[A/N: Originally posted to AO3 on April 30th, 2018]

Chapter Summary: Now living with at the farm house, Karai sees her once enemies in a completely different light.

TW: None

January 14th, 2014 | 3:15 pm

Leo had not been kidding, she may have very well hugged herself into Mikey's good graces. Mikey and her also shared a bedroom which at first weirded everyone out until Karai mentioned that she was now nocturnal. Since the turtles had adopted a human sleeping schedule to be awake when April and Casey were, Karai and Mikey were rarely in the room at the same time.

Her first task as a new house guest was locating and containing Mr. Tubbs who was actually not a King Cobra according to Donnie.

Mr. Tubbs was a Chinese Cobra. Specifications were very important. While that information was not as important as the fact that Donnie suspected the snake had been defanged. The two times he'd seen Mr. Tubbs he had noted the snake did not show its fangs, the cobra only made a hissing noise.

The high probability of Mr. Tubbs being defanged did not persuade Raph to unlock himself from the bathroom. He would allow Donnie to slip in to check on Leo, but no one else.

"Okay, you two find that Chinese Cobra, I have to run tests on this blood sample," Donnie said in the direction of Karai and Mikey. "Raph is really scared of snakes, and cockroaches. Which is funny, but also annoying."

"Wait why do I have to help?" Mikey asked.

"Because you were the one that basically dragged Karai and the cobra in the house," Donnie wagged his finger menacingly. "Also, because I said so."

Mikey frowned. "Who put you in charge?"

"I put myself in charge when Leo fell into a coma and Raph refused to leave his side."

Mikey closed his mouth as Donnie turned and walked out of the farmhouse to the barn.

Donnie, destroyer of moods.

"What is he doing in the barn?" Karai asked a somber looking Mikey.

Mikey twisted his face up. "It's his new lab or something, April made him go out there because she didn't want anything exploding in the farmhouse."

"Oh...," Karai said.

Explosions? What the hell?

"Anyways…" Mikey put on a smile. "Where do you think Mr. Tubbs is?"

"Someplace warm and quiet," she said, adjusting her sling. Donnie said her shoulder was sprained not dislocated. "So I don't think he'll go outside."

"How come?" Mikey asked.

"Because that's where I'd go?" Karai then pointed at her tail. "And I'm more snake than human now."

"Okay, sorry," Mikey said before he walked up the stairs, and down the hall.

Karai slithered after him having never been upstairs before and also confused at Mikey's apology. She stopped in the hallway at the top of the stairs. Mikey stopped in front of a door a down the hall.

"Hey Raph?" he asked through the door.

"What is it Mikey?" Raph said, muffled.

Mikey bit his lower lip nervously. "How warm is it in there?"

There was silence. "What? Why?" Raph questioned.

"I'm just curious," Mikey said, forcing a smile.

Karai suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Fine, uh, the thermometer is readin' seventy six degrees Fahrenheit," Raph replied quite annoyed.

"Okay, thanks Raph," Mikey said before walking back towards Karai. "Is that warm for a snake?"

"Yeah," Karai said, then after thinking about it added; "Seeing as the rest of the house is in the high sixties, that bathroom is nice and warm."

Mikey nodded, face still twisted up in a weird smile.

"...is it warm because Leo's in there?" she asked tentatively.

His face dropped at the mention on Leo. "Yeah..." Mikey said quietly. Then he turned and went back to the door. "Hey Raph?"

"What?"

"It's me again."

A loud sigh came from the other side of the door. "Go figure, whadda want Mikey?"

"Is it quiet in there?"

"It was until you showed up!" Raph moaned.

"Okay, thanks Raph," Mikey walked back to Karai. "So you think Mr. Tubbs is in there?"

Oh yeah, definitely.

"Maybe," Karai said.

"Okay," Mikey bit his lip. "Uh, any idea how we can ask Raph to look for a snake… without telling him there's a snake in there?"

Funny .

"Uh, ask him to find something you dropped on the floor?" Karai suggested.

"Okay but what did I drop?" Mikey asked.

"Make something up," Karai said, she wasn't seeing the issue with trusting him to do that.

"Okay…" Mikey walked back to the door this time Karai followed. "Hey Raph?"

"For the love of- What Mikey? What is it?"

Mikey was silent.

"Go on," Karai whispered.

You got this, why are you so nervous?

Mikey gulped. "Uh I, I forgot something in the bathroom."

Raph sighed. "And?"

"I think it's on the floor."

"That, that doesn't narrow it down Mikey, what did you forget in here?"

