I'm back and I couldn't wait until Monday, so here I am uploading a new chapter!
For those who are interested; My vacation was great! Sun, sea, the beach and a lot of food. Couldn't be better ;-)
Today I have a litte story for you guys. I hope you can hold out with this until Monday! Have fun!
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Caring for the Dead
Raph sighed and turned the page of his newspaper. He was scanning the headlines, mainly because he wasn't in the mood to read but wanted to keep up anyways. Suddenly he saw a small movement on the floor in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and could just hold in a scream of terror.
Curious, Don looked up from his segment of the newspaper and saw Raph's panicking face, which he always had when he saw something with more than four legs. "What's wrong, Raph?" he asked calmly, while taking a sip of his coffee. Raph pointed at the floor. "Kill 'em!" he demanded loud.
"Them?" Don followed the direction in which his brother was pointing and saw a big spider crawling on the floor, carrying a smaller spider which was obviously dead. He wanted to get up to remove the spiders, but something intrigued him. "Interesting," he said thinking. Raph looked at him with big eyes. "What's so interestin' about it? Jus' get rid of it!"
Don just looked at the moving spider in a fascinated way. "The interesting part is that spiders are becoming smarter. This is really worth studying."
For a moment Raph said nothing. "Whatcha mean 'they're gettin' smarter'?" he finally asked in a monotone voice. Don looked at him seriously. "You see… This spider is carrying the dead body of one of his own. It's a well-known fact that caring for the dead is the first sign of civilization," he explained. Raph swallowed. "So…?"
"Well, when living beings are getting civilized, their intelligence will rise and they will evolve. They will become more knowledgeable, sophisticated and will most likely start some sort of a colony, like ants," Don continued. Raph gave him a stern look. "Get. Rid. Of. It!" he hissed. Don shook his head. "Don't act scared, Raph," he said with a warning tone. "In this stage they have learned a lot. According to several studies they can probably smell fear and they will scare away anyone to make their civilization work and to develop themselves. It is possible they will attack you when you get to close, since their fight or flight response is also affected." Don looked at the spiders again, which were almost at the wall of the kitchen.
"Don! I swear... If ya don't get rid of 'em, I will-" Raph warned in a panicking voice and slammed his fist on the table. Don didn't seem to be intimidated and continued his observation. "When their civilization is successful they will probably try to take over. But I think that will take a couple of years," he said with a satisfied nod and he got up. "Interesting creatures," he mumbled and walked out of the kitchen.
"Don! Get yer shell back 'ere!" Raph yelled after him. Don pretended not to hear him and the little smile on his face turned into a big smirk, loving the fact that he managed to scare his immediate older brother.
"Don! They're movin'!" Don heard the panic rise in Raph's voice and he tried to muffle his laughter. He looked around the living room and saw what he was looking for. He grabbed an empty glass fruit bowl from a table and strolled slowly back to the kitchen.
"Donnie, please!" The normally gruff voice sounded a little desperate.
Don chuckled and walked back to Raph. "That's the magic word," he said with a wink and he put the bowl over the spiders. He reached for a piece of the newspaper, slid it under and gently lifted the tiny construction. "I've captured the intruders," he declared jokingly with a smirk. "You want to see them?" Raph glared at him. "If ya come any closer, I will punch ya straight in tha face."
Don gave him a pout. "That's not nice. I just helped you," he said, looking through the glass to the living spider, which was running around in circles. Raph huffed. "Yeah, thanks for that. But I don't hafta see those disgustin' things."
"They're not disgusting, Raph! Did you know that without spiders there would be a lot more bugs around here?" Don asked as he walked toward his brother, who backed away instantly. "Don! I'm warning ya!"
Don gave him a smirk and turned around, leaving the kitchen. "You're a wuss."
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Again I want to thank all of you for your reviews, comments and messages. I love to read them! As for the requests: I'm working on it! mistystar123, S. Westbrook, Anna daughter of Percabeth and some guests - I haven't forgotten about you! lastell6, I loved SAINW and I share your opinion. Poor Donnie saw some horrible things and indeed they never showed him opening up to someone about it. I think it would be difficult to write, but I'm definately willing to try. Oh, and there's no way you can ever bother me! Leave as much comments, reviews or messages as you like! That applies for every one of you :)
Thanks again and see you on Monday!