Author Notes:
This chapter was a little more difficult for me to write then I expected. Mostly just because I was basing this introduced character completely on his canon personality, and it turned out to be a style of humor that I don't usually write or enjoy. I was struggling to keep him in character, but somehow not completely shift the whole tone of the story into something juvenile. I think I finally found a balance?
Don't panic don't panic don't panic!
He was Leonardo and he didn't panic and oh gods, he was so panicking!
There was a human coming! What should he do?! Leo pressed himself tightly against the trunk of the fruit tree, chest pounding as he heard the offkey humming coming ever closer. Where could he hide?!
Quickly, he started mentally running through what he knew of the terrain around him. Well, there had been that rocky outcropping right next to this tree. That would probably be the best chance. Leo dashed for it, keeping his body low and praying that the approaching human didn't spot him. He began to quickly feel around the rocks as quietly and swiftly as he could, hoping beyond hope that his hands would find what his eyes couldn't see. Please oh please oh please oh YES! Underneath the rock, there was a small space, a hole in the dirt under the jutting rocks. A hiding place! He'd take it!
And none too soon, the voice was quickly approaching. Wasting no time, Leo immediately dropped to the ground and started working on jamming himself under the dirt into the small crawlspace.
It was an uncomfortably tight fit, especially with a rather solid turtle shell on his back, but somehow, he managed to wiggle under. He lay there for a moment, pressed flat into the dirt and trying to remain as silent as possible. Blind now he may be, he still had his lifetime of ninja training to fall back on, and could be quiet as a ghost when needed.
Outside, he could hear the human's humming break out into words. And in English, strangely enough. That surprised Leo greatly, considering their geographical location. At any rate, he sounded like he was an old man. A very old man with a creaky, almost nasally voice who nonetheless sang with an amused, almost juvenile glee about the virtues of different types of belches, pausing in the song to give several loud examples.
Leo narrowed his eyes judgmentally. The singer was terrible.
Okay, maybe it was better that at least Mikey wasn't here. He could only imagine hearing that song stuck on repeat for the rest of forever if his little brother ever heard it.
Mentally dismissing the song, Leo clenched his jaw quietly and narrowed his eyes, mostly out of habit, and began to mentally will the human to leave quickly.
That's it... Just keep walking by, old man... You just keep on going your merry way singing your distasteful song, and Leo will continue going on his own path, groping around in the darkness, and each will remain happily oblivious to the existence of the other. Just the way Leo preferred it.
But then, to Leo's alarm, the human stopped walking at the base of the small hill that the fruit tree and Leo were on.
Leo tensed. Uh... Why was the human stopping here?!
Had he stopped because he had somehow noticed a mutated giant turtle up on the hill and was about to freak out?! Leo's fingers pressed tightly against the dirt as he listened intently. No, he hadn't stop singing (unfortunately), and there was no sounds of alarm or panic. In fact, he sounded a little distracted as he moved around down there, as if he was going about doing something.
Argh! If only Leo could see!
Leo continued laying flat in the dirt in his cramped hiding place, not moving a muscle and silently cursing inside. Just how long was he going to be stuck here?
The human's badly carried tune had once again devolved into creaky humming as he moved about, and there was a few clunks of wood, the striking of stone against stone, and then, eventually, the smell of smoke.
A fire. He had stopped down there, of all places, to build a fire. In the middle of nowhere.
Leo exhaled in annoyance and realized with some resignation that he was going to be stuck in his cramped hiding spot for a while. Apparently, this ancient and crass sounding human decided that this clearing was the best place to prepare for an unnecessarily elaborate picnic or something. How long was this going to take? Leo was uncomfortable in the dirt, and he really didn't want to be stuck there all day
After a while, the smell of something cooking came wafting up, and Leo's mouth salivated unbidden, his stomach rumbling again in a rather un-ninja like manner.
