That night, as promised, Leo dropped Mikey on the ground and leapt into the air again as Raph came forward to pound them both. Shaking his fist comically at their lucky brother, the hothead had to deal with just one to get his revenge on.
Mike lay on his side, due to the bruising on his shell from Raph's good-natured pounding. It wasn't too bad; Mikey had had worse. Leo's form floated above them, his arms dangling like he was actually asleep. Mike had to laugh; they didn't think Leo would actually be able to sleep and glide at the same time, but there he was. Sometimes, he'd jounce a little from a breeze that pushed him away, and he'd wake up enough to bring himself back over the meadow.
Don and Raph were asleep as well; Raph was snoring loud enough that Leo was sure to be hearing it even fifty feet above them. Donnie's mumblings were garble and even if Mikey could understand them, he didn't think he'd know what the purple-wearing turtle was saying.
Sighing, Mike curled up a bit more, the fire warming his plastron. Leo had lit it, actually, from above, while Raphael was busy pummeling Mikey and couldn't drag him down, too. His flame-breath was quite remarkable, even if the blaze was only big enough to catch on some dry grass. Donnie was watching Leo while he sustained the flame for a few seconds, then coughed and it went out. Leo's mask, too, was another mark of their brother's change.
Will we be getting such changes with our Inhabitants? Will we even get Inhabitants now? What if the whole thing was a lie that Darkwing thought up?
Mikey didn't like so many questions running around in his head; they prevented him from getting his beauty sleep. Like I need it, he smirked, knowing he was the most handsome of his brothers.
"Mike," a soft voice from above called. "Is Raphie asleep?"
"Yep," Mikey whispered back to Leo, who soon landed.
"Good. I'm starving. Did you guys leave me anything?"
"Soup's on the fire still, Leo," Mikey answered carelessly, yawning. "Were you really asleep?"
"Yeah." Leo dug into the pot with a spoon, slurping silently but hungrily. Once finished, he attacked a couple of trail bars and finally lifted his wings.
"Leo?" Mikey's timid voice stopped him. Putting his wings down, Leonardo turned to see Mikey looking at him. "Will you… Would you sleep next to me?" he breathed out very quietly.
"Sure thing," Leo comforted, lying down on his plastron next to his youngest brother. "Cold?"
"Yeah." Mike was lying, but the red-eyed turtle let it slide and slid a wing over his brother, only to have Mikey roll over and hug him tightly, his head tucked safely beneath Leo's chin. "You are growing." With that, Mikey was asleep, his arms around Leo's sides.
Chuckling, Leo wrapped his wings more securely over Mikey and fell into a deep sleep.
The cuddling turtles awoke to a camera shutter going off and immediately separated. Mikey blushed as he stood and faced Raph, who was holding the camera and grinned widely. Leo just huffed and started breakfast, waking their brained brother on his way to the camping supplies.
"Ahhh, blackmail." Raph sighed, looking at the camera in his hands reverently. Mikey glowered and then smiled and Raph began to get uneasy.
"Fine. You show that around, and I'll share the movie I have of you singing in the shower!" Mike squealed and ran for his life as Raphael roared angrily and set off in chase. Their big brother looked up and shook his head as Mike looked at him imploringly. He wasn't awake enough to try to lift them both off the ground, not to mention that there was food here.
"Breakfast!" he called, dishing up hearty oatmeal and bacon strips. He sat on the side of the fire farthest from the red-wearing turtle. Mike knelt to his big brother and tugged a wing protectively around himself, glancing at the fuming Raph. Don was still groggy, but he managed to stand up and join them for breakfast.
"Only a day more," Leo told them, devouring his food like he hadn't eaten in a month. Donnie wasn't surprised; when they got back, they'd all chip in to make sure Leo ate as much as he needed to as he grew. Suddenly, his head snapped. Mike was almost dwarfed next to Leo now.
Mike was the smallest, but still… Leo looked at least three inches taller than he usually was, and being the tallest, he was probably going to seem like a giant in a matter of days.
"You've grown again," Don pointed out restlessly. Mike looked up and nodded at Leo's head, which now stood about six inches above his own.
"Geez, dude!" Mikey went back to eating quietly, tucking himself into Leo's soft wing. It was brittle, though, and seemed dry. "We need to rub that oil on your wings again, Leo. It's getting harder."
Sighing in agreement, Leo felt the membrane along the edges and winced. "Yes, it is. Would you like to fly again, Mikey? It'll keep us away from Raph."
"I'd love to!" Donnie felt a shot of jealousy jolt through him; he wanted a ride, too! From Mike's reaction, it was very nice to be up there. However, he quelled it. Leo needed time to adjust, and Mikey was the one who could help him do that.
"Okay." Leo finished his breakfast and stood up, his wing picking Mikey up with him accidentally. Donnie noticed that Leonardo wasn't straining to lift their brother like he had last night.
