2005/Dogpile

Dogpile
Date of Scene:	07 June 2020
Location:	North Woods
Synopsis:	Kainashi and Donatello run into each other while cutting through Central Park.
Cast of Characters:	Kainashi, Donatello

---

Kainashi has posed:
    Dusk has settled over the North Woods of the famous Central Park, casting violet and green glows to the shade of the woods. hiking paths and riding paths run occasionally though here, and there has been tales of A MYSTERIOUS BEAST, hungering for the flesh of the innocent, slavering and howling, identified roughly with the 'Beast of the Bronx' cryptid photographed several weeks back, but *SUPPOSEDLY* disproved as a hoax.

     ... but given the state of the world today, could it ever truly be a hoax?

    So, through the woods, through the dark, a beast is prowling, drawing towards one of the small shelters within the woods.

Donatello has posed:
    Some time ago, down in the sewers, there was an intense game of rock, paper, scissors. This game determined that it would be, actually, Donatello who would have to deal with the pizza delivery driver tonight. A wrong turn, originally taken to avoid a particularly unavoidable onlooker, has brought the turtle to venture through Central Park, balancing a pizza on his hand like a waiter.

    "Ridiculous," he mutters to himself as he moves through the tree line. "Every time it's someone else's turn, we decide to leave it to a game of chance..." And every time, it would seem, Donnie loses.

Kainashi has posed:
    Donnie needs to get better at rock papper scissiors, or sneak the straw game.

    The beast in the woods, however, seemed distracted. Course altered. As Donnie makes his way through the tree line, he might get the sneaky feeling of being watched. A predatory gaze is set upon him as something in the underbrush cracks from weight, a twig snapping, echoing. In the distance, cars and traffic rumble. The nearest entry way into the sewer?

    Two or three city blocks, through a big aqueduct.

Donatello has posed:
    Being a turtle, Donatello might not have hackles to rise in response to being watched, but he /is/ ninja, and that comes with a heightened sense of the environment. Suddenly, Donnie stops in his tracks and lowers himself to the ground, leaning against a nearby tree. When the twig snaps, Donatello carefully sets the pizza box down in a small gathering of leaves and reaches back to pull his bo staff from his shell.

    Donatello remains there, silent, and inspects the tree line. Calling out to whoever might be looking at him is a dead giveaway of his position and Donnie doesn't fall for it. The turtle purses his turtle lips and begins some turtle calculation. Some basic mental trigonometry, paired with his understanding of where he is, lets Donnie know that the best way home is a very un-stealthy trip through that aqueduct. It's his only choice.

    Donnie takes the pizza box with one hand, stands, and begins to move slowly towards the aqueduct, hunched forward to keep his profile smaller. He could leave the pizza but...well, that would be insane.

Kainashi has posed:
    The wind picks up. The feeling of being watched is stronger, and there is a feral sound as another twig snaps closer, panting, bipedal foodsteps before --

    There's the sound of glass breaking, and a familiar voice shouts out "OW OW OW OW OW!"

Donatello has posed:
The feeling that would rise turtle hackles if they had them intensifies, building and building before it eventually crescendos with the glass breaking. In one fluid motion, the pizza box is placed on the ground and Donatello is in the air. He reverses his direction with a half flip and a twist at the apex. Donatello lands in an defensive stance, his bo staff held at the ready. He might be the nerdy turtle, but that seemed well-practiced.

    "Who's there?" he calls out. Normally, he might hide, but that voice does sound familiar.

Kainashi has posed:
    Being nerdy does not preclude from being atheltic!

    Sheepishly, from behind a tree, the scarred up face of one red pitbull pokes up.

    "Donatello! I thought I recognized you!" comes a very cheery sounding reply, and hobbling out of the woods, she leans against a tree. She looks a good bit roughed up.

Donatello has posed:
    Donnie's bo staff is lifted to about eye level, pointed in the direction of the figure emerging from the tree. He's ready to...

    ...Lower it. Donatello takes a step forward, briefly looking around before centering his attention on Kainashi. "Kai!" he exclaims, relaxing. But then he notices. "You're, you're hurt..." Donnie moves forward to get a closer look.

Kainashi has posed:
    Blinking at the exclaimation, her ears draw up, and then she looks down. Her foot is, indeed, bleeding a bit.

    "Oh, yeah, stepped on some glass. I was investigating someone toasting marshmallows after doing some running and avoidance training in the park because it's kinda a bore to do it in Bronx all the time so I come out here sometimes but don't tell 'Pex 'cause she worries and anyway I was out investigating the smell of toasted marshmallows when I thought I smelled someone familiar and you know I never forget a face and then I just went 'whups' and stumbled a bit and someone had left a big glass bottle that smelled really bitter in some rocks and it broke and now it's got a cut but it's fiiiiine I'll clean it when I get back to the 'Den and then it'll be great and Pex will never know that I snuck out again to do some training and..." she trails off a moment, then reaches up, and clamps her hand over her scarred muzzle.

