It took a lot of breaks to get this one done, and it is still short.
Hope you like it. More of Raph's thoughts. I'll get out of 'reflection' soon and into the storyline.
Raph shakes his head and looks around. He's sitting on a stump of an old tree. Next to him is his pack and his cloak in a pile. His simple clothing has served him well in the mountains. Although nights were chilly, he got by, travelling from place to place. He couldn't stay long in any one place.
He looks at his arm and growls to himself at the reason. There are a few gashes there. He can't remember how, or where. He just knows he has them, along with a barrage of new bruises peppering his body. His fists have blood on them, covering split knuckles. Whoever they were, they were hard.
He reaches into his pack and takes out the skin of water he made. He pour it on a cloth and wraps his hands. Then he does the same for his arm, since he can't do much about it. His body has become used to the injuries, they'll go away. He'll get better.
'And if I don't-' he grimly thinks, '-I'm dead anyway.' The pieces of cloth are from his ragged clothes. He doesn't exactly have something to help him keep track of the time, but he guesses it has to be a few months since he left. Long enough to need a new set of clothing.
He gets nostalgia a lot. Craving the warm food and comfort of the palace. But he pushes the thoughts away and they become smaller and smaller. But one pushes back now. His armor, he always kept it clean and repaired.
When he is alone in his room, he would wear something that had some embroidery, usually flames or the family symbol. He never really cared for wearing flowers, even if they were hidden. Although his father may have chosen one that suited him. It isn't, weird, for a guy to have his clothing decorated with flowers. But Raph didn't like it.
'Mother could have..' Raph thinks wistfully. He stops his thought train at that. He takes out a handful of berries he found on the way to this spot. His last palace breakfast was gone after the fourth day by rationing it. 'It was cold when i ate it anyway,' Raph remarks, eating the berries.
He finds a spot to rest his shell and leaves a large stick next to him, in case someone finds him. The ground is one of the few places where there is grass, so he uses it to his advantage. His sleep is restless and uncomfortable, as it has been most days. If he isn't kept up by the injuries he seems to have acquired during his blackouts, then it is nightmares.
He decides that a few hours will have to suffice, since he can't get anymore after that. He stands up and in the dusk, picks up whatever he has with him and picks a way through the mountains he hasn't been yet. Maybe he'll find somewhere no one else is.
Somehow, the mountains are more populated than he thought. He has seen people, but few people have seen him. He has been taken over by a red haze before, waking up in his campsite like he had the day before. A few times there were traces of a person, but most were animals. Raph hasn't a clue why he has been getting these haze moments, but he thinks it could be due to his unchecked anger.
He has to pull himself up a rock ledge which makes his arm protect greatly. But he takes the pain and doesn't stop until he's on top. He takes a small break but then continues on. The mountains are hard to maneuver because of his size. But Raph has noticed a change. He isn't as big as he used to be. The smaller meals and less workouts make him slimmer. His shell isn't too bad of a problem, but he does get uncomfortable at times.
He doesn't feel like a Great Hamato Kame anymore. He feels.. weak. He walks a little and stops at the dead of night to eat some more. Then he tries to get some more sleep.
"Raph?"
"Raphie!"
"Rafaero.. my son-"
"No! I'm not your son!"
"Raph.. we aren't the enemy."
Raph looks up and sees Leonardo sitting in front of him, on the mountain. "Raph, come home."
"I have no home," Raph answers, shaking his head.
"Otōto (little brother)," Leonardo says tenderly, boring his blue gaze into Raph. Raph squeezes his eyes shut and looks away.
"Love her Leo.." Raph whispers, "Love her better than I could."
Raph opens his eyes again. Leonardo is gone, the spot on the other side of the narrow crevice is empty. Raph looks at it and immediately wishes he really was there, not in a stupid dream. He wants to be home.. but his guilt pushes him away.
He looks up at the sliver of sky he can see. It's morning. Another day of walking to nowhere. 'What else is there to do?' Raph grumbles. But other than that, he doesn't complain. With this, strange temper problem he has developed, he shouldn't be around people. He could hurt someone else.
See? Short.
Well, Raph is.. should I say coping? Nono, not coping.
Okay, what do you think happened in the italics? I'll answer at the beginning of chapter three. And say who got it right (if someone can see it.)
And what in the Hamato Kingdom did those injuries come from!? I have no answer to this, I'm as clueless as Raph.
Comment, critique, and all that good stuff.