Mikey looked around searching for an answer. "Uh..., my cobra?"

Seriously?

Karai smacked her hand on her forehead.

The lock clicked the door swung open and a blur of green bolted out of the bathroom down the stairs and out the house without a single word.

Mikey gulped. "He's gonna kill me," he said giving Karai a scared look.

Karai entered the bathroom and her heart caught in her throat. She whipped her head away from Leo and looked back at Mikey, who was covering his eyes.

"Why are you covering your eyes like that?" she asked.

"I don't want to see him," Mikey said quietly. "That's not Leo."

Karai's face fell into a small frown but she turned back to the tub. He did look awful. He was pal, his face was slightly thinner, one of his eyes looked like it was recovering from a nasty blow. She swallowed the rock in her throat and brought her gaze down to the floor.

Under a magazine and a towel on the floor a gray scaly tail poked out. Karai grabbed it and pulled Mr. Tubbs to her. The snake squirmed a little but she held on tightly. Taking one last glance at Leo, she left the bathroom.

"Come on I got Mr. Tubbs, let's go," she slithered past Mikey who now with eyes closed instead of covered, blindly groped for the door knob and closed the door.

In a weird way she understood why Raph rarely left his side, but she also didn't think she could stay in there with Leo like...that.

January 28th, 2014 | 7:00 am

Leo's brothers were very protective of him. Even with Karai being at the farm house for two weeks, she wasn't explicitly barred from seeing Leo, but no one invited her to see him either. It seemed to her only two of the brothers actually touched him while unconcious. Mikey seemed happier not seeing Leo in the tub.

In fact, the one and only time she had really gotten a clear look at him was when she removed Mr. Tubbs from the room. Other than that one instance she had no excuse to enter the bathroom upstairs. The bedroom she shared with Mikey was on the ground floor, and the ground floor had a bathroom. There also was an outhouse. Mikey exclusively used the outhouse claiming it was a one in a lifetime experience. Raph now decided he would bunk with Casey, Donnie and April in the master bedroom upstairs.

Karai at first thought must have been cramped until it became clear that Casey usually slept on the couch, Donnie would fall asleep in the barn, Raph camps out in the bathroom leaving April to sleep alone in the largest bedroom.

When Karai entered the kitchen that morning to make some tea, she saw Donnie blending something up in the blender. Raph came in and grimaced, making eye contact with Donnie who also grimaced. Karai looked at the exchange confused. April came in the kitchen in a robe over the top of some pajamas.

"I was thinking I would make pancakes," she yawned. "They should be done by the time you two come back down."

"Thanks Ape," Raph said. Sipping from the mug in his hand. Donnie poured the contents of the blender into a tall glass and grabbed a package from a drawer in the kitchen. Karai saw now that it looked like medical tubing.

"Right behind you Don," Raph sighed, following Donnie out of the kitchen.

April was whipping something in a bowl, blonde and creamy looking. "They're going to be in a bad mood the rest of the day" she sighed. Karai was surprised April was talking to her. "They had to start tube feeding him after he didn't wake up in the first week."

Oh. Karai felt sick, again.

"Donnie and Raph take care of him mostly," April continued. "Mikey is too freaked out by the noises Leo makes, Donnie assures him he's unconscious and it's just an involuntary response but Mikey was very disturbed after trying to help the first time. Now he won't even look at Leo."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Karai added softly. "Do you guys know what happened to him?"

"No, he was nearly dead when they tossed him through my window." She took a ladle and dropped it into the batter, scooping up some and pouring it into a pan. "We're lucky he's alive, honestly."

Karai looked down at her hands. "Oh, how often do they...do this?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"Once every three days about," April flipped the pancake. "Don't take it took hard if they don't tell you anything. They're all very close. Leo being like this has put them all under a lot of stress."

She nodded as Mikey entered the kitchen. "Oh you're making pancakes! I love pancakes!" he exclaimed happily. "Oh Karai, you can have the room now to sleep if you want."

"Thanks, Mikey," she mumbled.

"You're not staying up for pancakes?" April asked.

Karai shrugged. "I'm part snake now, so I only eat once a week it's … weird".

April nodded. "Alright then, Goodnight Karai."

"Goodnight Karai," Mikey added.

"Yeah, night guys," Karai said, feeling heavier than usual.

She slithered out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. Once in the bedroom she checked on Mr. Tubbs, luckily April had at one point in time owned a salamander and she still had the glass tank stored away in the attic. She let Karai have it for Mr. Tubbs, along with a heated rock and lamp.

