Reading Calms the Beast

Version: 2003 Cartoon

Sibling Moment: Kayla (14) and Don (17)

XXX

Kayla stared down at her feet, her arms holding her knees to her chest with her back resting against the smooth, rounded glass behind her. A loud thump would vibrate through her back on occasion as the being inside the glass chamber would pound his fists against the glass.

Kay glanced around the lair at what the others were doing. Master Splinter and Leonardo were talking to their friend Leatherhead, a mutant crocodile, trying to think of what to do. Raphael was taking his pent up stress out on his punching bag. And Michelangelo was sulking in front of the TVs, casting sad glances in Kayla's direction, though his eyes were directed at the tray, bowl, and drinking glass scattered across the floor.

Kayla sighed as she turned just enough to look at the…animal…in the glass unit behind her. She refused to call him a 'creature' or 'monster' like her brothers sometimes whispered, because that's what he wasn't! What he was, was something Kayla still had trouble believing every time she looked into his cold, red eyes and sharp-fanged snarl.

Her brother.

Yes, the roaring, dull-green, broad-shouldered, 9 ft tall turtle before her with red eyes, fangs, and claws was really her sweet, innocent, intelligent older brother; Donatello.

Thanks to an infected gash on his leg during a fight with one of Bishop's mutants, Don had undergone what Leatherhead called, a "double mutation". And now, they didn't know how they were going to cure him, or if they could. Leatherhead was afraid if they didn't cure him before a certain time, he'd be stuck this way forever.

Kayla gazed sadly into her brother's eyes, like a deep sea of blood with her morphed reflection in the center. She swallowed thickly as she slowly raised her hand to rest it against the smooth surface, the two-inch thick glass being the only thing keeping Don from attacking her. A couple hours ago she would've never believed Don would attack her, double mutation or not, but then he tried to rip off Mikey's leg when the youngest brother brought him food.

She didn't want to be, and she hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was scared of Don.

"Hey Donny." Kayla whispered to him, her hand still pressed to the glass. "I don't know if you can understand me," she whispered slowly, causing Don to stop beating against the glass as he looked down at her, "but everything will be okay. I know it will. You…you can't stay like this." her words hitched as her throat closed, tears brimming in her eyes. She turned her face down and closed her eyes as she covered her mouth with her free hand.

Don stared down at her as she composed herself, his eyes cold and empty as he watched her, purely animalistic, not an ounce of their brainiac brother inside.

After a few moments Kayla wiped her cheeks with both hands and looked up at her brother, a couple pink lines trailing down her cheeks from her red, puffy eyes as she looked over her brother.

Something flashed in Kayla's chocolate-brown eyes, as an almost non-existent smile appeared at the corners of her lips.

"I'll be right back, Donny." she said quietly as she got up and ran across the lair to Don's bedroom. The sudden movement brought the attention of her father and other brothers to Don's bedroom doorway.

Mikey walked up to the punching bag as Raph stopped for a breather, two sets of eyes, one framed in a red mask, the other in orange, fixed on the doorway.

"Is she okay?" Mikey asked quietly, "What's she doin'?"

"Don't know." Raph answered quietly, looking over his shoulder to meet eyes with Leo, both concerned.

When they all looked back, Kayla had emerged from Don's room carrying a book and Don's purple blanket from his bed.

Kayla ignored the eyes on her as she sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Don, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders with the book in her lap. When she was little, Don would sometimes sit on his bed with Kayla in his lap and his blanket wrapped around them both, as he read her stories to help her fall asleep. A lot of the stories were a little too…advanced for her to understand; like Shakespeare, which was probably why they made her fall asleep. But for this occasion she grabbed one that both her and Don agreed to be one of their favorites. The Polar Express.

"Hey, Donny. Remember this book?" Kayla asked as she held it up for him to see.

Don lowered his head as he looked it over, but his red eyes were still empty, like an animal.

"You used to read this to me, when we were little." she explained quietly, as she lowered the book back to her lap, trying not to feel hurt that she didn't get a reaction. After all, it would be foolish to expect him to remember a book when he didn't even remember his family. So, she cut right to the chase and started reading.

