TMNT Rae/VC - 2003 Turtles

"I wonder if this is how Cassidy felt when her and Mikey couldn't really look at each other either," Madeline mused as she let out a happy hum when he got in a good knot. "I enjoy these kinds of touches." She assured. "Though -um- probably a good thing we're by ourselves. Someone else might take that "digging in" comment a bit...-um- ah suggestive." She paused in her words and she started speaking. "What's your favorite kind of music?"

He wanted to say that it /had/ been, but didn't. "Contrary to popular belief I don't like rap such as like, M&M and crap," Raphael wrinkled his nose, "I still listen to bands that are considered 'old' by today's standards which is dumb since ten years isn't that long. Nickelback, Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed...hard rock and alternative. What about you?" He finished his massage after he finally got one knot out and simply...rested his hands there, just...staying close. When he pulled away, he would leave, and he didn't want to.

"Nickleback, Linkin Park, Green Day, rock." Madeline said after a moment, leaning into his touch, pleading silently for him to stay. She'd keep her eyes cover for as long as she could, and keep them shut when her hands were tired. "Sometimes I veer off and listen to some indie music. Kodaline for an example."

"Never heard of them," Raph mused, "You'll have to play them out loud next time I drop by. What about food? Do you eat like a horse or are you picky and super healthy? I'll eat pretty much anything, especially if it's meat. Donny's kinda whatever, Leo's the healthy freak but can't pass up a good steak, and Mikey's all about junkfood. Though, of course, none of us can say no to pizza. Supreme anyday for me, baby."

Madeline laughed, "I like supreme too, I eat whatever I can get. If someone's kind enough to make me food, I'll take it. If I make something, it all depends on what I have in the fridge. Though I have to say my favorites will be breakfast foods, especially at night. I don't know, I think it's a comfort thing." She was thoughtful for her next question. "What made you brave enough to enter? Will you ever come in again? As long as I have my eyes covered that is. I promise."

"I was debating it before you sent your little turtle, but that kinda solidified it..." Raph admitted to her, squeezing just a bit, "I...don't know. I wanted to be closer to you." He reached up with one hand and tugged at the knot of his bandanna, "I want to...give you something. A promise.".

"A promise?" Madeline asked curiously, her heart racing in her chest.

He moved his hands away from her, watching her sag a little in disappointment, and he put his mask around her eyes, her hands falling away, "I'll come in again...and this promise is at some point I'll let you see me. I have plenty where this came from since they get ripped up sometimes in fights, but this one's lasted me a while."

Her lips quirked upwards, "I'll keep it close and personal. I can charm it to be a protection charm if you'll let me." She assured gently, reaching up to touch the mask. The cloth was soft, and worn. She could smell a scent, of a city and of oil. As well as something else, like an incense, but it was masked with another musk. Much more personal. "Raph..." She paused in what she wanted to say, her fingers still tracing the fabric as she forced herself not to reach out. She just knew that there was a reason he could touch her, but she couldn't. "I'll never be afraid of you."

"You can charm it if you want. I like the idea that I'd always be protecting you." Now she was essentially blindfolded, he walked around and ghosted his mouth over hers but didn't really touch, "Right now...I'm more afraid of you. I'll be back again, Madeline. Stay safe and warm." With a single stroke along her hair, he was gone by the time she was able to pull the mask off of her face and down around her neck.

~*~

She was finally going to get Mikey to meet Magic! Donny and Raph had decided to come by, just because they were curious about Madeline's magic, and wanted to see exactly how she was going to do her thing. Also, more than likely out of severe protectiveness just in case something went wrong with the charm. She was kind of thankful that Madeline rarely left the garage. She was working on a racing motorcyle. It was painted a beauitful electric color of blue.

"Hey Maddie! I'm here with the rings and friends-OH MY GOD IS THAT RAPH'S MASK?"

Maddie had taken it upon herself to wear his mask on the bicep of her right arm, though she was prone to putting it in her hair too when she was working on things and needed her hair out of her eyes. Right now, though she had been taking a break and had just tied it on her arm. "Huh? This?" She gestured to the red mask. "It..-uh- is..."

"MIKEY OUR OTP IS HAPPENING!" Cassiy popped her head out the door to yell at him hiding in the shadows.

"Otp?" Donny looked at Mikey curiously. "You ship us with random humans on the street? You gave Maddie your mask?" He looked at Raph with the same curiosity.

