Welcome to my new story...or really part two of my continuing story. If you haven't read 'Scarlett' yet I suggest you go back now and check it out to see if you like both my OC and my writing style. Plus none of the following will make much sense unless you do :)

So chapter one is nice and slow, no real action to speak of. I just wanted to take a bit of time to ease into the next segment of the story. Things will pick up pretty quickly in following chapters so stick with me!

Warning: This chapter includes a scene from 'The Good, The Bad, The Casey Jones' so hopefully you've all seen that episode of the 2012 show.

I own nothing! Except Scarlett of course ;)

"It's gonna take how long?" I gaped at Donny in disbelief. He looked up at me from under his brow ridge briefly before carefully manoeuvring the scalpel he had pinched between his middle finger and thumb, delicately slicing the next small thread and pulling it free of my skin with the tweezers clutched in his other hand. Swivelling in his chair he dropped the used thread into the metal bowl sitting on his desk then turned back to repeat the process with the next stitch. "But it's been weeks already," I whined at the top of his head "you said I'd be healed up by today."

"I said no such thing." Donatello replied with the beginnings of irritation. "I told you the stitches could come out today, the wounds themselves are going to take much longer to heal. Fish Face's teeth went deep into the muscle of your thigh and there was significant damage done. You have to be patient Scarlett."

He rolled his chair back from the table and I looked down morosely at my leg. Now that the stitches were out it looked a lot better but the skin was still red and puckered around three, penny-sized wounds where Xever's top teeth had gone in. The back of my thigh was even worse, I knew that from checking it out in the mirror after a make shift shower yesterday. On that side there was a massive puncture wound from one of the mutants three inch fangs. Luckily he'd only managed to bite me with the left side of his jaw but still, my collection of scars was certainly a lot more impressive these days. Added to that was the band of patchy yellow and green bruising across my chest. My poor skateboard had given its life to protect me from a bunch of broken ribs but I'd still been left with a band of angry black and purple bruises.

I sighed and looked up at Donny who simply twirled a finger at me. Grumbling I slowly climbed down from my perch, careful to keep all my weight on my good leg, then turned around to rest my palms on the metal surface of the table. "This blows Donny," I complained over my shoulder, ignoring the little sting as he removed the first suture from the back of my thigh "blows!"

There was a huff of air against the small of my back "No," his voice sharpened as he entered lecture mode "what would blow is if Xever had severed your femoral artery and you'd bled to death on that rooftop. It would blow if you were now deceased or brain damaged from the amount of poison that got pumped into you. It would blow if you'd lost your leg altogether. It does not blow that you have to wait another month or two to let your leg heal before you go running around on it again." He wheeled his chair back and sighed heavily, I turned to face him feeling caught somewhere between sheepishness and frustration. He applied stratamed to the freshly closed-over wounds then tore the packaging off some gauze, motioning for me to hold it in place while he wrapped a bandage over it and around my thigh. "You can't even walk the length of the lair yet without holding onto someone Scarlett." I met Donny's eyes and opened my mouth to argue but, when he flicked his gaze pointedly over my shoulder, I swallowed my denial and settled for pouting instead.

Mikey made a little bing bong noise with his throat as he walked up behind me. "Paging Scarlett, your ride to the lounge is waiting at gate one."

I frowned "Awesome timing Mikey." I grumbled as I cast him a sour look. Changing tracks I opened my eyes wide and pinned Donny with what I hoped was a shimmering gaze. "Isn't there anything I could do to hurry this up?"

Donny shook his head tiredly "Keeping up your meditation with Master Splinter is important, the mind has an integral part in the healing process. I guess in a few days you can begin going for short walks, short walks, to build the muscle back up. Make sure you keep the site clean, apply ointment to it daily then maybe in another two weeks we can see how its going." He stood up from his chair and as he rose to his full height I craned my neck back to meet his narrowed gaze, not needing to fake the sadness in my own expression at all. He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Ok, ok fine. If you are very very careful you can begin some upper body training but only if one of us right there next to you the whole time." A grin began breaking out over my face and he held up a large green finger as he added warningly "But I swear Scarlett, if you ignore my instructions or overdo it in any way..." he trailed off threateningly.

