8123/Turtle Family Matters

Turtle Family Matters
Date of Scene:	30 June 2019
Location:	Turtle Lair
Synopsis:	Donatello queations Leonardo's tendency to do things on his own lately. Pippi overhears.
Cast of Characters:	Donatello, Splinter, Leonardo, Pippi

---

Donatello has posed:
    Science, it happens. Donatello is still at the fridge, has been for days. But Donatello, you're just tinkering and building. Engineering plebe! It's a science and he's hard at work! The slurpee machine is now integrated into the top/freezer of the fridge. The pedal has levels for automatic dispensing level. There's four flavors, a mix-vat, and a cup wash... There are also sparks flying and weld glare too...

Splinter has posed:
"Donatello." Splinter says, tapping one foot, with his arms crossed, "Your project has come between me and my Phish Food." The old rat looks decidedly *cross* about that. He can't watch his Telenovelas en espanol without ice cream.

Leonardo has posed:
Back to training, even before all those cuts have healed up fully. That's just the way Leonardo is. It's also a way for him to focus, to re-center himself, and he's had a lot on his mind after the last week or so. Once he's finished, he exits the dojo area with a towel draped over his shoulders, reaching for a bottle of water, aware of the noise and light show from the fridge area. "You're not done with that yet?" he questions.

Splinter has posed:
After a time, Splinter shakes his head. "Kids." He says, before he turns, and walks away. "Leonardo... keep an eye on your brother." He goes off into the lair, possibly to meditate. Possibly to fall asleep in front of the TV, in his comfy slippers.

Donatello has posed:
    Turning quickly and opening the fridge, "Master! I'm sorry, just getting this ready" he looks to Leo, and then back to Splinter when he goes to his chambers, then again to Leo. "I've got new heat-sinks in place, it uses a quarter of the power it did" he motions to the monstrosity.
    "I've almost got the liquid nitrogen loop ready, and then we'll use even less but it'll freeze faster and the slurpees will be at a perfect 5 degrees at all times. No watering down! It's going to be great!" practically bouncing on his feet. He's been at this for days, trailing jerky singles packets and drinking frozen diabetes water... it's a wonder if he's slept. "I mean it's not a precise science either, lot of trial work!"

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo opens his mouth to say something to Splinter then closes it as the rat sensei makes his departure, leaving Leo to rub the back of his head a few times. "Donnie..it's a fridge. It keeps food cold. It doesn't need to be the next big invention." Sometimes, he just doesn't understand when it comes to all the tinkering and inventions, but it seems to keep the tallest turtle occupied and he enjoys it, so.

Donatello has posed:
?"But a normal fridge only retards spoilage so much. This won't stop it but... this should keep it fresh and edible by at least thirty-seven point Oh Four at first. If I can lock this down I could double shelf life!" Donnie moves up to Leo, hands on his shoulders. "I mean, this is cutting edge, and it doesn't blow things up!"

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo's got a few bandages over the deeper cuts, a couple of which look a stained with a bit of red. Might be the intensity of the workout caused them to reopen a little. He doesn't look like he's in any real pain, and while he's still a bit sore and stiff, better range of motion is already returning. "Things not blowing up is always good. Just keep the Slurpee machine filled and I'll consider that a win," he says, voice a bit on the flat side. This is not a terrible diversion from the things that have been on his mind, but those things are still prominent.

Donatello has posed:
    "I'm looking to triple capacity due to the new cooling system!" Donnie gives Leo's shoulders a squeeze, frowning as he looks over the bandages. "You're gonna end up like Raph in a bathtub unless you rest, Leo... really. Time and place for training, you're no good if you tear yourself to the tendons." corners of his mouth drawing down sharply

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo's mask is in place, further suggesting he's in one of those kinds of modes, which is often the case anyway. "It's not that bad. I was just seeing how much I can handle. If I had to go deal with some Foot stuff tonight, I could." They might have to find a way to keep him in the Lair for another day or two, though. He's been burning both ends of the wick for a while now, not allowing himself much rest. "But you're doing fine with all that, so..keep it up."

Donatello has posed:
?"Leo... I'm serious, and your being stubborn. What would master Splinter say about this? Would he approve of you pushing yourself while you're cut to pieces like this?" Donnie steps back, crossing his arms across his chest. "Why are you going so solo on this? Even when you have Mikey with, you still go it alone. It's not like you."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo tries to wave it off. "I'm just a little sore, and these are nothing more than scratches. I'll be fine by tomorrow, trust me." He looks to go over to the Slurpee machine and sample a cola-flavored icy drink, grabbing a tall cup for it and a straw that looks like it's been used a few times.

"You want the truth?" he asks, glancing over a shoulder. Even now, the katanas are strapped across the shell.

Donatello has posed:
    "Leo, it's me. Not Raph, not Mike, you know I can take the truth, as much as I want it." following the oldest's movements, head tilting to the side as he motions. "Cup wash station works too, so you know. Water is hot to kill germs, so careful of your hands."
    Donnie stands, frowning, tapping his foot now as he observes and waits with his normal nervous patience.

