Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mikey does not believe he will ever fall or can fall. Even propped up on one hand, limbs splayed in the illusion of carefree carelessness, he is poised in perfect balance on a rolling platform suspended a hundred feet in the air.

They let him on stage when he hit thirteen, but it feels like he’s been practicing forever. He’s fifteen now. The crowds love him and he loves the crowd. Tonight though is just practice. It doesn’t really matter, while Mikey loves the attention, at the core of it he performs for himself. The only one who’s watching him from the audience seats is just Big Mama. Even from way high up there he can feel her eyes boring into him, scrutinizing his every move.

Big Mama’s been on a bit–tetchy–ever since Princess Azula took away their star acrobat. It was a private showing, no one but Big Mama, her assistant, Ty Lee and Princess Azula knows what went on in there. Mikey hopes Ty Lee is doing alright. He misses his Lee-Lee. He knows Raph does too.

The princess can be mean and she cheats when she thinks she’s losing. It’s been a long time though since he’s actually interacted with the Fire Nation Princess. Feels like forever ago, before he ran away to the circus with Raph and Ty Lee followed not so long after.

Even if Big Mama hinted that this dry run was to see if he could replace Ty Lee as the main acrobatic star–he’d give up the spotlight if it meant they could soar together through the air again, flying across empty space knowing he would be caught in a pair of warm trusted hands. To have the same adrenaline exhilaration of flight reflected on her face.

Carefully Mikey switches from palm to palm going through the rest of his act with the same careful methodology he’s performed for all his acts. He’s done this several hundred times before, he will do this several hundred times after.

He’s just started lowering his body into a plank when he hears a soft woosh from down below, the net is set on fire. Big Mama has her fist outstretched and her eyes trained at him.

Mikey trusts his body, more than just his body, there’s the gift of the universe, his ultimate razzmatazz and it never lets him down. It’s why he’s so at home in the air. Even if his heart starts hammering as the heat starts rising. He can almost feel his eyes watering from the heat of the flames as much as there’s sweat pouring from his temples. His body knows this routine by heart, by sinew and bone it memorized his own weight and the well worn routes of his own momentum.

He will not fall. He literally cannot fall.

In the corner of his eyes, he sees Leo and Donnie looking up at him terrified from the side entrance into the ring. On the opposite side Raph has been knocked and half buried into the ground by Big Mama’s assistant. No doubt his biggest brother probably tried to ‘rescue’ him once he saw the net set on fire.

But Raph doesn’t need to worry. He doesn’t need a rescue, he can do this. He’s done this a hundred thousand times before and will do this a hundred thousand times after net on fire or not! Mikey’s thoroughly convinced himself of this fact, besides he only has three more poses to run through before his routine is over and then–well every show no matter how good has to end.

He’s almost there.

That’s when Big Mama releases the animals.

____________________________________________________________________

Leo acts first when he sees that Raph physically can’t.

“Donnie the water barrels!”

He doesn’t wait for a reply before turning heel and running. His twin is right beside him just as fast as he is, bolting to the Animal Tent. It’s got the largest supply of water on short notice the Platypus bear needs to drink a lot after all.

Leo bends the water inside the water barrel to make it roll faster. He knows Donnie’s smoothened the path before them, even as he joins in on pushing the barrel forward. Big Mama has been weird beyond her usual brand of weirdness. Everyone felt how things had been off lately since the Fire Princess took Ty Lee with her. She was snappier, testier, less tolerant of everything that didn’t fit standards. Spirits knew what those would be for the day–hour–minute.

It was why the four of them decided to watch Mikey’s practice. Why they run for the water barrels now, not trusting Big Mama to put the fire out herself.

They stop right at the edge of the ring, Donnie raises his staff to break off the faucet when Leo holds up a hand to stop him. His eyes train on to Mikey who’s still up there, holding on. It didn’t take more than a minute to roll the barrel and the little acrobat is still going strong.

Fighter that he is, Leo can see his sweat soaked face twisted in grim determination, tongue sticking out. They both know his routine by heart, him and Donnie, from having watched it so often.

Donnie clutches his Bo staff so tightly his knuckles have turned white. Thumb poised over the button to release the hidden knife. It’s still posed. No doubt his twin’s got it all in his head just how hard to hit how to make the biggest spray of water enough that Leo’s water bending can hopefully go unnoticed. Maybe they won’t need the water.

There’s three poses left before he takes his bow–then Big Mama will have no choice but to let him down.

She’s been antsy, acting off more than usual, ever since the Princess Fire Bitch herself came down and strutted around like she owned the place before taking Ty Lee with her. But surely she’s not desperate enough to kill off her replacement star.

That’s before he sees the Animal Tamer, her Assistant bring the animals out. The Porcupine Badger comes charging into the ring. Elephantboar instinctively shies away from the flames but Big Mama cracks her whip and forces the big animals and a flock of ostrich horses to run laps around the flaming net. Around Mikey who’s grim determination has started to crumble at the edges.

There’s too many animals in the way, they might not be able to put out the fire like this. Not without Leo giving himself away as a waterbender. Leo can see Donnie shrink into himself against the cacophony of animal noises but he’s still standing strong, eyes darting between the controlled rampage of the animals and the water faucet still trying to gauge how best to utilize it.

Leo shifts his attention back to Mikey who’s pulled himself into his last handstand–the flourish of the show always ends with him leaping off the balancing platform in a flip to stroll across the tightrope back to the safety of the beams.

And he does, even amidst fire and rampaging animals he does–lading solid as ever the rope barely dipping under his weight. There’s only a few feet separating him from safety, from getting down.

An ostrich horse barrels too close to the side of the Elephantboar. It decides then and there, its more angry than it is afraid of Big Mama’s assistant, hurling the offending animal with its trunk across the flames into the Porcupinebadger.

The animal’s oiled feathered pelt catches fire, burning almost as fast as the net did. Leo can hear Raph scream barely under the enraged roar of the porcupinebadger as it slams into the balance beam trying to scrape the ostrich horse off. And Mikey–

Mikey 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴

“𝘋𝘖𝘕𝘕𝘐𝘌!”

The bo staff comes down hard on the faucet, Leo bends the initial burst of water right into the porcupinebadger knocking it away from the balance beams–away from Raph who’s filthy, looking like he clawed himself out of the earth, and propelled by streams of fire at his feet. The firebender collides hard into Mikey, catching him. Both of them come down crashing into and through the burning net. Raph curled protectively around the smaller younger boy taking the brunt of the flames and the fall.

Leo knows Raph may be almost fire proof, and built like a bisonturtle, but it won’t save him or Mikey from being trampled underfoot by a horde of panicking animals.

Donnie knocks his hand against Leo, in a small circular motion, like lightning, like reading each other’s minds. The waterbender knows what exactly his twin is trying to do, together they churn the earth, slippery and sticky causing the animals to slide, fall and stay down.

Through the carnage, the remnants of the net, the fire dying out, and the animals twitching, braying in muddy misery and upset. Raph pulled himself and Mikey out of the wreckage. Both of them are filthy and worse for wear, but not bleeding nor move as if they have broken bones as far as Leo can see. Mikey has his arms around Raph’s neck, face peeking out from where it's tucked against Raph’s shoulder. The acrobat is cradled in a one armed protective hold. Raph is sooty and singed around the edges where he isn’t covered by mud.

His eyes meet Leo’s and he mouths a single word.

𝘙𝘶𝘯.

His eyes flick towards the stands, Leo’s own gaze following to where Big Mama is staring right at him, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

She knows. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴.

Leo pulls Donnie hard by the wrist, pulling both of them into a sprint.

They couldn’t 𝘯𝘰𝘵 help Mikey especially when it was very clear that Big Mama was going to 𝘭𝘦𝘵 him fall. Leo thinks he saw the Assistant get kicked by one of the panicking Ostrichhorses but he doesn’t care. She took down Raph. She let Mikey fall.

Though it hurts, it hurts something awful, tearing him up into shreds on the inside, that this is how they say goodbye. This is how they will never see each other again. Only bad things can happen to a waterbender in the midst of a Fire Nation colony.

No one knows where they carted off all the earthbenders. Everyone knows what happened to the airbenders.

The pair of them are almost, almost at the edge of the circus’ camp when Leo feels a sting in his leg and crumples to the ground.

Donnie’s momentum carries him a few steps forward before he realizes Leo isn’t in the lead anymore and turns around. The waterbender wants to yell at him to leave, to run, but his vision is already going blurry. The last thing he sees is Donnie’s panicked face, his twin reaching for him before he too is falling on his knees.

He thinks their fingers just barely brush against each other when it all goes dark.

Chapter Text

When Leo comes to, his hands have been tired behind his back. There’s a gag in his mouth. His ankles are also too tightly bound together. Near his legs are Donnie’s.

𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦 who’s shoulder must be pressing against Leo’s. Both of them, it seems, are tied to the same pole. The rest of the world swims into focus as he tries in vain to check on his twin as much as possible. He can vaguely make out they are in another tent, but the detail almost as important as his twin’s steady breathing beside him is Big Mama watching him with a sickly sweet smile.

Leo snarls through his gag. Donnie makes a groggy muffled curse.

“Well it’s about time you both wisey waked up my little bendy-boos.” Big Mama coos coming just out of reach, but even then all Leo can do is angrily thrash at her, like a beached fish.

“You know~” She sing songs, eyes sparkling. That saccharine smile of hers never wavering as she reaches out to patronizingly pat Leo on the head like he was one of her tamed pets.

“I had an inkling, that you were both spick-sparkling special! You’re quite handy with those swish-buckly swords of yours. And you–”

She turns to Donnie, nimbly dodging Leo’s attempt to headbutt her. He strains against the ropes, letting it cut into him as long as he can warn her the fuck away from his twin.

“What’s a Beifong doing so far from Gaoling?”

Donnie goes completely still beside him. From a belt pouch, Big Mama pulls out a little jade green piece of paper with beige trim, inscribed with Dontatello Beifong and goldenseal of the flying boar printed upon it. It’s never left Donnie’s side ever. Dangling it in front of Donnie’s face.

It’s one of the only things that his twin kept when he ran away with Leo. Since then the passport’s been kept in a specially made silk pouch, tucked in a secret pocket worn close to Donnie’s heart.

“I imagine that your family’s been weary teary themselves into bits over the missing scion. The youngest of the branch family.”

Leo can feel more than see Donnie trembling beside him. Being sent back to the Beifongs, in some cases is even worse for Donnie than for Leo being outed as a waterbender. Leo stops thrashing, grinds his teeth unconsciously through the gag. There must be something, anything he can do, to get them out of this. Bargain or overpower, or run away from Big Mama. Anything.

“But if I knew that this would be all it took to swishy spill your little bittle secrets well~”

The passport is carefully tucked away back into Big Mama’s belt, she clasps her hands, a soft clap echoing in the tent, her gesture of dismissal as she tends to do at the end of the carnival’s rehearsals.

“Big Mama will miss having you both around, you two were such a hippity high credit to the team!”

“WAIT!”

The curtain parts, Raph pushes himself through the heavy folds of the tent, falling on to one knee between Leo, Donnie and Big Mama. His back is to them, Leo and Donnie. He hasn’t changed out of his costume. There’s still mud and soot clinging to the older boy.

“You don’t have to give them up to the authorities!” Leo doesn’t have to see Raph’s face to know the desperation he’s wearing.

“Oh~?” She hums.

It seems to amuse Big Mama. Not at all upset but the sudden interruption. Her lips are pursed in a smirk of amusement. Her head is tilted towards him, in indulgence like watching a bearpup do a particularly entertaining trick.

Leo tries to kick him, but barely manages to nudge Raph's backside.

“Leo’s more useful if he stays here working for you. He can heal. Waterbenders can heal right? That’s practically a doctor. We don’t need Mr. Foxy anymore, he’s drunk half the time anyway.”

Big Mama’s fingers tap against her cheek. Her expression has softened. If she wasn’t a manipulative bitch to the core, Leo would almost think there was affection in her gaze.

“True, that is unwinnily unfortunately true.”

“A–And Donnie.” Raph blurts, his speech picking up speed and his voice picking up confidence.

Leo once gave him a few pointers how to work a crowd, the trick behind what goes on as the Face Man. He’s not sure whether he feels proud of Rapahel right now or wants to kick him until he stops talking.

“Donnie’s a Beifong, they’d pay oodles of money to keep him safe. They will pay you oodles of money to keep him safe, but once you give him back to them, they won’t pay you anymore.”

There is a muffled grunt at Leo’s side, from what Leo can see of his twin and more by what he can feel tension bleeds out of him. Now that there’s less of a threat he will be sent back there.

But for however much Big Mama smiles and indulges Raph, her voice is still the same sickly saccharine sweet as it was when she said to ‘release the animals.’

“But you’re asking me to commit tintinily treason against the Fire Nation, by not giving up a waterbender no?”

Big Mama's lip quivers, the corners of her mouth, twitching upwards. It's a joke, a big fat joke at their expense on how Big Mama pretends she has loyalty to anything or anyone but herself.

Raph digs his heels in, Leo can see him shift and settle. Nothing’s going to move that big guy now, not hell or high water–the combined forces of Tui and La could contrive to flood the earth and Raph would still be there keeping himself between Leo, Donnie and Big Mama.

It’s still surprising when Raph outright says.

“It’s been one hundred years. Ba Sing Se’s still standing and the Avatar has come back.”

This is the closest Leo’s ever heard Raph come to outright treason. Not that he’s spouted Fire Nation propaganda either. The waterbender has always known, Raph practically broadcasts it, his loyalty is to Mikey, and to whoever he considers his people.

Things are looser here in the sticks. This is the farthest Fire Nation Colony from the mainland. It’s more a colony because no one’s put up much of a fight. On the surface it felt as much a neutral party as it could be, given it had fire benders in its show. He and Donnie; they thought it would be safe to travel with the carnival for a while. Just for a while until they got back on their feet. While where they didn’t have to worry about food and dry places to sleep.

Until this. Until it came to Mikey almost dying and Raph begging for their lives.

“Having Leo around would be a good look for us.” Raph continues.

“That’s what they have to offer.” Big Mama says, for once not mixing nonsense words into her speech. She cups Rapahel’s face in her hands, fingertips light on his cheeks.

“What do you have to offer Raphael?” She croons, the tips of her nails just pressing in. There is more satisfaction in her eyes than she ever had when she proclaimed Leo a waterbender, when she dangled Donnie’s Beifong passport in front of him.

“What can you give me?”

Chapter Text

Raph doesn’t know if this was the end game of her plan. If this was the reason why she almost killed Mikey–if there was any reason at all why should almost kill Mikey. If she knows or if she was trying to find out, but why now? After they have worked for her for so long. This could be a sudden development, making the best out of a bad situation turned deal. She could have been planning this all along. He doesn’t care.

He has something she wants. It was always going to come down to this.

Without looking away from her, Raph starts unclasping the heavy gold bracelets at his wrists. He’s never been without them, and goes to sleep with them even. People always assume that it's part of his costume as the circus’ strongman, but there are few that know the meaning of the bracelets. Big Mama being one of them.

They have always weighed him down, more cuffs and chain than any meaning as an heirloom. He’d give up a hundred thousand of inheritances, legacies that were never going to be more than just a burden.

It’s his ticket back, it's proof of ownership and claim. But even with Baron Draxum gone, and himself as the last of the Dragon Slayers. Raph knows in his bones he’d never return to that cursed house again. Only over his dead body would Mikey be forced to go back too.

He’d wring every last drop of royal blood in him if it would give him his brothers back safe and sound.

𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴–he doesn’t know when exactly it changed, for the longest time it felt like it was just him and Mikey, then they met the twins. 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 feel right. Leo and Donnie made their choices known when they outed themselves saving Mikey.

It’s only natural Raph would choose them back.

Besides this isn’t even a heritage that he wants. Let her have it, squander it, or burn the world. It’s something for Future Raph to worry about so long as he can have Leo and Donnie back now in one piece.

So he offers it up kneeling, bracelets balanced on both open palms and tries not to look like Big Mama is doing him a favor.

“You’d sign it over? To me.” She asks, as if she weren’t toying with him stretching out and savoring the moment of her victory.

“Yes.” Raph says simply. He’s not playing her game any more than he has to.

There’s a moment of silence stretching long enough for a whisper of the heavy tent curtain to come between them for Mikey to slip through and quietly plaster himself to Raph’s side. Timidly, with eyes wide and watering his little brother pleads.

“Please Big Mama?”

It’s the youngest and most tearful that Raphael has ever heard him sound since Mikey had begged him to run away together.

Raphael is torn between shoving his littlest brother out of Big Mama’s tent, away from this Spider’s web and holding him close, reassuring himself that Mikey is back on solid ground and 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. He wants Mikey out of Big Mama’s line of sight, out of her mind. He needs to feel his brother still breathing beside him.

Mikey’s hands rest lightly on his shoulder, comforting and drawing comfort from him.

“They saved my life.”

Even kneeling Raphael is still a little taller than Mikey. His body leans instinctively into his littlest brother, shielding him. Before this, he thought that Mikey was Big Mama’s favorite second only to her assistant, for all that she indulged him. But her expression hadn’t changed at all when she set the net on fire. He’s not sure what they’ll get by banking on her affection. If there was any actual affection at all.

“We can do it again.” Mikey suggests.

Raphael bites down so hard on his lip to stop himself from screaming, his snaggletooth tears into flesh, blood leaks into his mouth.

“I can do it again.” Mikey says with more confidence. Ignoring Raph who is begging with his eyes, ignoring Leo and Donnie who while they can’t do more than thrash around, are making valiant protestations behind their gags.

“Add it to my show, set the net on fire, have animals–only maybe just the Ostrichhorses and not the Porcupinebadger. And your Assistant keeps them in line.” He adds this line with a fearsome glare into the corner of the tent.

Raphael hadn’t even noticed The Assistant there, sulking in the shadows until Mikey pointed her out.

He wants to hate her, wants to 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦, but he can’t afford to get angry now. Besides the brunt of his animosity is on the Ringmaster in front of him radiating smugness like a big bloated overfed spider.

Things are–𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 complicated between him and The Assistant. She’s made her choice as he’s made his. It’s simple now.

“Very well.” Big Mama says with an almost lazy wave of her hand. “Prepare the contract.”

Naturally the Assistant does all the work. One short tea table is pulled up, a contract is signed in triplicate. Raph is two bracelets lighter and three brothers back with him where they belong. But it wouldn’t be Big Mama if she let them go so easy.

The assistant cuts into Leo and Donnie respectively, making a shallow stripe on a leg each. She has to hold them down with her earth bending. Mikey has to put a warning hand on Raph’s shoulder keeping him still, as his brothers bleed.

The Assistant carefully flicks drops of blood from each brother into respective glass vials, there’s something in them that makes the blood glisten an unnaturally deep red. Making it almost like a jewel in the glass. As the Assistant corks them and carefully tucks the vials in her belt, Big Mama says her last piece.

“You two will continue to work for me as you have. If you run away, My Assistant’s shirshu will hunt you down. I only really need the Beifong alive.”

Another simpering smile that’s all sick malice. Raph counts to ten in his mind to keep his hands exploding into fire.

“Not necessarily in one piece.”

She turns her back to them, already running her fingers over the golden bracelets. It seems almost an afterthought when she says.

“You can take them now Raphael.”

Chapter Text

Physically Raphael is the one that looks more like an Earthbender and built like a Badgerbear though he has the heart of a 𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘺 Badgerbear. Donnie has seen him break boulders with his bare fists. People look at him and don’t think it's far-fetched for him to be able to move mountains with or without bending.

But Donnie’s is a mind that works in certainties, in solid absolutes. Just by holding a rock in his hand, Donnie knows its exact weight, mass, density and volume. He can touch metal made machines–feeling them and know exactly how they come together, the intricate tangle of mesh and gears; steel wedding the marvelous principles of physics and ingenuity into mechanics. He knows exactly how to break them apart.

Donnie also knows he has a tendency for hyperfixation, a need to understand whatever his current obsession is by all angles and all possible dimensions, until he can move onto his next hyperfix.

Currently his attention is divided into three brother shapes, Raph, Leo, Mikey.

He knows he does not form connections easily, but when he does–it’s like a hyperfixation that does not go away. He is changed irrevocably, fundamentally, and people question why he prefers to keep himself emotionally distant.

Big Mama’s barely finished speaking when the older boy is already by his side carefully cutting them free. Donnie bites back a whimper as his gag is pulled off. Circulation returns to his wrists, and ankles. Before he can rub some feeling into them, his arm is slung across Raph’s shoulders as is Leo’s. Mikey’s suddenly on supporting his other side as the four of them, in this awkward formation half stumble half carried out by Raph’s momentum.

Donnie can feel people staring across the field, other carnies peeking out through their tents. It was supposed to be a private practice–he doubts the story has spread yet, not before Big Mama has her narrative spun good and ready. But they are no doubt curious.

Raph ignores them, ignores all eyes on him, as he practically marches them all the way to his tent. It’s technically Raph and Mikey’s tent, but when the older boy took them under his wing, he invited Leo and Donnie to stay with him as long as they were traveling with the carnival.

It wasn’t much in the way of privacy but it was a hell of a lot more than what they had in the communal tent.

Mikey leaves Donnie’s side, he can feel himself lurch a bit before he catches himself. The acrobat pulls out one of their bed rolls, Raph’s judging by the size of it and their eldest brother gently deposits them onto it.

“Mikey, some water please–oh thank you.”

A heavy water skin is uncapped and pushed into Leo’s hands. With a graceful coaxing gesture, Leo bends the water to form a small gently floating orb hovering above his hands.

“Donnie, show me your leg.”

Donnie wants to argue, Leo was bound and cut the same way he was, but he knows that Leo would never heal himself first when he thinks his twin is injured. He still scowls as he lifts his pants leg exposing the shallow rope burns to Leo’s gentle ministrations.

“Wrists next.” Leo prompts.

“What about yours?” Donnie grouses back but nevertheless extends his hands. The same goes for his ankles.

“Mikey?”

“I’m fine.” The youngest of them protests, but he knows as well as Donnie does, nothing can deter Leo when he gets into medic mode.

He lets Leo give him a once over, checking that he really is just fine. As fine as anyone can be after almost falling to their deaths.

“Raph?”

“Barely got singed.” Raph grunts but still lets himself be subject to the same fussing, lets the small wound on his lip be healed.

It’s true. For all that had happened, the worst of it were the rope burns and cuts that The Assistant dealt on Leo and himself. They are none the worse for wear, physically at least.

Only after Leo satisfies himself that everyone else is as fine as they can be, does he heal his own wounds. Mikey offers a small tub of balm to Donnie. It has a mild enough minty scent that Donnie can tolerate it, it's the same balm the acrobat uses after his rehearsals.

A beat of silence stretches between them while Donnie treats his and Leo’s wrists. Donnie can feel Leo’s sharp inhale, no doubt about to crack a joke, something light and mildly inappropriate to break the tension.

“The bracelets you gave away, Raph what do they mean?” Donnie asks, cutting his twin off to Leo’s surprise.

The earthbender would usually rather pry his own teeth out with rusty pliers than initiate an emotionally fraught conversation but he has to know the weight and the shape of his debt. Or else it will never let him get any rest.

Raph blinks in surprise, as if he had forgotten the transaction entirely.

“They don’t mean anythin’.” He says easily.

Donnie has heard of earthbenders that can feel a person’s heartbeat through their connection to the earth. And by that sense immediately know if the person is lying. He’s not quite there yet, but Raph to his touch, his hand subtly resting flat on the ground, is solid and unwavering.

He could be telling the truth. It could mean nothing to him.

“Big Mama wanted it. Enough to ‘turn treason’ and not give Donnie up to the Beifongs. It must be something to her.” Leo points out, following Donnie’s train of thought.

It could mean nothing to Raph, but to Big Mama?

“Big Mama wants a lot of things.” Raph deflects.

The older boy’s hand rests on Leo’s shoulder, his other hovers above Donnie’s waiting for Donnie’s tacit permission for touch now that the emergency is over. Donnie leans into it, letting his own hand cover Raph’s.

