003 - A Body in Motion Stays in Motion

[purplexing]

There's always room for improvement. This isn't any new realization so much as a long established fact. It seems that with ever mission and undertaking that Donnie goes through, he finds there's just so much more he doesn't know, or that he can get better at.

Truthfully the past month's left him a bit strained, or at least that's how he's felt. Maybe it's because of the raid, maybe the mission. Maybe the encounter with that horrible duchess. He doesn't know. The previous month had been busier than he'd expected, leaving him no time to go and see if his family was still where he knew them to be, but then he'd been reluctant to check after the address from the Emperor.

He's been restless, always seeking distractions, and with the Corsairs there at least never seems to be a lack for things to do. Repairs to be seen to, new ideas to be drafted and crafted. Upgrades to apply.

I. Armory A
The Armory's a normal haunt for him. He's made progress on the repairs for the Armor he'd scavenged some months back and he's eager to test it out. While he can't do any flying inside, he can at least run through movements, and with the lighter build, it makes it a bit easier to execute more natural moves.

While typically a Feder isn't armed with a polearm, for mobility testing purposes, Donnie's borrowed a spear from a Lanze. It's difficult to pull off the same maneuvers he would with his own staff, but sticking to more basic motions, he tests response times and range of movement, putting the sleek armor through a few drills.


II. Armory B
Perhaps you come across the turtlekin when he's at a workbench, carefully crafting the settings for some very small ether stones. His ENC bracer's currently being used as a paperweight atop one of many schematics he's drawn up, and off to one side his staff rests in its separate sections, along with its normally hidden internal mechanisms. Is that a grappling hook? And the slim knife is certainly a new edition.

As usual he's caught up in his work, not at all meaning to be rude towards any visitors, but you'll have to excuse him for not noticing you there. He also tends to wear his earmuffs tight when in the Armory since it gets loud.


III. Training Rooms
The training dummy before him has seen better days. Unfortunately, as a training dummy, it doesn't have much options for better days, and the rooms have seen plenty more use of late. Today's no exception, and the green lad in the purple mask isn't holding back on his strikes.

A dull metal ring echoes with each hit he makes with his staff, leaving indentations on the dummy between each spin and thrust. He's not sure how long he's been beating up on the thing, but it's a quick way to expend some restless energy. Maybe he's been at it too long, or maybe he just hit the thing too hard, but there's a clang as the titanium staff's slipped from his hands and fallen to the floor, rolling off some ways.


IV. Free Play
((OOC: Need him for anything else or want to do something elsewhere in the Vault? Insert option here!))

Comments

[supersmashbrother]

He worries, hoping that Donnie is more concerned about his mispronunciations than the presence of a brother who isn't exactly his brother, wondering if he's said the wrong word or botched the grammar to a point where he would have the focus on the crime of butchering this world's language.

He can't ignore the way Donnie is trying to hold it together. The scrubbing at his eyes. The weak laugh that doesn't fully pitch the way it should when trying to ease into a joking kind of atmosphere. It hits even worse when he hears the telltale thickness of choked emotion in his answer — a sound that forces itself to be normal, that fails to maintain the tone of neutrality he's so used to hearing.

Forget this. Raph's jumping the gun to bring his brother in.

A step, and big arms now wrap around Donnie, embracing him. The same way Raph does with all of his brothers. His line of sight gives in to a misted, watery state that spills a large tear out of one eye, taking a deep breath to stave off the rest of the emotional wave that threatens to wash over him.

"Raph likes it," he says softly, his voice rumbling in the back of his throat. "It's very Donnie, with all of the purples an' such. The other colors are great, too."

[purplexing]

There are probably worse offenders, but Donnie can't think of them, and perhaps he reserves the right to be extra judgmental about a brother who's not a brother.

He flounders for something else to fill the void of silence that so easily seems to slip in after his words, dreading another moment of awkwardness. The large form in front of him moves, unscripted, unannounced, and Donnie's mind tries to leap over hurdles to catch up with that much before everything trips up as he finds himself engulfed by those big arms.

Instinct is to go rigid, and for the first couple of seconds after contact, he does, a gasp catching in his throat at this unexpected breach of protocol. His smaller frame trembles as he looks up, sight of Raph's own tears prompting his own waterworks to overflow.

And for once...he decides to try and stop overthinking things.

Slowly his own hands begin to rise, arms trying in vain to get around his brother's girth, impossible, but he does what he can. The tiniest of sniffles escapes him as he buries his face against that plastron.