Don blinked as he stared down at her, her soft voice flowing to his ears. He didn't know who she was, or what she was doing; but for the first time he could recall, he felt calm.

His body lowered slowly to the ground, into a seated position, his shell-covered back arched with his head lowered. His nose was almost touching the glass, her face only about 9 inches from his. He could barely catch a whiff of her scent through the little door at the bottom of his chamber. Her natural scent was sharp, like spices or cinnamon, mixed with a hint of incense and the salty scent of tears. And one scent that confused him, that seemed to be coming from the dark violet cloth wrapped around her, smelled like…him. It was his scent, only a tiny bit different, almost like it wasn't him at the same time.

Soon, her quiet voice combined with the comforting, and mildly familiar scent made Don curl up on the floor of his container, his eyes drooping lazily as he drifted asleep.

XXX

A wary sigh escaped Leonardo's lungs as he left Leatherhead to his research, slowly dragging his feet across the lair. On instinct, his eyes went to the container where his brother was being held. He did a double take and stopped walking, no longer half-asleep thanks to the sight before him.

Don was curled up inside the container, asleep for the first time since they captured him; and Kayla was curled up asleep on the floor in front of it, Don's blanket draped over her, with a book gripped loosely in her hand.

A small, sad smile slipped on Leo's face as he remembered all the nights when they were younger, when he'd find Kayla's room empty. He'd go looking for her, only to find her and Donny curled up in Don's bed, having fallen asleep after reading a story.

Leo sighed, a mix of sadness and mild contentment at the memories in that one breath. Knowing Kayla would be uncomfortable on the floor, Leo walked towards the container with the intent of taking her to her own room.

The scuff of feet on the cement floor caused Don's sharp, red eyes to snap open, swiveling in the direction of the sound to find one of the creatures who captured him, the one with the blue mask and swords. He was less than a foot from the girl, who was asleep on the floor, and was bending down like he planned on picking her up.

A low growl rumbled deep in Don's chest, his upper lip lifting to reveal his sharp fangs as he slowly raised his head from the floor.

Leo froze, his head snapping up to stare at Don in shock. He wasn't surprised at being growled at, he just thought Don was asleep. When he didn't move back after a few moments, Don's growl grew a tiny bit louder in warning.

Leo pulled back and took a few steps back. Don stopped growling, but he continued to glare at Leo through cold, red eyes. The leader thought for a moment before he took a step closer to Kayla again, testing something.

Don went back to growling, only a tiny bit louder than before. Leo could tell he was trying Don's patience, and he didn't want to wake Kayla up because she hadn't been sleeping at all since Don's double mutation.

Leo turned and walked over to the couch, grabbing one of the many pillows there, before walking back towards Don and Kayla. Don's eyes stayed fixed on him, watching his every move through narrowed, red eyes.

Leo met Don's eyes calmly as he crouched near Kayla's head, causing the larger turtle to reveal his fangs again in warning. Leo ignored the warning as he gently lifted Kayla's head and slid the pillow under her head so she'd be more comfortable, not once taking his eyes off Don's. Finally, Leo tore his eyes from his brother to fix the blanket so that it covered Kayla completely.

Don's eyes watched Leo's every move, waiting for him to do something to set him off. Finally, Leo pulled the book from Kayla's hand and set it on the floor, smiling a little when he saw the title.

Still crouched behind Kayla, Leo looked up and stared Don straight in the eye.

"I'd never hurt her, Donny." Leo said slowly, quietly. Don had no idea what the sounds the smaller creature made were, he simply stared back at Leo through narrowed eyes. Leo stood slowly, so as not to set Don off, and walked to his own room, wanting to get at least a few hours of sleep.

Don watched the creature leave to another part of the den. Only when he was completely out of sight did Don look back down at the girl.

He could tell by her calm breathing and steady heartbeat that she was asleep. And there was no change in her scent telling him the blue-masked creature did something wrong to her.

He still didn't know who she was, nothing about her was very familiar to him, apart from his own scent on the cloth covering her. But for some reason he wanted to protect her. He needed to protect her. No matter what.