Author Notes:
Somebody asked about the old Irish monk's poem I was referencing last chapter about Pangur Ban. It's actually literally called 'Pangur Ban'. If you just google it, you should easily find both the poem and the song.
But, at any rate, here's the English translation, courtesy of Wikipedia:
Pangur, white Pangur, How happy we are
Alone together, scholar and cat
Each has his own work to do daily;
For you it is hunting, for me study.
Your shining eye watches the wall;
My feeble eye is fixed on a book.
You rejoice, when your claws entrap a mouse;
I rejoice when my mind fathoms a problem.
Pleased with his own art, neither hinders the other;
Thus we live ever without tedium and envy.
"And here we are!" Ahead of him, Leo could hear the Ancient One cheerfully announce loudly. "Home sweet home!"
Leo reached up to shift Pangur on his shoulder, and carefully used the stick to probe the path in front of him, exhaling at the proclamation with somewhat mixed feelings.
On one hand, Finally. They had been walking for what seemed like hours, though it might've seemed that long just because even with the help of the stick, Leo was picking his way carefully through this grey fog with no idea where he was going, or what was around them. Leo's arm was starting to ache from keeping it in front of him to avoid getting hit in the face by tree branches, and the ground was rocky.
On the other hand, no. No, this was not home. It wasn't even close.
They stepped forward, Leo once more tuning out the old human's constant rambling. To be fair, though, the Ancient One had so far been surprisingly patient with Leo, and through all the chatter and rather coarse humor, he never once mentioned how slow they were going. Instead, he just slowed down, moving only at the pace that Leo seemed most comfortable at. A small gesture for which Leo was thankful for. But, still, this must be a fairly good sized island, they had walked at least a couple of miles, and it seemed like the woods around them were growing only thicker. How on earth did the Ancient One find him all the way out there?
As far as Leo could tell, the house itself seemed to be located in a wide clearing in the middle of the forest. He absently noted the distant sound of a waterfall off in the distance. Hm. The ground they had been walking over had eventually grown more rocky and uneven, and he could tell that they were moving up in altitude, though thankfully the path so far was just a gentle incline and not a steep hill. There must be mountains or, at the very least, tall and rocky hills in the center of this island.
"Slight step here." the old human warned him.
"Oh. Okay. Thanks." Leo noticed that the ground underfoot changed from dirt and grass to a stone path, probably a pathway up to the house.
"If you fall flat on your face, I'm not catching you."
"Oh yes. Of course. You're an old man. You might injure yourself." Leo carefully prodded ahead of him with the stick, which tapped against some wooden steps. He followed the Ancient One onto a small porch, then paused, and experimentally felt the ground beneath him with this feet. The wood under him felt quite strong, but well worn and smooth. This didn't quite feel like the makeshift hovel that he had been expecting.
"Yes! Exactly!" The Ancient One agreed wholeheartedly. "I'm glad you get it, Kumquat!" There was chortle as the Ancient One turned, then a wooden clunk and the creak of a door opening. "Right, so you can leave the bag of kumquats on the floor by the doorway there, Kumquat." The Ancient One ordered as he waddled inside the building. "Then you can come help me move some mats and blankets over for you to sleep on."
Leo hesitantly followed him, but paused in the entrance, reaching out to rest a hand on the wooden frame, then ran his fingers across the grain. The wood felt thick, solid, and ancient under his touch.
This house, though he obviously couldn't see much of it, was apparently fairly simple, but it still somehow held an old, timeworn feel and smell to it, which surprised him. The foundation and floors were made of flat, well worn stone slabs, any bumps or rough edges smoothed down as if worn down by centuries of use. The interior of the building was cool and felt as if it were shaded from the world outside, and from the way the sound the Ancient One made echoed a little, it was taller and more spacious then Leo would've thought as well. He removed his hand from the door frame, and gave a curious sniff of the air. Strangely, there was the faint, lingering smell of incense wafting in the air, lending an almost mystical and spiritual air to the building. If he hadn't known better, he would've thought he was stepping into old temple grounds, and not some hut a crazy old blind man built on an island.
Off in a corner, the Ancient One belched loudly, completely shattering the illusion.
Leo sighed.
He set the bag down where he assumed the old human had wanted him to, and Pangur leapt off his shell to go prowl around the house. Leo carefully moved forward, gently exploring the sparse furnishings and general layout of the large, single roomed building, trying to figure out where things were without knocking anything over. Hmm... The human had been rather direct and straightforward so far, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask.
