Special thanks to Pi90katana for her fab assistance and bunny bouncing! Hope everyone enjoys... and... sorry! XD

Another Bad Day

"One point for me!" Fulton looked proud as he returned from the perimeter of their enclosure. "That human there just tried to speak to me, even if I couldn't hear him too well... so that's one point."

"Well..."

Lex nodded. "One point for 'Someone tries to speak to you.' Granted."

"What?!" Dela kicked his feet out, causing the water in the pound before him to splash on the others. "You didn't gimme my point fer that earlier, when that lil' ol' lady was talking to me."

His brother sighed, even as he made a marking in the dirt before him. "She didn't speak to you, just said something and looked straight at you. We already decided that's only half a point."

"Oh you..."

Chris bounced over to them, grinning widely. "I'm still in the lead, right? Because... you know..." He rocked back on his feet, puffing up.

"Yes yes..." Lex pointed to a mark in the dirt. "That boy tossed you a banana, counting as 'someone gives you food', duly noted."

"Still say that's because he thought yer were a monkey." pointed out Delancey.

Clapping his hands together, Chris grinned. "Jealousy doesn't suit you, oh brother of mine."

"Funny, the banana suited you jus' fine."

"You're just upset that 'Totally ignored and allowed to wallow in the pond of angst' doesn't count, Dela." Fulton patted the back of Dela's shell sympathetically. "Maybe you can convince the others next time."

"Or not..."

"He does that all the time!" agreed Chris.

"...'sitting in the cave reading books' also doesn't count." added Lexington, his eyes skimming the tallies again.

"Too bad." Ful nodded. "Because I'm going to play -that- game for a bit. Later, all..." and with that, he entered a cave, presumably to finish the 'Tale of Two Cities' book he was raving about at breakfast.

"...His points don' count anymore, then." said Dela, watching his brother make his retreat with no small amount of jealousy.

Christopher put his hand in the pond, splashing a bit of water at his brother, who simply growled back at him. "Well, I'm off to totally own you guys. And get more food." He waved, smiling once more. "Ta!"

"Brat." muttered Dela. "It's only cuz they know him here. Cheatin'."

"Weren't you the one who said 'It doesn't matter', Delancey?" Lex laughed, his eyes on the humans on the far end of the exhibit. "...It doesn't matter anyways. As long as... you know..."

"If yer gonna say somethin' hokey, don't say it." snorted Dela. "It's jus' a game. We're killin' time. That's good enough fer me."

Lex actually looked a bit crestfallen. "Well, I heard that games and activities are a perfectly reasonable way to not only pass the time, but also to learn new skills, practice old ones, and-- well-- bond."

Both fell silent then, the weight of their conversation not even four days previous crashing over them.

"Soooo..."

"Yeah."

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess it ain' so bad." admitted Delancey, standing up and giving the humans watching them a dirty look. "Better than doing nothin'."

"That's right!" looking excited, Lexington moved closer to his brother, his eyes shining with a light that Dela still found both mesmerizing and somehow disturbing."We can do this! Make the best of our days, that is. We don't have to just sit around..." suddenly, he paused, as if an unpleasant notion just entered his mind.

"What?"

"...It'll be nice while it lasts." said Lexington, softly.

"What?!" Dela shot the other turtle a sharp glance, not liking the way that the usually brilliant light in his brother's eyes had suddenly died. Not liking it one damn bit. "What do you mean?"

If there was one thing he liked about his recently acquired brother, it was the way Dela knew he'd always speak the truth. He was counting on that now, because hell if Lex didn't look very torn and uncomfortable.

"...it won't last." repeated Lex, shifting about, his eyes not meeting Dela's.

"What won't?" asked Dela, patiently.

"They... they talk to me sometimes. More than they do Fulton and Christopher." Lex's eyes were locked onto the far end of the exhibit, where the viewing area was. "They tell me... things."

"Like?"

Lexington swallowed. "...They don't want me to tell you guys." he admitted. "I'm not supposed to talk about this."

"Fine." huffed Delancey. "I wouldn't expect -ya- to."

"That's..." Lex looked both angry and apologetic. "You can't ask me to--"

"That's right." Dela moved around, so he could meet his brother's reluctant gaze. "You'd hafta do that on yer own."

"I..."

"They..."

"They are taking us back soon!" blurted Lexington, almost all at once. "This won't last! Our zoos want us back!"

His blood freezing to ice in his veins, Dela found himself unable to do more than stare at him. "...Back?" he croaked, finally.

"Back." repeated Lex, looking even more upset now. "They... they... they shouldn't... they can't..." he murmured.

Not quite so idealistic, Dela finally got it. "They will."