This isn't his brother, but it is. And right now, he's apart from his own brothers too.

"... I do not think anyone has ever regretted having more people to care for - or having more people to care for them," Shu had said. At the time he hadn't said anything, but he supposes he knew what his standing had been, all this time.

"I thought the reds might be too bright, but...I guess it worked out okay."

[supersmashbrother]

Has it been that long? Has he forgotten how small his brothers in general can be? Or has being away from them for longer than usual a side effect of the separation anxiety that has decidedly crept up on him during the lull in a new routine?

It seems silly, to think of it this way. But he isn't used to it. He doesn't want to be used to it. And it's unfair that Donnie has endured being alone for even longer than he has.

Raph senses the shift in Donnie, barely hearing the sniffle as he becomes more aware of the reciprocation of the hug. The attempt to hug him back as tightly as possible now has a weight to it, syncing up and solidifying its realness.

He sniffs, chuckling under his breath. "That's just how reds are."

[purplexing]

The weakest of laughs slips from him at that. "Yeah..."

Donnie may not be able to get his arms around him, but he squeezes every bit of what he isn't sure how to say, or rather isn't prepared to put into words, into that hug. Maybe his days working in the Armory show in that.

He's reluctant to let go right away, shamelessly indulging in something he's longed for far too long. It's only when he starts to wonder if perhaps it might start getting awkward for Raph that he begins to loosen his grip, to see if the other does the same and allows him to step back so he can wipe away the unpleasant dampness from his face.

"How long have you been here? ...Shu said you were staying in Flotsam?"

[supersmashbrother]

Hugs are nice and warm and comforting. He has to give it to this world's Donnie: he's a lot stronger than he looks. Having his sides squeezed is a new sensation.

Although he doesn't show signs of wanting to be free of the hug, Raph reminds himself that Donnie needs to breathe at some point. Not that Donnie is showing any visible distress from being Raph-crushed from his point of view. Still, his arms relax and loosen after a few beats, slowly dropping away as he also takes a small step back.

"Almost a month now, last Raph checked. But yeah, that's where I've been posted," Raph says, running his thumb under an eye. "I met Miss Shu when they had to put together a scouting crew for scouting reasons."

[purplexing]

As much as he treasures his personal space, being so securely crushed is something he hasn't realized he's missed until now. His older brother would never let anything happen to him if it could be helped. Donnie's arms are a little sore from his clinging, kind of like the burn he gets after pounding out things at the forge.

Scouting crew for scouting reasons. Uh...huh. That probably wouldn't normally make much sense, but he knows there's always multiple things going on with the Corsairs when it comes to undertakings.

"Out near Elysium, right? How'd that go?" He'd heard about talks to start setting up another space for refugees. A month, though? He feels bad that he hadn't found out sooner, but he's not sure how much easier it would have been, either. They've gotten this far however, so maybe it would have worked out either way.

"I was helping capture Imperial airships since I know my way around them. We're still going to need more."

[supersmashbrother]

Raph perks. "It went okay! We got in there an' found old buildings that still had their foundations in place." As he recounts this, he frowns. "'Cept it was already occupied by giant, spiky bugs an' their queen, so it made for a few complications." Again, he brightens, flexing an arm to pump it, clapping a hand over his bicep as he does so. "But once I was able to smash, we made short work of them like the bosses we are!"

So he skims a bit. He doesn't want to worry Donnie about his temporary injuries purposely punching into the spiked carapaces and almost getting doused in sprays of acid.

The expression he holds for a brief moment is one of pride; even if it isn't a direct tie to digital technology, the mechanical aspects still ring true. His brow creases, however. "How many are we talkin'? Last I heard, Flotsam had to split up because of the Empire. It wouldn't be surprising if we lost a bunch during that time..."

[purplexing]

At least it sounds like the space they were investigating could work out. Donnie shudders at the mention of giant bugs though. "Euggh...." Suddenly he's glad he was not on that mission after all.

Raph's pantomime makes him laugh, even if at the same time it also pokes a familiar ache. His Raph was fond of smashing too. This boss talk was new though. "Heh, I don't doubt it. Good work."

He's not sure what to make of the other turtle's expression but it warms him somehow. Donnie's smile fades a bit, nodding as he's all too aware of what's happened with Flotsam. "That's what it does when it's threatened, makes it difficult for the Empire to track. We lost some of our number some months back when the Empire launched a coordinated attack on several different locations. Had to abandon the mines we'd not too long before managed to claim from them." He sighs, still a bit bitter about that, but he hopes at least they'd collapsed enough of it in their retreat to make it difficult for the Imperials to make it functional again.

