Disclaimer: Don't own them.
A/N: (PF races towards the computer) Oh dear guys! I'm sorry it too me so long to update! My computer is busted. My monitor finally kicked the dust (it was bad to begin with) and I have to get a new one but for the time being I have to use my mom's computer and I can only do that when my sister isn't home. (The computer's in her room) On top of that I'm sick (cough cough) For all of you who were wondering... no I didn't make a 12 flat at Districts last week but I did get seventh place!… I was expected to get 12th so I thought that was pretty darn good! Thanks for all the best wishes! Anyways on with the review returns!
Tbreader: It was a far cry to try and get my two my in 12 minutes but I tried. I nearly blew my chunks at the last two hundred mark and I almost medal-ed but alas I didn't. I figured it's time for Raph to get some tough love and Splinter is the first to dish it out. He's really gonna get it from the rest of them in this chapter though! Thanks for reviewing!
Isis-Lament: I seriously made your heart jump in your throat? (jumps around) Yippie! Sorry but I take it as a real compliment. That piece comes from all the talks my sisters and I have had. Now that we're older we really try to help each other with out problems. I thought it was time for Leo to ease up on Raph a bit. You have no idea how happy your compliment made me, about the whole understanding thing. I told my whole family about it and every thing. Thanks very much and thanks for reviewing.
Pacphys: (giggles) That sandwich that Mike made… I've made it before. I'm a horrible cook cuz I can't follow directions but I can make some great concoctions. I could only each about half of that one though… as for the do dads… I don't really know they're just things to earn money… probably like a card shuffler or something simple. I figured I had to stick something in there that Raph could never do again no matter how hard he tried. The Shell Cycle was it. Thanks for the good luck wishes and thanks for revewing!
LN: Who doesn't love Tyler? He's only the coolest kid on Earth! Lol I had to bring him back! My goldfish always ate each other.. so I got guppies.. my turtles ate those then they became incensed and mutated and grew just about as big as goldfish… needless to say I had to get rid of them. Lol we just finished our Track and Field unit in gym. I think I got 11 5' for long jump. Aw well… I dominate in the mile so I can't win everything. Thanks for the good lucks and for reviewing!
Chibi Rose Angel: Thanks for adding me to your Author Alert List! (giggles) Mikey is indeed Mikey. He just needs a few years to grow up more then he'll be alright…. We hope. Thanks for the good luck and for reviewing!
Two hours on the road and Raph discovered that, for the most part he liked riding in the Battle Shell more than he did before. No one could get up and do things and other than the occasional 'Would you take a look at that?' no sight was required.
Don and Leo had ganged up against Mike and a half hearted Raph so oldies rock was the music of choice. Before long the four of them were singing along with the radio. Raph and Mike were providing a drum beat with anything their hands touched. The radio blasted 'The Eye of the Tiger.' Mike was at the wheel and on the course he sped up slightly, by passing April's car. She laid on the horn and Mike slowed again.
"So does anybody know the reason for this trip?" Mike asked once April's bumper was in sight again.
"What's it matter?" Leo said from his seat behind Mike. "It's getting us to the farm for awhile. I'm not going to question it."
Truth be told Leo had questioned it. He figured it was for Raph. After his talk with Master Splinter the night before it only made sense. What was Sensei doing taking Raph to fairly unfamiliar location though? Leo decided just to trust his father but that didn't ease his confusion any.
For the remaining two hours of the trip the boys mostly sang songs that popped up on the radio. Mike steered away from 'I spy' so singing was about the only thing left.
By the time they got there the four turtles spilled out of the Battle Shell and made a mad rush for the bathroom with April yelling behind them that the water wasn't turned on yet. A series of questions then bombarded April 'Where was the fuse box and the water pump? Which switch was the master one? Where were the extra fuses?" April backed off and handed the reigns to Casey, it being his grandmother's house and all. It took another hour and a half before Casey and the boys figured out the simple task of turning the utilities on.
