6903/In this Dojo, We Wear Green

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In this Dojo, We Wear Green
Date of Scene: 12 July 2021
Location: Leo's Dojo
Synopsis: The Cheshire and the Turtle at last did get to meet. Food is prepared, and Terry asks a very important question.
Cast of Characters: Leonardo, Terry O'Neil




Leonardo has posed:
Monday is the start of the workweek for most people but for a Mutant Ninja Turtle (currently a teen) the calendar is less a yoke than a simple factual construction of the outside world. It is currently the afternoon of July 12th and the designated eldest brother of the "Sons of Splinter" is in his dojo in the mall occupied by him and his family.

Leonardo transitions from one stance to another with swift motion and then statuesque stillness as he holds each form for the count of three slow breaths before moving to the next. Sometimes balance on one or the other of his feet, other times with his weight securely planted on both at once. There might a sense that he might be so focused that he wouldn't be aware of someone coming in behind him... that sense would be wrong though.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
There is something unsettling and nostalgic about abandoned malls. The behemoths of concrete, glass and chrome used to be, at one time, a focal gathering and commercia point of the American experience. Over the past decade, as shopping dollars migrated online and the commercial landscape shifted, malls had to either reinvent themselves to be leaner or else fall into extinction. Landmark was one of the latter cases.

Terry O'Neil is nineteen years old, and therefore he was too young to remember the heyday of the mall, but as an aspiring journalist /and/ the son of a mother in her forties, he has definitely been made aware of this. Indeed,half of the movies his mother made him watch while growing up seemed to hold malls as the Nae Plus Ultra of social interaction. He finds the contrast of those overly romanticized movies with the reality of the derelic building rather sobering and more than a little amusing. The turtles live here- friends to the O'Neil clan, and he's had the fortune to interact with them...

Well. Except one.

Raphael and Donatello always seemed to maneuver in a way that left Terry, also known as Vorpal the Cheshire Cat, with a bit of a buffer between them and the stern leader. Donnie seemed to think Leo would disapprove of him. Raphael said he merely was trying to avoid headaches and nagging from Leo.

But neither were here today, and Vorpal was free for the afternoon while he waited for his next interview time to arrive. And that is why the Cheshire cat pads quietly through the mall and finally arrives at the dojo, just on the off chance Leonardo was there.

He stops at the entrance, surprised by the glint of light on steel, profiling the elegant edge of a katana, and then he observes the shifting forms in a sort of speechless wonder. He was trained to fight by Harley Quinn and Troia of the Titans- while both fighting styles have their merits and compliment each other in their own way when used wisely, the style of the Themysciran Amazons is very different, and the manic acrobatics of the Clownette are very explosive... but neither of them have this type of grace and this focus of purpose. So the Cheshire stares for moments, arms crossed over his chest and head tilted to the side. Without realizing it, he lets out a quiet "Ah!"

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo's back was towards the entrance Terry came in. He doesn't even turn. A sharp eye will see that at some barely heard indication he twisted his blade slightly and Terry might be able to pick out the flash of the white of Leo's eyes in the swath of blue mask as he uses the flat of the sword as a mirror.

Still holding his form, balanced on one leg with the other angled so his foot is next to the supporting knee and his arms holding his sword hilt out to the right with the blade extending to his left, Leo says, "Hello, Terry," in a soft tone that none the less carries to the visitor clearly.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The feline's eyes widen, and after the brief surprise, that famous grin that Lewis Carroll wrote about appears. Michelangelo had said that Leo sometimes seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He was not so literal as to reach over and try to peek under the blue mask from behind, but he admired the craftiness and the fine tuned senses the eldest brother had. As a cat, he had an unfair advantage over people who tried to sneak up on him because his hearing was so fine- but turtles didn't have that advantage, not likely even with a mutation, so this was probably the result of hard training and discipline.

"Hello, Leonardo!" Terry replies in his usual, cheerful way. He's not as hyperactive as Michelangelo, but he is definitely on the same friendly wavelength. It's usually why the two gravitate towards each other when it comes to harmless mischief. "Am I interrupting? Should I come back later?"