“I need to know.”

Raph sighs soft and deep. Donnie tries not to feel too victorious that he’s won. He loves this about Raph. Other people (excluding present company) take his need to know as him being nosy and unable to mind his own business. But Raph understands the need 𝘵𝘰 understand. The iron claw grip of his mind that won’t let go and sometimes won’t even let himself go.

He’s never judged Donnie for it, never told him to fuck off. When he can’t explain, the let down is gentle. Sometimes it’s enough.

But this is something that was worth the weight of his own life and Leo’s. Something to do as well with Mikey by the conflicted look he throws to the youngest of them.

A hard look comes over Mikey’s eyes. It’s the same look he always gets when he squares up against Raph in a bid for his own independence. When he’s tired of being treated as the baby. It fails more often than it succeeds, but today has shifted a lot of things that once spun on their axis.

“Donnie can you check if there’s anyone else listenin’ in?”

Obligingly, Donnie closes his eyes and focuses on his seismic sense to feel if there’s anyone lurking near their tent. So far, everyone else has stayed inside their own respective temporary textile domiciles.

The Assistant is where she always is, by Big Mama’s side. She is not a priority right now.

“We’re all clear.”

Raph almost looks disappointed at that, but another look from Mikey stops him from stalling.

“You know Mikey and I ran away from our families to join the circus. But the guy I used to live with was called Baron Draxum.”

It’s not a name that either he or Leo know. Raph never gave any indication of coming from the upper echelon, but Mikey had implied before that his family was rich. He and Raph were of a similar social stature. Donnie thought it was a situation like his own, like the Beifongs.

“He was nobility, but like–not popular. Nothing as big as they used to be.” Raph explains, unknowingly confirming Donnie’s hypothesis.

“Draxum was the last of the Dragon Slayers.​​ But after they killed all the dragons, there wasn’t really a point ta him anymore. Lot’s offa people considered him a hasbeen. It was just him carryin’ on the clan.” Raph sighed, scrubbed his face hard with his hand. It didn’t do anything to smoothen out the burgeoning chasm.

“Him and Raph.”

The firebender hunches as if to make himself smaller, eyes looking down at his hands, his forearms covered in muddy and sooty wraps. Under them, Donnie has caught a glimpse of burn marks running deep, thick and twisted scar tissue. He’s never asked where it came from and what could cause that kind of hurt. It seemed even his brain knew innately there were some lines that couldn’t be crossed.

“People called him a mad man. He 𝘸𝘢𝘴 a mad man, obsessed with tradition, spirits, power–𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. But he was a powerful firebender and fighter even without his bending. Nobles still sent their kids to him to be trained. That’s how I met Mikey.”

Mikey smiles softly, but otherwise doesn’t interrupt. Instead he settles himself on Raph’s lap, his back to the older boy’s chest. Leo moves to rest his head against Raph’s shoulder. Donnie stays where he is, across the older boy, but keeps his gaze down and averted. Maybe it makes it easier on the firebender, now that there are less eyes on him, though they are all listening. The words come out smoother, less hesitant

“Raph wasn’t like those kids. Some of them stayed for a bit but they got to go home to their families at the end. Draxum wanted to make me his heir. And he–He was pretty brutal about it.”

His arms wrap around the acrobat, Raph hides his face behind the riot of curls Mikey’s hair gets when it slips from his braid and becomes untamed. He’ll be stuck there for the foreseeable future, for as long as Raph needs to draw comfort from him.

“He did things to Raph that made my firebending more powerful. Raph was supposed to be his greatest masterpiece. His weapon.”

A bitterness runs deep in the older boy’s voice, it makes Donnie think of volcanoes, of molten lava bubbling but not rising, not yet, as it seethes beneath the weight of the earth. He thinks of obsidian, of cool brittle black stone, the glass that forms when lava cools too fast. Mikey had leaned up, nuzzling Raph back, seeming to leech the rancor from him.

“He wasn’t just happy with Raph. You were too young Mikey when Draxum caught interest in you. He saw 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭. He wanted to adopt you. He 𝘥𝘪𝘥 adopt you.”

“I didn’t know that!” Mikey squeaks, both indignant and lacking air.

“Course you didn’t.” Raph scoffs, sounding almost offended. “Cuz I challenged him to an Agni Kai and won.”

Being in Fire Nation colony territory means both Donnie and Leo have picked up certain things by osmosis or by necessity. Donnie visible startles. He knows what an Agni Kai is, what it means and what it takes to win one.

He looks at Raph, the largest and strongest boy for his age that Donnie has ever known, still trying to make himself smaller. Now that he knows, he both can and cannot imagine Raph as a weapon. Everything about the firebender, his physique, his physicality screams power, strength, 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. But his nature–to turn Raphael’s nature into a weapon, it is like trying to make an imaginary number real. An idea so inherently wrong, it’s abhorrent.

The oldest of them has always been unfailingly gentle when handling Mikey, when handling any of them. He has been their shield, their protector, their biggest brother. Donnie has been subject to and come to depend on Raph's gentleness, his tender unconditional love. It occurs to him he’s never seen Raph truly angry. He’s never been seriously at the wrong end of those tonfa, or seen what they could really do.

For all his curiosity he’s not sure he wants to.

“The bracelets were proof that I won. Everything that was his was mine now. Including custody of Mikey.”

“You told me that the Agni Kai was to get Draxum to let us go to the circus! Not that you–like adopted me.”

Mikey half heartedly tries to twist his way around in Raph’s grip. It's more a token protest if anything. The way he objects makes it evident that he’s quoting, not that he’s actually objecting to what Raph did.

“Does that, what, make you–𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘥 now?”

Raph chuckles though flat and mirthless. None of them have a good track record with parental figures. They are just learning about Baron Draxum and the things he did. Mikey has talked about how being passed around relatives was part of his culture, what survived of it. The North Pole is horribly close minded and misogynistic that's putting it lightly. Returning Donnie to the Beifong’s was used as a 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵.

With Raph being the oldest he just–started to take care of them and kept taking care of them. He is the closest thing all of them currently have to a father, for all that he is only one year older than Donnie and Leo.

Raph pushes Mikey’s head a little, it’s not rough housing, it's far too gentle.

“Don’t make Raph older than I already am Mikey, You’re family, you’ve always been family. Raph didn’t have to kick Draxum’s ass to prove it.” He sighs softly, tone weary.

“That was just to keep you safe.”

They all fall silent for a minute. It’s a lot to take in, everything Raph did to keep Mikey safe. It explains a lot actually regarding their eldest’s behavior towards their youngest. Things that Leo and Donnie also adopted without question. Mikey 𝘪𝘴 that precious, it doesn’t take the threat of a madman to see it.

It’s a heavy moment. Donnie can see the gravity of it sink into their youngest. If it weren’t for extenuating circumstances, the metal bender doubts that Raph would have ever told Mikey any of this, a further extension of his protection, and not wanting to burden him.

“You said ass–” Leo whispers, sushing when Donnie discretely kicks him, of all the things to focus on. But it works though, in draining the bad kind of tension out of the room.

“Language.” Raph mutters, out of habit. Mikey lets out a soft huff of not quite laughter.

Raph finally lets Mikey go enough to have the younger boy face him. He cups Mikey’s face between his palms, his hands almost engulfing the boy’s head. For all the death defying stunts Mikey can pull and has pulled on a daily basis, for all his endless cheer and optimism this is the youngest Donnie has ever seen him look. This is the oldest he’s ever seen Raph.

“Mikey, Draxum taught you yeah, but you don’t know what it was like living with him. You were already chafing under your extended family. If he found out about your…about your razzmatazz–I knew I had to get you out as soon as I could.”

A stricken look crosses Mikey’s face, his mouth twists with guilt, wobbling at the edges on the brink of a sob. But Raph bends down pressing his forehead light against Mikey’s own. The switch is easy, as it's the younger boy’s turn now, soaking up the affection, the comfort, like a flower turning to the sun.

There is history here that Donnie can only guess at. A burden that has been a part of Raph for longer than Donnie has met him. For all that he carries it so well, it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been heavy.

“We both knew running away was the only way you’d be happy. And you couldn’t have run away if Draxum had his claws in you.”

“Where’s this Draxum now?” Donnie asks, hating to break the moment but again, needing to know.

“Dunno, don’t care.” Raph shrugs. Lifting his head to answer Donnie.

“I kicked him out once it was official I owned all his stuff. Course technically, I own it when I turn eighteen. But that’s not gonna happen now.”

“Big Mama has the bracelets now. Does that mean she has custody of Mikey?” Leo asks, something that Donnie hadn’t even considered.

“Nah, I checked the paper work the Assistant made me sign.” Raph says reassuringly, putting an end to fears before they begin.

“Mikey’s adopted to 𝘮𝘦, under my name. Everything material, that’s what she owns. All Big Mama’s got is a spooky big house full of the secret ancient power of the Dragon Slayers an’ oodles of cash.”

“That still doesn’t sound so good.” Leo remarks dryly to Raph’s careless shrug.

“Its a problem for future Raph.”

The firebender leans back, taking his time to look at all of them. His expression eases to one of open care and honest affection.

“I’d give it all up again. It wasn’t worth you, 𝘢𝘯𝘺 of you.”

Donnie finds himself inexorably drawn into a group hug. Raph’s hand at his back, Mikey shifting to make room for him, has his arm around Donnie’s waist, his other around Leo’s. His own hand rests light at Raph’s side, not quite returning the embrace. That he’s there though matters in itself, he knows they understand his brand of affection.

“Ain’t no price I wouldn’t pay to keep you guys safe.” Raph confesses openly, unabashed to wear his heart on his sleeve, teeth bared to the world as if to dare it, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙜 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪.

“I’ll get you all out of here I promise.”

He says it like it's an absolute, a certainty. Gold has an absolute density of 19.3 g/cm3. Raph wouldn’t trade them for all the gold in the world. Not for all the secrets of ancient power, heritage that kills even dragons. He’s going to free them from Big Mama.

Donnie’s mind thinks in absolutes, but in this case it doesn’t turn to debts, not to the negative but rather foundations.

An earth bender once theorized that the core of this planet was molten metal kept impossibly solid by extreme high pressure, it's surrounded by a liquid core that helps keep the earth turning while it revolves around the sun.

Raph’s love is like that, nothing so static, but still ever so certain, a truth that might as well be an unbreakable law of the universe. A constant formula, the end result of this equation is always going to be the same. Even if they’ve sold themselves as hostage / indentured labor to Big Mama, as long as he has his brothers, everything is going to be alright.

It's on this surety, he can entrust himself and finally lay both his body and his mind to rest.

Chapter Text

Everything’s settled. It should be settled. They’re all alright. As alright as they can be with the three out of the four of them practically conscripted. While nobody’s forcing Raph to do more than he has to, he wouldn’t be Raph if he wasn’t doing everything he could and more.

It’s not Mikey’s fault.

Ever since The Incident happened with a capital I. Big Mama has been watching them, making sure the four of them aren’t ever alone together. Either they are divided into pairs working at opposite corners of the circus, or at least one of them is always within her or her Assistant's line of sight. But all attempts to drive them apart have only banded them closer together, like brothers.

Instead of one big brother he’s got three now. Which means Mikey’s never felt more loved, he’s never hated himself more.

They didn’t 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to rescue him. Even if–connecting point A, friends as the only boys in similar age traveling together could be, to point B brothers who would die for each other. His rescue was the catalyst to realizing all that. But it shouldn’t have come to that.

Raph told him to stop thinking about it like that. Says they made their choices and wouldn’t have made any other ones. But that’s Raph. For better or for worse, forgiveness from Raph was never any question. The guilt though is still 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.

He didn’t have his opportunity back then. Donnie had brought up Raph’s bracelets and the focus, the weight shifted onto the biggest brother. He knows in his heart of hearts he takes more than a little advantage of that.

Mikey had let Raph’s reassurances wash over him. Let himself be pulled into Raph’s embrace, solid and secure where it feels like nothing bad will ever or can ever happen to him. He let Raph tell the story behind the bracelets now that he had given them up. Because no matter how many times he had begged before he had never gotten a straight answer. ‘Too young’–was Raph’s go to reply and ‘It’s not for you to worry about.’

Even if he got to hear the story now, it doesn’t change this is his fault. Reinforces that he wasn’t good enough, wasn’t strong enough, and had to be coddled and protected like a 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺. He knows he has to talk about it. Nothing good comes from bottling it all up and pushing it down, it muddies and ruins the chi, thins out the razzmatazz to the point of fraying. He has to 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘦 or else he’s going to explode!

While Donnie was the one that brought up Raph’s bargain he knows Donnie would rather chew teeth than initiate a talk about feelings. Leo is more touchy feely which the older boy chalks up to waterbender culture. So Leo it is.

It’s not so hard for Mikey to get to Leo alone, just the two of them, despite how strictly Big Mama’s assistant seems to enforce the rules. At night, Mikey isn’t even allowed to sleep in their communal tent anymore. He stays with The Assistant. He’s pretty sure she knows he sneaks out in the early morning to be with his brothers, but as long as all four of them are present at the mess tent, she seems content to let it slide.

She’s always been secretly nice that way. Riri–𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢 has always had her little secret subtle kindnesses that she thinks no one else sees, but Mikey does.

He knows she probably didn’t mean the Incident, she wouldn’t purposely let him fall to his death, not one of the circus kids. But even if she didn’t mean it, it doesn’t change that it happened. Her loyalty was always to Big Mama first. No amount of small kindnesses can change that.

Mikey finds Leo as the other is about to do laundry. He helps Leo carry the baskets of dirty clothes to the running river. While it’s just them, after careful checking around, the waterbender takes the opportunity to discreetly use his bending to wash clothes.

“I hate pruny hands.” Leo grumbles lightheartedly, setting the clothes to spin inside their water bubble. It’s a small careless comment, something to break the silence and detract from the way Leo is watching him very closely. Mikey likes to think he’s maybe lasted five minutes ( one minute in actual time) before blurting.

“I gotta tell you something.”

“I’m all ears Miguel.” Leo teases, but he turns to face Mikey, eyes fixed on his face. All attention directed towards the younger boy.

The confession that was once clawing inside his chest like a rabid animal now sits heavy lodged in his throat. He wrings his hands, putting the laundry aside for the moment.

“You shouldn’t have–You and Donnie didn’t need to save me.” He squeaks out, words barely slipping past the hard lump in his throat.

“We couldn’t let you fall to your death.” Leo replies easily, the smile while soft is still there on his face.

“I can’t fall.” Mikey insists. “I shouldn’t be 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 to fall.”

This wipes the smile from Leo’s face but the way he looks at Mikey is still so very gentle and soft. All his brothers in their own ways are soft with him.

“Mikey, it wasn’t your fault. The Assistant lost control of her animals–”

“But it is!” Mikey insists angrily. Rage breaking thorough where shame had choked him.

He’s glad they’re alone. He’s allowed to be a little loud, to give sound to his breaking heart. Unable to contain himself, Mikey finds himself standing, moving to give himself another outlet less he tear himself apart from the inside.

“Even if she lost control I should have been able to catch myself.” It’s only long ingrained habit and self preservation that remind him to lower his voice.

“If I had just airbend–”

“You could be dead.” Leo interrupts flatly, having gotten up to catch Mikey by the shoulder. His eyes dart all around them, tense and wary. He only relaxes marginally when it seems the both of them are still alone and no one heard Mikey use the forbidden word.

All mirth, all softness is gone. Leo’s hand is firm and right on his shoulder, blue eyes are dark as the ocean, Mikey imagines this is the color of arctic water before it freezes into ice.

“The Fire Nation killed all the airbenders. They didn’t stop till everyone was dead.”

Mikey tries to pull away from this. He doesn’t need a rehashing of his own history. The Airbenders used to be nomads but they did not begrudge their own people leaving when they felt this way of life was no longer suitable for them, like in cases where they fell in love with peoples of other nations and wanted to put down roots.

Members of the air nomads were all born as airbenders due to the culture’s strong ties to spirituality. But there were exceptions for marriages to outside nations. His own lineage came from one such fortunate coincidence of a star crossed romance between a great grandmother traveling nun and Fire Nation Nobility, whose children did not end up inheriting their mother’s talents.

She died before the genocide and even if she had lived to that age, the choice had been to assimilate or die.

By the time Mikey was born the bloodline was diluted enough that any semblance of Air Nomad culture they kept desperately alive was only echoes of the real thing. Vegetarianism, evasion as a way of combat, extended family dynamics where everyone was everyone’s mother-father-brother-sister-cousin. That heritage was in name alone until Mikey sneezed one day and flew half across the room.

Raph had been there. Raph had been the first to know. Mikey now knows Raph hadn’t wasted any time getting him out and away from people who would have felt obligated to turn over an airbender. Even one that belonged to the royal family.

Of course they would sacrifice one child to protect the rest of the family. All the other clans had done it before, at one point or another in time. If it were left up to the Ty Family, he's not sure it would have been any different. But it wasn't left up to them, it was left up to Raph.

Leo was second to know about his airbending, and that was also by accident.

“If Big Mama found out–” Leo trails off, shaking his head more to himself. His grip tightening on Mikey’s shoulder.

“Mikey I am so glad that you didn’t use this. Big Mama was willing to keep me and Donnie for labor but this? You could still be 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 for this.”

This–he knows this. It feels like Leo’s getting distracted from the point he was trying to make but Mikey tries to find the words, the logic to protest. He tries to grasp the way his thoughts rattled and bounced off the walls from inside his skull.

“She’s got you and Donnie trapped.” He whispers, voice small nearly swallowed by the noise of the stream.

That is the heart of it. They are no longer safe here because of him. Leo and Donnie before they joined the circus had their own struggles, their own burdens and Mikey just added himself into it. Another weight to bear.

“Not forever.” Leo refutes. “We’re working on it.”

He ruffles Mikey’s hair, his hand slipping down to cup Mikey’s cheek and staying there.

“If Donnie were here and I know you’re going to try to apologize to him too, he’d go on about extraneous variables, worst case best case scenarios, cause and effect yadda yadda, but I know he’d agree with me when this is the best possible outcome.”

Leo leans down then, presses his forehead to Mikey’s exactly like how Raph does. Exactly like how he is to their biggest brother, Mikey can’t help but soak up the affection.

Before he met Raph and Raph decided to keep him, he was passed around a lot through extended family. They said it was how the monks used to rear their kids back then. But all Mikey ever felt was kinda lonely, overlooked and at the same time oppressed by tradition, by desperation, by everything they did to instill something that was long dead and gone.

He’s not sure they ever really saw him and not just another vessel for everything that had been lost. He’s held now, like he’s infinitely precious, irreplaceable. Loved for being nothing more and nothing less than himself.

Mikey doesn’t want them to have to jump through hoops of fire to prove their affection. He doesn’t want them to think they have to prove that they love him, but it soothes and gratifies the small and selfish part of him that they do, every day.

“Saving you was the only possible outcome.” Leo spins him a little, lifting his feet off the ground. It makes Mikey giggle despite himself.

“We’re alive. We’re all alive. Big Mama has some leverage but Donnie and I both worth more keeping alive than dead. I don’t think any amount of gold or acrobatics could save you if she–” Leo grimaces and shakes his head, cutting himself off.

“If you’re going to blame anyone, blame her. Just remember we’ve always got your back.”

A hint of pink then comes into those tanned cheeks. Even with Leo’s face now turned away Mikey can see his blush. It’s starker on the pale stripes of Leo’s face, the slashes of uneven skin tone running in rough crescents over Leo’s eyes.

“You’re like a little brother to me Mikey.”

“I already think of you and Donnie like I do Raph.” Mikey shyly confesses. Leo’s eyes widen, he beams and blushes and catches himself beaming. It’s the look he gets when he’s trying too hard not to be too pleased with himself.

“Then you should know I’d never blame you for doing or not doing what you have to, to keep yourself safe.”

It feels like all the knots Mikey tied himself up in are suddenly released. Now he’s all loose and limbs are jelly–whether he deserves it or not. The load choking him has been spat out and now he can breathe again deep, cleansing breaths all the way to the bottom of his lungs.

There’s still a prickle, a slightest bit of unease crawling on his skin. Even that is soothed by Leo’s arms around him.

He was the cause–but not the fault. It will take him time to accept this. He knows though his brothers have his back and next time–Mikey squats himself up and returns Leo’s embrace squeezing hard to the older boy’s amusement.

Mikey swears in this moment, he’ll prove it as much as they are willing to sacrifice for his sake, so too can he accomplish that much to that extent and more. Next time he will be the one to have their backs.

Chapter Text

The moment Raphael traded his heritage for his brother's lives, Frida knew the four of them were lost to Big Mama. The trade is worth it, in Big Mama’s eyes. But she’s only counted the costs when it comes to herself, professionally and personally.

Raphael does not talk to her anymore. Michaelangelo–still talks, but it’s strained and stilted. Somehow it’s worse than Raphael’s silence. She was never as close to the other two.

Frida is certain that Big Mama knows she’s lost the firebender and his brothers, but she is distracted with her newest acquisition. It’s made her overconfident in her iron rule over the carnival, the boys. Her Assistant.

They both know the boys are planning to escape. They are not stupid. Big Mama has assigned her as their keeper, putting them under her charge like the beasts already under her care. The four boys still get to keep their tent but Michaelangelo sleeps in her tent at night. Even if she has the means to track them with her shirshu, they would not leave without Michaelangelo. She knows most of the time he doesn’t stay the full night, waking up at odd hours to go and seek his brothers.

She lets him.

Frida is half certain that Big Mama doesn’t know Raphael has started taking odd jobs for goodwill but also for a little pocket money. He’s always been helpful, always eager to lend a helping hand. Frida’s seen their belongings all neatly packed in his tent, in bags designed for a quick grab and run.

Michaelagelo has been copying his older brother, but also making himself extra useful in the kitchen. The boy is disarming with his earnestness, and knows how to turn those big grey eyes lethally adorable. He’s always been the favorite of the circus. The cooks have been sneaking him treats, it lets him get away with squirreling small amounts of dried foodstuff.

Leonardo, covers, fronts, takes all the attention, demands all eyes on him forcing them to guess and second guess what he could possibly be planning. He makes Big Mama nervous, never to the point of paranoia, (beyond her usual levels of paranoia) but enough to be engaging, distracting. It’s ingenious in the way all he’s actually doing is taking the heat off his brothers.

Donatello is making a bomb. He has probably made several bombs. Somehow he’s convinced the pyrotechnicians into giving him access to their gunpowder. Of all the boys he is not the most athletically blessed–but using the boys as a basis is a skewed comparison against the average. None of the boys are average. He is lethal with his mind, he is just as dangerous and in some regards, even more than his brothers.

They are being remarkably clever about it. Frida wouldn’t let them get away with it if they weren’t being remarkably clever. They almost got her fooled and she is half certain they have fooled her on some occasions.

She knows they are biding their time. As she is bidding on her own.

The acquisition of the Air Bison changes some things. The sand benders don’t know what they have, allowing the circus to obtain it for a fraction of its worth. The heavy iron chains keep the beast from flying away, not that it doesn’t try. Even with all the weights they shackle on, the beast is able to lift about a foot in the air. The deep furrows it plows into the earth as it drags the weighted iron balls behind is nothing short of impressive.

Frida had taken Donatello and Michaelangelo with her to inspect the beast. Michaelangelo was immediately charmed with the size and the sheer fluffiness of the creature. Frida watched the light come into Donatello’s eyes and the gears started turning as she knew it would.

It is only because she makes sure to supervise his visits, that Michaelangelo’s sudden obsession with the creature passes as a young boy’s innate love for all things cute and fluffy. Donatello makes a saddle for the bison with the explicit purpose of charging people for ‘aerial tours’, for future plans when the beast is broken enough to give such. The latter was Frida’s doing, though Big Mama believes it was her own idea.

Escape is imminent. It was only ever a matter of time.

The first of the brothers that she approaches regarding their escape is Leonardo.

He is–the most bearable out of the four to approach. The waterbender is clever when he isn’t showing off. And can even talk Big Mama in circles on a really good day. The fastest way to cut through his bullshit is to be upfront.

