TMNT Rae/VC - 2003 Turtles

It was dangerous and she knew it. She should be back 'home', but she just...couldn't do it. She didn't want to be sent on clean up missions after the brothers had knocked some bodies around, or swept up in some other plan where she ended up being one of those bodies. Fighting the brothers...that wasn't high on her list of things to do.

What she /wanted/ to do was switch sides. What Cassidy didn't know was she was already seeking Magic's help. You didn't just out and say things like that, though. There were ears and eyes everywhere and that was her problem. If she did leave she would likely be hunted down. If they couldn't have her no one can sort of thing. Karai...she felt her chest tighten, but that would have to be a betrayal she would have to live with. She was already working herself up for it.

A deep sigh caused a little bit of white to cloud in the air, though it wasn't nearly that cold yet. Looking back up, she spotted something and raised her camera, holding the button down to catch multiple frames in the same spot, the last picture clear that there was nothing there and she heard a curse. The voice... "Don't even think about taking my camera, whoever you are," she threatened even though she knew exactly who it was.

Donatello was in a tight spot and a hard place. He needed that camera to delete the photos, but at the same time he understood that it was a precious object. "I don't know what you caught on the film, but you should delete those four pictures." He said after a moment, "I won't take it if you do that." He sighed, "What are you doing outside anyway? Can your camera actually take photos at night? How well does it do?"

It also remotely downloaded to her computer. So she pretended she was deleting them when she was really sending them to herself. /Once/ that was done, she deleted only three of the four and turned her camera around, "See for yourself. This was the fourth. You can step into the moonlight...I can tell you're not human unless that's a fancy costume and you're late for a very important date."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you knew way before you took those photos." Donatello stepped out, knowing too well what he was risking. However, he didn't think that she'd do anything about it. The photos were deleted, and well...there wasn't much else he could do. "That sounded like an Alice and Wonderland quote."

"With a touch of Beauty and the Beast, asking you to reveal yourself to me," Sumi smiled in amusement and allowed him to take her camera, though the strap was still around her neck so he couldn't take it very far, "Yes, though, you are right. Only four types of people really stay out at night in New York. Murderers, but that Bo Staff is non-lethal, and I doubt anybody who'd take the time to /ask/ me about my camera is going to rape me, either. Stupid people like myself and party-goers and prostitutes, and protectors such as the police. I don't think a uniform would fit on you very well, but you got a mask so..."

Donny wasn't sure who she was trying to play, but decided to let it go. Everyone acted tough. So far Raph, Casey, and Angel were the only ones who could back that kind of talk. Maybe Magic, though he never seen her fight. Probably wouldn't ever get a chance to. He deleted the fourth image, just to be on the safe side and gave the camera back to her. "I thought that was it. I haven't seen the movies in a while, and my brother Mikey's a huge Disney fan." He didn't dare mention Cassidy. "I don't think you're stupid. The night should be safe for everyone to venture in, but that's never the case. Not with the people you're talking about and other things that happen in the shadows."

"I'm sure you know all about that sort of thing." Sumi agreed, "You try to keep those shadows safe for people like me. I do have to wonder, what about those you can't save?" Like herself. If she wasn't able to pull this off, she would be dead by none other than Karai's sword if Shredder didn't get to her first. She wanted to flutter around him, pretend none of it was a bother, but that would have to be saved for another night.

Donatello paused and then said after a moment. "You're right, there's people we can't save. We can't save people who don't want to be saved, and we can't save people just because of circumstances. Sometimes, there's a lot of beatings, a lot of crimes that are committed because we can't save them. But we're not perfect. We do our best, we can't be everywhere at once, even if we want to." He shrugged.

Did she want to be saved? She must if she was trying so hard to get these things to Magic. Though she felt desperate as well. "Is it wrong to get out of somewhere even though the people have done so much for you?" Sumi looked back out at the city and ran her thumb over her camera, but there was nothing that struck her fancy.

"If it's a bad environment." Donny said after a moment. "Then yeah I'd say you should get out. People who use their good will against you, tell you to do things because you owe them, that's a type of emotional and mental abuse. Though if you're trying to get out because you, yourself feel like a burden, then maybe you should re-assess what you're trying to accomplish. That's all I can tell you without knowing the full story. Though I'm going out on a limb and think that it's the first one."

"Yes...you're not wrong," she nodded and looked back at him, tilting her head a bit. "You're very relaxed..." compared to his brothers, of course. She wanted to talk freely, but she had to pretend to be the clueless civilian. "I really am surprised that you are still standing here talking to me. You could've left after making sure the pictures were gone."

"I guess I was just thinking about how to help you." Donny smiled a little. "We have...a civilian that's kind of our ally. She doesn't know us. Never seen our faces, but knows our names. She makes sure that we stay hidden. Turns her back, covers her eyes if she thinks that she could see our silhouette. The moment we told her our shadows were our way of defense, she does everything that she can to make sure that it stays that way. I think you might like her, maybe. She's shy, stammers a little, but she's kind. Her name's Magic, but considering you're not surprised by the name, someone already told you to go see her. I never knew her until recently...but apparently if you know her, then her reputation is really good..and very underground."