"I won't I promise." I clapped my hands under my chin once then impulsively threw my arms around the tall turtles neck. I really meant it too, if I pissed off Donny then he would block me from doing anything more physical than lifting a tv remote in a heartbeat.

I squeezed Donny a little harder in gratitude. He grunted in surprise before patting me on the back with a chuckle. "Wow, you really are going stir crazy aren't you?"

"Uh yeah," I let him go and grimaced "I don't know how much more Super Mega Robo Force Five I can take."

"Hey!" Mikey said with mock hurt as he snaked an arm across my shoulders. "Do you even know how lucky you are missy? I would kill to be put on rest orders for a month or two." His voice slipped into a dreamy tone as he helped me across the lab. "Nothing but eating and sleeping and playing video games or watching tv. A big handsome turtle to bring you snacks whenever you want..."

"You guys have another brother?" I asked in surprise.

"Ha ha, you're hilarious. I guess you don't wanna eat tonight then?"

The tv blared loudly as the crowd screamed and roared, Leo and Raph let out twin grunts of annoyance then smirked briefly when their eyes met. Reaching over to pull the popcorn bowl onto his lap Raph belched loudly then slouched a bit more comfortably onto the lounge. "Ref's blind."

Both brothers looked over as there was movement from Donn's lab and watched Mikey lead a limping Scarlett towards the lounge pit. The youngest turtle's arm was slung across the girls shoulders and she smiled up at him as she held onto his dangling wrist for balance, mouth moving animatedly as she said something cheeky to Mikey and he threw his head back to laugh.

As they came closer Raph ran his eyes over her quickly, glad to see that her limp was a little better than yesterday, meant her wound was healing up nice and quick. The entire top of her right leg was wrapped in bandages, April's denim shorts she'd been forced to wear lately leaving her legs bare despite the cold creeping through the lair. To compensate she'd wrapped her top half in a thick grey sweater and the ridiculous black cat beanie Mikey had given her was permanently pulled down over her hair. On her feet she wore thick black socks that reached her knees.

As the pair came closer Raph pulled his gaze back to the tv and pretended to watch the game while visions from that night on the roof flashed through his head. They'd been searching for Scarlett, Mikey guiding them using Donny's phone as they tracked the signal from the cell he'd planted on the girl, when her frantic yell had snapped them into action. The pure horror and fear in her voice was clear despite the distance it had come from, sending fissures down Raph's spine. By the time they'd reached her she looked like she was already dead, flat on her back in a widening pool of blood while her eyes stared sightlessly up at the sky. A few feet away Xever had been snapping and fumbling towards her, spewing a string of curses even as he gasped and choked from the air seeping into his ruined tank. Immediately Mikey and Leo had descended on the mutant with twin cries of rage, there'd been a solid squishy thud as the youngest turtle landed a kick to the fish's side that had sent him skittering away from Scarlett. Raph had made to follow but only gotten a few steps when Donny's voice had called him back. "She's still alive." He'd torn himself away from the battle that was building momentum as Fish Face pulled himself together just enough to fight off the two brothers as he fled. Instead he rushed back to help Donny, holding Scarlett still as the brainy turtle used his belt to stem the bleeding from her thigh. When she'd finally stirred and blinked a few times he'd sat her up carefully, supporting her as she retched, then gently gathering her weight in his arms to take her home...

"Here you go." Mikey's cheery voice cut through Raph's thoughts and he looked up just in time to meet Scarlett's wide eyes before she was plonked squarely in the space between him and Leo. He snapped his head around to glare at his little brother but only saw shell as the younger turtle retreated to the kitchen with a quick 'be right back' thrown over his shoulder.

"Subtle." Scarlett muttered under her breath from his left. Raph let out a snort of agreement and shifted uncomfortably. Since her injury Scarlett had stopped avoiding him but things hadn't exactly been cozy between them either. He certainly hadn't gotten this close to her since he'd carried her back to the lair. Mikey was still on his case about apologising to her but, as the weeks went on, it got harder and harder to find the right moment, now it had been a whole month since he'd yelled at her. He had a sinking feeling his little brother had settled on a new tactic to get them talking. Forced proximity.

