9471/Turtle Trip 2: Doggin' It

Turtle Trip 2: Doggin' It
Date of Scene:	06 October 2019
Location:	April's Farm, Northampton, MA
Synopsis:	Later in the night, Leonardo looks in on Pippi. It's her first time away from the big city.
Cast of Characters:	Pippi, Leonardo

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Pippi has posed:
    When they had arrived at daybreak, Pippi had been a little queasy (she since revealed she would have liked to ride shot-gun, but didn't want to fight anyone for it), but had made her way around the immediate area, inspecting it against, as she explained, Geese. It was a good enough excuse to make sure that the farm was far enough from the road to feel comfortable, that they wouldn't be seen, and that the humming of drones couldn't be heard. Satisfied, she had promptly been dragged off for some light training with Alopex, most likely but night was quiet.

    Too quiet.

    Pippi was wrapped in a blanket, on the front porch swing, rocking back and forth with the rhythmic, soft protest of the metal chains, one leg tucked up beneath her, the other placed on the floor of the porch. She was listening to the quiet fall night. The occasional whip-poor-will, the distant hoot of an owl. Deer making their way through the underbrush. Her ears were up, her amber eyes peering out into the darkness beyond.

Leonardo has posed:
The place has been deemed safe and secluded enough. The keys to the ATV have been hidden so Mikey can't go joyriding - April's request. A cookout has been had and while a campfire still burns with a couple huddled around it chatting and snacking, others have broken off for their own purposes.

Leonardo is one of them, getting up slowly to step away and make a circuit of the buildings, barn and then main farmhouse, where he'll be sleeping at some point. The katanas are strapped to his back, and while there should be no need for them to come out here unless it's to practice with, they are as much a part of him as an arm or a leg, an extension of his own body, and he just never knows when they might be needed. It's easy to let the guard down out here, but he cannot fully shut his mind off, only let some things go a bit.

His rounds bring him toward the porch; near-silent footfalls in the grass that would normally go unnoticed in the sewer or city might actually be detectable by someone with the ears for it. Of course, he can be seen if someone is looking. Pippi is spotted, but he says nothing yet. She might be napping.

Pippi has posed:
    Pip had excused herself from the fire a bit earlier, and had tried to sleep off any remaining unease, but... well. The blanket was from her own sleeproll, so there's no fear of getting one of April's dirty. Pippi's rocking in the swing halts for a brief moment, her ears flicking up, alerting that she was, in fact, awake, and one turns in Leo's direction, but she doesn't call out. Instead she resume rocking, slowly, back and forth. Creeek, creeek.... creeek creeek.

Leonardo has posed:
Say something, or let Pippi be at rest with herself? Leonardo's seen where she is and there's nothing that seems out of order, but while he may still have some looking around to do there's more than enough time to stop and look in on her.

"Hey, Pippi. Everything all right? You trying to sleep there?" he wonders, a foot coming to rest on one of the steps up from the ground to the porch.

Pippi has posed:
    "Hey Leo." Pippi greets the terrapin teen, and she cants her head to one side, looking over to him. Her lips curl into a slight smile. "M'alright. Just too quiet, 's all." she replies in a hushed voice. "... and the house smells too... human, I guess. And like mothballs. Yeech."

Leonardo has posed:
"Quiet enough you can actually hear yourself think, huh?" Leonardo questions, a knowing look passing over his face. "It's one of the reasons I was looking forward to coming out here once the idea came up. I'll bet you're not used to no horns honking, less people talking all over the place, no engines running...you probably hear electrical hums better too, don't you?"

Pippi has posed:
    "Mmhmm. Like the TV's pitch changing when you change the channel. Different cars. Different horns and voices." Pippi states as her ears draw back down.

    "I don't think I like it when I can hear myself think. It all feels very lonely." she comments, giving Leo a side-eye, but she shifts to one side of the swing, an unspoken invitation for the turtle to join her.

Leonardo has posed:
A single nod from the 'blue' one. "All that and more, yeah." The space made on the swing is considered, though Leonardo doesn't fully take her up on it yet. Instead, he comes up to the porch the rest of the way and leans against one of the support posts for the roofing above that extends from the second floor down. "The funny thing about that? As long as you can hear yourself think, you're never alone." It sounded good to him before he said it, but with him the one to actually voice that thought, it probably says something about him. Brows scrunch closer together.

