9677/Turtle Trip 4: Even The Normal Things Are Abnormal

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Turtle Trip 4: Even The Normal Things Are Abnormal
Date of Scene: 20 October 2019
Location: April's Farm - Northampton, MA
Synopsis: Raph seeks meditation help from Leo. Donnie can't resist his urges in more ways than one. Mikey is Mikey. Pippi struggles with a squirrel. Alopex makes a campfire. Nemean can still hunt. April and Vanessa visit, bringing food and...Halloween costumes? Three words: Salt and Pupper.
Cast of Characters: Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, Pippi, April O'Neil, Copycat, Nemean, Alopex




Raphael has posed:
    Time away from the city, settling out with his brothers and assorted friends, should have Raphael's mind at ease. After all, Leo wasn't pushing a schedule on them, Donnie had no new gadgets to show off, Mikey was being Mikey as always... and then there was Raph. His mind is turning, always turning. Watching the eldest brother when he's sure he can get away with it, wondering if he's figured out the secret of the Nightwatcher. Ever since the day they had encountered each other and Leo had begun to have his suspicions, Raph has been on edge. The Nightwatcher had not put in appearance since, and he certainly wasn't going to while the Turtles were away.

    When they got back, would Leo put that together, too? Can Raph figure out some sort of excuse for that?

    So he's been throwing himself at various activities, wrestling with Mikey, cooking with Donnie and the others... but he hadn't yet taken the biggest plunge, at least until his anxiety seems to be at the breaking point. And so he starts to seek out the blue-banded leader... for meditation practice.

Leonardo has posed:
The trip has been...refreshing. That's a good word for it. Maybe even rejuvenating. Definitely needed, not just for Leonardo but, from the looks of it, others as well. There was some hunting-related thing he'd heard about with Nemean, but he didn't dig much into that. The Nemean situation was one he was still trying to figure out further, not entirely certain Shredder's brainwashing was fully dealt with, but so far signs seemed to be good.

It was an interesting trip for Pippi as well, getting to experience things away from the big, bright, noisy, overpopulated city. It was quiet, sometimes too quiet for her, but she could explore and Alopex was there to help. And yet, it seemed Pippi was often seeking Leo out for a question or just to stick around a bit. If he had things he could teach or talk to her about, it was fine with him.

One main thing remained on his mind since the early chat with Donnie, and that was Splinter himself. Their Sensei, the one they looked up to and called Father. Was he going too far in the war with Shredder? Was there such a thing when it could mean living or dying? Where was the line? What might Leo have to do when it's reached? He knows Splinter has killed and will kill again. The question is, can Leo do that, or will he always look toward mercy first? Will that come back to bite them all?

So it is that the blue-masked turtle can be spotted walking the property, katanas strapped across his back as usual. A bottle of water is held in one hand, the other free. He stops roughly in the center point of a clearing where a few trees ring the area, a thoughtful glance sent toward each one before coming back to the spot he stands in.

Raphael has posed:
    It seems that most of the others have gotten some manner of rest and relaxation from the trip. Leo's been more laid back, even. Which makes Raph even angrier at himself for not relaxing, for constantly being on higher guard even though he had no great reason to be so. No one seems concerned or even interested in the Nightwatcher out here.

    So why is he? Maybe Splinter will find his room without the Turtle around--

    He shakes his head forcefully, then spots Leo watching some trees in the distance. Raph, for his part, waits a moment, waffling with himself. If he wasn't careful, would they kick him out for his vigilante ways? What sort of disappointment would he have to endure? He considers, for a long, LONG moment, letting go of the Nightwatcher gear when he gets back to the city. Just getting rid of it and letting someone else sort it out! But he knows... he knows that he needs the outlet. He loves his brothers, all of them, but he needs the further outlet for his aggression, beyond Leo's rules.

    And so he starts his walk, lost in thought to the point that he nearly walks right into Leo, snapping to with a grunt.

    "Hey, Leo... can I ask ya a favor, bro?"

Leonardo has posed:
It's almost like the Leonardo they've grown used to has been replaced by some different version. He's smiled more, been more open to just hanging out and relaxing, not even doing anything at times. Will that change when they're all back within the cramped confines of the Lair, back in the sewers, back thinking about Shredder, the Foot, and whatever else? That will be the question to answer, to see whether or not Leo and the rest can find a better balance - but mostly Leo himself.

After taking a sip from the bottle and screwing the cap back in place, his head tilts slightly to one side as he catches another sound amid the birds and other examples of nature around them, which leads to him turning toward Raphael just in time to avoid being bumped into. He's figured someone was approaching, but he didn't know who.

So it is that a hand extends to clap the red-masked one on the shoulder, a grin revealed that is, perhaps, too wide for some of the issues the two have had, the butting of heads, the rivalry...the wonder at what he may or may not know of the Nightwatcher.

And then he says, cheerfully, "Sure, Raph! Whatever you need. I'm here for you, bro."

Raphael has posed:
    Of all the things Raph expects in regards to a response from Leo, the one he gets isn't even in the top 50. In fact, the suddeness and just... cheeriness of the response causes Raphael to go rigid for a long moment, staring at (or rather past) the blue brother with a shocked look on his face.

    And he just stands there for a long time, stuck in a type of stasis it seems. His mind seems to have ceased all non-automated functions, as he barely even blinks.

    When he finally comes to, he steps back slightly and frowns. "Who are you an' what did you do with my brother?" he asks, then does something that might just as well shock Leo as much as Leo had done to him.

    "I need your help."

Donatello has posed:
The garage. No one told him the garage was off limits. There's parts in there. Scrap metal, bits... pieces... Thumping sounds begin to emanate from it. A robotic sort of voice... that sometimes sounds like it's being distorted into something like a digeridoo. Windows are shaking. There's lights inside, multiple colors. No lasers at least. But there were tools available.