Careful to keep his head facing forward Raph slid his eyes to the left to study her covertly. She looked as awkward as he felt, face pulled into a small frown as she gazed off in the direction Mikey had gone then looked between Leo and himself with small turns of her head. When Leo caught her eye he shot her a reassuring smile and although she didn't return it Scarlett finally relaxed a little, sinking back against the pillows to watch the tv, fingers twisting together on her lap. Glancing down at his own lap Raph noticed the popcorn bowl still balanced there and hesitated before offering it to her. She looked at it then him, one corner of her mouth lifting just a little as she dug her hand in. The tension in the air slowly dissipated as she munched on the kernels and began watching the game with them.

A few minutes passed in relative silence. After she finished her fistful of popcorn Scarlett brushed her hands off then pulled out one of her drum sticks to begin twirling it between her fingers. Every now and then Leo or Raph would get distracted by the movement and watch the way the slim length of wood became a blur in her hand but otherwise didn't comment, used to having a fidgety younger sibling. Over the tv they could hear Mikey banging around in the kitchen for a while before he reappeared with a few cans of drink and another bag of chips. When he saw Scarlett was still sitting between his brothers he grinned smugly as he tossed the snacks to them then plopped into the beanbag. Even as he rolled his eyes Raph had to give the guy credit for persistence, Mikey wanted his brothers to be comfortable enough to just hang out with his friend and they all knew by now that the youngest turtle usually got things his own way sooner or later.

"Hey guys."

Half time was just finishing up twenty minutes later when a friendly voice called out from the lair entrance. All four of them turned towards the turnstiles to see April smiling as she tripped lightly down the stairs. Scarlett paused, drumstick frozen pinched between the webbing of her fingers and suddenly tension was radiating from every muscle in her body. Her feral eyes narrowed on the red head and Raph glanced at her in curiosity. He had no idea why the kid was so hostile towards April but she was practically bristling as their oldest human friend came towards them.

"Hey April." Leo waved and motioned to the couch beside him. "We're watching the game, want to join us?"

"No, that's ok." She came to a stop at the edge of the lounge pit, adjusting the backpack on her shoulder as she said "Donny was going to help me with one of my science homework questions before training." Her smile faltered as she looked at Scarlett, the younger girl was pointedly ignoring her, drumstick once again flipping around between her fingers in an agitated blur. "Hi Scarlett."

For a moment it looked as if Scarlett wasn't going to answer but then she blew a short breath out of her nostrils and said "Hey" in a voice that was almost civil.

The turtle's heads swivelled back to April in unison, captivated by the stilted exchange. "How's the leg?" the older girl asked tentatively.

"Awesome." Scarlett's tone was borderline sarcastic, she bared her teeth in a parody of a smile and, to prove the point, rose to her feet. "In fact I might even go for that walk Donny suggested." She shoved the drumstick into the waist of her shorts then clenched her fists as she started to walk away, taking small measured steps that were obviously painful.

"Scarlett." Mikey groaned reprovingly as the younger girl limped past him. He held a hand out in a half hearted effort to stop her but she just shot him a heavy look that clearly said 'back off' and at the same time quickly tickled his palm with the tips of her fingers to soften the blow of her glare.

With one last narrowing of her eyes over her shoulder at April she huffed "I'll be back later" then disappeared into the kitchen.

"Ugh"

Donny started as a female voice sounded from the doorway of his lab, head whipping up and hands automatically dragging the cover sheet back over his work desk to hide his latest project. When he saw who the owner of the disgruntled tone was he sank back into his chair with a relieved sigh. "April, you startled me. I thought you were Scarlett for a second."

