Chapter 7
Don and April had already left by the time Casey woke up and stumbled out of his friends' home, heavily hungover. "Hey, look who's awake." Raph chuckled with a pat on the back.
Casey groaned. "Shut up, Raph." he punched him in the arm. "My head is killing me."
"Hey, I tried to warn you last night." Raph shrugged. "That stuff will kick you right in the face if you're not careful."
"I didn't think it was that bad, okay. Jeez." he groaned as he rubbed his head. "Anyway, you guys seen April?"
"Uh, yeah, about her," Leo said. "Long story short, she's now accompanying Don on his little trip."
"Oh... uh, okay?" Casey said. "How long are they gonna be gone?"
"At least twelve days. Maybe longer." Raph answered.
Casey, still confused and hungover, only responded with. "Okay."
"That's it? That's all you got to say?"
"Well, it's not like I can say anything. They're already gone and honestly, I'm way to hungover to even think straight right now. Besides I know Don's got her back so there's no need to worry."
Mikey emerged from the infirmary seconds later with bandages around his head and arm. "And what the heck happened to you?"
"Long story." Mikey said.
Casey rubbed his head again. "Man, I missed everything, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you kinda did."
"That's it. I'm never drinking anything here ever again." he threw his hands up. "I'm gonna go lay back down." he wandered back inside.
Don, Luna, and April walked in complete silence right on the outskirts of the forest. Don decided to keep out of there until they reached the edge of the territory. He had enough supplies, and as long nothing happened, he wouldn't have to collect anything else. He only carried his satchel, bo staff, bow and arrows and a knife sheathed on his thigh. April had to carry a rolled-up mat and blanket on her back. Also, stuffed in a spare bag she was given, was an extra set of clothes that Avery had lent out.
She looked over at Don as he kept his eyes forward, focusing on the task at hand. He looked annoyed. "So," she started. "Where are we going exactly?"
Don stayed silent for a while, contemplating if he should even say anything at all. She shouldn't even be here right now. It's not like she would understand anything he was saying. "We're heading to Azbani Territory." he stated with a monotone voice.
"Oh, right. That. Where is that?" she asked.
"Not anywhere near here. It's about a six day hike just to get there and that's only if things go smoothly, so I hope you're prepared for that."
She wasn't really, but it's not like she had much choice. "Six days, huh? It's nothing like New York at all." she said, not really thinking about what she was saying.
"Nope, not even a little bit."
They walked a little more in silence. Don hoped that she would keep the New York talks to a minimum, but he knew deep down that wasn't going to happen. "So, do you miss Earth at all?" and there it was.
Don rolled his eyes. "Of course, I miss it sometimes. It was my home for what, twenty years of my life. It's natural to get homesick on occasion."
"So why not go back?"
"Really? Is this all you're going to do the whole way there?"
"I was just asking."
"Just because I get homesick sometimes doesn't mean I want to go back. Doesn't mean I don't love it here."
"Well, this isn't the most tech-friendly place. I would think that as an engineer, you would want to be around technology and machinery. What happened to that Donnie?"
"I miss that too. That's why I was back in the lair. Just to fiddle with old inventions. It still doesn't mean I have any interest in going back permanently." Don said defiantly. "And besides, it's not like I need machines to be happy. As long as I keep my mind moving, I'm good. I just like learning new things."
"Well, you can still learn things-"
"Here." Don finished. "I'm constantly learning new things here. I'm also helping out in the infirmary as a doctor. Learning about all of the plants and herbs, as well as the animals of this world, is enough for me, and using that knowledge to save someone's life is the best feeling ever."
"You can do that at home."
"Oh, I can?" Don asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I didn't realize that I could save random people from life-threatening poisons and injuries... in the city... where they are soooooo accepting of mutants." he rolled his eyes and started walking faster. "I can actually do that here. To the people here, I'm not a freak, I'm not a monster, I'm not a weirdo in a turtle costume. I'm just a person and that means more to me than anything."
April picked up the pace as well. "I just think that-"
"April, I'm sorry, but it really doesn't matter what you think. It's my life and my choice, so it's time for you to let this go now." Luna took the opportunity to push her way in between the two. It was unexpected, and her large body knocked April off balance, and she fell over. Luna glared down at her with a growl. Don stopped for a second. "Come on, April. I would like to get this done as soon as possible."
