In The Dark⎜TMNT BAYVERSE

Always Welcome

A week had passed since the turtles had defeated Krang and received their keys to the city from Chief Vincent and Ellie and Brooke tried adjusting back to their regular lives.

But to be fair, finding out that six-foot-tall mutant turtles exist and then having to help them defeat one of the most notorious criminals in New York, two of his mutant henchmen and an alien from space and then trying to go back to the lives they lived, proved to be quite the challenge.

A light rain shower currently fell onto the streets of New York. With Autumn now in season, Ellie knew she had to bid goodbye to the long days when she could spend the evenings painting as the sun began to set.

Watching the rain fall, Ellie waited for Ivy to show up so she could clock out. She was hunched over her sketchbook, doodling as she always was. As she finished the outline she realised that she had subconsciously drawn a turtle onto the page.

Not a mutant one but a regular, pet, turtle. How could she not realise what she'd been drawing? Ellie decided to shrug it off, after all, there were a few times in her life when she hadn't noticed what she'd done.

Hearing the door open she looked up from sketching to see Ivy, closing her umbrella that was splattered with raindrops on the dark grey canopy.

"Hey Ives" She greeted.

"Hey, girl" The redhead replied back as she made her way to the front counter. Ellie shoved her sketchbook into her bag before slinging the cotton tote bag over her shoulder.

The two girls briefly chatted before Ellie handed the reins of the afternoon shift off to Ivy. Leaving the gallery, she decided to call Brooke. Since she had the rest of the afternoon off she figured the two of them could do something together, like they always did whenever they had free time.

The phone only rang for a few seconds before Brooke's voice came through.

"Hey bitch" She was greeted.

Ellie rolled her eyes playfully at her sister's lovely greeting. "Hey, Brookie, are you free right now?" She smiled as she talked into the receiver. "Yeah, I'm not going back to work until Monday" Brooke replied back.

After the ceremony, Chief Vincent had offered Brooke and Casey back their roles on the police force. While Casey had declined, Brooke had taken her up on the offer and was told to return to work whenever she was ready. Brooke wanted to give herself a week of relaxation before going back so she hadn't yet returned to the station.

"Cool, so you wanna grab a bite with me? I'm done with work for the day" She asked. Brooke didn't have to think twice about the offer. "Yeah, are you kidding? I'm so bored" She droned. Aside from going to her favourite archery range for the first couple of days, she hadn't had much to do, it seemed it was finally hitting Brooke that maybe she needed some more friends outside of Casey and her sister.

Ellie couldn't help but giggle at her sister. "Ok, you wanna meet me at Rosa's?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in ten"

"Alright, see you there Brookie"

They then disconnected the call. Ellie continued to walk, thankful that the rain had pretty much stopped with only a light drip falling here and there.

Rosa's was a quaint little bakery that was just down the street from their apartment. The inside walls were painted pastel blue. A few sets of tables and chairs were placed inside on top of pristine walnut floors. The counter that displayed some of the pastries the bakery offered was also painted a light blue, matching well with the colour of the walls.

As Ellie reached Rosa's, she saw that it wasn't that busy. Relieved by that, she entered and was greeted by some of the staff. She sat down at one of the tables, quickly glancing at the menu that was displayed on a blackboard behind the counter.