It was almost nightfall before they were all settled in. Splinter got the only ground level bedroom. Casey got the first room at the top of the stairs and April got the one farthest down the hall. The boys drew straws for who was bunking with who in the last two rooms. Leo was with Raph and Don with Mike. They set up the hammocks they had brought because three of the four beds had been moved for April, Casey and Splinter. Raph got the remaining bed which he wasn't exactly happy about considering he was used to sleeping in his hammock at home. He still had a bed but he liked the hammock more. For the past week he had had to sleep in his bed and it looked like even though they were on vacation he wouldn't escape bed rest.
That night he crawled into bed and settled in for a night of restlessness. He hadn't gotten a good sleep since the accident. He shared his goodnights with Leo as his brother turned off the light. Raph could hear him climb into his hammock and get situated. Ten minutes later Raph heard something he had never heard before, Leo's breathing. He wasn't snoring or even breathing deeply, it was just the simple in out in out light in take of air that was Leo's breathing pattern. He had never ever recalled hearing Leo breath. His brother was a light sleeper and even when they had all shared the same room Raph had never heard Leo breath. He didn't have much time to dwell on the fact though because the light systematic breathing calmed him like a baby being rocked and he was out like a light in no time at all.
All too soon Mikey came bursting into their room as their wake up call.
"The sun's not even up yet." Leo groaned yet he still got out of bed.
Raph was a little more persistent in his wish to keep sleeping.
Mike creped over to his bed and pulled back the covers, reveling Raph's feet. He gently tickled the foot of the uninjured leg and was rewarded with a sharp "stop it Mike," and a kick in the plastron that sent him on his butt.
"Shhh!" Mikey whispered into Raph's ear "April and Casey are sleeping!"
Raph was up by now and fumbling for his gear. He put it all on in the reverse order he had taken it off, kneepads, elbow pads, wrist wrappings, belt, mask, sais. He reached for his sais to stick in his belt before remembering he hadn't brought them. Going to regular practice must have made him forget he left them behind. He grabbed his bo instead. Walking out of the room right behind Leo, he almost tripped on the stairs. They met Don in the living room and preceded outside into the crisp morning air. The morning was still quite cool but the sun just rising over the horizon promised a warm spring day.
Once again Splinter led them through a series of fairly easy katas before he sent Raph to meditate and the rest to spar. Raph wondered how long it would go on like this. Raph was benefiting from all the easy katas but Don, Mike, and Leo were paying for it. Raph wished Splinter would just let him quit all together. There really was no point in him practicing any more. He was jarred out of his thought by Master Splinter dismissing them. Raph got up to follow his brothers but Master Splinter called him back.
"Raphael. I could not help but notice your lack of eagerness to practice. Why is this so?"
"Sensei, what's the use of me practicing if I'm never gonna use what I learn? Why can't I just quit?"
"You can not quit ninjitsu" Splinter remarked with a small laugh, but soon grew serious. "It's a part of you just as this blindness now is. You must learn to live with both in your life, in harmony."
Raph rolled his eyes.
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
Splinter was silent and after a few moments Raph suspected that he had just went back inside the house. A slight breeze was all he felt before the cane cracked down on his skull.
"Ow!" Raph yelped as he clutched his head. "What was that for?"
"I am teaching you how to use your blindness and your Ninjitsu in harmony.
Raph felt another tiny breeze on his face. This time he flinched. The small movement was enough to cause Master Splinter's cane to bounce harmlessly off his carapace edge near his shoulder.
"Good" Splinter said as he readied to strike again, this time for Raph's side.
Once again on the second strike Raph blocked him.
"What's the use Master Splinter?"
Splinter didn't say a word. He knocked Raph in the stomach, forcing the wind from his lungs.
"Focus Raphael."
For the next hour Master Splinter ran Raph ragged. When he was finally dismissed Raph was grumpier than ever. It was close to lunch and he had missed breakfast. He limped into the house, found something to sit on, and sat. he wasn't even sure which room he was in but he didn't really care at this point. He slouched as best he could in the hard back chair and laid his head back against the top.