Frida’s opportunity comes when she takes him, just him and her shirshu, Kahlo, to clean the water barrels and draw new clean water for the circus beasts. The rushing river will cover the sound of their conversation, besides her own seismic sense will give her ample warning when someone ventures too close.

That’s not counting her loyal beast, who will paralyze anyone before they get within eavesdropping distance. She gave distinct orders not to be disturbed. Kahlo has never disappointed.

Frida rests against the warm flanks of her shirshu leaving Leonard to bend water into the barrels. She could assist if she wants to, but already she is giving him this.

“You’re planning to use the Air Bison to escape from Big Mama.”

He freezes predictably, but only for a second before an exaggeratedly wide grin stretches across his face. His hands splay wide, palms open in pure showmanship. She knows better than to think this is a gesture of ‘I mean no harm’. He means every harm. Leonardo would do anything for his brothers.

It’s what she is banking on.

“Gee whatever gave you that idea? I thought indentured slave labor was growing on me, you know?” He snarks with a smile that is all teeth but does not reach his eyes.

She’s not playing his game. She has had enough of games from Big Mama.

“Donatello has been making explosives out of the carnival’s fireworks.”

That wipes the false bravado off his face, now his hands are inching towards his swords. They are matched in this terrain. The earth all around them is soft and pliable making it easy to shape; a cushion if she needs it or compact it into a solid barricade. But not so muddy as to be sticky.

Leonardo has a source of constant rushing water at his feet. The river is more wide than deep. One doesn’t need more than a few feet to drown in. If it comes down to a fast draw, she knows water will respond quicker than earth.

But that is if it was just them. Behind her, sensing the shift in tensions, Kahlo gives a low warning growl. Always on her side, her beast more than tips the scales to her advantage. Leonardo will not win this encounter. He knows it.

“I want to help you.” She offers, noting how his fingers stop just shy of resting on the hilt.

“Like you helped Raph?” Leonardo scoffs, but he is intrigued.

That does sting. She hadn’t meant for it to get that far. It had been a mistake. One she would never live down. One Michaelangelo almost paid dearly for. A mistake that revealed Big Mama’s true sentiments. The Incident has become a catalyst in more ways than one, more than just for the four brothers.

“You can take the bison and your brothers, what I want is Big Mama.” She states In a way of explanation she adds.

“You are not the only ones chafing under her command.”

He looks incredulous. Which is understandable. She has been Big Mama’s creature for so long it’s almost inconceivable to imagine her as anything else. It’s what everyone in the circus knows her as. For the longest time she didn’t think she could be anything else.

“Prove it.”

From her belt she takes the two vials of blood and preservatives. One she uncaps and raises for Kahlo to sniff.

“Point.” She commands.

Obedient, Khalo’s tongue flicks out and points back to the direction of the circus, where Donatello must be.

Frida uncaps the second bottle and repeats the procedure and command. This time Khalo’s tongue flicks out forward stopping just shy of Leonardo’s face. She had not commanded him to disarm afterall.

Leonardo, even an inch away from being poisoned does not flinch. Their eyes meet, and without breaking his gaze, Frida tosses both bottles into the raging river. There are no spares. After Leonardo had been outed as a watertribe member and Donatello as a Beifong, the boys had become rather paranoid in making sure Frida would be unable to get her hands on anything they could be tracked by.

They both watch the vials sink out of view, then get carried away by the rushing waters.

“Say I believe you.” Leonardo says slowly, which he might as well admit he does now.

“Why me?” Leonardo questions. “Why did you approach me and not Raph?”

Because she knows Raphael. Because when all is said and done, even after all she did and did not do, there is a chance Raphael would have asked her to come with them. He would have extended that olive branch, that second chance.

Frida knows herself. She knows she would have said no, but she is also not a sadist. There’s no reason not to avoid temptation when she can. Besides, even worse than the pain of the theoretical extended olive branch is the absolute devastation if he didn’t ask her to run away with him.

“You have the bearings of a soldier. You can do what needs to be done.” Like can recognize like. It’s not a lie. But she also knows Leonardo is weak to flattery, which makes this all the more potent. Everything she said has been the truth. Not the whole truth, never the whole truth. And maybe because this might be the last time she will talk to him, Frida quietly adds.

“You healed me once.”

It had been before The Incident.

Big Mama had newly acquired a Scorpionbear one that Big Mama had been assured all the venom had been drained. Apparently not. But it had been her, who had discovered that.

An antidote had been administered to her, Big Mama wouldn’t let her Assistant die. Her life at that time was still worth more than an antidote. It could still only do so much. The venom wouldn’t kill her, but it still had to burn its way out, leaving her in her bedroll lying limp and damp in excruciating pain.

Frida remembers somewhat, brain swimming in fever and body swimming in fire, there was a blurry face above her. There may have been two.

A cool wet cloth was spread over her forehead, covering her eyes. It was only a miniscule alleviation of the agony ravaging her body, but she would have taken anything at that point. There were words she managed to pick up through the cotton stuffed in her ears, something that might have been‘--Heal’ ‘Please’ and ‘Leo’ But the latter might be her superimposing hindsight on the memory.

Frida does remember pain being leached from her body, how she could have wept from relief, the sheer bliss that was merely the absence of suffering. She was still too weak to do anything but lie there, it had taken all of her willpower not to sob, the best she could do was to keep her eyes closed, let herself sink back into a half sleep somewhere between dreaming and waking.

The hands that held her after, they gently and tenderly raised a glass of water mixed with bitter medication. After she had drunk every drop she was tucked gently back into bed, hair bushed tenderly away from her face–Frida knows those hands. She never forgot them.

None of them brought it up after she recovered from the venom. For obvious reasons, judging by how Leonardo looks at her, he remembers it too. She doesn't ask if he regrets it now.

“I repay my debts.” Frida says flatly.

The waterbender hums contemplatively. Frida hides how her mood is beginning to sour. Infuriatingly Leonardo seems more interested in everything around the deal and not the deal itself. She can respect it as a strategy, a test of the foundation and how sincere Frida is in her offer. That doesn't mean it doesn’t annoy the shit out of her.

“Raph says you grew up with each other. It’s why he begged me to heal you.”

Frida does not let her breath catch, but it lodges sharp and aching within her chest instead. Her Kahlo growls, she can feel it reverberating behind her back. She has been hurt. He does not know the manner of her injury but he can guess the source, so reacts accordingly, protectively. Frida pets him, soothing both herself and him.

Things had been simpler back then. When Big Mama had sent her to be trained by Baron Draxum for a time, before Big Mama had appointed her as her bodyguard and protegee. The hard choices had not yet come. Their roles were not yet so defined. She had allowed herself–affection. Weakness. Weakness that she was now cutting off at the root, by letting Raphael and Michaelangelo leave.

“Somewhat.” Is all Frida will allow.

Before Leonardo and Donatello came, Rapahel, Michaleangelo and then Ty Lee were the closest to her in age. The circus kids, they called each other. There was camaraderie there. Even though Big Mama had taught her to show vulnerability was to expose weakness. Even though she had been taught never to incur a debt she couldn’t pay or to a person she couldn’t overpower.

When Raphael and Michaelangelo first arrived at the circus, it had been a while since she had last seen them at the Baron’s. Frida deduced the easier of the pair to overcome would be Raphael. He had always been too gentle, too sweet, hesitant to use his innate strength and almost terrified of his own fire power.

His nature had always been simple. He didn’t have the capacity for emotional manipulation. All this she could exploit in a way she could not with Michaelangelo. The younger boy was shockingly emotionally mature for his age, as was Ty Lee despite her pretty face and air headed facade.

So she accepted Raphael’s help when it was offered, and found herself tolerating his presence in a way she did not with others. ( Michelangelo was quite young. Ty Lee’s exuberance could be quite–grating. Her babbling about auras and the alignment of stars made Frida contemplate murdering the circus’ resident fortune teller more than once.)

Raphael never used the assistance he gave her against her. She expected a transactional relationship and kept waiting and waiting for him to ask what favors could be returned to him from Big Mama’s favorite–but he never did. She had been forced to realize that there was no ulterior motive against his help. Raphael was just kind. He had raised Michaelangelo with that same kindness.

This the pair had extended to her, and this she had repaid by almost letting Michaelangelo die. It was her fault, she had lost control of the animals.

Unlike her other mistakes, Big Mama had not punished her. Which was fair, considering what the Ringmaster had gained. Besides, Frida could punish herself well enough.

“We were closer before.” She admits, and cuts him off before he can pry into any more of her secret hurts, aches she’s been forced to numb by burying them down deep.

“If Big Mama can easily get rid of Michaleangelo, she can also get rid of me.”

Satisfaction glints in Leonardo’s eyes, he nods once more to himself than at her. He tested her on her emotional investment, but when it comes down to it, she is not his friend. The waterbender will trust an ulterior motive more than any sentiment.

He held his hand out to her now, palm open to take her hand in his.

“Alright. What do you need?”

Chapter Text

Even after hashing out the baseline logistics with Leonardo and then with Donatello (always separately never more than one twin in her presence at a time) it still took a while before they could implement the plan.

She didn’t need to talk logistics with Michaelangelo or Raphael. The twins would handle that if they knew what was good for them all. Besides, Michelangelo was easily distracted by the care and keeping of the bison.

Raphael–granted there was some morbid satisfaction in avoiding him the way he had avoided her. Let him be the one to seek her out and be denied. If their last interaction would be the hate filled look he had thrown her way, after she had picked herself up from being kicked in the head by an ostrich horse? So be it.

She was petty enough to believe it would haunt him more than her.

Frida had worried they, now including her, were being a little too obvious. Despite how well Frida was confident she could cover her own tracks, Big Mama had eyes and ears everywhere. But all of this was shockingly easy to hide from the circus’ Ringmaster.

Big Mama was distracted. She had been long distracted. It made her sloppy.

Personally, Frida blamed Azula for the state of Big Mama. While she was there for the show that ultimately stole Ty Lee from them. She had not been there when Big Mama had personally entertained their esteemed guest. Azula had hardly given her a passing glance, just another one of the circus freaks.

Frida can guess what happened though, by Big Mama’s thunderous mood after and the way she kept muttering darkly under her breath.

“I’ll show that bitty pritty brat.” Big Mama had cursed. “How dare she–Moldy old has been spy–reduced to bread and circuses!”

More things had been said, mostly obscenities interspersed with other nonce words. It was the most worked up Frida had ever seen of Big Mama. Even having only interacted with the Fire Princess very briefly and just by passing, Princess Azula did seem to bring out the worst in people.

They were too alike, Big Mama and Princess Azula. That was more than enough to get them to hate each other on sight.

Personally Frida liked the circus modus operandi. They toured the Fire Nation colonies, giving the citizens both native and Fire Nation something else to think about other than the ongoing war. Making everyone believe that things were going along just fine and this was all ‘normal’.

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦.

As a propaganda tool they were one of the best. As a distraction no one could compete. But Princess Azula had come strutting in, showing how small everything was. How small they were compared to her, the Fire Nation Princess. Big Mama may have ruled an entire carnival with an iron fist but Princess Azula could have the nation kneel to her in a heartbeat, second only to Fire Lord Ozai, since the Fire Lady Ursa was long gone, General Iroh and the crown prince Zuko had been banished to look for the avatar.

As much as Frida learned what to do from Big Mama’s example, she also learned what not to do. Of all the weaknesses she could have inherited, narcissism was not one of them. She was content to fade in the background. She could let herself be overlooked. She did not have an ego that was so starving a child almost died to feed it.

Even Frida could not tell how much had been orchestrated on that day–did Big Mama always know that Leonardo was a waterbender? Donatello a Beifong? Anyone with eyes to see would know that the three brothers would do anything for the sake of their youngest. To have him would be to have the four of them in the palm of her hand. Probably that was why they all defended him so fiercely.

Regardless of how much Big Mama actually did know, the results spoke for themselves. She had all four of them in her pocket. Four–Frida did not count herself, not anymore.

Frida had thought though that she would need a little time to get used to the idea of murdering essentially her mother figure. Her actual only mother. When the time came, it was both shocking and almost disappointing how easy it was.

The night was dark, and the moon was full. Big Mama had summoned Frida to her personal tent as she was wont to do, so that Frida could give her report of the day and receive her orders for tomorrow.

The bare minimum of an acknowledgment was given when she entered the tent. Big Mama did not bother to look up from her accounting book.

“When we get into the next town, contact the authorities and hand over the waterbender boy. He’s been fiddly, diddly useful so far, but he’s outlived his usefulness.”

Frida remained silent. She had suspected her next orders would be as such. Big Mama was not yet done speaking.

“You’ll need to subjugate all the bully-boo boys. Get help from the swordsmen if you need it. Keep the Beifong alive. As for Raphy-Wahy and Mickey-Mikey…” Big Mama shrugs.

“They’ve also outlived their usefulness to me.”

Big Mama had tried hard to get Raphael and Michaelagnelo to love her. When they had asked for work in her circus she was over the moon. Michelangelo was minor nobility that was good enough. Raphael was 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 to the Dragon Slayer’s estate. But General Iroh had intervened. He had sat Big Mama down for tea, and over a game of Pai Sho they discussed the terms of contract for Michaelangelo and Raphael.

Frida had read the contract herself, it was astoundingly fair and loophole proof for Big Mama. There were no hidden deals or tricky word play, the boys would work for her for a year, receive fair wages, food, board and medical care no more and no less. A balance of give and take, no hidden debts to spring. The contract was to be reviewed and renewed every year. Needless to say, Big Mama did not miss General Iroh much after he followed his nephew into exile.

When Leonardo and Donatello arrived, Raphael almost immediately took them both under his wing. Big Mama had attempted softer, subtler ways to gain the boys’ affection. But they were self-sufficient, satisfied in their affection for each other.

Frida had only heard rumors about what happened with Baron Draxum, whatever actually did happen left Raphael suspicious. He kept his brothers away from Big Mama as much as possible and rightly so. They did not need a ‘Mother’, so Big Mama found no foothold. She tried to get Frida to be their friend, it was not completely unsuccessful, but still, look how that turned out.

“You can take money from the safe, but not too bunchy munch, to pay for overtime. Have one of the firebreathers incinerate the bodies.”

This is not the first time Big Mama has broken a contract. It’s not even the first time she has ordered her to discreetly carry out ‘contract terminations’ but it will be the last.

Frida nods obedient as she has always been, keeps her gait steady and relaxed. When she places the bomb on Big Mama’s desk, it is the same as if she had placed a letter or a particularly interesting bauble. Her step back too is automatic and expected. Big Mama so rarely allows anyone in her personal space.

The Ringmaster spares a look at the object, brow furrowing in both irritation at being interrupted and interest in what Frida has given her.

“What–”

Is all she manages to say before Frida raises walls of earth around Big Mama trapping her and containing the explosion within. Small and lethal she had asked Donatello, this he delivered and more.

Even through the walls of her barriers she can feel the shockwave. They barely withstand the explosive force, cracks run across the surface threatening to break but just barely hold. Her head is ringing with the sound.

It is just as good a signal as anything, outside the tent Frida can hear similar explosions going off just a few seconds behind as the boys must be making their escape. She can smell a chemical scent in the air that must be from the smoke bombs. Wisps of thick purple seep through the gaps in the tent’s fabric, heavy and rolling in like a fog. By the time the noise fades and the smoke clears, they will be, they should be long gone.

𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦. She allows herself to think. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

A credit to what an incredibly tough old bitch Big Mama is, the bomb doesn’t kill her immediately. Through Frida’s seismic sense she can feel Big Mama’s feeble if determined clawing at the barrier.

All it takes is a spike through and through the heart–Frida can pinpoint the moment the thrashing turns to floundering to twitches. She isn’t so sensitive as to be able to trace the contours of Big Mama’ expression, but Frida knows the exact moment her heart stops.

And it’s over.

It’s done.

Frida had expected–what had she expected? A struggle? Failure? An accident like the accident that almost killed Michaelangelo?

There must be a reason why the only thing she is good for is violence. A reason why she hurts everything she loves. The reason she realizes, has just been buried.

Even though Frida knows beyond doubt and through the earth that has and will neve betray her, Big Mama is dead. She is still careful when she cracks open what is essentially her tomb. It would be like Big Mama to curse her beyond the grave. A corpse reanimated through nothing but pure hatred and sheer spite. A spirit of vengeance.

She does not recognize the thing that lies within. The smell of burnt flesh is not worse than the chemical fumes of the smoke bombs. There is nothing but the crumpled, broken, charred body of an old woman who will never hurt her or anyone again.

It seems almost ridiculous that all this time she has been afraid of this. That she spent her youth, all of her years on this. She had been broken and remolded time and time again by these hands and–

Frida leaves it where it lies.

Quietly, she buries what has already marked out as her inheritance. Snug and hidden within the ground, they will remain until she comes to reclaim it as her own. Only then does she set off a few noise makers (courtesy again of Donatello) and throw her earthbending into the tent’s support poles, sending the whole thing falling down upon them. The heavy canvas cloth covers everything like a shroud. The smoke flooding in does the rest.

There will be people who will come to the tent, whatever remains of it, less out of concern for Big Mama and more what they can loot from her dead body. Maybe a half hearted investigation will be carried out but Frida does not expect much out of it. Big Mama had a lot of enemies. The pidgeonvultures will be satisfied, but she will always have the Lionscorpion’s share.

Under the cloth, Frida sets her own body to lie not too close but not too far away from the cooling corpse, curled on her side as if caught by the blast.

She has some time before someone discovers her. A few tears would be good, she will need sympathy in order to avoid suspicion. This is as good a moment as any to process things. But when Frida (with caution) braces herself and opens her heart to–

There must be something. Anything. Something to prove that Big Mama does not own all of her, that in the core of herself there must be something that is still her own, responding to her own will. Something that Big Mama did not touch. Did not break. Did not shape into her own image.

A breath catches in her throat, choking her. The pain condenses into a hard lump, hurting her as much as she is relieved by the pain. It’s proof. It has to be.

Frida did love Big Mama. She loved Big Mama like how Big Mama loved her. Her capacity for betrayal had always been greater than her extent for love. But unlike her mother-figure, Big Mama would not have mourned.

It is true, if Big Mama was willing to throw Michaelangelo away, Frida knew she was not completely safe. He was nobility. He was skilled and useful. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.

Big Mama had taught her everything she knew on how to cut and measure loyalty. How much it was actually worth. All her years of service did not and perhaps had never marked her as safe.

She closes her eyes, allows herself to dwell on the blood on her hands. There are faces and there are names on the periphery of her memory, but what haunts her in greater clarity are the beasts that had been given to her. Beasts that were hers to care for, and have in her career as a beast-tamer, beasts that slipped through her fingers. When they became too old, or were too belligerent, or were injured beyond recovery, they were either sold off or put down.

She put them down herself. The last kindness she could give them. That it was her who loved them, that ended their lives.

This was just–a preemptive strike. Hit first, hit harder, getting rid of Big Mama was the prudent thing to do before she herself was gotten rid of. She knows as much as Big Mama is no doubt cursing her from hell–there would be a part of her impressed. There is a part of her that would be laughing.

It’s odd that in the thought of laughter tears finally come and Frida sobs and curls deeper into the solid embrace of the earth.

Chapter Text

It’s tonight. It’s tonight it has to be tonight. There will never be another night. The moment the loud BANG goes off–it’s Code Purple–𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. Mikey breaks into a sprint. He’s memorized this route like the back of his hand, practiced it while pretending to and actually running errands for the circus.

He could run it blind, he does run it blind. Mikey strikes the wick of Donnie’s special smoke bombs against the rough edge of his arm bands, also courtesy of Donnie). There’s a three second delay before they explode but with his razzamatazz, Mikey can throw it more than far enough. It’s not just him though, the timed ones Donnie planted in small secret places go off exactly on the dot. The entire circus is enveloped in panic, noise, and vibrant purple smoke.

Mikey runs and runs his circuit, throwing bombs, keeping a small air bubble circulating around his nose and mouth. He can feel sort of through the air and through the purple bodies of people running around, stumbling blind. Almost like dancing, Mikey dodges them with ease, feeling the barest brush of them as they rush by.

He will miss them, some of them. But this is no longer a safe place to stay.

His last bomb is in his hand when he arrives at the Animal tent, without looking Mikey throws it over his shoulder before stepping inside. They all agreed to meet up here. He is the last one to arrive, just like they planned.

The air buffalo stands in the middle of the tent, calm despite the noise outside. Snorting curiously when it sees Mikey, but otherwise remains still and obliging. Mikey swears there’s intelligence shining in those big beautiful brown eyes. The saddle is already fastened on the air buffalo’s back. Leo’s up on it and catching the bags that Raph’s throwing at him.

Donnie has five of the six chains unlocked around the air buffalo’s feet. The metalbender brightens when he sees Mikey.

The acrobat can tell Donnie is just dying to ask how it went, how were the bombs, rate the experience and compliment his mastery of chemicals and explosions–but they’ll be able to talk later. They can talk all they want later. Raph gives Donnie a leg up on the Bison, throwing a ‘just checking’ look at Mikey, reassuring himself before he clambers up.

Mikey doesn’t need a hand or a leg up, on his own power unable to contain himself, he springboards up onto the air buffalo’s head.

“C’mon buddy we gotta go.” He says urgently.

In the saddle Donnie undoes the last manacle with a flick of his wrist. The metal chain falls with a soft thud. Under them the air buffalo begins to move, shaking off its limbs all six of them experimentally. The broad heavy tail begins to beat the earth and the beast begins to slowly but surely rise.

“You can do it!” Mikey cheers, excitement pounding through his veins, his ears. His heartbeat echoing the rapid fire discordant explosions.

“Up, up. Yippekayay. 𝘜𝘱, 𝘶𝘱.”

It takes a moment, a lurch, and they are in the air almost touching the roof. Raph aims a fireball at the opposite side of the tent burning a hole through the fabric. The air buffalo shies away from the sudden flame but Mikey tugs gently on the reins guiding him back. He seems to get the idea once the air buffalo catches a glimpse of the night sky. The hole is barely big enough for the bison. Fabric tears, all of them are a little caught by it. With a wiggle and Leo cutting through with his blades they are off, flying into high the night.

The circus behind them, still enveloped in thick purple, gets smaller and smaller. Mikey half expects an alarm to be sounded, someone to scream and point at them, but there’s only the general sounds of chaos to be expected when a camp blows up in explosions of noise and thick purple smoke. In no time at all they reach cloud cover. The air bison adjusts its trajectory from shooting star to an easy cruise.

Mikey has never been so high up before. Until he can master airbending, this is probably the closest he will ever come to flying. Mikey leans forward looking ahead and up at the stars. So many! And so close! Like he could reach out and touch them.

He breathes out in pure wonder giggling when his breath turns to fog in the cool air. He wraps his arms around himself, shivering in the sudden cold.

It was said that airbenders were able to warm themselves using breathing techniques. At least that’s what his relatives say. There’s probably a trick to it that he hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet, hence the chill that bites into his skin.

It’s worth it though to see the universe spread out before him like this, the rivers of lights above at his fingertips.

“Mikey, come here.” Raph calls out. Mikey hesitates as much as he wants to stay on the air buffalo’s head, the allure of heat is too much to resist.

With a slight hop, he leaps easily back into the saddle, and folds himself into a waiting embrace. He sighs with relief as the chill is chased away, and presses his cheek against the comforting bulk. Raph’s always been looking out for him. He’s always done so ever since day one when Mikey was passed onto his hands and the older boy decided to just never let go.

Donnie has practically wrapped himself around one of Raph’s arms. Leo’s snuggled onto the other side. The waterbender is also looking up at the stars.

Mikey looks up too and finds the divot of his brother’s ever familiar chasm between his brows before meeting Raph’s eyes.

“We’re free.” Mikey says simply, the truth of it just sinking it. He sees the same realization slowly start to dawn in Raph’s face and the chasm smoothens.

“We’re free.” He echoes in disbelief.

Mikey stands, forgetting the cold, throwing his head back and at the top of his lungs he screams in as much joy as defiance.