Eyes narrowed April let out a disgruntled "Ugh" again and rolled her eyes. "So not my favourite person these days." When Donny simply shot her an understanding smile curiosity got the better of her and she crossed to where he was working, dodging bits of random engine parts and electronics as she made her way into the section of the large lab that was predominantly used as a kind of garage. This was where Donatello built and maintained everything mechanical, from the Shellraiser to the interlocking go-karts, the robot Metal Head to his collection of T phones and all the other various gadgets and gizmos he worked on ceaselessly. "What are you making?" April asked when she arrived beside his elbow, looking over the bits and pieces laid out across the desk.

"It's a new skateboard for Scarlett." Donny explained as he reached down under the desk and pulled out a plain black deck to show her. He motioned to the collection of parts on his desk, "Her last one got destroyed in the fight with Xever so I found a replacement. I was going to give it to her a while ago but then I had a great idea for some modifications and well, she's not going to be able to skate for a while anyway, so I figured I could spend a bit more time working on it. When it's finished it's going to be a rocket powered skateboard." He frowned as he picked up a metal cylinder and studied it thoughtfully "My biggest challenge is adjusting the power of the mini rockets so they aren't too strong, I really have to calibrate it to her weight and centre of gravity..." he trailed off then, after a moments had ticked past, looked up at April, blinking at her as if only just realising she was there. Taking in the huffy look on her face he shrugged and grinned apologetically "Sorry, Christmas is coming up soon so I want to get it finished as a present. I thought I'd make one for Mikey too then they can go skate the sewer pipes together." He motioned over his shoulder at a much larger board that was leaning up against the upper edge of his massive junk pile. "I've gotten a bit side tracked from everything else but you've got my full attention now!" Donny reassured her as he stood and once again drew the drop cloth over the table before turning to her with an expectant expression. "Still need help with your homework?"

April looked from him to the sheet covered desk then back to him again, tapping an index finger thoughtfully against her upper arm as she did so. "You guys really like her don't you?" She asked finally.

"Who, Scarlett?" Donny raised his brow ridge. "Yeah, of course. She's a really great kid." When April gave him a flat look he cleared his throat as realisation struck. "Look, I know she hasn't warmed to you. She can be real prickly, her and Raph took a while to even be in the same room together, but once you get to know her..."

"That's just it Donny!" April interrupted, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation "I'm really trying to get to know her, seeing as apparently she's an important part of your guys lives now, but she barely says two words to me before she leaves the room. And she's so hostile! I can't understand how I've managed to do anything to upset her when I've barely even been in the same room as her!" Crossing her arms over her chest she cocked a hip and glared at Donny in frustration.

"Oh boy," Donny sighed "I'm really sorry April. I can talk to her about improving her attitude..."

"Talk to me," April insisted firmly "tell me what her story is so I understand. You guys have been really cagey about her. All I know is she turned up a month ago and now she's living with you while she learns to meditate with Master Splinter. That's it, nothing else. Who the heck is she? Where did she come from? What does she need help with?" Softening her voice April looked up at Donny pleadingly. "She's making it difficult for me to feel comfortable here Donny, you've got to give me something to work with."

Donny gazed down into her eyes, torn with indecision. "It's complicated." He shook his head, "I don't know, it's not my story to tell but..." He paused then took a deep breath as he came to a decision. "If I tell you, do you promise you'll keep an open mind and go gently on her?" He waited until April nodded then motioned for her to take a seat on one of the stools across from his desk. "Well, first of all, we've known Scarlett for a lot longer than a month..."

The bark of the tree was smooth under my cheek, I shifted a little and sighed as I stretched out comfortably on the branch. My arms were resting above my head and my legs were hanging down either side, knees bent so my ankles could cross back up over the top of the limb and stop my feet dangling into the view of anyone below. Around me the small leaves rustled as my weight moved, a few dislodged and began fluttering their way to the dojo floor below me, I watched them descend lazily with my eyes half closed.

Getting up here hadn't been easy thanks to my leg, I'd had to rely mostly on my upper body strength to pull myself into the branches. My right leg's job had been mainly to keep me angled so that my left thigh didn't get bumped too hard. As much as I hated to admit it, Donny was right when he said I wasn't fully healed yet, even now the muscle was aching from deep inside and radiating outward to the surface of my skin. If I ever saw Fish Face again I was going to kick his ass so hard.

