Chereads / Heart of barbara / Chapter 11 - A peaceful night

Chapter 11 - A peaceful night

Donnie smiled, thinking back on their game of Hide-and-Seek last week. He had been right – he was the last one found, but Rev put up quite a fight. It took Buddy less than ten minutes to find everyone, another five before he caught Rev, and about fifteen for Donnie to take pity on the kids and hop out of his tree.

They immediately started up another game, and Donnie decided to take it easier on them this time. He was still the last one found, but at least the kids had a fighting chance this time.

They played one more game before the kids started getting tired. Donnie volunteered to be "it" this time despite the fact that he was the last one found. He goofed around with them, pretending he didn't see them in their mediocre hiding spots, but at least they seemed to enjoy it.

Now, a week later, Donnie was still smiling about it. He hadn't played Hide-and-Seek with someone other than Mikey in years . Well, there was Raph that one time in the woods, but that doesn't count since he was going to beat them up when he found them, which he didn't, because Donnie and Mikey saw Bigfoot and hightailed it out of there.

Donnie chuckled softly, thinking about that day. Yes, it was very awkward with Bigfoot trying to court him, but at least it was resolved in the end. In a weird, disgusting kind of way, since she ended up falling in love with the guy who was trying to hunt her down… the Thumb? Or maybe he was the Hand… no! The Finger! Yeah, that was his name.

He glanced around at the kids, who were all asleep. Buddy and the rest of the little turtles were gathered together in a pile, the kittens were curled up with their tails hiding their faces, and Rev… was sleeping alone.

Donnie frowned at this. Why was Rev sleeping alone? It seemed like she liked the others enough to at least sleep closer to them, so there was no real reason for this behavior.

Her hind leg twitched. She shifted positions. Her eyes clenched together a little bit. She shifted position again. She snarled for a second. Donnie's eyes widened.

Oh, crap. She was having a nightmare.

Donnie carefully and quietly got to his feet and made his way over to her. He gently set a hand on her bare back, which made her flinch. Donnie frowned again but didn't remove his hand. Slowly, Rev's eyes drifted open and moved to stare at Donnie.

"Everything alright, Rev?" he asked her. She sat up and wiped at her eyes, sniffling a little as she did so. That's when Donnie noticed the fur around her eyes was glistening, probably from tears. Her ears were drooping to the sides.

"Mommy and daddy told me that foxes eat turtles," she mumbled. She looked up at Donnie, unshed tears waiting in her eyes. "Is that true?"

Donnie pursed his lips together, not sure how to answer. It was true that they did… quite often, actually, but Donnie didn't want to tell her that. He had a pretty good feeling that he knew why she was upset in the first place.

He moved to sit beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder when he was finished. She leaned into his side, looking up at him. He took a deep breath.

"I'm afraid it is," he told her gently. A tear slipped out of her eye. "But you know, my daddy told me something bad, too, and it scared me for years."

She sniffled again and wiped her eyes.

"What did he tell you?" she asked. Donnie smiled inwardly. Curiosity always distracted Mikey enough to calm him down whenever he had a nightmare. Donnie was glad it was working for Rev, too.

"He told me that humans were mean and scary," he said. "And that they would want to separate me and my brothers, and take us away from him, and that they would hurt us."

Rev's little eyes widened in shock.

"Is that why you attacked that man? Because he separated you and your brothers?" she asked. Donnie nodded solemnly.

"Yeah," he told her. She leaned her head on his arm and nuzzled him slightly.

"I'm so sorry…" she said. Donnie wrapped his arm around her now, like she was a stuffed toy.

"It's alright," he said, but the words felt hollow to him, like he was lying to himself. They were silent for a moment.

"But… you have friends who are humans?" she asked. Donnie nodded and smiled.

"My brothers and I learned that not all humans are bad," he said. He looked down at her, and she looked up at him. The two made eye contact for a moment. "Just like not all foxes eat turtles."

"But I thought- "

Donnie put a finger on her lips using his free hand.

"Wild foxes do," he confirmed. "But I don't think that a mutant fox would."

Rev turned her head to the turtles' sleeping pile. Donnie followed her gaze, smiling softly to himself at the peaceful sight.

"Have you ever met a mutant fox before?" she asked. Donnie chuckled.

"I think you and your family may be the first ones," he said. He had actually met her dad before. He was one of the mutants that they were chasing before he got too close to M.C.C.

"Is your daddy a mutant?" Rev asked. Donnie sat back a little bit and felt a tug at his heart.

"Yes, he was," he said. "He was a rat."

"Is he… dead?" Rev asked softly. Donnie nodded.

"Yeah… he was… killed…"

"By humans?" Rev asked, looking a little scared. Donnie shrugged.

"Kind of," he told her. "It's a long, complicated story, but basically, my dad used to be a human. He had a brother. After my dad mutated and raised my brothers and I, his brother, who already hated him, came around and…"

Donnie found himself unable to say it. He said it earlier… and it had been six months, ten if you count the four months he had already been in the terrarium, since Splinter died… so why wasn't he able to say it?

"I wonder what it's like to be a human," she wondered aloud. Donnie looked at her curiously.

"I thought you were?" he asked her. She shook her head.

"No, I've always been a fox," she said. "Mommy and daddy were humans. They told me that they taught me how to talk and walk, and that I was only a baby fox when I was brought in. They had always wanted a kid, so they decided that I would be it."

Donnie smiled at her.

"That's a beautiful thing to do," he said. "To take care of a kid that isn't technically yours as if they are yours."

She smiled back at him.

"Is that what your daddy did, too?"

"Yeah, it is," he told her. The two sat there in silence for a while longer. Donnie felt her breath even out as her head got heavier on his arm. He looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep.

He looked back up at the roof of the terrarium. He closed his eyes, hugging her close.

Tonight was a peaceful night.