“WE’RE FREE BABY!”

A whoop tears from his throat, as wild with abandon as he never could in the circus. The only thing stopping him from dancing on the back of the Bison is Raph’s scrambling for a hold on him. But nothing can stop him crowing his victory to the world.

“WE DID IT!” He yells, shaking his fists in the air.

He throws himself back at Raph, at Leo and Donnie. They all fall back onto the saddle in a sprawl, limbs flailing everywhere before settling down, someone is holding someone else. Points of contact all over. He’s on Raph’s front, Leo’s hand is in his hair, Donnie’s touch is featherlight on his wrist.

He laughs and laughs, tears from the cold and from the joy prickling at the corner of his eyes. Mikey hears his own joy reflected in Raph’s responding shaky soft giggles and Donnie’s muffled ‘disbelieving chuckle’. It’s echoed in Leo’s own yell of.

“BIG MAMA CAN SUCK ASS!”

“Le–” Raph cuts himself off and sighs.

Mikey sees him visibly let Leo off the hook for that one. Tonight of all nights, deserves a little bit of swearing. It takes a while, but when the elation of freedom dials down a notch, Donnie asks.

“How do we get down?”

There’s another moment of silence as they all ponder the question. The air buffalo does not give an answer. Mikey shrugs.

“Puff-puff will get tired eventually.” He proposes.

Raph raises an eyebrow at him.

“Puff-puff?”

“He’s fluffy isn’t he?” Mikey replies. “And big, so twice the puff!”

He leans over the saddle to pat the air buffalo’s back. Puff-puff makes a snuffling sort of noise, so either its the cold or he’s alright with the name Puff-puff. Mikey will take it as a win in his book.

“Do you think he knows where he’s headed? Maybe he’ll try to go home and lead us to his family. We can live in the wild with all the other wind buffalo!”

“I say we keep him just for now, a few days at least.” Leo says, stretching out, curling a loose arm around Donnie who after being warmed up is now determinedly hunkered himself down in the exact middle of the saddle. It must not be easy for an earth bender to be so far away from the earth.

“As long as we keep above cloud cover, they’ll have a harder time tracking us from the skies.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Raph agrees.

He too stretches out, and starts pulling out blankets from their packs. That done, Raph leans against the backrest set at the rear of the saddle. Donnie protests only slightly when Leo half drags, half pulls him away from the exact middle so they can both curl around their big brother shaped heat source.

“I’ll keep the first watch, you get some sleep guys. That means you too Mikey.”

Mikey shakes his head. How can they think of sleep? They are flying in the sky amongst the stars! How can he be tired? He’s too excited to be tired! But the warmth Raph radiates seeps into his bones, weighing them down. The blanket Leo pulls around his shoulders only makes him sink further. He’s in the middle again, a brother on each side and one behind him.

“We’re free Raph.”

He murmurs sleepily, into Raph’s chest. It is very important to say this. He feels as much as he hears the responding chuckle, reverberating from Raph to him in his chest. A large warm hand gently brushes back his hair before settling over his eyes, closing them, keeping them closed.

Before Mikey drifts into sleep and sweet dreams, he hears Raph saying back to him.

“We are Mikey. We are.”

___________________________________________________________________
𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦 :

“Big Mama can suck ass?”

It’s supposed to be Leo’s turn to keep watch, everyone else is supposed to be asleep. That includes evil geniuses who almost certainly wore themselves out over the past few days running on kaffa bean juice and little to no sleep making smoke bombs.

He very carefully disengages himself from Raph’s side, making sure not to disturb their biggest brother or their littlest brother snuggled up almost on top of the Fire Bender and faces the blanket thief who has once again huddled himself in the middle of the saddle.

Just to be obnoxious Leo throws his weight over Donnie, forcing his twin to let him lie on his lap or they both end up lying on the floor of the saddle. Donnie grunts but surrenders his rather knees, Leo will put up with them digging into his chest, just for the win.

“Well she does, doesn’t she?” He drawls back, not turning over. He knows the look on his twin’s face, knows he himself is mirroring it right now.

“Did.” Donnie says quietly, voice almost swallowed by the wind.

Donnie, for all his plans and schematics of weapons of mass destruction, is not an evil person. Leo will chew the kneecaps of anyone who calls Donnie evil. He loves selectively but deeply, so it is a 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 of anyone so lucky to receive Donnie’s affection.

It has taken him days, weeks, months, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 to understanding and cultivating the language between them, some he had intuited as easily as breathing, others had to be learned.

Leo can guess what’s running through Donnie’s mind right now, not exactly guilt but probably guilt over the lack of guilt. Sorry for not being sorry Big Mama is dead. Two negatives pitted against each other. He’s listened to enough Donnie math to know when multiplied to each other the two negatives become a positive.

“Yeah, did.” Leo agrees, just as soft, just as serious. Just as unremorseful.

He can feel Donnie take in a deep shuddering breath. His twin’s hand rests almost idly on Leo’s back, if he didn’t know better. He knows his twin, blind, by gesture, by touch, how much comfort Donnie is willing to receive, and what he can give to meet it to the precise exactments no more and no less.

“We did what we had to.”

He can’t pull off, emotionally unavailable bad boy the way Donnie at his most apathetic can–but he doesn’t say this in self defense, or for self reassurance. The moon is full. The stars are bright. Raph is afraid of rabbits. Big Mama needed to die.

It was a choice made and now borne by the 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 of them. Donnie made the bomb, but it was Leo that brought the discussion to the table. Frida just pulled the trigger. That makes them all complicit.

“We did what we had to.” Donnie repeats, same tone, same fact.

It’s the closest they will come to talking about it, with Mikey and Raph in close proximity, even if the two of them are deeply asleep. They don’t need to know. They shouldn’t know. Even Frida agreed that this was something the other two needed to be protected from.

Donnie pushes at Leo, not hard, but enough so that Leo is forced to sit up, and finds himself leaning against his twin. Head on the other boy’s shoulder.

“It’s my turn for watch.” Donnie insists.

It is kind of, by Leo’s best guestimate of the time. The metal bender does actually have a good internal clock, he just also tends to ignore said internal clock when he gets absorbed in one of his projects.

“I’m not sleepy yet.” Leo protests, and adds hurriedly before Donnie can protest with ‘You have to try even with your insomnia’.

“Let me stay up with you, just a little while longer.”

He throws an arm around Donnie’s waist, snuggling in close, immensely gratified when Donnie, though initially stiffening at the gesture, does not pull away. Even he still makes mistakes sometimes with Donnie’s body language, but his twin always forgives him for the little mistranslations here and there.

“Just a little while.” Donnie concedes as Leo knew he would. This close Donnie can’t see his smug satisfied grin.

They are not quite two halves of a whole. Leo knows he was a whole person before he met Donnie, no matter what his ex-tribe said about him finding the right man, that to be someone else's was all he would ever amount to be. No. It is just that he and Donnie were pulled by Tui and La from the same waters. The spirits instilled in them the essence of the same star. Looking at Donnie is like looking into mirroring ice, the play of light and shadow change, but do not distort the reflection. There is his other, his person, but not half of anything. Leo lets his eyes close, let his pulse match and breathing fall and rise to the same cadence of the one who he holds closest to heart.

Chapter Text

Donnie deduces by the flat molars that the Air buffalo is an herbivore. Though it does display some omnivore tendencies. Or at least it isn’t adverse to protein. When Mikey was cooking some vulture eggs they found, it shuffled over nosing at the younger boy. The Bison was practically begging for a treat with those liquid brown eyes.

There was no resisting those eyes for Mikey who immediately gave up what was supposed to be their breakfast. Donnie supposes he can forgive their youngest, the air buffalo had been flying them through the night, and kept flying through all of their night watches.

There’s some food in the saddle, but not enough to feed a something-tonne flying buffalo. Hence they need to forage or the air buffalo tries to forage. No one wants a repeat of the buzzard-wasps nest. No one.

They all look pretty rough (and sticky) after that little misadventure. So the little farm Mikey spots in the distance is something of a blessing sent by the spirits.

It takes some convincing to have Puff-puff land a little distance away from the farm and not immediately fly into the open shed. There’s at least a copse of trees that Puff-puff can hide behind by generously stretching the imagination. A river where they can wash off the stickiness from the honey and boil water to refill their canteens.

Raph and Leo are the ones who head to the farm. Leo, because he is the face man and the charmer. Raph, to carry things. This leaves Donnie and Mikey to get their camp into some semblance of order.

Mikey tackles the unenviable task of grooming the air buffalo. He 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 it and keeps up a running stream of chatter that Donnie is not under obligation to reply to. It makes soothing background noise. Mikey knows this and does not take offense to his silence, knowing full well that Donnie isn’t ignoring him, he’s just doing his own thing.

Donnie would also rather not get a face full of sticky fur thank you. So, taking stock and re-organizing their packs of supplies falls to him. Food is not a problem yet. But there was only so much they could weasel out besides factoring what the buffalo could carry when they made their escape. They have money though, and their weapons are in tip-top shape, courtesy of yours truly.

An idea occurs to Donnie then, when he’s oiling Mikey’s chain and comes across his own personal charm, three fifths of it. The two fifths are with Leo. It’s one of the other things he took beside the Beifong passport. (It was a mistake to bring that, and it’s gone now so there).

One of his birth giver’s collectables was a charm made from what they said was metal that fell from the sky. A meteorite, she called it. He didn’t take it to remember her, or out of any–science forbid–sentimentality towards his birthgiver. The metal had–called to him, down to its molecular level, something had called to his own.

The charm, when whole is in the shape of a flat disc, grooves run along its surface cutting it into equal pieces of five. At the time, he kept the majority three fifths to himself and gave the rest to Leo.

Regardless if it really did come from the sky or not, the metal is unlike anything Donnie has ever encountered before. He’s only become more attuned to it the longer he kept it on his person. If he concentrates very hard he can feel the echo of the charm’s other piece, hidden in Leo’s belt.

His ability to track the piece only slightly depends on its size. He has experimented splitting it into its smaller pieces, with his detection of said pieces working just as well. It’s something he ponders when Leo and Raph make their way back.

Leo arms full with a sack of what he assumes is produce, and Raph pushing along a wheelbarrow that's piled high with hay. Puff-puff perks up immediately upon seeing the hay and starts ambling forward, nosing at Raph.

“Alright, alright. Don’t eat it all at once. Save some for later.” Raph scolds affectionately, throwing piles of hay into Puff-puff’s waiting mouth. Mikey sidles along to help, or tease, likely both.

Leo places the supplies he presumably bought or charmed the farmers into giving beside Donnie. Not in his workspace but close enough Donnie can reorganize them later into their stock. There’s an easy grin on the waterbender’s face which means all went well and he wants to brag about it.

“They were some nice folks. Bought the whole story. We’re travelers, we have a very large ostrich-horse, cuz it’s not like I could say we have a flying cow–”

Donnie lets him talk. He will never, ever tell Leo this, but he likes hearing his twin talk. He likes hearing all his brothers talk. But if he did tell Leo he liked his voice in particular, then Leo would never, ever shut up. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

The story winds down to ‘And then we’ll get an extra bushel of carrots if Raph comes back later to help plough the field. We’ll get some pocket money too if Raph can prove he can do it faster than their buffalohog.’

It feels just as good a time to interrupt as any, while Leo is still basking in his bargaining skills. Donnie makes sure at least to give appropriate noises of praise first before saying.

“Leo, that charm that I gave you…”

Leo in response pats his belt, in the exact place Donnie knows the charm is tucked into.

“You mean your only slightly creepy tracking device?”

It isn’t creepy, it’s 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭. It’s saved them many times over. But they’ve also had this song and dance before repeatedly enough that it’s become well worn banter between them. He’d indulge usually, but–this actually bothers him a little, like an itch he can’t scratch.

“I was thinking.” Donnie says carefully. “I could give some pieces to Raph and Mikey too.”

“That’s a good idea.” Leo replies immediately without hesitation, pulling out the charm to hand to Donnie. The flat piece is laid out on Donnie’s palm. The metal bender stares at it, then back at his twin.

“You're ok with it?” Even to his own ears, his voice is flat, toneless. Not that it matters, Leo picks up on it, as he always does.

His twin tilts his head a little at the question.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” His tone is careful, light, feeling out Donnie’s mood.

“It’s our thing isn’t it?” Donnie asks quietly.

It was his idea, and it is a good idea. All his ideas are good. So why does Leo handing it back to him so easily, even if he asked for it, hurt a little?

When Leo had discovered they were born on the same day in the same year, he had declared the spirits brought them to each other, as twins finding their long lost other half. Then he declared that he was going to break out his twin, and nothing and no one would keep them apart.

He had scoffed then, afraid to hope, too afraid to believe in such an unknown, untested variable. The only factor in its defense was the resonance of his bones down to Leo’s, a calling that went even deeper than the earth. If he had to describe it, the closest he could come to was a lodestone resonator. A lodestone’s particles were so entangled with each other that when split into two, what was played on one would be echoed in the other. Both things existing in the same wavelength, the same frequency.

Donnie had spent so, so long silently screaming down into an empty void that to finally hear an echo back–he couldn’t bring himself to trust it. Not yet. So he had thrown himself into the planning instead, the logistics of their escape.

It was a good plan, it was almost a perfect plan–but he knew if they had stuck to it, they never would have made it out. It got them halfway, and Leo got them the rest of the way.

It was the first time that Donnie decided yes, Leo was his twin and there were some things that went beyond what could be processed in science or expressed in formula.

They ended up living on the run after their escape, and were forced to sleep in a ditch beside the road on their first night. The prospect of freedom hadn’t really sunk in yet. They clung to each other then, Leo murmuring hushed reassurances that they were out, they weren’t seen and wouldn’t be caught. It would be another full day at least before Donnie’s disappearance would be discovered–and 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.

Donnie had given him the charm that night, as a contingency plan but also as a birthday present. Leo declared that it was the best birthday present he had ever received, and still maintained that even after the metal bender had made him his water capsule swords.

He loves his brothers, but he only has one twin. There will always be things that only Leo is privy to. Sometimes it is terrifying how deeply his brother knows him. There will always be one person who can see right through him. One person who knows him better than himself.

Just as it is deeply terrifying, there is the same extent of abiding reassurance. Here is someone who knows and has seen the worst of him and still thinks they are both made from the same star.

Some of this not-supposed-to-hurt, must have showed on his face. Leo’s expression turned solemn and he moved slowly to touch Donnie’s wrist. When Donnie doesn’t object he curls his fingers around Donnie’s own over the charm.

“Donnie, My brother, my twin. The spirits guided me to you. You don’t say no to the spirits. Our brotherhood is 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺. You will forever be my only other twin. The only one who can match me in wits, attitude, swords–” Leo rambles, showboating in a way that he means every word.

“I use a bo staff.”

Donnie interrupts, but the reassurances soothe the unsettled part of him. The ache fades into the background replaced by the grounding sensation of cool metal on his palm and warm fingers wrapped around his own.

“Technicalities.” Leo says, waving his free hand. “Anyhow–it’s alright. We will always have our thing, but this is good too, isn’t it? It’s nice there’s more than just us now.”

Leo looks fondly to Raph, who now has Mikey standing on his shoulders so he can reach the difficult to brush places on Puff-puff. The air buffalo, having been fed, watered and now groomed has the blissful expression of a puppy being indulged with belly rubs.

Meeting Raph and Mikey has been good for them. The other pair have been good 𝘵𝘰 them. It is not the same level that he feels with Leo–and thank science for that. One is quite enough. But they have been kind to Donnie and Leo and kept being kind.

“I know I haven’t been the easiest to care for.” Donnie admits quietly looking down.

He is different–not just in the way of him being a metalbender and a genius and a genius metalbender, but in the way his mind works. His intellect comes part and parcel with his being particular about touch, texture down to the food he eats, and his capacity to withstand loud noises for all that he loves explosions. It made living on the run–difficult.

He’s tried not to be picky about food when there were times they were just lucky enough to be able to eat. He’s tried to withstand crowds when the safest option is to blend in with the masses, even if it felt like all his senses were screaming, his skin crawling and brain trying to claw its way out of his skull. He knows he’s held Leo back.

At the circus things weren’t so dire–despite it being run by a narcissist megalomaniac of a ringmaster. She treated her people well–until she didn’t. They had the luxury of fixed meal times, a dry tent. Traveling with the circus was supposed to be temporary, a way to get them back on their feet. Then Raph had noticed his particularities and quietly, unobtrusively accommodated them.

Donnie had thought that after Leo, he was done. Enough emotional attachment. What he and Leo had ran deeper than the veins of ore within the earth. He didn’t need anyone else, he couldn’t afford to have anyone else to be used against him not again. He didn’t want to lose anyone else. Besides Raph had the subtlety of a battering ram. Even inapt with social cues as he was, he believed he would see any emotional leverage coming his way from the firebender for miles.

Except, there was never any manipulation at the start. Raph respected the walls he set up, his automatic defenses and–made camp outside of them. Offering not imposing, a steady gentle presence that did not so much slip through the cracks as become someone to lean on. With Mikey it was just–he had turned around and there he was, over the wall and little brother shaped.

Donnie understood then, how it could feel good to care for and be needed by someone other than himself, or his other self.

“Hey none of that now.” Leo says a touch sharp, but how he squeezes Donnie’s hand is all gentle. His smile is soft, and warming when the metalbender squeezes back.

“It’s not about that. You’re worth it. It’s not a burden, just a part of you. Raph and Mikey, they think so too. That’s what makes them our brothers.”

He chuckles softly, giving fond looks back and forth from Donnie to Raph and Mikey.

“Admit it.” He bumps his shoulder against Donnie’s. “You got attached faster than I did.”

It’s true. It was surprisingly Leo that had taken the longest to warm up to the Raph and Mikey. But if he confesses his affection out loud, it would do irreparable damage to his emotionally unavailable bad boy image.

“Scoff. Like I would ever admit emotional vulnerability openly.” He elbows Leo, gets a jab back and for a while the fight turns physical, not too physical, just easy and fun.

Banter with Leo is easy. It ebbs and flows. The patterns are well worn, easy to navigate. The responses are somehow both scripted but naturally improvised on the fly. Even when it dips to deeper and darker things that should only be said in private or in the dark, it is easier speaking about it to Leo than with anyone else.

The same can be said for silence, for all the things he does not have to say and Leo already innately understands.

Donnie knows Leo’s smile as well as his own face. He could with earth, in iron, and steel, sculpt it in his sleep. He sees it even after the impromptu elbow fight ends, Leo catches his arms, he closes his eyes as Leo’s forehead pressed against his own.

“You don’t have to.”

Chapter Text

They’ve started to develop something of a routine with the Air Buffalo. Clearly it’s looking for something, or someplace. But it doesn’t leave camp without them or at least Mikey. The beast seems to be used to traveling with people. Maybe whoever owned it trained Puff-puff before it was sold to the circus? It’s not like they can get any answers from the animal itself though.

None of the brothers ever really actually try to steer the buffalo, but Puff-puff seems to take Mikey’s suggestions into account when he sits on the buffalo’s head. Raph is of the opinion that a random course will make it harder for Big Mama to track them, so all’s pretty good.

It’s night when they land in the forest, the trees offer good cover. There are hollows in the roots where some ruins are. The trees appeared to have grown over the stone made caverns, providing a kind of shelter. It’s as good a place as any to make camp.

Raph conjures a small flame into his palm, all four of them peer down into the cave. There's an odor of animal musk permeating the stone, which should have already set them off. The only real warning they get is a high pitched feral squeal echoing inside the cavern, following it is the charging of an enraged territorial boar-q-pine.

The four of them barely manage to dive out of the way but it slams into Puff-puff sending them both rolling down the hill.

“No!” Mikey yells, and starts sliding down the slope after them, his brothers close behind him.

The buffalo and the boar-q-pine fall faster, by the time they have reached the bottom of the slope. The two beasts are circling each other, facing each other off. Raph pulls Mikey back before he can intervene. Leo too clings on to their youngest, while Donnie stands beside Raph. As much as they all want to help Puff-puff, interfering now will only get them squashed.

They need an opening.

“𝘗𝘶𝘧𝘧-𝘱𝘶𝘧𝘧!” Mikey screams as the boar-q-pine tackles Puff-puff into a tree. The buffalo doesn’t stay down. They watch as Puff-puff rolls back onto its feet, grabbing the fallen tree by the trunk with its teeth and absolutely slams it into the boar-q-pine.

It’s then that Raph lets Mikey go and all four of them run to stand defensively in front of the air buffalo. It’s not a moment too soon, that the boar-q-pine leaps over the fallen log. Together, simultaneously, they launch their attacks.

Raph throws a column of fire. Leo with what water he has, snaps and cracks it like a whip. Mikey blasts air into the beast’s face. Donnie’s own attack coincides with Mikey, dust is shunted right into the boar-q-pine’s eyes and down its throat.

The animal squeals and gags, flinching from the fire, shying away from the whip and ultimately chooses to run rather than defend its territory. Puff-puff behind them sinks to the ground with a groan.

Mikey immediately turns back to it, starts fussing, hovering this way and taking scope of the damage done to Puff-puff. It doesn’t look so bad, except for the quills sticking out of its hide. It's hard to tell with all the fur. Raph walks up to Puff-puff’s head so he can look the buffalo in the eye. It gives a low pained miserable groan and blinks slowly at Raph.

“I know you’re hurting bud.” The firebender soothes. Leo is already giving it a once over, but this isn’t the place for it. It’s too open and too exposed.

“You must be real sore, but do you think you could fly back to that cave? Take Mikey with you?”

It should be safe now that they’ve run the boar-q-pine off. There’s another low groan from Puff-puff. The massive tail beats the ground, once, twice, by the third time Puff-puff is hovering low in the air. Mikey takes his place on its head before it takes off.

Puff-puff flies and the rest of them take the long way to come back to the ruins where the boar-q-pine must have been making it’s nest. Donnie gives the all clear that there aren’t any other beasts. After the three of them finish the climb, Raph can see Mikey standing at Puff-puff’s head crooning to him.

The air buffalo does not look too good, but he doesn’t look real bad.

“I think he’ll be ok once we get the quills out.” Mikey says.

They divide the tasks amongst themselves. Mikey stays near Puff-puffs face, near his ears to keep talking and petting it. Distracting Puff puff and keeping him calm through its flinches of pain.

Raph parts fur and applies pressure where he can to keep Puff-Puff down, though Puff-puff is a good boy, staying mostly still when Donnie plucks out the quills.

Leo heals the punctures left behind. In Leo’s personal medical opinion, so long as Puff-Puff doesn’t open them again, they won’t get infected. As far as he could tell, with his waterbending hampered by the thick fur, heavy padding Puff-puff as around him, he doesn’t think that any of his bones are broken.

Leo is not familiar with what herbs here can be used as medicine, so just waterbending healing for now. Better to be safe than sorry and accidentally rub something in that will make it worse. They work through the night, by the time it’s early morning they have all the quills out, brushed out the loose fur and dirt. The wounds are scabbing over nicely. Everyone is exhausted.

They unanimously make the decision to stay a few days. Besides their stores, there’s food they can forage and hunt for in the wilds. There’s a pond nearby that Leo has been using for water. They take turns patrolling in the area around the ruin to make sure no other animal tries to contest them for their temporary shelter.

Puff-puff needs time to rest and recover. Leo determines that with Puff-puff’s thick hide acting as natural protection, the quills didn’t actually pierce that deep, a few days at most and he’ll be alright. Still all of them are a little on edge and keep an eye out just in case the boar-q-pine or anything like it comes back.

It’s on their third day in the ruin that they get company. Donnie senses them first through the vibrations they leave in the earth. He had been tired, not paying attention when they first set camp. They won’t be taken by surprise, not again.

He’s lucky that they are all in the cave. Donnie signs urgently to his brothers and takes point, putting himself in front, Leo stands slightly behind him. Raph and Mikey in the cave with Puff-puff. They have their weapons out at the ready.

“I know you’re there! Show yourself!” Donnie calls out, grip tight.

