"Um, excuse me." I hear a voice say timidly. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I recognized the voice. I peeked through my wings and saw the blue-masked turtle I saw earlier tonight. I Jumped to my feet and poised my wings. "What do you want?" I demanded "I wanted to apologize for my brother's actions. He has a tendency to act before thinking." I thought about this for a few seconds. "I accept your apology." I said, lowering my wings and tucked them back underneath my cloak.
"You can tell your brothers to come out now." I said calmly. "Huh? Oh! Come on out, guys!" he called. "My name is Leonardo, or Leo." he said. "I'm Mikey!" the orange one piped up as he walked out of his hiding place. The others followed. "Raph." grumbled the red one, crossing his arms. "I'm Donatello, Donny or Don. How did you know we were there?" he asked. "Mikey farted." I said with a smile. Mikey grinned embarrassedly. "So, what is your name?" Leo asked "Ruiseñor" I answered. "'Nightingale', beautiful name." Donny translated. "Thank you. Call me 'Mesa', though ok?" I told them. My stomach distracted me from my thoughts. "Hey, do you have anything to eat?" I asked. "How does pizza sound?" Leo asked. I shook my head and said, "I'm allergic to tomatoes." "What?! No way!" Mikey exclaimed. "Anything else should be good." I continued. "Come on. We'll take you home with us." Mikey said and started running off, the others followed. I tried to keep up.
(POV Change)
Mesa followed us home. We were greeted by Master Splinter. "Did you find anything, my sons?" he asked. "Yes. We found a girl named Mesa." I spoke up. "Good morning." Mesa said as she bowed to him. "Good morning, Mesa." he answered as he bowed back. We took her to the kitchen. "Make yourself at home." Mikey told her as she sat in a chair. "What did you have in mind?" I asked. "Anything without tomato product." Mesa answered. I looked around and spotted some Frosted Flakes. I poured some into a bowl and grabbed a spoon. "Milk?" I asked. "Yes, please." she answered. I poured some in and set it in front of her. "Thank you." she mumbled before she dug in.
She was done within three minutes, not a drop to be seen. "How long has it been since you last ate?" Donny asked, worry creeping into his voice. She looked down and started to blush under her hood. "Two days." All three of us stared at her wide-eyed. Raph kept his 'Tough Face' on. "Man! I wouldn't be able to stand not eating that long!" Mikey interjected. "Last proper meal?" I asked. She blushed even deeper. "Five years." Our jaws dropped and Raph's eyes widened. "Come with me. I need to give you a check up." Donny told her. She got up and put her bowl in the sink. "I don't need an audience." Mesa said. 'How did she know I was gonna follow?' Raph, Mikey and I looked at each other confused. I think we were thinking the same thing.
(POV Change)
Mesa followed me to my lab. I had her sit on my table. I asked her to take off her hood. "Hold on." she told me, then stood and said, "I told you, 'I DON'T need an audience', boys." "How did you know?!" Mikey asked as he poked his head around the corner. Leo dropped from the ceiling. Raph walked through the door with an irritated look on his face. "Yeah, how did you know? I didn't even hear them." I asked, awestruck. "You will find out eventually." Mesa said to me. She then turned to face my brothers. She crossed her arms and put her feet shoulder width apart. "Go!" she commanded. My brothers and I nearly jumped out of our shells. The voice belied the figure. Her voice reminded me of Master Splinter's. My brothers turned and left.
Mesa returned to the table. "Could you -" I began. "No. Check what you can without my hood down first." she cut across me. "Alright." I sighed. I checked her from shoulder to toe. Other than being underweight, she was fine. "I need to check your temperature, Mesa." I said. "What type of thermometer do you have?" she asked. "The kind you put in your ear. Why?" She didn't answer right away. "When you're ready, grab the thermometer and turn your mask." she sighed. "Why?" I asked, starting to get a little suspicious. "If you see my face, you and your family will be in danger." she explained. "I would like to see your face." I tried to convince her. "No, you don't. Put your hand on my shoulder and turn your mask, please." she said a little more strongly. "Fine." I didn't like the sound of this, but I needed to make sure she was ok. I prepared the thermometer, held it on her shoulder and turned my mask, as she asked.
I heard her sigh, then a rustle of cloth. I used my empty hand to feel up her neck, along her jaw and to her ear. She was very tense under my hand. When I got to her ear, I noticed that it wasn't rounded, but long and pointed. I felt her eyes narrow, so I quickly put it in her ear. After a few seconds, it beeped and I took it out of her ear. As soon as I did, she put her hood up. I turned my mask again and read, "100.0?" "Normal." Mesa said. "Normal?" I asked. "Yes. I believe we are done now?" I nodded and she got up and walked out the door.