Someone is an addict. Someone also has some sweet techo haus bumping in a private party that seeks the souls of others. Maybe the Need To Party will come. Maybe they'll shut Donnie down and drag him into helping Raph. Maybe they'll kick his ass.

Cliffhanger.

Leonardo has posed:
"I'm trying to smile more, Raph. See?" Leo really forces it this time, making the grin before it look positively natural in comparison. "I don't want everyone to see me as the wet blanket, or the killjoy, like 'Oh, Leo's just being Leo and we can't have any fun.' I hear it, man. Look, I know we've got a lot of stuff going on and we don't always see eye to eye, but I was really hoping this little vacation would be good for all of us and I don't know about you but I'm feeling refreshed."

What did they do with Leonardo, indeed.

He even laughs at his brother's response, shaking his head before growing marginally more serious. "Yeah, you need a /lot/ of help, bro. But I meant it when I said I was here for you. What's up?"

Around that time, eyes begin to flicker toward the garage. Oh, boy. "I'm almost surprised it's taken him this long," he deadpans.

Pippi has posed:
    Sporting a recently bandaged hand and a light sweatshirt, Pippi's appearance from out of the side brush, leaves in her hair, her sleeves, down the hood of her hoodie, stuck in her pockets and picking a couble of wood chunks out of her teeth, the red-and-white canine mutant's ears are back, her tail set low as she attempts to shake out the brightly colored fall foliage without her left hand -- when she starts hearing the thudding music from the garage. Her ears prick up, and she straightens a moment, cocking her head to one side and listening -- an then spits a leaf out, letting her tongue hang a moment to try and get the taste of Fall Roughage out.

April O'Neil has posed:
April had invited Vanessa to take her Camaro and drive up to the farm to restock the guys and their friends, as she and Leonardo had arranged prior to them coming up to the farm.

The yellow and black sports car had arrived in the nearby town to do just that, after a fairly long drive. Van and April got to spend some time walking in the town, seeing a bit of small town USA is alwasy refreshing, right?

Now though, the bright yellow sports car is rumbling its way down the driveway of the farm itself, with April behind the wheel, her best friend with her and a backseat and trunk full of groceries.

A complimentary honk of the black racing striped yellow Camaro is given to those staying at the farm as the vehicle pulls up, and April looks over to Vanessa from behind her sunglasses. "Here we are." She states while putting the car into park in front of the multi-story farm house.

Raphael has posed:
    Raph rolls his eyes at Leo's further smiling attempt, shaking his head in faux disappointment. "Yeah, you look like a slasher like that," he says, "Not gonna meet any new people that way, Leo. Gotta tone it down a bit. Besides, if you ain't the wet blanket, who's gonna be?" He seems to challenge this with a look, but soon backs down. The comment about him needing help obviously grinds his gears, but he sighs instead. "Not what I expected when I came over here," he sighs, then shakes his head again. "I need to clear my head, and you're always meditatin'. Can ya... give me some pointers or some--" When he picks up Donnie's musical choice from the barn, he sighs again, then the honk of the car causes him to straighten up.

    Seems there's a lot going on now, and Raph's thoughts are already turning to the now.

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle looks back over to April from where she sits in the passenger seat. She has a very nice pair of sunglasses on, which are probably more expensive then three-fourth of the rest of her wardrobe combined. A birthday present from a bestie who really shouldn't have. Otherwise she has on jeans and a multi-colored sweater that is perfect for a day out in the country like this.

"I hope the rest are ok with me coming," Vanessa says a little nervously. She's been a little nervous from start about meeting Leonardo's brothers, and that emotion has grown a bit with increasing proximity to their destination.

She glances over her shoulder at the groceries. "There's really just four of them? I'd have imagined this would feed an army," Vanessa jokes to April before opening the door and climbing out. Vanessa draws in a breath of that fresh country air. Her hair is pulled up behind her, a couple of sticks holding it in place. She moves to start pulling out grocery bags as she otherwise glances around the farm.

Donatello has posed:
Bubbles continues to thump in the garage, a voice talking about Deutchland and the phrase Bidibodi bidibu pulsing the lights that are coming through the windows. Who knows what else Donnie has done. He's had time. He had to leave his own equipment at home... When he's not been fishing in the pond, or trying to meditate, or having eating competitions with Mikey, he's been... Being Donnie.

The House, garage, and barn have been re-painted. The roof has been fully re-shingled, gutters cleaned, chimney swept, flues treated. People will note the plumbing works better than last time... Even the furnace has been given a full inspection.

But he needed something. A creature comfort. So now there's a techno-club in the garage by the look and sound of it.

Leonardo has posed:
"I swear. You give someone an inch..." Leonardo frowns from all the noise emanating from the garage, causing him to look a lot more like the turtle leader everyone is used to. See, Donatello did at least come clean with him early in the trip that he snuck a little music along. Leo may have even taken him up on the offer to listen to one of the playlists his brother made, while in private. He shrugs and finds the grin again. "At least he waited a week or so before going crazy, right?"

Raphael may still have reason to suspect this Leo has been replaced by another one.

After spotting Pippi showing up, he takes note of her appearance before turning back to Raph. "You want to meditate? Are you being serious right now?" he asks, eyes growing somewhat wider behind the cutouts in the mask. "I mean, yeah. Of course I'll give you some tips. First we need to--"

*honk honk* - and not from the geese Pippi's afraid of, either.

Another interruption! "That sounds like April, and what perfect timing she has, too." Eyes slide over toward the garage. From the clearing in the open field, he raises an arm to wave in the direction of the Camaro, though he squints at the sight of a second person who seems to have tagged along. "Who is..oh, I met her once," he realizes.