Mikey had helped her find and clean off rocks and bark slabs to decorate the tanks with. Saying he understood the difficulties of having a weird pet.

She supposed having a pet cobra was somewhat similar to owning a mutant icecream cat.

Karai slithered up on to the bed, she opened the blind knowing in an hour there would be a square of sunlight for her to sleep in. However she wasn't tired. Instead she listened. She heard Mikey and April in the kitchen. She heard Casey snoring softly on the couch. She heard Donnie and Raph whispering comforting things to their older brother. Things that made her throat close and her heart drop into her stomach.

February 14th, 2014 | 7:30 pm

A month into her stay at the farm house marked nearly two months of Leo being unconscious, causing tensions to rise. Raph and Donnie fought. It seemed an eternity passed before April had enough. With Casey's help she dragged him out of the barn demanding to know why they were fighting.

Karai came into the kitchen as well, curiosity getting the better of her after she heard Raph lock himself in the upstairs bathroom, again.

"Look man, we get it, this is family shit," Casey was taking the lead in starting the conversation. "But this isn't right, you and Raph always at each other's throats. Man, what's going on?"

"Did Raph put you up to this?" Donnie asked.

"Don't do that Donnie, don't try to change the subject," April scolded.

Donnie drummed his fingers on the table and sighed. "We disagree about some realities we are going to need to start facing."

"Which are?" Casey coaxed.

"That, I think Leo may have suffered a significant damage to his spine, and that Raph seems to think Leo will jump out of the tub if he stares at him long enough."

"Damage to his spine?" Karai spoke up. "What kind of damage?"

Donnie threw his hands up into the air. "I don't know, I can't get an x-ray, and he isn't awake for me to ask. It could be nothing. It could be devastating, he could be paralyzed. I don't know, but every time I even suggest Leo might not come out the same Raph freaks out on me." Donnie put his face in his hands.

No one talked, they all watched Donnie not knowing how to comfort him. He put his head back up and looked at Casey. "Raph still thinks he's going to wake up-," he stopped mid sentence and shook his head violently like he could shake away the urge to sob. April and Casey went over to him and wrapped their arms around him. Donnie silently sobbed into his own hands.

Karai didn't know Donnie well enough to do or say anything as comfort, so she slowly slithered out of the kitchen and into the living room where she spotted Mikey sitting on the couch. He was hugging his knees to the front of his shell staring at the muted television set. She wanted to stop, say something to him, but she forced herself to move towards the stairs and glide up them.

As she approached the bathroom door she raised her hand to knock and stopped because Raph was talking to someone.

Was Leo awak-

"Also he saw one dog, that would neither con...con sill ate….conciliate CONCILIATE! Knew I'd get it, anyways, neither conciliate nor obey finally killed in the struggle-"

Her heart sank.

Raph is reading something to Leo.

She listened at the door for a while, before turning around and slithering down the stairs. Raph was an okay reader, not great, but okay.

Leo would probably appreciate it if he was awake.

Mikey was still on the couch.

"You want to watch Jeopardy with me?" she asked in her most nonchalant voice she could muster.

"Jeopardy?" he asked, voice shaky. Mikey looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Yeah, you in?" she grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels for Jeopardy. "Sometimes, when stuff is tough-,"she started.

Like being an mutant snake or your older brother dying in a bathtub.

"-I just watch Jeopardy," she shrugged.

Her and Mikey watched Jeopardy for a while in silence, at some point Donnie, April and Casey joined them. It had to be the most normal thing any of them had done together.

After three episodes Casey piped up with, "How is this on the air still?"

February 21st, 2014 | 8:00 pm

"He's seriously staying in there," Donnie moaned as Casey walked out of the farmhouse with no Raph in sight.

They had decided since it was a mild night to have some fun. They got the fire pit going. They had marshmallows, the plan was to spend tonight eating smores and acting normal. Mikey had told Casey he was their best shot at convincing Raph to join them. Since Raph spent a concerning amount of time just sitting next to Leo.

"Sorry guys, he's stubborn," Casey shrugged. "Man it's boring with him just watching Leo non-stop."

Karai thought she almost heard jealousy in his voice.

Karai watched as they talked about random things, Raph watching Leo constantly. April and Donnie talked about supplies and researching what's happening in the city. Casey was trying and failing to show Mikey how to toast a marshmallow without burning it.

She could see the problems being caused by Leo's absence. Raph had completely removed himself from the family, as such his human best friend Casey was left with April and Mikey for companionship. Donnie and Casey didn't like each other, Karai suspected it was because Casey kept hitting on April.