I heaved another sigh. To say that the weeks since the crappy day from hell, which had culminated in being severely injured by Xever, had dragged would be a gross understatement. For the first day or so I'd just slept a lot on the metal table, hooked up to a drip while the last effects of the poison wore off. When Donny announced I was well enough to leave the lab Mikey had immediately appointed himself the role of my mode of transportation, supporting me as I hobbled from one place to another then keeping me entertained with comics, video games, movies, music and...talking, just talking. I'd told him all about my reunion with Hayden and how I'd almost been kidnapped by Xever. He was a great listener. I wasn't used to getting so much attention and, rather than feeling smothered, I was really enjoying having the orange banded turtle to hang with. Between him and Donny for the first time ever I was feeling like there were people around who really cared about me. It was addictive, but I was still going stir crazy as I was unable to work off much of my pent up energy. An itchy restlessness had settled just under the surface of my skin, growing stronger every day. It was even making my daily meditation sessions difficult and, even though he didn't show it on his face or in his voice, I was sure Master Splinter was on the verge of throttling me with his own goatee.

I thought about the interaction I'd just had with April and grimaced. I knew I needed to be nicer to her and I really did resolve to try harder, but every time I saw her she just set my teeth on edge. Maybe I was just jealous and I needed to get over myself, maybe I just needed have it out with her once and for all. I'm sure by now she had a few choice words for me anyway. At the end of the day the fact was she was a good friend of the very mutants that had opened their home to me, which meant I needed to get along with her.

With that as my last thought I finally succumbed to the tiredness weighing my muscles down and let my eyes drift close, maybe I would try to be nicer next time April spoke to me...

"Wow." April tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked away from Donny and gazed around the lab. Her eyes fell on the metal medical table and she shook her head in disbelief when she thought about everything that had happened in this very room during her absence. "A lot happened while I was away didn't it?"

Donny just nodded as he watched her, giving her time to absorb the whole story. Eventually she turned back to him. "You guys were worried I wouldn't react well to her being the sister of a Purple Dragon?"

"Among other things, yeah. It's something Scarlett is worried about anyone knowing," Donny hedged "she loves her brother but she hates what he does, but even despite that her definitions of right and wrong are a little looser than ours..."

"She steals stuff?" April asked flatly then, when Donny looked at her in surprise, she shrugged. "Casey mentioned he'd seen her robbing a store or something. I'm guessing now that there's more to that story though?"

"She'd lost all her gear when the Kraang mutated her. That night Casey saw her Timothy had just destroyed her last set of clothes with his acid hands." He motioned to the blue tank of frozen organs on the far wall. "She had an opportunity to get a new wardrobe so she took it." Donny rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "I guess what I'm saying is life is complicated, for all of us sure but for her even more so. She's a good person April and she's trying to do the right thing to adjust to her mutation, but there's only so much she can handle without acting out, finding a way to vent, and for her it's usually by being...difficult."

"So in other words, she's a total Raph." April stated wryly then grinned when Donny gave a surprised laugh.

"I hadn't looked at it that way before, but it's a fair comparison." The purple banded turtle admitted.

"So what do I do?" April asked despondently. "How do I smooth things over?"

Donny shrugged with a wry twist of his mouth. "I'll talk to her and try to get her set straight. Maybe when she's healed up you guys can do some training together, like a bonding exercise or something."

April nodded slowly then picked up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder as she started towards the door. "I guess, it would be really cool to have another girl on the team to even up the gender balance a little. Unless of course she uses it as an excuse to decapitate me with her leopard claws."

Donny gave a nervous laugh "Huh, yeah...maybe we'll leave sparring a little longer after all." He smiled brightly as April shot him an incredulous look and cleared his throat. "So anyway, speaking of sparring." He motioned towards the lab door again then followed April as she headed towards the dojo, shaking his head as he went.

"Ahhh! Right in my face, really?"

