"That explains a lot… not just about Mei, but about you."
"Well, I suppose with the way I react to meeting new people…"
"You seem to understand… maybe you could get through to her?"
"I'll try."
And that's how he ended up in the woodland simulation part of the terrarium.
He was curious to meet Mei… what would she be like, how would she act, speaking to another mutant? Was she still upset over being mutated? He had dealt with humans-turned-mutants before. They were always tricky. Thankfully for him, Mei had had at least six years of getting used to being a mutant, so hopefully, this would go smoothly.
Donnie heard some leaves rustle above his head. He reached behind his shell again, but still no bo staff. Maybe he could create a makeshift one from the branches around him…
Donnie took a deep breath.
"Listen, I know you're there," he called. "I just want to talk. I won't even refer to you by name if you don't want me to."
After maybe five minutes of waiting for a reply, Donnie started forward again. He had only walked a couple of feet when he felt a presence trailing along behind him. It didn't feel threatening, so he pretended he didn't know they were behind him until they were up against another metal wall deep in the forest.
"I know you're behind me," he said gently. He stopped and turned around, seeing no one there. "Well, that you were behind me."
"Who are you?" called a female voice from the trees. Donnie couldn't pinpoint her exact location, but he figured that if she had responded to him, she was close enough for his satisfaction.
"My name is Donnie," he said. He heard the female scoff.
"You introduced yourself as 'Donatello' to that pig a couple of weeks ago," she reprimanded him. Donnie couldn't stop a smirk from appearing on his face.
"Yes, well, I only introduce myself as Donatello to people I don't like," he said.
"What do they call you?" she asked. Donnie could hear the sneer in her voice but chose to ignore it.
"I haven't actually introduced myself to any of them yet," he said. "I don't think any of them were listening in when I helped the kids."
He heard a soft hum.
"So, you want me to call you Donnie?" she asked, amused. Donnie smirked and nodded.
"It'd be nice," he said. "What should I call you ?"
It was silent for a moment before someone dropped down in front of him. Donnie could see that it was clearly a female turtle. She was shorter than him… maybe about Leo's height? Her skin was bluish-green, and her eyes were honey-gold.
"I don't know," she said. "What should you call me?"
Donnie thought for a moment, humming when he remembered the female turtle Raph had painted on the side of the Party Wagon.
"Venus de Milo," he said. She snorted.
"Like the statue?" she asked. Donnie nodded.
"Yep! My family has a weird habit of giving artistic names," he said. She crossed her arms with a smirk on her face.
"Yeah, I can tell," she responded. Donnie smirked at her.
"I never see you at the picnic table," he mentioned. Venus's expression darkened.
"There is no way I'm eating that junk they call food ," she said. Donnie shrugged.
"At worst, it's flavorless," he said. He shook his head. "Since you don't eat there, what do you eat?"
Venus thought to herself for a moment.
"These are real trees," she said. "And real bushes… There are apple trees, mulberry trees, blueberry bushes, blackberry bushes, and raspberry bushes. Wild strawberries and onions grow naturally here, too."
"Wow," Donnie said. "You have yourself a whole meal, don't you?"
Venus nodded.
"It tastes much better than anything they've brought in," she agreed. She looked down in thought for a moment. "If you want some, I could spare a couple berries and apples."
Donnie smiled warmly at her.
"It would be nice to eat something with any kind of flavor," he said. This made Venus snort in amusement. "Thank you."
Venus shrugged.
"No problem. It's been a while since I've had a conversation with virtually anybody."
"What about the kids?" Donnie asked. Venus frowned.
"Those human-loving little slime buckets? Sorry, but they can barely say the word 'food' without giving up," she said. Donnie frowned at her, now.
"Well, that's a little rude and somewhat harsh, don't you think?"
"Will you deny that it's the truth?"
"Will you be willing to admit that you never attempted to teach them any proper grammar?"
Venus froze at this. Donnie smirked at her, victorious. He knew that she just didn't like the kids, and she was coming up with excuses as to why she hadn't tried conversing with them yet.
Something about that didn't feel right, though. If she didn't like the kids, why would she try and come up with excuses about it? Wouldn't she outright tell him that she didn't like them?
Venus seemed to shake off Donnie's comment.
"Whatever. I haven't spoken to them since they arrived, and it's going to remain that way," she said. Donnie opened his mouth to retaliate, but he was interrupted by the bell that signaled dinner. Donnie sighed.
"I've gotta admit," he said, "It was nice talking to another mutant who isn't a child."
Venus stared at him in shock.
"I thought you liked those kids?" she asked. Donnie took a step back in shock, somewhat dramatically.
"I love those kids!" he said. He shrugged. "But I mean a whole conversation where I don't have to speak so slowly and explain the bigger words I sometimes tend to use."
Venus snorted then nodded.
"Yes, that seems reasonable. You should… probably get going," she said. Donnie nodded and started on his way back.
"Wait!"
Donnie turned around and looked at Venus, who was fumbling a little bit with her hands.
"It was nice having a civil conversation, too," she said. She then jumped up, caught a branch, and was out of sight. Donnie smiled to himself. Yes, today had been a successful day.