OK this should be the last chapter about Beulah, just wanted to write this chapter to ease us back into the adventure and once again I relize that in this fic labeled under the Ninja Turtles section the Turtles have not done a lot of talking like barely more than a sentence per chapter.
Ichabod finally stood
"Well Miss Scarab..." Ichabod said "...You're long days of lonliness are finally over, on the S.S. Mehitabel there are plenty of both humans and Humanimals to mingle with, a hopefully soon enough we'll have your fellow Countrybeasts aboard."
Raph grumbled, trying to keep it inaudible but his brothers noticed and Don in particular glared at him.
Beulah for her part seemed to become bashful and despondant at the thought of being around so many what she knew were going to be vertebrates, she knew there probably weren't going to be many Bug Humanimals in the Federation Millitary, despite any strengh in their exoskeletons they don't have the same...Endurence either physical or mental of the people who where their skeletons on the inside...
"They must have important work to do..." Beulah said quietly as her antenae drooped again, I should find a place to stay out of their way..."
Now there were people on Board whose job it was to provide health checks and comfort to any Humanimals who were rescued, already those like Jonathan and Donatello were suspecting this poor Beetle-Woman despite how friendly and welcoming she had initally been had deep seated self-esteem issues.
When they were all finally back on the S.S. Mehitabel Don appraoching at stealthy as a ninja, Beulah was simply wandering the luxurious halls of the Space Cruiseship admiring the decorations.
He didn't want to spook her, he very queity said "Hey,"
Beulah quickly whirled around and said "What?"
Don immediately jumped back he had gotten too close and when she turned around he got a good whiff of her manure-breath.
"I'm so sorry!" Beulah said covering her mouth in shame, I had been on that wild planetoid for so long, I haven't had access to breath mints for years!"
"It's OK..." Don said gasping a little bit, he had to turn around and was doubled over for a few moments coughing in agony, he was worried for a few moments he might actually vomit, he wouldn't think after growing in the sewer the stink would have that much affect on him, maybe it was that the droppings of those alien animals she had to be eating were particurally pungent! But fortunatly he was able to breathe in the soft perfume the Wranglers had the furinture and carpets of this cruise liner give out to make the passengers feel more relaxed while in the depths of space a few moments and the sweet scent of roses and lillies had cleared out the scent of dung in his nose, and he was able to get back to what he had intended to do.
"OK I'm back to normal..." Don said "...But now I know to keep a safe distance from your mouth...I'm beginning to see why you seem so bashful, you must have suffered a lot of stigma throughout your life because of your species huh?"
Beulah tried to shrug it off "There are a few jokes every Dung Beetle will hear thoughout their life, my Dad told me, you just have to get used to it."
"I see." Don said "Could you...Tell me about your family, you said you were at a basketball game when the invasion happened, were your parents there?"
"Unfortunatly no." Beulah sighed "I guess it wasn't that important of a game, I was the oldest of six children, the youngest of which had just been hatched earlier that year so she needed a lot of attention."
"I see." Don said quietly "I...I'm about to become a Father, my wife Belladonna is on Earth because in the off chance I should die on this mission Belladonna will be out daughter's only parent when she hatches."
"Of course." Beulah nodded her being raised in a 20th century culture meant she had 20th century sensabilities, a soldier shouldn't bring their spouse to war..."
Because not only was Beulah a Mizzeran but because she had been sent to the wild planetoid only a few short months after being enslaved, and before this day the first time she had contact with anyone else was with Gus and he didn't stay to chat very long, Beulah never heard of the Fellowship Crew the brave heroes who escaped from the Slave Farm when they were cubs, when the Fellowship crew started the Humanimal Civil Rights movement three years after the Invasion of Mizzer (The same year, Mizzer was invaded was the same year the Fellowship Humanimals escaped from Nuthanger Farm, they escaped a few months earlier, some might think that was mere coincidence, Wizards and Sorcerors know better) Thus Beulah having not even heard of these Heroes who had come to meet her before, didn't know Belladonna was one of these Legendary Heroes and she assumed Belladonna was a Turtle because she was speaking to a Turtle, she had yet to learn of the recent change that Humanimals could now breed outside their species.
"So..." Don said "...Do you think you have any idea where your family might be?"
"Not a clue..." Beulah sighed with a shake of her head "...I have no idea if any of them are even alive...That's the thing."
"What's the thing?" Don asked
"For many years my family had been living under the assumption that we were a short lived species like many a common species of Insect Humanimal like flies and fleas." Beulah said "We didn't seem to live longer than 40 years but after the invasion, after living free on the surface I've learned the truth, Dung Beetles are one of the longer lived species of insect, we can live for three years, and with Humanimals if if the base animal lives for at least a full year the Transformation Process can stretch that out like taffy to the human average of 80 years, I figured this all out in my dreams, the reason we kept dying so early was because we had been forced to live underground! But you know how Dung Beetles can navigate by using the postions of of the sun the moon and even the Milky Way, that in Egyptian mythology they believed a Dung Beetle pushed the morning sun...Well turns out Dung Beetles need the sun and the sky, without it, we tend to die earlier and we tend to be...A bit stupider than we would be otherwise, I know back down I often felt...Empty most of the time, that often I only felt truly alive when playing basketball...It's all these thoughts that make me...Feel a storm of emotions I just don't know how to deal with with, other than to just clam up and do nothing just like I did back when I lived underground."
So...There is some basically clearing up because I feel fairly certain in Beulah's original story I said something about Dung Beetles being short lived before I learned they actually live for three years
