3553/Canis Major

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Canis Major
Date of Scene: 24 September 2020
Location: Brooklyn Jewelry District
Synopsis: Kainashi and Donatello do some star-gazing and finally, undeniably, define what their relationship is. Oh -- and they stop a jewelry store robbery -- no big deal. Power couple.
Cast of Characters: Donatello, Kainashi




Donatello has posed:
    The Shell Phone Mk 1 was not able to send pictures, so the message came in via text. The basic gist was to meet on this building at this time. There was a heart emoji, originally, which was deleted and replaced with a star.

    This meeting was a little different from others. The Brooklyn Jewelry District, though significantly smaller than Manhattan's, was brightly lit at night and the streets were busy. The hour was a bit later than the duo would normally meet -- by now, the sun had gone down hours ago. Still, the sky was clear but with the normal haze that lingers above the city. There was a slight chill in the air, with amber leaves blowing about -- perfect sweatshirt weather.

    On the top of this building, one that borders Brooklyn's small jewelry district, Donatello had been waiting. A blanket had been smoothed out, flat, on the roof, and two more remain folded up. A pizza box was near, as well, but the nervous turtle had already helped himself to one of the slices on the pineapple half. The pepperoni half remains untouched. The nervous turtle might be seen pacing back and forth, staring down at the screen of his Shell Phone, with the crust of his slice sticking out from the side of his mouth.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kainashi had responded in emojis -- a building, a dog, a ladder, and a heart. She had already met with a certain OTHER turtle by this time, and the weather was pleasant.

    There's the sound of feet landing from a rooftop above the building, and Kainashi gives a grin. She's still wearing her black hoodie, but her hair has a new barrette in it, this one set in sparkling (if cheap) purple 'stones' (they're plastic) surrounded by little white flowers. Her tail gives a wag as she stands up, and makes her way over to the nervous turtle.

    "Hey." she greets, with a little bit of a smile. "Nice night!"

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's breathing is deep, slow, and measured. There's something going on tonight and it's clear he's trying his absolute best to keep it together. He had been staring at the screen of his Shell Phone for what seemed to be an eternity. Building. Dog. Ladder. Heart. Heart. Heart. It was enough to make Donatello's brain go into overdrive. What did it all mean? Or, perhaps there was something else on that Shell Phone, tonight?

    His hearing never was too great, so the pitter patter of Kainashi's entrance goes unnoticed at first, but then she speaks. His brow rises and he turns to face her.

    "Hey!" he calls out, his mouth curving to form a return smile. "You made it! Want some pizza?"

    Donatello steps to the side to show the setup -- the blanket laid flat, the two blankets folded, and the pizza box. He lets the one missing slice speak for itself, for now.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Of course I did. Not much could keep me from coming to see you." the dog replies, and she gives the biggest, toothiest grin she can manage, her tail still wagging before she sniffs the air.

    "I dunno, I heard from an expert that pineapple doesn't belong on pizza --" she teases lightly, then she draws down to the edge of the blanket, looking at the set up with surprise as she looks over everything.

    At least, she thinks, it's not raining!

    "Buuuut I smell pepperoni, so your mistake is taken into account." she grins. "How have you been doing?"

Donatello has posed:
    That causes Donnie's brain to break. Not much could keep her? Really? Donatello's brow rises and his shoulders slump a touch. His face looks like he's just been told that he's being awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. After a moment, his brain restarts, and he manages a big toothy grin and swallows.

    Taking a deep breath, he joins the reparte. "Half and half!" he declares with a smile. Donatello walks over to the blanket and finds a seat, himself. He bends his knees and wraps his arms around his legs. "I'm...I'm good, actually," he answers definitively. His face seems to suggest that he's telling the truth, too!

    "How are you?" he wonders. His eyes remain focused on Kai's for just a second or two before they lower down to check something on his Shell Phone screen again. Something's going on.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai pauses, looking at Donatello's face as his eye ridges go up, but when he relaxes, and banters back, she relaxes as well, grabbing a slice of pizza and folding it in half.