    "... I mean... I'm fine!"

    Meanwhile, Kai has a chunk of brown glass in her foot, and it's bleeding.

Donatello has posed:
    As his friend explains, Donatello bends down to one knee to get an even closer look. His eyes move from looking up at Kai as she speaks and down at her foot. "Let me take care of this, Kai," he replies. "We gotta get this glass out of there." He looks up at Kai and gestures to the ground next to the pizza box. "You want some pizza? Have a seat and take some pizza. I'll take care of this." If she'll let him, Donnie would try to remove the chunk of brown glass from her foot.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Yeah... but that's your dinner." Kai replies with a slight grin, and her ears turn a bit pink when Donatello explains that he was going to take care of it. She looks mildly alarmed, and hesitantly raises her injured foot.

    The chunk of glass comes out. It's a pretty clean cut, all told, that glass broke sharply. Kainashi fumbles a bit with her pockets, and hands down a little roll of gauze in a zip-lock.

    "... how come you're so nice when the other one's mean? Is he still mad about the dumpster? 'Cause I apologized for that."

Donatello has posed:
    "That's okay, we can share," Donnie mentions, regarding the pizza.

    Donnie looks up with his green face completely exposed, noticing the baggie with the gauze. "Oh..." Donatello's purple bandana is held in one of his hands, the glass in the other. It was his makeshift bandage, but the gauze is obviously much better. He lets the bandana slide down his forearm and towards his elbow so he can take the zip-lock bag from Kai.

    "That's just how Raph is," Donnie explains, rolling the gauze gently around the cut. "He's mad about everything."

    Donnie puts the remaining gauze back in the zip-lock and hands it to Kai.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Alopex said this is better than random cloth. An' I wouldn't wanna get your mask dirty. That goes on your face. That'd make it weird." she states, and she slips the guaze back into her pocket, her ears still bright pink on the inside. The kanji spelling out her name is clearly visible in her left ear.

    "Was he hurt? Is that why he's mad?" She inquires... and then conspiritally she leans closer.

    "Also... it's okay to like books. You're smart. Smart people like books."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello nods his head at Alopex's sagely advice. It's good advice. Donnie lets the bandana slide back down his forearm and to one of his hands so he can put it back onto his face. He is, once again, the purple one.

    "No, he's mad no matter what," Donnie tries to explain. There's a quiet sigh from Donatello as he considers his brother for a second. "But Raph is a good guy. He just doesn't want us to know it."

    As Kainashi leans closer, Donnie awkwardly tries to maintain the distance but falls backward onto the ground and onto his behind. His face fades into a muddy brown color and he bends his knees so that he's in a more natural seated position. It's as if he meant to do it! Donatello reaches to open the pizza box and turns it so that the open side is facing Kai.

    "Well," Donnie begins. "I do like books. And computers. And science." He takes a slice, looking away. "I just remember everyone saying how dumb that stuff was."

    It's a painful moment, worthy of an entire episode of The Wonder Years.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kainashi gives a blank look, and she reaches for the pizza -- but halts, and draws her hand back, crossing her arms a moment with a soft huff. There is an obvious internal conflict there, and she gives a slightly grumpy sound, not notiving Donnie's blushing.

    "Yeah, well, Raph and I are dumb. Alopex likes books. None of the Foot we trained with liked books. I don't like books, but I'm pretty dumb." she states.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello gives the box a push towards Kainashi, as if to settle the debate. He takes a bite of his own slice, chewing it quietly. It's a long moment of silence.

    "Why do you think that you're dumb?" he wonders, finally.

Kainashi has posed:
    The canine shifts her weight, wrestling with so much at the moment, the temptation, the question, and finally she accepts a piece, and she lets it cool a moment before nomfing it, and considering her next words.

    "Not smart enough for training. So... I carried big stuff and was used to train others. A-Alopex knows more than I know." she begins stammering, her voice quivering a moment.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's face sours, slightly. "Kai," he begins. "That's the /foot/ that said you're not smart enough for training. They don't even know what smart is!" Donnie takes another bite of his slice, chews it, and then lets his face relax into a more sympathetic expression.

    "I bet you know lots of things Alopex doesn't know," Donnie adds. "I bet you know lots of things I don't know." He takes another bite of his pizza.

    "Smart people learn things. They don't know things."

    Kai's stammering creates a moment of conflict and pause in Donatello. He opens his mouth to say something, doesn't. He reaches a hand forward, retracts it. Instead of saying anything else or reaching forward, Donatello tries out a safe, reassuring smile.

