826/Leo comes home

Leo comes home
Date of Scene:	28 March 2020
Location:	Turtle Lair
Synopsis:	Splinter, Raph, and Leo have a chit chat. Towels to faces happen.
Cast of Characters:	Raphael, 44, Leonardo

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Raphael has posed:
The Lair's gym is getting a good workout right now, an exercise in aggression. Raphael is not happy, but what else is new? It's not even a recent thing. The last time out as the Nightwatcher left him upset, and following the encounter with the raptor and two of the others from the Nightwatcher thing, /plus/ a third who was dumpster diving and actually slammed him into a wall with said dumpster, /not to mention/ the fact he negotiated away his pizza just to get out of the weird foamy stuff the raptor trapped him in...

Let's just say it hasn't been a good few days for the turtle with the red bandana.

So, the weights are getting a number of reps in. So is the punching bag. Same with the heavy bag as he lands what would be strong body blows to it. At least it doesn't fight back, so he can work up a sweat without something else coming along to steal his thunder.

It's one of the problems with going it alone, but that's where they are nowadays. Splinter has tried to be his usual self, but that only goes so far sometimes. Mikey's out in the main room gaming. Donnie's...probably being a nerd as usual.

Gibson (44) has posed:
     The role of Splinter will be spoofed by Gibson.

     The tapping of a walking stick gives away the patriarch of the Turtle clan. He makes his way into the makeshift gym, collected from discards that the surface world had tossed out. Luckily one of the turtles was great at giving old equipment new life.

  He had heard the rumble, the anger. Overall, the Raphaelness of it. Dressed in a dark yukata, walks in the older rat. "Raphael." He speaks, with the authority of being a sensei. This was only to get his attention, as he softened a bit as he would grab that attention. He walked up to the young turtle, slowly and with care. Looking up at the taller mutant. "What is troubling you, my son?"

Raphael has posed:
Raphael knows that stick. Too well, at times. None of them are old enough that the occasional strike with it is unwarranted. It's always been a great way to get them to settle down and pay attention (ahem, Mikey). In this case, it just heralds the approach of the old rat, their sensei, their adoptive father by default.

All of the Nightwatcher gear is stashed away in the safe hiding spot Raphael has outside the Lair itself, to limit the chances of anyone coming across it and blowing his cover. This leaves him in his usual, just the karate-style belt and headband, though the sais are left in the dojo, not needed here.

With his name mentioned, Raph tenses initially. That always leads to a question, or an observation, or something else he's not really in the mood for right now, but...it's Splinter. He stops abusing the heavy bag, turning to give the rat a brief but respectfully deep bow, before frowning. "What if I said I don't wanna talk about it, Sensei?"

Leonardo has posed:
This family is disconnected...not whole. Because it is missing a son. And when one is missing, the family just feels a little...broken.

But it was time for the healing to begin, because the eldest of the Turtles finally returns from the shadows. He had meant to surprise his brothers, at the least. Surprising Splinter would take a small miracle, but he'd try anyway.

He is unseen, and unheard, but perhaps it'll be his spirit that gives him away, if anything does.

Leonardo finally steps out of the shadows..."Master...I'm back."

And then, in a more easygoing tone of voice. "Hey guys, I'm back!"

Gibson (44) has posed:
     Splinter had kept his head raised to look Raphael in the eye. He bowed a bit to his adopted son. But the respect did not end there. "Then you will listen." He said, walking to the middle of the floor, and sitting down. The rat sat down, in the seiza position, once Raphael sat down as well, Splinter would start. "Raphael, each of your brothers posses a gift. Unique to themselves, but providing a piece of what make you whole." His raspy voice echoed in the sewer turned home. "Your gift, is also a heavy burden." He reached for the red headbanded turtle, to hold his shoulder.

  That was, until he felt a distinct presence, who it was, would be revealed in a moment. For now, he simply took that walking stick of his and stood. He looked to Raphael as he did, indicating their talk was not over, but with their expected company, it was not appropriate to keep going.

  Turning as Leonardo steps from the shadows, the rat's brow raised with a fondness that only a father seeing his son return could have. "Leonardo." He says, the corners of his mouth turning upward in a smile.

Raphael has posed:
Raphael grunts. He's not exactly in the mood for a Splinter Talk, but when Splinter wants to talk you either listen or pay for it one way or another.

So, he sat. It was not a comfortable position, he found, as he was on the wrong side of being sore in a few spots from that dumpster. Some of his muscles complained as he attacked the weights and boxing bags, but it was nothing he hadn't felt before. All the same..ow, a little.

