3767/Down on the Farm

Down on the Farm
Date of Scene:	10 October 2020
Location:	Jones Farm
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Donatello, Kainashi

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Donatello has posed:
    Like other days on the Jones Farm, Donatello had woken early to get a jump start on the day's tasks. There hadn't been much discussion around what needed to happen or who would do it, but Donatello had been making himself busy. With the barn now wired up to the power grid, Donatello had made progress on the day's primary chore: get the Turtle Van on a constant source of power that could be disconnected in an instant. He had been in there most of the morning, making a number of important adjustments. A thick black cable had been routed through the barn's rafters and allowed to dangle down above the van, but work had otherwise paused there.

    In front of the barn, in a small clearing, Donatello takes a solitary break from his work. He wears the same baggy sweatshirt from the previous day, though the chill in the air has brought the hood up and over his head. His bo is held in both hands and the turtle seems to be slowly, and carefully, moving through some bojutsu katas. His moves are uncharacteristically sloppy.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kainashi rarely slept through the night. She was often out and about making a morning patrol, on a high alert, and as it turns out was more protective than just of Don and Alopex. She had also left sketches of the things she saw on her morning walks on the fridge as her 'morning report', which often showed deer, the cows, or sketches of the chickens (accompanied by fresh eggs).

    And then she would typically fall asleep Somewhere on the farm. Sometimes in a recently vacated bed (no matter who had been in it -- except Splinter. She didn't take over his bed), but most of the time she'd fall asleep up in the hayloft or on a hammock slung out on the porch when she needed to doze off.

    It was in the hayloft, though, that she had been dozing, listening to Donatello tinker and take his time, and when she comes around the side of the barn and into the clearing, she has hay sticking out of her sweatshirt. Her ears draw up as she watches Donatello running through kata, leaning against a nearby fence post. She gives a slight smile, taking in the sound of the birds singing in fall, the rustling of the trees around them, the soft sounds of Donatello's feet in the grass. She watches his muscles tense and relax, the turn of the bo staff as he moves through the familiar forms.

Donatello has posed:
    The plan had been to create a quick-disconnect cable to allow the Turtle Van's electronics, and therefore the temporary short-range Shell Phone network, to draw straight from the power grid. The connection needed to allow the van to just drive off in case the group needed to leave in a hurry. Donatello could have been heard muttering about not having a suitable rectifier, which resulted in his choice to take a break.

    The kata is a pretty standard one for anyone familiar with bojutsu -- a Chatan Yara No Kon Sho. The turtle allows one hand to hold the bo and slowly raises it so the tip points diagonally at the ground. His other arm is brought above his head -- Donnie winces -- and then bends at the elbow to take hold of the bo. The turtle poses there for a moment and then tries a sudden, intense strike! There's a gasp from Donatello, a sign of continued pain, and then a total break from the precision that he was trying to draw from. The turtle's chest expands and contracts rapidly as he tries to catch his breath -- the motions weren't intense, but the injuries made them harder than they might normally be. Donnie turns to notice Kainashi over by the barn, realizing that she had seen the whole thing.

    Donnie looks away shyly for a moment before raising a hand. "Hey, Kai," he calls out, a touch of embarrassment in his voice. Still, his mouth manages to curl into a slight smile as he walks towards her. "Whatcha up to ?"

Kainashi has posed:
    "Woke up from a snooze in the hayloft and saw you weren't workin'. Followed your scent back here." Kainashi replies, hopping up and sitting on the fence. She gives a slight smile, though her eyes look the turtle up and down. She laces her fingers together a moment, her tail giving a slight wag as he approaches.

    "Figured I'd wait for you to finish up with your morning stretches, I didn't wanna interrupt." she replies gently, rubbing the back of her head. The 'hair' on the top of her head is growing out and beginning to curl just a bit.

Donatello has posed:
    "Oh, you're not interrupting. I thought I could get through the whole thing but..." His voice trails off. "...I'll try again tomorrow." Donatello seems chiefly focused on not admitting to Kainashi that the bo routine had hurt too much for him to continue.

