[Open]

[meanandgreen]

Characters: Raphael and YOU
Date: Catch-all for End of July and August
Location: Water, Wood, and Metal Sectors
Situation: Just a Turtle doin' his thing
Warnings/Rating: None

Things were getting better, much as Raphael would hate to admit it. Ever since they'd split his family up, ever since Don discovered his new power, things have felt off-kilter. Unbalanced. And that reflected on his own stability.

He started going to the fight ring in the Fire Sector again. Spent weeks stumbling home late at night with cuts and bruises he wouldn't talk about. Disappeared for days. Went quieter than usual, his thoughts turned inward, closely guarded. It's his own way of coping.

Lately, more than ever, he could feel things changing, feel the bones of his family shifting. The growing pains are hard to avoid.

But move on with their own cadence, building a new familiarity around him. Leo comes almost every evening, and they meditate. Talk. He and Mike spend quiet nights over home cooked meals and idle conversation about the kids he teaches at the dojo, the people they've met, and it helps. Makes the chaos in his head go quiet for a little while. The days get longer and hotter, and the heat soothes the aches.

As much as he'd hate to admit it, he hasn't felt this good in a long, long time, and it shows. After a long disappearance, he shows up at the dojo again, hoping he still has a job. Hoping he could pick a fight with Korra like they used to. He starts collecting books about building motorcycles with plenty of diagrams. Even starts gathering a handful of parts. But without Don, he doubts he'll get very far.

But things were getting better. Falling into a new rhythm that hurts a little less each day.

He has to tell himself to enjoy it while it lasts, because he knows all too well how fast these things can change.

Comments

[i_speak_softly]

Why does Don not believe you, Raph?

He rubs the ridge between his eyes, deciding to go along with it for now. "What are the dimensions of the track?"

[meanandgreen]

Raph looks at his brother like that's the dumbest thing he's ever said.

"Like I know that."

You really think he'd be that prepared?

[i_speak_softly]

Don glances at the window. "Where is the track? I'll go pace it off when the weather breaks."

In the meantime, he doesn't know whether 1300ccs would rocket them to victory or launch them straight into a wall. It's also occurring to him that he's pretty impaired in the secret-keeping department right now. The effort of keeping his thoughts to himself while Raph is around is already wearing on him.

Quietly, he opens a channel to his Tel Vishan, to ease the build-up of mental energy.

Hector.

Yes! That is me!

Listen, Raphael is visiting, and -

What?! My brother is with you and I am not?!

No, my brother is with me.

Oh! That is all right. It is good for siblings to be together!

Yes, it is. Can you help me not leak at him?

Yes! I love to help!

"And tell me about our competition," Don says aloud, because he knows Raph was paying attention to the other bikes.

[meanandgreen]

"It's on the outskirts by the Earth Sector. They got it set up so you're ridin' on the bare shell."

And as far as the bikes go? That's where his skill of observation was dialed to eleven.

"Most of the bikes are just your standard models the kedan use to get around the city, but they strip 'em down to the bare bones to make them lighter, and a lot of them got custom engines and exhausts. Think the biggest engine I've seen was 500ccs. They top out around 100 miles an hour."

Raph shrugs. The movement makes the blueprints crinkle in his hands. "Kinda whimpy if you ask me. You and me could build something twice that, easy. Really give them somethin' to talk about."

Just thinking about it makes his hands itch for the real work. He wants to build, and he wants to ride. But they don't even have the frame yet. It's gonna take time, and he's not so sure he's got that kind of patience.

[i_speak_softly]

"Only 500? It hardly seems like a fair fight."

In other words, they could build something with a saner amount of power, and still win easily. Wouldn't that be an honorable thing to do, Raph?

[meanandgreen]

"I ain't lookin' for a fair fight, Donnie. I just want it to be fast."

Really fast. He wants to win, sure. But he also wants to own the bike of his dreams. This is his chance, so he's not gonna back down.

[i_speak_softly]

Okay, so it's not about the race. Don beckons for the blueprints, to take another look at where they might be able to reduce weight.

[meanandgreen]

Raph rolls them up and hands them to his brother, sliding the desk chair over so he can peer over Donnie's shoulder.