"The dining room ain't exactly the social place of choice when there's no food on the table."
"Shut up Mikey." Raph growled as venomously as ever.
"You know Raph," Mike pulled up a seat and sat across the table from Raph, his features unusually dark. "Ever since you got hurt you've been in like a major 'Raph's bad mood' rut. Snap out of it already!"
Raph glared in Mike's direction.
"Shut it Mike." But Mike continued even more hotly than before.
"You've been lying around the Lair not even trying to do anything."
"Does it look like I can do anything Mike? I'm a cripple."
"Nobody thinks that but you Raph. Everybody's been trying to help you but you don't want to help yourself. You just want to sit around on your shell and whine."
"How am I supposed to do anything?" Raph's voice rose an octave.
"You try Raph. You try and if you fail you get up and try again. "
"You don't get it Mike."
"No, I think I do get it Raph. You know what? I give up with you. If your going to give up then I'm going to give up."
He stomped out of the room. Seconds later Raph heard a door slam shut.
Mike was wrong. He just didn't understand how hard it was. It wasn't as easy as it sounded. He was already trying to get back to normal, right? He held his head in his hands. When did his life turn upside down?
During lunch Mikey didn't say a word. He kept his head down and stared at his food.
"My sons. After lunch I wish to have another training session."
"But Master Splinter we just had one a few hours ago."
Raph seemed to be the only one to protest. Don and Leo pretended as if nothing was going on and Mikey gave a seminal smirk which was relatively scary considering his foul mood.
"Might be good for you Raph. Shell knows you need the practice."
Splinter shot him a look which immediately shut him up and changed his nasty mood to a shammed one.
"This extra practice session IS for you Raphael. After you are finished with your lunch I wish for all of you to meet me outside.
Splinter rose from his chair and shuffled out of the room without another word. Don, Leo, and Mike went back to eating their meal as if they were supposed to have practice in the middle of the day.
After washing their dishes they all congregated outside just as they had done that morning.
"So what's this all about?" Raph asked after they had done their warm up katas and had stretched out.
"Follow me my sons."
Raphael grunted at the comment but choose to keep his comments to himself. Leo's hand on his shoulder guided him to where he should be going. Splinter led them through the woods, with Raph tripping and stumbling the whole way. His bo didn't help him much when it came to the woods. A few branches slipped past Leo's guard and ended up slapping Raph in the face.
They hadn't walked far before Splinter stopped and turned around.
"Raphael, Michealangelo has informed me of your conversation this morning.
Raph opened his mouth to speak but Splinter continued.
"He is worried for you my son, worried that you are going to dwell in this hole you have dug yourself and accept it as your new life. Leonardo has also expressed his concerns for you and I have no doubt Donatello harbors the same emotions. I understand there are steps to accepting a life altering change. You have had your time to deny and grieve for your old life Raphael. Now it is time to accept and move on. We leave you now to do just that Raphael. You need to find your own way home."
"Master Splinter, I tried to do this before and I got lost, and that was in the sewers. Remember?"
The sound of birds chirping was all that answered him.
"Great, just great."
Raph did an about face and started back the way he had come.
"Alright," he muttered.
He took two steps and got a branch in the face, reeling back he tripped on a log and fell flat on his shell.
"Are you sure we should have left him Sensei?" I mean what if he gets hurt or… walks himself off a cliff or something?" Mike was regretting his harsh words to Raph earlier.
"He will be fine Michaelangelo. That is why Leonardo is watching over him. Raphael just needs to find his reason for learning new things again."
"But I mean, do you think it was the best to just stick him out in the woods and tell him to come on back home when he's ready? I don't really see him being happy with us when he gets back."
"I think this is just what he needed Michaelangelo. He needs to be challenged. He wants to know he is still useful and can do something productive."
"But when he gets home he's gonna be looking to kill someone." Mike continued.