"Sensei, I know, but it feels like I'm the only one trying to do what you taught us to do, and just over the last few days I've run into some other mutants like--" Just as he's beginning to get into something that might be Very Important, /he/ returns.

A scowl follows as he shrugs away from the touch to his shoulder, for Splinter is getting up as well. "That's funny. I thought I heard someone who used to think he was a leader, but he ran off when things didn't go the way he wanted them to."

Nothing hypocritical there at all, Raph. Way to deflect from your own personal issues.

At that point, Michelangelo's voice is heard from a room over. "Leo's back?" Then, it's closer. "Dude, Leo's back?!" Finally, it's right behind the turtle that favors the swords, and getting much closer, much faster. "DUDES, LEO'S BACK!!" Aaaand, Mikey-pounce.

Raphael rubs at his eyes.

Leonardo has posed:
This is possibly the only thing that could've gotten Donnie out of his nerd kingdom...because he's not just coming out, he's bringing gadgets and gizmos galore. "...Leo, you've gotta see all the stuff I made!" And there's whosits and whatsits and all sorts of things Donnie is trying to explain in such high vaulted technobabble even Leo has trouble following just what he's trying to tell him.

There's also a Mikey pounce, and Leo catches his youngest brother in a hug. "Go get some pizza. You know you want to." And then he can try to make sense of all of Donnie's toys. He also heard Raph's comment too. Sounds like there's still a grudge there. Instead of falling for it, though, "...I missed you too, Raph. I'm glad we're all together again."

Gibson (44) has posed:
     Splinter had looked to each one of his sons come in and say hello to Leonardo. It was a nice thing all around. He was not always stern, but there was always respect for everyone. "I am glad you have come back, Leonardo." He says, moving to the edge of the group, allowing the turtles to bond a bit more.

Raphael has posed:
Both Mikey and Donnie might be happy to see Leo again, and Splinter surely is, but Raph does not look as if he shares the same enthusiasm. He remains apart from the other three, even as Michelangelo motions for him. "C'mon, bro! Group hug!"

Raphael does not look like he wants in on that. "I see how it is. Go away for months, forgetting all about some of us trying to make things work, trying to deal with the problems up on the surface, and now you think you're just gonna walk right back in and everything's gonna be all smiles and laughs? Everything's gonna be back to normal? I don't think so."

He grabs a towel nearby, uses it to wipe at his face and head following the workout, and moves as if he's going to walk right past the other three. To punctuate his mood, he tosses the towel right at Leonardo's face.

Leonardo has posed:
"It's only as normal...or as not...as you want it to be, Raph." Leo might sound a little bit like his 'dad' there, but maybe that's intentional on Leo's part. And Leo doubledowns on what Mikey says. "So come here..."

Master Splinter's warm presence remains a great comfort to Leonardo, too. "It's so good to see you again, Master." That trip may have been necessary, but it was all too long, even from his own point of view. He feels much better with his family around him.

But then, there's a towel to the face, and since Leo's arms are around his other two brothers, it smacks him square and falls to the ground. "...I'll let that one go. This time."

Gibson (44) has posed:
     Splinter's brow furrows at the towel being thrown. There may be something between the others, but that was not an excuse for such disrespect.

  "Excuse me." He says, following Raphael. "What is normal?" He muses, loud enough for Raph to hear. "Your brother left, to learn. The normalcy of before his departure can never be attained again."

  "Just as you, strive to attain it by living how you had been taught."

Raphael has posed:
Raphael snorts, and it's full of derision. "Listen to yourself, bro! Don't try to turn this all back around on me! We beat the Shredder, but you couldn't handle the way it went down and you abandoned us!"

'Abandoned' is a strong word, but it is the way Raphael has been feeling for weeks, months. "Just because we killed the Shredder, that doesn't mean there's no more danger up there. We've been trying to keep it together, and you come back in out of nowhere, not even a 'Sorry, guys,' and I'm supposed to just forget that? And 'I'll let that one go this time?'" Raph does a pretty good imitation of the way he thinks Leo sounds much of the time, throwing a mocking tone into it. "You're lucky I didn't deck you instead."

He looks toward Donatello and Michelangelo, especially Mikey, frowning. "I ain't in th' mood for group hugs right now, little bro." The happy little reunion, Splinter with Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello, looks like it won't include Raphael as part of it.

To Splinter, his expression is more of a mixture between reluctance, frustration, and discomfort. They were about to have a moment, but it may need to wait. "Sorry, Sensei, but I gotta go let off some steam before I do something I might regret later. Go catch up with your favorite son. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."