He's being lazy because the long, hot walk to the Metal Sector was kind of rough, and he probably should've listened to Don about equalizing. He's starting to feel a little drained from the quick temperature change, but not enough to cause any alarm.

"So what're you thinkin'?"

[i_speak_softly]

What do you think, Hector? Should we build Raph the engine of his dreams?

Yes!

You're no help. Tell me what you've learned about weight ratios and aerodynamics.

Um...

A long mental silence.

Oh! If you removed this system, the bike would be much lighter and faster.

Yes, Hector. Those are the brakes.

"If we build the engine to be as efficient as possible, you could carry less gas and save some fluid weight. I'm assuming you want to jettison any cargo capacity. How would you feel about stripping down the suspension and ditching the stabilizers?"

[meanandgreen]

Raph shrugs. "It ain't like I'm gonna be off-roading it. And I've rode with shot stabilizers before. It ain't that much different. But I don't wanna be havin' to fuel up every five seconds, either."

[i_speak_softly]

Don traces a finger over the design thoughtfully. "You know, if we used an alternative energy source, we could trade all this liquid-fuel infrastructure for a small battery and some wires." His gaze wanders to the console, and then parks there, everything else in the room apparently forgotten.

[meanandgreen]

Donnie, that is literally the worst idea he's ever heard.

"Battery power? There's no way I'm ridin' no battery-powered bike. It'd sound like a freakin' leaf blower!"

[i_speak_softly]

Sorry, Donatello is not available at the moment. Minutes tick by as he's lost in some other mental world.

[meanandgreen]

Oh, Raph knows that look. But he's not gonna just let Don start thinking up some super fast leaf blower on wheels. So after about thirty seconds of silence, he just punches his brother in the shoulder.

"Don!"

[i_speak_softly]

--

Do not leak, Don-Dad!

With an effort of will, Don turns his thoughts all the way around, keeping them safely inside his own head. Only then does he look up, fixing his brother with an intense stare.

"A techno-organic motorcycle."

[meanandgreen]

Raph only folds his arms, frowning irritably while still managing to look at his brother like he's just grown a second head. He hates when Don gets like this.

"We're puttin' an engine in it."

[i_speak_softly]

"More or less." He reaches for a clean sheet of paper, fails to find one, and draws his idea in the air instead. "A quasi-sentient biodigester. It will turn any handy organic material into concentrated fuel, then intelligently cycle the engine at optimal RPMs for the task at hand."

[meanandgreen]

"No, Don. We're puttin' a good, fast, normal engine in it," he says stubbornly. "You make it some crazy machine and I'm not gonna know how to fix it if I have to, never less maintain it."

[i_speak_softly]

Comment ignored.

"I'll have to start the cell cultures right away." Don looks delighted with himself, then makes a face. "I still have those spore cultures around somewhere, don't I."

[meanandgreen]

"Don!" Raph yells, gesturing like he wants to crush his brother's head with his bare hands. "You're not puttin' that freakin' mold in my bike!"

[i_speak_softly]

Don waves off both the complaint and the threatening gesture. "Oh, you'll like it. And it's not mold."

Off he goes to dig up a totally different set of equipment.

[meanandgreen]

Oh, Don's getting up? Because Raph's on his feet, now, and he's not backing down.

"Are you even listening!?" He yells even louder, following Don around the room. "It's my bike, so we're gonna make it my way! Got it!?"

[i_speak_softly]

Don turns back to Raph with a completely mild expression. "Sorry, I was unclear. I'm building a techno-organic motorcycle for myself. You're welcome to use these parts for anything you want; I won't be needing them."

[meanandgreen]

That... pretty much disarms him, stopping dead in his tracks, his eyes narrowing into a confused glare.

"What?" He snaps. What the shell is going on? Is Don totally giving up on their project for some wacked-out bike made out of mold? Seriously!? He can't build this thing without his help. There's no way!

[i_speak_softly]

"Mm," Don says, as though that answers the question. "Thanks for the idea."

Picking his way through the mess on the floor, he opens the closet to search for his biology-related tools. He hadn't expected to be needing those today.