Kainashi has posed:
    "... they wanted another Alopex. Instead they got a Kainashi." she replies quietly, her ears drawing back as she looks at the back of one of her hands, and she closed it, slowly. She could feel the skin on her muzzle tighten beneath the scars that mar her face and shoulders, and she looks over to Donatello, and she takes a deep breath.

    "Alopex is older than me, and better. That's why she knows more." she explains, struggling with trying to get the words out a moment, and then sinks down into a half-kneel as she rubs the back of her head.

    "... so you're the smartest?"

Donatello has posed:
    "Kai, the foot are morons," Donnie declares, pushing the pizza box back in her direction. He looks away from her for a second, instead focusing on the row of crust left on his own slice.

    "I know how you feel," he finally admits. "I have two older brothers, Leo and Raphael. Leo's a better ninja, that's why he's the leader. Raphael is the better fighter. They're both older than me."

    Donnie manages a smile. "I could teach you stuff, if...uh, if you want." He leaves the question about him being the smartest alone for the moment.

Kainashi has posed:
    "They aren't." Kainashi states. "They found a use for me. Even if they didn't like me. That's smart." she reasons, tearing off a bit of her slice and chomping down on it, but she does let her ears rise up at the idea of learning.

    "... like what? Pex is teaching me swords after I stop hitting my face with the bo."

Donatello has posed:
Donatello shrugs his shoulders. "Whatever you want," he begins, smiling. "It could be anything, not fighting techniques."

    "What do you like? When you're not training...or fighting."

Kainashi has posed:
    Kainashi pauses a moment, as if her brain shorted out, and she just opens her mouth, closes her mouth, and then states, awkwardly:

    "... all I do is train or fight. Or lift heavy things and move them. That's all I'm good for." Kainashi replies dully, and then she lets her shoulders sag, her ears going limp. "... and eat. I eat a lot."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello frowns. It's not a Raph frown. It's a frown of deep dissatisfaction, not frustration. Suddenly, he moves forward, closer, and raises his eyebrows. It's a pleading sort of look.

    "Kai, we gotta figure this out," he exclaims. "We gotta figure out what you like. There's a whole world out there that isn't fighting or training...Or lifting or eating."

    "I mean, I like computers...and technology...Science. My brothers say that I like machines."

Kainashi has posed:
    "... but I like training and fighting. It means I'm not... you know... useless." the pooch replies, and she looks down to her inured foot, wrapped now in gauze, and she looks back to Donatello.

    "... can you keep a secret?"

Donatello has posed:
    "Those things are fine, but you can do other things, too," Donnie argues. He puts the last of his crust into his mouth and chews it. This is going to be an uphill battle that won't likely be won this evening.

    At the thought of keeping a secret, Donnie nods. "Yeah, I can keep a secret..." His whole life is a secret.

Kainashi has posed:
    "... Kainashi isn't my real name. It's the name that the Foot gave me. Alopex doesn't like using it either, but she never had another name." she states, conspiritally to Donatello, leaning in a moment as she shares that secret with the purple-clad turtle, and she gives a smile.

    "I won't tell the cat you actually like books. Now we both have secrets."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's face, again, turns that weird brown color that would happen if turtles could blush. And in this case, they can!

    "I don't care if The Cheshire Cat knows I like books. I thought you might not want to be friends," he admits. "If you knew I liked books."

    And then he tries, so hard, to change the subject. "So, what's your real name?"

Kainashi has posed:
    At that, Kainashi gives a laugh, and her ears turn bright red. "What? Nooo. Why would I not like you if you liked books? That's a dumb reason not to like anyone!" she gives a smile, and then all of a sudden gets a bit shy.

    "... it's lame and I don't like people knowing. It's what my master called me when I was a regular dog. I remember some stuff. But it's lame." she states, and she hops to her foot, hopping a little bit. "An' I should hop back home. Alopex will begin to wonder where I ran off to. She worries." the canine explains, and she even reaches down to help Donatello to his feet.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello nods and doesn't press the name thing. Instead, he reaches up and takes the offered help. "I know, it's silly," he agrees. "But you were saying how dumb books are, so, well, that's it."

    Donatello reaches down and picks up the box. "Here," he offers, extending the box to Kai. "You said that you like eating."

Kainashi has posed:
    "... yeah, well... I don't understand them. I don't understand a lot of smart stuff." Kainashi tries to play it off, adjusting her weight so that she's putting her weight -- and Donnie's -- on her good foot to easily lift the turtle from the forest floor.

    And she blushes again -- her ears turning pinkish as she quietly states: "Nah, Donnie, that's your dinner, but thanks for sharing it!" she states with a toothy grin, her tail giving a wag behind her before she remembers her manners, or what she would assume to be proper manners, and she gives a bow of her head to Donnie, and then turns and attempts to swiftly vanish into the woods -- before tripping and falling over a hill.

    "... Imohkay!" her voice rings out, from out of sight.