2424/Trick Dogs

Trick Dogs
Date of Scene:	12 July 2020
Location:	Underground Skatepark
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Kainashi, Donatello

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Kainashi has posed:
    There was a rockin' in the Sewers. Someone had found an old boom box and was busily using it to blast some music as she took over the semi-closed skatepark to get some solo training done.

    The skatepark has been set up with a makeshift obsticle course. Stolen orange street cones and barrels, lifted clothes lines and tight-fit rails from ruined buildings were making an appearance in something that must have taken a fair amount of time to set up.

    And as a rock version of 'Take On Me' by some raspy-voiced guy BOOMS out over the sewer, it's likely to attract some curiousity!

    Kainashi is wearing something outside her usual presentation -- a sports tee and a pair of work out pants, altered to fit her digigrade legs as the scarred pitbull moves through a very canine agility course set up!

Donatello has posed:
    Somewhere else, an alert went off. And near that alert, a turtle put on a purple bandana, grabbed a bo staff, and began a leisurely roll through the sewer tunnels on a wide 80s-style skateboard. A motion sensor was triggered and inspired some curiosity in Donatello, who answered its carion call with a small amount of enthusiasm. It was better than watching the daytime soap operas with Master Splinter!

    Soon, the sound of the skateboard wheels rolling through the dank sewer is married to the inoffensive sounds of A-Ha's hit song. Donnie scrapes the skateboard to a two-wheeled halt to get a better sense of the source of the sound. Once he's got a bead, the turtle pushes off and continues his ride. He's not as good as his brother on that board, but he can hold his own!

    Finally, Donnie boards into the skatepark's antechamber light and remains there for just long enough to see the other figure (and to be seen, perhaps!)

    Donatello dives off of the board and into a nearby shadow. A green hand quickly reaches out to try and catch the board before it rolls away from the shadow and towards the other figure. The turtle fails.

Kainashi has posed:
    The other figure was at a disadvantage: the music blocks most of the noise of the skateboard approaching, the canine leaping up and sliding down the tilted rail as the brilliant noise of the cover fills the cavern. She didn't see Donnie, and distracted, she might not smell him either!

    She moves with confidence through the grounds, drawing up a see-saw and bracing as it his the ground, tumbling, leaping up, making her way ducking and weaving through the cones with glee evident on her face, working through the excess energy.

    She might not be winning any science fair awards, but she is very agile.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello watches in horror as his skateboard slowly rolls across the antechamber towards the familiar shape. Donatello takes a breath and does a moment of mental calculus, thereby coming to the decision that it is, in fact, possible for him to intercept the board before it crashes into the hollow trash can in its path. The turtle pauses for a very particular amount of time before launching himself, silently, from the shadow. As the turtle soars through the air, the only sound he makes is the quiet fluttering of his bandana against the air. As he gets closer to the board, Donatello's face relaxes. This is going to work. Everything's totally fine.

    And then he lands. Donnie's feet plant firmly on the skateboard, but the bulk of his shell causes his weight to off-center, sending the board forward much faster than he was anticipating. The horror returns to his face as the board's nose slams into a nearby cement curb and sends Donatello back into the air again.

    Donnie lands for a final time, sliding into the orange traffic cones and coming to a halt. He does his best attempt to play it off like it was all part of the plan.

    "Hi, Kai," he greets, trying to smile through the awkwardness. "What are you doing?"

Kainashi has posed:
    "AYEEE!" comes Kainashi's surprised sound, because she entirely missed the skateboard escaping its owner's grasp somehow, but did not miss Donatello's extremely graceful landing atop some of the traffic cones, coming to a halt on his shell. She dances a little bit to the side in surprise, amber eyes laying on the turtle before she picks up a cone and slings it towards the radio -- which stops, by falling over, grinding to the side slightly, its AC cord getting ripped out in the process and dangling sadly.

