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Nobody notices for like 2 hours. He’s pretty quiet at this age, going mute for awhile at a time so Leo is the first to notice he’s gone. Dad's asleep so he was hoping to bother Donnie into setting up a prank with him or something. The softshell is NOWHERE. And Baby Raph, (fresh off Splinter giving him the ‘You're the big brother you have to protect your siblings talk’ that all of us oldest children get, one that is definitely not going to set the foundation for his entire personality don’t worryyyyy) freaks out bad.
He can’t tell dad he LOST HIS BROTHER. So he rallies Leo and a very sleepy Mikey to start searching the sewers. Mikey is basically just asleep being piggy backed by Raph, Raph is having babies first panic attack, and Leo is the only one who isn’t worried.
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Now back to Little D, he’s not really feeling too too much. He’s too busy soaking up as much stimulus as possible, taking tunnel turns he’s never taken before, noticing just how tall the walls are, that it’s pleasantly cool underground and everything is a little moist. He remembers the moss from his books, memorizes the path he takes and adds it to his internal map. And he can’t stop hearing the sound of the water flowing, louder then hes sure it actually is.
It's. Amazing.
He’s actually codifying in his baby brain that things *the world* is always this detailed and complex. It doesn’t *stop* when he walks away! He knew that before of course, he’s big! He already six! Object permanence comes waaay sooner. But he still never *realized* realized. He comes across a ladder. And he doesn’t think at all, doesn’t even register that this’ll be his first time to the surface. That dad told him not to, that it’s dangerous. There’s just so much to categorize, to learn. He has to *see*.
He comes out between an apartment complex in the middle of the night. You know how a city apartment block can be like, U shaped? With a courtyard in the middle? Yeah that.
It’s got several trees lining the perimeter, cobblestones doing the same directly in front of the trees and a large stretch of grass in the center with a wishing fountain in the middle. There’s lamps illuminating it. For Little D who’s never been out of the sewers it is the most picturesque beautiful place he’s ever seen. He’s taking in the light and shadow and tree species and shapes of the cobblestones, the pigeons, the changes in temperature, the wind, standing still for almost 10 minutes just experiencing before he realizes there a little girl sitting on the edge of the fountain.
She sits with her back to him and similarly stock still. He starts to hear the water flowing again but this time from the fountain and he just. Walks over.
She’s staring at the water with big eyes and a blank face, she doesn’t even realize anyone is next to her. He watches her poke the water verrry gently so that it ripples a little. He copies her.
“What are we doing.” He asks, the first thing he’s said all week.
“The water is loud and I never realized what it feels like.” April says without missing a beat. Without taking her eyes off the water.
“Mm”
They both sit on the edge for awhile, running there little hands along the water without submerging them for who knows how long. A really long time.
“You’re green.” She says like she was told asking people about their looks was rude once so she just states it. Hoping he would elaborate.
“I’m a turtle.” Matter of fact. Like she asked his favorite color.
But this is what knocks little April out of her stupor. She loves turtles.
“I love turtles!” She snaps her attention to the little boy next to her hand flailing wildly, starry eyed. “I know *all* about turtles. And tortoises! Did you know we used to think they were different but they're not! Kinda.” She’s bouncing on her calves now both kids fully facing each other, Donnie sits crisscross apple sauce with his hands holding the back of his heels.
“What kinda turtle are you? Why can you talk? Why do you have glasses? I need glasses too, is this your fountain? Turtles like to live in water, are you magic? Are-“
Donnie didn’t cut her off, to enthralled with the endless and rambling questions, she seems so excited! But she slaps her hands over the whole bottom half of her face with a gasp.
“Sorry!” She seems sad now why is she sad now?! “The teachers at school say I talk too much, especially about turtles. Moms says I shouldn’t listen to them, but *she* says I shouldn’t ask people about their looks! It’s rude! And I was doing both!”
She shifts her legs out from under her puling her knees to Her chest.
Oh no. He didn’t like that! He doesn’t know why but that not good! But he’s bad at feels… so.
“1. I'm a Spiny soft shell turtle, 2. Dad says my brothers and I can speak because we got ‘mutation’ which means we were just turtles but now we’re half human. Dads the same way, but a rat. 3. I need glasses because I’m shortsighted and my right eye is a little lazy when I don't wear them. 4. No this is not my fountain, this is my first time here. 5. Magic isn’t real.” He stares unblinkingly as he answers every question in order, she stares right back.
“My turn.” She nods with a seriousness of a sacred agreement.
