[ donatello isn't often one for comfort or platitudes. he'll let his brothers hang off of him, sometimes hug them on his own if they look truly crushed, but dropping topics or gentling his words for the sake of protecting feelings isn't something he does. it's not helpful, it complicates communication and problem-solving-
leo's panicking. donnie might not be able to check his pulse through his shell but he knows his brother, knows the signs of a discomfited brother, can tell in the way his eyes dart about, glaze over just briefly, the way he reaches for a joke like a hiker for their anchor line. ]
I'm not worried. [ donatello lets his flat tone work to his advantage here. calm, cool, a little detached even as his stomach bubbles with utter discomfort over the thought of what happened to his brother in there, so bad he can't even talk about it. this isn't about leo being terrified, ready to die, about leo letting some evil thing tear into him because he thought it was the best he could do for them instead of coming back home.] I'm examining you. I need to know what supplies to send Mikey for once we get back home.
[ no, he's not afraid, but he is something else. something that makes the sensitivity of his skin fade to numbness as he reaches behind leo's neck to feel the segments of his spine, pushing lightly at the cervical vertebrae to check for swelling, watch for flinching. that something has already pulled his brow down hard, set his jaw teeth against teeth, grinding together until he remembers to open his jaw again and reset. he's not angry, frustrated, or irritated- that's too petty.
leo has (small) cracks in his plastron, a goose egg of a lump on the back of his skull, and blood in his mouth. leo has blood in his mouth. leo was hurt by a horrible thing and now won't let donatello care for him, maybe even can't. leo almost left them forever, because that was an acceptable option to him. some fucking thing hurt his brother and then just ended up locked back in the same cage he was in before after cracking leo's plastron, hitting leo's head, drawing blood from leo's mouth. ] So if you can't talk about it then you'll be still and let me look after you, and I won't hear anything to the contrary. Capiche?
[ donatello's not mad, no. he's furious. he's got hate and grief and nothing to put it on or to, because the monster that almost took two of his brothers from him is out of his reach. ]
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leo's panicking. donnie might not be able to check his pulse through his shell but he knows his brother, knows the signs of a discomfited brother, can tell in the way his eyes dart about, glaze over just briefly, the way he reaches for a joke like a hiker for their anchor line. ]
I'm not worried. [ donatello lets his flat tone work to his advantage here. calm, cool, a little detached even as his stomach bubbles with utter discomfort over the thought of what happened to his brother in there, so bad he can't even talk about it. this isn't about leo being terrified, ready to die, about leo letting some evil thing tear into him because he thought it was the best he could do for them instead of coming back home. ] I'm examining you. I need to know what supplies to send Mikey for once we get back home.
[ no, he's not afraid, but he is something else. something that makes the sensitivity of his skin fade to numbness as he reaches behind leo's neck to feel the segments of his spine, pushing lightly at the cervical vertebrae to check for swelling, watch for flinching. that something has already pulled his brow down hard, set his jaw teeth against teeth, grinding together until he remembers to open his jaw again and reset. he's not angry, frustrated, or irritated- that's too petty.
leo has (small) cracks in his plastron, a goose egg of a lump on the back of his skull, and blood in his mouth. leo has blood in his mouth. leo was hurt by a horrible thing and now won't let donatello care for him, maybe even can't. leo almost left them forever, because that was an acceptable option to him. some fucking thing hurt his brother and then just ended up locked back in the same cage he was in before after cracking leo's plastron, hitting leo's head, drawing blood from leo's mouth. ] So if you can't talk about it then you'll be still and let me look after you, and I won't hear anything to the contrary. Capiche?
[ donatello's not mad, no. he's furious. he's got hate and grief and nothing to put it on or to, because the monster that almost took two of his brothers from him is out of his reach. ]