Twenty-third Theory [Action/Voice/Accidental Video]

[i_speak_softly]

((Backdated to this morning, of course.))

[An earthquake in Luceti? Don doesn't know how likely that is, except that apparently it's possible.]

[Somewhere in the back of his brain, he knows that you're supposed to stand in a doorway when an earthquake hits. But as the first tremors rumble through C6, knocking Don's journal off a shelf so that it falls open on the floor, all he can think is protect Raph.]

[He throws himself over his still-bedridden brother, holding him to the mattress and trusting the springs to cushion both of them from the worst of the shaking.]

[As soon as things are quiet, he'll dash to the other room and grab his bo, in case this earthquake was caused not by movement of fault lines but by big-jawed robots chomping their way through the building.]

[Noticing the open journal, he'll shout into it.] Did anyone else feel that?

Comments

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[Raph sees that defensive pose and adds two and two together.]

I ain't practicin' today. Lemme alone.

[Hey, no one said he was a math wiz.]

[i_speak_softly]

It's okay, Raph. Just stay still.

[Listening carefully. No chomping noises.]

I think we had an earthquake.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[...Does not compute.]

Huh?

[i_speak_softly]

An earthquake, Raph. [He'll lower his bo and look at you worriedly.] Did you notice everything falling over just now?

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. It was all...[He makes an odd gesture with his hand.] shakin' around.

[i_speak_softly]

[... At least he's not completely out of it.]

I think we're okay now. Did anything fall on you?

[Without waiting for an answer, he'll holster his bo and start rearranging the blankets.]

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[He thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head.] No.

[i_speak_softly]

Good. [He'll tuck the blanket back in, and check the bandages. The shaking doesn't seem to have reopened the wound.] How's the pain?

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

Hurts. [But that's all he's got to say about it. He's too busy struggling to keep his eyes open to give any real answer. It obviously can't be bothering him too much.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Sounds like a four, on a scale of one to ten.]

Stay awake, Raph. Derek is on his way.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[His eyes slide open again.]

What's he comin' for?

[i_speak_softly]

We need to move you, Raph. We're going to the other house. [A slight hesitation.] Do you remember? We agreed to move in with him.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[That seems to wake him up a little bit more.] What? No. 'M not goin' anywhere.

[i_speak_softly]

[Sorry, Raph, but you can't revoke a decision you made while coherent now that you're loopy on drugs.] We'll talk about it later, Raph. For now, we can't stay here anyway.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[Oh, please no. He so doesn't feel up to this.] We're talkin' now. I said no.

[i_speak_softly]

[Something about this is important enough for Raph to pull himself out of his drug haze.] What's the problem, Raph? We know Derek. He's all right.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

I ain't feelin' good. [This isn't rocket science, Don. As screwed up as his brain is right now, even he can tell that much.] And don't even think about carryin' me.

[i_speak_softly]

[Some people might make an executive decision at this point. Don will continue trying to reason with his not-entirely-clear-headed brother.]

Raph, do you understand the building is unstable? We can't stay here. I can give you something to knock you out...

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[He closes his eyes and tries to turn his shell toward Don. He can't win. There's no use arguing.] Lemme alone.

[i_speak_softly]

[He never enjoys giving interventions when they're not wanted, but sometimes he has to insist.] I'm sorry, Raph. We're going.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[No response. It seems the only weapon he has is the silent treatment.]