    Donatello stops a couple of feet from Kainashi and the fence and moves his bo into a vertical position. He leans his weight, slightly, on the staff and tilts his head to the side. "I should be able to get the Van all hooked up later so the Shell Phones should start to work even way out here on the farm," Donnie explains with a smile. He shoves a hand into the front pocket of his sweatshirt and watches some leaves flutter through the air. "I went to send you an emoji last night but it wouldn't go through without the van's antenna array."

    "Wanna do something fun?" he wonders, looking around at the farm. Something about it gives the turtle the impression that Kainashi is an expert on their new environment.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Dooo yooou..." Kainashi blinks a moment, and racks her brain trying to think of an activity they could do that would not result in poor Donatello aggrivating his injury!

    "... wanna head down to the creek and see if we can find any of your cousins?" she asks, giving a bright smile. "The water's pretty cold though!"

Donatello has posed:
    The curl of Kainashi's new hair was not lost on Donatello. Perhaps a source of confusion for the young turtle, her hair had been appearing in his thoughts more and more now that they had arrived at the farm.

    Kainashi's suggestion of going to the creek to find his family earns a 'very funny' sort of look before Donatello leans his bo against the fence. "Let's do it," he agrees with a smirk. Donnie reaches up to pull his hood down a touch before shoving his hand into the remaining hoodie pocket.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai gives a bright grin to Donatello at the look of sarcasm on his face, and she gives a nod, gracefully hopping off the fence post, not so gracefully tripping over her own two feet, and then, brushing herself off a little bit, she offers her hand to Donatello with a smile.

    "I promise, I wont push you into the water. Waaaay too cold."

Donatello has posed:
    Kainashi's grin is given one in return, though her stumble is met with two outstretched hands, on instinct, which are quickly recalled. He manages another smile before glancing down at Kainashi's offered hand.

    "Really?" he wonders, his eyes moving up to meet hers. Without much delay, the turtle reaches out to take the hand. It's been a source of some mild awkwardness between the two.

    With another smile, the turtle is content to let Kainashi lead the way. But then...

    "Wait, why would you even say that?" Donatello wonders, giving Kainashi a look that suggests mock worry. He's not.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Reassurance!" Kai gives a grin "Also to remind me to not push you into the water, 'cause it's /waaaay/ too cold!" she replies, and she leads Donatello down a deer path. She opts for opening a gate, rather than hopping it, leading Donnie down and into some woods.

    "... do you find it hard to sleep when you can't hear the city?" she asks, in curiosity

Donatello has posed:
    As Donatello is led through the woods by the significantly stronger mutant, who apparently requires reminding not to push him into the cold water of the creek, his attention begins to linger on their environment. The leaves. The trees. The sounds. Truthfully, he hadn't had much of a chance to check the farm out properly. There was too much to do.

    "Yes!" Donatello replies passionately. It's as though the question released some kind of pressure in the turtle, almost like he was waiting to talk about that. "Everything is just so quiet here. Last night, I took apart one of the window fans and flattened out the blades so it could make noise without pushing air."

    "Do you?" he wonders as he passes through the gate on the way to the creek.

Kainashi has posed:
    "It's weeeiiiird!" Kai states. "It's so quiet, like I hear my and everyone breathing but it's weird. I'm so used to having traffic and sirens and everything!" Kai admits, and she gives a huff of breath out. "It is weird. And I dunno if I like it. Too quiet. But in the morning? It's kinda nice when I go on patrol." she admits. "Watch your feet, there's a lot of roots here. I fell the other day."

Donatello has posed:
    "Hm," Donatello considers. The turtle's unique feet make moving through the roots and rocks and things pretty easy. "I could make you something similar to what I made last night. Just something to make some noise so you can't hear all of that."

    Eventually, their path would bring them to the creek. Donatello stops short of the water, finding the damp ground nearby just as cold as he'd like to get right now. "If you're going on a patrol in the morning, you could maybe wake me up so we could go together?" he wonders. The turtle lowers himself into a squat so he can look at the moving water more easily. "I mean...If you want to, that is."