I came awake slowly, sucking in air through my nose in a long slow breath that filled my lungs and gradually forced my jaw open, ending on a huge silent yawn. Every muscle in my body tingled, I squirmed and squinched my eyes shut even tighter but fought the urge to actually stretch, instinctively knowing I needed to keep still even though my sleep fogged mind couldn't pinpoint why just yet.

"Garlic and clam pizza!"

Mikey's crow came from directly below me. I relaxed my face and blinked my eyes open then waited as the world came into focus. A green, leafy world dappled with thin yellow light. I had fallen asleep on the tree branch I realised, a second later a scent wafted past my nose and I barely suppressed a gag. Garlic and clam, gross.

"Hajime!"

I gave an involuntary twitch as Splinter's voice barked out an order to begin, then cringed as the leaves around me rustled. I needed to move much more carefully if I wanted to remain hidden up here. Something told me that life would go a bit easier for me if I didn't give myself away right now. I'd never exactly been forbidden from climbing the tree, but I did know that I wasn't supposed to be in the dojo by myself due to all the weapons and the fact that it was outside Master Splinters bedroom. It hadn't been my intension to stay in the training room so long, I'd just wanted a spot to get away from everyone for a while, but if the turtles were having their afternoon lesson it meant I'd been asleep for ages.

My worries about the movement of the foliage around me became redundant as a heavy blow shook the entire tree. I reflexively clutched at my branch, stifling a gasp as the injured muscles in my thigh spasmed with pain. Man, this whole 'climbing the tree' thing hadn't been such a great idea. My chest ached from where I'd lain along the broad limb, most of my weight had rested along my breast bone and stomach and it had aggravated where I'd been kicked by Xever's giant mechanical foot. I lifted my head and peeked down through the branches below me in time to see Donatello pick himself up from the base of the tree. He reached a green arm up to dig a few leaves out of the gap between his neck and shell and gave an irritated huff. Apparently he was the one who'd slammed into it, I marvelled at how he appeared completely unhurt. It must be awesome to carry around so much armour everywhere you went. The turtles must feel practically invincible I thought enviously.

"Sorry Donny, it's a ninja eat ninja world!"

I twisted my neck as Raph's voice called out sarcastically and spotted him further out in the dojo smirking as he twirled his sai. Donny just shook shook his head then made his way to the side of the mats. Lifting my head a little to see over some smaller branches I watched him kneel down next to April, an impassive look on his face as he settled in to watch. The guys must be doing an elimination sparring exercise.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Mikey's rich laughter brought my attention back to the matt, I could see him to my left pointing at his brainy brother with a gleeful grin on his freckled face. Immediately Raph headed in his direction and Mikey squeaked, ducking as the red banded turtle took a swing. Raph growled when he missed then tried to follow Mikey as the orange banded turtle retreated on nimble feet. Instead he was brought up short as Leo stepped in his way and slashed at him with both katanas.

"What are you doin Leo? I was goin for Mikey!" Raph blocked the swords with his sai and glared at Leonardo through the tangle of steel.

"What part of last turtle standing don't you understand?" Leo knocked into Raph with a powerful forward thrust. As the red banded turtle staggered backwards Mikey once again tried to dodge out of the way but this time wasn't quick enough. Instead he was tripped by Leo as the eldest darted around and got behind him.

"Gah...ah man!" Mikey landed on his shell with a thud and glared upwards unhappily with his arms crossed over his chest. He was now directly below me so I peeped out from the side of the branch I was lying on and gave him a tiny wave. His mouth dropped open from it's pout as he caught the movement, blue eyes met mine among the branches and I smiled from behind the finger I held to my lips. He grinned back, shaking his head slightly then rising to sit on his knees as Master Splinter strode past him.

"Distraction. Misdirection. Powerful weapons in a ninja's arsenal." Master Splinter stroked his beard with one long fingered paw and I had to stifle a giggle when Mikey perfectly mimicked his father, stroking his own imaginary goatee with a haughty air.