"Look at it this way." Don decided to but it. "When Raph gets mad what does he do?"
"He storms out of the Lair and goes topside."
"Right and every once in awhile while he's out blowing off steam he'll have an epiphany and then he's in a great mood. We're just trying to make him have one of his epiphanies sooner so we don't have to put up with his bad attitude. Don't worry. Like Sensei said, he'll be fine."
Leo wanted so bad to call out to Raph and give him just a little hint. His brother had been walking just along the wood line for the last half hour. Now he was slowly walking a crooked line deeper into the woods. By now he had stopped running into so many trees and branches. He was using his bo more as a white cane and less as a walking stick. With the bo sliding back and forth before him and his injured left arm stretched out waving around in a semicircle about chest level. Every once in awhile he would move his hand up to check for on coming branches hanging over head.
He was surprised Raph hadn't heard him jumping from tree to tree. He sounded like a gigantic drunken squirrel.
He pushed off from the limb he was on and in an effort to avoid all the smaller branches in his way he missed landing on the limb. His hands shot up and he managed to grab it as he flew by. Once his position on the branch was secure he glanced down to check on his brother. A small stream was coming up. The trickle of water had worn away the soil, causing a bit of a ditch. It was small enough to be stepped over but Raph's would even know it was there. Leo dropped as silently as he could to the forest floor and moved closer to his brother just in case he needed him. It wouldn't due for Raph to take that big of a fall and mess up his leg again.
Raph had long ago stopped talking to himself. He realized he needed his attention to be focused on the task at hand. If he moved his bo opposite his left hand he managed to avoid most of the trees and branches in his way. More often than not his bo would slam into an object mid swing and he would have to tap and touch until he could get around it.
He still didn't understand why his family would do this to him. It seemed rather odd of them to just leave him, a blind turtle, in the middle of the woods.
He felt his anger bubble up slightly. They hadn't even been walking five minutes before they had left him. A half hour later and he was still wondering around trying to find his way home.
He moved his bo to the right again and instead of feeling it stop mid swing it dropped down. Only his instincts saved him from taking another fall. He froze with one foot in the air, poised over the sharp drop off. He poked around with his bo some more and found the trench ran the whole way to his right and left. He was about to step over it when inspiration struck him.
"I never crossed over this on the way here." He muttered.
He felt around for a tree and propped his back up against it for a bit of a break. This wasn't working. Tramping around with no direction what so ever was getting him nowhere.
"Maybe I should just give up and wait for someone to come searching for me." Even the thought made him angry.
But how was he going to get home without help?"
A loud cawing noise almost made him jump out of his skin.
'Just a bird.' He thought to himself.
He listened to it caw once again and noticed that all the other small song birds had stopped chirping.
"I'll be damned." His voice was now one of shock as more sudden realization struck. He recalled a movie he had seen once, where a man was tracking someone.
"The birds stopped chirping because of the disturbance and the house is one hell of a disturbance."
So all he had to do was find a place where the birds weren't chirping. He got to his feet and cracked his knuckles.
"Let's do this."
His progress was even slower now that he had to listen. He turned his back completely on the stream and walked in the direction he had thought he had just come from. He had barely gone ten steps when he heard a scuffling behind him. Forgetting about his disability, he instantly went into ninja mode and spun around, dropping into a crouch.
He listened as the movement stopped the second he went on alert. He listened hard and tried to sense some sort of movement. It was a stand off.
Up in the tree he had just climbed, Leo tried hard to keep his silence. He was proud of his brother for hearing him and watching him stop right before that stream was a miracle in itself. If he had to hang on much longer though he was sure he was going to fall. Raph had caught him in the act of moving from the trunk of the tree to a limb. He was hanging like a monkey with two hands and a foot wrapped around the large branch.
Leo tried to move his fingers to get a better grip but the bark disintegrated under his touch. As both his hands came free he only had enough time to swing his other leg over the branch and lock it in position. His shell slammed into the tree trunk though with the momentum of his fall. It clacked loudly. He still held his silence though. He hung there like an animal caught in a snare until Raph straightened up and moved on. He waited until Raph was completely out of sight before he even dared to move again.
