A/N I still do not own TMNT, but am forever grateful for their creation! A shorter chapter, but I think it does the job. Thanks for reading and reviewing =)
Love or Blood
Chapter 13: Calling
The woods were calling him. The bark. The leaves. The soil. The earth, his mother, kept calling for her son to return to her embrace.
At first he had heard nothing in his sweet oblivion. Deadly, horrifying, blissful silence.
Then the whispers came.
He had watched Raphael fight Casey. He had seen Raphael use April as his life raft back to reality. He had heard Donatello's admission that things had been beyond his control.
Control.
He had followed his brown-eyed brother to bed, but instead of the sleep he so desperately needed, Leonardo began to realize how much he had lost. He was no longer in control, and he had no idea how to get it back. How could he repair something that he could not even find?
His thoughts jumbled. His mouth dried. His ears rung.
The whispers began.
When he first heard them, he thought perhaps the constant ringing he had been hearing for days had somehow twisted into these hushed voices. Just as he could not understand the high-pitched whine, he could not understand these slithering words. Loud enough to hear. Quiet enough to distort. As the sleepless hours slid by, Leonardo began to obsess over their hidden meaning.
By daybreak he knew their origin.
He left his bed with bloodshot eyes, and when the other occupants began to stir, their once Fearless Leader began his descent into the darkness of the woods.
That first day he had wandered endlessly, his legs ached trying to remind their host of their malnourishment and mistreatment. Unfortunately, their host no longer was there.
If Michelangelo had not somehow appeared from the canopy's light to deftly guide his elder brother back to the house, Leonardo would have stayed out far past sunset. The incessant whispers' protests pained Leonardo, but the younger would not relinquish his brother to the night. The older had no choice, but to follow.
Only later, when he laid down to endure another sleepless night, did the oldest turtle find some respite. At last the voices began to honour the mutant with figments. Blessed shards of understanding that would lead Leonardo to the truth behind their once unfathomable purpose.
True oblivion drew closer.
The days drifted by: a congealed mass of vague memories and forgotten feelings. Everyday Leonardo would set out earlier into the woods and everyday Michelangelo would appear before dusk. What the eldest once viewed as guiding disfigured into hauling. He began to hide his tracks, yet somehow the younger still managed to find him.
The whispers were displeased.
Their discontent meant Leonardo's delay into oblivion, but they were not unmerciful. They understood Leonardo's plight. They knew everything about the turtle. They knew his once bright dreams and sparkling hopes had turned to ash under the Shredder's fury. They knew of his failings. They knew of his pain. They simply wanted to provide Leonardo with an alternative. A choice. An escape.
Yes, they understood. They knew the turtle better than he knew himself, and they were so very merciful. Together, deep in the woods, they spoke to Leonardo. They told him their plan, and he eagerly listened, for Leonardo was no longer a leader.
And his freedom was calling.
A/N *Sigh* poor Leonardo… No one mentioned it, but I purposely left him out of the group's brunch. So in case you were wondering, now you know what he was up to.
To my lovely reviewers:
Komnenid: "Raphael felt a familiar warmth in his tail" = him getting horny cuz his tail is where is junk is. No worries, I figured Komnenid2 had to be you… It sounded like you anyway XD And thank-you again for all your support 3 Your comments always make my day =)
AprilO'NeilXO: Thank-you so much! I still have a little ways to go so stay tuned! =)
Mr.E: Of course! On my more recent fics I've started replying to my reviewers because I just want to let you all know how much I appreciate you taking the time to give me feedback! Since I get so many reviews on this fic I especially make an effort to respond every time I update so I don't get swamped. All that said, after the amazing compliment you gave me I would have responded even if I didn't reply to my reviewers! I am also so glad to hear that all my hard work and effort shows! =)
Also, thank-you for your review on 'Homecoming.' I actually have a huge love for Raph with super powers thus my indulgence to it in dif fics in and outside the main arc ('Threads' is the most current but different 'verse). I have actually written a rough part 4 in my 'Strength' verse. It's been sitting on my desktop for months (at around 9000 words), but it needs some serious work (an ending would help too) before I'm ready to publish it. So eventually it will come! I just don't know when…
clary2008: Thank-you! =D
Terri: Ahhh! So many things about the original sound so awesome! Still I really have grown to love this revamp. Mind, although the thought of Raphril at last being canon sounds AMAZING, considering how they've approached Don and April's relationship makes me wonder if I should be relieved. *Sigh* I guess the grass is always greener…
I'm super relieved my dialogue came out well! It was just one of those chapters you know? I had written it right as I wrote the previous two, but I just felt like it didn't have the same spirit so I kept reworking it…. and reworking it… and reworking it… even the thought of trashing it all together did happen… Obviously now I'm thankful I didn't, but I'm even more thankful that it came together the way it did because I think it was some seriously good Raphril growth. Nonetheless, there were a lot of head hitting desk moments than I would have preferred lol.