"...but as to your question, I don't think they've put an exact number. We always need more airships, especially since we don't have the numbers the Empire does. Then we'd have more means to better protect Flotsam's seabound structures. But we'll also need more for transportation, especially with all the people we've been housing here in the Vault."

[supersmashbrother]

If he's anything like his counterpart here, it doesn't take much for Raph to feel appreciated.

The nuances continue to jar and separate his brother from this version of the very same, but it still matches up in the way he gives shorter blurbs for the updates he hasn't fully caught up on — like he can blink and he'd be back in the sewers in their makeshift den, having Donnie debrief about any recent findings from their most recent outings on the streets.

He hums at that, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, it's been pretty cramp an' everyone's been touchy. Which is understandable! This place just doesn't have the capacity." Not like he has any personal experience with how some people have been feeling lately. "Do we have any real timeline on when we'd try goin' out again?"

[purplexing]

Donnie nods. The tension in the Vault's atmosphere hasn't been lost on him, and that's probably why he'd thrown himself on so many missions of late, aside from just wanting to avoid thinking too hard on things from said missions.

"It takes some time for people to organize, but usually we break off in groups once some plans and targets are set. If there's something, you'll hear about it."

He considers for a moment. Well, he can come tend his plants later. Glancing up at Raph again, he hesitantly reaches for one of those big hands. "Come with me," he says, trying to tug him along.

[supersmashbrother]

Raph's brow knits as he places his hands on his hips. "Okay. That'll have to do, then." He doesn't sound fully convinced, but there's nothing else he can really do to move everything else along.

"Really?" Mind Raph butts in, annoyed. "You're just gonna let it be?"
He bristles a bit. "Look, you wanna be out here? What choice do we have?"
"That sounds like defeatist talk!"
"Ugh! Things are very different here! Ya just don't get it..."

...Never mind the fact that Raph is actually talking to himself aloud here. Not completely acting out, but there's enough muttering to be concerned about him.

In the middle of organizing his thoughts and making literal mental notes about keep an ear to the ground for such causes, he almost doesn't notice Donnie tugging on his hand. "—Uh?" Oh. So he'll organize the rest of those thoughts later. Mind Raph poofs and he turns his attention to his younger brother, allowing himself to be redirected. "What's up? Where are we headed?"

[purplexing]

Look, he doesn't make the rules here, he just finds whatever thing's moving in a direction he figures he'd be best applied to and jumps aboard.

What Donnie does not expect however is to see his older not!brother arguing with himself.

"....uh."

He stares a moment, pausing from tugging, but it seems Raph's come back to his senses. Hopefully this Raph didn't break during the whole being warped into another world thing. Donnie pats his hand the way someone would in absent reassurance of someone who otherwise had no idea what they were doing with themselves.

"My room. I figure I should let you know where I'm staying," he says as he leads the way.

[supersmashbrother]

Sometimes it is better not to think too hard about Raph's quirks. It will never truly make sense. He's grateful for the hand pat — the little effort into being present with him helps immensely even if he isn't as overwhelmed as he used to be when he first got in.

A little 'oh!' is heard somewhere in the background of their paused conversation, being pulled out of the garden nook and keeping pace with the younger terrapin. He's mindful of his size and how busy some of the corridors get, naturally slipping after Donnie with a few ''scuze us' dotted along the way.

"If I recall correctly," he speaks up, "all of the newer folks are living in the dormitories. Isn't that in the other direction, though?"

[purplexing]

There's more than a few curious looks after them as they navigate through the halls. Usually they only ever see one turtlekin slinking about, although some look a touch amused to see the smaller one pulling the bigger one in tow.

"The regular ways get too clogged up lately because of the other people staying. This way's a bit longer but not as busy," Donnie explains. "There's the residential district where the actual homes are. They look nice but it's higher up so you can hear the noise from the Imperial's testing grounds a lot more unless you have the nicer places that are built deeper in." He makes a face, tapping at his earmuff-goggles. "That's why I wear these most of the time."

[supersmashbrother]

Raph's eyes roam as he keeps up with Donnie, still having a time trying to differentiate between hallways. It's exactly like the sewers and how they all have similar features whenever he and the other turtles went wandering through them. The lack of a population filling the area helps determine its necessity as an alternate path, however. "I gotta remember this for later...