So... He was now alone, lost, blind, and was currently uncomfortably squeezed into a too small crevice under a rock, stuck laying in the dirt while smelling food cooking but unable to eat it. And, to top it all off, he was stuck listening to a tone-deaf old man sing about burping.
This was hell. He was certain of it.
The human hummed, paused to rustle around, doing exactly what, Leo couldn't see, and then seemed satisfied with something. "Hey, Kumquat!" he hollered up, his accent heavy. "Food's almost done! You coming down?"
Leo stiffened. There was another human out there? Where?! He couldn't hear anybody else!
After a moment of silence while obviously waiting for a reply that never came, the old man gave a little huff. "Well, at the very least, come down here and say hello. Don't you know that it's very rude to not introduce yourself? Besides," he sniffed. "It can't be too comfortable wedged underneath the rocks like that."
Leo's face instantly went blank. Wait... Was... was he talking to Leo?!
"Yes, I'm talking to you." the old man replied with exasperated patience, as if he had just read Leo's mind. "What, do you think I'm talking to the tree you're hiding next to? I'm not that crazy yet!"
His raucous and amused laughter at his own words didn't reassure Leo any.
"Now come on down here." the old man ordered again, turning back to his fire. "I went through the trouble of hauling food and firewood up here so I could feed you, the very least you could do is come down and say thank you." He paused for a moment. "Grab a few kumquats on your way down, will you? They'll be good with the fish."
Kumquats? What were kumquats? Was that what those citrus fruits were called?
At any rate, Leo still didn't move a muscle, still unsure if his cover was blown or not.
After a minute or two of no response, the human chuckled. "Or, if you don't want to come down, I have a couple of more songs I could sing for you. There's one I'm rather fond of called, 'It's Only Air'."
Oh dear gods!
"No!" Leo called out in a panic without thinking, then, realizing he had just given himself up, paused and swallowed hard, knowing his cover was completely blown. Maybe the human hadn't seen what he was yet, and thought him just a lost hiker or something. Okay, quick, Leo! Think, think, think! How was he going to get himself out of this mess?! He tried pressing himself further into the rocky crevice. "Oh! I, um, thank you for your kind gesture, but.. Uh... None of that is necessary. At all. I'm good."
"Nonsense!" the old man said cheerfully. "It's not everyday I get a visitor on my island, and I'm looking forward to hearing a voice other then my own!" He chuckled, obviously pleased, as he continued. "Plus, I like to think of myself as a considerate host, and it is only proper for me to come meet you and offer food and shelter."
Okay, so this was apparently an island that he was stuck on. Well, that would make finding his way home a little more difficult. And what did the human mean by 'his' island? Did that mean he was the only one living here?
"Uh... thanks, but no thanks." Leo licked his lips nervously, wondering if he could wedge himself further into his hiding place without getting stuck. "I... I don't think that's a good idea. I'll... I'll stay up here."
"Well, I think it's an excellent idea." the old man rebutted cheerfully. "So come down here."
"Ugh. Well, the thing is, you see..." Leo's mind raced for plausible excuses. "I was... born with certain... abnormalities. So I don't really feel comfortable meeting strangers. Most people, when they see me, kinda... uh... panic. So thanks, but no thanks."
"Oh, is that all? Psh. Well then, Kumquat." the old man didn't seem at all perturbed by Leo's confession. "It's a good thing I won't see you then Seeing as I'm completely blind and all."
Wait, what?!
Leo's head shot up in surprise, which resulted in him immediately bumping his head hard against the rock above him. He inwardly cursed at the sharp pain, and rubbed the top of his head, wondering if he had just heard the human correctly. "Wait. Did you just say that... you're... blind?" He called out uncertainly.
"Yup! I would say, 'As a bat', but that would be false." the old man clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Bats are not blind, and I would hate to spread such rumors further." He paused for a moment. "But yes, I was born blind, and have been so my whole life."
Leo swallowed hard, then hesitantly moved forward, pushing himself out of his tight quarters and very cautiously creeping out of the shallow cavity under the giant rock to peer unseeingly down towards the human unsurely.