It's not a beast, but a group of people which, depending on who they are, might be more dangerous than wild animals. Judging by how they conduct themselves, graceful and light on their feet, they might be soldiers. Donnie knows better than to judge just because they might also be all women.

One of the group splits off from the rest of their party, climbing over the edge of the slope alone. A girl, maybe not much older than them. It’s hard to tell. Donnie recognizes her garb and makeup. Ornate, armored, green kimonos, their faces are adored with metal headdresses, and white-faced paint, with black kohl slanting around their eyes and dark red lips. A Kiyoshi warrior stands fan out, arms raised for a fight.

“Who are you and what are you doing with Appa?” She demands.

_____________________________________________________________________

The fur and the silhouette of a massive beast is obviously Appa, but the boys that stand in between her and the air bison are definitely not Aang and his friends.

There’s four of them, all of them look to be in their teens. The one that stands at the forefront is a tall lanky boy, dressed in earth kingdom beige and green. His long hair is tired into a bun and the sides of his head are shaved in an undercut. There are metal gauntlets around his arms and legs, a staff in his hand that he is holding out, end pointing at Suki.

The boy beside him at his right, is just a little behind him. He wields twin swords dressed in blue, common in the southern earth kingdom but the shape of his face, his braids remind Suki a little of Katara and Sokka.

Behind them both in the shadow of the ruin with Appa, is a large muscular kid in rusty red. Suki recognized the weapons in his hands as tonfas. They are not uncommon weapons in the Earth Kingdom, given its effectivity as both a defensive and an offensive weapon much like earth bending. But she didn’t recognize at all what the other boy was holding, some kind of chain weapon. He looked to be the smallest of them and was almost comically so when standing next to by far the largest boy.

Appa bellowed in confusion, but not in alarm. Soft brown eyes regarding Suki with what she believed was familiarity. The bison didn’t seem to be scared from what she could see. There wasn’t anything keeping him in the cave other than the boys standing in front of it.

“Appa? Is that your name buddy?” It’s the smallest boy that says this, turning to Appa to pet him on the nose.

To Suki’s confusion, Appa lets him, nuzzling into his touch, even licking him, which has the boy giggling. His weapon is held loose in his hands as he returns the bison’s affections.

“We saved Appa, he got sold to a circus. We broke him out.” The largest of the boys says, not so subtly adjusting his stance to cover for the smallest.

A circus? 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘥? Even if he were starving, Aang would 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 do that to Appa which means that something must have happened. But before she can inquire what and how one of her team calls out from behind her.

“Donnie?”

Suki had given orders not to break formation, they could peer over the edge but they had to let her assess the threat first. If she needed help, she would sign for it. If she was being attacked, then they had permission to come.

Her team knew better than to disobey her for no good reason. Even someone as stubborn as April knows the need of following orders without question in the field. And still behind her, April climbs up from the slope pulling herself over the edge. Before Suki can hiss at her to get back in line, the boy in front lowers his bo staff eyes wide with disbelief.

“April?” Longing rings in staff boy’s–𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦’𝘴 voice, hopeful and afraid.

“Donnie!”

April rushes past her and throws herself into the arms of the boy who catches her. Arms wrapping tightly around her waist he lifts her up and spins her with Kiyoshi armor and all.

“April!”

It’s the kind of embrace that cuts out the rest of the world. The pair pulls apart only just enough to see each other’s faces. April’s hands rest on his chest and his are on her shoulders. Their sentences run over each other mostly, ‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’ – ‘𝘏𝘰𝘸’ – ‘𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’ – ‘𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.’

Suki slips her fan back into her belt. There’s no need for it now. The other boys similarly lower their weapons. The largest of them looks at the pair still lost to each other with an expression of surprise, but nonetheless fondness on his face. His smile is crooked with a snaggletooth peeking out. Suki can understand, she’s sure she pretty much has the same expression, minus snaggletooth.

Suki trusts all her girls and so she trusts April. If she had a reaction like that to one of the boys, then it’s most likely they won’t turn out to be enemies.

“Puff–𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘢 got hurt fighting off a boar-q-pine.” The boy with swords explains. “We’ve been holding up here since then.”

She saw remnants of the fight. The drag marks, paw prints and squashed vegetation. It must have been some fight. Appa though has padded into the light flanked by the smallest and largest boy. He looks none the worse for wear for being in a tussle with a boar-q-pine and lows happily on seeing her.

They must have treated him, and if they did, they can’t be that bad.

Cautiously she offers her hand out, palm open in a gesture of friendliness. The largest of them visibly softens at the gesture. He looks at Suki hopefully in a way that makes Suki want to be hopeful too.

With the ever present threat of war, the isolation of her village, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 her home having been burnt down once already–sometimes it is easy to forget, not everyone is an enemy in this wide wild world. It has become a necessity to greet first with a weapon in hand rather than with open arms.

But she wants to trust this boy that so clearly wants to trust her too.

“I’m Suki, and these–” She gestures behind her, giving the signal so the rest of her girls can now climb over the edge of the hill.

“Are my Kiyoshi Warriors.”

“I’m Raph.” The largest boy introduces himself, coming over past the other boys to take her hand in his.

He has a firm grip, and her hand is almost comically small in his engulfing it entirely, but does not try to crush her, just gives a firm solid, respectful shake.

“These are my brothers.” He gestures too, to what is visibly his own team.

“That over there is Leo and Mikey.” He points respectively to the boy with swords and the boy with chain weapon.

“I guess you don’t need introducing to Donnie.” Raph nods to where April and Donnie are.

They’ve stopped hugging, but April has her arm around the boy’s waist leaning into him. April catches her eye and makes an apologetic face, explanations and apologies for the disobedience will come later. Suki turns back to Raph.

“It sounds like you have a story to tell.”

Chapter Text

They all settle in at their camp, Raph graciously inviting the Kiyoshi warriors in. It’s little more than a campfire and some logs they were using as seats. April sits beside Donnie. As if he would let her sit anywhere else.

Both Suki and Raph insist they take the time to catch up. The rest of them can get things started for lunch without the two of them. Ostensibly, they've got some privacy to themselves but this is an open camp. His brothers have a habit of wandering just a little too close, and glancing at them just a little too long. Donnie will take it though. He'll take as much as he can get.

April. April O’Neil. She looks good in Kiyoshi garb and make up. The white paint is stark against her dusky skin, her eyes are made darker by the tint of eyeshadow. Her hair is still the same, thick burgundy curls that are barely contained by her headdress. There’s changes to them both obviously, caught in the throes of adolescence. But she is still the same, cheerful, loud and upbeat, an indomitable personality that has never let anything hold her down.

It feels like forever ago since he saw her last, before they were made to leave Gaoling, and April went to Kiyoshi island to become a fully fledged Kiyoshi warrior. Before his birth-giver caught on to a fraction of his intellect and the Fire Nation made their offer. Before he was locked in a figurative ivory tower, but an actual attic, before Leo both kidnapped and saved him.

If there was one thing he regretted leaving that hell-hole it was that he couldn’t tell her that he was going. That he was in a much better place, that he had met much better people.

He even endured her smug ‘I told you so’s’ with good grace. He had met people who even if they did not always understand him, understood his quirks, his little ticks. People who loved him not despite, but because of who he was. Just like she said he would when she left to be trained.

There is only one April O’Neil in the world, but the world is a much better place for having people like her. Something settles, seeing her get along with his brothers. There is only so much space in Donnie’s heart. To find that there is no conflict between his new family and April, it is comforting, like everything settling into a perfect order to have her with him and his brothers.

He spares a thought for his only other cousin, the only blood related relative that he could stand and close to his age. Toph would probably get along with his brothers too. He wonders how she is doing. If she is still trapped in that house, imprisoned but safe, far away from the war front. Her only freedom back then was sneaking out to watch those underground earthbending matches.

(Somewhere across the world, Toph sneezes and wipes her nose in her sleeve despite Katara’s attempts to get her to use a handkerchief).

April and his brothers are more family to him than his birth-giver, aunts and uncle ever were. They have done more for him than any of the adults in his life had done. Adults that were supposed to 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 him.

Raph, for the scant difference in their ages, has acted more of a parental figure than all of his interactions with all parental age figures combined. Though to be fair, Raph has set the bar very high and Big Mama unfairly skewed the sample pool, somehow managing to be worse than his birth giver.

The very same birth-giver used to hold April’s letters hostage. When Donnie tells her this, rage and grief fill her eyes. She holds him too tight but after being separated from her for so long Donnie doesn’t mind.

April gets that look where Donnie knows that if they were back at the Beifong compound she would take that nice heavy shiny shield of hers and bash the heads in of his parents for every hurt and aggression they dealt him. It soothes an ache he didn’t know was there, some hidden hurt he slapped a bandage on and buried rather than deal with.

Donnie loves his twin. He loves his brothers, but she was the first person ever so solidly in his corner. He has missed her so much.

Touch has always been literally touch and go for him, but right now he needs her like an anchor. He squeezes her hands in beats of threes to which she squeezes back. It thrills him, she remembers this code, this snippet of their secret little language.

𝘐’𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

All of his brothers know the sign language he uses on days he is feeling non-verbal. Leo is still the most fluent, but it is April who he developed the language with. April who came up with signs of her own to add to their vocabulary.

“You’re skinnier, but the bags under your eyes aren’t as bad as they could be.” April notices.

She lightly touches the shaved side of his head. He can practically feel Raph’s eyes bug out even as he’s talking to Suki. He can see Raph out of the corner of his eye shush Mikey before their youngest can start cooing. It doesn’t surprise Donnie, Mikey this quickly has already developed affection for April. Mikey loves easy and he loves even easier the people who love the same things he loves.

Donnie doesn’t let just anyone touch him, much more his hair, much, much more the shaved side of his hair.

“Guess they must be taking good care of you, huh?”

“They are, they really, really are.” He admits. It’s less like pulling teeth admitting his affection for his brothers, when her own affection for him has been so abiding.

“You’re going to get a plethora of questions from them later.”

He can also feel Leo some distance from his side, giving open curious looks, but otherwise letting him have this moment. He knows about April. He knows the most about April. Donnie has shared stories about her. Some he’s also told to their brothers on long nights when they would talk about their pasts. Whenever he tried to scrounge up the good things in his life before them, almost invariably she and his younger cousin would come up.

“Oh I can tell.” April smirks, casting a glance at his brothers who all immediately pretend they are looking someplace else and were not hovering, both trying to give Donnie some space and still be involved.

The metalbender can tell, Leo is just itching to talk to April himself, get to know the girl who figured so prominently in his twin’s stories. But he also knows how much Donnie needs this, needs April to himself for a little bit and so restrains himself for now.

Privately Donnie takes it as further proof that they are twins in spirit, and will never tell Leo this–that for all he mock protests and fakes annoyance on being ‘twins’ he has long believed it himself. There must be exceptions that prove the rule after all.

After the meal is done cooking, and the bowls have been passed out, Raph starts to fill in the Kiyoshi warriors on how they got Appa. The rest of them chime in with details as needed. Mikey in particular endears himself, with his enthusiastic retelling of Appa’s flight and his own care of the air bison. Bison, not buffalo.

Suki in turn shares how she and her contingent of Kiyoshi warriors know the Avatar and when they saw him and his team last. The girls giggle and tease Suki a little on this boy–a watertribe boy–named Sokka.

Leo looks definitely unimpressed when Sokka starts off as a misogynist but becomes greatly entertained when Sokka came back and asked Suki for training and instructions. There’s a smirk playing about his face when Suki launches into the retelling of how they put him in Kiyoshi Warrior dress.

They are caught on the edge of their seats when the Fire Nation attacks. Mikey even holding on to Donnie when Suki recounts how her village was set on fire. They cheer when the Fire Nation soldiers are driven off. Though Donnie, because he is looking for it, sees the twist in Raph’s mouth, the pain in his eyes that he always gets when it comes to the Fire Nation furthering the war effort. Leo sees it too, it’s in the way the waterbender’s hand just ever so gently tightens on Raph’s shoulder.

But Raph visibly softens when it comes to Suki saying in not so many words her emotional goodbye with Sokka, the implication is there, that they kissed. Their oldest brother has always been a sucker for love stories.

But after all the catch ups, when they arrive to the here and now there’s a look in Raph’s eyes. A look that says he’s thinking about something, something that will probably affect all of them. That can wait though, right now he just wants to hold April’s hand for as long as he can.

Chapter Text

Suki thinks she quite likes Raphael. Years of leading her team have given her insight into group dynamics. Leo and Raph seem to be the de facto leaders with Raph more often than not having the final say, but Leo suggesting the plan.

There is an easy camaraderie between all four boys apparent in their banter. After introductions are finished, they all agree to have lunch together and trade stories over the meal on how they ended up in this place at the same time.

The boys contributed dried meat, some root crops that had been kept well. Suki and her girls provide some fresher produce. Between the two teams, and Mikey proving to be an excellent cook, they were able to get a simple but flavorful and filling stew simmering in a pot. Bowls are passed around with flatbread to dip into.

“You’ve met the Avatar, do you think he’d let us join him?” Raph asks to her surprise and also apparently the surprise of his team.

“We have to return the buffalo.” Raph insists to their surprised faces.

“Bison.” Suki automatically corrects.

“Bison.” Raph repeats. “We obviously can’t keep him now that we know Appa belongs to somebody and that somebody is the avatar. So if we want to keep traveling, maybe we can join him. Fight the good fight.”

Suki considers it. If Aang and the others do let them join the group, she thinks they could all very easily get along. Leo, Donnie and Sokka are both very similar in their humor and cleverness. (Despite Donnie denying it). She can see Leo and Sokka getting along very well and Donnie attempting murder, but Raphael or Katara would probably put a stop to it before it gets too far.

Katara might appreciate having someone else help shoulder responsibility in the way Raph does. In both Aang and Mikey, she can see the same childish innocence and playfulness that is so absent in other children growing up in this war time.

Mikey looks excited at the prospect, but Leo purses his lips thoughtfully and draws Raph, as well as the other two boys away into a hushed conversation. Donnie reluctantly withdraws from April to join the huddle.

Suki lets the boys have their sidebar, retreating a little so as to give them more space and to turn to her fellow Kiyoshi warrior.

“How did you meet Donnie?”

“We were neighbors and friends when we were small.” April replies.“My folks worked for his folks. They thought us being the same age meant we could be friends…His family was–they weren’t good to him.”

A dark look crosses over April’s face, anger shines bright in her eyes. It’s the look she always gets before she teaches someone what’s what for daring to underestimate her.

“Later on, they didn’t think I was good for him or his cousin.”

Suki doesn’t press for details. She knows a little of how April ended up joining the Kiyoshi warriors. While April was sponsored by the Beifong family, it was her mother who had once trained as a Kiyoshi warrior in her youth thus providing the connection to their insular (and admittedly paranoid) community. The Beifong’s gave generous donations to further the education of a brilliant young talent–on the condition that April be trained at the birthplace of Kiyoshi herself.

Before Suki took over, their mentor had been a little wary of such a new recruit with outside blood that came so far away and with blatant bribery. Suki’s town was a little more welcoming than most–but even they had a-–rough welcome with the avatar.

But April had proven herself driven, determined, and strong. She threw herself into training just as hard as the rest of them, never slacking off, always up for another round, another mission. When Suki proposed leaving the Island to travel to the mainland, inspired by Aang and his team's adventures, she was the first one to volunteer.

One other thing she did religiously was to send letters, some to her parents, and others to–well Suki has met the recipient now.

“I’ve been thinking about it. We can’t stay on the run forever. The only way for any of us to be really safe is for the Fire Nation to lose the war.” Raph says this outloud.

He’s straightened up from where the four boys were hunched over into each other. Clearly he meant this for everyone to hear.

“Aang will need Appa for that.” Suki adds encouragingly.

They are good people. It was obvious after getting to know them. They will be an asset if they join the war, in whatever front they choose to be in. Aang and his team could use all the help they can get. They are strong too, if the stories they told can be believed.

She doesn't think they are telling her everything. But that’s almost to be expected, even if Donnie and April have had a long standing friendship before–this whole situation–this is still the first time they are meeting. It takes time to build trust. It takes work. What they have is a good start.

“What she said.” Raph says, throwing Suki, a grateful nod.

“I can vouch for them.” April says suddenly. Donnie casts her a wide eyed hopeful look which April smiles back at. Raph and the other boys look at her in surprise.

“I’ve known Donnie since forever and if he says you guys are good guys then I believe him.” She says, as if it is that easy–and knowing April, it probably is. April is a good Kiyoshi warrior, perhaps one of her best if Suki is allowed some bias, but there is an ease in which April adopts when interacting with the boys, as if she has known them, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 and not just Donnie for ages.

“It sounds fun.” Mikey chirps looking at Leo. He puts up a valiant struggle, there’s a terse moment where Suki can just see arguments building up in his head. But Leo obviously crumbles under the weight of big soft grey eyes. He sighs and shrugs.

“Sure, what’s one more pit stop on this field trip? Let’s join the Avatar.”

That seems to be the deciding factor for the boys, Raph lets out a cheer and pulls Leo into a side hug. Big hand engulfing his head easily and messing up his braids, Leo mock scowls bats at him but doesn’t actually do anything to get out from under Raph’s arm. He definitely curls an arm around Mikey when the young boy launches himself at them. Raph pulls Donnie onto his otherside, the earthbender not quite hugging back but still obviously leaning into the hold.

Aang didn’t exactly tell them where they were heading next. But going by how they first met, people will have definitely paid attention if the Avatar has passed through. They can go to the nearest town and gather information. Maybe even find some way to get a message to Aang.

Appa won’t be able to carry all of them–Boys and Kiyoshi warriors–so they will have to go on foot which is probably what Aang and the others did. With luck and pushing a fast pace, they may be able to catch up to them.

She is excited, this may be their most important mission yet and they have good company to accomplish it with. Suki is about to get her map out, and start plotting out their potential path when Donnie abruptly yells.

“There’s incoming! 𝘚𝘶𝘬𝘪 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦!”

A blue fireball collides into a tree beside the camp, sending it crashing down. It doesn't fall on anyone, thankfully. All of them moving out of the way in time.

Four girls on komodo-rhinos ride up, all of them dressed in the dark reds and blacks of the fire nation.

____________________________________________________________________

𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦 : 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗥

“You’re–𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 Raph.” Leo says hushed, eyes darting around suspiciously for all that the girls haven’t moved from their seats. And Donnie would know if there was anyone that crept within eavesdropping distance of them. So far the girls have been polite letting them have their sidebar.

“If we return Appa to them, it’ll be a gesture of good will.” Raph counters, arms crossed over his chest.

“If we lose Appa we’ll lose our main form of transportation.” Donnie argues back.

“Even if they don’t let us join them, we still have to return Appa to them.” Raph insists, shaking his head. “Appa belongs to the Avatar. It’s not right if we keep him with us.”

Leo scowled, unable to find an argument to justify keeping Appa to themselves. They knew that, they all kind of knew that the moment Suki confirmed that Puff-puff had an owner, an owner that loved him very much and was probably desperate to return to him. Avatar’s and their animal guides, even Leo knew the stories, however controversial Kuruk’s reputation as avatar was, they still told tales of him and his crow in the North.

“Maybe he won’t trust Raph, but maybe he’ll trust me.” Mikey pipes up.

They all turn to look at their youngest. Raph’s snaggletooth digs into his lower lip, his brow furrows deeper the longer he looks at Mikey. Leo can tell Raph is torn between wanting to encourage their youngest and wanting to protect him, as he almost always is. And almost always puts his foot in his mouth about it.

Leo discreetly nudges Raph a little with his elbow, and their biggest brother’s mouth stays shut. He’s become better about giving Mikey his space, though The Incident might have set him a one step forward, two steps back just a little bit.

“From what Suki said, everyone thinks the Avatar is the last air bender in the world. Technically he’s the second to the last airbender.” Mikey thumps his own chest, puffing his meager height out.

It makes Leo think of the puffin birds attempting to look bigger than themselves, to impress or intimidate and succeed at neither. His little brother is never going to be anything but adorable to him. But at least he’s not as bad at Raph.

“If he trusts me I’ll get him to trust Raph.” He says with sure fire conviction, the kind that believes he could pluck the stars from the sky if only he reached for it.

It’s not a bad idea, truth be told. From what they know of Aang he was proud of his culture, his heritage as both the avatar and an air bender. Mikey is the closest thing he is going to get to another man of his culture, in this decade at least.

But Leo suspects Raph is only barely thinking about that. He’s got that gooey soft look in his eyes whenever Mikey does something particularly sweet. And Mikey is such a sweet kid.

“Alright. Yeah that could work. Who wouldn’t trust you?” Raph reaches out to ruffle Mikey’s hair, classic big brother move.

“And Donnie, I know you’re worried about Big Mama. She still has your Beifong passport, but if we ally with the Avatar, maybe they can help us drive her off.” His big bright encouraging smile is a heartbreaking thing.

Leo’s stomach sinks to the ground. Donnie staunchly refuses to look at him. Raph doesn’t notice because he’s looking at Donnie, Leo can only hope that his face holds up to Mikey’s scrutiny. As long as their youngest doesn’t pull out Dr. Feelings, then he stands a good chance of getting away with it.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that.” Raph continues blithely, happily ignorant.

Donnie’s mouth snaps shut with a click, his eyes darken and he looks to the ground, hiding his face. Leo knows Raph will take this as Donnie being Donnie about feelings, about overt demonstrations of care. He thinks his little twin brothers are good people and has always seen more of the good in them. Leo sometimes wishes he could be the person Raph thinks he is. But it won't stop him or Donnie from doing things to keep Raph the big brother they need Raph to be.

The secret that they share is one that they will take to their graves.

“I’ve been thinking about it.” Raph continues, oblivious. “We can’t stay on the run forever. The only way for any of us to be really safe is for the Fire Nation to lose the war.”

He says this loud enough that the Kiyoshi warriors hear, judging by how Suki perks up and how Raph is looking at her now. He meant it.

It’s not that Leo doesn’t want to join the war effort. It was his original plan when he ran away from the Northern Watertribe. He had heard that the Southern Watertribe were conducting active resistance efforts, raids on Fire Nation ships. He had bet everything that they would take him, if he presented himself as a capable warrior. He had not completely abandoned that plan, just adjusted it to accommodate three brother shapes.

He was just hoping that maybe they could start small, still do their part but within reason. Within their capability as teenagers. It’s one thing to join a raiding party another thing to join the avatar and paint the biggest targets on their backs.

Raph would die for them. Leo knows that. Water is wet. The moon is a fish. Raph would die before he would let any lasting harm come to his little brothers and Leo does not want that to happen. He does not want to get to a point where that becomes even remotely a possibility.

“I can vouch for them.” April, the Kiyoshi Warrior, the one that Donnie let touch his hair, says suddenly.

Donnie casts her a wide eyed hopeful look which April smiles back at. Leo knows he’s already lost. When Donnie loves something, someone he digs his claws in deep. He recognizes the hold Donnie had on April, and would worry about the other girl if he did not see her holding back just as tight.

“I’ve known Donnie since forever and if he says you guys are good guys then I believe him.”

“It sounds fun.” Mikey chirps.

And that’s the final nail in the coffin. All brothers immediately won over. He can’t not follow them with how hard he’s fought to keep them. How hard they’ve fought for him in turn. But maybe–maybe things won’t be so bad. The avatar and his gang have managed to evade Fire Nation capture for so long. So surely they have to be strong as well.

When Mikey turns his big grey eyes on him, Leo knows he’s lost too.

“Sure, what’s one more pit stop on this field trip? Let’s join the Avatar.”

Chapter Text

“Well I wasn’t expecting to see familiar faces.”

When Raph expected that he and his brothers were going to be hunted for escaping Big Mama he didn’t expect to see the Fire Nation Princess and her entourage. Azula didn’t bother to meet with him when he came to the circus. Her goal was Ty Lee and she took the acrobat without a word of explanation to anyone except perhaps Big Mama.

It makes sense in hindsight that the reason she took Ty Lee was to hunt for the avatar. It makes sense why she chose Ty Lee over everyone else. The girls that form Azula’s team were girls Raph once knew, and even played with in his childhood.