Pippi has posed:
    The rumble of tires on the dirt road cause Pippi to stir from her momentary distraction at Donatello's music, and she turns, drawing back behind some bushes until the car pulls right up to the house. Her nose twitches at the familiar smell of April, and the odd smell of the stranger. She shifts her weight around a bit, and then the red-and-white pitbull pokes her face out from the bushes, her ears rising up as her nose twitches.

    "Hi April!" Pippi cheerily greets, and then the dog mutant makes her way out of the bushes, now full of leaves and twigs of all sorts clinging to her black hoodie. "I think Donnie's in the garage, Pex and Nemean are out in the woods, and last time I saw Leo I think he was by the pond doing the meditation thing." she states, giving a shyish wave to the other human with her bandaged hand.

April O'Neil has posed:
"Yeah, well, they kinda really are an army." April says back to Vanessa with a grin as she pops the door on her side of the car and moves to raise up and out of the vehicle, leaving the door open as its only a two door, so one has to get to the backseat via... you all know how cars work.

The first thing April notes is how much work has been done to her family's farm in the form of well... all of it, the paint obviously stands out very quickly though, followed by the roof work and so on. "Holy shi--" She says, about to curse but she cuts herself off to the arrival of Pippi popping out of the nearby shrubbery. "Wow." She says. "You guys have been busy." She says to the one she met before down in the Lair. "I didn't send ya up here t'make you fix this place up you know." She grins before motioning to Vanessa. "This is a close friend of mine, Vanessa. She wanted to come up and meet everyone, and help out."

Her eyes go to Pippi's hand then and she smiles to her. "Hey what happened to your hand?" She asks, noting the wrap on it. She raises her own hand to wave toward Leonardo and Raph who're just a bit off in the distance. "There's Leo and Raphael." She notes to Vanessa, who's met Leo, but not any of the others.

Raphael has posed:
    Raph turns to the car first, noting Leo says he knows April's guest which sets him a bit more at ease, though still obviously tense. He makes his way toward them, however, seeing Pippi emerge and reach the car first. The stranger has all of Raph's interest for the moment, though he makes sure to walk slowly as to not spook them off regardless. If Leo knows her and April brought her along to visit, then clearly she can be trusted.

    But Raph's nerves are shot to pieces, so he's still suspicious, at least for now.

    When he arrives, he moves to take some of the groceries. "Who's this, April?" he asks roughly, keeping his eyes on Vanessa, sliding bags onto his arms.

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle lifts her sunglasses up to rest atop her head so her eyes can be seen. They widen just a little bit at first at the sight of Pippi. "Oh, I didn't realize-" Vanessa says before cutting off the thought. "Hello," she offers to Pippi instead in a friendly tone, and gives her a smile.

Vanessa pulls some of the bags out of the back seat, loading them up in her arms as she turns then towards the two Turtles who come over. The dark-haired woman is about to introduce herself when she catches the rough tone to Raphael's voice. Instead she stays quiet to let April answer the question since it was asked of her. Though Leo is given a friendly smile and nod. At least she hopes it's Leo. She has no idea if he always wears the same color headband or not.

Leonardo has posed:
Aside from the slightly different turtle coloring, the size differences, and personalities, Vanessa will find there is one thing that clearly separates one turtle from the other: their headbands. Another? Their weapons.

"Don't let me forget about the meditation, bro. Today, for sure," Leonardo promises before they get caught up in conversation, introductions, and meeting someone new. "You made it!" he calls out as they draw near. "And most of the work on the buildings was Donnie. Some of us helped, but..he was bored and needed something to do. I think you can guess where he is right now." Eyes sliiiiide over toward the place he's turned into..whatever it is now.

"Thanks for bringing the extra food. We were getting a little low and tonight would be a great time for a big cook--"

"FLYING NINJA POOOUUUUNNNCEEEE!!" That would be Michelangelo coming out of nowhere to leap at April, whether her hands are full or not. "APRIL!!"

Donatello has posed:
As the conversation goes on outside, arrivals of cars, pretty ladies, Power Pups covered in leaves and talk of just murdering Donnie, in not so many words, the music inside the garage continues to thump... the lights shift to shades of bright red and pink, swirling and flashing to the tune of the next track to... well now it's going deep nineties, the lights now shifted as they are mixing the flare of welding spark and electrical blue as Donatello works on... Something.

Pippi has posed:
    "Hello Vanessa! I'm Pippi. Ah, kinda 'ninja-in-training'." Pippi introduces herself to Vanessa,and she also looks to take up some of the bags, looping bag after bag around her arm and piling as if they didn't weigh anything, mindful of the hand with a bandage. "Oh, well, there's been a lot of boredom on Donnie's part I think, Pex has mostly been training and it's been weird being out of the city -- it's so quiet out here! -- an' might've had a bit of a time with some old trees oh... a five minute walk out." Pippi continues, one ear flicking as she grabs up the bags from April's hands as well, and finishes up once Michelangelo leaps in -- and then answers about her hand:

     "Lost a fight with a squirrel." Pippi replies entirely nonchalantly,

April O'Neil has posed:
April is getting the trunk of the Camaro open to get at the supplies in there too, plastic grocery bags and stacks of drinks in cardboard boxes. She and Vanessa had had to get a store employee to help them get all of this out into her car back in town.

She pauses though to look at Raphael, his voice always recognizably on the verge of being mad. She gives him a lopsided grin and raises her left hand up to push her hair out of her face. She then motions to Pippi who speaks Vanessa's name. "She's a good friend, she's trust worthy. We fought vampires together. You'll love her, I swear it." She tells the red bandanna wearing turtle.

"I even---" April is about to say more before Mikey appears out of nowhere and has her in a hug. She yelped. A bonafide yelp of sudden fright. Once she realizes who it is though she just summons up a smile, exhales a heavy HUFF at his choice of approach and returns the hug to the orange bandanna'd turtle. "Hey to you too. Got your soda here." She then motions to the trunk for him to get at it as Pippi takes the bags from her hands. "Thaaank you." She tells the New Trainee Ninja Squirrel Fighter.

