Turtles of a Feather

Chapter 14- The Beast Unknown

"You're it! Haha!"

"Raphie! That's cheating!" Michelangelo stomped his foot, shouting angrily and crossing his arms, "You can't use your wings!"

"Said who?" Raphael retorted, prancing about and fluttering his wings dramatically.

"Splinter said you can't use your wings when we play until..." The freckled turtle paused and frowned, solemnly looking at the ground,"Until we all can fly."

"That shouldn't stop the ones who can fly from having fun; and don't call me Raphie either. It's Raph, remember!" The hothead glared at his younger sibling angrily.

"Can't we just play tag for once without you two stopping to complain?" The purple-clad turtle jaunted up to the arguing siblings and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

At seeing his brother's arrival, this gave the youngest turtle a genius idea that was foolproof, "Sorry Donnie, we'll get back to playing the game," Michelangelo apologized innocently.

"About time," the genius huffed, turning his back to his siblings...his biggest mistake.

Falling on his face, Donatello spit out a clump of grass, "MIKEY!"

"You're it!" the young turtle cheered, bouncing away gleefully.

"You should have seen that coming Donnie. It was pretty obvious."

"Shut up Leo," the olive turtle groaned, brushing the dirt off of his knees and plastron, shaking out his multi-colored wings of forest debris.

Leonardo only chuckled as he dangled his feet off of the branch above him. Holding a leaf between his fingers and playing with it.

"Why do you just sit up there? This is tag you know!"

The eldest only shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his red-clad brother below, "We never made a rule that we can't use the trees. It's just a strategy."

The way his elder brother sounded so smug made Raph grumble in annoyance. Sitting up there wasn't strategic, it was just plain lazy!

Donatello stood next to his falcon winged brother, gazing up at the blue-masked turtle in the tree, "Leo is right ya know."

"What do you mean?!" Raphael questioned.

"Oh nothing, just...TAG! YOU'RE IT!" Donatello screeched, running away with a series of evil laughs.

"NOT COOL DONNIE!" the red-clad turtle shrieked in fury, "Fine! No more mister nice turtle!"

Leonardo only chuckled, but his amusement faded to dread as his younger sibling started to climb the tree.

"Oh no..."

The eagle winged reptile began to flee in terror, jumping from one canopy to the next. The turtle gripped the thick branches tightly with his hands and feet to keep him from falling. Pulling the branches and leaves around him, the eldest attempted to hide. He tried to slow his heavy breathing, since it would probably mean his end.

"I know you're here Leo!" came the cackling voice.

'I can't move now! It would give me away!'

"Screeeeeeee!"

Leonardo jumped at the sudden call and looked in every direction, trying to find the source of the noise; when none other than Donatello and a smirking Mikey waited below.

The eldest brother glared at them, hurt that they would betray him to his current enemy. Placing a finger over his mouth he tried to motion for them to keep silent, but to no success.