    "... oh... ah... h-hi Donnie." she stammers a moment, her ears pinning back as she rubs the back of her neck.

    "... am I in the way?"

Donatello has posed:
    And then there was silence. Donatello's eyes quickly dart towards the radio before returning to Kainashi. "In the way? No. Am I in the way?" Donatello asks as he looks around at the pile of traffic cones he's created. "I mean, I'm in the way. I've got to be. Sorry about the mess." Donatello stands and starts picking up the cones that were knocked over. "I didn't mean to interrupt. One of my motion sensors was set off, so I came to check it out. I didn't, uh, know it was you..."

    "What are you doing?"

Kainashi has posed:
    "Oh, no, no, you'r eokay, I mean it's just stuff that can get knocked over, you're good --" Kainashi replies as she reaches down and starts to reset cones in place herself, to make sure Donatello doesn't have to do them all himself!

    "Oh... ah... well... agility training?" she states, looking out over the course. "... I know it's kinda... kinda... r.. it's..." she stammers a moment, "... kinda broke-like, but I like doing it. Especially when I can't sleep. I try to set up in different places so it's different every time." she admits with a slight smile. "Sorry if I bothered you guys."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello waves his hands in the air, practically tripping over himself to reassure her. "No, no! You didn't. I mean, it's no bother. You didn't bother us. I mean..." He picks up the last cone. "I wasn't bothered, you know, that it was you down here." Smooth.

    Donatello takes stock of the course, inspecting it closely. "Well, it looks like a great set up, here. Lots of...uh, agility, that can....Be trained." He winces a little and turns away from Kai to pick up a cone and pretend to inspect it. "I'm glad I ran into you. I've got this project I'm working on and I was wondering if I could get your help on it some time. If you're not too busy with your training, I mean."

Kainashi has posed:
    "A... a project to help you out?"

    She might try to play it cool (be cool, be cool Kainashi!) but that tail gives a wag. And keeps wagging. "What is it? How can I help? -- I mean, I've got plenty of time between rounds of training and fighting Foot and helping Alopex." she tries to be casual, lean against one of the suspended bars, and nearly over-corrects, giving a little stumble and a wince.

Donatello has posed:
    Fortunately, Donatello is too busy with his own awkwardness, the pretend inspection of the traffic cone, to notice Kainashi's stumble. He sets the cone down and turns back to the other mutant. "Well, we've got this van..." (Van's are weird, Donnie...) "...Not a van...Well, it's kind of a... mobile...base. We found it and I've been reinforcing it with some custom alloys to strengthen it from attack while also allowing UHF and VHF frequencies to pass through and..." (Stop talking about frequencies, Donatello!) "...Uh, I'm trying to make sure it's strong but can still connect to our Shell Phones..."

    Donatello reaches back and rubs the back of his head for a second. "And, uh, I need to do some modifications to the engine and I don't have a winch..." (Get to the point, Donnie!) "...And you're so...uh, I'm not as...." (Don't say strong! Make her think you're strong!) "...Well, the engine is heavy and I, uh, need to have my hands free to..." Donatello stops for a second and he turns to face Kainashi. (Don't you dare tell the truth, Donatello!)

    But, he does.

    "You're stronger than me. So I was thinking you might be able to lift the engine block out. I mean, you're the strongest person I know. Even stronger than Raph. /Way/ stronger than a winch."

Kainashi has posed:
    Her ears come up as she watches Donatello meander his way through the explaination. A van! Cool! -- not a van? Also cool? Can she ride in it? Yoo-ache-eff and vee-ache-eff ... or maybe You a Jeff? Huge Jeff? Jeff is kinda like Jiff. Peanutbutter sounds really good right about now. Do I have a jar in my bag? I might. Unless I remembered to put it back in the pantry. At least it's not like the one that made me sick and Alopex had to check all the other peanutbutters for the bad stuff.

    Concentrate, he's talking still about the phones.. and winches. Isn't that a female pirate? What do pirates have to do with this?