Her eyes then travel to the Barn. "Do I need to go in there just to get a hello out of him?" She asks, everyone really. "He's not liking being out of the city, huh? Away from all his toys."

Raphael has posed:
    Raphael gives a small grunt of affirmation, then nods and softens his position a bit, his muscles clearly relaxing. "Yeah, I figured she'd have to be," he says, his voice a bit less edged now that April and Leo have both vouched for Vanessa. "Sorry for snappin'" he offers, "Name's Raphael." He turns his gaze, and thus his ire, toward the barn now, the music starting to grate on his already-frayed nerves. He sets the bags down, then offers a small incline of his head toward April.

    "Don't worry about it. Donnie's on his way out to be social right now. I'm gonna go remind him we have company, yeah?" With that, he stalks off for the barn, his footfalls quiet even as he prepares an ambush on the purple-clad brother, to 'inform him of their guests'.

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa smiles over at Pippi and replies, "Ninja in training? That's maybe the coolest training program I've ever heard of." The sloe-eyed woman flashes a warmer grin to Pippi before she turns back towards Raphael as he gets the explanation from April. Waiting to see if she is welcome or not.

As she gets the greeting, Vanessa gives Raphael a little nod and a smile that is only slightly nervous now. "Hi Raphael. Nice to meet you. Sorry if this was supposed to be a family gathering," she says uncertainly, eyes going over to April as she is suddenly sneak-attacked with Turtle Hugs.

Leonardo has posed:
Mikey gives April the biggest, bestest hug ever for someone who hasn't seen her in probably a few weeks by now. "I missed you and who's your friend? Vanessa? Nice to meet you! I'm Michelangelo, or Mikey, or The Party Turtle, or 'Shut up Mikey' if Leo's being Leo. Oh, hey bro," He gives her a wave once he's been disentangled from April, flashing Leonardo a winning smile before he's distracted by the talk of soda. "Ooh!" Now, the upper half is diving into the back of the Camaro to fish it out and flat out CHUG.

For his part, Leonardo explains, "Donnie made it pretty far before breaking down. Don't be too hard on him, Raph, and...what is that? 'I must increase my what?'" Maybe it's better Raphael is handling this. Leo can play Good Turtle for once. "How was the drive up? Any problems?" he wonders.

Shortly after that, he's giving Pippi a long look. "What do you mean you lost to a squirrel?"

Donatello has posed:
As Raph nears it, the door to the garage swings open hard enough to slap into the outside wall... Well it would, but it he looks to have upgraded it to stop that from happening judging by the motion arresters.

"GUYS! GUYS!" yelling over the blasting techo, back-lit by club lights and... Where in the hell did he get or make a disco ball!? "I did it! I did it!!!" pointing within, "I got a satellite receiver setup! The scrap metal in the haul-away piles was the perfect composition! We can watch something besides local broadcast!!" he pauses, looking at Raphael, then Leo... Mikey. April. New hot babe... eyes pop a little.

"Oh... Uh..." deer in headlights... Raph...

Nemean has posed:
The woods have been quite kind to Nemean since they came out here to the farmhouse. He's been spending a lot of his time out there, using his survival skills, having a camp of his own. But he has decided to venture back to the house, though he's honestly unsure why he's on his way back.

Seems that he's stumbled upon quite the gathering at the farmhouse and barn. Hard to ignore the music. He stops at the edge of the woods, spotting the couple of women, but considering everyone is chatting and looks happy, he doesn't make any moves.

Pippi has posed:
    "April says you're cool, you're probably family already." Pippi cheerily replies to Vanessa, her tail wagging, "and training is a lot of hard work, but it is totally cool. The best part is that these guys are like my best friends!" the canine mutant adds on, carrying a good seventy pounds of stuff by herself, teetering slightly out of balance. She *feels* the long look from Leo, and she sheepishly answers: "I tried to understand the 'instinct' thing?" she states with utter embarrassment, her ears turning a bright shade of pink as she whale-eyes and pins her ears back, her tail drooping. "Can I explain more later?"

Raphael has posed:
    Raph is making good time toward the door, his bulk making him only slightly slower than the other brothers, though no less stealthy. So, perhaps it's a bit of a surprise to both him and his target when Donnie busts out of the barn just as Raphael reaches it. The door bashes into Raph, bouncing him back a few steps to his immense confusion. How did he get here?

    Then he clears up, and Donnie seems stunned. Raph smirks and cracks his knuckles, stepping forward once more. "We got company, Donnie," he says. Then he barrels at the science brother in a pro-football styled tackle to attempt to knock him back into the barn. And, even over the music coming from the dance club barn, Raphael's voice is clear. "SO KILL THE MUSIC BEFORE I USE YOU TO BREAK IT DOWN!"

April O'Neil has posed:
"He'll come out when he's ready." April is in the process of telling Raphael, as she hands him a bag filled with Red Bull and Beef Jerky that she'd gotten specifically for him. "Here. Raph Grab Bag of Goodies." She states with a small smirk for him, but he's already off to go get his brother anyway.

Mikey draws her eyes back to the trunk to see him already opening an Orange Crush soda to down it like he's been stranded on an island for months on end. She just softly shakes her head and lets him be. "An army." She quietly repeats what she and Vanessa had exchanged prior to leaving the car.

When Donnie does emerge, the music gets louder. She smiles at his reaction to seeing Vanessa. "I brought a friend." She announces to the violet clad turtle then. "And I got you a bunch've goodies. And my god you've done so much around here, it all looks amazing!"

April doesn't spot Nemean on the edge of the woods, though she knows there's supposed to be more people out here with the turtles. She eyes Leo then. "So things seem to be going well? I went down to check on Splinter. He was... well he looked very content and happy."