Kainashi has posed:
    The creek is decently wide, but relatively shallow. More of a brook. It bubbles and burbles over a couple of miniscule waterfalls. There's a couple of signs of animals having come past here -- the deer trail continues on the other side of the water. There's a couple of tracks in the mud -- raccoon, opossum, deer. Some little minnows swim lacksadaisy in the pool. below one of the little falls.

    This would have been a great place to find Leo doing meditation.

    "... but... you need to rest up. That's how you get better. I know when I got sick, I slept a lot. An' then Pex would bring me medication and I'd get better, my face would even stop hurting."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello drags a hand through the water, causing a school of minnows to spread to avoid his fingers. Because this was a great place for meditation, it was unlikely that Donatello would have ever found it on his own.

    "Okay," the turtle replies quietly, not arguing the point. A small rock is picked up and given a side-armed toss at the creek. It skips across the surface a couple of times before kerthunking into the water. "How'd you find this place, Kai?" he wonders with a smile.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Ah... I... followed a deer the other morning down the trail. There were some humany smells too, but they were kinda old." she comments quietly, and she purses her lips, watching the stone skip, its ripples being taken down stream.

    "How'd you do that? Make the rock go?"

Donatello has posed:
    Kainashi's description of the smells -- particular the human smell -- create a vague look of concern in the turtle. He takes a breath and reaches down for another rock. A second side-armed toss sends the rock skipping across the surface, sending a path of ripples as it goes. With a third stone in his hand, Donatello offers a mischievous smile.

    "It's a secret," he answers with a shrug before giving the rock another chance to skip across the creek!

Kainashi has posed:
    "Oh." Kainashi states, and she frowns, looking around at t he rocks as she considers, and then she sits down on a nearby large rock, warmed by the morning sun, and she purses her lips.

    "How come it's a secret then? You talked all about energy waves and you get all excited, but throwing special rocks is a /secret/?" she asks, incredulous over the very idea -- but she's happy for Donatello's smile.

Donatello has posed:
    The turtle's smile continues as he finds a fourth rock and gives it a toss in the air, catching it squarely in his hand. Unable to argue with Kainashi's logic, Donatello shrugs a shoulder. "Well, that's a secret, too," he explains simply before skipping the rock across the creek. The turtle rises from his crouch holding another stone suitable for skipping.

    Donatello brings the stone to Kainashi and holds it out for her to take. "Give it a try. I bet you'll figure out the secret," he adds, giving the stone a wiggle through the air.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kainashi eyeballs Donatello's smile, but she's satisfied that it's him teasing. She leans back a little on the rock, watching him for a moment before he brings the round, flat stone to her, and she purses her lips again. She turns her gaze to the little stream, and then she attempts to emulate Donatello's stance, and that flick of the wrist...

    There's a loud PLUNK! and the rock goes into the water, and strikes violently against the bottom. It stirs up some mud.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello watches the cloud of mud make that part of the creek thick with brown. He reaches down to find another rock and holds it out for Kainashi. "Try again," he suggests, smiling down at her. "I'll give you a little hint."

    Donnie turns to look at the creek and takes a breath. "You kind of want the rock to slide across the water, so it's more like pushing the rock, and not throwing it." Anyone who's ever done this would know that it's not a great way to explain it, but he gave it his best shot!

Kainashi has posed:
    Well, the other way discusses inertia, surface tension and mass, which is probably not something Kai would really grasp.

    "Pushing instead of throwing?" she questions, her white ear rising up a moment as she dubiously looks at the stream. "So..." she begins, tossing the rock in her hand gently, as she looks at the rock, then Donatello, then the water --

    PLUNK!

    At least this time, it came to rest in a gravelly area. Donnie might be abele to surmise that Kai's putting too much of her strength into it.

Donatello has posed:
    Pushing instead of throwing. Donatello shrugs a shoulder. It's the best he could do. The turtle picks up two rocks and keeps one for himself. The other is offered, again, to Kainashi. "Let me show you," he offers. From his spot next to the canine, Donatello flicks his arm to send the rock skipping across the creek. It's a pretty good toss -- it goes across the water five or six times before giving up and taking the plunge.

    After tossing his rock, Donatello takes a couple of steps to position himself behind Kainashi and watches from a couple of feet away.

