Note: I don't own the TMNT, or any of the Mirage characters, or any of the Archie adventures characters more of Raph in Alaska. perhaps he'll do a northern tour and dip into Northern BC? -

~She loves me Ch.2~

Dave was a nice guy, he didn't talk a whole lot, and it was just what I needed. I was on his couch wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of coffee. Dave had a TV, but only 3 channels. After a few days of peasant vision I began to wish I'd exiled myself to somewhere that could receive cable. I figured I might as well go out and do something if this was a place where people wouldn't run away from me screaming. Dave had said something last time about the people up here being more acceptant and acceptance for the changed world. I put on my winter gear and headed out.

"Coming back?" Dave asked as I pulled open the door.

"Yeah, just need some air." I replied.

I went out and the people did look at me, but they smiled. Weird. An old woman noticed me and hurried over to me, I tried to act like I didn't notice her.

"Turtle-spirit, why have you graced our little village with your presence? Do you have wisdom for us?"

"Yeah - don't give your heart away unless you wanna get it broken."

"I will spread your message gracious -"

"Don't bother, I'm not a spirit, I'm just a turtle that looks like a man."

"But how can this be?"

"It just is. I'm no spirit or god or whatever you think I am."

"But you are still special."

"Sure whatever."

Raph stalked away from the woman, now he remembered why he usually avoided people - too many questions. Perhaps he should head back into the bush, but he'd have to get his stuff from Dave's place. He wandered back to Dave's and walked in.

"That was short." Dave commented.

"Yeah, I think I'm leaving."

"Could I come with you?"

"You don't wanna, I'm not going anywhere specific, just south."

"I'm alright with that, I always travel."

"I'm going by foot."

"Yes."

"No."

Dave just looked at him for a moment, he had a very open expression and he was easy to read. Raph picked up his pack and sighed.

"Look, Dave, I'm grateful and all, I just need to go - alone."

"I understand. Safe travels my friend." Dave opened the door for him with a smile.

"Thanks." Raph shook his hand and left, heading south out of the village.

He walked all day and when he stopped for the night to set up he found his pack had been stocked with supplies. Water, dried meat, dried fruit, crackers, tea - enough to last him a week or so if he was careful.

"How.?" Raph shook his head and set up his tent.

He started a little fire and used his only pot to make some tea from snow. He sat back and looked up at the stars. This was what he needed, to forge his own path, to get out on his own, no one was holding him back, no one was directing him. no one was angry at him. He wondered if Ninjara was feeling the same way. nah, she was probably preoccupied with that Mokoshan guy. He'd heard her talk about how handsome Mokoshan was and now he wished he'd had the chance to rip a bigger chunk out of that guy, make him a little less pretty. That guy really had no respect, just taking off with his girlfriend. Stealing her heart.

"I stole it first." Raph muttered.

He doused the fire and crawled in his tent.

The next morning he packed up and went, the sun was actually out, and Raph got a good view of the tundra, he could see the west coast in the distance, and figured that was a good way to head. He'd skulk about the Canadian coast and see what he could find. Dave had mentioned a walrus man. He walked for another day and camped out in some dense forest. It was nice, smelled of pine.

After a few days of travel he had been surrounded by forest and brush, it was getting warmer and damper and the undergrowth was getting thick. It was all dense moss but there was real grasses and flowers growing, he figured he'd passed the permafrost and he was in a more temperate zone. The further south he went the warmer it would get, it was spring after all. If he was at home, it would've been warm for months now, but Canada was fabled to be a frozen wasteland. He knew about the Okanagan valley though, the lakes, the fruit, the farming, he didn't think he'd head that far, but he wondered if the coast got weather like that, then he remembered Vancouver was supposed to be rainy, Raph hated the rain. Crap. He figured he'd stay where he was a few days, it was ok here, pine and cedar, no snow storms. so he set up camp. On the fourth day he awoke once again to the smell of cooking meat. He scowled and cursed himself for not being more alert, he quietly picked up his sais and crouched at the doorway.