He heard him mutter 'squirrels are getting bigger.' As he left.
Fifteen minutes later Raph realized that following the birds wasn't working. Anytime he made a noise they stopped chirping, but he was determine now to see this thing through.
He felt a cool breeze make it's way through the foliage to him. The wind was his savior last time. Maybe it could be again. If he was in an open field the wind would blow stronger there right? So all he had to do was walk in one direction until the wind blew again. If it was stronger than before he was headed in the right direction and if it was weaker he'd try a new one.
He still listened to the birds though despite the fact that they weren't helping any.
Another half hour went by and Raph finally felt like he was making progress. He was lucky that it was a particularly windy day.
He suddenly felt the ground change beneath his feet from leaves and ferns to grass. An enormous weight was lifted from him. The grass in the woods wasn't cut. He was close to the farm. He walked in the same direction he had been moving until he felt gravel under his feet.
Now was the hard part. Which way did he follow the road? One way would lead to the road and the other would to the house. The question was which way to go. If he remembered right they turned left from the house to get to the woods. So he would turn right to get back. He really didn't want his family to see him bumbling around like an idiot though. He straightened up and put his left hand down. He wouldn't need it anymore now that he didn't have to worry about over hanging branches. He used his bo alternately to sweep in front of him and to help with his leg. Ten minutes later he reached the end of the driveway though. He must been mixed up, so e turned around and started the other way up the long driveway.
Meanwhile Leo came zipping into the house and all but flew onto the couch next to Mikey.
"If Raph asks, I was here the whole time."
Mike took one look at his brother, all covered in scratches and out of breath. Dirt smudges were all over his face and across his shell.
"Leo I told you, if the trees don't want to play with you, you should just leave them alone."
Leo gave Mike a mock glare.
"You try going ninja in the woods. It's harder than you think!"
Mike gave Leo a pat on his shoulder.
"Sure bro, whatever, so Raph made it back?"
"He's on the driveway now. He headed the wrong way at first but he's almost done. He heard me in the woods though."
He recounted for Mike how Raph had heard him and he was forced to hang upside down by his feet until he moved on.
"I think I got another scratched on my shell from slamming into the tree."
Mikey laughed at his all too perfect brother and the image he created.
Leo just pretended he didn't hear him. He checked out his new scratches and decided to spit clean a few of them.
Just then they heard the screen door slam.
"I was here the whole time." Leo whispered to Mike as Raph entered the room.
"Hey Raphie!" have a nice… walk?" the words died on his lips as he became aware of the silly grin pasted on his Raph's face.
Raphael was proud of himself. He felt as if he had braved dangers and made it out alive, like he had accomplished a great feat and out smarted his blindness. In truth it was only a five minute walk turned into a two hour search but to him it felt like so much more.
"It was great Mike."
"Maybe we should leave him in the woods more often."
"Don't you dare." He warned. "It was tough enough the first time. Where's Master Splinter?"
"He's up stairs I think." Mike answered.
He watched as Raph headed in the general direction of the stairs. Immediately he noticed the difference in the way he walked. The cane swept out before him just as it had done before, but he was more confident now, not as confident as the sighted Raph, but he was getting there. Mike was about to call out to Raph that he was headed straight in to a table but Leo covered his mouth. Mike waited for the inevitable to happen as he struggled to slip Leo's grip. To his surprise Raph's bo struck the table leg and he froze, found the edge of the table, and walked around it.
"That's what he learned in the woods." Leo said as he removed his hand from Mikey's beak.
Raph grinned madly.
"You bet I did." He climbed the stairs slowly, being sure to give his injured leg extra room.
"And Leo… you make a better turtle than a squirrel."
Leo winced when he realized he had given himself away while Mikey sat back and grinned.