"Um, if you don't mind, is... is there any way I could please borrow your phone?" he asked hesitantly.
"Don't have one." the Ancient One waved him off absently as he moved about, shuffling who knew what around the house.
Leo blinked, surprised. "Wait. You... you don't have a phone?"
"Nope." the Ancient One cheerfully denied. "Or electricity. Or indoor plumbing." He paused for a moment, then added. "Remind me to show you where the outhouse is. And just to give you fair warning, it'll be best for you to hurry and get your business done before I get in there in the morning. Trust me on that one."
"Wait, what?"
"Well, when you get to be this age, sometimes you need to set a routine for your digestive system, and let me tell you..."
"No, not that!" Leo interrupted him before he learned more information then he really wanted to know about this human's morning routine. "I meant about the phone! How can you not have one?! You're blind and living here alone! What if you need to contact somebody? Like in an emergency?"
"Oh, psh." the Ancient One waved him off. "What would they do for an old man like me anyways? Besides, phone bills would be too expensive."
Leo felt his heart sink as he hesitantly asked, "So you really... you really don't have any way of contacting the outside world then?"
"Hm. No, sorry Kumquat." the Ancient One almost sounded a little apologetic. He hummed for a moment as he thought, then shrugged. "Though, like I said, once in a while, some scientists come on boats to study the birds. They might have a radio or something you could try to use when they come. It'll be at least several months, though."
A... a radio? Leo was blind. There was no way he'd be able to figure out how to sneak on the boat, much less somehow figure out how to use a radio to contact his brothers in the short time he would've been allowed. Not... not without Donnie.
There was a clatter as something small and hard was knocked onto the wooden floor, and the Ancient One gave an annoyed huff. "Panugr! Stop knocking things over!"
There was an innocent sounding 'mew', and then Leo suddenly had a small, warm furball thrust into his hands. "Here, Kumquat. Hold this troublemaker while I get the fireplace going for supper. Then, while the food's cooking, we can get your bedding ready."
Leo slowly and numbly ran his hand over the soft fur, petting the purring cat in his hands. He lowered his head and quietly nodded. "Okay."
Off in the distance, there was the distant, faint rumble of thunder.
He suddenly felt very worn out and tired.
Run!
Oh gods, it was going to catch him!
He had to keep running!
He was racing over the rooftops of New York, much as he had hundreds of times before, leaping over alleyways and vaulting over brick walls. But there was a desperation in this run, a deep, underlying fear clutching at his chest and prickling at his scales. His breath hitched in his aching lungs as he struggled for air, but no matter how fast he ran, no matter how hard he pushed his muscles to the limit, he didn't seem to actually be moving very fast. It was as if he was trying to swim through a sea of molasses.
And behind him, quickly gaining ground, a wave of darkness, pitch black and ominous, surged forward, filling the sky. Buildings, cars, street lights, it didn't matter, everything behind Leo was swallowed up by the ever growing darkness and was lost in the abyss. Black tendrils reached out for him as the darkness continued to chase him down and attempt to claim him, and he panted and gasped as he dodged them.
"Leo!"
A desperate plea echoed loudly through the air, and Leo looked up in horror to see his three brothers standing on the ledge of a building in front of him, reaching for him with fear on their faces.
He tried to call out to them, to tell them to run, but his voice didn't seem to work, no matter how hard he tried. A new burst of fear shot through his body. The darkness was now on his heels, and it was going to swallow them up as well!
Desperate, he lunged forward, leaping off the building and into the air towards his brothers, reaching out with all his heart and soul, trying to take their hands that were still reaching for him.
But, just before their outstretched fingers could touch his, the darkness caught up to him and swallowed him up, and he was lost in the nothingness.
He could still hear his brothers crying for him, begging him to come save them, but he couldn't escape the darkness to find them.
Everywhere, there was nothing but darkness.
"Guys! Where are you!" His thoughts seemed to echo out loud through the murky fog, causing ripples in the inky blackness.
"Leo, please!" His brothers sounded frightened and desperate.
He had to find them!
"Guys! I'm here!"
"Help us, Leo!"
"I... I can't see you!"
"We need you!"
The darkness grew heavier around him, pulling him down, further away from them.
"NO! Raph! Donnie! Mikey!"
"LEO! Please!"
"I... I'm so sorry..."
He couldn't find them.
He couldn't save them.
He couldn't even save himself.
"Yo Kumquat! It's time to get up!"
