Master Splinter hissed in alarm, yanking his hand back and sucking on the edge of his burned finger. He leaned to the side, staring at the circuit board with impatience. That… didn't work. He knew he was no electrical worker, but surely putting together an old in-tact television couldn't be too hard…
Using his elbow to guide the instructions closer, he peered into the pages with frustration and a growing headache. "Do you want any help, Master Splinter?" Came a voice, startling the mutant rat. Flicking his ears, he caught sight of his purple-masked son watching with intense focus. He was tilted, his brown gaze intently staring at the mix of wires.
"No thank you, my son." He responded, rubbing his head before going back to work.
"But I want to help!" The young one cried out with sudden lurch forward, into the pit. "Please?"
The small mutant placed his hands on Master Splinter's arm to see the board for himself, and his father gave an exasperated sigh. "Alright." He said softly. "But you may not touch this board, am I understood? You may read me the instructions as I ask you and hand me the tools I will need."
"Hai, sensei!" Donnie brightened, sitting down beside him and scooping up the instructions in his hands. "Where did you get these?" He asked after a moment, narrowing his eyes at the hand-written marks.
"The internet." Master Splinter responded absent-mindedly. He had a laptop he used for a long time, doing his best to keep it running the past few years. There was a café nearby that he could manage to catch their wireless internet. He couldn't hold the webpage by the television, so he had jotted down the instructions on paper and brought them to their home to use. Thankfully, he only shocked himself twice so far.
"What's an internet?" Donnie glanced up, his eyes flickering with curiosity.
Yoshi sighed again, knowing if he started now he'd never get his son to stop asking questions. "I will tell you another time."
"But I want to know now! Why can't you tell me now? Is it dangerous?" Donnie gasped, tightening his grip on the instructions. The paper began to wrinkle under his grasp, and Master Splinter reached out and placed a gentle hand upon his son's. Donnie's expression began to relax.
A soft chuckle escaped him before he could stop himself. "It can be." He finally answered. He looked over at his wide-eyed son, finally flattening his ears and shaking his head. "No, it is not. Not when you are looking for something like this. It's a place you go to when you need something like instructions or tips on how to do certain things." He motioned towards the paper in his son's hands before turning back to work.
"Can I go to an internet?" Donnie asked, a grin spreading on his face.
"Right now, you promised to aid me with this." Master Splinter reminded him, and his son's face fell. "Tell me, what is the next step?"
Donnie repeated an instruction, and Master Splinter went back to work. A heavy silence filled the air, only filled with Yoshi's tinkering with the television. Footsteps echoed from across the subway room, and Donnie glanced up as Leo left their room. "Leo! Come look at what Master Splinter is doing!" He called, and the young blue-masked turtle cautiously approached.
"What is that?" Leo asked, looking over Donnie's shoulder at the instructions as he passed.
"This, my sons, is a television."
They didn't even attempt to pronounce it. "What does it do?" Leo prodded.
"Hopefully keep the five of you entertained." Master Splinter replied without looking up. With a sudden yelp, the mutant rat pulled back once more out of pain as another shock of electricity burned him. He bit his tongue, sucking on the burned end. This better be worth it… he thought, as Leo and Donnie neared him.
"What's wr…" Leo started.
"I am fine." Master Splinter said, before glancing over his shoulder at the instructions. Both his sons were watching him worriedly, though it was only a small burn. "And this is why you are not to touch this, understood?"
"Hai, sensei." Both sons replied as Donnie leaned forward. He held the instruction page up with both hands, facing them towards his father so he could study them.
Donnie glanced up at Leo as his father went back to work. "Daddy was telling me about this really cool place called an internet! He says you go there to learn how to do stuff!" As Leo stared at him questioningly, Donnie turned back to his father. "You'll take me there someday, right sensei?"
Master Splinter glanced up at his son's wide, pleading eyes. And then with a small chuckle, he gave a short nod to the three-year-old. "Right."