“Why are you out here so late? Little human kids should be asleep I think. What’s you name? I’m Donatello. What’s your favorite kind of turtle? Where’d you get your shiny hat? Do you have siblings?”
He matches her number of questions, so they’re even.
“My names April O’Neil!! I don’t have any siblings, I really like snapping turtles, they’re chompy. And I don’t know why I'm out here, I just wanted to see if I could, I’m supposed to be in bed, that’s why I’m wearing my bonnet, it’s shiny cuz it silk.”
She didn’t answer in order. But that okay, Donnie thinks, because shes bouncing again.
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Raph at this time is absolutely about to go savage. Where did Donnie go!? Was he kidnapped by the trash golem he told Mikey about? He thought he made that up..BUT WHAT IF HE DIDNT??!?!?
Leo is the one to look up and see the hatch to the sewer left open. “Hey. Raphie.” He points, and they scramble up onto the surface. A first time for all of them, and right there in front of them across the yard is Donnie. Or well Donnie's butt. And someone else's.
April and Donnie had been shooting five questions at a time at each other for awhile before getting distracted by the water again. Leaning over the edge and dunking there heads in and listening to the sound of water under water. Marvel at the shift in their visions, in the rumbling sound, of the shifting lights. Just taking it in by themselves, together.
Before they are both simultaneously yanked out of the water by Raph, who thought they were drowning. He didn’t even immediately register that he doesn’t know this little human in his left hand.
“Oh. Hello Raphael. April likes you better than me so I’m disowning you.”
“WHAT?! Donnie why’d you run away, you had us scared to death! Who Apri-AAA” The snapper finally notices the little human he was holding, veritable stars in her eyes.
And promptly tosses her in panic. Donnie shouts, April squeals. One scared, one very very happy. She land safely in the fountain, now soaked to the bone, but this just has her squealing higher.
“This is you big brother D?? He’s a snapping turtle?? Eeeeee!!!!” Is this flutter in Donnie chest a good thing? Probably. The flutter in Raph's though definitely is not.
“Dad says we can’t be seen by humans!” They take us away like the garbage golem!” Mikey chirps up from behind Raph, suddenly very awake and very worried, head shrinking into his shell.
“April wont take us anywhere! She’s nice! Put me down Raph!” Donnie struggles. Donnie slips out of Raph grip and rushes to the edge of the fountain, helping April struggle to get her little legs over the wall. They both land on their butts in the grass.
April promptly whips around and rushes over to the three new turtles. Leo and Mikey hiding behind Raph's legs.
“Hi! Hi. I’m April. You’re really big. I like your helmet Raphie. Donnie told me your name, I’m pretty sure mom said that's an angels’ name once. Are you an angel?” She gasped with glee hoping from on for foot to another. “A TURTLE angel?!
Ah. Well. Raph can’t be scared of that. Huh. But he’s suddenly really nervous! And squirmy. Did he eat a butterfly? Wouldn't be the first time he’s eaten a bug. But hes never even seen a butterfly! He must have stayed quiet for awhile cuz the little human in front of him stops her little dance. Leo and Mikey are still hiding behind him. Donnie is doing a little pouty glare at the ground, holding onto the edge of April wet dress.
“I-I-I R-Raph I am. Uh Brother is big. I mean I *am* big. Brother. Haha…HEY” Once Leo senses there isn’t any danger, he pushes Raph out of the way, putting an end to his stammering.
“I'm Leo! And this is Mikey, thanks for playing with Donnie. He’s weird but we like him anyway.” Leo sticks his hand out with a thousand watt grin, he’s never gotten to make a friend before!
“You’re the weird one Nardo!” Donnie yells, but scoots behind April a bit as he does.
“Hehe yea he’s weird. But that’s what my classmates say I am too so I like it! You are all weird so we can be weird together!” April grins right back at the slider rapidly shaking his hand hard enough that it raises above his head and pulls him down with each motion.
“Hah! you ARE weird.” Leo giggles “I like you!”
“I’m Mikey!” Comes an almost scream from next to them causing them all to jump. “Do you wanna be friends!?” Mikey doesn’t know what volume control is yet. But none of the other tots seem to mind.
“Yes! We were looking at the water, you guys wanna play??”
Donnie grumbles about sharing *his* new friend. But they play in the fountain for awhile anyway. They all walk April home just before the sun starts to rise, turns out that wasn’t even April’s complex and she lived across the street. Carol would have had a heart attack if she ever found out. But thankfully April gets back to her room and dried off and mom is never the wiser.
And the rest, of course, is history.