"Who's there?" He growled.

"Dave."

"Dammit!" He tossed back the tent flaps, "How do you do that!"

Dave smiled a little, "I know how to track, and I know this area."

"Yeah you just know everywhere don't'cha." Raph sneered, "Why are you following me? Don't'cha have a job or something better to do?"

"No. Are you hungry?"

Raph sighed, "Yeah."

"Truthfully, I came seeking the walrus-spirit, I have seen him recently, just west of here. I just happened to find you along the way."

"Sure, sure, whatever. Just fork over summa that rabbit."

Dave gave him half and they ate in silence.

"Y'ever think this walrus-spirit might just be another man like me?"

"Since I met you, yes, that is why I came back here, to be sure. And the wolf-spirits, they are like you too?"

"Sort of, they're supposed to be descendants of an ancient race that migrated from Asia. There's a whole island of fox people out by Japan."

"Really. fox people.?"

"Yeah, foxes, wolves, then us turtles - and I guess there's a walrus now."

"Are there any more?"

"There was, but they died, you woulda liked the one guy, his father was the jaguar-spirit in Brazil."

Dave blinked in awe.

"Truly, and his mother was a shamaness. And there was a gecko-man, a wolf- man, an alligator man, a manta man and a coupla aliens."

"Aliens? Truly?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe. and my master is a rat man."

"It sounds like you've led an interesting life."

"I guess. It seems pretty crappy to me. Y'know where I grew up? In the sewers of New York city. This is one've the few times I've been out in the real world. I've had to hide my entire life."

"Why did you choose to leave home now?"

"My brothers and me and a coupla friends were going to Anchorage to see off some friends, we figured we'd make a camping trip out of it, just to get away for awhile. Then we had some problems."

"You were here with others? Where are they now?"

"Heh, long story - after you found me, I found the wolf people and a lot of crap happened. I needed a break, so I went off on my own."

"And your brothers didn't come after you?"

"Nah, they know better than to follow me when I'm ticked."

"Oh." Dave swallowed uncomfortable.

"Don't worry Dave, I'm not ticked with you. just everyone else. You don't get in the way as much."

"Oh."

"So you didn't come out of hiding because the world is becoming more accepting?"

"I dunno what world you're talking about Dave, but we hafta get out of New York so that people don't find us. That's another reason we came out here. Our friend April ended up getting my brothers on a TV talk show, we had a little trip to Arizona and then we wanted to dodge all the publicity, so we came up North." Raph purposely left out a few key elements to his story, for his own good, he didn't want to be sitting there for hours answering Dave's questions about the future turtles and outer space and all that. "I don't think acceptance is the thing here, my brother was tortured by some government mooks, but we supposedly got a lot of public sympathy after the talk show. So instead of being hounded by reporters and stuff, we came up here."

"That sounds a little like acceptance to me."

"Didja miss the part that included TORTURE? My brother was blinded from a skirmish we had in Jerusalem, our plane crashed and the coastguard picked him up and TORTURED him! That ain't acceptance!" Raph yelled.

Dave shrank back a little, "I'm sorry," He mumbled.

Raph fumed for a minute.

"But you said the public sympathized." Dave broke the silence again.

"Yeah, what's that gonna do for me? Nothing."

"you may not have to live in the sewers."

"I was getting used to them."

"You wouldn't have to hide."

"So kids would get scared of me 'cause I'd get to walk around without my trenchcoat, goody."

"Well, what is it then?"

"We're the only ones like us. Being in the public eye just means more people are gonna poke and prod at us and try and figure out what we are and what makes us tick - like some Tlingit dude that won't drop the subject." Raph trailed off.

"Oh."

Silence.

-don't worry people, Ninjara will eventually be a topic, and Dave seems to be blithely stubborn, so he'll be around to analyze Raph for awhile -