Donatello has posed:
"NOT THE FACE!" Donatello is driven back into the barn... the door closing behind them... Then the music goes off, the lights. A cry of "NO! NODON'TTOUCHTHAT! NOOOOOOOO" followed shortly by "YOU'RE AN ANIMAL!"

The barn door opens of its own volition, or so it seems and Donatello is walking out of the barn. Nothing wrong there. That's not electrical smoke. This is fine. Everything is fine. He manages to get within three feet of the ladies, giving a little fingerwave.

"Hi April! Hi... you..." the Purp Turp swallows at Vanessa, "Hi" and then cough*ohmygodshesprettythisissoembarrassingi'mgoingtodestroyyouRaph*COUGHcough! "Oh! I. Sorry! Electrical smoke... Raph's fault. Gonna start callin' him Ralph pretty soon, he wrecks so much of my stuff..."

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa can't help but flash another small smile to Pippi. Being able to tell the woman's emotions via the behavior of her tail is a unique treat. One that makes Vanessa want to grin but she does her best to suppress it, not quite sure what the etiquette is there.

"Hello Michelangelo," Vanessa replies to Turtle. "Very nice to meet you. I've heard only good things," she says. Vanessa looks back to Leonardo. "Nice to see you again, Leonardo. Thank you for letting me come visit," she offers.

The increasing volume of the music draws Vanessa's attention to the final brother. She lifts a hand to wave over to Donatello and give him a friendly smile. "Hello, and so you're Donatello? I don't know a lot about art, but it's a wonderful name," she says, having obvious noticed the theme to the names even if it's not something she's well versed in. "That's a nice beat," she says to Donatello of the music.

Leonardo has posed:
"Go easy on him, bro!" Leonardo calls out as Raphael takes the initiative in bringing Donatello out, glancing toward Michelangelo - who's already back to his usual excitable, distracted self after flashing Vanessa a cheeky smile - before grimacing as the door to the barn whacks Raph just before diving in.

"And he says he wants to learn how to meditate." Shrugging and shaking his head, he sends a look back toward April and Vanessa. "Welcome to the asylum. I'm a little surprised we lasted this long without everything falling apart." This, coinciding with the racket from within the barn, which he notably stays away from. A hand rubs at the back of his neck. Surely the two that drove up in the Camaro are reconsidering the wisdom of this little excursion, hours away from New York City.

Pippi's body language takes Leo out of the moment when it comes to what his brothers are up to, nodding once to her. "Ah..sure. Another time is fine, absolutely." Even he hasn't spotted Nemean on the fringe of joining them just yet. "Is he?" Leo asks of Splinter. "Finally getting to follow what Rosa and Julio are up to on that soap opera he loves to watch?" Or whatever their names are.

Raphael has posed:
    Raph emerges shortly after Donnie, glaring over at the purple-banded Turtle with daggers in his eyes. "Is that so, Donnie?" he says, "I heard that, and I'm right here, pal." He moves back toward the group, his knuckles bearing the marks of a job well done: electrical burn marks on his hands and soot on his face. "You can fix it later, but for now, you're out here with us." He glances out around the perimeter, not seeing Nemean directly but straining for a bit to see if there's a sight to see anyway.

    He picks up his particular bag with a smirk and nod toward April. "You're the best, ya know that?" he says, pulling out a can and cracking it, draining it like a frat boy and crushing the can in his hand. It's a few moments later that he, at least polite enough to turn around a bit before ripping a huge belch.

Nemean has posed:
The lion rumbles faintly to himself, reaching into his satchel on his side and pulling out something, taking a bite out of it. Satisfied, he heads towards the group. He's not exactly TRYING to be stealthy, but he just sort of naturally is. Must come with the territory around this crew, it seems, "Didn't know we were getting more guests."

April O'Neil has posed:
April steps back to her car then and gathers up more stuff. She gives a grin to Raph's reaction to his grab bag and a nod of her head to his compliment for her. "Thats what I keep telling people." She says with a slight grin and a bit of her own sass. "I invited Casey up, by the way. But he said..." April switches to her mocking macho man Casey Jones voice. "Who's gunna protect the city if all them all aren't here, babe, huh? Its now my civic dooty t'please this city's crime booty."

Along with the reenactment of Casey's voice, April adds in some mocking head bobbles from side to side and then grimaces. "He's disgusting." She says, back in her own voice. Apparently they're in a fighting phase again.

With her arms loaded up, April starts toward the house now, toward the front porch with the stairs up to the main door. She smiles at Nemean when he appears. "Hey there." She says. "Brought some food and goodies for everyone." She's headed up inside now, admiring all the work and maintenance done to the place up-close now.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi gives a releived sigh, teetering a little bit more under ill-balanced cartons of soda and boxes of frozen pizza as she makes her way to follow April into the farm house, giving a smile to Nemean as he walks up, her tail saluting with a wag. "Hi Neeeeeem!" she greets, then tots in after April.

    "Thank you again for letting us use the property, I can't really do a lot of active training in the lair without taking out a wall. Or three."

Donatello has posed:
They're in a fighting phase. It's the best time. The only time! He has to act! He has to use SCIENCE to do it! C'mon pheromones! DO YOUR JOB! Donnie leans in towards April now, trying to give a broad smile, "April, I don't need a goodie bag - you visiting has made this whole week." Brow waggle... Do it...

Brow waggle?

BROW WAGGLE!

And so he does. Even with his mask on, giving a suave smile (for a huge mouth with slightly bucked teeth, and a weird sort of turtle beak.

"Not that I am saying you're goodie bags... I mean... You're good. I wasn't looking or referring to bu- BAGS! Bags of any sort... Or that they are goodie. I mean. I'm goodie... and you're goodie... annnd." he looks at Vanessa, "Oh... hiiii." distracted.

Smoooooooth.

