. The girl opened the case and luckily, the violin was intact. Who just sighed in relief before closing the case again… without words.
"Gee, did she cut out her tongue or what?" Raph whispered.
"Maybe she's just tired because of the long flight" Don whispered back. Raph was about to reply but Leo's sign of "let it be" stopped him.
"Cookies are ready!" Mikey announced.
"That smells good!" Raph said entering to the kitchen "Tell you put extra choco-chips. Pleeeease!"
"They're not for you, Raph! They're for our faaaavorite writer!" Mikey pushed his brother away while walking with the tray.
"With that sour mood, I don't think she'll be up to eat them… which I hope cuz then I'll have those cookies for me!" Raph chuckled darkly.
"No way in shell she's not eating them! Nobody can resist my cookies!" Mikey smirked and walked towards the living room. A loud sound of bags falling to the floor made everybody flinch.
"You guys have to be so noisy?" April sighed.
"I don't get it! Why girls have so many stuff?" Casey huffed.
"Stop whining" Leo chuckled.
"Here Who! Special cookies for my speeeecial girl!" Mikey said with a smile as big as the Cheshire cat's. The dark clothed girl gave him a small smile…reluctantly.
"I'll leave the tray here, ok? Let me get some milk… Oh! And Klunk! He missed you!" With this, Mikey left the room.
"Well, all the bags are in the room now let's grab some cookies!" Casey cheered while ran downstairs.
"No way! I was here first!" Raph yelled. Both human and turtle ran full speed to get the cookies while the others around shook their heads and chuckled.
Just when Who was about to get her cookie, Casey and Raph snatched it… the same cookie… and now they glared at each other.
"Step off Case, this one has my name on it" Raph hissed.
"You can always grab another one. There are plenty of them!" Casey replied. And the battle for the cookie began.
"Guys, you're acting like babies!" Don said slightly annoyed.
"Couldn't find Klunk but heeeere's the milk!" Mikey said while he entered to the room again but Raph accidentally elbowed the tray and the hot milk landed on Who's dark pants.
"Uh oh" Casey and Raph said in unison and waited for the worse. Leo glared at them.
"Who, you alright?" he asked in concern.
"Nice going, Casey Jones and Raphael" April said angrily.
"It was his fault!" human and turtle stabbed their index fingers at each other's chest. The dark haired girl got up in total silence.
"May I be excused, please?" her voice finally could be heard… but it was a dark voice that came from her mouth.
"As you wish. I am very sorry about the incident" Splinter said bowing his head.
"Evening" Who bowed back and walked upstairs.
"That… was odd" Casey commented.
"You're telling me" Raph agreed. Mikey looked at the table; beside the tray there was Who's untouched cookie.
"She… she didn't eat the cookies. Not even one" he sighed sadly.
"It's ok Mikey. Maybe… she had already eaten" Don tried to reassure his youngest brother.
"You kidding? Then what was all that silent treatment about, huh?" Raph argued.
"We have to give her some time to readjust to this place and we're all going to help her" Leo said.
"I don't see why" Raph folded arms.
"Does the word "family" ring a bell?" Leo replied.
"She ain't acting like family" Raph replied back.
"For now" Leo added.
"And for how longer we have to deal with that?" Raph said in exasperation.
"Enough!" Splinter's cane hit the floor and everyone went mute.
"We do not know what is going through her mind and she will not share how she feels with us until she is ready; we must make her feel she's home and give her some space. She will come back to us with time and patience…" Splinter said "…and you two…" he pointed his cane at Casey and Raph"… I believe you owe her an apology but it will have to wait until tomorrow"
Who entered to her room and locked the door. She didn't bother on turning on the lights; it wasn't a problem for her to work in the darkness. She got rid of the dark sweater and the dark pants stained with milk and tossed them away. After a cold bath that took like forever, she was now in her bed staring blankly at the ceiling. A barely audible "meow" made her turn her head to the right side. Even though the darkness was complete, she could notice a pair of green feline eyes looking at her.
"Klunk…"
The orange cat meowed and meowed insistently; Who knew he wanted her to pick him up and pet him like she used to. Klunk tilted his head to the side in confusion: what happened? What was wrong with her? Why she didn't pick him up? Klunk decided to take the first step and jumped to her bed. The cat rubbed against her arm and licked her cheek while he purred. It was then when the dark haired girl started to scratch Klunk's head lazily. The cat purred louder and nuzzled the girl's hand but very much to Klunk's dismay, the petting stopped as fast as it had started. The girl hadn't said a word during that time and still stared at the ceiling. The orange cat walked in the bed till he reached what he wanted: the girl's dark and long hair. For Klunk it was a joy to play, roll and sometimes munch the long dark strands of hair. Who hadn't muttered a word; she let the cat play till he fell asleep. Minutes later, she joined him.