Raph stopped a the top of the stairs. How would he ever find which room Splinter was in? He went to the door of Casey's room and stood silently, relying on his hearing just as he had done in the woods. He tried to hear his Sensei's breathing just as he had heard Leo's last night. He leaned against the door frame and tried to silence his own breathing. No sounds admitted from the room so he moved to the next one, his and Leo's.
As he stood by that door he couldn't help but wonder what Splinter was doing up here. All that was up here were the four bedrooms and a closet.
Raph was slightly surprised when he heard sounds coming from Mike and Don's room across the hall. If he hadn't been listening he never would have heard the small scrapes of metal against metal, but who was it? He knew Mikey was down stairs but he didn't want to mistake Donny for Splinter. He listened even closer and could hear slightly raspy breathing. He thought it was Splinter but he wasn't quite sure.
"Hey." He learned against the doorframe.
"I see you made it back."
Master Splinter. Raph silently congratulated himself on guessing right.
"Yeah I did." The metal scratching noise continued. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Why don't you tell me my son?"
Raph frowned but furrowed his brow in concentration. What made that kind of scratching noise?
"Please don't tell me your tinkering with Don's toys."
Splinter chuckled.
"No. I am changing the light bulbs. Many of them were burnt out." Raph nodded. "So what did you learn from your venture in the woods?"
"That Leo never climbed trees as a kid."
"How did you get home?"
"I followed the wind," Raph didn't bother to go into detail. It sounded stupid.
"It is good that it only took you two hours."
"Why's that?" Raph asked. Thinking Splinter was going to compliment him on his navigating abilities.
"It means you can do it again before dinner."
Raph's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Master Splinter… you don't mean…"
"Yes I do. If you learned from your last walk than certainly this one will be shorter."
"Master Splinter that's insane! I just tramped…"
"Raphael!" Splinter barked.
"Hai Sensei?"
"You shall go down to the kitchen and get a drink, a canteen if you feel it is necessary. Then Donatello will take you back into the woods. Am I clear?"
"Hai Sensei." Raph ground out.
He really hated it when Splinter pulled the 'I'm the teacher and my orders must be followed' act. He bowed and found his way down stairs.
On the way to the kitchen he discovered a wall where he thought the kitchen door should be.
He really was going to hate being up here. He pawed and groped his way along the wall until he found the kitchen.
He entered and searched around for a cup. He decided to give up his search when he almost knocked over a whole stack of plates. Raph finally managed to get to the sink. Turning on the tap, he cupped his hands under the cool water and quenched his thirst. He wasn't even going to try looking for a canteen.
"Ready to go?" Don asked as he waltzed into the kitchen.
Raph turned towards the door and growled. He dearly wished he could glare at Don right now, but he couldn't so he settled for a dark frown.
He snatched his bo and stumbled out of the kitchen on tense muscles.
This was so stupid.
As he searched for the front door he felt Don lay a hand on his shoulder. Every ounce of his angry being told him to shrug it off and flip out of something but he gritted his teeth and bore it, knowing how much of a fool he would make of himself it he did. He could feel his blood boil and his face getting hot.
He totally forgot what he had taught himself as Don led him back into the woods. He tripped and stumbled along, each fall just fueling his anger. As he fell he would feel Don's hand slid off his shoulder and when he got up the very same hand would be replaced. Raph went flying over a log. Don went to help him up. Raph slapped his hand away. He got to his feet and threw his bo back on the ground.
"This is a bunch of bull shit!" He nearly screamed.
Don backed up slightly. He quickly recovered though.
"Find your own way home." He muttered as he hopped off into the trees.
Raph kicked the log he had just fallen over with his good leg and sat down on his rear.
"I know you're still here Don, watching over the cripple so he doesn't hurt himself."
He growled again but now that Don wasn't right next to him he was starting to cool down. He got up and searched for his bo, muttering many dark words the whole while. When he found it he hauled himself off his feet once again. Raph tried to save some dignity and walk without having his hand and bo out in front of him but almost immediately he ran into one of those small saplings the woods seemed to have so many of. Without even thinking he swung his bo at the offending tree and they met together with a resounding crack. The vibrations made his arms tingle and that seemed to bring him back to reality.