Pippi has posed:
    "... no... I think I feel more alone with it. When I'm around everyone else, I hear them, I know their scents better than faces. You smell different than Mikey, then Raph, than Donnie. Alopex and Nemean are super different smells.

    Pippi looks out into the darkness.

    "I can't sleep when it's too quiet or too dark. I don't like where the thoughts go." she adds, and draws up her foot, putting her head on her knees. "What about when you do your meditation thing? Does your mind kinda wander?"

Leonardo has posed:
This may be the quietest place Pippi's ever been. It can be difficult to judge how that is for someone who isn't used to it. Leonardo doesn't have that perspective. "But you can't really get away from things in the city. There's always something going on. Maybe you can go get a little peace and quiet in your room, but..."

Trailing off, his eyes scan the area as well. Always alert. Always on the lookout. "That's because you have thoughts you don't know how to deal with yet," he suggests. "Meditation can help with that." He begins to count off some of the ways, using his fingers and thumbs. "Meditation is good for lowering stress, for starters." Any question why he does it so often? "But it also helps with anxiety, your emotions, your attention span and self-awareness, it can help your memory, help you sleep better, maybe even help you deal with pain."

Pippi has posed:
    There's a very soft, quiet laugh from Pippi, as if she doesn't want to interrupt and is trying very, very hard to not laugh at Leo.

    "No wonder you meditate so much. You worry about everyone a lot, 'cause you try to look out for them as much as you can. I see that in Pex, too." Pippi gives a slight smile, turning and looking proper up to Leonardo. "You must have the world on your shoulders."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo frowns, crossing his arms as he continues to lean against the support. "I don't know. Family is important to me, and I don't want to see anyone get hurt, but our whole lives have been built around preparing us /to/ hurt or be hurt," he explains. "All I know is whatever you think of me, good or bad, like 'Leo's too stern' or whatever, it's that way for a reason and without meditation...some things would be a lot different." Probably not in a good way either, from the way it sounds. "I guess Alopex is similar," he admits. "But what so funny that you're almost squirming to keep from laughing?"

Pippi has posed:
    "Meditating to lower stress, and you meditating all the time." she repeats, the blanket shifting -- her tail probably giving a little bit of a wag. "Because you're like me. You try to watch out for everyone, even if it means you're gonna get hurt in the process, because that's just what we do." Pippi gives a slight smile, and she points to her muzzle, and the long scar that cuts diagonally across it. One of the two physical scars she has from her encounter with the Foot Clan's Leader. "Even when we get hurt doing it, because we try to watch out for the other."

    Oippi shifts a little bit as she gives a shrug, "An' I don't think anything bad of you. You don't talk down to anyone. Maaaybe get a little... what did Mikey call it -- Lecture-y? Sometimes, a little Lecture-y, but you're trying your best to keep everyone focused and together. Like... making a taco. You've got the protein, the green stuff, salsa, rice, but you need a tortilla to keep everything together, or else it's not a taco, it's just a mess. And Tortillas are pressed with big heavy things so that they can be able to hold everything."

    Pippi pauses a moment, and looks peturbed. "... that sounded way smarter in my head."

Leonardo has posed:
"You figured it out," Leonardo says, his tone dry. Yes, there is a direct correlation between his stress level and the amount of meditation he does, but the positive side to it is it seems to work. Is it, then, any shock that his struggles to successfully meditate recently helped lead to other problems?

He continues, "Someone has to look out for everyone else. Someone has to be willing to take wounds to keep others safe. As long as the rest of you are okay, I know I'm doing something right." A hand shifts upward to rub around one of his shoulders, the line of his mouth thinning out a bit. "It's hard not to lecture when you're trying to get someone to listen. And..I didn't really follow all of that comparison, but I kind of get it and now I want some tacos."

Pippi has posed:
    "Pretty sure it's the worst kept secret in the Lair." Pippi comments, attempting an equally dry tone -- but her tail is wagging beneath the blanket. "And tacos /are/ pretty great, so I can't blame you there." she adds on as she rubs the back of her head.