His expression falters, because deep down he /knows/ he just said something he shouldn't have, making his words just before a little prophetic. He grimaces, intending to hurry on out of the gym.

Leonardo has posed:
Leo isn't about to let that one slide. "...Favorite son? You know he doesn't have a favorite. He loves all of us. ALL of us." No exceptions. Not even for the moody dude who's apparently ready to go outside and beat stuff up.

"Do I need to apologize for taking the time to clear my head and become centered again? Yeah, we were apart for a while. But, we're all a little bit better off for it. All of us need to know who we are as individuals to become a better team. We all had that time."

But then, Leo's empathy catches up with him, and...he starts to get what Raph is trying to say. "...no. It's not that. It's that the family was broken while I was gone, isn't it? And it hurt while I was gone. ...I did hurt you by leaving didn't I? ...I'm sorry."

Gibson (44) has posed:
     With two words, the old rat had been stopped in his tracks. He had always treated the four of them with love and respect. But he turns, and starts to walk to his room, clearly he had seen that Raphael needed space.

  He tried not to show to the turtles when he had felt uneasy or hurt. It was his way. But the elder rat did have his space that they respected, his room, his quiet place for meditation.

  He didn't need to say anything else, he just gives them their space for now.

Raphael has posed:
Raphael glances over a shoulder, seeing Splinter's reaction more than anything else. The rat, if he's looking, might spot a suddenly apologetic look in Raph's expression, his eyes avoiding Splinter's own as they find the floor. There's something inside that's hurting from all of this, but he's too proud and stubborn to allow it to be dealt with just yet.

"I can't do this right now," is all he trusts himself to say at the moment, and they will see him actually retreating from the room and, then, the Lair itself.

"Aww, man.." Michelangelo sniffles, taking this moment to try bringing Leonardo and Donatello in closer, motioning for Splinter as well if he lingers. He might have thought with Leonardo back, everything would be cool again. Maybe he wasn't aware of how deep Raphael's emotional wounds are.

Leonardo has posed:
Donnie grumps, "Why'd he have to go and do that? This was supposed to be a great moment for all of us, and then he had to go ruin it." His inventions lay forgotten on the floor, strewn randomly all over the place. They were important, until Raph pulled his stunt and reminded him they weren't. He'll have to remember to pick those up later.

Leo looks off to the distance, as Raph departs. "I'm gonna have to deal with that later. He's probably gonna insist on a 'sparring match', except he won't be holding much back, if anything." He'll have to be exceptionally poised and balanced for that.

But then, Master Splinter was wounded too, and, "...We should go see if Splinter wants to speak to us. What Raph said is NOT cool."

Leo starts to head that way, and if Splinter shut the door, he will knock respectfully.

Gibson (44) has posed:
     The door had indeed been shut. But the rat inside was receptive to guests. The light door opened, and there stood Splinter, looking up at Leonardo. "Yes, my son?"

  Their sensei had maintained his composure, at least he did to answer the door.

Leonardo has posed:
Leo entered, even if the other two...now kinda bummed, went back to what they were doing before. Except Mikey does go get pizza, because, in part, Leo told him to. And he loves pizza anyway. Donnie has gizmos to pick up.

"Are...you okay, Master? That wasn't cool of him." Even a son may try to comfort his father, sometimes. Even if it tends not to work as well going opposite the usual direction of such things. Still, he tries.

Gibson (44) has posed:
     Splinter's eyes keep to the air above Leonardo's head. He opens the door more and exists. "Your brother...may have his issues. But he did not mean what he said." He sounded so matter-of-factly.

  Inside, he had been brewing some tea for himself. But there was ways some to share. "Sit, share with me your update."

Leonardo has posed:
Leo still doesn't like it. Disrespecting dad was not cool. A towel to the face, fine, he can blow that off. But Splinter raised them all, and that's...just not okay.

Leo does sit, in the meditative posture he was taught ages ago. It's almost natural to assume that sort of pose in this room. Where his natural spiritual inclinations can run free.

"...I spent a long time in South America. Cruel humans attacked the villages for resources they did not need. I made it...uncomfortable for them to stay, and they eventually decided the 'ghost of the forest' was not a thing they wanted to bother with."

"...but...I wasn't perfect. The villagers must've seen enough to know I liked blue, so they made this for me." And he pulls out a scarf, of tribal make. Written in Spanish is 'for our protector.' And, of course, it's blue.