He wasn't going to get out of the woods like this. It wasn't time for one of his fits.
He felt like he should just be able to take this mask over his eyes off and then he'd be able to see again. He yearned to just see for a few seconds so he could let his fury out on something. Instead though he was forced to keep his anger in check. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his furious angry breaths. It wasn't like closing his eyes made a difference but after years of doing so to calm himself he found it a habit. He calmed himself and realized almost suddenly that once again he hadn't been paying attention to where they were going. His anger threatened to show once again and his muscles tensed. He forced himself to calm down and concentrate. The wind died down and he could no longer use it to guide him. He listened carefully. The birds had died down now that it was later in the day and all the animals seemed to be in hiding. He was stuck.
He choose a direction and stumbled along. It only took him a few seconds to realize he was going to have to swallow his pride and use his hands to keep from hitting anything, so with his hand and cane out before him he made his way in his direction of choice, knowing full well that he was probably just going to stumble around for hours.
Leo wondered into the barn to find Casey under an old pickup tinkering away.
"Hey," He called as he entered the dark dusty barn.
Casey tried to life his head to see who was talking but only manage to whack his head off the underbelly of the truck.
"Ow" He moaned as he slid out from under the truck, rubbing his sore face.
"What chya doing?" Leo asked.
"Pretending to fix this truck. Where's Raph when you need him? I haven't seen him all day."
"He's out in the woods finding his inner self, Master Splinter's orders."
Leo wondered over to where Casey had various tools pulled out and strewn about. "Need any help?"
"I could use any help I could get. Would you hand me that monkey wrench?" He rolled back under the truck.
"The what?" Leo picked up a random tool and held it up. "Is this it?"
Casey groaned as he saw the tool Leo was holding up. "Are you sure Raph can't help?"
That kid could get any vehicle to purr like a kitten, but put your trust in him to fix your toaster and you would most definitely be let down.
Leo held up another random tool. "How about this one?" Casey sighed.
"Raph is the only one with car knowledge isn't he?"
Back in the woods Raph was in much the same boat as Casey. He had come across that stinking ditch again, the only he knew he hadn't crossed while coming.
Raph crouched down but quickly sat when the stitches on his injured leg protested. They didn't hurt all the time now. It still throbbed but for the most part they were just itchy. Itchiness was good though, it meant only a few more days until Don would take the stitches out.
Back to reality though he realized that once again he was stuck. He had been trying to follow the wind the whole time yet he still ended up here.
Should he follow the ditch and hope it led him somewhere or should he try a different direction?
"Yeah like I'm going to really get anywhere by chasing my tail in circles." He mumbled to himself quietly.
He got up faced the trench which way? Right or left? He thought about it for a long time. If he went left he thought it would lead him towards the house, or it could lead him deeper into the woods. He wasn't quite sure.
Right. He'd go right. Right was always good.
He put his bo tip in the ditch and ran it along the side, trying to get a feel for how it turned. He gingerly stepped forwards and was on his way once again.
By now he really looked like a bumbling idiot. He stepped as if he was walking on eggshells. His left arm was stretched before him protecting him from low hanging branches and his bo alternated between sweeping in front of him, dipping into the ditch to make sure he was on the right path and helping his throbbing right leg along. The process was slow, even slower than his pace before if that was at all possible. He wasn't even sure if he was getting anywhere, but it wasn't like he could stop and say he gave up, and sitting on his shell wasn't going to help any so he might as well try and make it home.
If he concentrated hard he could hear Don move around every once in awhile. Tree branches would rustle and he would hear a few twigs crack every now and then but he wasn't nearly as bad as Leo. What was up with Leo anyway? Sure it was hard to move through the woods with ninja stealth but Leo was making mistakes right and left. Raph couldn't help but to wonder if maybe Leo really was still scared of heights and a little of that fear was showing through. Don was definitely better than Leo when it came to ninja stealth in the woods.
