Never-NeverLand – Chapter 14
Sterling fought off another painful urge to yawn. 'I think the only thing keeping me awake right now is leftover adrenaline.' Splinter's comforting presence had taken the edge off her initial panic, and even the remainder of that rush was ebbing. 'Shima and I've been awake since before dawn. Then there was that run; damn do I have a new respect for those guys. I have no idea how Raphael ran that far that fast.' Sterling swallowed another yawn. 'Owch. Then Shima scared the shit out of us. Um, then there was the bonfire. Crap. That's right. Pipes convinced me to dance. How the hell does she do shit like that? And then we waited forever for the human that wasn't the human we were waiting for. Um. April and Casey.' She blinked muzzily. 'That's Casey up there, so April's the one he's not.' Sterling shivered, 'Yup. Definitely tired. Gettin' cold and stupid. Hate that. Though I'd hate to be Donnie when Shima finally crashes. Heh. Heh.' Sterling shivered in a passive lump, watching her sisters cope with their exhaustion. 'They're funny when they're sleepy.' She blinked to clear the sleep gathering at the corners of her eyes.
Cabbage contemplated Splinter's fur. "It's so soft. I had a teddy bear once, but it wasn't this soft. He's teddy bear brown, too. I feel safe right here. I can smell that tea he drinks and some of the incense he burns at night. He keeps calling us 'daughters' does that mean he's our father? Daddy. I've got a family: a BIG family with sisters and brothers and a DAD. Haiku: My Father Soft-Fur./ Hold me in arms brown and safe./ Apple tree cradle." Grinning sleepily, Cabbage forgot her words the moment they slipped out of her mouth, but she felt their soothing effect, and laid her head contentedly on Splinter's shoulder. Splinter's whiskers twitched violently at the words 'Daddy', 'Dad,' and 'Haiku.' Leo hid his smile behind his hand; he'd never seen anyone look so dignified and so confused at once.
Pipes' hiccups had subsided by the time the van pulled into the alley. Mike noticed that her face seemed a bit flushed and her eyes were a bit glassy, but every time he asked if she was ok, she nodded with the jittery energy of a caffeine addict. 'Okay. If she says she's alright, um, damn she's weird.' She stayed silent until the van stopped and Leo, Don, and Mike had put on their trench coats and were searching for their fedoras.
Fits of Pipes-style giggles filled the van. +"Oh! Oh! Guys! Sing that 'Three Little Maids from School are We…' song! Ha ha ha! Matching Bogarts! Wahahaha…"+ She stopped suddenly, only to burst out again a heartbeat later. This time she was laughing so hard, she was almost silent.
"Dudette, what's with you?" Mike exchanged looks with his brothers. Pipes just shook her head; she was laughing too hard to explain.
Shima jumped in, "It's ok. She's past the 'Little Teapot Point.'" She could see that this had only served to confuse her brothers and send her sister off into another fit of giggles. "She's tired. She's beyond tired. She's at that point where absolutely anything and everything is hysterically funny. When we were little we called it the 'Little Teapot Point,' because that stupid song has absolutely nothing funny about it, but if you can't make it through the song without laughing like a maniac, it's officially time for bed." Shima paused, watching her sister trying to tame her giggles. "It's clearly bedtime for Bonzo, if you know what I mean."
Pipes was making a valiant effort to calm down and stifle her laughter, but she had only succeeded in giving herself the hiccups again. +"Sorry."+ snicker hic
"You guys are weird when you're tired." Mikey grabbed one of the blankets and rolled Pipes in it like a burrito. "Let's get you home, huh?" Completely covered and almost completely silent, Mike carried his hiccupping bundle to the manhole and handed her down to Raph.
Raph unwrapped her, setting her on a cleared patch of ground. "Stand there. Don't move. Be quiet." She hiccupped. He glared at her as though she'd done it on purpose. She hiccupped again. He shot her a disgusted glare and climbed back up, muttering. "Don't got a sister, got a fuckin' squeaky toy." He passed the blanket back in an exchange for an armful of Sterling wrapped in that hated afghan. He wondered briefly if his brothers were making fun of him some how, but dismissed the thought as being paranoid. He almost handed the thing back in the hopes that it would stay with the van. But she was shaking like a leaf, so he let her hang onto it. Besides, there should be a pair of blankets left. That would be just fine for the two remaining girls.