"So Karai, when do I get to pay you back," April interrupted her train of thought.

"Pay me back?" Karai asked.

"For beating me up last year?" April's tone didn't seem serious, more like she was dragging Karai into the conversation.

"Oh right!" Karai played along. "I don't know how fair it would be O'Neil, I've recently experienced a combat upgrade." She gestured to her snake lower half.

"Alright fine," April bit into her perfectly cooked marshmallow. "I can see you are scared to face me again."

Karai laughed, it was weird joking around with another girl her age. "For what it's worth, I am sorry."

April batted her hand in Karai's direction. "Shut up it's in the past, just poking at you."

"If it makes you feel better, Blu- I mean Leo really chewed me out for it."

"He did?" Donnie sat up in his lawn chair suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Yeah, he found me that same night, katanas blazing," Karai smiled. "He was so pissed, and I've never seen him actually pissed at me".

Donnie looked exasperated and so did Mikey. "We were pissed at him for defending you! He was telling us 'guys she's not bad, she didn't put April in the hospital, the Shredder undoubtedly forced her to do it.' We had to hold Raph back from ripping his shell in two."

Karai's eyes widened. "I had no idea I put you all through that."

"Wait wait, so how often did you and Leo get together?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah," Donnie pointed at Mikey. "That's a good question, because now that I think about it Leo would sneak out an awful lot, especially after the incident at the docks," he added coldly.

Mikey and Casey looked alarmed.

"What?, I do look at the security camera footage," Donnie said defensively.

"Uh…" Karai started.

"Also, you called him Blue the first day you were here," Donnie smiled mischievously. "What's that all about?"

"Just a nickname," she felt heat on her face.

"Just a nickname?" April repeated. "Sounds more like a pet name to me."

April you're not fucking helping.

"His mask is blue so I started calling him Blue," Karai crossed her arms. "You are all making this into something it isn't."

"What is it then?" Mikey asked.

Karai didn't know how to respond. "We're friends," she said, raising her voice slightly. What was wrong with these people?

"Friends that would sneak out and do who knows what multiple times a week without telling anyone?" Donnie asked suspiciously.

"We're...secret friends?" Karai was certain she was blushing now. "What does it matter what we used to do? I know Splinter is my dad now, so I am on your side."

"Leo has a crush on you though," Casey added.

Karai rolled her eyes. "And the sky is blue, tell me something new Jones."

"You're very defensive," Donnie pointed out.

"Pet names... defensive attitude... blushing..." April was counting these things off on her fingers. "Sure you're just friends?"

"Donnie has a pet name for you!" Karai blurted out.

"Oh things are getting spicy!" Mikey exclaimed as April's head whipped to Donnie.

"That's a lie!" Donnie yelped.

"Oh is it?" Karai asked, feeling the tables turn. "Leo told me all about the pet names you have for April," she smiled and looked at April. "I didn't start calling you 'Princess' for no good reason...course I took off the 'Beautiful' part".

Now Donnie's face was red.

Mikey was cackling. "Oh man how mad are you going to be at Leo, D?"

"Whoa, what other things did Leo tell you?" Donnie asked.

"This and that," Karai shrugged. "Like you said, we did get together often."

Mikey stopped laughing and took on a sudden serious tone. "He didn't tell you about the time I sat on some still wet cement and he had to help me scrape it off my shell, right?"

Karai stared. "No..., but thanks for telling me."

"When did that happen?" Donnie asked. "I can't believe Leo didn't tell us that! That's hilarious!"

Mikey groaned. "I begged him not to, also he said he wasn't eager to tell everyone about how close he had to be to my butt for like an hour." He gasped. "He didn't tell you about the time a piece of pepperoni got stuck to my shell and I thought I had a disease but then it fell off and I ate it and then I was scared that I was turning into a pizza."

"Dude," Casey sighed. "That happened three days ago."

"Huh," Mikey shrugged. "Time moves fast when you are made of pepperoni."

What?

"Any embarrassing ones about Donnie?" April asked moving past Mikey's nonsensical statement.

"Hey!" Donnie retorted

"This is payback for that pet name," April sassed.

Karai laughed. "Blue told be about how Donnie was the one to give you all the birds and the bees at age nine".

"Alright I'm out," Casey half said, half laughed. "Have fun with this I'm going to go annoy the shit out of Raph." Casey walked back into the farmhouse shaking his head the whole way.

"In my defense I was only eager to share the wealth of knowledge-" Donnie yammered.