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle's eyes widen at the lion-shape that emerges and approaches. Had it not been for another acquaintance she probably would have freaked out a little bit at this point. Instead, she just murmurs under her breath, "Lions and tigers and turtles. Oh my."

Vanessa carries the groceries, following April inside the farmhouse to drop them off and then returning. She offers to Nemean once he has reached the others, "Hello, I'm Vanessa," along with a little wave of her hand towards the new arrival.

Vanessa looks back to Donatello at his greeting. Her lips quirk with her small grin at the smoothness of the greeting. "Really nice to meet you," she tells him.

Alopex has posed:
    People have arrived, talkings are going on, and it's a pretty perfect cue to start something up. No not a party, and certainly not a tournament. Instead, anyone paying attention may hear the tell-tale sign of a flint being used around one corner of the house. Anyone that seeks out this minor noise will find that Alopex has started a rather decent sized campfire. She -did- bring a few things along that she had insisted on the drive were only for eating around the fire, and this is where some of those things are.

        No Mikey, you will not be cooking a pizza on a stick.

Raphael has posed:
    Raph listens to Donatello trying to be smooth, eyes going wide as he studders and stumbles across all his words like some sort of nervous wreck. In response? Raphael shakes his head, applying his palm to his forehead. Or so he would, if the crushed energy drink can wasn't there to add a nice crumple to the gesture. "You are such a nerd," he says quietly, "Neeeeerd." The sound of a fire rouses his attention, fishing another can of Red Bull from his bag. "I think he likes you, new girl," he says, "Maybe he'll make ya some sort of weird trinket before ya leave."

    With that, he offers a small grunt, moves to shoulder-check Donnie, then heads for the campfire, going surprisingly quiet as he does.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo just shakes his head as he passes Donatello, extending a hand to whack at the back of his head unless he ducks or otherwise avoids it. "Pick your jaw up off of the ground, nerd," he remarks. Imagine Raphael must be mighty proud right about now. "And be polite. You've seen a real woman before."

He can only look mildly amused at Raphael's reaction to the bag of treats and the immediate downing of the Red Bull, pointing out, "That won't help with meditation later, just so you know." April really is the best, but he keeps to the periphery of some conversation so others can do a little catching up. He did visit with her before the trip.

Instead, it's Nemean he then seeks out, waving for him to come join in. "This is Nemean, everybody. He's one of our newer..family members, I guess you could say." Facing the lion he adds, "I haven't seen you around as much. Everything all right?" Naturally, people will begin to gravitate toward the warmth of the campfire Alopex is getting ready. They're going to be cooking some stuff up for sure.

April O'Neil has posed:
April is just about to head up the porch before Donnie does his smooth approach and it just makes her grin at him. "Don't worry, there's a Donnie bag in here somewhere too. I even included some electronic devices in it because I figured you'd need the spare parts." She does her best to try to look out for them all, even if their numbers are growing tremendously and she's yet to get to know the new members well enough!

A look is given back to Vanessa. "You should've seen this place before they did all this work. It looked like a horror movie set out here." She states, her eyes going to Pippi then. "I'm so glad you guys get to come up here, actually, it keeps this place alive, clearly. I loved coming up here as a kid..."

Up the stairs she goes and to the front screen door she opens it, then nudges the little stone flower pot in front of it to keep it open as she reaches for the handle of the front door to push it open and head inside the main house.

Donatello has posed:
Donatello is whacked now, head jerking forward, arms sagging a little before he toes the ground a moment before going to the car to get the Donnie bag, eyes down and looking embarrassed, even as he gives another duck of his head at Vanessa.

"Uhm... I." looking from side to side. "It's nice to meet you..." yoinking his treats before slinking after the others

Nemean has posed:
"Getting back to my roots." Nemean replies to Leo, as he does his best to smile at the turtle. He turns and offers a wave with one of his paws to the others he's being introduced to, "It's a long story." The blue lion is, needless to say, not much of a talker. He can smell the campfire, and he turns his head a bit, before heading over towards it, "I've got something for you to cook over the campfire, if you want, Alopex." Nemean says, as he looks to the vulpine.

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa leans back into the car after Donatello has his bag. There are a few more bags in there, though not from a grocery store. As she retrieves them and straightens, she rests a hand on Donatello's shoulder after the heckling from his brothers. "No fear," she tells him. Then continues in a stage whisper, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering." She gives him a quick wink.

"So," Vanessa says more loudly to get the attention of the others. "I brought something that I thought you might like. I mean, I don't know. I don't know you all real well, but I thought... well, I would have liked it anyway if I was out here. So... I got you all Halloween costumes," she says, holding up the bags from a Halloween costume store. She offers them over, letting them choose for themselves which costume they want, if they want them at all.

Pippi has posed:
    ".. ah... at... the risk of sounding really dumb...." Pippi begins, and she situates all the bags inside the farm house before they threaten to topple her over all the way. Her ears draw forward, nose down slightly at the costuming, and she looks back and forth at the assembly... and then embarrassedly rubs the back of her head, and ducks out towards the back, booking it out the back door and out to the fire -- and Alopex.

    "Alopex, quick question -- what's a Halloween?"

Alopex has posed:
    With some starting to roam toward the fire, Alopex pauses tending to it to glance over. Raph is given an acknowledging wave, "Hey," she greets after another moment. As more venture, they'd be greeted similarly. Nemean, however, catches her attention. "It's why I brought the skewers. I'm sure a few folk wouldn't mind going a bit old school with just sticks but, well, we don't have to go that route if we don't want to."

    She even set up makeshift places to sit. Logs and a smooth stone or two that were nearby. "I figured since April showed up and brought someone with her, we could all use some time to relax. A fire's great for that and I have enough wood for it to last well into the night." Her offered smile is interrupted by an eager looking Pippi, absconding from the farmhouse. "Hmm? .. Oh, a holiday. Most well known for people dressing up in costumes and going from house to house asking for candy." Blink. "Why?"