"Eh, think I can deal with the noise, but I can see how that can get annoying real fast," he says with a tilt of his head, noting the earmuff-goggles. "You'd think they would've built the tops ones a little deeper, though!"

[purplexing]

Donnie shrugs. He eventually releases Raph's hand since it's getting kind of awkward, but at least down this way there's not much chance of losing each other.

"No idea. This was all here well before I ever arrived. It took a lot of getting used to. Couldn't sleep much at first because I wasn't used to the noise. It's a lot different than out by the coast. But at least things are big enough in some areas that it's not completely claustrophobic."

He points as they begin to near the dormitories. "Almost there."

[supersmashbrother]

Mild disappointment comes in the form of a brief pout now that his hand is free again. Unlike Donnie, he didn't mind holding hands; it's something his Donnie would also do, anyway, knowing his tolerance of physical touch is on the lower end of the scale. And Raph is Raph, overstepping boundaries at times, but he knows his brother well enough to wait for his cues.

With more space, they can slow down a bit. And Donnie tells him he's not used to being under the ground. "The coast...where you used to be, right?" He asks this as gently as he can, curious about his past living arrangements. "Was it quieter out there? Or did giant ships sail by, like they did on the Hudson?"

[purplexing]

"Yeah. It's on the northern tip of Ennistis, a good ways from Elysium. On foot you'd have to pass through a lot of dense wood to get between places." Donnie sighs wistfully. "It was so much quieter though. Just the waves and the seabirds... or father's snoring. Or the others yelling."

So maybe not so quiet. But here the atmosphere always seems heavy for the constant thundering of weapons testing up on the surface level. It had given him such a bad headache the first few nights he'd spent here. Everyone kept telling him he'd get used to it, but the turtlekin decided it wasn't something he wanted to get used to.

"The only ships we ever saw were airships in the distance, so high up they were like weird birds. What's the Hudson?"

[supersmashbrother]

There's a faint smile at the memory Donnie conjures up, sympathetic and perhaps even slightly pained with how close he can easily lay the New York-bound family over his coastal one. "That ain't so bad. It's kind of nice, like...well, like what a home is supposed to be like."

Much more preferable than the amount of noise that happens here. It's nothing like the rumble of the subway system, or the construction closer to street level. Just the sounds of rushing water, the dripping of water from the pipes running rampant through the tunnels, the rough scrape of a skateboard's wheels when it races over the worn stonework and grinds the metal rails of abandoned stations...

It may not show much, but he almost feels sick thinking about it.

"Y'know, the Hudson River? It runs through New York City, where we— I live."

This somehow worsens the taste in his mouth, frowning at his correction before shaking his head.

"Ships don't really fly where I'm from. They stay on the water. Sometimes they're barges for cargo crates an' for tuggin' other large ships in, other times it's a giant yacht shootin' off fireworks. Or full of tourists. The only things that stay in the air are birds, planes, an' helicopters."

[purplexing]

Like what a home is supposed to be like, huh? Donnie feels that familiar pang in his chest, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to mentally push it away. "Yeah..." he says quietly.

Donnie lifts his head to look at Raph, catching that correction. Right. It's not only hard for himself, but Raph as well. He has to remember that.

"Tou...rists?" The word's unfamiliar to him. "Have you not been on an airship yet? I'll have to show you mine," he says, brightening a little. "Oh, here we are."

He steps more quickly towards one of the buildings, hand slipping into a pouch for a key. Once unlocked, he steps aside to let Raph enter first, into the small but spacious dwelling for how neat things are kept. There's no space for a lab or a full worktable, and it's probably strange not to see any computer or tech strewn about, but at a desk there's the workings of some project or another, and a nearby shelf with a few books and boxes of parts and random appliances in various stages of repair.

There's a small bed shoved up against the wall, neatly made. A small trunk sits at its foot. There's a kitchenette area and a doorway leading to a bathroom.

"Ah...it's not much but..."

Donnie shrugs as he steps in after Raph.

[supersmashbrother]

"Tourists are people from out of town who like sightseeing at spots within what you'd consider home. Sometimes those spots are nothing special, like a park or a weird-looking statue. According to April, they always have cameras on them to save the photos for later."

Having the small distractions help him through the process. Help him be a presence for Donnie. Saying that he has an airship doesn't hurt, either, allowing the larger turtle to perk at that.

