You're not the only one refusing to back down

[erhabenheit]

Characters: tic-tech-turtle and erhabenheit [CLOSED]
Location: Deck 4, Carnival
Date: Present, Wednesday night
Rating: PG13 for violence and swearing

Comments

[tic_tech_turtle]

Donatello wasn't looking for trouble, but he was looking for Bass.

He'd shadowed the man's footsteps since he'd run across him wandering - no, not wandering, there was definite purpose in his steps - the halls.

Bass was headed to Carnival.

Don couldn't, of course, know this for certain. He didn't make it a habit to wander in the direction of Carnival, and had only bothered with it to mark it on his mental map before leaving it be. Still. The path was vaguely familiar. And that worried Don.

It felt too much like confronting an enemy on their own territory, honestly, if he ended up having to follow Bass into that apaprent death trap. A hostile place for what Don was hoping would be only a simple talk.

So, Don had three choices. He could follow Bass and see if he veered away from Carnival, he could leave and hope that he ran into him at a later date (which, really, wasn't much of an option considering Don was just angry enough to want a confrontation), or he could make himself known now.

"Bass."

And now it was.

[erhabenheit]

Bass stiffened, but didn't turn. He automatically ran an analysis to the voice; Donatello.

Either Michelangelo was the shittiest ninja to live, or this guy was much, much better. Bass hadn't even heard him. Sometimes he hated not having that "sixth sense" thing humans babbled on about. It'd definitely help with the whole "not getting blindsided" thing.

Not that Donatello would be much of a threat... but he could tell his brothers. If all three of them ganged up on Bass, he wouldn't be able to resolve the situation without getting rough. He also didn't know how good they were, so he wasn't even sure he'd be able to take all three of them at once. Well...on one level he was sure, because of course he could, but experience pointed out that he'd been bested and overwhelmed before by lesser opponents and the weak hunt in packs. More could show up.

After only a second of contemplation, he slowly turned around and set an even stare on the turtle. "Donatello."

[tic_tech_turtle]

At the sound of his name, Don lifted his hands slightly from his side in a gesture of peace and stepped a bit away from the wall he'd been keeping close to.

He was careful to keep his body language neutral and as non-aggressive as he could, though his eyes were still hard and one arm remained instinctively tensed in preparation to draw the staff strapped at his back.

"You do know why I want to talk to you, don't you? Or would you prefer we deal with pleasantries first?"

[erhabenheit]

"I don't have time for you." Bass turned on his heel and continued on his path to Carnival.

[tic_tech_turtle]

Don followed. He could have kept his steps silent, but he didn't, allowing the soles of his feet to pad against the deck.

There are plenty of things he could say that he doesn't. He just follows with footsteps that make the ninja in him wince they're so loud, fueled by quiet stubborness.

[erhabenheit]

"Go away," Bass growled without slowing his pace or turning to look. Now that Donatello's making an effort to be heard, he can easily tell he's being followed. "I'm going into Carnival, you know. That thing that people die in? So get lost if you don't want to end up dead."

[tic_tech_turtle]

"I know," Don replies mildly, without slowing or hesitating. Suspicions confirmed. Great.

"I would prefer to talk to you before you're discovered. If I have to follow you to Carnival to do that, then so be it."

[erhabenheit]

"Oh yeah, why's that?" Bass turned to walk backward, computerized brain automatically keeping a memory of the hallway so sharp that it was almost as if he had eyes on the back of his head. "You gonna tell me how wrong I was? Make me feel bad? In case he didn't tell you, he broke his hand all by himself. I didn't lay a finger on him except to save him."

[tic_tech_turtle]

Don paused for a moment, picking his words carefully. "Actually, I wanted to hear what happened. From your side."

He kept his tone as calm as possible, even with the irritation that spiked in his blood. As matter-of-fact as he coudl manage. He was not going to compare this guy to one of his brothers, but to say the immediate defensiveness wasn't familiar would be a lie.

"It's unlikely, after all, that you'll be given the chance to talk if you're found by...certain members of the group currently looking for you."

[erhabenheit]

For just a second, Bass looked surprised. He almost stopped walking.

Then he laughed.

"You think that matters to me? God, people like you are a joke; yeah sure, talking is real helpful. You want to know why I fucked around with your brother?" Bass grinned. "Because I felt like it, that's why. And hey, I even did him a favor. Stupid kid's playing around like this place is a fucking vacation. At least now he knows there are some dangerous people on board. Being disillusioned's a bitch, isn't it? But hopefully next time he'll think twice before throwing around weight he doesn't have."

[tic_tech_turtle]

Don doesn't even realize he's fisting one hand until the knuckles start to hurt. It takes a couple of trys for him to force his fingers to loosen.

"I always think it better to at least have both sides of the story known before either side is judged." Don tilted his said just slightly off true, eyes narrowed in thought. "Why are you justifying yourself if you aknowledge that the only reason you did it was because you felt like it?"

[erhabenheit]

"Hey, you're the one that wanted answers." Bass turned in time to open the door to Carnival. At this point Bass didn't care whether or not Donatello followed him in; riling up these righteous types as almost as good as fighting, after all.

Maybe if he was still lucky, Don would get mauled by a bear for being a nosy asshat.

[tic_tech_turtle]

Donatello stopped for a moment at the entrance to Carnival. That feeling like he's walking into a trap springs up again, cold on his spine.

But he doubted Bass had anything of the sort planned. It was his own natural caution, he knew. He hoped. That he could deal with.

He needed to know.

"Yes," he said, "and you didn't answer my question, either. Why are you bothering to justify yourself?"

And he followed Bass in.

[erhabenheit]

"I'm not." Carnival was just as creepy, dead and riddled with horror as it was the last time he was there. He wasn't sure if the horse's scream was what called the bears toward him, but he also wasn't keen to leave the entrance so suddenly, so it was with caution he stepped off the platform.

[tic_tech_turtle]

Don's steps went silent again, and he flexed one hand in preperation for an attack. It was always interesting, to feel his senses sharpen and the tension build in his muscles, tension that did nothing to interfere with the fluidity of his movements. The way his breathing evened, deepened, and went quiet.

Carinval definitely wasn't a place he wanted to be.

"Hm," Don said, briefly distracted by his surroundings. "That's what it sounded like to me. Sorry."

"What happened, then?"

[erhabenheit]

"You'd better get out before the bears show up," Bass told him lowly, moving along the path. He was definitely somewhat more durable; even if their claws managed to get a few good swipes on him, eventually his auto repair would take care of it. If not, he could always repair himself well enough to suit his needs.

Donatello would probably get crunched.

...though Bass wasn't sure why he cared whether or not he did, or whether he really did care at all.