Forest Mutation (Book Two)

Chapter 2: Within the Woods

"Did you talk to him?" Diaval asks.

Destiny sighs and leans against the porch railing, stretching her torso from her chair across the short gap. She twists her body gently, working out the aches in her back from sleeping badly last night.

"Yeah," she says, her gaze flickering out to the trees. "Just the basics. I don't want us to hate each other, his voice is deep—"

"Doesn't want m'here."

She looks to her friend, eyebrows lifting. He doesn't move a single muscle, not even to change his facial expression. His eyes are the only thing that show any kind of emotion.

"Doesn't want you here?" Destiny clarifies. When Diaval nods, she purses her lips. "Leo?"

"None of 'em want m'here," he continues, his snaggletooth moving upwards just enough to show that his jaw has clenched.

"They're just nervous," she says. "I'm sure they just need some more...time. I mean, I needed time to get used to you."

"They desire it sometimes," he mumbles, leaning further back in the chair. The wind rustles his pale hair. "Done bad things to 'em, don't blame 'em, suppose."

She sits up, angling her body towards him. "Okay, uh...why are you saying stuff like that? Donnie said that he'd only ever seen you stay back at Foot HQ, maybe use your bow."

He keeps watching the forest. "Mhm, weird."

They sit, her eyes on him but his eyes on the forest. She wants to question him further, get some answers, but Diaval is hard enough to get information out of as is, even if they are friends.

He brushes some hair behind his ear and her attention is brought to the side of his head for long enough to notice three silver earrings in his right ear; one standard earlobe piercing and two in the higher arch of his ear: the helix, if Destiny remembers correctly.

"You've got pierced ears," she says, changing the subject. A sense of relief comes over her when she sees him relax a little. "I never really noticed before."

"Just the one ear," he responds, reaching his fingers up and brushing the rings. He glances down at her for a second.

"Three in one ear, though? You never thought to switch it up?"

His attention wavers back to the forest. "Three rings, one for each change."

She leans onto her hand, smiling softly. "Can you tell me?"

There's silence as he looks at his lap, his hands knotting together. "One for the Kraang. One for the Foot Clan. One...for..." He swallows, his knuckles becoming white. "New York."

She frowns a little. "Like...moving to New York?"

He nods. "Sure." She opens her mouth, but he stands abruptly and points. "They're coming back."

Destiny follows his finger to where Raphael is emerging from the woods, Leonardo slumped against his side and obviously in pain. Destiny hops over the railing and breaks into a sprint towards them.

"Guys!" she calls upon getting closer. "What happened?"

"He's just tired. We did a lot today," Raphael says, adjusting Leonardo slightly as he says it. The blue-masked turtle makes a dry noise and squeezes his eyes shut. "The medicine Donnie gave him isn't working as well as we hoped."