Pippi has posed:
    YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE --

    Pippi is outside the kitchen. Her ears are pricked up as she evesdrops quietly, but didn't want to interrupt the moment that the brothers are sharing. The Broment, if you will, neatly tucked to the side of the opening. She scarcely breathes, not intending on evesdropping for rudeness sake but...

    They deserved the moment and their truth, even if she couldn't parse the words for it, she felt it.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo nods, cleaning out the cup before actually getting the drink. "Good looking out," he murmurs, waiting to say anything more until he's done with the machine. Then, he explains.

"Cody's what he is now because of me. If I'm the one making the decisions, I'm the one who has to try to make it right if things go wrong. You guys were there too and you did what you needed to do, but Cody didn't understand the full danger of the mutagen. We did. I did. I didn't want to make a scene there with everyone else around, and I didn't know Shredder would find him so fast, but that doesn't matter."

Leo tries the slushy drink, finding it to be good. "So I saw a chance to try to get through to Nemean..no, to Cody, no matter what name he's going by now, and I was prepared to come home hurt. I also trusted him not to kill me when he had the chance."

A moment later he adds, somewhat gently, "You don't have to avoid us, Pippi. You live here now, too." He hasn't even seen her, yet he's noticed her nearby.

Donatello has posed:
    "Yes, you made decisions, but we're a team right? a family, right? Last I checked one of us likes to run off and do things 'because he feels responsible' and look where that gets him?" Donnie looks up when Leo speaks to Pippi and then looks back. "You're not Atlas, Leo."
    He grabs his own cup, heading to the machine and proceeds to make a cola with some nilla flavoring added, taking a long sip to lengthen the silence as he stares at Leonardo.
    "If you're going to just go waltzing out there alone, then I will to - now that you've set the precedent eh?"

Pippi has posed:
    Can't stealth a ninja.

    There's a dull 'thud' of a tail hitting the brickwork, and a red and white face peers around the corner and into the kitchen looking sheepish before she steps in.

    "I... didn't want to interrupt. Seemed important." she states, and awkwardly rubs the back of her head before she steps fully into the kitchen, and gives a bit of a tail wag. "But! As I live here too now, even if it's as long as Alopex stays -- don't forget me when running patrols. Especially if you need a nose to get outta trouble." she smiles... then she looks concerned, almost pouting before she rubs the back of her head again, her tattooed left ear flicking.

    "... sounded better in my head."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo glances toward Pippi as she enters the rest of the way, giving her a nod.

"I didn't want one of you getting hurt, and I figured if he saw all four of us, or even just two of us against him, he'd think we were there to attack. I was trying to avoid a fight," Leo says, though he sounds in a way like he's trying to convince himself of that excuse more than he is Donnie.

Shaking his head with a frown, he yields the point. "But you're right. At least until all of this is settled, one of us always goes out with a buddy. That goes for you and Alopex as well, Pippi."

Donatello has posed:
    "Because we can't hide and let you go in solo with back-up for when he destroys a zoo with you. Helpful." Donnie snorts and looks to Pippi before fixing up a cherry slurpee for her. The gateway slurpee.
    "And if you're hunting for Cody, or Nemean, or whatever - you take Raph, Mikey and I. No ifs ands or butts. You're not alone Leo, and saying you want to keep us outta danger is stupid. We fight the foot clan, and I'm not staying home. Got it?"

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi has established that blue slurpees are not their own food group. Perhaps red slurpees are?

    Her tail gives a wag at the frozen sugarbomb, and accepts it gratefully before she carefully leans against a table.

    "An' Donatello's right. And you're wrong." Pippi pipes up again, holding the slurpee. She looks down at its red crystaline form suspended in sugar, its syrupy sacchrine singing a sweet siren's song.

    "Alopex knew the lab-stuff.. the mute-a-gen was bad. An' I did too." her eyes narrow. She can't bring them up. She didn't want to look at Leo after telling him he was wrong. "An' we both let him take it too. You're not alone."

    And she raises her muzzle up, her eyes closed, but her mouth curled into a smile. "And neither is he."

Leonardo has posed:
"Okay, we've established I'm an idiot," Leonardo says, quickly adding, "Sometimes." While he may be acting defensively over it, he acknowledges, "But you both have a point. We're always going to be better together." He may be the one who's preached that the most!

Swirling his cola-flavored (brown color) Slurpee around a bit, he moves to have a seat at one of the tables in the kitchen/dining area. "That said, I think we have a good chance of getting through to him soon if we play it right. Pippi, I don't know all of what you and Alopex saw when you encountered him, but I saw someone in a battle with himself to figure out what's real."

Donatello has posed:
    "First, good. We need to re-establish I'm the smart one, remember?" Donnie sips his nilla-cola slurpee again, frowning. "See, I wish Raph would get his head out of his shell - if anyone is good at helping someone in that situation, it's Raph I'd say."
    Donatello sighs, "I think Pippi too, just because of how new things are, if I'm right?"

