Yes hello, I'm back! Sorry everyone, my mental stage is in a very poor place right now. Basically? I feel terrible a lot, but writing is helping me with that! Thank you so so much for all the kind words, follows, and favorites, as they've been really keeping me going. You guys are the real MVPs.
Fun fact: This chapter was originally planned as a paragraph to be mentioned in passing. Hopefully, making it longer was a good idea.
Splinter was not the type to give up on things just because they were a bit difficult, especially when those things were important to him. He was a firm believer in finishing what he had started, even if doing so would come with turmoil. He also felt that one should always own up to their mistakes, especially in the event that others could be harmed by them.
He had held these philosophies firmly throughout his life, and for the most part, things had been better because he did. However, after weeks of searching for the last little turtle, he felt as though he would have to give up.
He had taken to looking over newspapers for any mention of mutants, knowing that a humanoid turtle would make for interesting news. However, he had found nothing, leading him to believe that no one had found the terrapin. This situation was no more ideal than the thought of him being captured; if the child was maturing at the same rate as his brothers, then he was hardly capable of taking care of himself. Splinter had pushed the thoughts of what the child must be going through to the darkest corners of his mind, refusing to dwell on them. Luckily, he was usually far too busy to think for too long.
The turtles had aged rapidly when they had first mutated, but now, they seemed to have leveled out. They acted like toddlers, albeit strange ones. They were all developing personalities of their own, ones strong enough to set them apart from each other. He could see fires starting in their eyes, and they were filled with passion. If they were like this as children, he could only imagine how they would behave as they grew older.
And imagine he did. Yes, Splinter believed he would be taking care of these children far past adolescence, the bond formed eighteen too strong to just let them take care of themselves. He couldn't tolerate letting any of these boys get hurt, which is why they were no longer allowed to venture to the surface with him.
He couldn't exactly call for a babysitter, so he settled with slipping out of the sewers as soon as they had fallen into a deep sleep. What he did during those walks varied, but it always came down to one thing: survival, usually in the form of food, clothing, or other necessities.
Tonight, he was going to the city dump. Though a large part of him shied away from rummaging through trash, the fact of the matter was that many useful things were thrown away. He couldn't afford to pass up these opportunities, so the dump had become a common place for him to visit. Upon his first arrival, he had found a small hole in the fence, and with only a small amount of digging and tearing, it was large enough to slip through with ease.
Upon finding nothing of interest in the typical areas he looked for, Splinter started going through various boxes. They could be used to carry things, or to form into makeshift beds, especially considering the extravagant size of many of the boxes. They had to have all been discarded at once, as they were all together, piled on top of each other. This was convenient, and he paused to give thanks for the small joys in life. At this point, small joys were all he had, so he relished in every one.
After gathering a significant number of boxes, Splinter started to move towards a nearby set of plastic bins. While those were sturdier than their cardboard equivalents, they were also harder to transport, as they couldn't be broken down. However, he was still going to make sure none of them were particularly helpful rather than leave entirely.
He had only taken a few steps when he heard a noise coming from the exact direction he was walking in. It sounded as though it was only a few yards away, but he saw no one. He wasn't going to stay there to find out if someone was there, though, choosing instead to turn and run as quickly as he could with an armful of boxes.
The night had been less than fulfilling as far as gathering went, but by the time he arrived at his entrance, his heart was racing too quickly from fear of being caught to worry about continuing. That didn't keep him from chastising himself for running. Whatever has made that noise was surely nothing important.
As far as living went, the last few weeks had been fulfilling.
Granted, Freak had little to compare them to, but it seemed nice enough to him. For a while, he had stayed in his room, entertaining himself. He had learned that he could make various noises, and breaking the silence of his life with anything other than retching was more than enough to cheer him up. Eventually, though, this grew dull as well, and he decided to go back to the surface.
It took a lot of planning, as he didn't exactly trust himself to go up there without being hurt. The only other time he had been up there, he was practically assaulted by some of the people that lived there. That didn't exactly leave him yearning for more.
Boredom ended up beating out sensibility, though. He had studied every corner of his room until he felt he had memorized it, and as much as he hated to think about it, much of the algae was gone.
Luckily enough, his stomach had somewhat adjusted to the slimy substance. It still left his stomach churning, especially when he ate too much if it, but he didn't puke anymore. Eating it was still dreadful, but it was easier to suffer through knowing he wouldn't face the worst consequences.
However, he couldn't continue choking down the green stuff and making weird noises for the rest of his life. He had a family to find, and besides that, he needed more interesting things in life. So he decided to explore a bit.
The first night, he had planned only to go up for a bit. This plan was forgotten about soon after surfacing, when he realized the manhole he had left from was a few feet away from a large fence. In the bottom of this fence, there was a hole, one that he found to be significantly larger than he was upon further investigation.
He was only uncertain for a moment, but as soon as he slid under the fence and looked around the new area, all his doubts disappeared. There was so much to look at, so much to do, and he knew he'd never accomplish it all in one night.
Naturally, he came back almost every night, going through new things as often as he could. It felt like this place was made for him, especially when he realized that new things were arriving all the time.
It was through these nightly explorations that he found cloth similar to what others on the surface wore. As he held up large rectangles of fabric, his first urge was to put them on. That was how he ended up with a gaudy orange 'robe', set up by piling the fabric on his shoulders and letting it fall to the ground, leaving spaces for him to put his arms through. He accented this with a smaller, darker piece of fabric, wrapped around his head as tightly as he could.
These visits also solved the algae issue. There was a lot of edible things in the new area, and they were far easier to munch on than anything he had consumed before. His personal favorite was found in white boxes with symbols he didn't understand. While he usually only got strips of dough, they sometimes came covered with red circles and chunks of brown meat, among many other things.
Tonight, he had been lucky enough to find a piece covered in what looked like every color of the rainbow. He occupied himself by hiding behind a bunch of brightly colored bins, picking off individual chunks to taste them, making chattering noises of varying satisfaction afterwards. A shuffling noise interrupted just as he was holding a green circle above his tongue. With a deep breath to calm himself down, he dropped the fold and crawled over to investigate.
What he saw surprised him, to say the least. It was...he didn't know what it was. Large and covered in fur, it kind of reminded him of the animals that would occasionally run across his feet, much to his distaste. That was impossible, though; this thing was the size of a person, and he'd never seem his animals any larger than the length between his foot and knee. Ever the curious child, he watched the creature, slowing his breathing to a near-comatose rate as he tried to figure out what it was doing.
He would've been happy to observe it for hours, but the thought of it seeing him kept him from standing his ground when it turned in his direction. He ducked down, then looked around wildly until he saw a purple bin laying on its side. Seeing no other option, he dived into it, curling up in a ball and scrunching up his face.
The noise stopped, only to continue seconds later. It sounded as though it was fading, but Freak stayed silent nonetheless for a full minute.
By the time he stood again, the entire area was empty, and his appetite was lost. He was glad he had hidden from the furry person, even if it was at the cost of his night. A thing like that could only ever bring him harm.