He's not in his usual uniform, but in a simple getup of black bike shorts and a teal tank top with his heroic insignia (a stylized Cheshire grin) accross the chest. Summer is very difficult for his feline form- covered in fur, he had to be very judicious in what he wore lest he risk heat exaustion... and he was not daring enough to run around in his skivvies like Tigra did. All he needed was one costume malfunction and he would /never/ hear the end of it at the Tower, Donna and Caitlin and Vic and Gar would definitely make sure of that.

Leonardo has posed:
The previous slowness is gone as Leonardo steps though a few more forms. Slashing downward. Slashing upward. Kicking out to the side. Then, with a bit of a flourish, the sword is ceremoneously cleaned and then sheathed into the scabbard on his back.

Is that a hinit of a smile showing at the corners of the turtle's mouth? It would take someone who really knows him to be sure but his expression is not unpleasant for sure.

"You're not interrupting anything, just a bit of post lunch exercising that didn't have to continue any further," the teen explains. "We've never officially met but we've obviously both heard of each other," he adds before asking, "Are you needing anything or just looking to say hi?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Post-lunch exercise... it's probably a cat thing, but right after I have lunch I want to go into a sleep coma," Terry quips, and advances towards Leonardo once the green teen has sheathed his swords. "Yeah, I've obviously heard of you. It's impossible to not know about the leader of the band. The only thing I need is to finally come and say 'hi'- I just finally thought it was unforgiveable not to meet every one of the friends that are so special to cousin Ape. And right now there doesn't seem to be any alien invasions, massive hauntings or anything of that sort that's prevented me from actually visiting."

He walks over, hands stretched, "Mikey's a hugger, Donnie's a waver and Raph is a grunter. I imagine you're probably a shaker? If you want to hug or grunt, it's going to seriously challenge my knowledge of the world as has been explained to me, just so you know," he says, with another flash of that impish grin.

Leonardo has posed:
Stoicism, yeah, Leo does that. But 'Ape'... the laughter starts with a snicker and then grows to be a bit more loose and boisterous as he ignores the question at first and laughs. Then he steps forward and, without asking. leans against Terry with one hand on the other teen's shoulder as he works to recover. It takes a minute but as the laughter fades to a snicker again he repeats, "Ape... I have to remember that one."

So, there we go... the myth, the legend... shattered by teenager humor!

Straigtening up and taking a step back to no longer be invading Terry's personal space. "Bowing if you're being formal... fist bump works for now... Hugs are.... no, not hugging right now. Handshakes though... eh, seems to antiquated." With this stated he holds out a three-digited fist toward Vorpal.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry doesn't seem to object to his personal space being invaded. Again, that's probably a cat thing, and it's also probably that he has gotten used to the crowded couch at the Tower any time movie night or video game night comes along. He and Gar have engaged in games of trying to inch each other off the ends of the giant U-shaped couch while pretending to be perfecty unaware that they're doing it. When Leonardo disengages, he offers his own fist to bump, "Fistbump it is!"

He lowers his voice into a conspiratorial stage whisper, even though there is nobody who could be overhearing them.

Or is there? They are ninja, afer all. Mikey could be skulking in the shadows somewhere. Unlikely. But not impossible, right?

"I suppose Ape also hasn't told you about the time we both were little and spending the summer at the farm? I was four and she was eight, and she was running around with a cape and pretending she could fly. Then she yeeted herself out the barn window and... well, let's just say she spent the rest of the summer with one arm in a cast."

Telling embarrassing stories about each other is an O'Neil tradition. Once April finds out The Story has been leaked, she'll probably retaliate by telling Leonardo about The Pool Incident. Probably.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo winces at the story of the broken arm, remembering a time when he had to have a splint and sling (no insurance in the sewers so no casts!).

"No, April never shared that with us... or at least not with me for sure," the blue masked turtle confirms. "Was this because of Superman or some other inspriation?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Something like that, we were both into supers when were kids." The Cheshire pauses for a second and then adds, "I guess we still are." He glances around the dojo with an appreciative gaze, hands on his hips. "I get turned into literally the Cheshire Cat and April gets rescued by dashing ninjas who fight from the shadows, so maybe we were being prophetic..."

He looks back at Leonardo and says, "Raph's probably told you all about me. About the fact that I am not terribly formal, and that I can sometimes be a little wild..."

Leonardo has posed:
"He's told me some," Leo says. After a moment's hesitation, "We're still recovering from my absence." After another pause he admits, "I'm pretty sure he's still hiding things from me from that time."

