Yay! An update! For some reason I haven't been as speedy as usual. Yah. So, anyway, read on and enjoy. WARNING: There will be blossoming love hints and MAYBE a love triangle here. ^_~ I had promised a Donny romance, but since I write this with no plot in mind and just write as I think, it turns out there will be some Raph love too. But where will the other girl come from? YOU'LL SEE! AND, I read up on the turtles' weapons, and to show off my newfound knowledge, put a part in here where they give a little history lesson about their weapons, so forgive me if it bores you. I just thought it'd be cool, because I certainly didn't know where the sai came from!! ^_^
Brandy stood among the four turtles and rat, smiling politely as she was introduced to Donny's family; although to her it was a strange family. She noted that the turtles couldn't help but stare. Brandy glanced sideways towards Donny, who just watched in amusement as his brothers soaked in the company of her, playing absent-mindedly with his bo.
Brandy was unsure about being in a lair full of young, strong male creatures and a crippled old rat, but seeing that she had nowhere to go, she stood where she was and allowed herself to adapt to her new home for now. She had business to do, and she would definitely need a place to sleep...
Donny, however, was observing his brothers and trying to read their faces for a reaction. He noted that Mikey's eyes seemed wide and sparkling with curiosity and interest, seeming happy that there was a new face around. The four brothers got pretty bored of each other from being the only company they had, after all. Donny turned to Leo, who looked hesitant and uncomfortable. He almost laughed, seeing that Leo was always concerned with Splinter's opinion. It was true; Splinter had always spoken against human guests, with April and Casey as exceptions. And it was no surprise that Leo was the one who silently enforced that rule right in front of the old rat. However, he did say that this girl wasn't quite human, but not quite animal...just like them.
When Donny turned to Raph, he couldn't quite read his expression. Raph seemed interested, a bit shocked, maybe...but after that, the expression was new and unreadable. It was a look that Donny had never seen Raph wear before. It was not a look of discomfort, criticism, or eagerness. It was something different.
Little did Donny know that Raph was probably the most interested of all. He eyed this creature like she was a miracle. Had someone "up there" finally responded to his griping and complaining? Was somebody trying to send him a signal? He wondered what this girl went through, if she was happy with the fact that she wasn't normal. Although, Raph couldn't completely see why she was not quite human, but it must be true somehow. Raph shifted his weight and uncrossed his arms, one hand resting on one of his sai automatically. He had no desire to arm himself or be on his guard, but the action was pretty much "the motion of the ocean" for him; just like his coming in and slamming the door.
"Hi!" Mikey chimed finally, breaking the awed silence. Both Donny and Brandy were relieved for it. "My name's Michelangelo!"
Leo cleared his throat, feeling a bit more comfortable when Splinter didn't say anything about the visitor. "I'm Leonardo."
Brandy smiled and nodded at the two, and then turned to Raph, expecting to hear his name as well. But when she did, he didn't respond right away. He looked down in slight embarrassment, for he wasn't quite ready to talk to her just yet. She could read his discomfort, and knew it was wrong to read his thoughts, so backed out of his mind waves and decided to start with something a little more simple and not so invading. "You must be Raphael," she said, smiling.
Raph looked up in shock, crossing his arms and shifting his weight again. He looked down, saying, "Uhh, yeah. That's me."
"Donny told me about you," Brandy finished, giving reason for her unexpected knowledge of his name. Donny looked at Brandy momentarily, but decided not to speak against her, although what she said was not true. He figured she was just reading minds or something.
Brandy smiled again, glad that she had predicted that Donny would choose the way he did.
Splinter moved up into the crowd, leaning against his walking stick. "I am Splinter. I am the turtles' father. Please, come in and make yourself at home."
Brandy bowed in politeness, walking slowly to the couch and sitting down. Donny had observed her with interest as she did so, noting that with each new personality she came across, she seemed to mold herself in a way that was comfortable for them, as she had just done with Splinter. 'She probably felt the peaceful, Japanese aura around Splinter,' Donny reasoned. 'She would make a great international business woman.'
Everyone sat down as well, and Brandy looked around the room. She took in each turtle, trying to read the personality of each. She had already gotten enough vibe from Donny to know what he was like. He was sweet, generous and polite, very reserved and had a lot of intelligence. Now, she took the time to set her mind on Leo.
Leo seemed very "together," very real and very focused. He seemed to know who he was and what he did. His "feel" was relaxed and fluid-like; nothing jagged or uncertain crossed his aura. She supposed that he was wise, and took much time out of the day contemplating earthly, mind-like wonders apart from Donatello, who seemed to tackle more universal, physical ideas.