The sudden loud exclamation right next to his head had Leo popping up in the air, yelping in surprise as he was startled out of his deep sleep. Pangur, who had been curled up on his plastron, slid off to land in a heap on the floor.
"Much to do, much to do. Come, Kumquat." the old, squat human chided him as he waddled away.
Calming his beating heart, Leo lay there blinking for a moment, then realizing where he was, groaned and rolled over, draping an arm over his face.
Last night had been a long one. Between the storm outside, and the Ancient One's loud snoring, Leo had lain awake most of the night, laying on his futon and staring into nothing as he pet the sleeping ball of fur on his chest. It felt like he had only just finally dozed off a few minutes ago.
Next to him, Pangur unfolded from his sleepy heap, gave a long and sleepy stretch and yawn, before finally settling next to Leo with his tail wrapped neatly around his paws, dutifully giving his whiskers a morning bath with a paw.
"You going to go out and use the bathroom first?" The Ancient One asked. "Remember my warning!"
"What?" Leo's arm lifted slightly as he sluggishly uncovered his face. Then he exhaled and pushed himself up, reaching out and trying to find the stick he had lain next to his sleeping mat and pile of blankets. "Oh, fine. Sure. I guess so."
He still couldn't believe that the only bathroom that this old man had was an outhouse. Like, an actual, old fashioned outhouse, the wooden shack on top of a hole in the ground.
"After breakfast, we'll head out. I'll take you down the path to the waterfall. It's a good place to get washed up. Then maybe we can head down to the beach and see if anything interesting washed up from the storm last night."
"I..." Leo twisted himself around to a sitting position, fingering the wooden staff in his hand. "If it's all the same, I... I think I'll stay here for a bit." Maybe he would sit in the corner and stare at nothing for a few hours. That sounded good right now. Just sit there and lose himself as he tried hard not to think of the fact that this right here was probably going to be the rest of his life. That he was blind and stuck on this island with no way off, and was probably never going to see his brothers again, if they were even still...
A kumquat fruit smacked him hard against the side of his head, causing him to yelp out.
Pangur immediately pounced on the fruit as it rolled away with delight.
"You're going with me to the waterfall." the Ancient One informed him. "You stink. You need a bath, Kumquat."
"What?!" Leo rubbed the side of his head incredulously, then he reached down, feeling around until he found the kumquat and pried it away from the cat. "You can't just keep throwing things at me like that!"
"Then duck!" The Ancient One tossed what felt like a towel on him. "Come, Kumquat."
And before Leo could say or do anything more, the old man had waddled away.
Leo slid the towel off his head and brought it down, running his fingers across it. Pangur bumped his head against Leo's knee, and Leo exhaled, lowering the cloth. "Is he always like this?" he asked the cat in disbelief.
And thus, Leo found himself following the Ancient One up a steep dirt path through the ever-thickening forest towards the sound of the waterfall. He felt like didn't really have a choice in the matter. Leo didn't want more fruit thrown at him, and truth be told, the Ancient One wasn't exactly wrong. Leo really did need a bath. He could still feel mud and sand in the crevices of his scales, which kind of itched and felt uncomfortable, and his shell right now... Oh gods, he would do anything to just have one of the shell maintenance scrubs that he and his brothers did weekly.
...
He would do anything to just see his brothers again.
But there wasn't much chance of that happening.
*WHACK!*
A low branch swung back and smacked him across the snout smartly.
"Gah!" he yelped, stumbling back and grabbing his stinging nose.
"Watch out for branches, Kumquat." the Ancient One called out to him helpfully from the path ahead.
"It's kind of hard to do when you're BLIND!" Leo huffed back annoyed, moving carefully forward with a hand outstretched, finding the offending branch, and pushing it carefully out of the way as he moved past it.
"You know, Kumquat, just because your eyes can't see doesn't mean that the world around you stops existing." the Ancient One continued walking along the path with seemingly little difficulty. "You have your other senses. You have your instincts. Use them. Strengthen them. Learn to 'see' your surroundings around you."
"Easy for you to say." Leo muttered under his breath, carefully feeling his way forward with the stick and outstretched hand. "You're so short, you just walk right under all these branches."
The Ancient One seemed rather amused by that comment, breaking out into a cackle. Another branch caught Leo on the arm, and he bit his tongue and gritted his teeth. If he didn't know better, he would think that the human in front of him was deliberately leading him into them! "How much further is it anyways?"
The Ancient One scoffed. "Use your senses, Kumquat!"
