April

Clutching the brown paper bag to my chest, I stood just inside the lair door, scanning the living area for my friends. It was remarkably quiet, but if they caught whiff of the contents of this bag…

As I inched my way further inside, making my way to the kitchen I noticed Karai sitting at the table with an empty teacup between her trembling fingers.

"Hey Karai, how are you feeling?" I busied myself opening the bag and emptying it onto the counter, hoping to not seem horribly nosey.

"Well at least I'm not a mutant snake anymore." Her voice was just above a whisper.

Glancing at her out of the corner of my eye I realized she wasn't wearing any make-up and the bareness of her face made the usually fierce kunoichi suddenly appear very small, frail and worn beyond her years. The enormity of everything that had happened in the past six months of her life had clearly taken a toll on her.

Grabbing a box of gyoza and two pairs of chopsticks I sat across from her. "Want to share with me?"

I held the chopsticks out to her. Her brown eyes brimmed with tears and she did not take them.

"Best dumplings ever, right?" I smiled at her, placing the chopsticks on the table before her and opened the box of takeout before putting it between us.

She studied me for a minute, probably remembering how we first met, I'm sure. For our past had a rocky start of its own and while my life had been far from easy hers was a downright mess.

Come on Karai, you're the strongest girl I know. You can make it through this.

As if she'd read my mind the corner of her mouth quirked up a bit and her eyes dried, "Yeah, why not?"

"Good," I nodded as I fumbled with my chopsticks.

She giggled a little, at my struggle, and while the sound was pathetic it still held faint traces of her usual catty nature. I was glad to hear it, even if it was at my expense.

Karai had always been sharp, skilled, and clever. But she'd also been confused, torn, lonely and lost. I could've hated her, I had plenty to hold against her, but we'd been through so much and we were the only two girls in our motley crew. It all made the past seem irrelevant and her company somehow appealed to me, despite her flaws. Besides, sometimes Karai could really surprise you.

"Don't try to move the bottom stick. For the most part it stays stationary. That should help."

I looked up from my struggle to find she wasn't mocking me. There was no hint of sarcasm in her voice. Maybe she felt the same way about me. After all we actually had a lot in common, neither of us had any girl friends, and while she had mutant brothers, they were my best friends, and neither of us had a mother.

Taking her advice I found that I was now able to grasp my gyoza, "Thanks!"

"Sure," she shrugged, "these really are the best dumplings ever."

"Yeah, I'm surprised Mikey isn't in here running off with the rest of them by now." I looked around and thought I saw a flicker of something orange duck behind the entry to the kitchen.

"They've been giving me some space. I don't think any of them know what to do with me." Karai frowned, her gaze falling into the empty cup.

My heart hurt for her. It was hard enough for her to come to terms with the truth about her father but throw in six months of mutant snake life on the run, and top that off with being held captive, well it was enough to drive anyone to their brink.

I reached for the chipped porcelain cup and she released it to me. "Here, I'll make you another."

"Thanks," she murmured.

As I turned on the kettle she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Karai, if you ever want to talk about anything," I glanced at her over my shoulder and my heart hurt to find her eyes clamped shut as she pressed her lips flat before she nodded furiously.

"I'd like that April. It's very good of you after… everything."

While I waited on the kettle I turned to face her, "We've been through hell Karai, but I'll tell you this. You are one tough girl, if anybody is a survivor it's you. And the guys would do anything for you and Master Splinter loves you so much. You are far from alone here." The water was ready and I prepared her tea, "Do you take sugar or anything?"

"I don't know how- to do this." Her voice hitched and the sound, vulnerability, coming from her, left me feeling as broken as she was.

"Oh, Karai, you don't have to." I placed the cup before her and slipped into my chair, "We just figure it out as we go. They aren't going to put any pressure on you and you'll find your way. You will heal, trust me, this family is resilient. Besides," I slid another box of gyoza her way, "I really like it that there's another girl around. We could be like sisters or something." I raised an eyebrow and grinned at her.

A small spark of light flickered over her eyes, "I'd like that."

"Good. Me too."