"You terrorized us with scary diagrams whenever we annoyed you!" Mikey hollered. April was laughing and Karai was barely holding onto her own composure. "I had nightmare about having a uterus, dude."

"I wish I had left with Casey," Karai sighed.

"You guys wouldn't leave me alone, I had impor-"

"What's this about stories?" Raph was walking towards them.

"Oh look you came out of the bathroom, who's with Leo?" Donnie asked. Happy to create a distraction.

"Casey's got it under control," Raph huffed. "Told me you guys are out here spreading tales."

"That reminds me Raph," Karai started. "I've been meaning to ask you what you were hoping to accomplish when you got your head stuck in that chair."

Raph's mouth fell open. Mikey and Donnie were laughing hard, reliving the memory.

"Wait, wait! I need to know this one!" April said while laughing.

"No!" Raph interrupted. "No, we do not talk about that, who told you that?"

"Leo did," April answered for Karai. "Leo apparently has been telling Karai a lot of stories."

"Oh, okay, I see," Raph looked at the snickering group. "Leo runs off and tells his girlfriend all about us behind our shells, huh?"

"I'm not his-" Karai began but Raph talked over her.

"I smell the opportunity for payback!" Raph declared.

"Payback?" Donnie and Mikey said together.

"Yeah...payback!" Raph smiled, and Raph had a scary smile Karai noted. "Snake Lady, how many embarrassing stories did Leo tell you about himself?"

Oh I see where you are going.

"None," Karai smiled.

"Donnie, Mikey, I think we should give Leo a little taste of his own medicine!" Raph rubbed his hands together menacingly. "Who wants to go first?"

February 27th, 2014 | 6:30 pm

It had been a week after the fire pit. Karai noted how Raph was at least talking to her more. He'd say hello at breakfast. He'd ask her questions, or even strike up a conversation.

It was nearing the end of February when Raph casually asked Karai if she'd watch Leo that night.

She nearly choked on her drink. "What?" she asked, because certainly he did not just ask her that.

Raph stabbed a ravioli with his fork. "Casey and I are going to be," he stopped giving his ravioli a smear around his plate. "Going to be doing something tonight, and I was hopin' you'd keep an eye on Leo."

"Wouldn't you rather Donnie watched him?" Karai asked, unsure if she was really the one for such a sensitive task.

Raph chewed slowly. "I was hoping this would stay between us?"

"Yeah sure, I'll...I'll watch him," she felt nervous, which was weird. She rarely felt nervous.

It was rare Raph and her were in a room alone. It just so happened today that Raph was eating his dinner late and Karai had woken up early. Donnie was with Leo. Mikey, Casey and April were in the farmhouse study looking for a board game since the cable had been acting funny.

After a minute or two of silence she spoke up. "Do I have to do anything?"

"Nah, just, sit with him," Raph said, looking up. "I read to him, and don't you dare tell anyone that."

"Okay," she replied, feeling this was not the time to make jokes.

"We're on page eighty of Jack London's Call of the Wild, it you want to read that to him." Raph scraped up some sauce with his fork adding, "I'm not all that invested in the story line so I don't mind if you read some more of it to him, just move the bookmark when yer done." He got up and took his plate to the sink. "I'll come find you when it's time."

She nodded, still processing the idea that she was going to sit next to Leo for possibly hours.

An hour and a half later, Raph found Karai on the porch and gestured for her to follow him upstairs. When they got to the bathroom, Raph showed her where the Jack London book was, and showed her how to monitor the water temperature, along with explaining how to raise it.

"Uh, he mumbles sometimes, not even words, just uh...whines I guess. Don't freak out, it's not him waking up, Donnie says he probably is having dreams," Raph looked around the bathroom. "Yep, that should be it, uh I'll be back in a few hours."

When Raph left she closed the door and moved the stool into the corner of the room so she could coil herself in the center of the room.

Leo looked strange without his mask and gear. She noted his eye looked completely healed. He had a few scars on his arms, some looked like they were from battle. Some looked like they were from other things.

She did end up reading Call on the Wild, only a few pages before she heard footsteps coming up the stairs so she stopped and listened.

A knock came at the door.

"Hey."

It was Mikey.

"Hey Mikey, uh Raph isn't here," Karai said through the door.

"I know," Mikey replied. "I saw him leave with Casey".

"Oh." Karai didn't know what to say. "You want to come in?"

"I don't know," Mikey said quietly.

"I could open the door, and you could stay out there, if you want?" Karai asked

"No, then the room would get cold."

"Oh, yeah I guess you're right."