"'Course you have an airship. If it pans out that way, yours will be the first," he grins.

Raph waits once they get to the room, somewhat cautiously stepping into the space. "Wow. It's..."

Empty. Spartan, more like. Missing Valuable Key Components that would make it a Donnie room.

"...Very tidy!" he chimes, not wanting to hurt the other's feelings. "Simple is nice."

[purplexing]

"Oh." Said in the way of a person trying to politely say they understand despite such not at all being the case.

Donnie does look a bit excited about being the first to show Raph an airship if such works out, but he supposes there's no helping for it if it turns out his brother ends up shipping out on one sooner than later. But still, at least he'd be able to show him around and be familiarized with the parts and areas of one. You don't get that luxury when you're suddenly on a mission.

He tries not to look too anxiously at Raph as his big not!brother takes in the room. And then he smiles brightly, because yes, his room is very tidy, thank you for noticing! And it is pretty simple, he can't really disagree there, but it's not like he owns much, or has much money for things. Salvage still makes up most of his belongings, but he's very particular about the things he keeps and collects, and most of the projects in the works are things meant to eventually be passed along to someone else.

"It's not that big but...I could probably make space for you if you needed a place to stay whenever you're over here. At least it's warmer in the winter. I'm not sure what your housing position is like in Flotsam. -ah, that's... If you want to, anyway. I just..." He looks towards his feet awkwardly. "Is it weird? I know you're...not..."

[supersmashbrother]

The more Donnie acts this way, the more Raph feels like his little heart is going to explode. His Donnie also has degrees of excitement he tries to keep under wraps, but this just seems all the more endearing to the point where he doesn't want to disappoint him?

Raph's going on that ship one way or another.

But yes, he's looking around, almost like he's in an exhibit. Wondering what projects Not!Donnie has been busy with since there seems to be several in different states of completion. "Jus' curious, but ever think of addin' anything to the walls? Like a picture? Maybe a peg board for your tools?"

Rows of monitors an' a whole desktop setup with LED lighting that would make a gamer quake with jealousy?, he actually doesn't voice aloud for once.

"Warm! Warm is good," he echoes, getting back into the conversation at the right moment. "'Cause it's cozy!" Wait, what? "Ahh. My housing situation's not exactly settled yet, considerin' I didn't really look into what Flotsam has to offer. But..."

Oh no, what is happening here

Slight panic in the form of a light stench comes off of him. He can't refuse this offer! It's his brother!

Why does he feel like crying???

"If you're okay with it?" It isn't supposed to sound like a question. "Not weird at all! Raph doesn't mind bein' asked. It's more of a 'this is your personal space' kind of thing an' I'd be takin' up a part of it if I stay with."

[purplexing]

"I wouldn't know what kind of picture..." He wishes he had any reminder of his family at the very least, but when the Empire had taken him away, he hadn't much of anything. The flowers he planted served as the only thing he could think of, and now and then he'd at least bring a few to put in a glass of water here.

"A pegboard might be useful though..." he considers as he looks at the blank walls. "I do most of my big projects in the Armory, but having a space for tools here doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Donnie steals a glance back up at Raph as he catches a strange whiff of...something? Is it his brother? Did he fart?? Oh, did he say something wrong? Maybe he's overthinking it again, maybe this is too soon-

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't okay with it," he says hurriedly, as though if he hesitated then the moment would be gone. Raph's concern is valid, he supposes. The smaller turtle shakes his head.

"There's still room. And I don't spend a whole lot of time in here anyway. And I know how exhausting it is after missions and things, and depending on where you come back in from, it'll be one less step to get to somewhere to rest if you need it, or to leave things.

"So...yeah. I don't mind it."

[supersmashbrother]

Helping! Raph's face lights up, vigorously nodding as Donnie latches onto the pegboard idea. "That way you can find 'em a little faster when displayed on the wall! More space, less time wasted– all of that definitely adds up." His fist meets the palm of his other hand when another idea pops up. "Oh! What if, instead of a picture, there's just another shelf?"

There may be something he can do about the picture, but he'll think on it later.

He's also hoping Donnie doesn't smell him too much, but it's kind of hard not to when they're in an enclosed space. Please don't think it's a fart

Broad shoulders release some of the tension that quickly stored up in them, and he breathes a small sigh at Donnie's confirmation. "Well...okay then! Sounds good to me!" He grins lopsidedly. "Heh! Good thing I don't have too much to worry about. Moving in's gonna be a breeze."