Leo narrowed his eyes ineffectually at the human somewhere in front of him. But then, realizing that maybe he was referring to Leo's physical senses, and not his mental abilities, he paused, then tilted his head, listening to the forest around him.
The roar of the waterfall sounded much closer now, and the cool morning air around them had a fresh, almost misty quality. The ground underfoot had grown more rocky and solid, and Leo had felt more ferns and leafy fronds brushing against him.
They were close.
And sure enough, it was only a few minutes later when the trees opened up, and they came upon a large pool of water at the base of a thick waterfall. The falling water cascaded down from a cliff high above them, tumbling over rocks and ledges, and crashing into the pool below, sending up a fine spray that filled the glen. In the trees across the water, there was a sudden rush of wings as a large flock of birds poured out of the nearby treetops to fly up into the skies above, apparently startled and not appreciative of their sanctuary being intruded upon. Leo felt Panugr perk up with interest on his shoulder and give a little chattering chirp, watching the birds fly with intense interest.
"Here we are!" The Ancient One announced, setting aside his bundle. "Welcome to my bath house, Kumquat!"
Leo stepped forward and dipped one toe in the cool water experimentally. "Well, I think your water heater is broken. And your shower seems to be a little... on the extreme side."
"Well, Kumquat, please direct all complaints to Pangur." the Ancient One grinned. "It's his island after all. That makes him the landlord."
Pangur made an annoyed sound and jumped off Leo's shell in the opposite direction of the water, obviously not thrilled.
"What?" the Ancient One scoffed. "We can't all be self cleaning like you!"
The swim was nice.
Leo had to at least admit that.
The water in the pool was cold and refreshing, constantly replenished and churned by the waterfall bringing down mountain spring water. Leo flipped around and dove under again, scrubbing at the top of his head with his fingertips and washing away the last traces of mud and sweat from his scales. Now that he thought about it, he probably should wash his bedding when he got back as well. If he got it done right away, it should be dry by the time he went to bed. Also, he would have to see if there was any way he could weave a new floor mat to put underneath it, the current one was kind of small and old, and maybe he could figure out a way to get some more padding under his futon. The spare one the Ancient One had pulled out for him would do for now, but with his shell, Leo needed a bit more support if he was to lay on his back.
...
And it was actually kind of depressing that he was now starting to plan for long term comforts like that. Like he was resigning himself to his fate.
Leo surfaced again with a spray of water, shaking his head to clear it of any excess droplets. He flopped backwards on his shell, falling into a back float on the water's surface.
He floated for a moment, just trying to figure out how he felt about things as he considered the grey fog that filled his vision. Finally, he bit his lip, narrowed his eyes, and focused as hard as he could, trying to stare up at the sky he knew was above him. He could almost visualize the sunlight filtering down through the green leaves of the treetops above, creating rays of light in the mist rising from the waterfall. It was so tantalizing to know that it was all there. That there was this world around him that he could see, if only his eyes co-operated with him.
But, as always, it was just a murky grey fog.
He swallowed hard, then sighed.
Suddenly, Leo realized that he hadn't heard anything from his human companion for a while. A little concerned, he turned over and shifted so he was upright and treading water instead, listening intently around him. He could still sense the old man nearby, so he hadn't drowned somehow in the last fifteen minutes, but he was being suspiciously quiet.
He swam up to the shore, where Pangur Ban greeted him with a rather disdainful and disgruntled meow, obviously not pleased by how wet Leo was, and not at all sure why his two roommates were voluntarily going in the water. "Hey, Ancient One. What are you up to?" he called out.
"Hm? Oh, up here, Kumquat!" the old man's creaky voice came unexpectedly from up above him, half muffled by the sound of the waterfall.
"What?" Leo instinctively looked up, but of course he didn't see anything. "What... what are you doing? And how did you get up there?"
"By the cliff face is a small ledge you can climb up." the Ancient One explained, his voice growing a little more clear as he apparently waddled away from the falling water to better speak with Leo. "It leads to a nice little ledge up here that goes under the waterfall. Very nice place to meditate. You should join me!"
"Meditate?" Leo blinked. This old, crass human meditated?! He found that hard to believe.
"Yes. Clear your mind. Be at peace with the universe. Strengthen your spirit. It's very good for you." the old human explained from his perch.
"I know what meditation is!" Leo huffed, crossing his arms and looking away.
"Then come up here and join me!" the Ancient One offered.
Leo hesitated. "Are... are you seriously asking me to climb up a cliff face, and walk along a soaking wet and probably very slippery rock ledge?! I'm blind!"