    "I'm glad. Really glad. You deserve to be good." she gives a bright grin to him, "Oh, I'm all right. Was caught in the rain on my last patrol, had a bit of a sniffle but it cleared up with some Atomic Hotwings." she states with a grin -- and then she pauses, and she sees him check his phone. One ear goes up.

Donatello has posed:
    Hm. Caught in the rain. Donatello's eye squints a bit. Leo was caught in the rain the night before he...

    Donatello's mouth opens just a bit, as if he's going to say something, but his Shell Phone disrupts that idea. Instead...

    "I have something to show you something I've been working on!" Donatello blurts out.

    He looks a lot better than he did for the past few days. The eyes are no longer clouded with fatigue -- the bags and the wrinkles have cleared. His breath no longer smells of energy drinks and the wraps around his hands have been replaced with new ones. His eyes are a little wider than usual, his smile a little bit brighter. Other than the typical nervousness he might have around Kainashi, the tension gripping Donatello has cleared. And tonight, he's clearly excited about something and trying to contain it. Good news? Something fun? Time will tell.

    Donatello reaches into his belt to pull out a folded paper and hands it over to Kainashi.

    It's underwhelming. The paper has nine dots, one larger than the rest. They're connected with straight lines. This could be Donatello's sorry attempt at 'art' or something else entirely.

    By the time the note had been inspected, Donatello has wrapped one of the blankets around himself, leaving the second one for Kainashi if she needs it. On a chilly night like this, the turtle would need the warmth from the blanket.

Kainashi has posed:
    Donatello's sudden outburst makes Kai's ears rise up, but she looks him over. He looks better. Brighter. The tension was largely gone, and Kainashi was her usually relaxed self. She had noted he smelled better (but was hesitant to tell him that), but her eyes dart down, following the hand to his belt as she takes the note, and opens it. Nine dots. A big dot. Lines. She gives a soft 'hmmm', as if it should all make sense... if she could just... squint at it hard enough... and she turns it over, then turns her head in the opposite way.

    "... is... this a letter?" she asks, quietly in embarrassment as she lowers the paper and sees Donatello -- wrapped in a blanket. She frowns, and then she takes a deep breath, and scoots over to Donatello.

    The canine bodily lifts one of his arms, turns it around her shoulders, and then leans against Donatello, letting his arm and the blanket cover her. She's warm -- warmer than a human, by a couple degrees anyway.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello is taken by surprise. As Kai settles up next to him, bringing his arm and blanket around her figure, the turtle's heart skips a beat. His eyes linger on the other blanket, the one he planned she might use. He looks back to her and manages a smile. This is better.

    By now, he knows what she might be thinking about that paper. He gasps quietly, realizing the few moments of discomfort he's accidentally manufactured. "No, no, no," he explains. "It's not a letter. It's a map."

    Donatello swallows and lets his arm pull Kainashi a little closer -- really as close as he could. "Did you know that there's a dog up there? Like you..." the turtle asks suddenly, indicating with his finger. "Up in the sky..."

    "Sometimes, I wonder if we mutants would have had the same history as humans did. But, ancient humans used to make up stories about the shapes in the sky," Donnie explains.

    It's all kind of pointless. New York City is one of the worst places to try and see the stars.

    Donatello takes a nervous breath. "Okay," he assures, looking at the clock on his Shell Phone. "Just five more seconds." He closes the device and tucks it back into his belt before leaning back to watch the sky. Five more seconds until what?

Kainashi has posed:
    "A dog? In the sky?" Kainashi blinks, looking at the lines and dots, and then up at the sky in confusion, a few weak stars trying their best to make their way out of the haze.

    Kai seems wewildered at the idea, and looks to the paper again before, leaning more against Donatello, her ears pricked up, she looks up to the sky.

    "So... how come they made up stories about shapes in the sky? There's not much up there, unless there's a plane, an' even then planes already have shapes. And they've had planes since like, the seventies, right?" the 1970's are ancient, right?