"I'll come in…" Mikey said after a moment of silence.

Karai opened the door and moved over, she took the stool from the corner of the room and slid it over to Mikey, who took it and sat on it after closing the door behind him.

"I was reading to him," Karai held up the book. "You want to talk or do you want me to keep reading?"

"I've never read that book," he whispered.

"I could start from the beginning," Karai offered.

"That's okay, I just don't want to be alone is all," Mikey looked at the floor, he was avoiding looking at Leo directly.

Karai nodded. "Where's Donnie and April?"

"They're in the barn," Mikey sighed. "I felt like a third wheel so I left."

Karai started reading again. She wasn't sure what was going on in the book having started near the end but she kept reading until she noticed Mikey was leaned over, head on the sink asleep.

Okay the book isn't that boring.

The door opened and Karai jumped.

"You're not Raph," Donnie said to her, annoyed.

"Good eye," Karai replied.

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Where's Raph?"

"I don't know."

"Where's Casey?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know, or they didn't tell you?"

"They didn't tell me"

"Okay, good talk," Donnie closed the door and left.

That was weird.

She was about to continue reading when the door opened again.

Donnie was back. "If you did know, but they told you not to tell me, would you tell me?"

"What do you think?"

"So you do know where they are?"

"I know where they aren't."

"Where aren't they?"

"They aren't here, and they aren't anywhere they want you to know of."

"You're enjoying this."

"What do you think?"

"Uh huh." Donnie squinted at her and added, "When and if you see Raph, tell him I need a word." And with that he closed the door and left.

What is going on?

"Hey," she elbowed Mikey.

Mikey made noises in response.

"Okay whatever," she turned to Leo. "You're brothers are fucking weird."

No one responded to that of course.

Raph came back an hour or so after Donnie's interrogation, he opened the door, looked at Mikey and raised his brow.

"Wow, he hasn't been in here since January. You want some beer?" He held up a six pack, a beer already missing from it.

"I'll pass," she said. "Hey Donnie came looking for you."

"Sounds like him," Raph close the door and leaned against it. "Any issues?"

"No, but I accidentally put Michelangelo to sleep with my reading."

"That'll happen," Raph used the top of his shell to remove the cap on his beer.

"Hey, what are those scars right here," Karai pointed to the inside of Leo's wrists that were usually covered in wrappings.

Raph grimaced. "Hoped you wouldn't see those to be frank."

"What are they?" she pressed on.

"Battle scars."

"Battle scars?" Karai asked.

Raph sighed. He glanced at Mikey and kicked him lightly in the foot, when Mikey didn't even react Raph continued. "Look Karai, I'll be straight with you, because I'm tired of the games, but there are some things you are going to have to realize about us if you want in this family."

Karai bit back the urge to point out she was literally Splinter's biological daughter. "Like what?"

"That there are some things that stay between brothers," he pointed at Leo. "Those scars on his wrist for example."

Karai didn't say anything.

"You see, we didn't know about that little habit there until this coma," Raph said, he sounded a little angry. "And at the time, a few of them were not that old."

"Oh..." Karai breathed.

"Yeah," Raph took a swig of beer. "So when we found those the last thing we wanted was for April and Casey to see 'em. Cause then they'd ask questions."

"I get it."

"Do you?" Raph frowned. "Because you two spend and awful lot of time with each other so I'm wondering if you knew."

Karai was taken aback. "Raph I swear I had no idea he was doing that."

Raph didn't look convinced. "Just seems like the kind of habit he'd pick up from-"

"From what?" Karai asked defensively. "From me? I'm a brat so I must have taught him that?"

Raph opened his mouth and closed it.

"I don't do that," Karai seethed. "I'm not some weakling".

Raph frowned. "I never called you weak and doing that- erg. Never mind. Be honest with me Karai. Did ya know?" he asked, getting serious.

"I'm serious, he never took off his wrappings in front of me or anything, how would I have known?" Karai closed the book and put it back on the sink.

Raph batted a hand at her. "Okay, okay I believe you. I guess he had us all fooled."

"Why'd you call them 'battle scars' if he made them?"

"Because they are." When Karai just looked at him questioningly he elaborated. "To do that to yourself...you have to be battling something."

Sure.

March 31st, 2014 | 11:00 am

Karai had been giving pointers to Casey as he sparred off against April. April was of course being coached by Donnie. Mikey was the ref and judge, giving out scores.

Casey could hit harder, but aside from punching, the boy didn't have any tricks up his sleeves. He was very bad at dodging April's hits and he didn't land a single direct blow. Karai had to admit that since the last time she saw April, the girl had improved.

