Just 5 weeks into arriving in this new Dimension, Don had navigated his way around the village with Kanti's help of course, realizing as much as it looked like a “tree-top” city or Village, it was about as modern as any city he could compare to back in his home dimension, just everything seemed to be merged into one single “ethnic” group.
Where humans discern and divide ethnic groups with identifying names; i.e. Japanese, Russian, English, French, Italian, Spanish, in Kanti's world they're defined by large groups with a single title; Eastern covered pretty much everything defined as an “Asian Culture” without being ultimately specific.
Latin was used to define a lot of Hispanic, Italian, Some French and greco-roman ethnic groups. Northern was used to describe mostly the German, Slavic, Nordic, Swedish, Austrian, Polish, Finnish type of ethnic grouping, everything else as far as American, English, Scottish, welsh, Irish and other Anglo-Saxon-Britainnic groups were centered in the village he was currently in; the Village was called Unity, and it was a fitting name.
Not to say this was a Utopian type of place to live in, there's no conflict, prejudice or anything negative, true, but it wasn't blissfully peaceful or boring either, which don was relieved of otherwise he'd go nuts without anything to do.
If it's not Ninjutsu training it's tinkering, inventing, Science and experimentation, if it's not all the above, then it's just plain studying and reading, and he'll need to do a lot of it if he wants to get to know this place so he doesn't go bungling around like an idiot, especially if he wants to get to know Kanti, “....wait what?” there he goes again, his mind wandered back to Kanti, not that she wasn't an interesting person to begin with, she was intelligent, kind, Caring, Beautiful, her skin, her eyes, her wings, “UGH!!! NOT AGAIN!!” a collective “shhh!!” was sounded around the Library when he shouted and Don quickly hid his face in his book.
Now he knew something had to be wrong for him to suddenly have his mind hanging onto the thought of a girl, before it was barely an afterthought since he had his brothers, they had admittedly been intimate before, but more or less as a release since....well let's face it, before this incident happened they had long since accepted they were the only ones of their kind as “ninja turtles” who and how would they be able to start a relationship with, and keep it going on after the fact since humans tend to freak out at the sight of them.
Enough of that though. Back to studying, one thing he found interesting is that every species of....person, he's seen so far had wings of some kind, of varying species or cross-species; Some had avian, Birds and such. Others seemed Chiropteran, or bat-like in appearance though they varied to having some feathers or some scales depending on the parentage obviously, others were arthropod wings, or bug's wings, he knew raph would freak right out if he saw them.
His thoughts fell back on Bird and Budd when he referenced Arthropods, and decided to put the map books down and read up on his evolution for this world. Quite obviously, like humans, all these creatures originated from a prehistoric “starting line” of sorts; Humans began with the prehistoric ape up to the Neanderthal, duh, but these beings, minus the wings, varied in animal and species like their own animals on earth, the wings thing was the puzzle, so he wanted to know where the wings came from, especially with Kanti having butterfly wings even though she resembled a Chameleon, “Geh! Alright that's it!” he closes his books and picks them up walking to the desk checking them out of the library, he needed to clear his head, and dwelling on Kanti at her school's local Library wasn't helping.
Wearing a Haver sack that Kanti gave him, he carries his books to a local park where he looks around for a bench or a table to sit at, heading for the center of the park, he finds a statue, of what looked like Kanti, but older with a different set of Butterfly wings, moving further in, he realizes it was a stature garden with a lot of beings that looked like Kanti, Looking like a Chameleon, butterfly wings, the head plate fashioning into “hair” of a sort, “wow......i wonder if Kanti has a famous family or something....” he says to himself admiring all the statues, “That would be an understatement young turtle”
Don turns seeing an old Rat with Owl wings, “Master Splinter?!” The rat looks at him puzzled, “My name is Shard young man, show some respect” Don shook his head, “Sorry, you....other than your wings, you remind me of …..of my father.....an old grey rat that took me and my brothers in adopting us as his sons” Shard nods, “I understand, you are right in believing miss Kanti's family is famous, Her family is the one that created the world we live in, I am sure you are familiar with the fair folk, otherwise known as Fairies and Sprites?” Don kriks a brow ridge at him, “Are you serious?” Shard chuckles realizing what it sounded like, “Yes I am quite serious, I shall explain” he holds out his hand asking for Don's bag.
Don hands it over and Shard pulls out a Book, it looked almost like the holy bible humans tended to worship, Don hadn't even realized he took it off the shelf since it had a title saying “our history” and a picture of the planet on the spine. Shard opens it to a passage in the first chapter and started reading it:
In the very beginning there were beings known as Homo-sapien, also called humans. We shared the land and the world with them, lived in harmony, then came the third race. Known to some as fair folk, to others they were known as changelings.
The most powerful of these creatures were the Apsara. Having forms that resembled Chameleons, they were commonly born with Moth wings, but there are a gifted few known to have luminescent butterfly wings of differing colors, blue defining the most gifted of the Apsara, known for being warriors, scholars, scientists and Magicians.