    "Just... don't get wrapped up in looking out for everyone else that you forget about yourself, Leo. I like you, I'd likeyou to stay around." she replies, her ears drawing up, her eyes closing slightly, her tail wiggling against the blanket.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo's eyes narrow at Pippi's retort. Did she just crack a joke? "..well played. I guess you're right. And we should do tacos tomorrow. I know we brought stuff for them," he points out. "And I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me." As long as he stays alive, that is. Like I said, I protect my family, and you're all part of it now."

Pushing away from the support pillar, he approaches the swinging bench with a hand out, in the direction of Pippi's head. "I don't know if you still like this. Is it all right if I...?"

Pippi has posed:
    Yes. Pippi cracks jokes on the odd occasion. She even can get the timing down on occasion. she gives a slight smile, and a nod of her head. "All right, stuck with each other, I think I can deal with that." she replies reflectively, and then she blinks a sLeo makes his approach, her ears drawing up around the fluffy part of her growing-out hair, and she hitches a slight breath.

    "JUst... don't tell Donnie. I keep ducking him. It's weird." she adds on, bowing her head slightly, ears drawing a little bit back as she explains: "... I just can't hug people or pet them yet because I never know how hard I'll do it." she admits.

Leonardo has posed:
"Secret's safe with me," Leo says, putting a finger up to his lips with his other hand. "And that might be for the best, for now. I'd rather not have you squeeze me right out of my shell."

The hand closest to Pippi reaches out the rest of the way, settling around the back and top of her head, giving a brief rub between the ears. "This is going to sound really patronizing, but you're a good..dog-person, Pippi. You have a good heart."

Pippi has posed:
    "I'm not a hundred percent sure what patronizing means, but you're a good turtle-person Leo." Pippi states, and she gives a happy-sounding 'chuff' at the brief rub. Physical affection was a rarity for her. "... maybe someday we can just be people."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo clears his throat. "It'd be like me calling you a good dog. You're more than that now," he says. "Usually it means you're saying something nice to someone but acting like you're better then them when you do it." Can't imagine Leo going 'Who's a good puppers?' He adds, "Anyway, I didn't know if you'd like that or not." Since she does, she gets an extra bit of thumb rubbing over an ear.

Pippi has posed:
    "I mean, I do like it... it feels good." Pippi admits, her tail wagging, her shoulders drawing down a bit, "... I don't like it when people do it at random though. I.. I think that might be patronizing... but you're okay." she breathes out, her eyes closed as she relaxes with Leo rubbing her ear.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo removes his hand anyway, nodding as he steps back again to recreate some personal space. "That's it, yeah. If someone asks, it's different. But even if someone asks, it might not be if you don't trust them. Doing it just to do it..someone should always ask first. That way it's your decision to allow it or not."

He shifts away from that topic. "Did you find anything interesting when you were looking around earlier?"

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi actually looks a little disappointed when Leo pulls away, blinking before her ears wiggle, the left ear with its marker tattoo giving a flick as she gives a shrug.

    "Found an old tractor out in some weeds, looked in worse shape than some of the cars at the junk yard Donnie frequents? A big tree that's mostly hollow but super full of ants. Ah..." she rubs the back of her head a moment. "Not a whole lot, but I was mostly looking to make sure there weren't any geese. They're mean."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo gives Pippi an apologetic look, having noticed the shift in her expression once his hand has gone away. "Sorry, I could do it again sometime if you like." Do turtles even have an equivalent when it comes to feel-good things like that? Maybe.

"Oh, I saw it too. I did a ride around the place on the ATV earlier." She may have heard the engine. "I'm sure you'll find all the little secrets there are around here by the time we're ready to go back. Just try to enjoy it. It's very different from the city." He only looks amused at the mention of the geese. "Yes, they are. Hey, I'm going to go look in on a few others. If you want to try that meditation while we're here, come talk to me, okay?"

Pippi has posed:
    "... I think I'd like that." Pippi gives a smile to Leonardo, and she stretches her arms out a bit, and gathers up her blanket. "Thanks to checking in on me... I think I'm going to try bed again."

    The canine gives a small smile to Leo. "Goodnight, Leo." she bids him farewell, and goes to go into the house, caarefully opening the door, and making sure it's closed securely behind her.