Donatello has posed:
    "Oh, it goes way further back than that. Before planes, and cars, and all of it. No television. Or electricity. But, they had their stories," Donnie explains. Suddenly, his voice changes as he switches topics, briefly. Breathlessly, Donatello whispers, "Kai, I don't want to ruin the moment, but in case I forget to tell you, this whole us-in-the-blanket-thing is really cool."

    And so, precisely five seconds after Donatello's embarrassing admission, the neighborhood's electricity goes out. The twang of electrical transformers being switched off signals the beginning. One by one, each block goes dark. Television service is interrupted. Street lights fade. For just a moment, there's an eerily calm silence, as televisions, radios, and computers all power down at once. After just a couple of calm seconds, people on the street start shouting and honking their car horns -- the traffic lights that normally signal who can drive are no longer active. The magical electricity that human society has come to rely upon is suddenly gone.

    Almost at once, the night sky changes to a beautiful starscape. Just moments ago, only the absolute brightest stars were able to cut through the city's light pollution, but now stars that had long been forgotten can be seen! It's not a perfect sky, mind you, as the rest of the city continues to block out the fainter stars, but it's one of the better ones in a long time.

    Donatello smiles brightly, his eyes widening. It worked! The turtle lifts a hand and points at the sky. "I'm no astronomer, so, I'm sorry if I don't know too much about this, but...See that?" he asks, moving his eyes to watch Kainashi. "Look for the brightest star in the whole sky. That's Sirius. The big dot on the paper." He waits a moment to let her find it.

    "Okay, so, from Sirius -- there's another star to form the dog's neck, and then some for the head. And the legs are there, and there, and that's the tail. Try to imagine they're connected to each other with lines, like a stick figure." The drawing.

    "The dog's name is Canis Major -- it means the Great Dog. Lots of ancient humans told stories about this dog. They said it was the fastest in the whole world! As the Earth would move, it looked like the dog would run across the night's sky -- you know, over the course of a year." Donnie sweeps his hand across the sky as if to indicate the movement of the constellation. After just the briefest pause, Donatello turns his head to face Kainashi and smiles at her.

    Donatello had told Leonardo that he was working on a way to create darkness in a larger area in case they might need it on an important mission, but it had been a lie. It was to show Kainashi the stars.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Well... you get cold easier than I do." Kai replies quietly, but she leans a little more against Donatello, almost laying against his chest.

    It was paradoxical; she weighed far less than him. He could even estimate her weight, not even sixty-five kilos. A mere one hundred and thirtyish pounds. Her body warm against him, fur velvety against the leather of his skin as she gives a slight grin up at him -- and then as the transformers go out, the high-pitched sound of electricity running through the transformers, through the TVs and powering human life ends, ticking off one by one.

    Her ears flick up as she, unsettled, pushes herself up by one hand in fear of their nice night being ruined -- but Donatello doesn't seem concerned.

    She settles back against him, her tail curling against his leg as she looks up and finds that bright star (are you Sirius?), and she purses her lips.

    "Canis... major. Great Dog." she blinks a moment, and then she got it. Far away, long ago, humans made up stories about the stars, and the shape here reminded them of a dog!

    "Is... is there a turtle up there too?" she questions quietly, searching the myriad points of light, sparkling like diamonds against the orange haze that otherwise surrounds them from the city, her eyes still cast upwards as -- for the first time in her life -- she sees the stars!

Donatello has posed:
    "Oh..." Donnie whispers, sounding a touch disappointed there. "A turtle. Huh. Well, I don't know, actually, if there's a turtle up there. I didn't check."

    But, he recovers, as if being guided by some outside force. "But...there's one here," he adds.

    Donatello could not be happier. His smile, so wide, so bright, just shows it all. All that work. All that coding. The hacking. All the time was totally and completely worth it. The inconvenience he's causing to the human world right now is totally and completely worth it. Kainashi was happy.

    Donatello brings his arm across his chest to meet his other hand, all in an effort to hold Kainashi as best he can. It's a perfect moment. And nothing could ever ruin it.