Kainashi has posed:
    Dogged determination is, indeed a thing. Kai accepts the new stone, turning it over in her hands a moment before she leans back, and attempts to gently push and spin the stone.

    Plink! Pink! Plink! Plunk!"

    Three skips before it meets its new watery resting place.

    "I... I did it!" Kainashi trumpets, throwing her hands up over her head! "I did it!"

Donatello has posed:
    "It's almost like you're trying to tickle the water with the rock," Donatello tries, though he falls quiet once Kainashi's arm starts its motion.

    "You did it!" he affirms, his eye ridge rising and a bright smile appearing. His arms remain down, though, as a sudden movement like that might be painful. "I knew you could do it. You didn't even need to be told the secret."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Yeah, but I kinda still wanna be told the secret." Kai admits as she sits back down on the warmed rock, and she pats it, eyebrows rising up to look to Donatello as she purses her lips. "YOu... you feeling okay?" she asks gently.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello grins before reaching down to pick up another rock. He skips it across the creek once more before tilting his head to the side. "The secret is everyone can do it," he offers with a shrug. "You just gotta try."

    Kainashi's question earns a slight lowering of the turtle's eye ridge followed by an exhale of air. "Of course," he answers, looking back to the creek. "Are you?"

Kainashi has posed:
    "I'm... I'm worried about you." she states, and the breathes out, her ears going low. "When you were doing your kata this morning, you looked... it looed like it hurt. And I worry about in-feck-shuns." she trips over the word a little bit, and she turns her amber gaze back to Donnie. "... why are you hiding how much it hurts?"

Donatello has posed:
    If Donatello had ears, they'd lower too. "Oh, Kai," he begins. "You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine." He flashes a grin, though it's clear it's disingenuine. Kainashi's ending question earns a look of faint surprise from the turtle. "Maybe I just feel better?" he wonders, looking down at Kainashi to see if she bought it.

    Donatello stuffs his hands into the front pockets of his hoodie. "You don't need to worry about me," he repeats gently.

Kainashi has posed:
    "... Alopex says that we always worry about the people we are about. That's... just the way things go." she states, and she draws her legs up, setting her chin on her knees and drawing her arms around her legs.

    ""It's just like... you're gonna worry about me. I worry about Alopex. I worry about your brothers. It's... because I care. If I didn't care, I wouldn't worry, y'know?" she questions.

Donatello has posed:
    "Yeah, I know," Donatello replies softly. "But, there's nothing you need to worry about. I'm fine." The turtle gives the creek a lasting glance before turning back to the canine.

    "Maybe we should head back to the farm," he suggests suddenly.

Kainashi has posed:
    "You /aren't/ fine." Kai states stubbornly. She crosses her arms a little tighter. "Don't... don't lie. To me, or to yourself. I'd like to think I know you pretty good now, and... and I'm willing to go to Splinter. Because if you won't listen to me, you should listen to him. /I/ want you to be better so I don't have to be afraid that if I hug too hard, I'll really hurt you bad. Or if I hit too hard in a spar that you'll... that you'll get worse." she pins her ears back. "An' I know that's real selfish of me, but there's only like, two people in this entire world who aren't afraid of me touching them, and that's you and Alopex. An' I don't wanna hurt you."

Donatello has posed:
    By now, Donatello had taken a couple of steps away from where Kainashi had been sitting, as if to add some attention to his suggestion that they head back to the farm. One of Kainashi's words causes the turtle to stop moving and take a breath. Lie. He watches Kai talk with his head looking over his shoulder. The turtle's eyes lower, silently taking it all in. Her ending points cause the turtle to take a deep breath and look forward to try and find the path they took to get to the creek.

    "Maybe we should head back to the farm," he repeats quietly, just barely audible. There's a touch of hurt in his voice. "I don't know the way. I wasn't paying attention."

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai opens her mouth, and then closes it. She curls her fingers against her palms, and defeatedly her shoulders sag. Her ears and tail go limp, and she looks around a moment, as if something out here would give her the right answer, and she gives a nod.

    "... yeah, let's go back to the farm." she agrees weakly, and she hops off her rock.

