8874/Meanwhile, in the Lair

Meanwhile, in the Lair
Date of Scene:	19 August 2019
Location:	Turtle Lair, Williamsburg
Synopsis:	Raphael arrives home after a fight, Pippi manages to be helpful with medical supplies. Maybe, just maybe he's not *as* scary...
Cast of Characters:	Pippi, Raphael

---

Pippi has posed:
    THE LAIR.

    The secret and hidden home of Clan Hamato, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their mentor, Splinter -- along with by invitation the former Foot Fox Alopex and her own student, the mutant dog called Pippi.

    Pippi was currently attending to chores. There's catchy pop music playing on a tinny radio, and the pitbull-like dog is moving around the livingroom area of the lair, sweeping up and putting things in color coordinated buckets. Her tail wags to the beat, and she briefly air-guitars on the broom, assuming that no one is there to watch her goofing off.

Raphael has posed:
    The familiarity of the sewers is something that, for the other brothers, would bring a smile in all likelihood. For the red-banded Raphael, however, it's less full happiness and more merciful sanctuary. After a stop to put away the Nightwatcher's gear in his hidden room, Raph makes his way to the Lair with an attempt to look like nothing is off.

    It might be more successful if he weren't looking so battered. A blackened eye, bruises across his green skin, and is that a cut on his shoulder between his shell? It is indeed. And it's clear he's pretty exhausted. So much so that as he enters the Turtle Lair and looks around, he doesn't even immediately complain about the noise of the radio or the dog-girl cleaning. However, once she goes into air guitar, he rolls his eyes. "Turn that off a minute, can ya?" he calls loudly, "Head's poundin' enough without that goin' on." He drags himself over to the couch and sits, wincing lightly as he does. "Just you around right now, pup?" he asks, rubbing lightly at one of the more prominent bruises on his arm as he does.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi's nose gives a wiggle right before Raphael calls out, and her tail curls. She moves quick to turn the music off, and with a 'click' the music dies. Pippi's ears draw back slightly before she sweeps at a different area of the livingroom, intent on finishing up the chores -- but she's casting a wary eye to Raphael. "Leo's meditating, I think, or patrolling with 'Pex. Mikey and Donnie might have gone on a scrap run." she states softly, and rubs the back of her head. "I figured I"d get the evening chores done before anyone got home." she explains.

    And then she tilts her head. "Who'd you pick a fight with? Everyone?"

Raphael has posed:
    Raph snorts lightly as Pippi kills the music, the silence that falls causing his head to at least stop drilling so hard for the moment. He settles on the couch, listening to the dog-girl explain his brothers' whereabouts before he shakes his head. "Good. Don't need Leo breathin' down my shell right now. Can ya grab me a bandage or somethin'? I don't wanna bleed out on the couch." He winces again lightly, though this time it comes with a light snarl.

    "Stopped a mugging that turned into an alley brawl. People kept comin' outta nowhere, someone pulled a knife. There's about twenty punks face-down in Manhattan, so I gave better than I got." He shakes his head. "Was a pretty long walk back, though, and turns out pipes hurt."

    He closes his hand over the gash on his shoulder, growling again. "Looks good in here, I guess. Don't think I'm gonna help, though."

Pippi has posed:
    There's a skitter of dull claws on flooring as Pippi fetches some medical materials, but she's setting things out as Raph explains what happened. The dog's got her own scar, accoss her muzzle, and she's at least picked up the super-basics of 'don't let someone bleed out'. She folds gauze with some of the ointment from the yellow tube, generic ol' Neosporin, and offers it to Raphael.

    "Twenty?!" she blinks, amber eyes going wide. "What kinda mugging is twenty-on-one?" she asks, incredulous.

Raphael has posed:
    "The kind that turns into a small gang war," Raphael says, "Seems I stepped in on a family dispute, go figure." He takes the gauze and the ointment from Pippi with a nod, then braces and rubs the stinging gel into the wound with a hissing growl. Once that's done, he applies the gauze and tapes it, then settles back into the couch with closed eyes.

    "A lot of them ended up taking each other out, while tryin' to hit me at the same time. It was pretty dumb, but no doubt the cops have 'em locked up by now. Heard sirens and got underground before I saw that one of 'em had got me with their knife, then made my way back." He shakes his head again, then leans back. "Idiots, all of 'em. Saw a couple of 'em hit their own guys. No sense of teamwork there." Says the brother with the lone wolf streak a mile wide.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi holds up a hand with a questioning look, and was about to ask another question... but she thinks better of it. Instead, she gathers the medical materials up, and goes to put th em away (less neatly than when they were sorted, unfortunately), and returns with large plastic tumbler, with a crazy straw in it, setting it down near Raphael on the coffee table.

    "Well. Maybe you scared 'em so bad that they got confused! After all, it's not every day you get confronted by a giant, green, angry turtle?" she offers, not quite a defense of the goons.

    "Are you gonna be okay?"