    In fact, it's managed to give Donatello another bit of courage. His eyes lower, close even, and his head inches closer and closer to Kainashi's again -- just like the other night. This time, however, things just seem right. More right than they did then. He's so sure of it. So sure of himself! So sure of them! His eyes closed, his face inching closer, this might be it.

    Meanwhile, this cover of darkness had been a blessing in disguise for at least one group in the neighborhood. Perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps not, down in the alley, a van pulls up -- easily heard from the squeal of its old brake pads as it comes to a halt. The other sounds might only be picked up by those with canine senses. The van's doors open and the sounds of a group of people exiting the van might be heard. Five sets of sounds, in all. Then, it's metal on metal, followed by the scrape of brick against pavement.

Kainashi has posed:
    "There is one right here!" Kainashi replies quietly with a grin, her head leaning back further, looking upside-downish at the turtle as she gives a smile, her eyes going from the darkness and stars overhead to his face. She feels the shift in Donatello's body as his head draws closer. Her eyes half-close, one arm looping loosely over Donatello's arm. She feels him shift his weight -- and then hears the breakpads. HEr ears draw up.
    Her body shifts. She tilts her head as she sits up a little bit, her tail drawing up. Brick on pavement. Metal on metal.

    She murmurs something, it's almmost too soft to hear, and she shifts off him, going into alert mode seamlessly as she draws to the side of the building. She walks just-so, her toenails not touching the rooftop as she moves with a practiced silence.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's eyes close tightly and his head moves on its intercept course. His ear slits would be lucky if they could pick up the commotion down in the alley, but they cannot. The only clue he has that something unusual is happening is the sudden shift in Kainashi's body, the drooping of the blanket, and the absolute nothingness that his lips manage to press into. He opens one eye and finds himself cradling no one. Huh. Donatello turns his head.

    "What is it?" he whispers, snapping out of it.

    Down below, in the alley, the van's side door remains open but no one seems to be nearby. The van's side panel has the worn logo of a local electrician -- fully bonded and insured by the state of New York! One of the doors in the alley, the back entrance for a jewelry shop, is propped open with a brick. The door's edge is bent and scraped, suggesting that it had been pried open.

    The vague sound of movement and activity could be heard, by some, coming from inside the jewelry shop. It's way after hours, so it's unlikely to be normal business. The five sets of footsteps start to sound like they're getting closer and closer, moving from a vague location inside the jewelry shop to that door leading into the alley.

    Five figures emerge from the doorway -- each of them decked out from head to toe in identical black layers -- carrying boxes of merchandise. They wear facemasks with oval eyeholes and red headbands -- all embroidered with the dragon dochi insignia. The Foot! These Foot ninjas have a smell that suggests newness -- the fabrics of their disguises still linger with the scents of the factory that sewed them. These are newer recruits given a rote thievery assignment -- they may be fresh but there are five of them!

Kainashi has posed:
    The canine pokes her head over the side, and she gives a low growl. Donatello would be able to see her countence change. HEr hackles rise up. Her tail stiffens, and her ears pin back. She narrows her eyes, watching the five come out of the jewelers with all the bedeckings of her former tormenters.

    And the canine stands up, tensing a moment as she reaches for the pack she usually carries on her back, and finds that she's forgotten it!

    Oh well. She'll think of something.

    "Foot." she states, in a low growl -- and then steps off the side of the building, into the dark and the abyss of the alleyway, aiming to land on the back of their van!

Donatello has posed:
    The turtle gasps. Foot. Normally, he wouldn't be too concerned, especially about a dweeb crew sent to do some robbery, but...things are different now. Lately, his Universe seems to revolve around a person heavily wanted by these creeps. The turtle rises to his feet and reaches for his bo, which had been laid flat on the ground near the half-wall that circles the building.

    The Foot crew is content to go about their business emptying the stock of this jewelry store, five of them going into and then coming out holding necklaces, rings, and so forth. Despite being new members, they're carrying this out with some precision. No one is talking, too much -- no names, no details. But then...