    "It's this way, up the deer path. I... it's pretty quiet, out here." she mumbles, walking in front of Donnie to show him the way.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello reaches up to pull the hood from his sweatshirt up before stuffing his hands back into the front pockets. "Cool," he replies softly, though his tone suggests it's anything but cool.

    The turtle's eyes watch the path in front of them, moving to keep himself squarely behind the smaller mutant, totally at her mercy to get him back. "Yeah, it is," Donatello replies to the point about the quiet. His response is a polite one, soft in tone, but totally absent of any actual thought. It would seem that he's content to keep the walk a quiet one.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai's tail continues to hang down behind her as she leads Donatello, quietly, back to the farm. She opens up the gate, the clearing where he was doing kata, the roof of the barn was visible from here.

    Kai's shoulders rise up a little. "Well... ah... I should... check in with 'Pex. Probably some chores I could do." she states stiffly, looking anywhere but Donatello.

Donatello has posed:
    The turtle follows the path quietly, almost trying his best to keep it as silent as possible, save for the soft click of the gate as he closes it behind them. As Kai explains that she's going to check in with Alopex, the turtle nods at the back of her head.

    "Okay," Donatello replies softly before turning to move away from Kainashi and towards the barn. He doesn't even say goodbye or explain where he's going. The turtle's eyes follow the ground as he walks, taking note of each twig and flower that he walks on. He takes in a deep lungful of air and lets it out slowly. Donatello looks up to see the barn. But then...

    "Kai!" he calls out. The turtle is running back in her direction.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai's ears and tail always betrayed her mood, but her whole body seemed just flat.

    "Okay." she repeats, and then she turns to go back towards the farm house. Her pace was brisk, not quite running but faster than a walk, and she was about turn to go back into the encroaching woods when Donnie calls out.

    She pauses. Her tail rises up, her ears drawing uup as Donatello begins to run in her direction, and deep down she thinks to herself 'oh, you really messed up, he's mad at you and is going to leave', her tail curling between her legs as her shoulders draw up, her arms crossing lightly over her stomach.

    "Y-you shouldn't be running!" she tries to scold.

Donatello has posed:
    "This is stupid. I'm being stupid," are the first words that come from the turtle as he ignores Kainashi's scolding. As soon as his run puts him within arm's reach, the turtle reaches out to try and bring Kainashi in for a hug. He takes a breath, trying to find more words. If his voice, earlier, was defeated and soft, now it's panicked and fast.

    "I didn't mean to lie...but you're right. I guess that's what I've been doing. I just...I don't want you to worry," he explains, his eyes lowering. "I don't want you to feel worried or sad or anything like that. Ever." The turtle's voice putters out for a second before he finds it again.

    After another breath, the turtle opens his mouth and unleashes his burden upon the smaller canine.

    "Yeah, I have pain, but it's improving, I promise," Donatello continues, his eyes staring at the ground. "I'm just...I don't know what to do. After everything that's happened at home. We can't go back and Miyagi is there, still working on finding Dom the Bomb, I hope, but I can't know if it's working on it properly. So, now I'm thinking that we're never going to find him. And...I feel like I let everyone down by getting..." There's a pause.

    "And the whole thing with father. I don't know what to think about it," he tries, looking up from the ground to watch Kainashi's reaction to his rant. "It's clear that he was under the control of some kind of mind control device -- maybe something disrupting the alpha rhythms of rats and...Okay, it doesn't matter, but... I know that wasn't him who attacked Raphael, but, but, he ordered me into battle. He knew how bad it was since he was the one who brought me back to li---"

    The turtle's words stop abruptly. Life. He breathes in suddenly, taking in a lungful of chilled air. The one thing he didn't want to say and he said it. Almost.

Kainashi has posed:
    That was a lot for the canine to process, all at once, and she accepts the hug, and with the utmost care she brings her arms up and around Donatello's neck, holding onto him gently. She was warm, her ears up, listening intently, giving every ounce of attention she could to Donatello, her eyes searching his face as he examines the groun, and she looks up at him as the words come tumbling out.

    She keeps one hand on his shoulder, gently, her fingers curling around the edge of his plasteron.