Princess Azula, Ty Lee, Mai and Cassandra Jones.

The four of them ride on komodo-rhinos. Azula is smirking, always smirking. Mai looks bored, face impassive. Cassandra has her clan’s signature cloth mask obscuring half her face. But her eyes are wide and enraged–which is almost how she always looks, but now she looks particularly betrayed.

Ty Lee though is the only one that seems markedly distraught by this unexpected reunion, her eyes darting back and forth from Mikey to Azula to Raph, Leo and Donnie In that order before fixing mostly between Mikey and Azula again. Which Raph understands. Mikey is the baby and he actually shares blood with her.

The last time Raph saw her was in her tent, right after the show. Ty Lee did not even turn around to face him. He told her it was a bad idea to leave with Azula. Looking at him through her dressing room mirror, she told him about the ‘strong hints the universe was sending’.

Her hands were trembling as she wiped her face clean with a facecloth. For an acrobat to whom steady balance was everything, her hands were trembling. He caught from her too, the faint scent of soot. Noted how she was sweatier than usual for what should have been a normal routine on the high wire.

“We could help.” He whispered once. They were not the closest despite having a similar background. Ty Lee had felt suffocated having 6 sisters, she was not looking to replace them. Raph had respected that, but still tried in his own way to look out for her.

She paused looking at him. And for a moment he was hopeful, until she laughed, high sweet and false.

“You’re being silly, worrying about nothing. Azula isn’t going to hurt me.” She came to him then, reaching out to pat his cheek.

“And no one says no to the Universe.”

He understood then, that she left under duress but was trying to make it her own choice. There was nothing he could have done to change her mind. Raph wonders if there was anything he could have done to stop Azula from taking Ty Lee.

But no one says ‘No’ to Azula.

He does not think there was anyone in the world that had ever refused Azula before. That was counting him too when he and Mikey were sometimes brought to the royal palace. Lu Ten, would be there occasionally despite being a little bit older than them.

Uncle Iroh said children needed socializing when he cajoled Draxum into letting Raph have an afternoon off from training. It was fun at first, when they were small, when the games were mostly harmless. But Lu Ten had died, then Aunt Urusla was gone, there were some days when Raph was summoned to the palace when he would rather be training.

Even if Draxum had thrown him off a roof once.

The girls haven’t changed. They have aged but not changed. Not really. Though the only one he can say that for certain is Ty Lee. It’s only been less than a months-ish since she left. There is a part of Raphael that can’t help but note how she looks like she’s doing well. Still looks healthy, skin clear and eyes bright–though those same eyes are still staring at Mikey in shock and heartbreak.

“Mimi?”

“Lee-lee.” Mike calls back, hands twisting in a way Raph knows he’s barely refraining from reaching out to her.

“RAPHAEL? MICHAELANGELO?” Cassandra yells entirely too loud. Her growing expression of shock and betrayal becomes so exaggerated it is almost comical.

Raph almost forgot she liked to yell a lot. Even Draxum with his militaristic training could not beat the volume from her. No matter how many extra laps he had set her to run due to ‘inappropriate shouting’ eventually, he had learned to let her be. Take it as part of her personality. That was Casey, louder than life, doing everything larger than life.

When they last saw each other, she had been accepted into the Foot Clan, a clan whose sole dedication was to the Fire Nation Royal Family, and simultaneously establishing an enclave of her own, a ‘Brownie Clan’ of girls, daughters of soldiers whose fathers went to war and did not come back. He had always wondered if her loyalty to the Foot Clan ever ran counter to her loyalty to her girls, which one would win.

Now he knew.

Though again if Azula herself called for Cassandra, who could say no? The princess’ face is more defined than when Raphael saw her last, but there’s still that hard mean look in those golden eyes. She had that look ever since she was small. It was almost too–𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 for a girl her age. It seems she grew into that too.

“P–” Raph bites back the title. He is under no obligation, not anymore to address her as such.

“Azula.”

“HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS THE FIRE NATION PRINCESS WITHOUT RESPECT.” Cassandra cries in outrage.

In the corner of his eye Raph can see Donne and Leo stare eyes wide, looking at Azula then back to him again. Azula looks at Raph and only at Raph. Even then she has her nose stuck in the air, an expression that says he is just barely worth her notice.

“Really Raphael, I know being the son of the Baron was too good for you, but to turn to treason like this? How low you’ve sunk.”

Raph snarls, fists curling, stamping down the rage that threatens to rise and forces back the fire that responds too easily to his call. It’s all too easy to imagine burning that smirk off her face, but losing control of his temper won’t help him here. It’s on purpose, her targeting his sore spot.

As if he wouldn’t tear out that man’s blood in him if he could. As if he hadn’t burned and bled to leave it all behind.

“I’m 𝘯𝘰𝘵 his son.” Raph growls and points his tonfa at Azula. “And you’re still doing daddy’s dirty work so who’s the loser here?”

Her eyebrow twitches. There’s an all too quick flash of Azula’s own rage across her face, before she too smoothens it down back under her control. It would be impressive if he didn’t hate her guts.

“I’ll give you one and only one chance to surrender the Avatar’s bison and be good non-treasonous fire nation citizens. Think of this as your last hope to redeem yourselves.”

Azual offers her tone light and deceptively casual, without a trace of anger that glints in her eyes. She continues to smirk like she has everything in the palm of her hand, like it's all under her control. Her eyes dance across Suki, the other Kiyoshi warriors–like she knows they didn’t know Raph and Mikey were Fire Nation. Every word she spits out tries to dig the wedge in a little deeper.

“I won’t ask again.”

Even if she did mean it, there is nothing that Azula could give that Raph wants. Nothing that Azula wouldn’t hold over his head to make him fear her or extort more from him. She reminds him a little of Big Mama, except Azula is more honest about it, and doesn’t use nonsense words. But she’s just as mean, just as vindictive.

Raph doesn’t consider it. Not for a moment. But before he can say anything Ty Lee rides up. For a moment they could be in the circus tent again, but she is the one begging him.

“You should listen to Azula, Mimi, Ra-Ra please.” Ty Lee pleads, when she begs she almost has the same look as Mikey. It’s almost as devastating.

“You can come with us. If you surrender, right?” She looks desperately at Azula who doesn’t say yes, doesn’t say no, but shrugs.

“We won’t hurt you if you surrender right now.” This Ty Lee directs to Donnie and Leo, who give her twin pitying looks before they turn back to Raph, waiting for him to make the call.

Ty Lee means it. Raph can see that she means it. But it isn’t something she can promise or provide either. Mikey knows this, it’s in how wobbly his smile is.

“I can’t.”

Raph can feel Suki stare at him with wide eyes, she’s not the only one. All the Kiyoshi warriors and his brothers are staring between him, Mikey and Azula with her entourage. He looks at Suki who looks back, face impassive weapons drawn–but not at him, despite it all.

Despite that they conveniently left out of the retelling that technically, very technically, while him and Mikey are defecting Fire Nation citizens, they are also defecting Fire Nation noble family. Not Fire Nation 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, but close enough to have known them–She’s still waiting for him to make the call.

There’s only one answer isn’t there?

“Well Raphael?” Azula asks, ignoring Mikey.

Raph hopes he makes his stand clear, when he rolls his shoulders, a little warm up stretch before putting himself at the forefront, between his brothers, the Kiyoshi warriors and Azula.

“Hard pass.”

It doesn’t surprise the Fire Nation princess at all, she looks almost pleased with the outcome. Though Cassandra gasps. He can’t tell if Cassandar is acting or if she’s really surprised that he would betray their home nation and royal family like this. Mai’s expression doesn’t change at all but simply pulls her arms back, knives in her hands. Ty Lee, her eyes are still wide and watery but her mouth twists in grim determination as she vaults off the back of her komodo-rhino.

“I can’t say I didn’t want to do this.” Azula taunts, blue fire erupts from her hand.

The fireball is flung at his face and he bats it away with his own orange flames without blinking. The blisters are shallow, superficial and easy enough to ignore.

Fire doesn’t hurt him. Fire has never hurt him since the Agni Kai, since whatever Draxum did to him had taken root. Not even Azula’s blue fire. Her look of shock is gratifying, but she isn’t caught off guard enough to miss Raph trying to punch her in the face.

What does hurt him is the surprise on the faces of the Kiyoshi Warriors. The fear in Leo’s not at him but for him. This is not how he wanted his firebending to be exposed, right in front of new allies. He was so hopeful, things were going so well. He really, really wanted to become friends with the Kiyoshi warriors. But to face down Azula he needs no less.

There’s no time to explain anything.

“I’ll take Ty Lee!” Mikey yells, launching himself into the fray against his cousin. One unfortunate Kiyoshi warrior had already fallen prey to the Chi-blocking. Raph knows from experience it will take at least an hour before she can get any movement back.

Ty Lee is better at Chi-blocking than Mikey, but he knows better than to let her get close. But in acrobatics, they are evenly matched.

In his peripheral vision, Cassandra is taking on Suki, April, another Kiyoshi warrior all on her own and holding her own against the three. Leo and Donnie are facing off against Mai. One Kiyoshi warrior is pinned to a tree. It seems like a matched fight, until Leo buys Donnie enough time to center himself, Mai’s dagger’s stop mid flight inches away from Leo’s skin. Mai’s arm’s arms suddenly splay out wide, before she is pushed by the wrists into a tree. Some of her own daggers slip from their sheaths to pin her to the trunk.

Raph focuses on his own fight. He has to, he’s never been allowed to go all out against Azula before, even now he can't really go all out not with being surrounded by all too flammable forest cover. But at least he doesn’t have to hold back out of fear of pissing off the royal family. He still can’t land a damn hit on her for all that they go blow by blow. Fire to fire.

Ty Lee’s got one of Mikey’s arms paralyzed from the shoulder down. The reason he’s not out and laid out on the ground is probably because she’s still trying to reason with him, in between dodging hits from Leo and Donnie. He guesses her complete focus on Mikey is the only reason why Leo and Donnie are not paralyzed yet.

“We can take you back Mimi!”

A well timed dodge sends Donnie and Leo colliding into each other, allowing her to lunge for Mikey’s wrist.

“𝘕𝘰𝘰𝘰!”

It’s like everything slows down. Azula’s fire misses his cheek by centimeters, he can feel his hair curl up from the heat of it, but all of Raph is focused on how Mikey’s fingers shift to an open palm. He swears he can see air gathering at his littlest brother’s fingertips.

Mikey doesn’t touch her. He doesn’t need to touch her. Ty Lee is sent flying back. She ends up landing hard rolling into the ground but getting back up with characteristic ease. Her eyes from wid and pleading to wide and afraid. Afraid of as much as afraid for Mikey. They share the same blood line. Her own features, her flexibility and culture comes from it. But where she was spared the burden Ty Lee still knows just as much the death sentence it is to be an air bender in the Fire Nation.

The wind hasn’t yet died down, rushing agitatedly, plucking at loose leaves, the tree branches and pulling at loose clothes. Everyone stops stunned by an action of bending that hasn’t been openly seen in the world since a hundred years ago. Or since the Avatar came out of hiding.

“An airbender.” Azula breathes, eyes hard and burning molten gold. “I should have known there was always something wrong with you.”

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘵. It’s been 𝙞𝙩, the very moment Azula arrived. But her shock and his sudden surge of rage finally allow him to break through her guard. Raph lunges, Azula is just a second too slow, from the fiery kick she sends his way.

He takes the face full of fire, just to be able to grab her by her skinny ankle and swing her hard against a tree.

Raph manages to get another hit in before Cassandra kicks his wrist forcing him to drop the princess in a burst of pain. He draws back defensively but Cassandra has backed away and now has her arms around Azula helping her sit up.

“You think I came here alone?” Azula wheezes, shaking with rage as much as pain. Her hair knocked out from her perfectly coifed bun. The anger and force in her words pick up the more she speaks, despite the number Raph must have done to her back and ribs.

She pulls a whistle from her waist, blowing into it a high sharp note that cuts through the forest. It sends even the birds scattering from the pitch of the call. The komodo-rhinos, from where they were standing guard, suddenly sit up tensely.

“I’ll have this entire forest swarmed with Fire Nation soldiers!” Azula screams, spittle flying from her mouth, hair falling loose from her once perfect bun. Her eyes are wild and burning almost just as much as her blue fire.

"Mark my words. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺!"

The fire nation princess roughly shakes off Cassandra’s helping hand even as she almost immediately falls back against the tree without it. Her entourage gathers around her. Ty Lee does, Mai is still pinned to a tree and held there by a Kiyoshi warrior pointing her fan at her throat.

The four of them and the Kiyoshi warriors were more than enough to take down Azula and her team. But a whole army of Fire Nation soldiers? Now that Azula knows what Mikey is? If they manage to bring down Appa, just once, they will never get off the ground.

A hand grasps his shoulder, Raph turns to find Suki. She thrusts a map into his chest.

“You should go, take Appa and run.” Suki insists. “We’ll buy you time.”

He stares, taking a moment that he can’t afford to process; she still wants him to take Appa, even after proving he is a firebender. An ashmaker. A fire tosser. Of the people who 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿

The Kiyoshi warriors, the ones that hadn’t been taken down by Ty Lee’s chi blocking regroup and form a loose line between his brothers and Azula and her entourage. April among them. There’s a gap in the center where Raph assumes is Suki’s place.

Raph shelves it for the moment. It’s not important now, he shakes his head distraught at the implication of what Suki is suggesting, trying madly to think of another way but coming up blank.

“We can’t leave you behind! We–”

“Aang needs Appa.” Suki interrupts. “He can’t carry all of us.” Suki cuts him off. “You know how important that is.”

He does. He does. It leaves his heart twisting in knots, to leave Suki and the Kiyoshi warriors behind, he does know how important this is.

This isn’t just about running from place to place anymore, trying to get by. When they made their plans Raph knew they were getting into something so much larger than just them. Fighting the good fight. He didn’t think that the hard choices would come so early. So fast.

“We’ll be fine Raphael.” Suki reassures him. He doesn’t think she is lying. And knows she can’t. Not about something like this. Not outloud. She has to believe it because there isn’t any other choice.

They are both leaders, both responsible for their teams. Both of them know that sometimes hard choices have to be made. They are the ones burdened with making them and bearing the consequences. Raph hardens his resolve, he squeezes her hand over his shoulder, guilt giving way to gratitude. Even if he were as smart as Donnie, he wouldn’t be capable of communicating how grateful he is into words.

“Donnie, Leo, Mikey get on Appa.” Raph commands.

“We can take them!” Leo argues hotly, starting to stomp towards Raph.

Of all of them Leo was always going to be the most likely to disobey an order like this. But Donnie grabs his arm, Mikey the other. Both of them haul Leo up with them to Appa. Thankfully the waterbender doesn’t struggle in his brothers’ holds. Donnie has his head bent towards Leo, whispering furiously.

“April you go with them.” Suki says suddenly, shocking April just as much as Raph.

“What? Suki?!” April protests, she’s still holding her place in the line but her face is turned in shock towards her leader.

“You know them and they need someone to vouch for them.” Suki refutes, she catches April, pulling her away from formation. The rest of the girls close in, automatically filling in the gap.

Suki clasps April’s shoulders, looks her in the eye.

“This is your most important mission yet. Get Appa to Aang.”

April looks at Suki, sends one last wavering look at the other Kiyoshi warriors before nodding. The girls embrace before April rushes to Appa, she makes a running leap and Donnie extends his arm to pull her up onto the Bison.

Beyond the line of Kiyoshi warriors, Ty Lee is helping Mai unpin herself from the tree. Their eyes meet, hers spilling over with tears. She’s always been quick to cry, it's effective in communicating when someone or something has hurt her in a way that crosses the line. It was the easiest way to get Azula to stop without bringing in the adults. It’s all the more guilt inducing for how sweet and soft hearted her nature is.

He won’t apologize. Not to her, not for this. Not after what they’ve done.

Raph is the last in the saddle. Appa doesn’t take off immediately, but remains hovering looking at Suki expectantly. Raph doesn’t know if he can carry all of them, Kiyoshi warriors and his brothers, but Appa seems willing to try. He almost suggests it, then Azula gets to her feet snarling.

“I’ll find you.” Azula promises like a curse, spitting the words out. “No matter where you run, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

Suki stands firm, stands between them and the princess, taking her place in the center of her team. Her head is thrown back and her sword pointed out at Azula.

“We’ll do everything we can to stop you.” She declares solemnly before turning away one last look towards Raphael, his brothers and April on Appa.

“Yip yip Appa! Find Aang! Go!” Suki yells. “Yip, yip!”

Appa lets out a low groan, his tail beats the ground but with half hearted force. When he hovers in the air he does so a beat longer than he usually does, still looking at Suki as if she will change her mind.

“Find Aang! Yip yip!”

It’s at second ‘Aang’ that he finally raises himself a little higher, then he is above the treetops. Another few beats of his broad tail and they are taking off into the skies.

Chapter Text

The atmosphere is tense in the saddle. Raph is determinedly looking ahead to the horizon. He can feel Leo’s eyes boring holes in the back of his skull. Mikey is sitting on Appa’s head, shoulders hunched.

Donnie sits beside Leo and for all his fears about ‘togetherness’ he’s sandwiched himself firmly between the waterbender and the Kiyoshi warrior.

Raph’s glad that Donnie has some emotional support, because right now he just can’t. His fists are clenched in his lap. It’s on him that they left the Kiyoshi warriors behind. But he didn’t see any other choice that wouldn’t get them all captured. Get Mikey killed. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸. The disgust on Azula’s face still gets his blood boiling.

He knew they would never be able to hide it forever. But Azula is the worst person to find out about it, barring the Fire Lord himself.

If there was anything else he could have done he would have done it. 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵.Raph startles when a gentle hand lands on his wrist, looks up to see Donnie’s worried face.

“Raph, your hands.” The metal bender says quietly.

That get’s Leo’s attention, who leans over from his side of the saddle to peer at Raph’s hands, hissing at the blisters. Normally Raph is fireproof, but blue fire is another thing in itself. His flames are a common orange but what they lack in intensity compared to blue, they make up for it in volume. It’s tamping it down that Raph always had a problem with.

Fire bending has always been something of a last resort for him. And he was at a last resort. Somewhat. If he really let loose, it would have only caused more problems that it would have solved.

“C’mere big guy.”

Leo scoots over, uncapping his water skin and drawing water over Raph’s hands. The healing is cool, soothing instantly leaching away his pain, bringing instant relief. Raph leans into the healing, closing his eyes, tension draining away from him too at this gesture of care.

“You know the Fire Nation princess on a first name basis.”

He sighs loudly, and his chasm’s back. So they are doing it this way huh?

Raph cracks open an eye. He knows what Leo is trying to do, trying to distract them all from leaving Suki and the Kiyoshi warriors behind by bringing this up. He just wishes Leo would talk about any other subject, but any other subject probably wouldn’t be as distracting.

And Leo probably blames him for leaving them behind.

“I don’t.” He protests. “I just don’t have to call her princess anymore.”

“You, Mikey and Ty Lee know the Fire Nation princess.” Leo repeats.

It had been a conscious, mutually agreed on decision by the three of them ex-nobility to never really talk about where they had come from. At least not openly. Ty Lee because she wanted to be anything else but associated with her family and her six other identical sisters. Mikey and Raph for safety reasons. They did tell Leo and Donnie a little bit, but that was mostly Mikey and mostly the good things.

“Why didn’t you tell us before?” Leo presses, needling where it hurts.

“Because they’re the people that started the war.” The words tear themselves out of Raph’s throat, raw and bloody.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳

Leo flinches as he does when he knows he’s crossed a line. They don’t really have that many lines between them, but their pasts before they met each other have shaped them in different ways. Raph being one of 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, is one such line.

“We left that all behind when we ran away to the circus.” Raph says forgivingly. He is the biggest, the biggest brother and so the bigger person. Sometimes.

“Besides Azula is a–” Raph cuts himself off, looks at Mikey who is sitting on Appa’s head.

“Mikey cover your ears!”

Mikey does not cover his ears.

“I’m old enough to swear Raph!” He fires back. Raph sighs heavily just lowers his head and his voice down to a whisper.

“ – A bitch.”

“She is a bitch!” Mikey calls back with a vengeance, making Raph wince. Damn, air bender hearing. Raph forgot about that.

“We used to have play dates when we were kids.” Mikey explains, with a nimble little hop he abandons Appa’s head to clamber over and into the saddle, taking a seat beside the fire bender.

“Which really was just Azula getting practice in bossing people around and manipulating them.” Raph refutes.

He pushes Mikey's head a little for swearing but still letting their youngest cuddle in close. Some of his anxiety drains away just by having Mikey beside him, warm living proof his little brother is perfectly safe and sound. That he’s far away from people who would look at him like Azula did.

“We weren’t that close.” Raph explains. “Not with Azula at least.”

He was closer to Lu Ten admittedly. Raph missed his eldest cousin, bawled his heart out when he heard that Lu Ten had died in the war. Zuko wasn’t that bad, truthfully Mikey was closer to the young prince. Zuko probably liked having someone he could be a big brother to, without the threat of being set on fire. Then he got himself banished. Though that was after Raph and Mikey had run away to the circus.

He wonders–if Azula is looking for the Avatar and Raph didn’t see Zuko with his sister–does that mean–𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯–He does not know and does not want to think about it. He has his brothers to think of now, and Zuko has Uncle Iroh. Uncle Iroh will look after him. Uncle Iroh for all his pot belly, vague metaphors, and obsession with tea never not even once, lost a spar against Draxum. Raph knows exactly how hard that was. It took 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 of Raph to beat Draxum.

“She liked spending time with Ty Lee and Mai, more anyway.” Raph hears Mikey say snapping him out of his thoughts.

“We were some of the few kids their age. When they invited us, we couldn’t say no, not to the royal family.” Raph added.

Raph can see Donnie processing that information with calm calculation, and can see Leo processing with a shit eating grin on his face. It means he is forgiven, but it also means that Leo is still going to take the piss out of him.

“Should I be calling you, Lord–” Leo begins to joke but stops when he notices the firebender glower.

“I will throw you off Appa” Raph growls. “Don’t make me.”

“We were nobles, but we weren’t Fire Nation royal family level.” Mikey adds, quickly defusing any potential fight. Leo knows better to start shit with Mikey. Who is not afraid to play dirty with little brother privilege.

“What level are–were you?”

It’s surprisingly April not Donnie that asks. Her tone is level and curious for the revelation that he and Mikey are related to the enemy.

Mikey is an airbender, probably the second to the last in the world. Which must cancel out some things. She isn’t looking at Raph with disgust or rage though, her eyes are soft and brown full of concern.

“It’s not something I like to talk about.” Raph admits. Mikey too falls quiet.

Raph only feels a little guilty. Mikey usually loves talking about his cousins. For all that he was glad to be in the circus, he does have good memories with them. He even has a new audience in the form of April. But seeing Azula, knowing that she’ll be hunting them down now because Azula never forgets a grudge puts him in a sour worrisome mood. He doesn’t want to think about his childhood right now.

It wasn’t all that bad, and that makes the bad parts hurt even worse.

They fly for days, occasionally briefly stopping to stretch their legs. Appa doesn’t seem to want to stop, while he’ll tolerate a pause here and then, it’s over too soon and he’ll be chomping at the bit to get to the skies.

Even if Suki gave Raph the map from up above it’s difficult to tell where they are going. Appa seems to have a stubborn mind of his own, following some internal course. He’ll let them down when they guide him to, but won’t take any direction from any of them. Not even Mikey, the path he’s on is not one that any of them can recognize. They just–have to trust he knows what he’s doing.

Between them not really knowing where the Avatar could be, and Azula now hunting them down, letting Appa steer seems to be the current best option. He’s guided them this far. It could be worse.

Little by little, as the days pass, some of the terse atmosphere eases. What Raph and Mikey told them seems to satisfy most of the questions. When the topic is tentatively brought up again just as a matter of course. Mikey is able to share some of his happier memories with the Ty family and the setuplet sisters.