"I haven't been around these parts very long, in all reality, but someone did tell me about her," Sumi agreed, "I suppose that's two of three, huh? Might as well. That could be an interesting conversation..." she paused and chewed her lip before she stepped closer to him, "Is that what made you ghost by in the first place? Did I look like I was going to step off the ledge?"

Donny shook his head, "More or less curious about your photography and wanted to see what it was that caught your attention. Though I guess it's on other things now." He shrugged. "I have to get going, otherwise I'd never hear the end of it. You should probably get heading home soon yourself...even if it isn't the home you need right now." Without another word, he jumped back into the shadows, and disappeared.

~*~

Raphael was rather surprised to see the sparrow he'd seen with Donny chirp and flutter down from a little perch, flying around his head and tickling his cheeks before landing on his shoulder, "Well, hello to you, too. I suppose you've made this your new home?" he scratched under her beak and she made a little sing-song chirp noise at him. He leaned against the door to Madeline's Garage and knocked on it before calling out, "Did you know you have a new resident? I don't think she's paying rent, though she might be slowly adding insulation."

"Yeah I saw the boxes, along with a note." Madeline said as she stopped what she was doing with a huff. She was trying to do inventory since she had nothing to fix at the moment, and moving her own shipment of boxes around the pile that was already there was a headache in of itself. "Cassidy mentioned it too. I might have two people staying with me...maybe three if Donny's text is anything to go by too." She walked over to the frame and sat down, keeping her eyes firmly away from the door. "I don't know how I'm going to fit four people here."

"Four?! I was talking about this sparrow!" Raph cracked up, which startled the bird and she chirped in a huff sort of way and he opened the door enough to let her fly inside to spin around Madeline, "Okay, so let's hold up here for a second. There's a possibility that Donny's mystery person and Cassidy's mystery person are the same, so the most you'd have to worry about it is probably three. I don't know anything about the boxes."

"That's true, it could be. Small world and all. Donny was kind of surprised that a civilian might know who I am. I suppose he got my number from Cassidy or Mikey." Madeline huffed a laugh when she saw the sparrow and she gently reached up and touched it, just a light touch as it flew around her. "Sorry I thought you were talking about the person. I thought you saw the boxes and were teasing." She placed her hand down with a sigh. "The sparrow's alright. She won't take up too much space."

"Well that's good. I hope she's doing alright finding food and such. Donny really liked her and I think she was fond of him, too," Raph watched her move around and looked back out at the buildings surrounding them before returning his attention to the black haired woman. His stomach was doing flips, and he took a breath while he contemplated with himself, "So, have you had any luck with your magic training? Casey told me you went out with him and Angel last night and took care of some Purple Dragons? Thank Kami Hun wasn't there..."

"It's like learning how to ride a bike." Madeline assured, lifting her hands up. She wondered what she could do. "I've done physical magics a lot more than I've done this kind, so I always had a bit of an outlet. But it's different when it's this kind of magic. Intention, imagination, and will." She gently flourished her wrist and a turtle started walking out the door, a bright crimson color as it traveled by. "Cassidy told me your favorite color and animal. I hope that's alright."

Raph's breath caught as he watched the red turtle waddle by. Leaning down, he reached for it, feeling the magic sparkle across his skin, but then it burst and disappeared upwards, "Wow..." was all he could really manage. Standing again, he watched her carefully, "Would you mind...keeping your eyes closed for a bit?"

"Should I cover them?" Madeline asked as she closed her eyes and brought her hands to her face, shifting a little. "Should I -uh- be doing anything else? I can't stand up if I'm blind, I'd fall on my face."

"Just...stay where you are," Raph laughed a little breathlessly. The sparrow flew out the door and he walked inside, just a whisper across her garage, and his heart was beating faster and faster in his chest he was sure she could hear it. He sure felt it making his ears throb and face flush, but even if her eyes were open his dark green skin tone made that hard to tell. Swallowing, he got behind her and reached up, stroking his fingers through her hair first, listening to her little gasp and watching her tense in shock. He didn't want to touch her directly, since she'd feel the oddity of his skin, but she was wearing a light jacket pushed up to her elbows, so he gripped her shoulders and slowly started to do a massage into her muscles, "You need to loosen up a little," he whispered close to her ear.

"You're gonna put me in the floor," Madeline's voice was breathy as she tried to roll her shoulders loosen up a bit so it'd be easier on him to manage. She hadn't really been touched like this in a long time. Cassidy was one thing, but someone else was something else entirely. "You had a lot of practice doing this...didn't you?"

"It's one of the few things even Leo will ask me for..." Raph muttered, "To be honest, Mikey's the best, but he's got that feather light touch and then suddenly your muscles aren't hurting anymore. I'm better at...brute force, basically, and getting the hard knots. I can really...dig in," he swallowed a bit and his breath was shaky. So many things he wanted to say. He'd already broken the distance part of the rule...when would the rest follow? He might as well turn her around right now, because there would be a mistake somewhere at some point. How long would just this be enough?