"Raph is blushing!" Mikey called back to his lover, smirking at Raph who had sunken his head further into his shell a bit, his shoulders hunched up and a stubborn expression on his face. He laughed as Cassidy squealed some more, "OTP means One True Pairing, though we use it for multiple ships. No, we don't do it for random people on the street, only people we know," he assured.

The sparrow zoomed down and after doing laps around everybody she chirped specifically in Donny's face.

"She sounds angry," Raph smirked, "You haven't been to see her very often. I've seen her more than your have. She must feel neglected by her favorite person." He reached up and stroked his finger over the sparrow's back as she came to land on his arm, fluffing her feathers up looking like a ball, and he laughed, "Cassi have you met Sparrow-chan?"

"Sparrow-chan?" Mikey arched a brow.

"Eh, we can't think of a name for her, but she's an Eurasian Sparrow, so -chan works anyhow," Raph shrugged.

Cassidy laughed, "I haven't!" She grinned as she turned to Madeline, who was pink around the edges. She looked at her friend as she handed her the rings. She couldn't tell the wood, but they were delicately carved with a small intricate design, Cassidy had vines and flowers, Mikey's a Japanese mantra. It was clear to her that Leo had put in a lot of thought to the wood carving and how it'd fit on their fingers. It was smoothed and polished, so there wouldn't be any splinters.

Her eye caught on Cassidy's ring tattoo as well, which was mostly an intricate design of a Celtic knot. Mikey undoubtedly had the same. "Nice." Madeline nodded and she looked at the rings. "I'm supposing you want the full ceremony and not the "chit-chat be done" thing."

Cassidy clasped her hands together. "Would you?! Do the a ceremony I mean?!"

Madeline let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. "The things I do for you." She said fondly. "Let me grab my chalk and my knife."

"eeeeeeeeeeeee." Cassidy was practically vibrating. "YOU SHOULD WEAR THE CLOTHES!" She shouted after her.

"I HAVE LIMITS CASSIDY!"

"What outfit?" Raph asked, coming closer to peer inside.

"Cassi you peeked Raph's interest," Mikey's grin grew, "Maddie's going to have to wear the outfit now! Anything for Raph, right?" he only laughed when Raph punched him in the chest even as he rubbed the spot.

The sparrow chirped at Donny again, still on Raph's arm and she hopped her way onto his shoulder to tilt and turn her head to watch the purple banded turtle.

Donny reached up and petted the sparrow. "I know." He said solemnly. "My brothers are hopeless."

Cassidy grinned as they came closer, but still not coming out of their hiding spot. Raph didn't dare, Mikey wasn't sure, Donny wasn't going to dare, it was all dependant on Leo but she had a feeling that Leo wouldn't be able to get a say. She hummed happily as Madeline came back out dressed in a black sheer cover that was short enough in front to go just past her knee with fringe, and long in the back. Her long sleeves were split so that her arms could be free and have the mysterious flow. It was easy to see that just through the sheer top was a short black dress. Her make up was flawless too, red dark lipstick and natural contouring and smoky eyeshadow. It was crazy that she had managed to get it done in a span of ten minutes. Raph's red mask was tied in her hair, looking stark against the black and brown.

She pursed her lips together as Cassidy squealed. "Alright so." She looked over at the shadows,
"Do you want any part of this?" She called over to the shadows. "I can cover my eyes. I can practically do this blind. I might have to cheat here and there, but I swear to you my eyes will always be on the ground and never up."

"Oh, oh! I'm gunna video it if I can get close!" Mikey bounced on is feet, "That way I can show it to Leo and Splinter! One of us had to patrol and Leo practically shoved us out the door, so this'll be great!"

"That's a great idea, Mikey," Raph agreed and his heart hammered at the thought of being closer to Maddie again. At the unified agreement, they all piled into the small Garage after Madeline set up what she needed. Even the sparrow got quiet though when the atmosphere got serious.

"I'm blindfolding myself." Madeline pulled the red mask off of her hair and onto her eyes, tight so that she couldn't see anything. For a moment, she sat on the concrete, her things close by. Just breathing as she listened to the shuffle. She felt her nerves go up as Mikey mentioned the camera, but soothed herself, reminding herself that it was a family event and that she was safe. They were safe.