Raph doesn’t stop him. Mikey didn’t grow up the way he did. Raph made sure of that. He can put up with a little discomfort to make his littlest brother happy. Besides, Raph’s history was more with Baron Draxum, and Mikey in consideration to him doesn’t mention the Baron at all.

He’s careful though in how he talks about Ty Lee. Mikey does tell April she was one of the girls with Azula. The other Chi blocker, she had been in the circus with them. She was the one that was trying to get him home. It’s bittersweet to describe the shows Mikey and Ty Lee put on together. Their act on the high wire and the trapeze swing was one of the circus’ biggest draws.

Occasionally, Raph would join in on their performances but on the ground. You couldn’t get him up in the air, or on the tightrope for anything. As a strong man he serverved as something like a balancing beam while the two climbed over him. He would demonstrate feats of strength while they pulled off almost impossible configurations of acrobatics.

They can’t give a demonstration while they are in the air. Maybe on their next stop. Raph vetoes the idea of any aerial acrobatics on the back of a moving bison firmly, no matter how much Mikey insists. He’s in the middle of trying to describe the precise balancing act he has to put on with two contortionist gremlins hanging off him when Donnie interrupts him.

Being the one with the telescope, he catches on first to what appears to be Appa’s destination.

“Guys, I think Appa’s found something.” Donnie calls drawing them all forward to squint at the horizon.

The mountains that were just small blurs in the distance begin to draw closer and closer, gradually taking on better clarity. After some squabbling over the telescope all of them are able to make out the temples that were carved into the stone, awe inspiring in their magnitude and architecture. But now they are completely desolate and abandoned ruins.

The sun is beginning to set, and grey cloud cover casts everything in somber shadows. Appa leads them through a wide stone corridor, its support columns remain sturdy despite their cracks, and set far apart. Holes broken in the ceiling of the temple allow dim light to pass through. Vegetation has taken roots in stone cracks. Rain water and age have eroded what once were beautiful intricate carvings. Some paint remains mostly blue, though it’s bled past the original designs, the color faded over and washed out.

Obviously this place was designed to accommodate Appa’s bulk, and creatures like him. They come to an open courtyard, where a strange large urn like structure sits with metal railings surrounding it like a ring. Appa starts gnawing on the metal. Under his fingertips, Raph can trace the indents of hundreds of teething bites.

This is a manger. He realizes. This must have been Appa’s home once. This must have been–

“This was probably the Eastern Air Temple, after...” Donnie begins and trails off, visibly uncomfortable looking anywhere else but Raph.

The firebender grips the metal railing so tight his knuckles turn white. A sour hot pit of shame roils in Raph’s gut. He lets go of the metal railing before heat transfers to his skin. His people have done enough to this place.

“Was this your home buddy?” Mikey asks, softly petting Appa as he coughs out what must be decades of dust.

Appa makes a low mournful sound. He noses Mikey before padding off slowly. The rest of them follow slowly, their footsteps quiet and soft. It feels disrespectful to be loud in such echoing silence. It’s like walking inside a scar of history, like breathing the air inside of a tomb.

Appa takes them over a stone bridge, past an annex of the crumbling temple, suddenly his head perks up and he lunges out into another open courtyard knocking over something–someone that had been sitting there.

The bison licks at him once, twice, they stare at the stranger in confusion then Appa stares at the stranger in confusion with the stranger staring right back.

“Hello, I am Guru Pathik.” The stranger introduces himself cheerily with a big bright smile.

Appa jerked back into the air, turning around quick and smooth, before crouching on the ground growling. They grab for their weapons, all of them, and point it at the stranger.

“What are you doing here?” Raph demands.

“Meditating.” The old man says unfazed at being covered by Air Bison spit. He attempts to push himself up, but decides to remain lie back down prone when Appa growls at him.

“Though I think you’re asking why I came to be here.” He says with a hint of mischief in his voice as he goes on to explain.

“I had a vision many years ago of meeting a mixed traveling band of people from different nations. That I would guide them to the avatar and that one of them would guide the avatar to me, which is why I came here to the eastern air temple.”

“A vision.”

Raph says blankly, looking back at his team composed of the second to the last airbender, a watertribe warrior, an earth kingdom runaway noble, and their newest addition of a Kiyoshi warrior. Mixed traveling band indeed.

“You’re saying you can lead us to the avatar?” The guy sounds crazy, looks crazy and probably is crazy.

“Yes, a vision. Yes, I can. But first, please make yourself comfortable.” Says the man held at Bison-point yet looks oddly very comfortable on the floor. “You are safe here.”

None of them move an inch, after everything that’s happened, it's better to be safe than sorry.

“How are you so sure about that?” Raph challenges, gripping his tonfa tighter. He chances a glance at Donnie, who makes a sliding gesture with his hand–their code for there’s no one else, just them that the metal bender can sense.

“This temple has been long abandoned. For many years it’s just been me and nature that has made itself at home here.”

Guru Pathik holds his hands out placatingly, lifting his head to look at them as he talks, but barely rising from where he lies. Appa’s warning growl keeping him mostly prone.

“I truly mean none of you harm.”

The old man (while crazy) doesn’t look dangerous. His skin is a sunburnt kind of dark, he’s bald but with a white long, fluffy reaching down to his chest, though it looks clean. He’s dressed in off shoulder old yellow robes like a monk. It hangs off his skinny wiry frame. He’s not carrying anything, there doesn’t seem to be any weapons on him.

He doesn’t look like he’s from the fire nation. He’s the furthest thing from the fire nation and the strict discipline they demand all their citizens to conduct themselves in.

“I’ve spent my life learning from the air benders and what they left behind.” Guru Pathik adds, expression falling solemn, eyes growing dark and sad. “Though I couldn’t protect them, and I could not stop what happened.”

A hot pit of guilt worms in Raph’s gut. He vaguely knows what is being taught in Fire Nation schools, but Draxum didn’t believe in ‘softening’ the truth. The air benders were, for all their philosophy of pacifism, the greatest threat to Fire Nation expansion. That the avatar cycle had fallen on them to produce the avatar had exacerbated things. Baron Draxum had used this as justification for Fire Lord Sozin’s genocide.

When Mikey’s airbending manifested, all Raph could think about was his littlest brother being burned alive.

Mikey pulls lightly on Appa, but speaks loud enough it’s clear he intends it for the whole group.

“I think you can let him up. He seems nice.”

Appa snorts, blowing hot air from his nostrils. He does though take a step back and Guru Pathik gingerly rises from the ground. Once standing he presses his palms together in a prayer position and bows deeply.

Raph hesitates, but when Mikey glares at him he puts his tonfa’s back in his belt. The others too following his cue put their weapons down.

“Thank you.” The Guru beams at them. “Please stay for the night. After you’ve eaten and rested, allow me to offer you some advice before helping you along on your journey.”

“Can’t you just tell us where to go? And where the avatar is?” Donnie asks impatiently.

“The faster you rush, the longer your journey will take.” Guru Pathik says unperturbed. “You are tired, You are not just traveling to find the avatar but are all on your own personal journeys as well. This I can help with too, not just finding the avatar.”

Guru Pathik offers kindly. His smile doesn’t change even when Leo scoffs loudly.

“Is that what you do? Have visions. Hermit on a mountain, give advice to anyone who comes knocking?” Leo snarks, baiting the man.

“It has its own reward.” Guru Pathik says unperturbed.

Truthfully they do need the rest. Appa has been flying near nonstop for days after their run in with Azula. It would be nice to get a full night’s sleep on solid ground, to eat a meal beside a warm campfire. Think about their next steps.

“Take your time, it can wait after you’ve all eaten. I will gather some fruit for you.” He bows to them again, like they are honored guests, like he’s happy to receive and serve them, grinning warm and welcoming.

“I’ll help.” Mikey volunteers and starts to follow Guru Pathik until Raph grabs his shoulder. As nice as the Guru is, Raph’s not going to be careless about his little brother’s safety.

“Mikey, you can’t just go alone with a stranger.” Raph protests. “We barely know him.”

Mikey doesn’t quite shake him off, but he can see the temptation in Mikey’s eyes. His brother’s hand is small over his own. Raph remembers a time when he could engulf Mikey’s whole fist inside his own hand.

There was a time when he clutched it for dear life, limp and pulse weak, while he begged every spirit that would listen to bring his little brother back to him. A memory seared into his brain, the reason why he was determined they couldn’t stay with Draxum any longer.

“I got a good feeling about this guy Raph. Trust me.” Mikey insists, asserting himself firmly. Raph looks away, brow furrowing deep.

It’s not that Raph doesn’t trust Mikey. He trusts Mikey with his life. But he can’t just let Mikey go off with a stranger on his own–

“I can go with him.” April volunteers and strides towards Mikey linking her hand with his. Mikey shoots her a grateful look and leans into her side. That makes things marginally better though Raph still hesitates.

“We do need to eat.” Leo adds. “And set up camp.”

Donnie has his hand on Raph’s shoulder, silently beseeching.

“There’s no one but us here.” Donnie says quietly. “I checked, and April is more than capable of taking an old man down if he does anything to threaten Mikey.”

It makes sense to divide the work as they’ve always done. This place is far enough from any Fire Nation outpost that it should be safe. When they were in the air, Raph didn’t see a trace of civilization, or other people for miles and miles around.

There’s a loud voice in his head that says Mikey isn’t safe anywhere that isn’t right beside him. Anywhere that isn’t within his immediate line of sight–But Mikey won’t be alone. He will have a Kiyoshi warrior looking after him.

They’ve gotten to know each other while on Appa. April is cool, really cool and Donnie trusts her. That’s Donnie who would rather chew his own leg off than admit to emotional vulnerability. Donnie would chew off the legs of anyone else who’d hurt Mikey. The way she looks at Mikey is a little bit the way Donnie looks at Mikey, so maybe she is also of the feral leg chewing variety.

“Come back before it gets too dark.” Raph finally gives in, much to his little brother’s delight. He high-fives April, who sports a matching grin.

“Will do!” Mikey chirps all sunshine and sparks, always resilient and bouncing back fast.

He gives a fast hug to all of them in turn, even Appa, before sidling back to April’s side. They both race off, all smiles as they catch up with Guru Pathik who had a little ways away, giving them some privacy while waiting for them on the porch outside.

The Guru bows his head to them, smiling broadly, obviously delighted by their company. Raph watches the three of them walk out of view.

“You guys gonna take his advice?” Leo asks, pulling out the bedrolls with Donnie.

Raph shrugs. If the guy says he can lead them to the avatar, it won’t hurt to play along. Besides if this is anything like the Fortune Teller Lady back at the circus then, it’ll all be about star signs, auras, and what colors he should wear to bring out the pink in his aura.

“I’ll go first.” Raph suggests. “If it’s bad advice, I’ll tell you and we just don’t listen to him.”

By the time camp’s set up, and before it gets dark as promised April and Mikey come back with armfulls of fruits, nuts. Leo and Donnie make a face about there being no meat but it feels rude, given how there are little animals trailing after Guru Pathik, settling on the man’s shoulders, one little bird even nestling on the man’s bald head.

There’s a cat–dog? Thing that takes a particular liking to April twining around her ankles until she picked him up. It’s got large pointy ears, oversized fangs. Mostly yellow fur with blue markings on its ears, back and the tip of its tail. There’s a splash of red on its forehead like a gash and around its eyes like eyeliner.

It sits on April’s shoulders and refuses to leave. Even snapping at Donnie when he gets jealous of how it monopolies her attention. She laughs at it, then at Donnie and names it Mayhem.
The creature–Mayhem, finally settles quietly on April’s lap as she feeds it slices of banana much to its pleasure and Donnie’s annoyance.

Their camp is out in the open, on the porch, with a small fire built from the firewood Raph collected. According to Leo it doesn’t feel like it will rain anytime soon so they can sleep outside. Appa sleeps inside, near the chewing ring.

Mikey convinced Leo to help him give it a quick wash, but the Bison didn’t seem to have the heart to chew on it again.

Guru Pathik lets them be, declining to join them when Raph offers out of politeness and again when Mikey offers in sincerity. He does say that he will be waiting for them at the opposite end of the corridor if they do choose to go to him for advice. He won’t hold it against them if they don’t.

Raph, true to his word, goes first.
____________________________________________________________________________
𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦 : 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿

“I know I’m a fire bender but please trust that I’d never let any harm come to my brothers.” Raph says, the words coming out near tumbling over each other in a rush.

April stares at him eyes wide in confusion, halfway in between Leo and Donnie and making herself comfortable for the night.

They split the night watch into five that night. Raph always got the last shift because he always woke up the earliest. Firebenders rise with the sun. April volunteered for the second to the last night shift. Which brings them to now, where Raph is rising and April is about to go to sleep.

Her head is tilted in surprise, as if to ask what brought this on. As if she wasn’t there this afternoon when they had to abandon the other Kiyoshi warriors.

“I trust you.” She says simply.

Raph’s mouth hangs open in half formed arguments that never got to leave his brain let alone his mouth.

“You do?” He manages finally. The words coming out in a squeak that would seem at odds with how big he is.

“Mmmhmm.” There’s a playful little smirk at the corner of her mouth. But her eyes are gentle and warm. He’s seen her look at Donnie like this, what has he done to earn her affection?

“That easy.”

“That easy.” She repeats.

Raph wasn’t sure what he was expecting, some resistance surely. Anger–He braced himself just in case he needed to beg. To convince and plead. He’s not used to–this coming easy. Maybe with Mikey it was that easy, but even with Leo and Donnie he had to prove himself to be reliable first.

True, they were getting along by each other’s respective teams. True he had turned Azula down. But wasn’t he still–one of them? Ashmaker. Fire tosser. 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.

“But–”

“I wasn’t born on Kiyoshi Island.” April interrupts, holding a finger up to shush him. “Bet Donnie already told you that much.”

Either his brothers are deeply asleep or they are really good at pretending to be deeply asleep. Either way Raph appreciates him being able to have a one on one conversation with April. She carefully manueves herself away from Donnie and Leo to sit beside him.

“For the longest time I was the outsider. People wouldn’t give me the time of day. They thought I was weird. They didn’t trust me. But Suki…” April trails off, lost in memories, but a small smile does grow on her face. So maybe there is some good in the bad.

“She reached out to me. With her help I earned my place in the Kiyoshi warriors.”

April looks back across the evening horizon. Daylight is just barely creeping in, coloring the edges of the night. Raph looks too, back from where they came. There’s no signs of pursuit, for all the time they’ve spent in the sky and hidden by cloud cover.

The Kiyoshi warriors will be alright. They have to be.

“Where you were born doesn’t define what kind of person you are. You fought against the Fire Nation Princess. You protected your brothers.”

A hard lump grows in Raph’s throat. He’s glad that April doesn’t seem to expect him to respond. He knows this, his brothers never hesitate to tell him this. But it’s different hearing someone else say it, acknowledge everything that he's done. He's not doing it for praise, or recognition. But it soothes something he didn't know was aching when April so obviously appreciates his efforts.

April casts a fond glance to the sleeping earthbender. It must have been years since they last saw each other but Raph had seen how easily they had fallen into a pattern that felt as almost as well worn as what he and his brothers had with Donnie.

“So far, you’ve been a good guy Raph. Donnie says you’re good. You know how Donnie is.”

Donnie does not give trust easily. He remembers mistakes and can hold a grudge like nobody’s business. But once Raph pegged it was all walls and walls ( and lots of walls) put up for self defense to protect himself and Leo–it wasn’t easy to get the metal bender to trust him.

But it was worth every effort. They are all worth every effort.

Her hands land lightly on his own clenched fists. When did he start digging his nails into his palms? His grip eases and her fingers curl around his own. They are not soft hands hers, he feels calluses, and strength in the light grip she has on him.

“Any fool with eyes can see how much you love your brothers. Things–could be better.” She shrugs. “But I’m looking forward to working with y’all.”

April has to lean up a little to reach him, but she does ruffle his hair. He pushes back into her hand teasingly. He wonders, if this is what it's like to have a big sister. The last time he felt anything like this was when Lu Ten was still alive.

“I’m looking forward to working with you too.”

Chapter Text

𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵

Guru Pathik greets him with a bow, clumsily Raph copies the gesture. It’s not a fire nation bow with the right hand in a fist and open left palm. He doesn’t know what to do with his hands so keeps them still but tense at his side.

“To guide you on your path, I must first learn what troubles you. To do that, I need to read your chakras.”

Guru Pathik approaches him, slowly, and gestures with open palms towards Raph’s head, his movements are careful and openly telegraphed.

“May I?”

Raph hesitates, but nods, closing his eyes, bracing himself. Guru Pathik’s hands are warm, callused and gentle as they rest on the crown of his head, landing light on his chest, before resting briefly at the center of his stomach. He’s still glad when he feels them withdraw.

“You have lived through so much pain and hardship in your life.” Guru Pathik says, voice heavy with sympathy, but not pity. Raph opens his eyes cautiously to find a warm soft gaze looking back at him.

“But where it would make others spiteful against the world that hurt them, you seek to protect the ones you love from suffering like yourself.”

That’s not news to Raph. He’s always been a big guy, quickly outgrowing most boys his age. Maybe it was in his blood or maybe it was the experiments, both of which where the Baron’s fault. It made a lot of people scared of him, but Mikey wasn’t scared. First time they met, that little hand slipped into his own, easy as anything. He hadn’t wanted to let go.

When Leo and Donnie came to the circus anyone could see they were half starving and exhausted from living on the road. Taking care of them came naturally too, becoming their brother felt like all the pieces were falling into place.

April just kind of rounded things off. Fitting in as if she had known them her whole life and not just Donnie. She took some of the burden off his shoulders without him noticing her doing it until–there she was playing mediator between Donnie and Leo, getting Mikey to listen when he was being his most hardheaded.

They were his brothers and Raph would never, ever say they were too heavy for him. But it was nice, really nice to have someone come in and share the load. He hadn’t even known when she started, only that she was doing it.

“A single stone in the face of the ocean is easily washed away. The pain that you take on all upon yourself, it hurts them too. Trust them, trust in them to share the burden. Allow them to protect you as much as you protect them. Any pain or hurt that results from this trust, is not your fault and not your punishment.”

Raph blinks disbelievingly. How can it not be his fault? He is supposed to protect them, so if they get hurt then it’s failure on his part. He’s the biggest, the oldest. It’s his responsibility. It’s his choice.

“Let them love you as you love them. They are in pain too, when you are hurt.”

He’s never doubted their love, of course he doesn’t. But there is a reason why he was made the biggest and the physically strongest. There is a reason for his power. It is a reason that failed to take. Every choice he makes runs counter to what would have been imposed on him. What Draxum would have wanted him to be.

“You are not a soldier.” Guru Pathik says looking into his eyes, but it is as if he can see the burns on his forearms, as if he knows the nights of fever, pain and heat, everything of what Draxum put him through.

“I feel that you carry guilt from the things your people have done, but do not think of yourself as just the inheritor of sin and grief. Learn from the mistakes of your past, let it inform, but not dictate your future. You have a good heart Raphael.”

It shouldn’t mean so much. He doesn’t even know how the heck this old man knows he’s Fire Nation. Is it his clothes? His hair? His 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘳𝘢𝘴? What was it that gave it away? It’s hard to ask, harder to speak past the lump that has formed in his throat, his eyes growing hot and teary with emotions he can’t name.

It should alarm him that the old man managed to suss out he’s Fire Nation, but–with all that he’s said and done, Raph can’t believe he’d use that fact to hurt him or his team. Guru Pathik pats his shoulder and allows him a moment to compose himself before sending him back.

When he came back to camp, he could see anxious faces looking up at him. Leo’s half standing, eyes roving over Raph’s form as if he expected the Guru to have attacked him. Raph tries to smile reassuringly, it is only half forced. His eyes are dry though so that is a relief.

“It was good advice.” Raph says simply and takes his place by the fire. Leo relaxes once he settles beside the Mikey and Arpil.

“Me next!” Mikey chirps, leaping up. He gives Raph a quick side hug, the others a jaunty wave before he passes through.

_________________________________________________________________________
𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘆

Guru Pathik is a good guy though Mikey can understand why everyone’s on edge since–since Azula. Raph is just trying to keep them safe like he’s always done.

He waves at the Guru and once the old man notices him, Mikey happily bounds up to him, hands flapping excitedly.

“Ohmigosh so, how do you do this? Are you going to read my future? Hands? Do you use cards?”

There had been a fortune teller / therapist in the circus. People lined up at her tent to have their fortunes told depending on what cards she drew. She taught him and Ty Lee a little bit, and her tent was always open to having tea with either of them. It was from her that they learned all about chakras and auras. He misses Tang Sheng a little, she is one of the ones he regrets being unable to say goodbye to the most.

Guru Pathik chuckles softly and waves away Mikey's hands that he’s outstretched towards the Guru.

“No no, I do not need cards. I only need to touch you lightly, on your forehead, your chest and your stomach.”

Mikey automatically stands still, or tries to. He’s pretty sure he’s vibrating in place just a little. When he’s this excited it’s impossible for him to stay completely still. Luckily, Guru Pathik doesn’t seem to mind.

“Such youthful exuberance and joy.” Guru Pathik smiles when he pulls away from Mikey.

“People confuse your innocence with naivete. But you are not naive. It is not naivete that has you believing in the good in people and striving towards it. You believe in good, honestly and purely so.”

Mikey beams, he’s always been told he’s a little bit too trusting of other people. But that’s not fair, he trusted Raph when all the other kids were afraid of him. He trusted Leo and Donnie when the twins were at first keeping to themselves. April had already won Donnie’s favor so that was kind of a no brainer. These are the best decisions he’s ever made, all the good and love that followed after came because he decided to trust them.

“You were raised lovingly, and are cherished, but anything in excess becomes a poison.”

“I know they’re only doing it because they care.” Mikey admits sadly.

He can guess where the Guru is getting at. His brothers practically scream it at anyone within 500 mile radius, within a minute of meeting them. No one messes with him. Raph in particular is the most overprotective. But Donnie and Leo do a good job of giving him space, both of them playing buffer at times or being the direct object of Raph’s attention. April too, though she’s only been with them for a few weeks.

Raph is still the worst offender, but it doesn’t feel as smothering now that there are other objects of affection for Raph to focus on.

“Raph’s scared of losing me.” They are all scared of losing him to some extent but Raph’s fear by far runs the deepest. He plucks restlessly at his sleeve, looks up when Guru Pathik lays a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

“You are not a burden child. They need you, like a little sun. You bring a joy and exuberance that is hard to come by in these times. They want to protect that which you also use to protect them as well. You are growing up splendidly, and you make them proud.”

Mikey knows that his brothers would tell him, even without asking, that they support him. They’d do anything he’d ask if he really, really asked and pulled out the puppy eyes. But being their source of joy is quite different from being their source of pride. He didn’t know how much he needed to hear this.

He lets the Guru ruffle his hair, giggles and leans into the touch. It was the right choice to trust this man. The hand stills and rests in his hair, surprisingly Mikey feels himself coming to rest too. It’s almost funny, he can’t be still when he wants to be, but the moment he stops trying, everything comes to a halt.

“There is more to you than what others have poured into. It is also up to you how to use and define your own heritage to yourself, for yourself.”

Mikey bites his lip and ducks his head. It’s not something he’s really talked about to his brothers, or April. Not that he doesn’t think they won’t help him but–𝘩𝘰𝘸? Raph knows the most, but Raph mostly grew up under Baron Draxum and–Mikey is not going to compare hurts. It’s a loser’s game everyone loses.

Mikey knows he may not be the last air bender but the other guy is 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳. He doesn’t even have the whole picture just bits and pieces his relatives tried to shove him into. They wouldn’t tell him why it was so important other than it was his history too.

And maybe it is his history. Maybe it is in his blood. It is the thing they are both proud of and yet also, hypocritically would kill him over. They can keep Airbender culture but they can’t be Airbenders. l

Too bad for them, he 𝘪𝘴 an Airbender. The real deal. How he is going to define that will depend on him.

