So...This chapter is mostly to adress how quickly Leo seemed to return Chanchalla's feelings after she confessed her crush
So Chanchalla went with three of the Wandering Tribesmen, Seven-Scars, Sadaak and Punivatum to somewhere quiet and private where she would conduct a ritual of endowment that would grant them in on the translation spell that she and her Earth friends had, she realized it was a blessing that while she could now understand all English Speakers of Earth at least, the spell would have to be repeated for Janah she specifically wanted to be in on it, because unfortuantly not every Janah could be trusted and the Turtles though they may try their best be accidentally let slip something that ought not be known so the fewer Janah who can understand them the better.
It took roughly and hour, Leo was furiously pacing back and forth in the little space that had been designated for them. The Wandering Tribe Janah while they had been prepped about the nature of these strange visitors for weeks were still extremely wary of them and their strange bodies even Outcastes like themselves couldn't escape the Dardunah Fear of 'Abominations' bizzare mutations in Janah that had been known to happen and were said to be a sign of deep disfavor by the Devah
"You OK Leo?" Don asked "You keep pacing like that you'll be making a trench in the ground!"
"I'm sorry..." Leo sighed as he rubbed the back of his head "I...I just got a lot on my mind right now."
When Chanchalla returned with the three she had enchanted, Leo approached her "How you feeling?"
"The ritual was easier than I expected..." Chanchalla said with a smile
"You don't feel tired?" Leo asked
"I feel to excited to sleep." Chanchalla said
"Good, so I am I," Leo said "We need to talk, somewhere private."
He took her by the hand "We need a place to talk alone, can you give us leave?" He asked Seven-Scars
Seven-Scars for a moment was amazed how well he understood them now. "All right..." He said hesitantly "...Just don't go too far..."
As Janah parted to make way for them, the three already knew what this meant
"Oooh..." Sadaak said wincing "...Young love, but such an unfortunate case! Between a sweet young girl like her...And a...Beast like him!"
"Hey!" Raph said "We can understand you now too you know!"
Chanchalla didn't like leaving the safety of the Tribe's camp because of that reason, if any Average Janah saw Leo while he was just standing out in the open, by the Laws of Dardunah regarding Abominations he could be killed on sight, Leo could probobly defend himself against the Average Janah but that would probobly put them in more trouble...
"Chanchalla..." Leo sighed "...I'm...I'm sorry but...I have to confess...It can't wait any longer!"
"Confess?" Challa squeaked feeling the blood drain from her face.
Shortly after Chanchalla confessed her crush to Leo, it wasn;t long before it was clear Leo felt the same way, it was so sudden, that Splinter had his suspicions...His deepest fear, was that Chanchalla being a Mage had accidentily bewitched his Son into returning her feelings and she may not have been aware she did it, I mean Chanchalla had told them a story of how it was first discovered she was Sir,Hibasi was during one hot day in the marketplace she simply wished the water in a nearby fountain turn to fruit juice so that she may quench her first and lo and behold it did so, I'm sorry when you tell that as a child you were able to make your wishes become reality with very little effort that's gonna set off some alarm bells!
But Splinter knew from experience that the bewitched often react very violently to the suggestion they are bewitched like a defense mechanism the spell has, and having been on the receiving end of Son's katana once before, Splinter knew he had to approach this subject very delicatly.
So one night he took Leo aside and asked him that it seemed strange that only after Chanchalla confessed he saw the same look in his eyes, he merely asked Leo to explain his thought process, Leo thought back to Challa describing to him in great detail the Darduni Wedding.
"My Son..." Splinter said gently "...I know for a long time you've yearned to live in a world like Usagi's do you think perhaps these feelings might not be for the girl herself but so that you may be able to live a life like you've read in your beloved books."
And that struck a chord with Leo as he was describing all this to Challa.
"I'm sorry Challa..." Leo said as he held her hands tightly "...What I mean is I don't want to lead you on...I want to know if my feelings are true and I'm not using you as a chance to live my dreams and be like a Noble Samurai...That I'm not being...Essentually a gold digger!"
And that was the moment Challa understood, she had learned what that term 'gold digger' meant as one who just marries for money or other matieral gain, and it was at that moment seeing how much the fear of being such was really tearing Leo up inside she realized that altough he didn't realize it, this was a much more Western thought that one must marry only for love, such a notion would be seen as absurd on Dardunah as caste must also figure into choosing one's mate her Father's first two marriages weren't for love at all they were to secure alliences with other houses...
Neither of them realized that someone had seen them, someone coming from an old stepwell, but upon seeing his sister holding hands with not only a Sarpah but an Abomination of one at that, the figure dropped his bucket of water, as he got closer to prepare his attack, Leo and and Chanchalla heard a sound that was like air being let out of a tire...They saw a small Roe Deer Janah pawing the ground with his feet, ready to charge!
Before Challa could call out to her brother Aneka the Roe Deer charged, Leo turned to shield Challa with his body the moment Aneka's antlers collided with Leo's shell...They snapped off...It was winter the time of year when his antlers would be shed, Leo simply helped the process along.
"Leo!" Challa gasped "Are you hurt?"
"Barely felt a thing..." Leo said obviously a little proud of his show of supieor strengh.
"That Janah is my brother..." Challa said flatly
"Oh shell!" Leo turned and saw the Deer clutching his now bleeding head.
"Sir..." Leo said "...I'm so sorry..."
And some nice comedy to end the chapter with similar to Animals of Farthing Wood the girl has a supportive brother and a jerk brother (In the books and the TV Show these brothers were reversed, in the TV Show Bold was the friendly one and Friendly was the 'Ranger Hater' making his name ironic in the books Friendly actually lived up to his name)