    And Kainarshi's head is tilted and looking a little confused and concerned when Donatello is finally out with it -- and her tail wags hard as she gives a bright, toothy grin.

    "Of course I'll help lift the heavy stuff! I'm good at that! I'm happy to lend a hand where I can." she gives the biggest smile to Donnie when she says it. "You're about the nicest guy I know, so... yeah, absolutely!"

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello smiles. "Great!" And suddenly, Donnie is overwhelmed with the strong desire to leave before she changes her mind. He seems to step away, instinctively, and knocks over another cone. Donatello bends down to right the cone and continues his awkwardness. "Right, so, uh, I guess we can figure out a good time to meet up to, you know, remove the engine block." He picks up another cone. "No rush, I mean, whatever works for, uh, you."

    And then Donatello's smile fades. "I guess we'll have to figure out a place. I'm not really..." He looks for the words. How does he say she's not allowed to come to the lair without offending?

    "I'm not allowed to have visitors at home."

Kainashi has posed:
    "That's OK. I'm not either." Kainashi replies, rubbing the back of her head. "Alopex says we're not ready for that yet, and she's the leader so..." she trails off, and gives a soft sound. "Though when the TV's going I see people over each other's houses all the time. That just seems weird, doesn't it? When you're not allowed to have anyone over?" she adds on, "... but we're... not exaaactly normal."

Donatello has posed:
    "Yeah, that's what Leo says, too," Donatello admits, also rubbing the back of his head, his voice trailing off in a similar way. There's a sudden urge to perk the situation up. "The television is pretty great, though, isn't it? Thanks to the invention of the transistor, TV's got so cheap that the humans would just throw them away instead of fixing them." He manages a smile. "/That's/ weird, if you ask me!"

Kainashi has posed:
    "It's so weird! I dunno what a transistor is, but humans throw away the *best* stuff, like I found half a ham! A whole half a ham, they just kinda sliced it off and went --" and Kai does her best impression of a human, her ears folding back, her eyes going far too wide and she tries to speak out of just the end of her muzzle: "Oh, today I do not like ham, off it goes into the trash! Woo!"

    And she gives a grin. "Not to mention blankets, dogs, clothing, it's just... it's wierd how much they throw away!"

Donatello has posed:
    Donnie manages a smile. "Yeah! And as soon as they have one little problem with their computers--right into the trash. I mean, I once found a perfectly good laptop that someone tossed out just because it needed a little repair work." He grins further as Kainashi does her best human impression. "I mean, I only know two, maybe three, humans, but I could totally picture them saying that."

    "Humans seem to always throw away the best stuff."

    Donatello suddenly looks away. "I, mean, uh...I didn't mean...They didn't throw you away. I, uh, meant it as a compliment."

Kainashi has posed:
    Kainashi gives a smile, and she sits on one of the curbs. "It's... it's okay, Donnie. I was thrown away before the Foot even found me." she states, and she gives a small shrug, her shoulders rising up "And like you said. Sometimes things are just a little broken and need some work. Sometimes they're still good, but humans don't see the value the same way someone like you might." she states, her tail curling slightly. "I'm still kinda broken, but Alopex says I'm valuable."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's features soften as he watches Kainashi take a seat on the curb. He opens his mouth to say something, stops himself, opens it again, stops. He reaches a hand out, perhaps to pat her on her shoulder, but then pulls it back. Finally, the turtle manages to break his silence. "Alopex sounds like a really good friend," he offers. "Seems really smart, too."

Kainashi has posed:
    "I'm really fortunate that I've got really smart friends like you an' Pex." she smiles again, looking up to Donatello. "... 'cause you don't see me as... as trash, you know?" she gives a smile, this time, close-lipped, her ears drawing back.

    "Pex told me sometimes humans don't like what they don't understand, an' walkin', talkin' dogs are something they won't get. But I keep thinking... if I try, and I'm very good, and I train and maybe get a bit smarter... you know. Maybe I won't be as scary if I don't want to be?"

