Nineteenth Theory [Action]

[i_speak_softly]

[Donatello regains consciousness somewhere southwest of the village. He knows he's southwest of the village because when he sits up he can see the community buildings with the mountains behind them.

His journal is lying, closed, in the grass beside him; he scoops it up and tucks it into his belt. Then he stands and calmly walks back to C6.

When he arrives, he goes into the apartment - Hm, quiet - heads to his workroom, and starts salvaging the broken remains of his projects.]

((Feel free to run into him at any point. If you do, you might notice that he looks pretty good for someone who's just come back from a friendly visit with the Malnosso. Look closely, though, and you can see he has needle marks on his arms, as well as what appear to be faint burn marks.))

Comments

[i_speak_softly]

So they say.

[Gestures down the path.] I was walking home.

[all7seas]

Oh! Been out and about in pursuit of your turtle-y enterprises? Buildin' more playgrounds what are sadly lacking in the bouncing and funning departments, respectively?

[i_speak_softly]

[Completely matter-of-fact:] No, I was with the Malnosso.

[all7seas]

[At the hated name, the pirate abruptly hits the kill switch on his new toy. Wiping grease-stained fingers on his trousers, he gives Donatello a searching look. One hand is ready to draw a dagger from his belt. Is the turtle then a Malnosso spy? What is the nature of this "withness," anyway?]

You were with those...them?

[i_speak_softly]

[Don sees that dagger, and feels fairly confident that he could break Jack's wrist before the Captain was able to inflict any damage.]

Yes. They required my assistance.

[all7seas]

[Yes. And what a shame that would be, considering Jack's misunderstanding of the situation. He shifts so that his fingers rest on the hilt.]

That's a bloody shame, lad. Didn't figure you to be the kind to sell out innocent folk like the Village People.

[i_speak_softly]

[Also failing to understand.]

[Don shifts in such a way as to make it obvious that he is carrying a bo staff and could draw it in a fraction of a second.] It was a simple experiment. I have been invaluable to their research.

[all7seas]

[Jack does notice and removes his hand from the dagger. He begins to take a different tone.]

And what might this research be, then? A way out?

[i_speak_softly]

I'm not sure. I was only the subject, not the investigator.

[all7seas]

[Oh. Jack stares at the turtle, only seeing the scar still visible across a certain girl's body. Experiments. He takes a tentative step toward Donatello.]

And, these Malnosso--did they gut you, too? Then put everything back in and sew you up, like?

[i_speak_softly]

No, of course not. They aren't barbarians.

[all7seas]

Well what DID they do? [He's looking Don over curiously, but can't quite see the marks from this angle/range.]

[i_speak_softly]

A simple associational study.

[all7seas]

[At this point, it's fairly clear that Jack is willing to stay and hear the whole tale, which so far he doesn't understand at ALL because in his mind, the Malnosso are barbarians. He seats himself on a sawn-off stump, pulls out the dagger, flips it once, and then jams the blade into the ground in front of him.]

What's that, then.

[i_speak_softly]

An associational study? A standard experimental procedure for elucidating psychological correlations.

[all7seas]

I'm guessin' you didn't correlate. Because you're actin' like...

[The turtle's behavior certainly is strange. He's not making any attempt to dress Jack down for whatever perceived injuries the pirate has done him in the past, for one. In fact, he's acting...civil. And...wordy. -er.

[i_speak_softly]

... I don't think I understand how you're using that word.

[all7seas]

Mate, I can tell your "psychological" isn't on the right heading, so to speak, from the mere fact you're not yelling things at me in a defensive and/or angry fashion.

In other words, or in question-form I suppose---are you mad?

[i_speak_softly]

No, I'm not. [Pause.] Is there something unusual about that?

[all7seas]

[A patient, explaining tone.]

Yes. Because I believe you hate me, savvy? These Malnosso, they've sucked away your savage essence and replaced it with...with........

Porridge.

[i_speak_softly]

You're mistaken, Captain. I don't hate you, and I certainly don't have a 'savage essence'.

[all7seas]

Porridge? Yes. They've given you porridge-y mental innards. Look there--

[He points at the faint marks on Don's arm]

[i_speak_softly]

Yes, I know. They're injection marks. [And not for porridge. Don doesn't have too much confidence in Jack's knowledge of modern medicine, but he's not in a mood to explain.]

[all7seas]

So how's it make you feel? Were it as awful as they say?

[He doesn't care WHAT Donatello says--the turtle is acting strange and he'd almost be happy for a beatdown from the grumpy turtle he'd harassed before. Anything other than this strange...placidity.]

[i_speak_softly]

I feel fine. It's just a few needles.