    One of the Foot ninjas reaches a hand up and points directly at Kainashi, perched heroically on top of their van! There's some quiet murmuring, totally outside the zone of Donatello's hearing, but canine ears should be able to make some sense of what's being discussed. This could be their ticket out of these break-in assignments and into some of the more important jobs. It was not a secret among the Foot, even in these low ranks, that mutant animals are of high interest -- at the top of that interest: turtles, dogs, and foxes.

    Donatello sticks his head out from the side of the building and looks down. The Foot have surrounded the van, all five of them, and have drawn their weapons. Katana. Kunai. Kamas. Manriki Chain. And a Bo.

    Taking a breath, Donatello sends a trio of shuriken at the group, which embed themselves in a threatening line in the pavement. They turn to look up -- a perfect time to strike.

Kainashi has posed:
    THe best thing is, most of the Foot doesn't know that Kainashi can talk... or that she's a very good listener. She flicks an ear in irritation, and as she looks from one to the other, giving Donatello comes around the building and provides the distraction, Kainashi makes her move.

    Giving a hop off the side of the van, she braces and delivers a sharp kick to the vehicle, hoping to send it crashing into the side of the building -- and pin the foot on that side against the wall!

    She turns to the Foot on her side, grabbing a handy dandy trashcan, and she attempts to sling the can into the closest member of the clan in a stunning act of trashy violence!

Donatello has posed:
    The van's bottom clouds with a thin plume of dust as it screeches across the alley and into the opposite building, totally against the range of motion of its wheels! The sound of a chain hitting pavement becomes obvious as the van presses one of the Foot against the brick wall. A manriki chain dangles from a lifeless arm, ripe for the picking!

    As the van slides into its new position, pressed against the building, Donatello leaps down from the roof, doing a double front-flip as he drops. The turtle lands with a wide stance, just a foot or so from the van's bumper. His hand reaches out to take the limp weapon. "Kai!" he calls out. "Chain!" And with that, Donnie yanks the manriki from the poor ninja's hand and tosses it up in the air in a wide arc -- should be easy for Kai to nab it!

    As the chain reaches the apex of its arc, the garbage can is fired from Kainashi's arms, creating a brief whistle sound as it soars in a line-drive right at Mister Kunai. A faint cry of pain can be heard -- it sounds a little younger than our heroes might like, but the Foot's facemask hides all those details!

    "This is our ticket out of this," Katana says, chuckling a bit at Kamas. Meanwhile, Bo has taken a few steps back, picking up on Donatello's experience with the weapon just from his body language.

    The bold Katana draws the weapon back and uses Kainashi's throw as an opportunity to swing the blade down. Donatello, meanwhile, has other thoughts on the matter.

    The turtle, who has been fairly passive at this point, leaps into the air and brings his bo across his body in an attempt to block Kainashi from the sword!

Kainashi has posed:
    Kainashi gives a grin as the trash can goes off, and she reaches up for the chain weapon, grasping its two little weighted ends as she turns to engage kamas.

Why Kamas?

    ... because Alopex uses kama. Better the weapon you know!

    She weaves away from one blow from the kama, flicking her wrist and wrapping the chain around the wrist of the teenage Foot member as she twists and forces his arm behind him, she hadn't seen the katana coming in to strike her.

    The sound of metal striking bo staff hits her ears, though, and she cracks a little grin before squeaking out "Ser-VICE!"

    and she presses her back against Donatello's shell, pushing him down as she flips over his shoulder --

        Taking Kamas with her

            And using Kamas to hit Katanas!

Donatello has posed:
    With the katana blade etched a few millimeters into the heavy wooden bo, Donatello has a rare moment of intimacy with this Foot thief. The new ninja, not yet a master of his weapon, was not prepared for this -- his blade is presently stuck in Donatello's bo. The turtle manages a smile. Instead of pushing against the blade, he pulls the bo and sends Katana forward, off balance, and cracks him upside the head with the opposite side of the staff. Kainashi's push against his shell brings Donatello down to the ground into a crouched stance, flat enough to be the stage for her destruction.