She let her magic flow, like a current and she wiggled her fingers and the chalk floated up, she pointed across from her and as she moved her finger, the chalk moved around her, creating a circle, muttering under her breath until the circle was completed and the chalk hovered just slightly above her. Using her other hand, she took the rings out of the small pouch that she was given, an orange knitted thing, and laid it down before her. The chalk wavered a bit in unpractice, but it still hovered. She never felt so vulnerable.

She took her knife only for a moment, before she handed it up and out of the circle handle first. "I need blood."

"Ours?" Cassidy blinked. "Do you need mine first and then Mikey's or a combination? I don't want it to get contaminated."

"Considering you shared a lot more than just blood before," Madeline replied dryly. "A combination will do. Nothing major. A small cut will do. I have bandages for later."

Donatello shifted, not liking that she needed something like that, but Cassidy took the knife without another word and pricked herself, the cut small and barely noticeable. "Just a paper cut." She beamed as she looked at Mikey. "It's up to you love."

"I can always do another method, but this one is easier." Madeline kept her hand outreached just in case.

"I see how this works. Blood makes it more personal and bound to us specifically." Mikey nodded and beamed when Cassidy gave him a proud smile. He handed Donny his phone and took the knife. He didn't even flinch as he gave himself a similar cut, but he had to dig a bit deeper because of all of the callous. They'd all had much worse.

Raph was curious to know how Mikey was so understanding about it. Had Cassi explained things like this to him before? Was it something that video games he played touched on? Both could be true, too. He gave a small wave to the phone when Donny pointed it at him, and had to cover his mouth when Sparrow-chan got in the way of it.

"Really Suzume?" Donny gave the sparrow a look before sticking his tongue out at the creature, making the brothers and Cassidy laugh.

Madeline got her knife back and smeared the blood on the inside of both rings. Then she held them in her palms, upright.

"North to South, East to West.
A cycle turns, the sun rises and sets.
From life to death,
from a new life to last breath.
Bind two souls so one won't lose another." The blood that was smeared on the inside, glowed and bound tightly a red string though the smear was still there. Donny, who had experinced magic before, never though that he was going to see it worked like this. Just seeing how she was binding the blood into the wood was, well...it was incrediable. It would've been a shame not to capture this on film.

He kind of wandered  what Leo would have to say to this. Or Master Splinter for that matter. What would their thoughts be, on a human with this much power, chased after the foot, doing a ceremony blindfolded out of thoughtfulness?

"No guesses, always certain about the other.
Should one die the bond shall break.
But the other's soul is fate's to take,
should the path be chosen."
Protect and cherish.
With Love and Faith.
As I will, so it will be done."

She breathed, before the glow finally died and she slumped a bit in the circle. "I'm alright." She smiled as she held her hand out. "Your rings. You'll know when the other's in trouble, and you'll know when they're no longer apart of the living. But that's all I could give you besides my own wishes that you guys will be happy. You have a large ring size," she noted randomly, "But I like the carvings. It's gorgeous."

"Hear that Leo? Maybe you should do wood carvings more often," Mikey stuck his tongue out at the camera when Donny held it up to him and then he reached down to take Cassidy's ring, "To love and to hold forever, koi," he cooed and slipped it onto her finger.

Cassidy beamed proudly as she did the same. "To love and to hold forever! I love you!" Madeline could almost guarantee that they were kissing and she was blindfolded and she could tell just from the cheers.

Donny could only smile brightly, "Our baby brother's all grown up now." He teased as he grinned at the sight. It made his heart swell and it made him a tiny bit jealous. Though he shoved that down as swiftly as he could.

Suzume wiggled her way closer to Donny's neck and snuggled down, her soft feathers warm against his skin and she was perfectly content. Raph noticed this and smirked, "Suzume's not much better than Sparrow-chan, just calling her sparrow in Japanese is cheating."

"It sounds better, though," Mikey argued in Donny's defense and he wrapped his arm around Cassidy's waist, her orange pouch around his neck now as well.

Raph rolled his eyes and was slow as he put his hands on Maddie's hips, helping her stand, "Don't want you falling on your face," he teased referring to the comment last time he was there.

Maddie nearly grabbed his wrists but had to hold herself together as she stood up. A wave of vertigo came crashing, but she was still being held straight up. She nodded once she got her bearings and sighed softly, "I'm glad that they're happy and I was able to do this for them. Really glad I can do my magic blindfolded, otherwise that would've been a disaster."