Raphael has posed:
    Raph watches Pippi curiously as she holds up her hand, the Turtle offering a small chuff in his throat before she puts it down. "If ya got a question, ask it. Not gonna guarantee I'm gonna answer it, though." He takes the offered drink with a small nod, taking it and sipping around the straw. "Huh? Yeah, that musta been it. Big turtle probably scared 'em crazy." He mentions nothing about the fact he was in his Nightwatcher armor at the time, allowing him to move more easily on the surface that he could in just his hat and coat disguise. "Good thing they took a lot of head shots. Probably ain't gonna remember me at all."

    He stretches his legs out a bit, curling his toes. "What, you kiddin'?" he asks, "After I catch my breath I'm goin' back out there. Nothin' like a fight to get the blood flowin'. I'm more than okay."

Pippi has posed:
    "That might not be a good idea," Pippi begins, and her ears shift back. The blue ink of the ID tattoo in her ear shows, and she gives a soft huff of breath, and a bit of a nervous laugh. "I mean, the guys might be worried if I reported you came back in all dinged up and went right back out again. I know 'Pex would get worried if I did the same thing."

Raphael has posed:
    Raph snorts lightly, but he does have to consider her words at any rate. Last thing he needed was his brothers all looking for him in the city and having to evade them in disguise. He snorts again, then nods. "Yeah yeah. Last thing I need is the squad chasin' me over the city. Guess I'll wait for 'em to get back at any rate." Another sip, then he pushes up to go and raid for food. "Mikey better've left me some pizza," he grumbles, "Haven't eaten all day."

Pippi has posed:
    "Well, yeah, because at this point you're really easy to track if they wanted me to help." Pippi replies as she hops up to her feet from the floor.

    "Aah, I think there's some pepperoni and bacon, and a cheeseburger pizza with extra cheese, and a couple slices of meat heaven, but that's *mine* and I will fi-- heavily consider fighting you for it but ultimately decline?" Pippi quickly corrects herself, rubbing the back of her head a sshe takes a deep breath, and gives a soft 'oof' sound.

Raphael has posed:
    Pepperoni and bacon? He's all about that life right now. Grabbing a few slices, he nudges the door shut and offers a glare at Pippi, that softens ever so slightly as she revises her statement. "Hmph. I ain't about that right now. This'll be fine," he gruffs, then settle back down. "Last thing I need is to fight someone who hits like you do, at least right now." He bites into the pizza, eyes closing. "That's what I needed, yeah," he says, then picks up and finishes his drink.

    "Well, don't let me stop ya doin' what you're doin'. I miss anything big lately?"

Pippi has posed:
    Averted. Of all the dwellers in the Lair, the two that scared her the most were Raphael and Splinter. In that order.

    Her ears perk forwards, and PIppi gives a shrug as she puts the broom on its hook. "No one needs to fight someone who hits like I do, but like Alopex says? I've actually gotta be able to hit first. The bag's one thing. Someone fighting me? Something else!" she admits, and she grabs a slice of the meatlover pizza herself, and plops down on a chair.

    "Just about time to take lunch anyway. Gotta keep up the protein!" Pippi gives a cheery smile. "Ah... Alopex and I started sparring practice? I've kinda been playing the home-somebody for a little while..." she trails off, her ears flicking back. A minor fib.

Raphael has posed:
    Raph? Feared? Perish the thought. Oh wait, no. That's fitting. "Hmph, fair enough," he says. He knows Pippi's raw power, but she has a point. She's got to land a hit to be useful, and without training, strength does nothing. "Just stay dedicated, I guess. You'll be punkin' fools before ya know it." He devours his slices with the hunger of a man who forgot what food even was, and with the amount of fighting he's done lately? That might not be too inaccurate. He listens to the rundown, then shrugs lightly. "Someone's gotta hold down the fort. And we all know that ain't me. Good work, I guess." He leans back on his shell, staring up at the ceiling. "So otherwise been pretty boring around here, huh?"

Pippi has posed:
    "Well, Co-/Nemean/ is healing up and taking his time with things. There's always patrols going on..." she trails off a moment, then her ears flick forward. She takes a deep breath. "I got to sling cars at a gunman in Mutant Town last week. They were trying to shoot this bright blue mutant with glasses eating a twinkie, until this guy wth a lot of other guns came out and shot at them." Pippi states, her tail wagging. She could confide her adventure in Raph, right? Not like he'd be blabbing about it to Leo!

    "I didn't even get a thank you though. The police showed up and I had to duck down a drain."

    "What about you? Other than the twenty muggers, anything else happening up there? Any newsworthy stuff? Are the Mets winning?"

Raphael has posed:
    Nemean's healing up? Good thing, that. Patrols, whatever. Car throwing in Mutant Town, however, causes Raph to give Pippi a bit more attention. When she walks through her adventure, Raph offers a small nod at the end of it. "Welcome to bein' a mutant," he says, "You look like us, you're lucky not to get attacked by that guy you just saved as your thanks." Is Raph bitter about that? Probably. He's bitter about a lot of things.

