Sorry for such a long gap my friends! So much for twice a week :P This one is a good bit longer though, so hopefully it makes up for my absence. Another huge thank you to RedWritingRebel for helping me out with my writing :) As always, stay awesome.
Disclaimer: nope, no ownership of turtles or otherwise here
Splinter sighed again, how had he gotten himself into this? As if being mutated into a humanistic rat wasn't shocking enough, he had also suddenly acquired four mutated terrapin sons in a way that gave the phrase 'unplanned parenthood' a whole new meaning. He surveyed his sleeping sons, his mood sinking; he knew he had nothing to offer them, save a makeshift home in the sewers and a life of endless struggles. Yet, he knew the surface world would never accept them, nor would the turtles survive without his care, and though they had only been together a few days, Splinter already felt a bond with these four like he had felt with his beloved Master Yoshi.
A chilling draft pulled Splinter from his musings, and drove home the importance of his next task. The nights were getting colder, he must acquire more blankets soon or they would all freeze to death. Opening his eyes, he found one of his sons was already awake, and furthermore imitating him in every respect. The tot sat across from him, back straight, legs crossed, and eyes closed, apparently, meditating. Splinter smiled as he watched the small turtle shift slightly, attempting not to show his discomfort in the position.
"My son," Splinter twisted his nose guiltily; he still had not named his children.
The turtle's grey- blue eyes snapped open, fixing upon his father in awe.
The rat began speaking slowly, unsure of the level of understanding the turtle possessed, "I need to go and get blankets for our family," He paused, "but you MUST stay here and watch over your brothers. You cannot allow them to leave this area. Do you understand?"
The turtle nodded solemnly, "Yes, Masta' Splinta'." Then the tot puffed his chest out importantly, " I'll make sure dey aw safe!" Hopping up quickly, the turtle scurried over to where his brother's still slept and assumed a fighting position, an extremely unintimidating snarl crossing his pudgy face. Smirking at the display, Splinter nodded slightly in approval, grabbed his pack, and then disappeared down the nearest tunnel, determined to return within the hour.
Racing through the tunnels towards the nearest dump, Splinter was plagued with thoughts of harm befalling his young sons. However, he accepted the grim reality that leaving them behind actually provided more protection, as they would run no risk of being seen by humans. He quickened his pace, grimacing as he sloshed noisily through the disgusting water, and within minutes stood at the foot of a manhole cover. He hefted the heavy cover carefully and emerged from the sewers for the first time in days. Pausing momentarily he savored the open air and the soft breeze caressing his fur, while also enjoying the sweet scent of coming rain. Making a mental note to watch for flooding in their home, he then began gathering any available necessities.
True to his promise, Splinter returned on the hour. He had heard high voices echoing down the narrow tunnels long before he reached his makeshift home, and entered the lair to see two of his sons arguing and the other two watching, wide-eyed, from across the room.
"BOYS!" He roared, "What is the meaning of this?"
The two arguing turtles froze, shocked, unable to speak.
"You are brothers, you should not argue in such a way." Splinter chided, "Now what is this disagreement about?"
The blue eyed turtle pointed accusingly at his amber eyed companion, "He did it! He wanted to weave here an' you told me not to let anyone weave!"
"Is this true?" Splinter knelt, peering between his two younglings.
Blue spoke up again, "It is Mas'er Splinter! I told him not to go but he tried to go anyway and.. and .. and he said you wasn't comin' back so we had to. But I told him you said to stay here and then when I wouldn't let him he HIT me!"
Looking quizzically at his other son, Splinter waited for an explanation but received nothing but a piercing glare. The amber turtle did nothing but cross his arms and stare unflinchingly into his father's face.
Reaching out to touch the young terrapin's arm, the rat prompted gently, "My son?"
The turtle dropped his flaming gaze to the ground, grumbling, "Waited a bit 'n ya didn' come back. Figured ya didn' want us no more."
Hurt and shocked, Splinter reached out to his four children. They ran into his arms.
Embracing them tightly, he whispered to them, "I would never abandon you. You are my sons and we are a family."
Releasing the four, he swung his pack from his back and placed it on the ground. "Now, I have returned with supplies for our family and some things for each of you." He produced five colored blankets from the bag, one brown, one blue, one red, one orange, and one purple and handed one to each of the turtles, keeping the brown one for himself. "These are your blankets, now. However, I do expect you to share with each other, especially as it gets colder."
The four nodded eagerly.
"I also have several toys for you as well, but, like the blankets, you must share them."
"Yes father!" They chorused, reaching eagerly for the bag.
Splinter smiled at the boy's beaming faces, extracted a book he had retrieved for himself, and settled comfortably in a corner where he could read and still observe his children.
The four turtles contentedly played together over the next few hours as their father leafed through a book dedicated to artists of renaissance. Sometime later, Splinter closed the book and called the four to him.
"Boys, I have decided on names for you. Would you like to hear them?"
The turtles looked at him in awe, names had never occurred to them.
Turning to the terrapin on his right Splinter looked deeply into his son's slate blue eyes and stated simply, "Leonardo."
Splinter reached his next son, repeating as he did for his first. He peered into the turtle's hazel-brown eyes. "Donatello."
Continuing with his ritual, he then turned to his amber eyed child. "Raphael."
Lastly, he reached his other blue eyed son; however, this one also had freckles. "Michelangelo."
The four turtles turned to face each other, each rolling his new name across his tongue. Raphael then abruptly poked Leonardo's head and giggled, "Tag, Leo! You're it!"
With that, the four brothers catapulted around their home, leaping over the toys strewn across the floor and over their father as well in an effort to escape the others. Splinter closed his eyes contentedly and listened to the joyful sounds of his children enjoying themselves. He nodded to himself. Tomorrow they would begin training.