Cassidy's expression fell just a bit. But she really, really hoped that the video would be enough. That maybe Leo and Master Splinter would give permission, but she knew that was probably far away. She smiled a little over at Donny and the sparrow. Donny just continued smirking, probably pleased that he had Mikey on his side about the Sparrow comment. "I like Suzume. It's adorable."

"She's adorable for sure so it fits." Mikey came closer and reached out, scratching the top of her head, "She's really friendly, isn't she?"

"We concluded she had to have been a house pet and escaped or was let go or something," Raph explained as he helped Maddie to the couch and sat her back down, "Should I clean up your stuff or should I leave it be?"

"Hey, Cassi do you know where her band-aids are?" Mikey blinked at his lover.

"Yeah I do." Cassidy pulled away reluctantly and headed through the doors into the kitchen, humming as she found the first aid kit in her drawer. She came back after looking at the pile of boxes. "Looks like another box was added to the pile." She said offhandedly, placing the first aid kit on the table. "Do you think your mystery person is ever going to come and stay?"

"I don't know." Madeline sighed, leaning back against the couch, feeling around to make sure it was safe before she relaxed. "It's possible. You can leave things be." She waved her hand, "I can clean things up when you leave."

Donny shrugged. "I researched some things about birds, but sparrows aren't necessarily trained all that well. I mean, not to the extent that she's behaving. It's possible that she's seeing us as-" he had to break off swift. Madeline raised an eyebrow up, but everyone else seemed to have caught on to some mystery.  "Sorry anyway...like I was saying. Not trained, but she clearly thinks of us as something."

~*~

"She is uncertain and unstable in her abilities still, but she has the potential to be a formidable force." Splinter commented thoughtfully after he had finished the video and handed it to Leo to watch next, "It surprises me how considerate she is of your request to stay hidden by any means possible. It tells me she sticks to her word, and that means she is trustworthy. Casey and Angel have told me on their visits that she is good company as well. Perhaps we are being too hard on potential allies. Yes the more whom know about us is dangerous, but I need to realize that it is inevitable. For the longest time it was only three - to my knowledge," he hummed as he looked at Mikey and the teal turtle rubbed his neck, "Now it is many and growing still. You are not fifteen anymore. I should give you more freedom to make your own choices and trust your own judgement."

Donny could bet that Raph was perked and Mikey was relaxed about that. He knew how hard it was on Cassidy to continue the secret from her friend. "I only spoke to her twice." He said after a moment, "But she never once questioned why we were in the shadows. I think she chalks it up to ninja behavior, or maybe she knows we're not natural and she's just that considerate. I really don't know. She let Raph close by her, but she never once commented on us. Just Mikey's ring size, but that was just an observation that meant little. It meant nothing."

Leo nodded his head after a moment of watching, "Killian told me that Magic abandoned it a long time ago, but recently had started to pick it back up again." He watched her spell with fascination. "I can see from the Foot's point of view on why they'd want her. If her magic can enchant rings to give you two warning signs, I imagine she can do much more. But that's besides the point. Do you really think that Magic could be an ally for us?"

"I believe so," Raphael was the first to speak on her behalf, "I talk to her the most, and she an introvert but very loyal to Cassidy for sure. The fact she hasn't gone back on her word makes her very stubborn, too, in a good way. She has morals and her own code. If she's avoided the Foot this long, I doubt unless she's blackmailed she would never join them in the future. We should bring her into our circle completely and give her our full protection and support instead of this half-assed watching from afar thing."

Splinter nodded slowly, rubbing his furry chin in contemplation. "You mention the Dojo owner Killian, Leonardo? Perhaps we should do the same with him. He is Madeline's teacher and helped you recently fight the Foot. This war looks to be on it's last legs after so long and so many battles. The more backup we have now, the better I believe."

Leo nodded after a moment, "I'll see what I can do about Killian." He turned to Raph and looked over at Mikey. "Since you two are probably the closest thing we got to a connection, you guys can try to establish something if you want." He paused. "I think Raph might be the better choice honestly, you'd probably overwhelm her Mikester."

"Cassidy's gonna go off the roof when she hears this." Donny said with a bit of a grin. "It's gonna be a dream come true for her."

~*~

"The last few times I've dropped by you've been busy..." a female whisper came from the door into the garage, not Madeline's usual guests, "I have one last box for you, and I wanted to give it to you personally."

"Are you going to hide like a shadow lurker too?" Madeline asked as she set her stuff down and headed over towards the door, "Can I open the door and know you're not gonna ninja outta here?"