    She doesn't grasp all the words.. alpha rythms, but when Donatello pauses, she gives a pained expression. She leans forward against him, her smaller body pressing to his, and her lips purse, and when Donatello comes to a hard stop, she breathes out.

    "... brought you back to lie?" she asks, confused, trying to just comprehend everything. "... I... I don't understand."

Donatello has posed:
    "Nothing," Donatello answers suddenly. He takes a breath and shakes his head. "I mean, I'm not trying to lie -- again -- but it's really not something I want to say out loud." Donatello exhales deeply and takes another breath. His own is cold, or at least as cold as the farm air itself. As Kainashi presses against him, a gulp might be felt inside the turtle's throat. After another breath meant to steady him a touch, Donatello moves his hands from behind Kainashi to rest gently on her cheeks. He cradles her face softly, smiling as much as he's able.

    He takes a breath and looks down at Kainashi, staring at her with eager eyes. "I didn't want to dump all this on you. That's all. That's why I was....you know, back at the creek..." he explains, embarrassed. The speed of his voice intensifies again. "It's just...there's a lot of angles to everything and my mind is going a mile a minute, here. There's so much going on and the pain in my sides is the least of it. I don't want you to worry or feel badly or anything. I just want you to enjoy the farm." There's a brief gap in his logic, but it's kind of a mind-dump. "...We could roast marshmallows -- like you smelled in Central Park that one time, remember?" That goes back a long time, Donnie!

    The turtle's eyes linger a moment, inspecting Kainashi's face before lowering to the ground again. "I just...I care about you. I'm sure there are better words to describe it." A pause. "I just want you to be happy." He lifts his eyes again and drags a finger against one of Kai's cheeks.

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai lets her face be cradled. That scarred-up face with its twists and whorls and hairless lines where fur refuses to grow back. Her ears are up, her breath shuddery as she looks to Donatello's eyes, and she breathes out. "Donnie, I was there when you got hurt. I was there in the Lair. I came back and sat with you while you were out." Kai replies in a quiet voice. She brings her hands up, covering his, the feeling of leather, the smell of electrical work and grease hanging about Donatello, the slightest whiff of electrical fire. She leans her head against one of his hands, feeling the finger draw against her as she gives a gentle puff of breath.

    HEr head tilts back, and Kainashi presses her mussle against Donatello's cheek, and he would feel just the slightlest feeling of her whiskers against his skin, the short, coarseness, and then her lips as she kisses his cheek.

    "I'll enjoy the farm when you're good enough to enjoy it with me. But if you make me cry I am totally pushing you into the creek!" she warns, "Even if there's ice in it!"

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's eyes stare back at Kainashi's, though his own appear rueful. "Kai," he replies gently. "I know you were there. I...was shocked that you were. It was...thank you for that." The words are disjoined, ineloquent, but they're the ones that come.

    After the turtle feels the muzzle, and then whiskers, he closes his eyes in anticipation for what would come next. The gentle kiss creates a sigh in the turtle. His hands lower from Kainashi's cheeks to wrap around each of her elbows before he opens his eyes again to look down at her.

    "Kai," he wonders softly. "Why would I make you cry?"

Kainashi has posed:
    "... because you'd leave. Like she did." Kai states. Her shoulders rise up, her ears fall, and she gives a shrug of her shoulders. "That would make me cry. But... th-that'd be the sad cry, not the good cry. Good cries are okay." she affirms quietly, and breathes out, her hands resting back on his shoulders, his on her elbows.

    "Sad cries, no, angry cries no." she replies in a soft voice, practically whispering.

    "You're not allowed to leave like that. I'll cry and then we'll both be sad."

Donatello has posed:
    "Leave?" Donatello wonders, confused by the very word. The turtle looks down at the canine and studies her face once more. He didn't need to -- he knows it better than his own. Still, his eyes trace her features before landing squarely on her eyes. "Why would I leave?" he asks. There's a third question coming. "Who left you?" His voice is quiet, barely above Kainashi's own whisper.

    There's a pause before the turtle affirms something held deep in his heart. Maybe it doesn't need to be said, but he says it anyway.

    "I'll never leave."