Raph felt the terrain change beneath his feet. For a split second he thought that maybe he had made it back to the farm but his relief immediately turned into dejection when he realized that the pebbles that made up this road weren't as nice to walk on as the ones that made up the driveway. They weren't packed in solid from frequent use.
His heart jumped at the sudden realization that he might be in someone else driveway, but Don would have stopped him if that was the case.
If he followed the road he would make it to the farm sooner or later. The question once again was which way?
He tuned up his ears again and tried to be more aware of his surrounding, almost in ninja mode but not quite.
Behind him he could hear Don's slow easy breathing just barely over the birds chirping and the general sounds of the woods. The late midday sun beat down on him, presently warming his skin. It was early spring and the sun's warmth was welcomed by him after the long winter. He could smell some sort of decomposing wood or something. A smell only a country dweller could describe as the smell of spring.
It caused him to wrinkle his face up slightly. It didn't smell like spring to him. It smelt like the dirt in the flower section of Home Depot.
What could he use to help him on his way back to the farm? He heard the little wood animals and Don, he felt the sun and he smelt Home Depot dirt.
The sun! Wasn't that how all those soldiers and Indians and people lost in the woods found their way home? Ok so it was two o'clock when he left and he was probably wondering around the woods for two hours or so. At noon the sun was smake dab in the middle of the sky and it rose in the west meaning it set in the east, or wait was It that it rose in the east and set in the west?
"Okay," he told himself as he sat in a bunch of ferns on the edge of the road. "Let's figure this out. In all those western movies they have the cowboy riding off into the setting sun. now which way is that? When an animal dies it tries to face the east for the setting sun, or is that the west?" He groaned and put a hand to his face. "This isn't helping any. Which way does the sun set?"
"Erhm, west, erhmhem." Don coughed out from behind him. He didn't really see the harm n telling Raph information he should already know.
"I knew that." Raph called as he got up. "So that means I should have the sun at my back right?" Don didn't answer. "I take that as a yes." Raph stepped out onto the road and began his way down the road.
It was only a few minutes before Don spoke up again.
"Um… Raph, you mind getting out of the middle of the road? You're making my stress levels go off the charts.
"Why? It's easy walking." Raph waked with his bo out before him and his injured arm at his side. He found himself not needing it once again, being in an open clearing.
"In case a care come. I really don't want to do CPR on a human shocked into death by your ugly mug."
Raph chuckled at the image.
"It's a country road Don. Some redneck would think I was some bear with algae and a back problem. They'd shoot me and take me home to feed to their kids no questions asked.
"Nah you look more like a naked green man with a back problem. That's all Mikey's been talking about all day. He wants t get out and find the green man and her kids."
Raph groaned.
"I can see it now."
It took Raph a few second to realize that a new sound was assaulting his senses, the sound of unsettled pebbles crunching into place by a heavy weight and the sound of a motor. Without even thinking he dove for the brush.
Don was about to question his actions when he too heard the car approaching. He melted into the shadows the trees created and hoped that Raph was well hidden. There was no time to check and Don could only hope that his brother had found adequate cover.
Raph lay as flat as he could on his stomach behind the brush he had dived behind. It was a dangerous move, jumping head first into the unknown but he wouldn't think about that until the danger had passed. He quickly removed his bandanna and tucked it underneath him. He put his bo at his side farthest from the road and slowed his breathing. He didn't think the cover he had was very good but it would have to do.
As the car drew closer Raph concentrated on trying to make himself invisible. He held his breath as it passed by and willed it not to slow down. Thankfully it did yet he still lay prone on the ground until he couldn't hear the engine anymore. Don gave an all clear and heaved himself off the forest floor, dusting off his mask and placing it back over his eyes.
"See why I didn't want you walking on the road?"
"Yeah" Raph found his bo and headed straight for the dirt road.
He chuckled as Don gave a long exasperated sigh from behind him.