"Are we there yet?" Mikey asked, for the 43rd time. Leo, who was driving, gripped the steering wheel tighter, the muscles flexing in his forearms.
"Mikey, if we were there we wouldn't still be driving, would we?" Leo said through gritted teeth. Mikey groaned and threw himself against the back of his chair, folding his arms across his chest impatiently. I grinned.
"Donnie," I said, trying to get rid of what I knew would soon be a tense moment, "Tell me more about the farmhouse. None of you have been very specific and it's driving me crazy!" Donnie jumped at the chance, eager to avoid all awkward situations, especially when all five of us were jammed into the same van. April and Splinter had insisted on driving on ahead to get the house ready for us.
"Well," Donnie began, "It's not a new house, but it works just fine. There's the main house, then the courtyard, and in the back is the barn. After the barn is the forest that surrounds the place. The forest used to be well-kept by April's family, but once they moved away the forest was allowed to grow naturally and became unkempt. It's a little creepy at night, but we love to explore the nearer regions during the day."
"Hey, guys. Guess what?" Leo called from the front. "We're here."
I unbuckled and scrambled over Raph to look out his window. The countryside flew past too quickly for a normal person to see clearly, but I caught every detail. Bare branches were covered in the first hints of what promised to be a very white winter. Frost was painted on each branch, their black fingers reaching up to tickle the bellies of low-flying clouds. We were on a dirt road that used to me well-used, but had been claimed by nature as time went on. The sky was overcast and heavy with clouds. It would storm later today. Despite this, a watery sunshine fought its way through the clouds and lit the earth beneath with a soft glow. The whole scene was beautiful.
"Can….you…PLEASE…get… your…wings…out…of …my…face?!" Raph growled. I looked back at him and giggled at the sight of him trying to move my wings, which were indeed pressed up against his face. I smirked and fluffed out my feathers a bit so they tickled him. He gagged and shoved me away, spitting some black down-feathers out of his mouth.
"Eww! I didn't know you shedded. That's disgusting!" Raph complained, still spitting out feathers. I blushed, not knowing how to react. I had never lost any feathers before…
"She's not shedding, shell-head." Donnie said, coming to my aid. "She's molting. All birds do it. Think of it like…growing your own winter coat. Bigger, thicker, heavier feathers will replace the ones she will lose in the next few weeks to keep her warm"
"It's still gross." Raph grumbled after getting the last few feathers of his mouth. I threw him an apologetic smile, but he just rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window.
Twenty-seven minutes later, Leo pulled into the huge dirt driveway that surrounded the age-old house before us. The house, three stories tall and bursting with Victorian beauty, loomed before us. Mikey threw open the double-doors to the back of the van and practically threw himself onto the ground, overjoyed that the seven-and-a-half hour car ride was finally over. Raph jumped out after him, wrestling him to the ground. The two began horsing around, throwing dirt into the air. Donnie rolled his eyes, got out, and helped me down. Leo, who had driven the whole way here, could be seen stretching as he got out. He looked tired, but then again he usually did these days. His nightmares had been keeping him up most nights, though he refused to admit it. I could hear him scream in the middle of the night from my bedroom.
"Are Splinter and April here yet?" I asked him. He shook his head.
"I don't think so. We would have seen April's car."
"Oh. Okay. I'm going to look around inside, if that's okay."
"Sure. Take whatever bedroom you want. With this family it's first come, first serve."
I laughed, appreciating the truth of his words. After making my way inside, I explored the entire house, floor by floor, room by room, closet by closet. The house was old and in need of a major fixer-upper job, but it was a sturdy house and would keep us warm in the winter. I eventually chose a bedroom in the back that had a wall made entirely of windows and overlooked the forest beyond. The windows opened up to a small balcony with a metal tea table and a single chair. Inside, the remaining three walls were painted mint green with cream highlights. The bed was big and plushy, though the comforter was in desperate need of a good wash. Oak wood panels spanned the entire floor. Across from the big white bed was an old Victorian-style vanity table with a huge mirror. The cream-colored paint on the wood was peeling and the mirror needed to be polished, but even in its diminished state the table was beautiful. I tried to open the closet, but the sliding doors got stuck and I accidentally pulled the entire door out of its frame. The smell of mothballs and old clothes billowed out of the closet, making my eyes water. I quickly shoved the closet door back into place and tried to keep my eyes from watering.
Just then, Raph poked his head into the room and saw me drying my eyes. He smirked.
"Aww, is little Angel crying? What's the matter, little bird?" he cooed mockingly. I punched him in the arm, earning a satisfying grunt of pain. "Ow! Has Leo been working with you on your punch lately? Yeesh…"
"Yes he has, actually. Do you like it?" I punched him again, harder. A laugh rumbled in his chest and he raised an eyebrow playfully. I giggled and went in for another punch, but he caught it easily in his fist. In one swift movement, he twisted my arm up and around, so I spun in a circle. Caught off-guard I tripped over my own feet and began to fall towards him. With his other hand he grabbed my waist and threw me over his shoulder. I squealed and tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he had pinned my legs against his chest and was running down the stairs. I laughed, feeling his powerful shoulder muscles move beneath my abdomen. Once we got downstairs, he began walking nonchalantly around the house, taking no heed of my protests.
"Put me down, dork! I- Ow! Put me down!" I squealed. He chuckled and continued to ignore me. Leo found us in the front room, took one look at the situation, and left.
"Leo! Leo, help!" I called after him, laughing so hard I could barely breathe.
"Sorry, Angel," he said over his shoulder, "You're on your own."
Raph laughed and threw me onto the couch, finally releasing me. I quickly wriggled off the cushions and ran outside before he could grab me again. He gave chase, laughing. He chased me around the front yard and into the woods closest to the house. He was fast, but I was faster. I pushed myself harder and harder, willing myself to go faster than ever before. It worked. I pulled ahead, soon losing any sight or sound of Raph. Ducking behind a tree, I leaned against the massive trunk and caught my breath.
Minutes passed, and still no sign of Raphael. I began to get a little nervous, realizing that if he hadn't found me by now something was wrong. I risked a peek around the tree and sure enough, nobody was there. I stepped out from behind the tree and did a 360, but still found no sign of my adopted older brother. I tried retracing my steps, but quickly lost my way. By that point, my heart was beating rather quickly and I was definitely freaking out. There was no way I could find my way back home on my own, but I couldn't stay here all night either. I sat on the ground in a huff and considered my options.
I could, in theory, wait here for one of my brothers to find me, but I really didn't want to do that.
I could try once again to retrace my steps back to the house, but one of the cons of weighing less than a sack of flour is that your footsteps don't make much of an imprint on the ground. My footsteps were practically impossible to trace.
Or I could fly above the canopy and get a birds-eye view, literally. I had never really flown before, though. At least, not on purpose. I had no idea what I was doing. But what option did I have?
Accepting my fate, I stood and looked for a break in the roof of leaves above me. I would have to learn to fly eventually, so why not now? I found a nice spot a few yards away and made my way towards it. I could see the grey sky above me, see the clouds rolling against the sky. My wings, as if sensing that they were finally about to be put to use, quivered in anticipation. What did I do now? I raised the up as high as they could go and flapped them down as hard as I could. I flew backwards into a tree, hitting my head against an unforgiving branch. I slumped to the ground and shook my head, trying to clear it.
'Okay. That didn't work. What if I jumped from a branch and went from there?' I thought. I stood and started climbing the tree I had rammed into. Once I had climbed as high as the thin branches would allow, I threw myself into the air and hoped instinct would take over.
It did.
