The little pale-skinned turtle had felt proud of himself. The nice woman had asked him to offer the new turtle some food, and if he wasn't hungry, to let her know. He was confused when the new turtle looked scared of the nice lady, and he was scared when he saw the new turtle on the ground. He was only 6 years old, but he knew enough about taking care of others to know that something was wrong with the new turtle.
He crawled towards the new turtle on all fours, since he had no idea how the nice lady was able to use only two of hers. His friends gathered around the bigger turtle, too, and all just stared at him. The pale-skinned turtle watched his friends, curious about what they would do. One of them, the girl, poked the newcomer. The others followed her lead, poking and shaking.
Eventually, the newcomer woke up, making a weird noise that the humans sometimes made when they were sleepy. He stared at all of them.
"Ok?" The pale-skinned turtle asked him. The new turtle shook his head, which the little turtles all recognized as a common word from the humans as 'no'.
"Nice lady scary?" asked the female. The newcomer's eyes closed slightly, then opened again.
"Guess I'm just paranoid..." he answered.
"Pair-noid?" asked the pale turtle. The newcomer smiled, relaxing all the little turtles.
"Yeah, paranoid. It means you're scared of something that isn't scary," he said. The little turtles nodded. That made sense. And that was a fancy word. They liked fancy words. They always made people sound really smart. This bigger turtle must be super smart! Maybe he knew more fancy words?
"What are your names?" asked the bigger turtle. The kids looked at each other in confusion. Names?
One of the twins and the female crawled off in different directions. They came back moments later, the girl holding a pretty flower and the boy holding a stick.
"Name?" they asked the bigger turtle. He stared at them again.
"Do you guys have names?" he asked. The pale turtle shook his head, mimicking the action that the bigger turtle did. The bigger turtle made a frowny face.
"Hmm," he said. The pale-skinned turtle had never heard that one before. He wondered what it meant?
"Name?" asked the girl, offering him the flower.
"You want me to name you?" asked the bigger turtle. The female smiled at him and nodded. The bigger turtle's eyes opened really wide, making the kids laugh.
"Um, ok," he said. He stared at the flower while the kids watched in silence.
"This is a lotus flower," he said.
"Pretty," said the girl.
"Very pretty," he agreed. He stared at her. "Can I call you Lotus?"
"Lotus! Lotus! Lotus!" she cheered. This made the bigger turtle smile really big. The pale-skinned turtle noticed the hole in his teeth and wondered about it but was scared that it was a "rude question." The humans had warned him about asking "rude questions." They said those made people sad, and he didn't want to make anyone sad. So he didn't ask.
The twin with the weird spot on his face was next, holding onto his stick like it was a teddy. The bigger turtle turned his head to the side, and the little turtles all mimicked the action, having fun with this new turtle. He was really smart and he knew a lot of things!
"It isn't exactly a typical exercise to name a child 'stick'," he said. "So, how about Branch?"
The child squealed happily and hugged his stick tighter, laughing.
"I'll take that as a yes," said the big turtle. He turned around and looked at the final three. "What about you guys? Any preferences?"
While they didn't know what "preferences" were, they understood the question. The other twin crawled away, back to the table, while the dark green turtle reached into his shell to retrieve something. The paler turtle just sat there and watched his friends run around happily and waited.
The twin came back holding his favorite T-rex toy in his mouth and making roaring sounds. He showed his prize to the bigger turtle, who smiled at him.
"So, you want to be called Rex?" he asked. The newly named "Rex" smiled at the name and nodded his head so hard the others were afraid it would fly off. The dark green turtle showed the bigger turtle a book they were given. None of them knew what the book said, or what it was about, but they liked the pictures. He flipped the pages to his favorite one, a picture of a big building with people in front of it and pointed to a really pretty-looking word.
"August?" the big turtle asked, and the kid nodded. The big turtle smiled and turned to look at the pale turtle.
"What about you?" he asked. "Have anything in mind?"
The kid shook his head. He had no idea what he wanted to be called, but the humans- especially the nice lady- always had something to call him.
"Buddy?" he asked. His friends nodded their agreement.
"You want to be called Buddy?" the big turtle asked. The pale turtle nodded. The big turtle smiled.
"Ok then, Buddy," he said. Hearing his new name for the first time made the little turtle giggle. He really liked the big turtle. He was fun, smart, and funny. And he was nice, too.
Lotus yawned really big and curled up on the ground, ready to sleep. The others followed her until they were sleeping in a big pile. Buddy followed them, climbing on top. Without the bigger turtle noticing, he watched him.
The big turtle was smiling at them, but he seemed really sad. He looked at the sky, which was dark now, and let out a big breath. His smile went away while he looked up.
Something was making the new turtle sad, and Buddy had no idea what it could be. Maybe he could find out...
Donnie spent the next couple of days wandering the area, seeing how big his cage was. He didn't much like the situation he was in, but he enjoyed the time he spent with the kids. They seemed to like him, always crawling up to him and asking him questions and showing him things. They honestly reminded him of Mikey.
With a sigh, Donnie found himself facing the metal wall he had attacked on his first day here. He glared at the wall, knowing that New York was just on the other side. As he was glaring at the wall, he noticed some kind of bulletin hanging from it.
Maximum temp: 90' (32')
Minimum temp: 70' (21')
Max Occupation: 20
As Donnie was reading, he heard something behind him. Turning around quickly, he tensed his body, ready for an attack. There was nothing there.