Donatello has posed:
    "Yeah. I don't think they'd like us very much. But, that's their loss! I play a computer game online with humans. They don't even know I'm not," Donatello admits with a grin. "You should meet April. She's a human but she's totally cool with us. Casey, too."

    Donnie sits down across from Kainashi so he's not standing over her. He assumes a criss-cross-applesauce seated position and smiles. "Not all humans have a hard time with us."

Kainashi has posed:
    "I've met Casey. He said this place was a sausage party, and I still don't really know what it means, Alopex didn't either. Must be a human thing. He seems..." she trails off a moment, and tries to find a word word for it, and she tilts her head back, "... excit-able?" she suggests, and looks back to Donatello, and gives a smile.

    "Well, you're better to look at than I am! I can't think of any humans who would have trouble with you!"

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello forms a broad smile. "Excitable? Casey?" he ponders. "...Sounds about right. You just gotta get to know him a little bit more." Then, as Kainashi pays him the compliment, Donatello's green cheeks slowly become flush with the color brown. It's not very pleasant.

    "Uh, I think Raph says he's the handsome one," Donatello finally replies, looking away so his brown face can't be seen. "And you're nice to look at, too. I...I look." Smooth.

Kainashi has posed:
    "But he has the personality of a four-alarm meatball sandwich." Kai points out as she leans back, paying Raph a mixed compliment in his absence, and Kainashi blinks as she catches up to what Donnie said, and the insides of her ears turn a bit red. She embarrassedly rubs the back of her neck, and looks off to the side.

    "You don't hafta say anything like that, Donnie. I know I'm a scarred up mess. An' that's OK. Someday I'll get to pay 'em back for what they did to me."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello laughs. "A four-alarm meatball sandwich. That's perfect. I can't wait to use that," he manages to spurt out through his discomfort. Still, that moment can only last for so long before Donatello has to come back to the deeper parts of their conversation. His eyes remain fixed on some of the skatepark features, avoiding Kainashi. "You're not a mess. I mean, you have scars, but who doesn't? My shell has so many chips and scuffs and things that'll never go away. They're just part of me and your scars are part of you."

    "Plus...We'll help you get your payback. Beating up Foot is kind of our job."

Kainashi has posed:
    The pooch shifts her weight, looking to Donnie a moment and she rubs the back of her neck again.

    "So... what's with you guys? Were you Foot mutants too? Or are you like Sandy and Ballista?" she asks of Donnie, turning the conversation over to him, her amber eyes watching him in curiosity.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's mind searches for answers, finds none. "We're not really sure. We were normal turtles and then we mutated, but it wasn't the Foot. It was some kind of mutagen. Our father trained us to be ninjas," he explains. "He says that the Foot have no honor." Donatello turns back to look at Kainashi, as his cheeks have cooled down a bit. "What happened to Sandy and Ballista?"

Kainashi has posed:
    "Sally was a lion and Ballista was some sorta lizard. They got mutated by someone who's not the Foot. Some company, I think." she frowns a moment. "I don't... really talk to Ballista. She's not nice. Sally though. Sally's a good one. She has a nice smile." she confirms, and then she purses her lips a moment. "What's honor?"

Donatello has posed:
Donatello opens his mouth, as if to answer, but then closes it. He looks stumped. "Well," he begins. "It's sort of a ninja code of ethics that we follow. Bansenshukai." The turtle sighs deeply. "To be honest, this is more of a question for my brother, Leo. He really loves this kind of stuff. But, father says that the Foot do not fight with honor."

    "Don't tell them, but usually when Leo or Splinter are talking about this stuff, I'm thinking about Wi-Fi or something."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Basenshukai..." Kai sounds out quietly, and she purses her lips for a moment, and then, with embarrassment asks: "... what's an ethics? Sometimes Alopex uses words that I know I've heard before, but I don't know what they mean. And she tries her best... but I'm kinda dumb."