The Blue leader then shifts a half step away before asking Terry, "Hungry? We could whip something up in the kitchen. Might have more than just pizzas."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I've never had brothers, but I have been told that they often keep secrets from each other as par for the course of having their own part of themselves," Terry nods. It just so happens that he does know Raphael's secret- but he swore to honor it.

You owe him, Raph.

"Food would be good- I'm a pretty okay cook myself! Does April ever cook for you guys?"

He takes a few steps back to follow Leo out.

"You know, I've never actually seen you guys fighting. Except for that one time at the skateboard thing, and that was mostly in shadow..."

Leonardo has posed:
As he leads the colorful O'Neil out of his dojo towards the food court Leo says, "She brings us our groceries, to help with the secrecy and all, but we mostly do our own cooking actually."

Along the way he addresses the other question. "We're ninjas. If you saw us fighting we'd already have failed at a core objective. Although, I think we'll be less strict on that with the amount of masks and mutants that are active out there in the world now," he explains.

Reaching the kitchen, Leonardo goes to a stove and turns on the heat then grabs a cast iron pan from where it is hanging above and sets it on the heat. "Anything you cannot or will not eat, Terry?" Leo asks as he grabs a pot and adds water and a highly generous dash of salt before putting it onto another burner which he turns on.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I thought as much... I know that I may have gotten Mikey excited about joining the Titans, but I don't think you need to hide as much as you think-" he pauses, and raises his hands, "Oh god, there I go again, offering my opinion where none was asked. You guys know better what is good for you. Poking around... is an O'Neil trait that's hard to resist. But you know about that by now anyways," he chuckles.

Terry finds an unoccupied counter and scooches up on it, sitting cross-legged, "Oh, I'll eat anything, really. I love it all- from caviar to burgers, from sushi to goulash." There is one moment of quiet consideration, and then he adds "But I will not eat snails. Mom took me out to this French restaurant before and she ordered escargo. It was... like fancy snot. Eugh!" he shudders visibly, and then settles down. "But aside from that, I'm easy! What about you, Leo? Is there something you won't try?"

Leonardo has posed:
Smiling with excitement, Leo grabs a pair of stoppered bottles containing tinted fluid. After setting them down next to the stove he quickly slices an onion into half rings, then dices a leek and adds some leftover rotissary chicken into the pan with a dash of sesame oil. After frying them for a few moments he pours equal portions of the iriko (anchovie) and shiitake dashi into the pan.

"Would you grab the udon noodles out of that cabinet for me, Terry?" Leo asks before answering the question, "Turtle soup is out. But that said, I grew up in a sewer on found scraps so... I'm not that picky."

He checks the pot of salted water and says, "Once you have the noodles the water aught to be ready for them," as he uses a light touch to add some additional seasoning to the pan.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Sliding off the counter, Terry bounds over the cabinet to secure the noodles. "Oh, yeah, turtle soup is out. You know..." he pauses for a second as he gathers the ingredients, and smiles "That makes both turtle /and/ mock turtle soup being out for me. I actually knew a Mock Turtle."

Anticipating the questions, Terry answers as he walks back with the udon, "Back in Looking-Glass Land, which is right across from Wonderland if you sail by the Lake of Tears..."

As he approaches the water, he waits a small moment before adding the noodles at Leonardo's signal, and says "I realize how absolutely bonkers that must have sounded."

Leonardo has posed:
Showing that he has a grim side, Leo responds to the verbotten food discussion by saying, "For me, turtle soup would be like serving you 'long pork' you realize?"

Dismissing that grimness with a laugh, the blue masked turtle says, "I'm a talking turtle who was raised in a sewer and was taught ninjitsu by a talking rat, who am I to judge the strangeness of someone else's life story?"

Unintentionally showing off his ambidexterity he stirs the pot and the pan at the same time for a few more minutes. After setting down both spoons he takes the pot to a sink to drain it and then return with the noodles. While draining the water he chin nods toward another cabinet as he asks, "Would you grab a pair of bowls for us also?" He's treating Terry like family with these requests, not demanding, just showing he's comfortable working with the O'Neil.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"When you put it like /that/, it really does put things in perspective," Terry laughs. "A lot of people balk when I say that because they think Lewis Carroll invented Wonderland. And then I have to go and upend their childhoods even more after they realized I am /not/ a chubby fat purple cat but a lean mean feline machine."