"So am I!" the Ancient One reminded him cheerfully.
"Well, yeah, but the difference between us is that I'm not crazy." Leo pointed out huffily.
"Ha!" the Ancient One was obviously quite amused. "Not yet, anyways. But give it time!" He paused for a moment, thinking. "If you don't feel like making the climb that an old man does every morning, then there are plenty of rocks and logs to sit on down there. Take a seat, some meditation will be good for you!"
Leo frowned, and lifted a hand to rub at his arm. The last thing he wanted right now was to face his inward thoughts. "I... I don't really feel like meditating right now. I'm clean now, I think I'd like to just go back to the house."
"Fair enough." the Ancient One shrugged. "I'm going to finish my meditation session up here, then I'll see what I can scrounge us up for lunch. I should be back in a few hours."
"Oh. Okay." Leo hadn't really expected that response, and suddenly wasn't all that sure about making that trek back to the house alone. But he quickly chided himself for his foolishness. Of course he couldn't expect this old man to drop everything and give up every routine he had just to lead Leo around and be his nanny. Leo had to learn some independence.
"Do you remember the way back?" the Ancient One asked, almost as if an afterthought. "Do you think you can do it by yourself?"
"Y-yeah! Of course!" Leo tried to sound more confident then he really was. He reached down to pick up his walking stick. "It was a pretty obvious trail, I shouldn't have any problems."
"Oh, good." The Ancient One began waddling back to his meditation spot. "See you in a few hours, Kumquat."
"Yes. Of course." Leo nodded, already trying to mentally work his way backwards through the way they came. Pangur bumped up against his ankle, apparently ready to hitch a ride home and away from all this water, and he reached down to scoop up the cat, placing him on his shoulder. He fingered his wooden walking stick for a moment, feeling it in his hands, then exhaled, and took a hesitant step forward.
If this short and chubby old human could do it, then Leo could. He was Leonardo, after all! He had once been a great warrior and a great ninja. He could handle a walk through the woods! No problem!
Okay, it was a left at this tree.
Uh... Wasn't it?
Leo hesitantly moved a few steps in that direction, but then the stick he was using to prod in front of him hit a rather solid bush. Leo frowned and poked around, and quickly realized that, no... there was far too much undergrowth here. This wasn't the path.
"Gah! Really?!" Leo snarled in frustration to himself.
Alright, it was the next tree where he turned. Definitely the next tree!
He backtracked a few steps, and turned to keep going forward, but it was only a short distance before he encountered a rocky ledge that he definitely didn't remember.
This was definitely not right. Had he lost the path?! Where?! At what point did he leave it?!
This was so stupid! This was the simplest thing in the world, and he couldn't even do this right!
He felt a well of frustration growing in his chest as he turned about and began slowly stumbling his way back from where he came. If only he could freaking see, this would be so simple!
He stumbled slightly over a small bump he had missed sensing with his stick, but he quickly caught his balance. He gritted his teeth, cursing inwardly.
He was getting so tired of the grey darkness that constantly filled his vision. He knew the world was out there, all around him, but he Just. Couldn't. SEE! He was so damned useless now, it was pathetic!
And he would never be able to see again! He had lost everything! His sight! His brothers! His very purpose in life!
Frustration and anger taking over, he moved forward a little too fast, and was rewarded by a branch jabbing him painfully in the face.
That was the last straw, and something seemed to snap in him.
"Oh, FUCK YOU!" Leo snarled, reaching out to grab the stick and break it angrily off. It was a rather stubborn, flexible branch, though, and it took him several tries, which only further degraded his mood and fueled his anger. Finally, though, it gave into his sheer stubbornness, and he managed to wrench the small limb from its tree and throw it off into the woods somewhere. It landed with a rustle of leaves off somewhere nearby, probably in a bush or fern.
The action was far less cathartic then he would've liked.
Gritting his teeth, he turned and started to stomp angrily back to where he hoped the path would be.
And promptly ran straight into the trunk of a tree.
The abrupt crash resulted in the sound of scrabbling claws against shell as Pangur lost his balance and tried to keep from falling, before deciding that gravity was inevitable at this point, and just jumping off to land on the ground to the side.
Leo let out a stream of curse words as he held his snout, which now sported a painful scrap. Then he snarled and grabbed his walking stick in both hands, hitting the tree trunk as hard as he could.
