Book 2: HomeFront

Lets Get Down to Business

 The sun had not needed to shine into the room to wake her early. Excitement kept her feeling woke for all hours much to the help of the hours of sleep prior to their arrival. Slowly, she lay in her old quarters, waiting for the sun to rise and reveal more and more of her old surroundings. Nostalgia took over as she lay smiling in her flat bed on the floor. Her bedroom had been exactly the same. The white walls were painted with modest, pale pink flowers blooming from twisted vines. Things such as her white dresser and light wooded floors were dusted with the forgotten. Since moving, only few things were left behind. Her music box still sat on the dresser; right next to the candles she would light to illuminate her quarters at night. The pictures and frames she had set up or hanging on the ways held a dusty film over them, clouding her adventures of her growing up.

Close by, her bag from which she dropped from last night stayed beside her. The female terrapin unzipped it and reached inside. Venus went fishing for her phone until she felt its odd shape. Her hand brought it towards her face, revealing the time. What showed was that now was a good time to get up than ever. The phone was lightly tossed to the bag, allowing her to use both hands to help her up from the flat mattress. It had been a while since she had remembered to sleep on her stomach. Back in New York, she was able to sleep on her back with pillows supporting her neck in the hammock. Now back in a mattress, she had to use her arm muscles early to get herself up. Nice and easy did she rise and tip toed out of her own room. Last night, he had given Leonardo Mona's room to sleep in. For someone who was raised underground, his night vision could not withstand a pitch black night of the rural country. She heard him stumble and fall some times, in which she would quietly illuminate her hands to see him on the floor or straddling the wall. At some point, the large male found Mona's old, flat mattress and accumulated to its unique design.

With the sun now in the house, Venus able to recall more and more in the home as the simple white walls and honey colored wood floors led to other small rooms the family of three would enjoy. Mona's room wasn't too far, being almost on the other side of the house. It wasn't that Mona Lisa had picked to be so far, but before their arrival, the other rooms were occupied of Chung I's belongings and rooms he had reserved for meditation and magical rituals. Not to mention: his own room which led to the mirror he had watched over all his life.

The paper door seldom made a noise as Venus picked it up and set it next to the doorframe inside Mona Lisa's room. Hers was no different that her own, with the exception of the paintings of traditional women that she would look up to from time to time. Such pictures looked like the ones one would see at a Chinese restaurant, but these were not paper copies. These were hand painted and sold by the village painter; Ones with value to them. The only difference was the hulking figure on the floor. A rough night was apparent. He was turned at an angle in which his head rested on his arms at one corner of the mattress and the rest of his body followed suit. One leg stuck out and pushed his knee into the wood floor and the other one only letting his toes to go rogue.

"Leonardo." Venus called. When he didn't dare to stir, she crawled down beside his head. His cheek squashed into his forearms, causing his mouth to open up in a dorky way on the other side of his face. "Leonardo." She sang again, this time getting a sign of him waking up.

"Go away Anna." He grumbled. The female terrapin scrunched up her face. That's not at all what she was expecting. She tried her hardest to quiet her laughter to hear him continue a conversation with his imagination. "Look, I don't want to build a snowman." Venus couldn't help it anymore. This was too good of a chance to try. She leaned in nearer to his face. Venus tilted her head to the side at almost the same angle as his. She wanted to make sure that she was the first person he saw after she did what she wanted to do.