The tall rat paused and shot a look at his son that visibly wilted him on the spot. "Heh." Mikey smiled sheepishly then scrambled out of the way of the two remaining turtles, hurrying to the side of the mat where he joined Donny and April as a spectator. I waited to see if he was going to give me away but Mikey just smiled to himself as he watched the end of the sparring session.

"Looks like you've levelled up to the boss fight." My attention was once again drawn back to the mat where Raph was taunting Leo as he flipped his sai's in his green hands.

"I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face. Permanently." Leo replied confidently.

The brothers came forward simultaneously to trade blows. Within seconds Raph had knocked one katana from Leo's grip and the blue handled weapon clanged dully on the carpet. It barely slowed the older turtle down, instead of retrieving his weapon he lunged forward and delivered his own blow which sent one of Raph's sai's spinning towards the tree. I felt the small vibration as it sunk into the wood and watched as Raph ran underneath my hiding place to retrieve it. From up high I could see everything as he plucked his sai from it's resting place then circled around behind the tree. I could tell the red banded turtle was trying to come up behind his brother and take him by surprise but didn't realise that the blue banded turtle had predicted his movement. In one fluid motion Leo change direction then jumped to use the tree as a launching pad. The branch I was lying on shook yet again as Leo pushed off the trunk and delivered a flying knee to Raph's face before landing back in a ready position only a few feet away. His brother, caught by surprise, went down hard and I winced as Raph crashed belly first into the mat with an audible grunt.

There were a few beats of silence. "Well, Leo won it this time." Donny commentated blandly from the sidelines. Leo gathered up his lost blade then re-sheathed his katanas and went to kneel before Master Splinter. My eyes widened as behind him Raph pushed himself up from the mat, face heavy with anger.

"Uh oh," I heard Mikey say as his brother started to get up "he's awoken the beast!" With a roar Raph came up behind Leo, aiming a vicious blow to the back of the blue leaders head. Leo barely turned to block it in time, there was a loud clang as their weapons clashed. The first strike was deflected but the eldest turtle wasn't ready for the follow up attack as Raph kneed him hard in the plastron then punched him across the face. Leo crumpled to the floor in a heap and Raph stepped back, fists clenched and teeth bared.

"Holy crap." I whispered to myself as I gaped and stared, that had been brutal. I'd witnessed guys fight dirty like that all the time while I was following Hayden around but seeing Raph do it was just...wrong.

Mikey and Donny rushed to Leo's side "Raph! What are you doing?" Donny whirled on his brother angrily and immediately I could see Raphael's shoulders drop as the fight leeched out of him.

"I..I didn't mean to hurt him. In was an accident. Seriously." Raph looked pleadingly up at Master Splinter. With the height difference between the turtle and his father, plus the angle I was watching them from, Raph suddenly looked much, much younger. I realised with a small start that, while Raph came across as big and scary, he really wasn't that much older than me.

From the floor Leo groaned. His brothers helped him sit up and he put a hand to his head gingerly "Did you get the number of that bus?"

Master Splinter drew himself up to his full height and looked sternly down his long nose at his hot headed son. I could feel myself cringing back from that gaze even as I saw Raph do the same thing. "We have spoken about this time and again Raphael. Anger is a dangerous ally, it clouds your judgement. You need to control it lest it controls you."

Raph held his hands out as he tried to explain "But sensei I wasn't angry. I was just...determined to win."

"Mmmmhmmm." Splinter hummed disapprovingly, from my perch I could see the other three turtles staring at Raph with matching incredulous expressions. I knew mine face was doing the same, seriously? He couldn't recognise such a strong emotion in himself?

In the face of so much open doubt Raph immediately puffed up and yelled "What? I said I wasn't angry!" his eyes went white and he seethed as his brothers flinched away from his aggressive tone. He growled in frustration and threw his sais to the floor before stalking out of the dojo.

In the silence that followed his departure I shifted nervously on my perch. Awkward.

"Training is over for today my sons." Master Splinter's voice now held a note of resignation. "You may spend your time as you wish for the rest of the evening. Leonardo I suggest you rest and recover before tonights patrol in a few hours time."

"Hai Sensei." Leo rose to his feet unsteadily and all three turtles bowed.