Brandy now understood why Donny had said she'd like Mikey. His personality felt warm, bubbly, and innocent, much like a child. He seemed very content, hardly one to think much about problems or wonders to just enjoy life by the second. He wasn't a very complicated character, she realized, and she found it hard to resist smiling when he smiled at her. He was friendly, and she knew that she would indeed like him a lot.
Brandy almost didn't want to understand Raph at that moment, for she knew he would take much time to dissect. He felt very complicated...like a spider web. Her mind went through so many tangles when she focused on him, the spider of him seeming well-hidden. She felt anger around him, confusion, passion, dreams...she wondered who it was that sang his dreams. They must be horribly busy with him.
Brandy stopped reading Raph's aura, for her head was spinning in pain. She shook it away, straightening in her seat and looking around. As she did, she noticed the diverse weapons each turtle carried. Mikey carried a strange weapon with two sticks attached by one string. Leo had two swords across his shell, Donny a long stick, and Raph a pair of three-toothed hand-held devices. She took this opportunity to make a conversationalist of herself. After all...she needed to seem interesting in order for them to feel good about her staying, right?
"Please, tell me about your weapons," Brandy requested, looking curiously at them. Each of the turtles looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Splinter looked at them as well, almost irritated with them. He cleared his raspy throat and stood up.
"If it is easier, I can give you a 'boost' in your explanations, my sons," Splinter began. "Why not give the name of your weapons and then each of their origins, like I had taught you?"
A hardly audible groan came from the four turtles, for although they each treasured their weapons, they never liked reciting the origins of them. It was like school, and no one likes school.
Donny stood up to go first, secretly competing against Leo, who sat back down when Donny got up first. Leo would of course be the one to jump at the memorization opportunity, being the "perfect student."
"Well, all of our weapons are of Japanese origin," Donny began, making it easier for the other three to remember their weapon's history. "Mine is called the bo, or more literally, rokushaku bo, meaning 'six foot staff.' It's also called kon in Okinawa. Uhh...well, the origin of it is not completely decided, but one popular theory is that the bo originated from the tenbin, which was a stick held across the shoulders for carrying buckets of food, water and other items. It's use is mainly disarming and defense rather than wounding. When I was first learning it, I learned the anatomy of it, which made it easier to learn attacks and blocks. The ends are called kontei, and the middle is chukon bu. Yeah...that's about it for my good ol' stick." Donny say down, a little hot in the cheeks form the butterflies of public speaking.
Leo went next, clearing his throat and pulling out his katana swords. "My weapon is the katana, one of many types of ancient samurai swords. Its history dates back very far back to the introduction of swords, which I won't go into now. However, the way you see me wear these is in a pair, and this style is called daisho. This style became fashionable during the Muromachi period in the late 1300's. The katana literally means 'long sword,' while its opposing 'short companion sword' is the wakizashi. This weapon, unlike Donny's, is meant for killing and defense. That's about all I can remember for my weapons, but if you want to learn more about them, you can ask me later into the night when I'm meditating or something...I may remember more then." Leo sat down and said nothing more, returning his swords back in their place.
Mikey stood up uncertainly, knowing Raph liked to go last. He didn't really remember what he was taught about his weapon, but decided to try anyway. "Umm...yeah, my weapon is the nunchaku. I think it means 'frail--'"
"Flail, Mikey," Leo whispered.
"Yeah, yeah, 'flail.' So...uh... it is believed to have come from an agricultural tool that was used for pulverizing grain in ancient Japan. Uhh..." Mikey couldn't remember the opposing ideas of its origin, and tried to think of another bit of information that would fill in that gap so Splinter wouldn't be mad at him for forgetting. He remembered Donny reciting the anatomy of his weapon, and decided to do that. "Uhh...the anatomy of my weapon goes as follows: the rope is called himo, the top part at the rope is konto, the hole wear the rope goes is ana, the upper area of the handles are the jukon bu, the middle is the chikon bu, and the bottom is the kontei, just like Donny's. There. I'm done."
Raph looked at his sai, unsure how he should word his weapon's history. He stood up, hardly nervous, and held the weapon at eye-view. "This is called a sai. The exact origin of the sai, or 'truncheon,' is not clear," he began, eying the weapon admiringly. "This is due to the fact that sai techniques were practiced and developed in secrecy. No one knew about them for years after they had come into being. The best guess is that it was once a short sword carried by some guys called dignitaries in ancient times." Raph knew he was mostly wording Splinter, and he didn't sound like himself. But hell...it made him sound smart. "Another theory is that this weapon was based on a tool that was used for making holes in the ground for planting rice. I personally like the first theory better. Yeah...that's about it. I don't feel like naming its body parts."