Pippi has posed:
    "Eh? You're not an idiot! I can't even spell the word. You're like Pex. You try to take on all the res-pon-sa-bilitillies, but sometimes bad stuff happens... even if you tried really, really hard to make sure it doesn't."

    She pauses mid-sip of the Red flavor slurpee, and she blinks at Leonardo's question, and looks embarrassed.

    "... we didn't know who he was. He was mad. REALLY mad. Like 'raar I'm going to slice the fox open with my brand new swords and wreck the whole place' mad. And he threw me into a wall." Pippi frowns a moment, and shifts her weight uncomfortably.

    "He... he was pretty set on hurting Alopex, but not me."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo just gives Donatello a look before he shakes his head. Don't feed the ego. Just don't. "What, have Raphael try to get through to him by understanding his anger?" he asks, a skeptical expression forming before he considers what Pippi has to add.

"It sort of started that way with me too, but he hesitated before going through with it. That's why I'm sure whatever Kitsune did to him - that's who he mentioned - it completely left out Shredder taking him away from his place."

Donatello has posed:
    "Of course! Here..." pulling his dry-erase board up, Donatello begins making small notation boxes. "Look, based on what we say to Raph first, and if we factor for Raph alone, or with us nearby - with the variables based on your need to correct and Mikey trying to be funny - Raph's pre-meet workout, pre-pre-meet sparring session, weather, and what he has eatten before, we could try to get this slam dunked you know."
    Donnie splays his arms akimbo, "Hah? Yeah you know it. Ha-ha-hahh!"

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi pauses, and she slurps the slurpee. Sllluuurrrp. Rattle.

    She rubs the back of her head a moment, and she looks back to Leo.

    "Well.. he might be a little more mad at me since I kinda punched him into the next block... but I didn't know he was Cody." she states quietly.

    Her tongue is bright read as she stretches her jaw.

    "A lot of his mad was focused on Alopex. Said she was the one who did it to him."

Leonardo has posed:
A few seconds pass by as Leonardo hits the limit of the attention he's able to give Donatello's dry-erase board. This is not the first time he's used it to outline a flow chart or whatever type of thing it is this time. Before Donnie's even done, Leo's back to rubbing the top of his head and admitting to Pippi, "That would make anyone angry, sure."

Getting back up to go through a few stretches and work out some of that lingering soreness, he adds, "I know this is a lot easier said than done, but all we have to do is get through whatever they did to his memories, so he knows the truth. What he does with it from there is really up to him. We can just try to be there for him. We all know what it's like in some way."

Donatello has posed:
    "Well at that point, was it technologically induced amnesia? Trauma? That would be one of the first things we need to establish. If the former we could try and get a sample of the tech, if the other well... I mean maybe Splinter could meditate with him?"
    Donatello looks between the other two, looking for possible input or solutions.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi hadn't even looked at the flowchart. She seemed to be actively avoiding it, in fact, looking anywhere but Donatello's whiteboard and analytical thinking. She purses her lips a moment, returning to her slurpee as she shakes the cup. Red was a very different flavor than blue.

    Her tail does give a little wag at Splinter's name, however, her ears pricking up before she lets out a breath.

    "You guys and Alopex are super smart, I'm glad we've got you all helping with Cody." she gives a quiet smile, but her tail stops its wagging, and her ears droop back.

    "I don't think red slurpees should be their own food group either."

Leonardo has posed:
"Let's just wait and see if we can get through to him further first. If we need Splinter's help, we can go with that," Leonardo says, sounding a little weary right now. "But I don't think it's a tech-based thing."

Leo offers Pippi a thin smile, explaining, "We just have a lot of experience with Shredder and the Foot. That's kind of both good and bad, if you know what I mean. One way or another, we'll get this all figured out."

As he passes by Pippi he wonders, "Who told you those things were a food group, anyway?"

Donatello has posed:
    "Slurpees are a food group, Leo. Look at what they do on a metabolic level. They're my favorite food group to." The Tallest Turtle nods sagely. "You know I think I have some of that analgesic anti-bacterial cream too, we could get your wounds all treated while you're here." Donnie smiles, claiming his victories as they come.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi looks at Leo, and motions to Donatello.

    "And he's the smart one." she states, trying not to grin too big and show too many teeth, "but Alopex says they're not a good food group and that I should balance it out with 'actual food'. Like burgers." she gives a sniff, and drinks the rest of her slurpee.

    "Speaking of, we've gotta get back to my trainin'. Won't do me a lick of good to be able to punch if I can't take a bunch!" she states, and setting her cup in the sink (ignoring both the cup washer and the chore board in the process), she hops-to and makes an exit, presumably to find the fox.

Leonardo has posed:
"It's good to know how to take a punch, better to not have to take one in the first place," Leonardo suggests. Now who's the smart one? "But, have a good training session."

That leaves Donatello, and Leo deadpans, "This had better not be an excuse to get into the nurse costume..." Which of course they don't have one of.

...right?