Swaddled in the comforter, Cabbage watched as Donnie effortlessly passed Shima's bundled form through the manhole to Raphael. Since it was dark in the tunnel, she didn't feel embarrassed about staring. 'Daaaaamn. No wonder they're not scared of humans. They're frickin' Supermen.' She laughed to herself. Out loud would have been suicide, since the air lay like manky, moldy carpets in the tunnels. She had jolted back awake at her first breath underground. 'Ugh! Smells like trash day at the morgue. I hope the "lair" doesn't smell like this.'
A few quick rounds of 'rock, paper, scissors' later, Splinter was leading a caravan of encumbered turtles through the sewers. Raphael grumbled, bringing up the rear. He had the duffle bag slung across his chest and the cooler in front of him. He also had the best view. 'If I wanted to watch Mike carry TWO girls.'
The girls had initially protested. "Our legs aren't broken! We can walk if you guys can."
Leonardo sighed. They were not the only ones who were tired. He scooped up Sterling, because he knew she'd give him a chance to explain. She wouldn't like it, but she couldn't drown him in an argument. The look she shot him could have been used to build igloos. "Don't be like that, Sis. You don't have shoes. You don't have calluses. You don't know these tunnels. We're all tired. Nobody wants to have to set a broken ankle or wrap up a sprain or pull glass out of your feet. Just sit back and enjoy it. Once we're home, nobody'll carry anywhere. Deal?"
Mike used Leo's explanation as a distraction, slipping up behind Cabbage and Pipes. He slid one arm around the waist of each and pulling them both close to him, he muttered, "I use ancient Ninja art of Ageru Onna."
Shima blinked. "The art of raising woman?"
Pipes groaned and smacked Mike's shell. +"The art of picking up women?!"+ She laughed loudly, only to be shushed by Mike's hand across her beak.
"Sorry, but we gotta be quiet lil' Sis." He winked at her, "Yeah, it was a lousy joke, but you laughed."
"She'd laugh at a sandwich baggie at this point," Cabbage pointed out dryly.
"Cool." Mike wrapped his arm around Cabbage's thighs, effectively seating her on his bicep. "That just means that Leo'll actually—" He dipped down and wrapped his other arm around Pipes' thighs, sitting her on his other shoulder. "Get some one to laugh at his jokes."
Leo looked over his cranky sister's head. "I don't tell jokes," he deadpanned.
Pipes laughed so hard, she almost fell off Mike's shoulder.
Mike just grinned. "Ok babes, you guys keep your heads down and your arms in. I'll try not to drop ya." Cabbage agreed, Pipes giggled, and the caravan started to trudge onward.
Donnie silently picked up Shima. Hearing Raphael cursing quietly behind him, he followed Mike's looming silhouette. "I swear you're the only one who doesn't flip out when she's tired."
Shima shook her head, "No, actually I'm the worst. I've just been trying real hard to keep it all together." She grimaced, adjusting the angle of her elbow around the back of his neck.
"Shima, what are you talking about? You're not Pipes, the Obscenely Easily Amused. You're not Sterling, the Angriest Papoose on the Planet. And you're not Cabbage, Space Cadet Extraordinaire. How are you the worst?"
He shivered as her warm breath tickled his ear. "Can you keep a secret?"
Raphael heard only murmurs of conversation from in front of him. He was lost in his own brooding thoughts. 'Fuckin' cooler. Fuckin' Mikey and his stupid foo-foo stories. Carryin' around two girls like he's some kinda SuperAss-tastic Stud-Muffin. Leo throwin' Sterling around like she's a fuckin' piece of luggage just cause she ain't talkin' right now. Shit, I'm the reason that she's not talking right now. Goddamnit. Just so tired. Gonna go home and shut out the world for the next 12 hours. If Leo says the word "practice", I take his little wanker hands off at the wrist. OH FUCK. With the girls around, I'll be sleeping on the sofa until we find enough mattresses. If I'm lucky enough to get the sofa, the way things are going, I'll end up sleeping in the fuckin' cooler…Fuckin' cooler. Fuckin' Mikey an his –'
Raphael stopped short, trying desperately to catch his balance. "Donnie! Watch it! Why the fuck did you stop?!" Donnie didn't answer, but there was a low throaty chuckle from Shima.
kyabetsu here---
so, can you keep a secret? lol. wink wink. smiles.
crap! I've got an exam in something tomorrow. Time to find out what it was…. whoops.
enjoy the story! tell me if you did or if your shoes are too tight or whatever…
I can keep a secret. ;)