Pointing at the cabinets, a purple spark shoots out of his fingers. A second later, the cabinet opens and a pair of bowls float out. "It's meal time!" he tells them, and they float obediently over to Leonardo, settling down on the counter by him.

"I've kind of got a confession to make..."

Leonardo has posed:
"A confssion?" Leo asks as he assembles the (Japanese) Curry Udon in the bowls and presents one to Terry with a pair of chopsticks and another for himself.

As the Japanese adapt foods from other cuisines to their own palet, a Japanese curry is significantly different from Indian or Thai curries. When tasted it will be found to be thicker, milder and sweeter, with a consistency more like a stew than curry from those other cullinary traditions making it an ideal curry for curry beginner, or for people who prefer a gentler, sweeter flavors.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry is a foodie, as his previous declaration hinted, and when tasting the curry, he lets out an appreciative 'mmmm.' He is familiar with the adapted dish, and clearly enjoys it. "Oh this is good, Leo. Can I just bribe you to cook everyday?" he pauses. "... wait, no, then you'd have to cook for Gar, and I don't think either of us has the budget to feed the behemoth appetite that is Beast Boy," he says, licking his chops and forcing to pace hiself, so as to savor it accordinbly.

"The confession... well. There /were/ things that happened that made it harder to come around. But the other reason why it's taken so long to meet you is that I was... a little fraid that you wouldn't stand my guts." He stops eating for a second. "You see... I'm chaos. I'm impulsive. At times I'm a little irreverent and occasionally reckless. You loom... very large in your brothers' descriptions as someone who has it together. Who has discipline." He looks more than a little embarrassed. "In the past... I've always had clashes with people who are so very together. They have tended to look down on me."

Leonardo has posed:
"Wait..." Leo sounds shocked as he response, "You... you've met Mikey and thought that I wouldn't accept you because /you're/ impulsive?" He's truly floored by this based on his reaction. Also a bit taken aback by the embarrassment April's cousin is showing. Trying to cover his counter embarrassment he says, "Thanks," to acknowledge the compliment about his cooking.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I mean... you'ce got to accept Mikey, he's your brother! I'm technically the ... the... " he pauses, looking for an apt comparison. "Okay, the stray cat that comes around. That works. But there's more. I know chaos is what I am. But it doesn't /have/ to run my life, or run me. In fact, I've been having a lot of problems with giving loose rein to it. And maybe I realize going to Harley for fighting lessons wasn't exactly the best way to rein in my chaos..."

He tilts his head, "When I walked in on you, I saw how you moved. You moved with grace and purpose. You were like a very very focused beam of light." He sets down the bowl momentarily and he reaches over with a hand to touch Leonardo's shoulder in a quiet plead, "Leo... I know it takes many years to become even competent at what you do. But would you consider taking me on as a student? Of your dojo? I will /never/ be like you. But..." he rubs the back of his own neck and looks down at the floor, "I'd like to be a little more like you. For the sake of myself and everybody who has to depend on me."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo ate while Terry spoke. There's the occasional nod to indicate that he's listening. And then... /student/? ... where did that come from?

"Huh," is Leo's first, oh-so-elegant response. "I could teach you some techniques but, remember, I'm not a master myself." And whoo boy, this is going to be something he's going to need to discuss with his own master. Splinter, as the Ancient One is much less available for consultation.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You're not a master. But to me, you might as well be. After all... one day, you will become a master yourself. I... need help. I need structure and discipline and method to help me counteract my chaotic side and..."

He grows quiet for a second and eats some moreof the food, which is a warm comfort. "I have disappointed friends. A friend. She expected more of me and... I want to prove it to her that I can be that and more."

He pauses for a breath. "Consult with Master Splinter, take your time thinking."

He smiles at Leo and says "But let's table that until you've made a decision. Do you want to pay any board games? Or chess?" he pauses. "No, not Chess. The pieces remind me of people I knew," he says with a grin, and then he ventures. "... Go?"

Leonardo has posed:
A smile forms on Leondardo's face at the insight shown by his first student. Not a crass or improper one, just a slight sign of appreciation and pleasure mixed with concern for the admission. "We've all disappointed friends... sometimes even family," is his first response and then he says, "I've played go. Maybe you'd prefer Chinese checkers tonight though?"