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Owen heaved a sigh as he shut the door behind himself, finally feeling at home in the dark loneliness of the room. It didn't matter where it was solitude was his home.

Always was, and he hoped always would be.

But, it seemed as though the turtles had a different idea.

Solitude was all he knew, but it looked as if he would know 'no solitude' pretty soon as well.

He walked over to his jacket, now, lifting the heavy material from off of the chair and desk.

He had been so rushed to get to sleep last night that he had forgotten to unpack.

He removed his bible and wooden cross from out of his coat pocket and placed them on the old wooden desk.

There, done.

The greenbacks, the lighter, and his IP could all stay in his coat, since that was where they would be of most use later on. All he needed out of it were the two remnants from his past, his fathers bible and the cross of his childhood, those two being of the most importance to him. Wherever those things were, there was 'home' as well.

He now looked around at his new surroundings, soaking it all in as his eyes traveled from one end of the room to the other, also remembering the rest of the lair as well.

It had surprised him that a place like this lair could be found in the sewers, as warm and as made out as it was. He had noticed that the entire lair itself put new meaning to the phrase 'one man's junk is another man's treasure.'

Except in this case, 'turtle.'

The whole lair was decked out in what could only be described as 'hand me downs' and 'thrift shop bargains.' The den occupied a single old and word couch, but repaired in such a way that it was still comfortable, and a single lazy boy, also repaired. The one and only television also took residence in their den. It was not very large, but it was large enough for Owen to wonder how long it took for them to get it down there. It was bulky, to say the least, and because of that bulk, it sat on the floor. He doubted if any of the desks in here would have been strong enough to support that weight anyways.

The only other room that he had been in, besides his room, was the kitchen, and that held his interest as well. A stove, a fridge, and a working microwave.

It already had his old place beat. Their kitchen was also adorned with cabinets, beautiful as well as useful. However, he could not over look the broken overhead cabinets next to the fridge. All of the other cabinets seemed in great condition, it was just those that were the exceptions. These ones' doors lay crooked and jarred, never to be able to close again.

He didn't know what could have cause that kind of damage to such solid wooden cabinets, but he knew that what ever did it was some force indeed.

However, his room looked almost, bare, compared to the others he had seen. It was rather large, but empty. The likes of a single twin size bed occupied the corner while a single desk and chair served as a bed stand table. A single lamb completely the ensemble, which also completed the list of things in his room.

But that would due.

It was all he needed.

Besides, with all of this space, he could conduct practice of his own. Moving to the center of his room, he conducted his own stretches for the first time in two days.

Raph's sais were two whirlwinds in his fists as his katas commenced.

However, his thoughts were…elsewhere.

His mind kept drifting back to what Owen had said.

"Yes, you guys have probably run into our kind at one time or another. But like you, we tend to stay to the shadows…"

The idea that he had probably run into a vampire or two in his day, obliviously or not,

Still left him unsettled. Ever since he was a little turtle, he always took joy in the supernatural and the unexplainable or uncanny. But now that some of those things that could not be real, were, he didn't know how to feel. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just see Donny as he went thought his own katas.

It all seemed somewhat surreal.

His brother was one of them. It made him feel rather weird…

Raph's motions were fluid and exact as he flowed through his own katas. However, suddenly he froze, his kata faltering as he finally recognized the nipping feeling in the back of his mind, it was envy.

He was jealous.

He double check, and yes, that was jealousy brewing within him.

Finally, he saw why.

It had been him that believed in such things to begin with, not Donny. Don and the others would tease him if he had even mentioned anything about vampires when they were little, and it seemed unfair that now Donny grew up to be one.

However, Raph still could still see how the vampirism was a double-edged sword. At the new thought, his bout of jealousy dissolved. There was a lot of baggage with the package, the blood sucking being one of them. The great hunger being another.

Although, he would have to admit, the benefits still seemed pretty cool!

He remembered watching Donatello in that clearing. He was amazing; lighting fast in his speed, a mere blur to the eye. Very cool indeed!

But, he guessed it was all for the best. Besides, nothing could be done about it now. Well, nothing but the "lessons," although they did help the situation a great deal. With Owen's help and silent guidance, they all had survived the ordeal, his lesson benefiting Donatello as well as everyone else. They all had leaned during those lessons…they learned how to deal with Donatello's change. They learned how to accept it…

Raph smiled as he placed his sais in his belt.

Donny was a vampire, and that was ok. It was even better now that he had something to look forward too because of it.

Owen spoke something of the new lessons Donny would have. Different lessons…

And Raph wouldn't miss them for the world.

Owen kept his leg outstretched as he pivoted on his one foot. Slowly he turned, doing a complete three sixty until he ended up back where he started.

Bowing, he concluded the routine, beginning the new day as it should.

With a heavy sigh, he plopped down into the wooden chair, absently running a hand over the worn wood of the desk before him.

Today he would have to go out. Shopping was not something he particularly enjoyed, but he had to do what he had to do. He needed at least a few more pieces of clothing, if not, something. All of the clothing to his name now was currently on his back (which was not good). But, how would he go about doing it? If he were by himself, he would have just left. However, the thing was, now he was not alone…

When you live in Rome, you do as the Romans do.

This, he suspected, was no different. He knew from experience that these turtles had certain ways of going about certain things. He also knew that it would not be looked kindly upon if he just up and left without telling them either.

Therefore, that settled it.

He would have to ask, despite his pride.

He frowned.

He would ask him about it and suffer the pride bruising. He had to.

'Well, take it this way. They might know where to get good clothing. Hell, you haven't gone shopping since the eighties, and it shows!' He looked down at his clothing in defense. They weren't that bad. Hey, black was still in, wasn't it?

'Well, if that was black, it would be. To bad your washing machine made it something else.' He took a closer look and realized that the voice was right.

Well, off black was still in, wasn't it?…

He needed some new clothing, and bad. That was that. He would ask them and suffer the dent in his pride as he did.

Sometimes, he just had to do what he had to do. And this was one of those times.

-

Lol, once again. No big events, just life. Actually, this chapter in particular is not one of faves, but it will do. What do ya think? (Take all of these lax chapters well, for they won't be lax for very long!)