That one action, that single hit, it was as if the floodgates burst open. All his frustration welled up, and just seemed to burst forth at that moment, and Leo angrily hit tree in front of him again and again, his strikes growing ever more wild and erratic.
It just wasn't FAIR!
Leo had always done everything asked of him!
He had tried to be the perfect son!
He had tried to be the perfect brother!
He had tried to be the perfect leader!
Time and time again, he had pushed himself to the edge, risking his own life to do the do the right thing! He had given up everything to be a hero! He had always tried to help people! His whole life, he had always put everybody else's needs before his own!
And THIS was his reward?!
THIS was his fate?!
Left a blind invalid trapped on an island to live out the rest of his life, most of it alone, never to see his brothers or friends again?!
It wasn't fair!
He had once been a powerful warrior! And now look at him! He was so helpless now that he couldn't even follow a simple freaking path! He would never be able to protect his brothers like this!
And they could all be DEAD already for all he knew!
Hot tears poured down his face, and a sob tore from his throat.
It. Just. Wasn't. FAIR!
He going to die here ALONE and CRAZY and there was absolutely nothing he could FUCKING do to change his fate!
The stick in his hand finally snapped in half, leaving him holding only a broken piece in his hand.
He gave a strangled cry and tossed the broken piece away, instead curling up his fist and banging it helplessly against the tree trunk that had silently weathered his wrath, eventually falling forward to press his forehead against the rough surface as he sobbed.
Why?
Why was fate so cruel?
...
He...
He just wanted to see his brothers again.
He didn't know how much time had passed. How long he had broken down and sobbed his heart and soul out.
But, eventually, the sobs died down into wet sniffles. After a while, he heard the rustle of leaves as somebody walked towards him. .
The footsteps stopped right in front of him, and the Ancient One squatted down to 'look' at him. "You okay?"
Leo was sitting on the grass at the base of the tree with his knees pulled up and his arms wrapped around a purring Pangur Ban, as if the cat was his only anchor keeping him sane in this world. He didn't raise his head, just hugged Pangur closer to his plastron. "No."
He heard the Ancient One exhaled slowly, and then there was a slight tapping of something wooden on his knee.
Dully, he lifted his hand up and listlessly took the new walking stick that was extended to him.
"You will be, Kumquat. You'll see." the Ancient One's voice was surprisingly gentle. "You're stronger then you think you are. Now come, dinner is ready."
Leo sniffled, wiped his unseeing eyes with the back of his hand, then nodded. He carefully placed Pangur up on his shoulder again, and leaned on the stick heavily as he shakily stood up.
The Ancient One waited patiently at the side, and his voice gained back that rather cheeky edge. "I would offer you a reassuring and friendly pat on the shell to convey emotional support, but you stipulated no physical contact for the moment, so I guess that will have to wait."
Leo started to nod again, but then stiffened up in shock, "Wait, what?!"
The Ancient One paused, then added in an impish tone that convey that he knew exactly what he was doing, "Oh, don't act so surprised, Kumquat. You were the one who specifically put that rule into place."
"No, I mean...!" Leo stammered as his mind raced as he tried to figure out just what and how much this human in front of him knew. "What did you mean by 'my shell'? Do you...?"
"Know that you're a turtle?" the Ancient One finished for him, then scoffed. "Psh. Was that supposed to be a secret? Because it's pretty obvious." He started down the trail, beckoning for Leo to follow him. "Now come, Kumquat. I'm not going to allow you to skip lunch! Most important meal of the day, you know! Besides breakfast. And supper."
Leo clutched his new walking stick for a moment, stunned.
He... he knew that Leo was a mutant the whole time?!
This... this human didn't make sense!
Why... why would he... and... and why didn't he...?
"Kumquat, I managed to catch us a really fat squid to eat, my mouth is watering at the thought of it, and it's growing cold." the Ancient One called back to him impatiently.
"Oh. Um, sorry." Leo reached up and wiped the last of the tears from his face, shifted Pangur on his shoulder, then took up his new stick and hurried forward to follow the short and chubby old man.
Author Notes:
The Ancient One, ladies and gentleman. An expert at throwing Leo's mental state completely off balance, just when he needs it.
And in every hero's journey, there's always that one, really low point in their quest. I think Leo's hit that point. Which, of course, means that everything's only going up from here!
And I've had people ask if we're going to see anything from the brothers' point of view. I considered it, but... uh... let's just say that things are happening, and it might spoil certain events. But, at some point, we are definitely going to learn just what exactly the brothers thought and felt about this whole event.