He glanced up at the trees, seeing one of the branches bouncing up and down slightly. A couple of leaves floated to the ground. Was someone spying on him?
Before he could investigate, August ran up to him carrying a book. It wasn't just any book, though. It was the book that he used to show Donnie the name he wanted.
"Can read?" he asked. Donnie had determined the differences in personality for the children a while ago. Lotus was a little vain, always wanting to look her best but having fun with the others in the dirt. Branch loved climbing the trees (understandably, since he seemed to love sticks so much) and he would always be bouncing or jumping. August loved books and learning new things, but he would participate in the others' games and roughhousing. Rex, Branch's twin brother, loved swimming in the pond and pretending he was a dinosaur.
Buddy was more of a leader. He calmed down his friends when something was bothering them, called everyone to the picnic table when it was time to eat, and he was the one who seemed the most mature. Of course, him being a kid, he asked Donnie a lot of stuff too, but for the most part, Donnie just let him work with his friends the way they always have.
Donnie was brought back to reality when he remembered that August was still standing in front of him, clutching a book and waiting for his answer. With a smile, Donnie knelt down in front of him so they were eye-level.
"You want me to read to you?" he asked. August nodded and took Donnie's hand, leading him back over to the pond, where the others seemed to be waiting for them. Donnie sat down on the ground, which was suitably cooler than the rest of the room. August offered him the book, and Donnie was happy to oblige.
"A book about the seasons?" he questioned to himself. The little turtles shuffled a little closer to him, waiting patiently for him to start. Donnie opened the book.
He was surprised at how attentive the little turtles were. None of them interrupted him, asked any questions, or repeated phrases that he said. It was a little unnerving, actually. Donnie found himself interrupting himself, or going silent in thought, or shuffling around somewhat uncomfortably. It seemed unnatural for these children to be sitting here in silence.
His eyes watered slightly when he got to summer. There was a picture of New York, people on the streets, pizza places...
Donnie cleared his throat and continued on. He finally finished the book, still a bit suspicious about why the kids hadn't spoken at all.
"Um... any questions?" he asked. All of them raised their hands at once.
"Why winter cold?"
"Summer warm?"
"Fall in August?"
"What fall?"
"Ok?"
Buddy was the one who asked the final question. When he did, his friends fell silent, studying Donnie. His eyes started watering again, understanding what he was asking. It reminded him of Leo, of how his older brother was always so infuriatingly good at reading him.
"I'm fine," Donnie said, but it came out as more of a whisper. He turned back to the "Summer" page and stared longingly at the picture of New York. "Just… thinking about something…"
He took a deep breath and closed the book. He smiled reassuringly at the little turtles, making them smile back at him, although Buddy's smile was more of a mirror of his own. The bell signaling lunch rang, and the turtles crawled over to the table. Donnie followed them, curious about their behavior.
When they arrived, Amy was setting down the last bowl of food pellets. She smiled nervously at Donnie. While he was still wary of the humans, he found himself growing more and more comfortable around this one. She didn't try pushing her presence onto his own, seemingly respecting his privacy.
Donnie took this opportunity to ask her a little bit about the little turtles.
"Hey, Amy," he started. Her eyes widened slightly at the fact that he was finally speaking to her, but there was an excitement in her voice that made Donnie like her a little more.
"Yes?" she asked politely. Maybe she was afraid that he would stop speaking to her if she sounded too anxious.
"I was just reading to the kids," he said. "None of them interrupted me… like, at all."
"Oh, well, their teacher is very strict about their manners," Amy said, thinking carefully about her words. Donnie could see it on her face: she didn't approve of the kids' teacher.
"Yeah, well, it's unnatural for kids to remain that silent during a story," Donnie said. "And also somewhat uncomfortable…"
Amy snorted then covered her mouth quickly. This made Donnie chuckle a little bit, making her turn red.
"Um, sorry…" she said. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. Donnie decided to continue.
"Also, they're kids. Why do they have an advanced book about the seasons?" Donnie asked. "Don't get me wrong, I found the book very interesting, but there are words in there that I'm one-hundred percent sure that they didn't understand."
"It was assigned to them by their teacher," Amy said. Donnie crossed his arms and sighed.
"Maybe you guys should find the kids a new teacher," he said. "They can barely talk and are unable to walk on their hind legs, meaning that whatever teacher they have isn't teaching them the right things."
"That's what I tried telling them, but everyone seems to think that they're a bunch of super-geniuses just because they're mutants!" Amy exclaimed. "I mean, sure, they're a little different, but they're still children! Their learning capacity is at the same level as any HUMAN child!"
Donnie was a little shocked at her outburst. He wasn't expecting her to be so passionate about it. It seemed like she was one of the rare good humans, like April. And… alright, maybe Casey was part of that list… MAYBE.
Donnie smirked at her.
"I think maybe I can handle whatever teacher they have," he said. "Just be ready with a different one."
Amy turned her head to the side in confusion, but nodded nonetheless.
"I already have one in mind," she said. Donnie smiled at her, a full-blown gap-tooth one, to show that they had a deal. It was the kind of smile that made his brothers nervous, and, understandably, made her nervous, too.
Notes:
"Friends don't kill each other. They only mortally wound each other, perhaps causing the loss of a limb, too. But not death."