"Whoa!" Mike cried as he dropped his bowl.
"Let's get this camp packed," the leader instructed, packing his bags with Mike still cupped in his wing. It seemed as they both liked this position; Mike was safe and warm, which was Leo's only goal in life, to keep his brothers safe.
Raph and Donnie picked up their bags and Leo grabbed his and Mikey's. He looked at them for a moment before stepping over to a tree and, using his horns that grew from his head, stripped a large piece of bark from it, big enough to strap to his plastron and carry their bags.
Mike helped him lash it onto his body, adjusting it so that it wouldn't rub on his chest plates or sides. Then, Leo lifted it wings and crouched. Looking very excited, Mike grabbed onto his shell and held on tightly as Leo drove his wings up and then back down, launching them into the sky.
"Ya-whoo!" Mikey screamed as they leveled out, scooting forward to sit less awkwardly. Beneath his legs, he felt Leo's muscles moving, flapping his wings. The bags shifted but didn't fall, and Leo looked down to signal Don and Raph to keep moving. If only he could carry them all! They'd be there by noon.
However, it would be hard, not to mention dangerous. Mike chattered all day as they continued hiking, pointing out birds and animals below. Several times, Leo landed next to a berry bush or fruit tree and ate something. Mike didn't mind; he got to stretch his legs. And they'd be able to catch up to Donnie and Raph without a problem.
Leo was definitely growing; by the time they landed, Mikey stood eight inches shorter than Leonardo, who was in pain from the rapid expansion now. His arms, legs, and sides showed stretch marks caused by the growth. Once they landed, Donnie insisted that he eat a lot and rest up for the next day. They had made it to where Leo wanted to go, in a beautiful clearing, but it was too dark to see anything, so Leo complied and ate like he hadn't been snacking all day.
Then, he flopped own and stretched out his wings, which looked pale in the little moonlight they reflected, making them look silvery instead of their regular deep black. Mike sat next to him and used a soft cloth from Donnie's pack as he rubbed oil from Leo's wing bones into the membrane. Leo purred until Mike was done, which took about two hours since his brothers were out gathering fire wood and berries and fruits that were ripe now.
"Thanks, Mike," Leo whispered as Mikey moved off to rinse the cloth in the nearby stream.
"No problem, bro!" Mike said exuberantly. "After all, you carried me on your shell all day. You need some rest, dude!" Leo nodded tiredly and lifted a wing invitingly. It was cold out, at least to the cold-blooded turtles. At least Leo's wings were warm, though Donnie didn't know why. He surmised that they were like thermal blankets that took energy – like from the sun all day – and stored it in numerous blood cells. Or they were warm-blooded, unlike the rest of their host.
Mike snuggled close to Leo's side, the wings closing until it covered him fully in a leathery embrace. Fascinated, Mike reached up and stroked the wing, which caused it to shudder and Leo to chuckle.
"That tickles!" he admonished. As Mikey's eyes lit up, Leonardo groaned in realization. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought to himself as Mike attacked his wings with a fervor. "Hey, cut that out!" Leo demanded between giggles of laughter. "Or I'll kick you out from under there."
Mike gulped and thought of the cold air outside. He didn't want to sleep without the warmth of Leo next to him, so he stopped tickling his brother and quieted down. Strangely, Leo seemed to curl around him, his strong arm draped over's Mike's shell as they both lay on their plastron.
Like a dragon mother, Mikey realized, recognizing the posture from the mythical creatures books he had read a few months ago when he was tired of magazines. He'd found a dragonology book in a dumpster and flipped through. The pictures were just as good as the ones in comics, and he started collected ever since.
Leo started rumbling in his sleep, too, and Mike felt warm and safe. I wonder if this is what it is like to be a dragonet sleeping with its mother? I feel so good… Mike fell asleep, curling close to Leonardo like a dragonet would, to get a response he anticipated as Leo's tail wrapped itself around his ankle, keeping him close and unable to escape.
That's how Donnie and Raph found them, both shivering slightly from the chilly air. Raph grumped, but inside he was thinking, They look so peaceful. And warm. It's cold out here.
Grumbling, Raph dropped his load of firewood near their other pile and settled himself onto the ground. Don was already asleep, using Leo's still-outstretched wing as a blanket. Raphael looked at the three sleeping peacefully and finally threw his hands in the air. What the shell?
Then, miracle of miracles, Raph put himself under Leo's wing as well, and his body warmed up immediately. Their leader was curled around Mike, but his wing snapped closed on Raph and Don, covering them like a blanket and heating their chilled skin.
"Hm. This is warm. I can see why Mikey likes it so much," Donnie mused, lying on his plastron like the rest of them but twiddling with the wing claw in front of him.
Raph smiled and slept, his dreams peaceful and unremarkable.