Donatello has posed:
"Phantom Menace..." Donnie pauses, looking at Vanessa, big eyes. "Marry me..." very big eyes now. "Marry me and want for nothing..." One would think heart bubbles were forming over his head at that point. There's mention of costumes. Is one of those costumes a big heart shape? He'd wear that for Vanessa...

April O'Neil has posed:
April spends some time inside the kitchen of the farm house getting all the cold storage stuff put into the icebox. She then grabs herself and Vanessa a couple of the alcoholic beverages that she hides the rest of us up inside of a secret part of the icebox that she reminders from her childhood. "Maybe they haven't found this yet." She mutters, not convinced that Mikey or Raph wouldn't try to sample some of this stuff, not till they're of proper age!

She then steps back outside and walks along the porch, smiling at the swing there, her favorite place to sit and relax. But its the fire that catches her eyes and she starts down the steps and past the costume selection. "Save my gawdy reporter outfit just for me." She tells Vanessa as she hands her the bottle of adult-drink she'd gotten for them.

April is headed out toward the fire then, waving to Alopex as she approaches. "This looks great." She states, eyeing the seating.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo gets himself well out of range of Donatello and Vanessa, seeking out, of all people, Raphael in as much as allowing someone to see him rolling his eyes.

"Your roots?" he asks Nemean after this, whether there's a story to follow or something simple and to the point. He grabs a few other things to help transport, but he's given reason to pause. "Halloween costumes?" This is unexpected, and it shows in his expression. At least, there's some curiosity.

Michelangelo picks that moment to show himself again. "Are there any giant pizza costumes? Because I totally want to be a giant pizza so I can eat my...you know what, I never said anything." He does begin to root around in the costume stuff, multiple 'oohs' and 'aahs' following even if he has no idea what a few of the things are supposed to be.

Leonardo clears his throat and announces, "Once we're all settled in and more relaxed, I know a few of you wanted to learn some meditation techniques. I can try to help anyone who's still interested."

Pippi has posed:
    "'Kay." Pippi gives a firm nod, and then books it back towards the house, nearly goes through hte back door, remembers to open it and is about ot let it slam shut before she pauses to catch it and closes it gently, then comes back to the grouping around the halloween costumes, physically skidding to a stop. She takes a DEEEEEEEEEP breath, her ears drawing up as she does so, and her tail wags a moment as she looks over the costumes.

    She has no idea what they are. She can't read the descriptions. But she snatches two colorful looking pictures and adds in a quick satement: "GrabbingOneForPexToo!"

Nemean has posed:
"This doesn't count as enough of a Halloween costume?" Nemean asks as he looks to Vanessa for a moment. Sure he never thought he'd be dressing up in head to toe fur when he was younger.

A glance back to Leo, "Used to do a lot of survival stuff. You know, SERE and the like. Making sure I remember how to do it. Plus I got some food for Alopex to cook. It's in the big freezer, I'll go grab it."

He vanishes into the house, and after a few minutes, returns with several large, foil wrapped bundles, "If you guys like venison, anyway."

Alopex has posed:
    Entirely unaware of the goings on in Donnie's head, Alopex is just pleased the fire has caught as well as it has and that people are starting to wander over. "Ah, thanks April. I've been roaming around today trying to get it set up. Should be perfect for a cookout and a nice night under the stars,". Meditation? "Stare into the fire long enough, Leo, and I think anyone could find themselves calming down. There's something about the warmth and the ambience that just.. works, you know?" As long as it is a SMALL fire. SMALL. Not.. bigger.

    Pippi darting off leaves the fox curious in the pup's wake, but she'll be finding out about what is in store soon enough. What Nemean brings, however, Alopex senses before he even has a chance to offer it. "... You are a -saint-."

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle tells Nemean, "Well, you could certainly pass with it as a costume. Though part of the fun, for me, is pretending that I'm someone or something that I"m not. But there's no wrong way to do it." She gives Nemean a warm smile.

The proposal from Donatello draws a warm laugh from Vanessa. She grins at him and slides her arm about his shoulder to let him walk her over to the fire if he will. "Maybe a long engagement," she jokes back at him. Once to the fire, she'll take a seat somewhere and says, "This is really nice. You all are a fun group to be around," Vanessa says.

Donatello has posed:
Donnie is walking on air with Vanessa's arm around him, even offering a hand while she sits in a properly gentleman's move before he himself takes a seat to dig into his goodie bag. "Chewy nerds... chewy nerds... ooo sweet-tart rope... Pork rhinds!!" lifting the bag in victory and smiling around at everyone. "Boss!" looking to the others now as he gets comfortable.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi returns to the fireside, somewhat out of breath from all the darting back an forth, and she lobs a plastic-wrapped cheap costume at the Fox. It's colorful! It's metallic!

    It's a shaker of salt on a colorful background!

    Meanwhile, Pippi's already ripped hers open and wiggled into the foam one-piece costume.

    "Look Pex, salt and pupper!" she cheekily grins.

April O'Neil has posed:
April walks around the fire setup a bit before she finds a place of her own to settle down and take a seat, her hands going to the tops of her knees as she holds her drink between them. "Well it all looks great." She states with a smile to Alopex. Her eyes drift around the property them, the house and barn specifically. "Seriously, I'm blown away by everything thats been done up here. I apologize for the condition it was in when you guys got here... Last time we were here, things were pretty... dramatic, we didn't have a lot of time to do fixups."

She smiles over at Vanessa when she joins. "Are they still going through all the costumes?" She asks. "My money's on Mikey being the early 80s hair band rock singer." She says with a sly grin and a sip of her drink. April's eyes fall onto Pippi now and she grins at her. "Lookin' good."