Splinter nodded in approval, although not completely satisfied. He'd have to train them harder in their Japanese history.
Brandy looked at each weapon in awe. She liked all of them, but felt that she couldn't bring herself to touch any of them. "Wow," Brandy sighed. "How did you all choose your weapons?"
"We just picked which ones we were comfortable with," Leo answered. "I dunno. It's more like the weapons chose us."
"I'll have to see you guys practice some time."
"Most definitely."
"You must be tired, Brandy," Splinter said. "Donatello. Please show Brandy a place where she can sleep."
Donny stood up, gesturing for Brandy to do the same. She followed him down the hall and to a far subway car, where they had a room set up that was mainly used when April was down there. It was their guest room, and since April hadn't used it for so long, Donny decided it was the best for now.
"So what did you think of my brothers?" Donny asked.
"Leo seems nice and relaxing, but a bit strict," Brandy answered.
"Yeah, he's like that. He was silently declared the 'unofficial leader' of us four."
"And you were right about Mikey. He seems really sweet. Like candy."
Donny laughed when she said that. Mikey reminded him more of popcorn.
"Raph I'm not sure about though. He seems really dangerous."
"Nah, he's not dangerous. Well...he is, but not to us or to friends. He's just a cranky guy. He has too much on his mind is all. Just stay away from him and he'll stay away from you. Or, if you MUST talk to him, never ask him what's wrong, because to him, acting like something's wrong means nothing's wrong, and if something was wrong no one would know because he never truly acts like something's wrong because supposedly nothing's ever wrong. Do you understand?"
"Nope. You lost me at the first 'wrong.'"
"Oh well. Not important."
Brandy laughed, and followed Donny into a cozy little room with a large mattress on the floor with thick blankets, and some simple furniture. She assumed it got cold down here in the middle of the night.
"Hey Brandy?"
"Mm hmm?"
"Can I see your horns again?" He felt like a child asking, but he was too curious to pass the opportunity by. The first step in his scientific studies was direct observation.
"Sure," Brandy giggled. She liked the attention, really. She pulled off her hat and set it down on the bed, revealing her ivory horns. Donny held them in his hands, feeling the ridges and sharp tip with his curious, exploring fingers.
"Whoa," he breathed. "You'd be worth an elephant, huh?" When Brandy didn't respond, he kept observing her horns, feeling them up and down. If it were any other animal with horns, it wouldn't seem as fascinating, but since this was a human girl in appearance, it was entrancing. When he realized just how forward he was being, he withdrew his hands reluctantly but quickly, blushing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have--"
"It's okay," Brandy assured him. "You're just amazed is all. Remember? I was pretty fascinated with you, too." Donny smiled in relief. "Besides, if I were to take it offensively, you wouldn't be so lucky as to be standing right now."
Donny looked at her in amusement, raising his eyebrows and chuckling, crossing his arms and shifting his weight much like Raph liked to do. "Well, well...are we dealing with a little firecracker?"
"That's about right."
Both laughed, and for a moment, were silent. Donny tackled the inner question as to whether he should ask about her horns or not, but seeing that he was too curious of a turtle, didn't stay questioning for long, but rather questioned.
"If you wouldn't mind, why do you have horns?"
Brandy sat down on the bed and smiled affectionately. Donny was a curious turtle, and she liked that about him. Always asking. Asking for permission, asking for explanation, asking for forgiveness...
"Well, I don't know," Brandy began. "Seeing that I'm a sprite, I should tell you the birth of sprites first. We are not born the same humans are. We're kind of made in the air. Where I come from, there's no such thing as parents. When a sprite dies, another one is made. Now, as to why I ended up with horns, I'm not completely sure. Most sprites are born with wings or are half creatures, like horses, fish, or lions. I'm not half of anything. I'm mostly human, and like, a quarter animal I guess. But I'm considered one of the most powerful types of sprite there is. I'm just not sure."
Donny listened, pulled back into the unbelievable magic of her story, where he again doubted it with science. Made in the air?
"Well, thank you," Donny said quickly, feeling the need to go to
his computer and save the lost files so he could add to them with his new
knowledge and questions. "But I should get going. Have a good sleep."
"Good night," Brandy said. As Donny left, she threw her hat on the
little night stand by her bed and snuggled into the pillow, trying her best to
do what humans did...sleep. She was never one to sleep, seeing that she made
dreams for the sleepers.
Hours into the night, Brandy was quite bored of trying to sleep. She didn't understand how humans could do it. All she did was lay there with her eyes closed. Nothing different from when her eyes were open. She stood up, grabbed her hat and left the room to go find the kitchen and get herself some water.