"And as for you Scarlett." At the sound of my name I jumped guiltily then squeezed my eyes shut as I clung a bit harder to my branch. Had he known I was here the whole time? "Please climb down from there."

Yep, totally busted.

I hesitated for a long moment as I tried to work out how I was going to get down. Below me I could see Donny, Leo and April craning their necks, scanning the leaves and branches with confused looks on their faces. Master Splinter sighed and stepped forward until he was directly below me. "If you hang from the branch I can help you the rest of the way down." Our eyes met for a moment then I nodded, reluctantly sliding my lower half off the branch and dangling by my hands for a moment before Master Splinter reached up and gently gripped me around my waist. I let go of the tree and clung to his wrists to steady myself as he carefully set me on my feet in front of him. Even though he was tall he still had to reach up as far as he could to get a hold of me and it seemed like a long way to the ground.

I caught a flash of Leo's surprised expression then Donny's cranky one before I lowered my own gaze to the floor. I bit my lip and studied the mat in front of my toes before risking a glance up from under my brow. Master Splinter was staring at me with an odd look, one side of his whiskers twitched, was that him hiding a smile? "You may leave us." Master Splinter addressed the others without taking his gaze off me. Mikey smiled at me sympathetically as he trooped past me but Donny narrowed his eyes with a stern look, I was in for another lecture later I just knew it. So much for being allowed to start upper body training.

As they reached the door I heard Leo's loud whisper "How long was she up there for?" and Mikey's reply "The whole time dude" as they left. April hesitated for just a moment before following the others, meeting my eyes briefly with an unreadable expression before slipping away.

"Come here." I obediently moved to stand before Splinter as he stroked his beard thoughtfully with one paw. "You are aware that you are not permitted to enter the dojo alone?"

"Yes Sensei." I replied meekly.

"And you understand why this is so?"

"Yes Sensei." I said again then, when there was an expectant silence I added. "There are weapons in here I am not allowed to touch."

"Yes?" Splinter prompted.

I chewed on my lip again. "And I should not disturb you while you are meditating."

"Very true." He nodded again and I chewed my lip once more as he kept waiting.

"And...I guess maybe...I shouldn't climb the tree? Like it's sacred or something?" I guessed lamely.

Splinter raised both eyebrows at this then, to my surprise, gave a small laugh. "While it is true you should not have climbed the tree young one, it is because you are still recovering from a serious injury, not because this tree is sacred." He placed an affectionate paw on it's trunk. "This tree had seen many years before we came to make this place our home, it is strong." He looked back at me and tucked his hands back into his robe. "Unlike your leg at the moment."

I blushed a little and looked down again feeling stupid. Heaving a breath I forced the words out. "I'm sorry Sensei, I came to get away from...to get away for a while. I should have checked with you first if I could come in here and I shouldn't have climbed the tree."

A hand landed softly on my shoulder and I looked up again at Master Splinter as he said "When a body and mind are idle for too long a period of time we can often turn to mischief to keep ourselves entertained." He let his hand drop but kept his eyes on mine as he continued in a tone even more serious than normal. "I know you have been doing your best to heed Donatello's advice and I also know how hard it has been for you to do so. I think I may have an answer to the problem your leg presents if you are willing to step outside of your comfort zone once more." This time it was my turn to wait as I nodded slightly for the mutant rat to continue, holding my breath as I did so.

"I think it is time you tried shifting again."

What the heck? Another 7,000 word chapter? Hopefully these aren't too long for you guys!

So, what did you think? A good opening chapter? Like I said, not much action but lots of set up for stuff happening later on. Lots of much needed character connections too I think. On a side note a good chunk of this chapter was written over a year ago and I've only now reached the part of the story where I could use it. Good old one shots coming in handy :)

Hope you guys liked it and are glad to see Scarlett back again after a three week break. I'm still madly writing reports for my day job as a teacher so my time is limited but I'll do my best to not leave it too long between each update. I also don't have as much time for proof reading so let me know if you see any mistakes or plot holes.

Don't forget to review! xxoo