Kainashi has posed:
    "My... owner. Got sick. And left. An' I was hungry for a while. And then someone brought me someplace that smelled like... like fear. And like the stuff the guy had, when we fought in the station." she states quietly, and she rubs the back of her head. "It's... it's been a long time since I thought about it. I... don't... remember a lot. It's not clear. It's not like the last couple of months." she states, and she lowers her gaze and turns away.

    "I was worried you wouldn't get better."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's eyes lower as he makes sense of Kainashi's description of her life up until this point. He's spent more of his life as a mutant turtle than a real turtle, so it works a little differently for him. He takes a breath and then pulls Kainashi closer by her elbows.

    "I'll never leave," he affirms. They both know it's a promise he can't make, especially given the events of the last couple weeks, but the sentiment is right.

Kainashi has posed:
    Promises are easy to make. They're so much harder to keep.

    Kainashi's smile is sad, and though she doesn't have the words yet to express what she's feeling, she knows Donnie is smart enough to understand. Her arms straiten out, draping gently over his shell as she presses close.

    "I've got your back." she states gently.

Donatello has posed:
    "I've got yours," he replies, letting his chin lean into the wiry patch of curled hair on the top of Kainashi's head. There's a pause. "Though I'm willing to bet you don't need me to." A smile creeps into the turtle's features before he takes a deep breath.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Oh, no, I don't have eyes on the back of my head, so I could always use someone to watch my back. Y'know. Safety first." Kainashi states, adding levity to a very heavy moment, though her lips curl into a smile, feeling Donatello's chin on her head. She gently scritches at the very top of Donatello's shell, through the sweatshirt.

    "Although I've heard Alopex say that her hindsight is clear, I'm preeeettty sure it doesn't mean she has eyes on her butt."

Donatello has posed:
    Despite the pain that the turtle has been in, he's unable to feel the scritching at his shell, though the movement of the sweatshirt gives it away. He takes a deep breath, taking in the smells of Kainashi's hair as she lets him be close to her.

    "I just mean...I probably need you more than you need me, is all," Donnie explains. He's holding her close, but in that moment he pulls on her some more.

Kainashi has posed:
    "I need you. Who else is going to translate science-stuff for me?!" Kai protests, letting Donnie pull her close, squished right up against him. She breathes out with a smile.

    Kai smells a lot like hay at the moment, little tinge of gasoline, and fritos, just a corn-chippy smell. She's tail-wagging again, though, her body hardly still at all. "Or read signs? Or show me all the stars?"

Donatello has posed:
    Hay. Gasoline. Fritos. All of it wonderful. The turtle releases some of the pressure on Kainashi -- it was a gesture meant to illustrate the point he was trying to make. "Well," Donatello begins with a smile. "You won't need me for that, anymore. Out here on the farm, you should be able to see them all." The turtle's brow rises as he realizes that he just rendered himself obsolete. "But, we could look at them together?"

    

Kainashi has posed:
    "Well, I'd still need you to show me them, you know their names and their shapes and I'm still learning." Kai grins, and she keeps her head pressed against Donnie.

    "And yes, we /should/ look at them together. I'll bring an extra blanket so you don't get too cold."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's body relaxes a touch. He's gotten pretty good at saying things without actually using the words, lately. And, so, this would be one of those times.

    "Yeah," Donatello agrees, his voice trailing off a bit. "Or...just one?" His memory of that moment is all too sharp.

Kainashi has posed:
    "... well, I was going to put one on the ground. The grass gets coooold. It's not like the rooftop!" the canine explains about needing two. "An' you'll need me next to you. Y'know. To make sure you stay warm, or in case you need to lean against something."

Donatello has posed:
    The turtle smiles, glad that Kainashi understood the jist of what he was alluding to. His head tilts, however, as she continues her explanation. It sounds an awful lot like how he might have replied if the question was given to him. "Well," Donatello answers. "We can't know for sure, but my guess is that I'll certainly need you next to me. I mean, just for leaning, of course."

    Donatello's eyes scan the horizon for a moment before he pulls his head back to look down at Kainashi. "Kai..." he begins. "Why is it so hard for us to just say that we want to sit close to each other? Under the blanket. Just...because it's nice?" The question is genuine -- he would have difficulty saying it and it certainly seemed like she was beating around the same bush. Uncharted territory.