"I'm not going to hide...I'm your friend Cassidy's photo girl. It's just pitch black out here with the new moon," she hummed in response.

"Oh you're the kid." Madeline pushed the door opened and blinked at the Japanese woman that was standing before her. She stepped aside and allowed her to come in, eyes watching her every move. "Is Cassidy the only one that told you about me?"

"Purple told me to look for somebody named Magic, but I didn't want him to know someone beat him to the punch," she smiled a bit lopsidedly at her, the box in her hands wider and shorter than the previous boxes, "My laptop and camera's in here and that's it. This box is the most important, so if you could really give it to maybe Cassidy to hang on to or somebody else that'd be great, just in case, ya know?"

Madeline pursed her lips, but understood the why. Her home couldn't have anything too valuable in it, and of course, Cassidy was the natural choice. She picked up the box and placed it against her hip. "When are you finally getting away?"

"That...is up to Fate. They'll notice something's wrong soon, with all my missing things, especially this, so...I'm hoping within the week." she paused, "Two weeks before Halloween, are you going to dress up your garage? At all? It'd be funny if you were a witch with a big hat and a broom because of your nickname."

"I did that once," Maddie said after a moment, adjusting her grip on the box. "I used to enchant a broom too and used it as transportation. I had to stop after a while though, but I do dress up. I might do it again, for Halloween."

"You'd be sexy in red, or at least black with red accents," Sumi winked at her like she knew something she didn't, "It's interesting...both Purple and Cassidy told me I'd get along with you. Cassi more specifically said I reminded her of you."

"That is interesting." Madeline blinked slowly. She knew better than to reveal that she didn't know who the fuck Purple was, but went with the flow of the conversation. "Cassidy's always out and about looking for new people."

"I shouldn't linger, but I hope we'll have more conversations once I'm here for sanctuary," she bowed to her low and respectful, "Give Cassidy my regards, and I like your taste in music. Indie is fun," she smiled and waved to her, hurrying back out the door.

()

Cassidy knew that this had been a bad idea. She had watched a couple of ninjas scamper off into a random direction and she tried to follow them to get an idea of where they might be going, and what they might be doing. But her stealth wasn't as good as her husband's or her brother-in-law's. She was caught red-handed and instead of running away, she fool-hardly decided that maybe, just maybe, she should try defending the warehouse, as she didn't know what could be inside.

It was a mistake that a rookie would make. Her abilities in fighting was pretty good, but no where to April's, Casey's, or her brothers and husband's. She could see the vast difference in skill level immediately. She blocked all she could, fight with all her might...but she was probably going to die tonight, if she didn't get away soon. Her nose was broken, her ribs cracked, she was bruised and she was pretty certain that her ankle was twisted or something. What she was most certain was the many cuts that they were giving her, but they probably only looked bad, and not bleeding out. She certainly wasn't dizzy from blood loss.

A flash of yellow got in Cassidy's vision and jumping over her to protect her from a blow was Andrea, her red hair tied up in a messy bun as if she had just been passing by and decided to jump in. After knocking back a few of the soldiers, she knelt down next to Cassidy and hauled her into her arms, dragging her over to some of the crates to protect her more instead of being sprawled on the floor, "Just hang in there girly. Everything's going to be alright," she promised taking off her trench coat, draping it over her to keep her warm, and then stepped away, facing the attackers, "So we get to have another round, do we? Let's go."

~

It was difficult, and Andrea watched as the bodies on the ground groaned and rolled, bleeding or were burned. Only one or two of the seven were dead or at least unconscious when she used their weapons against them as they attacked her. Killian would be proud of her, she was sure of it. Groaning as she stepped back and collided with a crate, leaning heavily on it. She gripped her side and looked at her hand when she pulled it away. Great. It wasn't a fatal would, but she'd pass out from blood loss eventually.

Hobbling over to Cassidy, the girl had passed out quite a while go. So, she fished around in her pockets for her phone only to find it crushed. Damn, and she'd hoped to call Mikey. Diving into her own pockets of the trench coat, she used her speed-dial for Madeline, "Cassi's brawl with unseen forces didn't go so well."

"Why are you calling me rather than an ambulance?" Madeline asked dryly, but decided that it was probably for the best. If she got there in time, she could see what the damage was. She wasn't a healer by any means, but she could fix the worse so that they'd at least make it to the hospital. "You don't sound like you're faring much better. Where are you?"