After the sparring match, it was time for lunch. April and Donnie headed to the kitchen, Casey flipped through channels looking for a reliable news station. Karai watched as Michelangelo skipped out behind the farm house and sat in the grass cross legged facing the woods.

What was that all about?

She lingered there, not knowing what to do. Admittedly it was less awkward now than it had been when she first arrived. March was coming to a close, everyone seemed comfortable with each other. She slithered into the kitchen to find Donnie talking to April about something in a near whisper. They were talking about money.

Karai felt guilty. She still had that cash from Fishface's van, but it was literally a rainy day fund. Though now she realized, the grocery trips April and Casey made every week were not free. It was part of the reason Karai hunted. Partially embarrassed by the amount of food she consumed once a week. Every Friday she'd have dinner with them all, then that night when they went to bed, she'd hunt.

She'd allow her snake side to take over. She could see in the dark, she could hear every animal around her. A small cluster of deer looking for a place to sleep. They weren't fast enough to outrun her. She could slither faster. She had adapted the the forest floor, two and a half months of being in those woods and her body was white silk under the moon. Karai was impressed with herself.

It still meant she was riding off the back of April.

"Donnie, I know you guys will pay me back," April reassured the guilty looking mutant. "The issue is the credit cards got declined last week, we only had enough cash for half the groceries, so that's what we got."

Donnie rubbed his face. "There a dump a few miles from here, maybe Mikey and I can raid it for scrap metal-"

"I'd help," Karai interrupted.

They both jumped. Karai did have a nasty habit of being able to enter a room unnoticed.

"You would?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah," Karai said looking at Donnie. "I mean, I've been living here rent free, time I pull my fucking weight right?"

Donnie looked surprised. "Okay, okay. We'd need Casey to drive...how are we on gas?"

April grimaced. "We have enough to go to the gas station and look longingly at the pump".

Donnie went back to looking defeated.

"Hey, we'll figure it out," April tried to reassure.

"Hey what's Mikey doing out there?" Karai asked remembering originally why she came into the kitchen.

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Who knows, it's Mikey."

"Is he meditating?" Karai pressed. She sometimes would sneak up on Leo when he'd meditate.

"No, he's probably playing pretend or something," Donnie sighed. "He needs to grow up."

Karai didn't respond. It wasn't her place. Instead she left the kitchen, slithered past Casey on the couch and out of the farm house. She found Mikey still sitting in front of the woods. He was brushing the grass gently.

"Hey Mikey," Karai announced her presence to him.

"Oh, hiya Karai," he replied cheerfully. That was the great thing about Mikey. Karai had yet to ever catch him in a bad mood. He was happy to talk with anyone, no matter what was going on.

"What are you doing?"

"Talkin' to the grass," Mikey smiled at her. "Well actually, they are talking to me. But they all talk at the same time so I can't understand what they are saying," he frowned.

Um what?

"The grass?" Karai looked down at the grass below her.

Mikey looked down defeated. "If you are just going to make fun of me like Donnie you can leave."

"What? No, I just," Karai snapped her fingers looking for a polite way to phrase this. "I've just never heard of someone talking to…the grass."

Mikey went back to brushing the grass with his hand.

Oh what kind of fucking nonsense did I get myself into.

"Does the grass… like it when you do that?" Karai asked hoping it sounded sincere.

"Hmm, I think," Mikey twisted his lips. "Grass isn't very smart, the trees are smarter. Not like, Donnie smart, but they at least say things that make sense. Except the ones with mushrooms growing on them. Those trees are weird."

Karai looked at the woods. "Those trees?"

"Yeup" Mikey laughed. "That reminds me, by the creek there's an oak tree who tells me the deer have ghost stories."

"The trees talk to the deer?"

"Yeah! Of course they do!" Mikey smiled.

Oh, totally, silly me for not realizing the deer and the trees talk.

"What was the ghost story?"

Mikey raised a brow. "You should know, it's about you."

Karai didn't know how to respond to that.

"You are the white serpent who kills deer out in the woods when they sleep, aren't you?" Mikey asked.

"How do you know that?" Karai was stunned. No one knew about her hunting expeditions.

"The trees told me." Mikey replied. He brushed the grass again. "I think the grass likes this, they make a happy humming noise. If someone was doing something you liked, would you make a happy humming noise? I think I would, I hum when I am eating a really good slice of pizza. So maybe it's like that."

Karai stared at him.