April stood up, annoyed that she was knocked over by an animal, and Don didn't seem to care. She kept moving with them, and an awkward silence fell between them. They continued on like this since Don chose to ignore her for the rest of the walk. He wanted to take Nati's advice, but April wasn't making it easy.
The sun eventually set, and one of the two moons began to appear over the horizon. The stars twinkled in the night sky, and the tashin danced in the night air. They had a lantern with them, but the pulsations of Tandaya was another source of light.
They had been walking for hours, and April was exhausted and was starting to get hungry, but she didn't want to complain. She felt like she needed to keep up. Don eventually did come to a stop, though. "This is far enough for tonight. Let's set up camp."
"Are you sure? Because I can keep going." she lied.
Don scoffed. "I can tell you're getting tired by the way you were lagging behind, so don't lie to me. We should get to the edge of the territory by tomorrow night."
"How do you know when we've made it to the edge?"
Don paused for a second. That was the first time she asked a question about this world instead of trying to convince him to leave with her. "When the light from the life trees intersect, that's when you'll know." he explained.
"Okay." she said simply.
He didn't know if that answer satisfied her, but at the moment he really didn't care. "You'll see it when we get there. Let's set up. Collect some wood for a fire, stay near the edge of the forest, so you don't get lost. There's a river nearby, I'm gonna get us something to eat. Luna, stay here, so April knows where to come back to."
Luna responded with an annoyed huff and made herself comfortable on the ground to groom herself. Don made his way into the forest with the lantern, leaving April alone. She went into the forest as well, making sure to stay within eyesight of Luna. She picked up plenty of dry sticks and branches off the ground and some stones to surround the fire with. It would've been hard to see anything if it wasn't for the light pulsing by them. She probably would have gotten all turned around otherwise.
Once she had collected enough, she headed back toward Luna. She set up the campfire and unrolled the mat and blanket that was given to her. A little while later, Don emerged with several odd-looking fish. The long slender bodies were already prepared. He also had collected some fruits and veggies to go with it. "Luna, go hunt." Don ordered.
Luna stood up and went into the forest, leaving April and Don alone in another uncomfortable silence. "That Luna is very protective of you."
"Yeah, she is." he said, vaguely as he got the fire started.
"Why does she act that way?"
That seemed like an odd question. "Act in what way?"
"So aggressive."
"She only gets that way when she knows that I'm uncomfortable or upset. She tends to try to protect me from whatever or whoever is making me upset." he looked pointedly at her after he got the fire started.
Even in the darkness, April could see the anger in his eyes. "I'm making you upset?" she asked.
"Hey, you said it, not me." Don shrugged as he got the fish ready to cook over the fire.
"How?"
He stopped what he was doing to look up at her. "Do you really not see what you're doing? I tell you that I don't want to go back home, and here you are, trying to convince me otherwise."
"Because Earth is your home."
"Not anymore." Don said with a shake of his head.
The rest of the night was filled with silence between them. Even as they ate their meal, Don avoided making eye contact. Once they were done eating, they began settling in for the night. "Get some sleep, April. We've got a long day ahead of us in the morning."
"Where are you going to sleep?"
"I've got Luna. That's enough for me." he said plainly as he made himself comfortable on the lakra's furry body. Luna curled herself up, almost protecting Don with her body. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." she lay down on the mat and covered herself with the blanket, thoughts on what she could do to convince her friends to come back home with her rattled through her mind. It took a while, because of her racing thoughts and also because of the the light of Tandaya pulsing beneath them, but she finally drifted off to sleep.
Well, they're off to a bit of a rough start.
So, I hope that April isn't coming off as too much of an asshole because that's not the intention. I want you to be mildly annoyed with her. I don't want you to hate her. The reason (if you haven't already figured it out) will be explained soon enough.
Also, do you guys like the way it's set up with the language. Do you like that the words and the translations are at the top of the chapter, or would you guys want them to be placed right next to the word in parenthesis? I can do either one. If no one says anything about it, I'll just assume that it's okay as is.