Mikey hugs the Guru then, breathing deep when gentle hands rest on his shoulders. This is kinda the first time he ever heard someone tell him, it was up to him what he wanted to do with his heritage. That it wasn’t just something he had to carry.

It’s the first time someone let him decide on it.

“Oh little one, it’s going to be alright.” Guru Pathik soothes gently.

The old man is bony under his hands, in a wiry lithe sort of way. A little unhealthy in a way that makes Mikey worry if he’s been eating enough but–it’s not a brittle sort of skinny. There’s a toughness here that makes Mikey think that the Guru is more capable than he’s letting on.

But he’s choosing to be nice to him and his siblings, that’s more than enough to make Mikey know he’s in the right for thinking him to be a good guy.

Mikey gives him one last squeeze for good measure before letting go.

When he gets back to camp he understands why Raph acted the way he did if Guru Pathik gave him advice that was anything like what he got. So he bounds right up to his biggest brother and snuggles against him. Raph does give out the best hugs, but he also reaches out to squeeze Leo’s hand and beams at April and Donnie. He scratches Mayhem behind the ears before settling down comfortably surrounded on all sides by his siblings.

“It is good advice.”

Chapter Text

𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹

The next one is decided by rock paper shears with April winning over Leo. Donnie didn’t seem all too enthused about the impromptu and in his words ‘unwanted and unneeded advice’ so he is definitely going last. April doesn’t blame him. Donnie is so proud of his intelligence but so used to being patronized or taken for granted. She knows his brothers don’t treat him that way, but he automatically bristles when he thinks someone is talking down at him. She blames his parents.

After her win, she cheers, sets Mayhem down to his displeasure before going down the same corridor. She’s not expecting anything life changing. She did just get here after all.

Guru Pathik is an alright guy. He indulged and entertained Mikey’s questions when they were foraging for fruits together. When Mayhem snuggled up to her, he said that the little creature had chosen her, and would prove to be a loyal companion.

So she smiles when she greets him and gives him a bow which he returns. Raph and Mikey probably underwent the same thing, so she stands still when the Guru reads her chakras. She doesn’t feel any different under his touch, no pain, tingling, stomach cramps. His fingertips are so light she barely feels them at all.

“You have an indomitable spirit, and there is so much love in your heart. But the future your face now is something uncertain, you are torn between past obligations and new opportunities, old friends and new ones.”

Yeah, that sounds about right. April shuffles her feet, kicks a few stray rocks. Mikey had said he would go in deep without warning.

“It’s my mission.” She repeats more to herself. “To get Appa to Aang.”

She can’t disappoint Suki. Or else–what did she leave them behind for? This is her mission, her most important mission.

“This has become more than just a mission to you.” Guru Pathik points out but not unkindly. She does not disagree.

While at first it had been just Donnie, she’s been getting to know the boys well. There was a well worn dynamic between the four of them, she had been a bit startled to find how seamlessly she fit into it. As if there had always been a space that was just waiting for her. The days she spent with them just prove it’s all worth the risk. They are good people. They are quickly becoming 𝘩𝘦𝘳 people.

Raph takes on so much on his shoulders, appointing himself as the responsible one, the one who needs to keep them all safe, who’s fault it is when someone gets hurt. The biggest brother–but the one with the biggest heart. He keeps his brother’s in line and on track, that’s no easy feat at all.

She sees Leo, smart and charismatic, moving his brothers before they even realize they know they have been moved but all for their safety, their wellbeing. A little bit for a laugh, but never meant meanly. There’s a bit of bravado to his performance. It’s only April knows what that’s like that she can see behind it.

Mikey is obviously the baby of the family. She can see him soaking up the love but also feeling a little chaffed under it. He isn’t just a kid, he’s a big kid. April can see that. She sees his struggle in asserting his independence and still being their little but not so little brother.

Donnie, oh Donnie, in some part he’s never changed from the nerdy, too smart, too bright kid she knew in her childhood. Always the one with the crazy scheme, pretending it doesn’t hurt when people tell him he’s wrong. Dismissing him just because he’s a kid. But it does. It always has.

How she fits in becomes, bearing part of Raph’s load, letting that chasm smooth out from between his brow. Sidling alongside Leo, becoming a partner in crime to his antics, being the one to see behind the curtain. She bolsters Mikey, letting him do his own thing. A buffer between him and his brothers. She’s also, always been something of a partner in crime to Donnie. And she’s always been the one who pulls him back before he goes too far, tell him gently, when he’s wrong without hurting his feelings.

It wasn’t just the Kiyoshi warriors that taught her this, how to cooperate with people and be what they need. No this went way deeper down to her own flesh and blood from her mama and papa. O’Neils take care of their people.

“People think the road they walk on is a straight line, from A to B.” The Guru sighs as if he has come across this problem many times before.

“It is rarely so. It twists and turns, sometimes it loops back, almost definitely it intertwines with others. I can see that the road you are walking with the people you love, and are beginning to love will intertwine for a long time.”

“That–that’s good.” April tries not to show how much of a relief that is. She thinks Guru Pathik sees right through her but gives her the courtesy of not saying it.

Honestly she’s been avoiding thinking about what comes after. The mission comes first, when Appa is reunited with Aang then she can think about her next moves. Decide whether she should go back to the Kiyoshi warriors or stay with Donnie and his brothers. But she’s been having fun with them, a lot of fun. How could she not like anyone that’s been taking care of him so well?

Before them, before the Kiyoshi warriors, before Donnie, she’s always been the odd kid out. Her only friends in Gaoling were Donnie and his little cousin, likewise she was their only other friend too. She thought it was a miracle to find people that accepted her in the Kiyoshi warriors, and to find herself so easily welcomed with the boys? What are the odds of having found family, not just once but twice?

“You think you are straddling two worlds but truthfully there is only one world and we are all living in it. Love is not divided but multiplied. Trust in yourself April O’Neil, trust in your heart and in your friends between them, and yourself, all will fall into balance.”

April blinks.

It’s not a divide, not yet. But she recognizes it could have been if she allowed herself to over think and worry too much about it. She’ll deal with what comes after when it comes, and she won’t be dealing with it alone. April smiles to herself and elbows the Guru lightly.

“You really know your stuff huh.” It’s not easy to impress her, but this is something she needed to hear.

“I’ve had more than a few decades to master it.” The Guru explains wryly. He bows to her again and again, she bows back.

____________________________________________________________________________
𝗟𝗲𝗼

Leo’s not sure what he’s expecting to hear from the Guru. But if it's anything like how the adults back in the North Pole tried to give him advice–They’ll find the avatar on their own. Raph will back him up on that.

But Raph, Mikey and April all gave their own versions of glowing reviews. ‘Good Advice’ they all agreed with small smiles amongst themselves, like they all shared a secret. So now he 𝘩𝘢𝘴 to go and find out what the Guru will say about him.

He knows from them that all the Guru does is touch their head, chest and stomach lightly before giving eerily specifically tailored ‘comforting’ advice or so they said. He still gives the Guru a bit of a side eye, though to be fair to the man he takes the eyeballing like a champ, standing there smiling, unthreatening in the ‘I’m just an old grandpa’ kind of way.

“Soooo chakras right? April said you had like a hundred years to master this. That must mean you’ve been practicing chakra-ligiously.”

Guru Pathik laughs, spirits to honest laughs at Leo’s terrible pun. Like he actually finds it funny.

“I suppose I am. You could say I’m quite a chakracter.” He winks.

It’s 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 lame hearing it back to at himself. The fact that Guru Pathik is playing along, he can’t help but giggle too. Alright, maybe he isn’t so bad and maybe this won’t be so bad either. If he can make jokes like that he can make jokes out of anything. So he’s at ease when the Guru traces his chakras or whatever. He’s at ease until the Guru starts talking again. While there’s still mirth, it’s serious. This isn’t–it’s not something Leo would let anyone take lightly.

“The smile you put on laughs at the world before it can laugh at you. You fear rejection, as you have fought and are still fighting for your right to exist.”

The smile does not slip of Leo’s face but–he can’t find anything to laugh about with that. Not when he can still hear the echos of his tribe, 𝘦𝘹-𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 in his ears. Insisting, scolding, their righteous anger being poured down this throat.

𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦–
𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰–
𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘪𝘵–

𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁. 𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁.𝙃𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚–

“They believe you and believe 𝘪𝘯 you.” Guru Pathik says softly, but insistently, cutting cleanly through the memory of voices in Leo’s head.

“Their love is not conditional. They are already yours. You are theirs. They do not love the show, but you. It has always been you.”

Leo stiffens but allows the old weathered hand to rest lightly on his shoulder. Allows it to ground him back to the present.

“You do not need to fear your own potential, you have a firmer grasp on what you can and can’t do than you realize. They would not shame you for your failure, tease? Yes. They are your siblings. But trust them where it matters, and trust yourself.”

When it was just him and Donnie on the run–Leo knew he’d have to step up, Donnie was sheltered but in the locked against his will kind. When Raph took them under his wing, it wasn’t as if he took over. He was still as close and as responsible for Donnie as ever but–having extra hands helped. Having extra hands helped alot. Suddenly he didn’t have to worry so much anymore about where they would sleep and what their next meals would be–maybe it was Big Mama that provided all that but Raph made it 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦.

Leo would fist fight bite anyone who says that just because Raph’s big and strong must mean he’s stupid. Raph isn’t stupid. Lots of times he’s the only one that holds all of them together. But there are some things that Raph does, and decides he does not necessarily agree with.

Raph’s biggest priority is keeping all of them safe. Sometimes that causes his biggest brother to miss out on things, things that Leo notices.

Leo knows he’s smart. He’s got the rad skillz and the natural talent. He knows his brothers like the back of his hands and knows what buttons to press just to get them moving 𝘫𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘴𝘵 right where wants them.

Leo also knows that if he challenges Raph on things, the big softie would listen to him. Argue yeah but it’s not like–he wouldn’t try to shut Leo up, or shout him down like the Watertribe did. He’d 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯. He’d try to understand. Even in Raph’s anger, he’s never made Leo ever feel–unsafe, unwanted, unloved.

But he doesn’t want to risk it.

“Love is not something that has to be earned, not with how deeply they love you.”

He is not crying at this. He knows this. He does. It shouldn’t be different hearing it from a total stranger. But Leo does manage a watery smile.

When he comes back to camp, eyes dry, back straight and head up as always. He can almost believe that he’s perfectly recovered from that emotional endenture, perfectly fine. Donnie still gives him a worried look.

Both Mikey and Raph give him a knowing smile.

“He’s quite a chakracter.” He tests out, and the groans around the campfire are music to his ears.
________________________________________________________________________
𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲

Donnie goes last. He’s not a big fan of people telling him what to do. But if everyone is going for advice then–might as well see what the Guru has to say. He can always just not listen to the guy rather than be left out.

He scowls at Guru Pathik when the man approaches him. Doesn’t hide his open displeasure at the Guru’s oncoming touch. He doesn’t want the Guru touching him, he doesn’t know where those hands have been.

A growl escapes him low and hissing, when the Guru approaches. He just barely tolerates the gentle brush of Guru Pathik’s fingertips on his body. It’s quick and surprisingly respectful.

“Your intelligence has been both envied and praised. Yours is a mind astounding in its brilliance and it has also been used against you.”

Donnie purses his lips, he does not often think of his birth-giver. His father’s face and name is unknown to him, something he has deemed a non-issue. By the way his birth-giver described it he’s not even sure his sperm donor knows he exists.

“Love has been strangled in your heart by those that have broken your trust. It has survived but not without scars.”

Donnie rolls the fragment of his charm between his fingers, in his pocket. A self-soothing tick he’s learned to keep small enough to hide. He doesn’t need to hide things like this though when he’s with his brothers. At the very most, they may step back to avoid his flailing arms and flapping hands when he gets really excited.

But they are happy that he’s happy. They have never shamed him for it. That’s already more than his birth-giver ever afforded him.

“You have survived, you have adapted. And you are more than what you can accomplish. More than the worlds of knowledge you hold in your mind. They need you for yourself. Caring for you is not a burden.”

He doesn’t like this. Doesn’t like how it feels like Guru Pathik just reached into the deepest darkest parts of himself and gutted him out. Taken apart piece by piece, gear by gear, and seeing behind the shiny exterior where it’s all just held together by string and tar.

This is just–some good people reading, some generalized statement like what the fortune teller back at the carnival used to get people to open their wallets.

“You are not their burden, but their family. They are better with you, and their lives are better for having you in it.” Guru Pathik says softly cutting into Donnie’s monologue.

Normally this would annoy him, but the praise is sincere. While he is too old to be a parental aged adult (more like grandparent) he is still an adult. But he doesn’t want to give in so easily.

“Of course their lives are better for having me in it. Scoff.” Donnie did not need a ‘wise old man’ to tell him that.

He either made his brothers their weapons or improved upon them. Leo’s water capsule swords, Mikey’s chains were his designs. Raph already had his Tonfa but it was Donnie who experimented on the kind of varnish that was both fire proof but would tolerate being set on fire. April’s already agreed to let him modify her fans and her club, once they get the proper resources for it.

He was useful. He was needed. He was–

“You love them, just as deeply. Though sometimes the strongest feelings are the hardest to convey, they know you love them. With or without demonstration.”

Donnie frowns at this, finding it deeply suspect. But if he doesn’t show it how would they know? He’s not good with words, or physical action. How can he convey it in a way they understand?

“They love you, for you.” Guru Pathik continues gently but insistent. “ As you are, all of you.”

He knows this. It is a certainty of his like the laws of physics. It is a foundational concept like the atomic theory. But there are moments, days when doubt creeps in, when he hears a voice that sounds like his birth giver that says this isn’t going to last, that they will get fed up one day. He doesn’t deserve this, their care or their love and one day they will realize that.

As much as he hates to admit it there is a quality in Guru Pathik’s voice, in his insistence, that makes him think, so long as he can remember this moment it will be easier to chase the voices away.

“That's all?” Donnie asks purposefully, keeping his tone cool, disinterested. The emotionally unavailable bad boy image he so carefully, meticulously tries to curate. Though it never really seems to work on his brothers, and April. It doesn’t seem to work on Guru Pathik either.

“That is all.” Guru Pathik confirms, kindly.

“They are waiting for you. They would always wait for you.”

_____________________________________________________________________

They’re all still awake when they are complete once more around the campfire. A quiet settles over the camp, not uncomfortable just contemplative. It doesn’t feel wrong per say to share what the Guru told them, but personal. A little too personal for now.

April is the one who breaks the silent first. She’s leaning against Donnie, her face pressed into Mayhem’s fur. The little cat-like creature is purring so loud Raph can hear it sitting beside her.

“Good advice huh.”

They all make small murmurs of agreement. Raph puts another few sticks of firewood in, gently stroking up the flame. He runs his hand through his hair, inadvertently undoing the tie that keeps the top knot in. An idea pops into his head. He ruminates on it for a while, considering what it means.

“Leo, can you cut my hair?”

Leo across him visibly startles, and looks at him with wide eyes, a furrow to his brow. He’s not the only one. Mikey from where he’s been leaning beside him, like a heat leach, draws back enough to look Raph in the eyes.

“Raph?” Mikey’s voice is small.

“I think I want it cut.” He’s sure of it. Thinking about it more, besides also what he’ll look like with short hair, he knows he wants it cut.

“I’m–I don’t think I’m good with that.” Leo protests.

Leo, for all the care he takes in his appearance, usually braids his hair back. Cutting it is a different matter. When they were in the circus it was Ty Lee that handled their monthly haircuts. She was even able to trim Donnie’s a few times, when she promised she would do so as fast as possible without saying anything.

“I can cut your hair.” April offers easily, her cheek still pressed to Mayhem. “The girls and I do each other’s hair all the time.”

Raph thinks about it for a second. The only one that really, really knows April is Donnie, Yet she didn’t hesitate to drop everything, leave everything behind and get in the saddle with them. She didn’t mind that Raph was a Fire Bender and she trusts him. That counted a lot.

April doesn’t know or Raph thinks she doesn’t know what it means to cut his hair. But she’s kept Mikey out of trouble. She looks completely at home with them, sprawled between himself and Donnie.

“Thanks April. I’d appreciate it.”

“Raph—?” It’s Donnie that asks this, drawing out the syllable of his name into a waver.

“It’s my decision Donnie. Ya guys are making this bigger than it really is.” Raph scoffs.

They’re not, but despite his attempts to downplay it, it’s big enough that April has now caught on to all the starring and asking beyond what’s normal for changing one’s style.

“I feel like I’m missing something here.” April says apprehensively.

“Fire Nation are pretty big on their hair.” Donnie explains, saving Raph from having to. “It’s a sign of their ‘honor’. Raph cutting his hair short means that he doesn’t see himself as Fire Nation any more.”

He looks to Raph for confirmation, Raph nods at the explanation shrugging with purposeful nonchalance.

“Sounds right.”

“Oh–” Her brow furrows.

If anything the explanation seems to have made April more apprehensive. That’s comforting in it’s own way. His brothers never minded that he and Mikey were Fire Nation. seeing it from April feels like she’s less concerned that it’s Fire Nation and more that Raph is still cutting himself off from where he was born.

“It’s alright April. I asked for it.” Raph reassures her. “Trust me, I want it.”

She quirks a crooked smile at him, studying him quietly. He doesn’t know what she sees but she must like it because then she nods firmly.

“How short do you want it big guy?”

“As short as possible.”

Donnie bends his armor into a pair of scissors for April. They get one of their extra blankets and drape it around his shoulders. She starts cutting, and cutting. He doesn’t want her to shave him, but it's still jarringly short. The hair falls around his shoulders, every sheared off lock makes him feel a little lighter.

It is not just his nation that he is cutting himself away from, but his past, Draxum, Big Mama. There are things he is always going to carry from his past but– they are not going to stand in the way of his future, or the future of his family.

“I’m done!”

Leo freezes ice into a reflective sheet, acting as a makeshift mirror for Raph. It’s shocking to see himself with such short hair. There’s a part of him that recoils at it. But it suits him, Agni, he looks 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 with short hair.

The others begin to compliment him. He lets Leo run his hand through newly shorn hair, which almost immediately turns into him batting the waterbender away for trying to mess up April’s carefully arranged hairstyle.

“I want a haircut too.” Mikey pipes up.

That startles not just Raph, but all of them turn to look at their youngest.

“Mikey–” Raph begins.

“Why not?” Mikey scowls. Despite his bending he grew up just as much Fire Nation as Raph is. So he is just as much aware of the consequences.

“This is my decision Mikey. You don’t have to.” Raph says gently.

Mikey scowls despite Guru Pathik’s earlier advice and comfort, this still irritates Mikey quite a bit.

“I don’t have to, what Raph? I can’t make my own decisions too?” He fires back hotly.

“Mikey–”

Mikey cuts him off.

“It isn’t 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. You know that Raph, it’s not been home since forever ago. Since we ran away. My home is where you guys are at.”

It’s not a decision Mikey can quite pinpoint or cares to try to pinpoint. It just happened. His blood relatives passed him around but Raph never let go of his hand. The stars aligned. Leo and Donnie came into his life. April is here right now. He has everything he needs at this campfire. He can frame his entire family between two hands.

“I like braiding your hair.” Raph says in a small voice.

That takes the fight out of him. Especially when Leo gives him the big ol’ eyes too. After they left the circus between Raph and Leo there’s always someone to do his hair.

When they were in the circus it was Ty Lee–but that’s not gonna happen now.

“How about we cut it short but leave the back portion of it long enough it can still be braided.” April suggests, easily slipping into the role of peacekeeper. Mikey considers the compromise.

“I like that.”

April doesn’t cut Mikey’s hair as short as Raph’s. From the braided hairstyle similar to what Ty Lee sports, it becomes shorter, choppier and fluffier framing Mikey’s face.

Raph thinks it suits him, makes him look cuter, all that fluff around baby cheeks. He resists the urge to squish his face between his hands. Mikey wouldn’t appreciate that. All his little brothers, when they are not making him tear out his hair ( now there is less hair to tear out ) give him a little cute aggression.

“What do we do with all the hair?” April asks. Mayhem’s been playing with it, piling it up into a little mound, batting at it with it’s paw.

“Burn it I guess.” Raph suggests. They can’t leave it making a mess here. It’s disrespectful. Raph starts sweeping it up into a neat pile when Leo suddenly makes grabby hands at Donnie.

“Donnie give me the scissors for a bit.”

Leo looks at it for a little bit, before feeling around his hair and chooses one of his neatly braided locks. Without hesitation, he lifts the scissors close to the scalp and snips it off. When he hands the scissors back to Donnie his twin without hesitation shears off a hank as well.

“What are you guys doing?” Raph asks shocked and staring.

“We all got reasons why we left our homes–” Leo begins before catching himself and giving a guilty glance towards April.

“Sorry April I know you like the Kiyoshi warriors”

“Oh I love them.” April says waving Leo’s apology easily. “But Suki said yeah, this is my most important mission. So I’m all in. Besides, you guys need me.”

She takes the scissors from Donnie and doesn’t hesitate to cut a lock of her own curly burgundy hair either. She hands it to Leo who holds it with his own and Donnie’s.

“I don’t think any of us can go back to our respective nations. Not until this whole situation is over.” Leo says.

Even after this whole situation is over, even if the war resolves in their favor i.e. The Fire Nation loses. The four nations are at peace. Leo does not think he will go back to the Northern Watertribe. It stopped being home a long time ago. Donnie would chew his own leg off before going back to the Beifongs. Mikey was very adamant on being wherever they are. April will probably go back to the Kiyoshi warriors but maybe she’ll stay a while, maybe she’ll visit–wherever they end up. Leo doesn’t know where they will end up, but he knows he doesn’t want to let them go.

Raph’s eyes are warm, a little liquid as he looks at him, looks at all of them with their new haircuts.

“So, we’re in this together.” Leo adds and pretends his own eyes aren’t a little moist too.

They put their locks of hair together then feed into the fire, watching it burn. It feels like a statement more than words can express, a promise.
Raph is the one that breaks the silence first. It’s not a night that should end on a somber note. Not after everything. He thinks they all probably still need to process the Guru’s advice but that will come in its own time.

“We should have a group name.” He suggests.

“We deserve one after all that we’ve been through. Something like Mad Dogz!”

“Mad Dogz, you sure?” Leo asks. Not in the way of picking a fight, but bickering between them is an old habit of letting loose some steam, a little tension.

“I like it.” April refutes. “Sounds catchy. And Mayhem can be our mascot!” She lifts the little creature up as if to further her argument. To its credit Mayhem does look really cute snuggling its face against April’s, its still cute even when it playfully nips at Donnie’s fingers when he approaches it.

“Are we even sure that thing is a dog?” Donnie asks skeptically.

“It’s cute though.” Mikey adds. “And Apri is right, the name is catchy.”

It really was just something that Raph thought of off the top of his head. But as the group launches into light hearted banter coming up with alternative group names some silly some serious. It carries them all through the night, till the fire runs low and they all start nodding off one by one into sleep.
____________________________________________________________________________
𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦:

The fire has burnt down into embers. The lively chatter has long since softened into sleepy breaths and the occasional snore. Even the lightest sleeper of them will not hear him as he walks through their camp. He is not here for the children, he has already given them their pieces of advice best to his ability.

There is but one left to speak to.

Appa snuffles and snores in his sleep and does not notice Guru Pathik’s feather light touch upon him.

“They are not your original family, but they are close enough.” He murmurs to sleeping ears. The message will come across even if the language is not understood.

“Having protected your heart from fear and hurt, you’ve become quite fond of them haven’t you? I’ve found that all animals have an innate sense of good and bad, they have been good to you, and you to them.”

The bison’s legs kick in the air, the way all animals do when they have a good dream. Guru Pathik smiles, he cannot see into the Bison’s head. It's different for animals. He gets impressions more than anything from them. More emotion than concept.

“You have a large heart, one that matches your body.” He chuckles. “You are quite the forgiving and compassionate creature. I hope you do not lose this.”

He comes around to Appa’s head, starts stroking the soft and fluffy fur of the Bison’s arrow.

“They will bring you home.” He promises. “To the one who misses you the most.”