Thirty-Eighth Theory [Action]

[i_speak_softly]

[Before Don goes out this morning, he leaves a note on the kitchen table.]

GONE TO THE SMITHY.
BACK TONIGHT.[Two days ago he was angry with his brothers for being overprotective, but today everything is different. He genuinely wants them to know where he is, because they've all just been reminded how suddenly a person can vanish

Comments

[markofthewise]

[Sokka won't arrive until much later in the day, as he only just now heard about the draft after spending some... special time up in the Hot Springs with Suki. He's really only dropping by to stock up on his extra arsenal of bombs, knifes, and other sharp objects. He has no clue anyone else is using the place.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Loud noises coming from the forge, interspersed with off-key musical notes, might suggest to Sokka that someone is here. Or if not, Don's ninja senses will eventually penetrate his focus and alert him that he's not alone, at which point he'll come out to see who it is.]

[markofthewise]

[So it does. He decides to head back there, expecting to find Winry or Edward. The back of a shell makes him thing Raphael has finally decided to come back, but then he notes the purple bandanna....]

Donatello?

[i_speak_softly]

[He jumps, but manages not to drop the red-hot metal in the tongs in his hands, instead getting it safely into the tub of cold water before turning around.]

Sokka. I was hoping you'd be here.

[Voice|Filtered 100%]

[semper_cogitans]

["In a few days, if you still feel anything, or... or still want to be friends... Call me on the journals." Robert had been obsessing over that for the past two days. Combined with the shock of a recent draft and the pain of knowing Helios was kidnapped, having unspeakably atrocious things done to him by the Malnosso most likely, Robert had hardly been able to do anything other than cry. And drink. For the first time since he'd gone to Luceti.

He was a bit of a mess today. But two days... that counted as "a few", right? Was it too soon? Was he just making an even bigger fool of himself? Robert didn't know... But he knew he needed to speak to Donatello. Because even a heavy alcohol binge while he was holed up in his room crying hadn't erased the feelings. Even hating himself for having them hadn't erased them. Even trying to suppress them as usual by methodically cleaning, cooking, writing, anything other than dwelling on it - it hadn't worked

[Voice|Filtered 100%] 1/3

[i_speak_softly]

[It takes Don a few minutes to realize someone is calling him, and when he does, he assumes it's Raph or Leo, furious and waiting to order him home. He sighs and turns away from the deafening blast of the forge.]

[But when he picks up the journal, it isn't Raph or Leo's face in the window. It's Robert, looking anywhere but at the camera and mumbling into his lapels.]

[Don can't make out a word he's saying.]

Robert...? Hold on...

[Voice|Filtered 100%] 2/3

[i_speak_softly]

[He turns back to the forge, taking his time to bank up the fire and make sure it's safe to leave alone for a while. He needs these minutes to think. He wasn't expecting Robert to call so soon (he wasn't expecting him to call at all), and he isn't sure yet what he wants to say.]

[Voice|Filtered 100%] 3/3

[i_speak_softly]

[When the fire is safely banked in the back of the furnace, Don turns away from the noisy machinery, scoops up his journal, and heads into the slightly-quieter other room. One more moment, and he looks down at the book.]

Yes?

[Action]

[meanandgreen]

[When Don comes home that night, he's greeted with a blast of heavy metal music loud enough to make his eardrums pound. The bass makes the whole house rattle on its foundation.

Bang!

Or maybe that's just Raphael throwing the furniture around again. The impact of whatever he's just thrown makes the floor shake.

And Raph's screaming. It's impossible to make out what he's saying over the noise, but the anguish in his voice is palpable. It's a stark contrast from Leo's stern but far gentler tones struggling to cut through all the chaos on the other side of the bedroom door.]

[Action]

[i_speak_softly]

[This is rather alarming. Don deposits his clanking bundle in the living room and goes directly to Leo's side.]

What's going on? Raph...?

[Action]

[honorthecode]

[Leo's rapping on the door pretty good at this point. Not banging yet. He glances at Don]

I don't know. I suddenly started hearing the noise. I've been trying to get his attention.

[Action]

[i_speak_softly]

[He leans up to the door, listening, then looks at Leo with a worried expression.] Has he been in there all day?