As she passed into the living area, she saw Raph watching TV. She immediately hesitated, unsure of how she should go about walking to the kitchen. Donny had explained to her that they studied the art of ninja, and how their senses were multiplied. Raph would surely hear her if she walked passed him. Remembering what Donny said about leaving him alone, she was thinking of turning back when the TV shut off. She panicked.
Raph stood up, stretching his arms. They were rippling with well-defined muscles, moving under his skin as his arm moved. He headed towards a back room, and Brandy followed, unsure of her decision, but curious nonetheless.
It was the dojo room that Raph had gone into. He had started practicing with his weapons...Brandy pondered as to their name...sai? And she was in awe at his movements. Quick, sharp, forceful, swift...a deadly dance. She wondered how he had the energy to move so fast.
When Brandy was stepping into the room, she tripped over the step and gasped, falling to her knees. Raph started, shifting to a crouched, prepared position and with his sai out and ready. When he saw Brandy, he returned them to his belt and strutted to her.
"Hey. What are you doing up so late, eh?"
Brandy finally noticed how different he sounded from his brothers. She
remembered what this was called...accents. His "accent" was thick,
rough and mysterious. She was bewildered by it, and looked up shyly.
"I'm sorry," Brandy stammered. "I just noticed you and
thought I'd see what you were doing."
Raph smirked. "Ah, so you were spying on me."
"No, no, I wasn't, I...I was just--"
Raph laughed at her panicked voice. "Hey, chill out. I was
joking."
"Oh."
He held a hand out, and she held on to it timidly. He pulled her up with a tad too much force, which he didn't notice until she flew into him. "Whoops. Sorry 'bout that."
"No biggy."
'Huh...she sounds like Mikey,' he thought. "So, eh...not much of a self-introduction back there, huh?"
"What?" Her eyes looked curious, and she cocked her head to the side. She reminded Raph of a kitten somehow.
"Your intro. You didn't tell us much about yourself."
"You seemed too shocked to be able to take much more shocking news, I figured."
Raph's heart rate quickened. He felt that unexplainable energy when a topic
was crossed that you know of or want to know of. He looked at her, asking,
"What's so shocking about you?"
Brandy looked up and sideways for a moment, thinking about how to answer him,
then said, "My birth, my life...just...me."
"If you don't mind me askin'," Raph began slowly, crossing his arms again. Brandy noticed how his crossed arms accented the muscles there as well as in his chest. Brandy figured he must be the strongest. Raph cleared his throat, unsure how politeness was used in this type of situation. "What is it about you that doesn't make you human?"
Brandy giggled again. She couldn't help but glow in the attention, and willingly removed her Greek Fisherman's hat, exposing her horns again.
Raph's eyes widened a little, just staring at her for a moment. He stopped staring and said, "Wow. I guess that explains it."
"You can touch them if you want," Brandy offered. "Donny can't keep his hands off them."
"What can ya do? He's a scientist."
"Well, either way, if you wanted to, you could. Donny let me touch him and observe him when I met him. You guys are pretty cool. Is it any different for you other three?"
Raph scratched the top of his head and looked at her in confusion.
"Y'mean in texture?"
"Yah."
"Nah, not really," Raph started, twirling a sai and walking sideways. He couldn't help but notice the disturbing thoughts that crossed his mind at all of the "touching" words that weaved through this conversation. To push them out of his head, he continued talking. "Unless you wanna find out yourself. We each have different scars, and I guess it depends on muscle mass. I'm probably hard as a rock compared to someone like Mikey."
"Donny's pretty tough, too."
"Yeah, I guess." Raph was feeling a bit irritated now with that feel of competition. He had always valued the fact that he was the strongest of the turtles, and to hear that fact being challenged didn't appeal to him. That or he was just tired. He held his tongue, knowing that he'd scare her away if he snapped. Besides, he had lots of questions to ask.
"Maybe I'll check you out another time."
"Yeah. Maybe."
Brandy turned to leave, and Raph watched her back as she approached the dojo exit. His heartbeats pounded in fury, reminding him not so gently that he wanted so badly to ask her those questions...those inquiries that slammed into his sanity. He hesitated a second, then, feeling awkward at the sound of his own voice, called out, "Hey Brandy."
"Mm hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?"
Raph hesitated. 'It's too soon, it's too soon...she just came in! You're gonna look like a fucking idiot!' Raph held it back, like he was so used to doing. Holding it back.
"Nevermind. Get some sleep, will ya?"
Brandy smiled and left. Raph sat down on an old truck tire Donny had brought in as a chair. His head was spinning with curiosity, and he knew that if he didn't find answers to questions soon, he'd loose it.
'Why does it have to be so hard?'