    Katana stumbles forward, no longer holding his sword -- which is presently sticking out of Donnie's bo -- and reaches up to press a gloved hand against his head. Taking a breath, Katana rights himself moments before he flies into the darkness, having just had Kamas thrown right into his chest by Kainashi!

    Donatello reaches up and pulls the sword from his bo. He looks up at Foot Bo and smiles, giving the sword a toss to the side. Considering his options, Foot Bo drops his staff and moves to run off into the night.

    Donnie stands there, his chest expanding and contracting rapidly. Adrenaline. He looks over his shoulder at Kainashi.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai breathes out in a huff, and in a chipper moment breathes out "Well. Looks like the smart ones *all* use bo's!" she states, her tail giving a little bit of a wag before she gives a soft 'erk!', and returns to the van. She sloowly slides it out a little bit, peering at the side, to make sure she didn't crush the kid to death. ... that... would be a bad thing.

Donatello has posed:
    Between the van and wall, a Foot Teen lies there, totally out cold. He's blooded, bruised, but he looks like he'll make it. These vans are basically lightweight metal boxes and are the lightest on the sides.

    Donnie manages a smile at Kainashi's compliment. "Yeah, well, these guys were totally outmatched," he adds, but there's some pain in his voice. It's not actual pain, no, but just the pain of knowing what's about to happen.

    It's been exactly ten minutes.

    Donatello sighs. Block by block, the power returns to the Brooklyn jewelry district and the beautiful night sky is once more washed out.

Kainashi has posed:
    And the Foot Clan members were laying, strewn about. Kai's hairclip was broken in the combat, but she watches as the lights come back on, the familiar humm of electricity in the air as televisions and microwaves and gaming systems return in a glorious electronic cacaphony, and she takes a few steps further back into the alleyway. An alarm goes off in the jewelery shop, likely, and the police might be on their way.

    And she reaches for Donatello's hand, and very gently wraps her fingers around his fingers.

Donatello has posed:
    The alarm's siren covers up the shuffling and groaning coming from all around the two mutants. It had been an eventful day in the jewelry district -- first this blackout and then what would soon be a pretty lucrative bust. Four members of an elusive ninja clan!

    Kai would not need to reach far for his hand because his was already coming for hers. They meet in the middle and Donatello curls his fingers around Kai's and he sighs softly. "We gotta get out of here," he whispers, giving her hand a gentle tug towards the fire escapes that could get them back onto the roof.

Kainashi has posed:
    "I know... but Donnie... they're... kinda young, aren't they?" she questions quietly as she turns, and goes to follow the turtle to the fire escape.

    "I don't remember them sounding so young..."

Donatello has posed:
    It's true. Their cries, their whimpers, they all sounded significantly younger than Kainashi might have expected. The Foot had a few different groups -- this one was mostly made up of runaway teenagers looking for a place to belong. They wore ninja vestments but weren't ninjas. They had no business carrying those weapons.

    Donatello sighs and nods his head, a sadness drawing across his features. "Yeah," he agrees softly, beginning a climb up the ladder. "Sometimes they are."

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai pauses, crouching on the edge of the building a moment as they climb, slipping off onto a ledge as she watches.

    "Are they lost?" she questions, her head tilting. Her tail curls slightly as she looks down, flashes of red and blue making their way down the street.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello watches from the top of the building, standing there next to Kainashi. He looks down at her, staring, a smile sloooowly forming on his features. The sadness from moments ago have been replaced with a look of pure affection.

    "Miyagi," he commands into his Shell Phone, which has been raised to his mouth. "Do it again."

    The turtle sighs and lowers the Shell Phone. And as simple as that, the neighborhood goes dark.

    Donnie tucks the Shell Phone and looks down at Kainashi again, his eyes unable to contain just how much he admires the kindness in the person he's looking at.

    "Let's bring them up, at least. So they don't get arrested," he whispers to her before climbing back down.

Kainashi has posed:
    There's the soft thump of a tail against brickwork, and the canine turns to climb back down. "... Miyagi's getting smarter! You should be proud!" she states fondly to Donnie as she goes, hopping down the last floor, and ushing to start gathering up the wayward teens.