"It's okay if you think I'm crazy," Mikey added quietly.

"Are you being serious? You're not, I don't know, pranking me right?" Karai slithered in front of Mikey to get a better look at him.

"No. Why does everyone always ask that?"

"It just...it sounds made up."

"You sound like Donnie, and Raph," Mikey looked at the trees. "Leo always believed me." Mikey didn't look sad when he mentioned Leo, which had to be a first. "Donnie and Raph said Leo only believed me because Leo believes in all the meditative stuff. They think I'm just messing with Leo, so they pick on Leo for falling for it."

"You want me to beat them up for you?" Karai added.

Mikey looked up surprised. "You'd do that for me?"

"Sure. What the hell," Karai shrugged.

Mikey processed this new information. "Hmmm, can I cash it in later or do I have to use it now?"

"I don't care, I'm always in the mood to beat someone up."

"Okay, because I want to wait until Leo's awake," Mikey picked a twig off the ground and twirled it around. "He says he wants to see that." He threw the twig at the woods. It didn't go far, it was a light twig.

"He says? Don't you mean said?" Karai asked.

"Sometimes, when his spirit is strong enough, I'll see him," Mikey paused. "He was the one who told me to drag you into the house that night."

Karai just stared.

"Yeah, he said you'd traveled a long distance to get here," Mikey stood up. "But I don't dare tell Raph or Donnie because the last time I did Raph pummeled me for saying I was talking to Leo."

Mikey walked away into the farmhouse. Karai stayed there, staring before she turned to the woods. She stood there, as much as a mutant snake girl could "stand" and looked around. For a warm day she felt really cold.

March 31st, 2014 | 12:30 pm

Karai was not the spiritual type. The Shredder had never pushed meditation, or inner peace. Looking back, that made a lot of sense. Karai usually avoided thinking about her father. When she failed to kill him and disfigured herself she decided to look forward instead of behind her.

After her unnerving conversation with Leo's youngest brother, Karai had slithered off into her bedroom to catch some sleep. This time she slithered under the bed, where she felt safest. She often went into tight, confined and dark places when less than appealing thoughts intruded her mind. Though she was further than she'd ever been from The Shredder sometimes she'd awake in a cold sweat with the feeling of his lips pressed on her neck and his hand crawling down the front of her pants.

She coiled around herself tighter. The dust bunnies wouldn't tell Mikey about her crying at least.

April 1st, 2014 | 7:10 am

The next morning she returned from the woods to find five tired beings around a kitchen table. Casey and Raph were standing on one side of the kitchen shoulder to shoulder, Mikey was humming and stirring a large pot of oatmeal. Donnie was sitting at the table almost asleep on his arms. April looked up at her from the table.

"Morning guys," Karai announced her presence.

A chorus of mumbles greeted her. Only Mikey seemed happy. "Good Morning Karai!" he smiled brightly.

"You're in a good mood," Karai smiled.

Mikey nodded. "Today is going to be a great day!" he stirred the oatmeal enthusiastically.

"You've been saying that since you woke up," Donnie yawned. "Why is today going to be a great day?"

"You'll see!" Mikey said. Content with not dropping anymore hints than that.

Raph grunted. "It's April firs', so Mikey is gonna be a pain in the ass all day."

"It's April first?!" Mikey yelled causing everyone to flinch. It was too early in the morning for loud noises.

A collective response of "nice try" and "we know you didn't forget" filled the room.

After breakfast Karai pulled April off to the side asking for a word in private. Once Karai had April in her and Mikey's shared room she turned and rummaged through her backpack and pulled out the five grand she had stowed away.

"Take this," Karai held it out to her.

April's eyes widened to the size of fucking dinner plates. "Karai I can't, you don't have to do-"

"Uhg, don't do that. Don't act stoic or some shit. Take the money. I stole it from fishface," Karai added the last part hoping it would answer any questions about how she got it.

April took the money and realizing how much it was started to hand it back. "Karai this is like five thousand dollars!"

"And?"

"That's way too-"

"I overheard the words credit card and declined yesterday. Both in the same sentence. Take the money, use it to pay off whatever debt playing fucking house has put you in."

April nodded. "I- thanks Karai"

"Don't mention it."

"I-"

"No, seriously, don't mention it. I gave it to you because you're the only person who I can trust to actually spend it wisely."

Before Karai could react April hugged her. Karai awkwardly half hugged her back. Then she heard it. The splashing of water, coughing, the stool falling over and a door being swung open.

"GUYS!" Raph hollered from upstairs "GET IN HERE!"