Friends With Unlikely People - TMNT 2012

12 - Healing (Physically & Emotionally)

A few days had passed, and Kaos was still acting rather distant. They'd adjusted to the prosthetic, which Donnie had promised to remake better once they got back to New York. Currently, they were standing at the edge of the yard, practicing their aim. Leo was still on the porch, mildly watching them.

Casey came out and sat down on the porch next to Leo. "They still haven't talked about it, have they?" The black-haired male pulled out a small wood carving and began messing with it.

Leo shook xyr head. "I've tried to talk to them about everything, but they always shrug me off then go and work on something. Usually, they train. I... I don't know what we can do for them. They won't talk about it, and they barely let anyone help them with training."

Casey thought for a moment. "Do ya think they blame us?"

Leo looked at him, surprised. "No, not at all. If anything, they blame themself. I think they feel like they've lost a bit of their independence, so they're trying to prove to themself they are still capable of doing... everything."

"Did you try telling them about your experience? Maybe it would help them to know what happened to you, and share your struggles," Casey suggested. Leo sighed. "I have tried, but they still shrug me off. Doesn't help they really haven't been sleeping since it happened. I'm worried... they're gonna hurt themself more at this rate."

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes until Casey stood up. "Ima go talk to them." Leo looked at him in surprise. "Really?" The human shrugged. "Maybe they're just afraid to add to your guy's problems. Maybe they'll talk to me."

Leo sighed before smiling softly. "Worth a shot." She stood as well, heading back into the house. Casey took a deep breath before walking over to the picnic table Kaos had their arrows laid across.

"Hey, uh, pinky? Can we talk?" he asked hesitantly, attempting to make it appear casual. Kaos glanced at him before sighing heavily. They set down their bow and removed their earbuds, gesturing for Casey to continue. He wasn't really sure what to say, so he settled on, "How are you feeling? I know you don't really wanna talk about it, but it could really help."

Kaos shrugged, sitting down. "I- I dunno, Casey. I know I should talk to the guys about everything but I don't know how to. Besides, I was hoping this vacation would help distract me from some other stuff, but now I just seem to have more issues." They sighed again, fidgeting with the arrows. "The turtles have been through so much... I just wanted them to have a real vacation, so I figured I'd just make sure there weren't any huge problems with enemies while we were out here... guess I messed that up."

Casey thought for a moment. "Did anyone ever tell you what happened the first time the Creep showed up?"

Kaos shook their head.

"Well, it started out not long after Leo woke up from xyr accident fighting Shredder. It'd been three months since we abandoned New York, which was overrun by the KRAANG. We were all sitting in the living room when the power went out, and then the fire in the fireplace was extinguished. Raph said we needed more firewood, so he went to chop some... and on his way back, the Creep got him. We ended up splitting up to search for him, where Donnie and Mikey were attacked by the Creep. They found Raph, tied by and turned into a plant in an old shed back in woods. It took all of us working together to finally tie the Creep up, after which we took him back to the barn, where Donnie turned Raph back to normal after the Creep sucked all of the mutagen out of him. But since Leo had just woken up, her knee was still messed up. She could barely walk with or without xyr crutch, and it was impressive xe managed to fight the Creep off while the rest of us were tied up."

The two sat there for a second, with Kaos processing the story. "I... I didn't know that happened. Have they ever talked about it?"

Casey shrugged. "Raph doesn't remember much, and the turtles all went on a spiritual retreat in the woods not long before we returned to New York. When Leo came back, xe acted like her leg had never been injured. I'm not really sure what happened out there."