Donatello has posed:
    A grin is given to Kainashi. "Yeah, it's going to get better and better as time goes on," he explains.

    And so, the task to climb down and bring these four Junior Foot members up the fire escape and onto the roof, where they could be safe from the police for the time being, has begun! Hopefully, the evidence would suggest that the would-be robbers ditched the merchandise, their van, and ran off into the night. And even further, perhaps these teens would learn from this experience and be set on a new path?

    The turtle would find Katana and Kamas in the alley's darkness and bring them to the bottom of the fire escape, and then bring them, one at a time, up to the roof. While waiting for Kai's half of the group, Donatello had laid Katana and Kamas on the blanket he flattened out earlier. Donnie reaches for the blanket that he shared with Kai and flaps it a few times before bringing it down to cover the two Foot teens.

    Donnie moves to the building edge to wait for Kai's return.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai brings up the remaining two, slung on top of each other, over one shoulder. She's actually humming, weapons slung or tucked into her bag as she works her way carefully over the side of the building with her cargo, and then goes to lay them out, nice as they can be on the blanket. She even turns over one that was bleeding to make sure he won't bleed out, and then spreads the other blanket over the two of them. This one is not flapped twice, but is used to cover them anyway.

    She turns, sniffing her shoulder, and makes a face.

    "Ugh. One of them was wearing the-bad-stuff-smelly-gross-spray-weapon-thingie."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello squints an eye just a touch. "Pepper spray?" he wonders, tilting his head to the side. It's no use. He can't smell it. Perhaps that's for the best. Still, Donnie bends down to try and get a smell of it, anyway. He stands straight up and shakes his head, shrugging his shoulders. Sometimes it's just good to be a turtle.

    Donnie turns to look at the four Foot Ninjas they've collected and then takes a deep breath before looking back at Kainashi. The power, once more, comes back.

    "Kai," Donnie begins softly. "I'm sorry about all this. This isn't how I was hoping tonight would go."

Kainashi has posed:
    No, not Pepper Spray.

    It was one of those middle school-to-early-highschool deoderants with names like PLATTINUM METAL ICE or RAGING MOUNTAIN THUNDER or MAN SMELL - For When You Want To Smell Like A Man. It has way, way too much pine in it.

    "... but... it still went all right." she states with a small smile. "I've never seen the stars before. I've never left the city. They're beautiful! It's like looking at you when you're happy!"

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello manages a faint smile and shrugs a shoulder. "Well," he replies softly. "You make me happy, so you're bound to see it again soon." The turtle takes a breath and swallows, lowering his eyes to the ground briefly before looking up and into his mind. He takes another breath and then glances down at his hands, which have come together to nervously hold the other. His mouth opens slightly, then closes. Opens again.

    "Kai," he begins, trying so hard to get to the rest of it. He takes a breath.

    "Are you.."

    Another sigh. Why is this so difficult? Donatello's brow furrows a touch, then relaxes as his mind delivers the rehearsed words to his mouth.

    "...my girlfriend?"

    He takes a breath, looking to her, watching her eyes. His words sound clouded by confusion, as if completely unaware of what her answer would be. Leonardo had used the term in an argument and Donnie wasn't sure what to make of it. And he certainly didn't expect to be asking her this question with four unconscious foot goons keeping warm under their blankets. But, then again, no detail of their lives had ever gone to plan, had they?

Kainashi has posed:
    Life never goes to plan. That is the code of Kainashi.

    The canine pauses, drawing herself up a moment as she looks down to Donatello's hands as they nervously worry at one another.

    And she watches as his gaze comes up. She considers a moment, and rubs the back of her neck, as her shoulders come up.

    "... do you want me to be?" she questions quietly, her ears rising up.

Donatello has posed:
    One of the unconscious Foot Teens stirs uncomfortably but otherwise doesn't make a peep.

    The turtle takes in a sudden lungful of air. This would've been a lot easier if she had just said yes or no. It was Donatello's impression that Kai had this all figured out and he was being acted upon by outside forces. He'd have to explain.

