“So…What do you want?”

“Nothing.” Donnie just stared at the kitchen counter in front of him. Since he’d agreed to stay in Leonardo’s living quarters he hadn’t spoken much. There had been a few minutes where Leonardo had tried to get into the bedroom to talk to Donatello, but Venus had stopped him and got him to leave without bothering the brothers.

“Donnie you need to eat.” Mikey sighed. “I was going to make some pizza pancakes, do you want some.”

Donatello shrugged, still not looking up at Mikey.

The see green turtle slipped out of his kimono, throwing it over the back of a chair before firing up the hob, cooking naked apart from his collar to prevent his clothes from catching fire.

“Do you think he’ll let me see him?” Donnie shifted in the hard seat, instantly regretting it as he was reminded how sore his lower half was. He ran a finger underneath one of the straps across his plastron but he didn’t dare take them off without Leonardo’s permission. His voice was so soft and quiet that Mikey almost missed it. 

“I’m sure he will.” Mikey smiled, flipping over the pancake expertly. As soon as the pancake was done he grated cheese on top of it, waiting until the cheese melted before taking it out of the pan and adding pepperoni. He placed it in front of Donnie with a knife an fork.

Donnie gave his brother a little half-smile; he wasn’t convinced he would be allowed see his mate again, not while he was Leonardo’s pleasure slave.

“Cheer up.” Mike nudged his arm lightly. “Even if Leo doesn’t like it, Venus will talk him into it.”

Donnie couldn’t help but smile at that. He hadn’t known Venus long, but he liked her, he felt like she actually cared about him. She reminded him of Raph in a strange way.

“Her and Leonardo are close.” Donnie noted, watching Mikey as he started to make a second pancake for himself. “Even though they argue a lot.”

“Yeah.” Mikey laughed, shaking his head slightly. “Makes you wonder if people can tell we‘re brothers, huh?”

“You mean Venus and Leonardo are brother and sister?” Donnie’s eye ridges shot up in surprise. 

“Yep. Leo’s her younger brother, that’s why she winds him up so much.” 

Donnie took a few seconds to possess that information. He really liked Venus, but she was Leonardo’s sister, would she really side with him over her own brother when it came to Raph.

He frowned when he suddenly registered something. “Younger brother? How come he’s the leader then, and not Venus?”

“Venus was the leader.” Mikey corrected as he finished up making his own pancake. “She passed it down it Leo a couple of years ago. Leo wasn‘t the Leader when I met him.”

“But the Leader has always been a Maukai.”

“Venus is a Maukai.” He explained as he carried his plate over to sit opposite Donnie. “She changed her name to Milo when she stepped down.”

“Why?”

“Milo is the second in line from being in charge of his settlement. They get on, but it was a marriage of convenience to show no ill feelings towards the settlements. If Venus wasn‘t in charge anymore but kept the name of the leader, the marriage wouldn‘t show the bond between the two heads of power anymore. Taking his name meant that the Kame don‘t have anything against Milo‘s family.”

“But why did Venus step down?”

Mikey bit into his pancake, taking his time chewing as he thought of what he could tell Donnie. “Venus didn‘t like being the Leader …But it was mainly so that people were forced to respect Leo. 

You said it yourself, his skins lighter than most kame’s. Racism is just as bad here as it is in our clan, and you saw how Raph was treated… Leo wasn’t quite as bad because his family were so important, but some people still don’t think he‘s fit to rule just because of his skin colour. 

Venus made sure that they didn’t have a choice, she still steps in every now and then if she thinks that people aren’t listening to Leo. Lot‘s of Kame still hold her in higher regards then Leo.”

Donnie didn’t say anything as he listened to Mikey, taking in all the information. He gave a sharp nod to indicate that he understood, but didn’t say anything else as he finished his pancake.

Mikey asked if he wanted another pancake but he shook his head, taking his plate over to the sink to wash it. When he was done he turned to watch his brother make himself another one.

Without his kimono Donnie could see that Mikey didn’t have any new scars or injuries; he looked exactly the same as he did before he was ‘kidnapped’, almost flawless sea-green skin with darker pigment patches on his cheeks and the tops of his arms and shoulders. The only thing that seemed odd was a dark mark he noticed on his brothers neck just below the leather collar.

“What‘s that?”

“hmmm?” Mikey turned from the stove to see what he brother was looking at, head tilting in confusion before he turned back to check on his food. “Whats, what?”

“The mark on your neck.”

“Oh.” Mikey lifted a hand to rub over the back of his neck.. “It’s, uh…A honattchi.”

“You got a tattoo?” Donnie was instantly behind Mikey, studying the raised symbol intently.

Their reptilian skin rejected the ink used for human tattoos. Honattchi was a type of ink that was painted onto the skin instead of injected. The Honattchi ink was absorbed into the skin tissue and solidified once it passed through the epidermis, reacting to the natural oils in their skin, causing a raised ‘Tattoo’. The ink turned back into a liquid if the skin was broken directly onto the raised skin, meaning that it could be ‘bled out’ with a needle.

The Turtle clan couldn’t get hold of any Honattchi, but Donnie had heard that the Kame clan traded it with another clan that was closer to where the dye used was produced naturally.

“What’s it say?”

“I let Leo choose one for me.” Mikey turned off the stove and moved his food off the heat, a light blush  
darkening his cheeks. “It’s a mix between the symbol for playful and the symbol for thief.”

“Does Leo and Venus have one?” Donnie asked curiously, he hadn’t really thought to look for tattoos, growing up in a settlement where turtles couldn’t physically have tattoo’s the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“Venus has a Honattchi-un.” At Donnie’s confused Look, Mikey realised that Donnie didn’t know that particular Kame custom. “It‘s an old kame tradition to mark young children, only certain family’s do it now. Venus said she was about two when she got hers. She‘s got patience and wisdom tattooed on the side of her leg.” He explained, relieved when he saw the spark of understanding in his brothers eyes.

“And Leo?”

“Leo’s Honattchi is for perseverance.”

Donnie nodded, their Honnattchi’s suited them all very well. He could think of any better way to describe his baby brother than a playful thief. Even when they were stealing to survive as children, Mikey had always managed to turn everything into a game. 

Stifling a yawn Donnie couldn’t help but wonder what Mikey and Raph would choose if he were to have one.

Mikey smiled as he caught his brother yawning, abandoning his food to lead Donnie back to the bedroom.

Donnie didn’t put up a fuss as Mikey pushed him onto the bed; his eyes were closed seconds after his head hit the pillow. He heard Mikey telling him that he’d wake him up in the morning before the exhaustion on the day took it’s toll on his body and he slipped into a deep sleep.