"Don't forget, bring some kumquats down with you, Kumquat." the old man ordered, as if the matter was settled now. "Food's 'most done!"
Leo hovered for a moment at the entrance to the crevice, torn with uncertainty. Then the smell of cooked fish came wafting up, and his curiosity and stomach won over the fear in the end. He obediently gathered up an armful of the small citrus fruits from the tree, then carefully, cautiously, he felt his way slowly down the hill, ready to bolt blindly at the first hint of betrayal.
"Oof, you're so tense! Like a skittish rabbit!" the old human tsk'd as Leo approached. "Here, sit down, relax, have some fish!"
Now that he was closer, Leo noted from the location of the human's voice that this old man had to be incredibly short. And, he guessed from the sounds of waddling movement, also probably fairly chubby.
"Uh... thank you. I think." Leo cautiously tried to keep as much distance between them as he knelt down and set his armload of fruit onto the ground. "This is really an island?"
"Sure is!" the human confirmed, shifting some things in the fire. "Not a big island, but it's peaceful and quiet. Makes for a decent home."
Leo bit his lip. "And... and you live here alone? By yourself?"
But... if... if the human was truly blind... how was that possible?
"Of course I don't live here alone!" the human snorted derisively, and before Leo could ask, he elaborated. "Pangur Ban lives here too!" He paused. "Come to think of it, I suppose I have to admit it's actually his island, I'm as much as guest on it as you are."
"Pangur Ban?" Leo asked, and then all of a sudden, the cat launched itself off a nearby rock and landed gracefully on his shell, immediately starting to purr as it headbutted his cheek fondly.
"Ah, Pangur! There you are!" the old man mock scolded the cat. "I was wondering what you had gotten up to!" He snorted and waddled off, grumbling, "Bah, since you've apparently grown so fond of our guest, you can share his fish for supper!"
"Wait, this is your cat?" Leo asked, a little confused, reaching up to pet the furry head on his shoulder demanding attention.
"Well, I wouldn't say he was mine." the old man scoffed derisively. "He is a cat, after all. If anything, I think he considers me his pet." There was an amused snort. "He deigns to let me live on his island, and, in exchange, I clean his litter box. It's a fair exchange."
"Pangur Ban." Leo exhaled, and scooped the purring cat up to cradle him in his hands, mulling over the name and the fact that his cat friend apparently lived with this rather unsavory seeming old man.
"It's an old name, traditionally given to a white cat." the old man explained. "I'm an old man. Very, very old. Older then you can possibly imagine! Soooo... I just so happen to like old names."
"Oh." Pangur purred contentedly, as if he knew they were talking about him, and reveling in his rightful place as the center of attention. "So... He's a white cat, then?"
The old man laughed raucously. "Heck if I know! I'm blind, remember?!"
Wait, he named his cat after a white cat, without knowing? What was with this old man?! Completely confused by this whole situation, Leo blinked, and 'looked' between Pangur and the old man. "But wait... If you're really blind, how... how can you live here alone? With only a cat?"
"I've been blind since the day I was born, and, like I said, I'm very, very old." the old man scoffed. "Older then you can possibly imagine!" Leo suddenly both smelled and sensed a hot, cooked fish skewered on a stick suddenly being thrust towards his face and waved about. "I've picked up a few tricks over the many, many years."
Leo transferred Pangur back up onto his shoulder, and reached out to take the offered fish. He held the stick in his hand for a moment, listening to the old man waddle away. Then, before he could change his mind, he took a deep breath and blurted out quickly. "I-I'm blind too."
The words made him wince, even as he said them. Somehow, admitting the fact... hurt.
Like, physically hurt.
It was as if saying it out loud cemented this reality, that it somehow made it so it wasn't just some nightmare he'd eventually wake up from.
"Oh?" the old man sounded thoughtful, and Leo got the feeling that he was stroking a long beard as he pondered this.