    "Kai," he whispers, almost surprised by the question.

    "I..."

    The turtle stops, dumbfounded. He thought he had been doing so well expressing himself, but these are matters totally alien to Donnie. Perhaps he wasn't so obvious as he thought?

    Donatello gives Kainashi a worried kind of look, something a little meek, but then...something happens in poor Donatello. When Donnie had told his brother about his feelings for Kai, Raphael had said: anything worth having doesn't come easy. Or at least, he tried. That's what he tried to say. Donnie had been living like Raphael a little bit these past couple weeks, but that had largely been put to rest. But, that one lingering bit of advice seems appropriate for right now.

    Donatello takes a breath, lets it out, and then takes a step towards Kainashi. It's a big step, more or less closing the gap between them, and looks down at her, staring at her amber eyes. He opens his mouth to respond and, finally, there are words there.

    "Yes."

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai wasn't sure where they stood. She had a loose idea of what a relationship was. She had a loose idea of what dating was, but the boyfriend-girlfriend thing... that was a dynamic she wasn't sure on.

    With his silence, Kai's ears rose up. She brought her hands up, worrying against her sweatshirt a moment as her weight turns from one foot to the other. She takes a shallow breath, her nostrils flaring as if she could sniff out what might be wrong -- and then he takes a step. Her eyes look up to the tall turtle's face, and she searches his expression a moment before he replies.

    And she gives a slight smile. Her shoulders come up, and she gives a nod.

    "Then... I'm willing to give it a try."

Donatello has posed:
    It was a word that Leonardo had put into his head. Donnie had been perfectly happy with the unusual, nebulous thing they had managed to find themselves in, but Leonardo's question had placed a seed. And, like Kai, Donnie was unsure. It was like he knew the words but nothing else.

    At Kai's response though, Donnie's whole demeanor relaxes. The nervous wreck of a moment ago is replaced with, well, a different kind of nervous wreck, but one that could be managed. That determined look he just had is instantly replaced with a bright smile, his eyes wide. "Really?" he questions, energy in his voice.

    Before Kai has a chance to reply, Donatello leans down and moves to bring his arms around the canine for a hug. A celebration!

Kainashi has posed:
    "Well, yeah, why wouldn't I--" she begins, but she's interrupted with the hug! She gives a happy sound, her tail beginning to wag hard as Donnie hugs on her. She grins, and then breaks into embarrassed giggling.

    "See? Just as pretty as the stars!" she points out gleefully.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello lets her go and looks at her with wide, gleeful eyes. The turtle takes a deep lungful of air and lets it out with a big smile on his face. This was big! The ambiguity of it all just got toppled over with a label -- perhaps a pointless one, since nothing's really changed with how Donatello feels about Kainashi, but it's a big step.

    One of the Foot kids turns over in celebration, groans.

    The mention of the stars gets a brief upward glance at the sky, once more a cloudy haze, but then his eyes lower back to Kainashi. With a bright smile on his face, his teeth showing, Donatello lets out this next statement without opening his mouth. He just lets the words pass through his teeth as he smiles.

    "Alopex is going to kill me."

    The turtle breaks into nervous laughter, mostly kidding, a tiny amount of seriousness.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Nah, she won't. She's... she's understanding." she gives a bright smile, and she hops up a little bit, her tail wagging as she dances on her toes a moment in excitement.

    "... unless I'm super late coming home to the Den -- I should probably start out. It's a long way back to the Bronx." she gives a smile, and then she takes a deep breath, getsw up to her tip toes and presses her muzzle to Donatello's cheek.

    "I'll see you soon!"

Donatello has posed:
    With nothing left but a smile, Donatello bobs his head up and down to create a dopey nod. He lets out a breath of nervous air. Defining their relationship was a big step, but Alopex was still an unknown.

    And then, Donatello's thoughts are interrupted by the chill of Kainashi's nose pressed against his face. He lifts a three-fingered hand to rest comfortably on the spot that she had kissed.

    "I hope so," he replies quietly.