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo's expression sort of falters at 'Salt and Pupper,' enough that he just stares at Pippi and Alopex for a few seconds before remarking, "That's terrible, I hope you know." It seems it's enough to break his train of thought with Nemean, meditation, whatever's going on with Donatello and Vanessa, and much of everything else right now. Such a bad pun.

Leaving the costumes to the others for the time being, he moves to lean against the side of the farmhouse closest to the fire and the benches Alopex has set up, content to observe quietly. Everyone seems to be happy, enjoying things, soon to be well-fed.

He could get used to this.

Nemean has posed:
Nemean does chuckle faintly at the mention from Vanessa, "Fair enough. I think a lot of folks would think I was wearing a costume on top of a costume.." Still, once Pippi shows off her own costume, he figures he may need to at least play along. It is her first Halloween, after all.

"I'm far from that, Alopex." Nemean replies, as he grins at the fox, "Just a hungry lion."

Alopex has posed:
    Honestly, the fox had never really had a chance to do the whole halloween thing. Foot Clan and all that, no idea what the meaning of the word 'fun' is. Just training and missions and .. other things. "Eh?" She takes a moment to look at it and then just snickers, ".. Well. I suppose it is, isn't it?"

    On over to April, the woman gets a smile, "Ah, I've lived in worse. It was nice to help out around here, clean things up, get everything situated. It was super easy, barely an inconvenience." Granted, she wasn't doing any of the electrical work, but she did whatever the others were asking... as long as it involved helping spruce the place up. NO TRAINING OR OTHER SUCH NONSENSE ON VACATION.

    "Right, right, either way," she makes a motion for everyone's attention, then toward the skewers and a cooler which she'd motion Nemean toward with his vension. "All the things you could ever make around a campfire. Minus chocolate, though. Still some graham crackers and marshmallows in there, so if someone can think up a substitute I'd be all about some s'mores. Dig in folks, it is what the fire is for."

Donatello has posed:
Finally remembering earlier as his brain gets back to full function, Donnie also turns to Vanessa one more time. "Oh. Uh. Thank you as well... the name. Yeah. Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi... He's who I'm named after. He was a 14th century renaissance sculptor... So I guess it was fate that Dad named me after him. We both like to make things with our hands. Though I sometimes wonder if I should've been Leonardo, with all the scientific tinkering and all." winking over at Leo before he looks back to Nessa, "But I would certainly be happy to sculpt you - I mean... it's impossible to compare, but I mean..." blink blink blink

Super smooth.

Leonardo has posed:
Just when all seems to be as normal as it can possibly get with this motley crew, Leonardo rubs his face with both hands at Donatello's efforts to show how smooth he is. "I'll just be...over here," he says. Far, far away from Vanessa and his swooning brother.

About that time, Michelangelo turns back up looking like some strange version of the real Kurt Cobain mixed with Weird Al's version, barely able to see through the blond wig he wears, a small plastic guitar over a shoulder since it won't fit around his shell. "Got yours, dude." He tosses something at Leo, which is grabbed before it can plop against his chest and slide down. Turning it around until he can read the label on the bag holding everything, he looks up past it, eyes just over the edge as he holds it in both hands.

"Sheriff Woody?"

Mikey beams. "And Raph gets to be Buzz Lightyear!"

Leonardo facepalms one more time.

Pippi has posed:
    "Awwr. I thought it was clever. After all, we're /seasoned/ fighters!" Pippi states embarrassedly to Leonardo, and she rubs the back of her head as her ear pinks go dark again, her ear flicking back a moment before she leans back on her bench seat, and she looks puzzledly at Donatello, and elects to quietly ask Nemean and Alopex: "... what's up with Donnie? He seems extra off with Vanessa."

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle takes a sip from the beer that April brought her. She smiles as Pippi comes out in the costume. "Oh that's precious," she says with a laugh, her generally warm demeanor showing through in the smile that is given to the canine mutant. "I hope the costumes are fun," she says. "I still need to figure out something to go as myself."

Vanessa looks back to Donatello as he tells her about his name. "Scultp me?" she repeats, caught by surprise briefly. She lowers her beer. "I don't think I've ever had anyone offer to do that before," she tells Donatello. "That's... very very sweet," she says, nodding and grinning at him. "Maybe I could do that for my costume too. The statue without the arms. Cover them up somehow. A black backdrop and wear black sleeves?" she says.

April O'Neil has posed:
April has found a place to seat herself and just enjoy her drink while she listens to the others. She watches Mikey handing off the Sheriff costume to Leo and it gets a grin from her, but its the interaction between Vanessa and Donnie that just has her truly beaming with amusement.

"Do we get to watch you sculpt her, or should we all go inside and leave you two alone." She points then to her car. "I have the soundtrack from Ghost in there. That super old movie with the hot guy and the military girl." She waggles her pointing finger as she points, looking to Donnie.

"Want me to go get it?" And she just grins to Vanessa.

Donatello has posed:
"Oh! The Venus? That actually had arms at first... they were broken off in the 1800s! Horrible tragedy... But she's... from the waist up... I mean." If Donnie could blush he would, but he thunders on, "I could help you with the make up, something that wouldn't cake or crack when you moved? I've got a few compounds I've work on." pausing at April's quip. "Ghost? With Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore? Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers?" he blinks again and freezes. For a while.

"OH! I... UH..." looking to Vanessa, "OH! She just met me! I doubt she'd... I mean... I..." blink blink blink. "I mean who'd want these on them?" lifting up his big ol three fingered mitts. "But... OH... Jeeze. I mean."

Blue Screened

Nemean has posed:
Nemean deposits the food in the cooler, then grabs some for himself, and a skewer, and then sits next to the fire. It seems that he is quite content to just sit there, casually chat with Alopex, and cook the venison over the fire.

Leonardo has posed:
And a very interesting night of food and fun is had by all, out at April's Farm.