"It's... a very recent development." Leo admitted softly. "I'm... I'm still figuring it out."
"Ah." The old man seated himself and began noisily eating his own fish, before speaking with his mouth full. "Well then, Kumquat, I will just have to teach you all my tricks, then."
Leo swallowed hard. Could... could this old man really hold the answers?
The old man belched loudly, smacking his lips as he went back to eating.
Leo blinked, then sighed, reluctantly feeling out a rock and taking a seat as well. "My name is Leo." He offered hesitantly, sniffing at the fish and feeling it gingerly.
The old man grunted in affirmation. "Good to meet you then, Kumquat."
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Leo frowned.
"I found you under a kumquat tree, thus you are Kumquat! See? Easy to remember!" the old man explained through chewing noises.
"'Leo' isn't exactly a difficult name to remember." Leo pointed out, gingerly trying a piece of the fish. It was surprisingly good.
"I told you, I'm an old man! Very, very old! Older then you can possibly imagine!" The human chortled, sounding far too amused with himself. "It's too much of a bother remembering all the names."
Leo snorted, and broke off a piece of the fish to offer to Pangur, and saying dryly. "Very well then, oh Ancient One. I thank you for both the fish and your hospitality."
The Ancient One snorted, sputtering food, then guffawed in amusement, slapping a chubby thigh. "Oh, excellent! Perfect name! I like it!"
Leo felt Pangur take the offered piece of fish eagerly and quickly leap off his shoulder to eat his prize in seclusion. He finally gave into his own growling stomach, and dug into the fish with hungry abandon.
Oh gods, that was so good... He closed his eyes in bliss as he chewed. Funny how hunger made everything taste better.
He had to admit... he still wasn't sure how to feel about this turn of events. This just seemed all too coincidental to be real. There was no way this should be happening. Newly blinded, he had really somehow managed to land on a fairly remote island, where against all logical reason, the only inhabitant was an eccentric ancient old human who also happened to be blind?!
Leo raised his head as he heard a noise, sniffed, then immediately wrinkled his snout in disgust.
An eccentric old human who apparently had just loudly passed gas.
"What?" the Ancient One apparently caught his small noise of disapproval. "It's only air!"
If this was indeed the hand of fate intervening on his behalf, then Fate, apparently, had a very strange sense of humor.
"You're really the only person living on this island?" Leo asked, trying to feel out the situation and this strange little man's motivations. "How far away is the mainland?"
"Oh, very far." The Ancient One mused thoughtfully. "This is actually a bird sanctuary or something like that. A boat of scientists to study the birds stop by once or twice a year, if we're lucky, but that's about it."
Leo frowned. That was both good and bad news. There was less chance of discovery, but there was also less chance of getting off the island.
Not to mention, this whole situation was so... weird. The Ancient One was so weird!
"My house is just a ways down the path there." the old human told him around a mouth full of food. "There's room enough for you to stay."
"Wait. You want me to sleep in your house now?" Leo was immediately nervous again.
"You're my student now! It's okay. Plus, you can change Pangur's litterbox from now on."
"Just like that?!" Leo protested. "You don't want to know more about me first? Who I am or where I came from?"
"Kumquat, I meet you, and I immediately think to myself, 'This guy has personal bubble issues." The Ancient One snorted, waving off the question. "So, in the interest of not traumatizing Pangur's guests, no prying questions for now from me." He chuckled. "Besides, at any rate, you get this old, and you find out that all importantly questions in life will be answered eventually."
Leo didn't know what to think of this situation. "And you want me to go home with you? Just like that? Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose on you."
The Ancient One scoffed, quickly waving that off. "Nonsense! It's no problem at all, plenty of room! And really, it's Pangur's house, so you'd be imposing on him, not me!" He snorted and laughed, apparently amused by his own joke. Then he added, almost as an afterthought. "Plus, there's another heavy storm coming through tonight, if my arthritis knows anything, and I doubt you want to be caught out in the open when it hits."