They created the world making it safe for the winged race; beings that were born with wings, and so the race prospered and lived on past the time of the Apsara when they left this world and their legacy of magic, wealth and knowledge behind
Shard closes the book, “Miss Kanti is the last of her kind, of the Apsara race, she'd been approached to become a 'Queen' or ruler of any other a sort for our race, but she refused, saying we don't need a ruler, we only need to rely on eachother for guidance and help when we run into trouble, But she has promised to be our protector when danger comes forth.”
Don gives him a concerned look, “what kind of danger could anyone here possibly face? If these books are true, you're all basically super-powered winged people and animals.” Shard nods, “That is certainly true, but that is only our part of the world, the rest of the world however, there lies a dark power seeking Kanti's knowledge and strength, the only way an Apsara's power is shared though, is through marriage and conception” Don looks up at the schoolhouse.
Basically Shard was saying in order for anyone to earn her power and knowledge, whichever one she gives as a gift, they'd have to become her mate, in that statement alone he realizes what the danger would be. With that kind of power and knowledge, he had to remind himself there would always be some greedy jerk trying to get it, and speak of the devil, the greedy jerk decided to pay the village a visit today.
In the town square a loud and raucous commotion had started up, a bunch of monstrous looking creatures were tipping over vendor tables, trash bins, messing up fruit and vegetables, ripping up books and ruining new computers.
Don and Shard arrived at the same time Kanti did, “Cave trolls, it had to be Trolls period” Don narrows his eyes, one big one in particular gave him a bad feeling, it had to be the leader since his “mane” was more colorful than the other trolls' drab pastelled colors, “Well well well, just the little Pixie I been lookin' for, didja give me offer a thought Sugar-plum?” his accent sounded half Irish have cockney-english, “No I have not given your offer any thought at all because my answer to you now is the same as Before, I refuse to be your mate because you are cruel, heartless, and disloyal as a man.
You're physically repulsive, uneducated, stupid, and you smell worse every time I see you. Your followers keep messing up our village, none of you have any manners, and you're also criminals, we don't want you here corrupting our village or our people with your filth. Now get out” The troll leader reaches for something on his belt, Don turns his foot outward getting into a draw posture ready for his bo, but Kanti stops him
“If'n ya don't make the right choice darlin' yer village will suffer more than a small pack o' trolls lead by my handsome self, and you'll be responsible for any 'accidents' that might happen” he knocks over a Ming vase to make a point, “So what'll it be pixie? You give me your virginity and your power by being my mate? It is the right thing to do after all if you want to protect your village” that was it.
Kanti opens her wings wide and walks up to the Troll leader, don grabs the top of his staff ready to whack this guy's jaw off his face, but Shard stops him shaking his head at the young ninja. Kanti touches the troll's chin, stroking it gently and seductively, which the troll let out a rumbling moan....that is until it became a more pained moan when Kanti clenched her hand on his chin pretty much squeezing it, lifting the troll off the ground and pushing him aside like he was nothing.
The Troll staggers back rubbing the pain from his chin, “you have my answer you dung-sucking piece of shit, leave my village or you'll regret coming here” the Troll pulls out a short sword, “Let's finish this right now!!!” he charges Kanti ready to ram his sword through her chest, however she proves that she is not entirely unskilled herself. Shifting her stance sideways, when the troll lunges forward, Kanti grabs his wrist using a simple Aikido throw, and flips the troll Leader to his back, she didn't stop there though, she also breaks his arm in four places with her knee.
The other trolls cower as she turns looking at them, “Take your king and leave here, I never want any of you or him to set foot here again, if I so much as smell you here, I will kill you, am I clear?” the trolls all nod hauling their leader out of the village and down the entrance ramp with the villagers pelting the trolls with rotted food and broken up junk and garbage.
Kanti walks to a wash sink and starts washing her hands, “How'd you do that?” Kanti looks up at Don, “what??” don motions to where the trolls were, “That! Back there, that was AMAZING!! I've never seen a throw like that before, even in Aikido, usually it involves locking your opponents arms and rotating their bodies with their own weight being thrown into themselves and-”
Kanti stops him giggling, “I learned from master Shard” the old winged rat waves at Don with a proud smile on his face, “Wow...he taught you that? Did he teach you anything else?” Kanti nods, “How about we talk more about it later tonight, My place?” Don swallows Audibly, she was inviting him to her home, HER HOME so brazened and directly to the point. But the idea was to get to know her and her home world, what better a way to do it than to have dinner with the most awesome, adorable and sexy girl he's ever seen, wait what, “AGH!!! DAMMIT!!” Kanti blinks, “Are......you okay??”
Don blushed as bright red as his brother Raph's mask, “Yeah!! i'm fine!! don't worry about me!! I'll see you later tonight, BYE!!!” he ran off in a shot leaving Kanti very confused. This earns a chuckle from Shard, “My child, I think he likes you” Kanti looks at her master all puzzled and befuddled, “i didn't think he did like me cuz he keeps turning his head away when I smile at him....”
Shard puts a hand to her shoulder, “Child, that is not a sign of dislike, he's a shy young turtle, not unlike you when you were younger. But do go easy on him, I have a feeling this is the first time a girl has shown real interest in a man like him beyond that of anything platonic.”
Kanti smiled at the thought that she had a guy interested in her for who she was rather than what could be gained by being affiliated or mated to her. One way or another she was going to show don she was attracted to him, but she decided to take it slow, after all, the best taste is the one that's savored.