Donatello has posed:
    "Well, don't sweat it. There are these philosophers who spend their whole lives trying to figure out what ethics is," Donatello replies with a smile. "It's kind of tough to understand. It's supposed to be a way to decide if an action is a good one or not." He squints for a second and then nods. "It's kind of like...The way the Foot treated you was unethical. A good person would not have done that."

    "I'm sorry. I wish I could explain it better," Donnie admits, looking a little disappointed in himself. "This kind of stuff isn't really my strong suit."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Oh..." Kainashi blinks a moment, and then she shrugs her shoulders. "It's OK. I can't explain a lot of things. Like, you say ethics and wifi and phillipsophers and I just... I won't get it." she replies embarrassedly. "I'm strong, but dumb. I can't even read!"

Donatello has posed:
Donatello reaches up and scratches the back of his head for a second. "Well," he begins slowly. "Maybe I could try to teach you some time? I mean, if you want to learn. You're great just like you are." He looks away again, locking his eyes on one of the nearby cones.

Kainashi has posed:
    "... I think you're pretty great too, Donnie. For what it's worth." Kainashi's tail begins to wag again, her shoulders coming up, her ears going a bit limp. "You never call me dumb an' you try to explain stuff so that I'd understand it. An' you make me feel helpful on top of it!"

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello manages a small smile as his face turns brown again. "Well, you're not dumb anymore, now that you're not in the Foot clan," he replies with a grin, clearly trying to make a joke. Still, the turtle with the brown cheeks looks away again, shuffling one of his feet against the cement. "Alopex should be pretty happy, I'm thinking, since we met up and you didn't get hurt."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Oh, no, I'm still plenty dumb." Kainashi disagrees, but she's giving a smile over top the disagreement. Joke went over her head. Woosh!

    "She was proud of the way I fought. I used to be awful. One of the reasons I train so hard and so much is because she put a lot of time into me. I think maybe the Master put a lot of time into training her, so she's strict sometimes, but she tells me when I'm doing good." she smiles with all her teeth, her tail wagging. "So, that's probably what your dad does, huh? A lot of training with you guys?"

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello considers that and nods his head. "Yeah, we do a lot of training. It's tough, but he's a good teacher," he admits. Suddenly, Donatello stands up. "Oh no, that reminds me! Training! I was supposed to be back a long time ago. They just think I'm out here checking the sensor. I've gotta get going, Kai." He rubs the back of his head again and looks towards his nearby skateboard. "I guess I'll see you around, then?" he asks, hopefully.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Absolutely! Gimmie a call on the Shell Phone when you wanna get that engine block taken care of. I'll give you a lift." she grins at her own joke as she hops up. "Say hi to your brothers for me!"

Donatello has posed:
    "Great!" Donatello replies, reaching towards his belt. "I suppose I should give you this, then..." He produces a small object shaped like a turtle shell -- a Shell Phone! He holds it out for Kai to take. "I, uh, guess I could ask you for your phone number, but...well, I already know it."

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai gives a grin, and accepts the shell phone, and gives a slight grin. "Well, you're the only one who knows it then." she grins. "So I know when it rings it'll be you on the other side."

Donatello has posed:
    Donnie nods with a smile and puts one foot on his skateboard. "I'll see ya later," he adds with a small wave. With that, Donnie pushes off with his other foot and begins his journey back to the Turtle Lair.

Kainashi has posed:
    And Kainashi watches Donatello as he skates off, her tail wagging a moment before he disappears, and then states: "... oh. You told him you can't read. Aarrrgggh!" she protests, her fits pressing to the front of her ears "Why did you say that now he's going to think you're mega-dumb and won't ask you for help agaaaaaiiiin!" she protests to her lonesome, and then grumps, going to grab her bag and skedaddle out of the make-shift agility course.