Leo paused, and raised his head to sniff the air experimentally a few times. Was it really going to storm? He felt Pangur bump up against him, rubbing against his thigh as he knelt on the ground. He bit his lip as he reached down and gave the cat the requested pat.
If it really was going to rain, well... he was a turtle. It would be miserable and uncomfortable, but he would survive. But he couldn't ask that of Pangur. Not for his sake. And at any rate, it wasn't like he even had the option in the first place. He had found the cat's rightful owner, and Pangur would have to go back home, where he belonged.
So... Leo's only real choices at the moment were going with the Ancient One and Pangur... or go on alone and keep trying to figure this out on his own. Safely away from any humans, but left spending the night in whatever hiding place he could scrounge up. Probably under that rock outcropping. Uncomfortable and alone in the darkness with only the sound of the rain to keep him company.
Leo sighed, and, with an air of resignation, broke off another piece of fish to feed Pangur, who eagerly took it. "Just... please... don't try touching me or anything."
The last thing Leo needed was for his host to figure out that he wasn't quite human while he was stuck indoors in an unfamiliar building.
"No piggy back rides for now. Got it." the Ancient One jovially agreed.
It... was the best plan he had, he supposed. So yeah, he was going to follow a crass old human that he had literally just met and knew nothing about to his home, wherever that was, and be stuck in close quarters with him for who knew how long.
Yay.
Perhaps, when the Ancient One wasn't looking, Leo could borrow his phone or radio or whatever he had, and figure out a way to contact his brothers.
Leo continued to eat in silence for a while. Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same thing for his new... roommate? Leo's snout wrinkled just a little as he listened to the human sitting across the fire loudly eat. Well, at least he was noisy enough that Leo wasn't going to lose track of him.
Leo slowly finished up the fish, deep in thought as he chewed. By his side, Pangur was seated with his tail wrapped around his body, contentedly cleaning his whiskers off with swipes of a paw.
He briefly wondered if this was only the beginning of his new life. Would he would ever get off this island, or was this where he was going to be left living for the rest of his life? He wasn't sure how far he could get now that he was blind.
He... had to face the reality that he very well could be stuck here.
And... and his brothers. He... he may never see...
"Here Kumquat!" Out of the darkness, a large stick flew through the air and smacked Leo in the face, bouncing off his startled snout and falling to the ground.
"The heck?!" Leo rubbed his nose, shocked that the old man had apparently thrown it at him.
"It's for you!" the Ancient One waved off his ire as he waddled around the campsite. Apparently he had finished eating, and was now packing up. "Use the stick to find the rocks in your path, instead of using your toes!"
Leo leaned down and picked up the sturdy walking stick, feeling it with a frown. "You threw it at me! Why?! I told you, I'm blind!"
"And I told you, so am I!" the Ancient One laughed, amused.
Leo almost realized too late that the human was lobbing another item at him as he spoke, and brought his hands up just in time to block it from hitting his face as well. A balled up cloth bag fell to the ground.
"Put kumquats in there, Kumquat." the Ancient One ordered, as Leo heard him kicking dirt over where the fire had been. "We'll take them home, eat them later."
Leo reached down to pick up the bag hesitantly. Pangur bumped his head against Leo's knee, and he exhaled.
Just what exactly had he landed himself in this time?
Author Notes:
So yeah, Leo's pretty baffled by this turn of events. I wonder if there's more to this newcomer then meets the eyes?
Also, Pangur Ban isn't a TMNT name. I didn't think it made sense to name this cat 'Klunk' or 'Old Hob', and this is the 2k12 Leo, so he already knows Ice Cream Kitty. It's actually the name of an old Irish monk's cat in an 9th century poem that I'm rather fond of, as well as a pretty haunting song about him in the cartoon 'The Book of Kells'. It just seemed like good name to use for what I have planned in this story.
And yes, I read history books for fun. Yes, I am aware I'm a nerd.