Kainashi has posed:
    "... 'cause it feels weird to say it when Alopex or one of your brothers might be listening." Kai admits, and she gives a sheepish smile as she draws back just a little, and rubs the back of her head.

    "But I do want to sit under a blanket with you, and look up at the stars, or toast marshmallows, or listen to you get excited about... about... St-Star Trek?" she begins, and her ears come up. "I know there's like three things that begin with 'Star', but I think one of them Star-k."

Donatello has posed:
    "Oh," Donatello replies, looking away for a moment. It makes sense and was easy for the turtle to understand. He spent a lot of time and effort trying to keep this a secret from his family. There have been times where instinct brought Donatello's arms to reach for Kainashi but Alopex's presence brought them back.

    Despite being more comfortable asking questions, like any true scientist, Donatello decides to make a statement. "I think we should try to get over that," he suggests. There's a pause before a -look- is given to the farm, up and over Kainashi's head. "I don't like Star Trek," he points out, artlessly. Still, a smile creeps across his features. It's true, Donnie was not the brother who watched that show.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Then... yours was the other one!" Kainashi decides automatically that now, Donatello must like Star Wars. Pew pew.

    "I know Alopex is wary, but for good reason. I'm kinda dumb." Kai smiles, and she rubs the back of her head. "An' you're super smart. So it was an odd thing, to her. But! I like you so..." Kai attempts to recover her meandering conversation, and then just... gives a nervous laugh.

    "OK. Donnie. I would like to sit in a blanket with you and look up at the stars, tonight. Don't be late, or you'll be square!"

Donatello has posed:
    "Yeah," Donatello agrees, his voice trailing again. "I know she is." His eyes lower and a frown crosses his features, briefly. "You know, people tell you that you're dumb and they tell me that I'm smart. But, aren't there other things about us?" It's something of a sore spot for the turtle and if he's not just the smart one, then Kainashi is not just the dumb one.

    "But, I get it. She's looking out for you. But..." Donatello starts. The next few words don't come as easily. "...I just like you the way you are. You're kind and you're funny. I...sharing things with you makes me like them more." It's not exactly the epitome of logic, but the words came out unplanned.

    And then, Kainashi just plainly states what she wants. Despite it being the current topic, it still manages to catch the turtle by surprise. "Well, I want to do that, too," he replies with a smile. "And I won't be late!" He might still be square, though.

    "You don't be late," he adds with a grin.

Kainashi has posed:
    "I'm never late. I arrive exactly when I'm s'posed to!" Kai laughs, an she bows her head a moment, then looks up at Donatello. "You're the lucky one. I'm the muscle. There. Two more attributes." She gives a grin, and hugging Donatello very gently one more time, she lets him go, taking a deep breath.

    "But for real, I should go find 'Pex. Being away from our den is no excuse to not keep up with training, an' I'm pretty sure there's other foxes around, so it'll probably be tracking training too."

Donatello has posed:
    Alright, so Kainashi is like a wizard with respect to time management. Good to know! The turtle returns the hug, though his is less conservative. When Kainashi lets him go, Donatello smiles down at her and takes in a lungful of air. With a touch of courage, the turtle leans down and presses his snoot against the canine's cheek. He places a kiss on her fur, returning hers from earlier. Donatello takes a step back and makes a point to stand up a little straighter.

    "Okay," he replies after taking a deep breath, himself. "I guess I'll see you later tonight, then."

Kainashi has posed:
    The pinks inside of Kainashi's ears turn a bright sort of red. Her eyes go wide, she straightens up, and she opens her mouth, closes her mouth, and whispers "I'll see you at lunchtime."

    Then she gives a squeak -- and disappears into the woods again, though it'd be easy to trail her excited 'eeeeeeeee!!!!!!!' sound as she dashes back towards the house.

Donatello has posed:
    "No, not lunch time!" Donatello calls out, moving a hand to his mouth to project his voice. "Night time!" He takes in some air and lets it out before moving to grab his bo from the nearby fence. The stars come out at night. She knows that, right? She must.