    He shrugs lightly. "Just the usual punks needin' a concrete nap. Seems like they all run together after awhile. You just punch 'em til they stop movin'." He chuckles lightly. "I don't think they are. Wasn't really payin' attention.

Pippi has posed:
    "But he was a mutant too! Bright blue and everything! And this other guy came out and shot a goon in the leg through a lady's skirt!" Pippi states, and at the whole statement, she frowns, and her ears go limp.

    "And I know. Leo and Alopex lecture that we have to be careful because even humany-mutants might not understand or be afraid of us. I've... already seen that. In a lot of places. 'S why I can't go /home/." she adds quietly, and she shrugs.

    "I only can watch when Donnie leaves the TV on. He explained how to tune everything in, but kept using the big words."

Raphael has posed:
    Raph shrugs. "Even when dealin' with other mutants, we stand out. Big turtles, foxes, rats, and dogs? C'mon now. People don't know what to do when they look at us." He rolls his neck, wincing a bit in pain. "Sounds like an ordeal, but good on ya for doin' good." He scoffs as she brings up Leo's teachings, then frowns slightly. "Yeah, but ya always got a place with us down here, pup. 'Sides, even with alla Leo's talk, we're gonna have to be seen eventually. Sure, we're ninjas, we stick to the shadows, but we can't just keep hidin' forever. We're far from the freakiest things out in the world these days anyway. But that's another story."

    Raph rolls his eyes a bit, then shrugs. "I just turn it on and hit it til I get it where I want. Or wait for Mikey to do it. Donnie's too much of an egghead for me to try and listen to mosta the time."

Pippi has posed:
    "... yeah but which button is the 'on' button? All those numbers..." Pippi comments her ears drawing forwards as she vents momentary frustraition in a huff of breath.

    "... you know, you're not so scary when you're not fighting." Pippi compliments Raphael with a little bit of a grin, and a slight thumping of her tail against the chair. "And nah, I know we're not the freakiest things, I've seen some stuff." Pippi replies, and her left ear flicks, as if irritated.

Raphael has posed:
    Raph blinks. "... What? It's the big one on the front. You're pullin' my leg right now," he says, voice so dry the Lair feels like a desert for a moment. He shaes his head, then blinks. "I'm still plenty scary, but sometimes even I gotta rest," he asks, "I fought twenty dudes earlier, ya know. You think I got that kinda energy right now?" On the inside, he feels pretty good about the compliment, but this is Raphael.

    If he didn't snark, people would think he was sick.

    "Yeah. I mean, you ever actually looked at the Shredda? Dude's wearin' a tin can with spikes like some sorta metal band reject."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi blinks "Yeah, I did." she states.

    "And then I beaned him in the head with a can of tomato sauce." she gives a bright grin, and then re-enacts the moment.

    "He was all 'argh turtles I will not be defeated by four turtles and a rat and a fox and GET THEM MY LION!'" she bellows, "But everyone was getting outta there but there was still the Shredder between me an' the exit an' I didn't even think about the vents or a back door I knew I had to get outta there or 'Pex would be unhappy even though Nemean got out so I just picked up cans until I managed to hit him on the ugly helmet like BAM!' she crows... and then rubs the back of he rhead.

    "Put a can of olives through the wall though. They stink!"

Raphael has posed:
    Raphael winces as Pippi goes into her reenactment, the volume of the overexcited girl causing his head to throb a bit throughout. However, he offers a small smile for a moment as a token gesture. "Yeah, sounds about right," he says quietly, "Mind takin' it down a few notches, though?" He rubs his head, then shakes it, the bruise over his eye seeming to close it a bit. "You gotta reign that energy in a bit," he adds, then stands back up, crossing the room to grab some ice out of the fridge. "Pain in my neck. Head. Whateva." He remains standing, the world seeming to throb a bit as the room spins. "Yeah, that last hit was a good shot," he mutters.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi grimmaces. "S-sorry... right, pipe to the head." Pippi replies, but much more subdued. She sits back down, though her tail is wagging again, but it stops wagging. "Need to lay down, Raph? Shou...should I see if I can find Leo or Splinter?"

Raphael has posed:
    Raph snorts a bit, but the world just keeps on spinning around him. "Yeah, not a bad idea. Not bother findin' Leo, though. My head hurts enough without him givin' me one of his famous tongue-lashin's. Just... try an' keep it down and let 'em know I'm back, yeah? Yeah. Thanks for the help, pup." He closes his eyes for a minute, then starts making his way to his bed, eager to stop the throbbing with a bit of sleep.

Pippi has posed:
    "Ah... all right." Pippi states quietly, and rubs the back of her head again, standing in the kitchen alone before she lets out a heavy huff of air. &

    "... he's still scary though." she adds in quietly.