5: action

[after_march]

[Since arriving in Luceti, April has developed a sleepwalking problem. It wasn't too bad at first: she'd wake up halfway to the living room, sitting in a kitchen chair, or lying on the floor next to her bed. Unfortunately, as Halloween nears her problem is getting worse. She found herself in the forest two days earlier with no knowledge of how she

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[i_speak_softly]

[Late in the evening, after April has calmed down and been patched up, Don quietly leaves her room, goes to the other side of the house, and knocks on Raph's door. They need to talk.]

[meanandgreen]

[There's no answer. Not even the slightest sound of movement coming from the room, not even light coming in from under the door. By all accounts, there's a good chance Raph's not even in there.

From where he sits on the floor of the dark room, Raph hears the knock, but ignores it, burying his face in his arms again. The door's locked. Maybe he'll just give up and go away if he stays silent.]

[i_speak_softly]

[There's no answer, but the trail of destruction leads directly here. Don knocks again.]

Raph?

[meanandgreen]

[No, he's going to be stubborn. He winds his hands into fists, nails digging into his palms, eyes closed tight and biting down on his tongue. He has to resist the urge to just start screaming at Don to leave him alone. He has to be quiet. He has to stay completely still, then he'll go away. Then maybe everything will just go away.]

[i_speak_softly]

[He'll just say this much.]

April's all right. She's not mad at you.

[meanandgreen]

[She's "all right"!? He saw what he did to her back there. Nobody's "all right" after something like that.]

[i_speak_softly]

I'll be in my room. You can come in any time...

[meanandgreen]

[Only a soft, pained noise - not quite a whimper - finally escapes from behind the door. He doesn't know what to believe. He doesn't know what to do, where to go, only that he screwed up big time and whatever's going on is seriously messing with his head.

And he's scared. Not angry, not enraged, but genuinely scared of himself and what's happened. It's something he hasn't felt in a long time, and never this strongly.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don lays a palm softly against the door, then moves slowly across the hall to his own room.]

[meanandgreen]

[It isn't until the house is quiet that Raph finds the energy to move from his spot, curled up on his bedroom floor. He feels stiff and cold and wrung out, and it's taking every ounce of courage he's got to even unlock his bedroom door. But he does it, glances left and right down the dark hallway, then silently slides across the gap toward Don's room.

His light is off, but his door's open a crack. After a moment's hesitation, he reaches out and pushes it open wider, but doesn't move from the doorway.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don can't sleep tonight. He hears, feels, the sweep of door. Knows Raph is standing there. Doesn't move.]

[You're always welcome here, brother.]

[meanandgreen]

[He knows you're awake, Donnie, but he doesn't move from the doorway.

He takes a deep breath, steels himself for what will happen next.]

I'm...[Oh, good job, Raph. So much for keeping it together. He clears his throat, trying to say it again without the waver.] I'm movin' out.

[i_speak_softly]

[He's silent, facing the wall. He's still facing the wall when he answers.]

Don’t you dare.

[meanandgreen]

[He still doesn't move from that spot, but tenses. He feels sick, but won't let it creep into his voice.]

I have to.

[i_speak_softly]

Raph... [In case you didn't hear him earlier, or weren't listening -] April isn't mad at you. It wasn't your fault.

[meanandgreen]

[More like he refuses to believe it. He takes a step back into the pitch blackness of the hallway, shaking his head.]