Thus Always to Tyrants

Chapter 5

He let out a shaky breath and screamed as loud as he could. Nothing happened. The waterfall drowned out the noise. The boy smiled. "Wow." Just then his stomach growled loudly, grabbing Leo's attention. "Oh right, food..." He mumbled. They already hadn't eaten in days, since the supply run went terribly wrong the last time.

'Raph...'

He breathed deeply and shook his head, blocking it out of his mind. "C'mon, ever ate rats before?" Casey wrinkled his nose. "Uh, nooo...?" Leo chuckled and pat his head in sympathy. "Yeahh, me neither..."

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Casey crouched down as low as he could, keeping his eyes slightly above the bush he was hiding in. He kept completely still, staying silent for as long as he could. Until he saw it. A group of rats congregated near a pile of bark. Casey Jr. smiled and walked closer to them, not making a sound. With eagerness, he trapped the rats in a bucket. They scrambled around but the boy kept it down, sitting on top of it. He slid the lid underneath and snapped it on, picking it up. He held it far away from him. "Ugh. Rats."

A breeze blew past him, blowing hair in his face. He groaned and moved it out of his face, and then froze. A figure stood in front of him, still and quiet. "Mom?" He said quietly. The woman said nothing and reached out to him. Casey smiled widely and ran towards her, his arms extended. But the closer he got, the less he could see her. His face fell slowly as he wrapped his arms around thin air. The boy looked around frantically, wondering where she went. "Ma..?" His voice was shaky and he trembled. "B-but I...I thought..." Was he just seeing things, or was his mom really there? Casey didn't stay to find out. He turned his heel, squeezed his eyes tight before tears could fall, and ran.

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Leo closed his eyes, sitting still in the same spot he had woken up from. He had his hands propped on his knees, breathing deeply. The markings on his arms and legs emitted a dull glow as meditated, letting out little hums of concentration every so often. He heard quick footsteps coming from the opposite direction of him. He opened his eyes and smiled at Casey Jr. "How'd it go?" The boy quickly set the bucket down in front of his Sensei, not daring to look up at him. He didn't say a word. Leo knew something was wrong. He watched as Casey lit a torch and took out what looked like skinless rat meat, spearing a stick through a few of them. Still not a word out of him.
Leonardo sighed and sat normally, knowing that his meditation was just going to have to wait. "What's wrong?"
Casey shook his head. "Nothin." He kept his back turned to him and kept working at the food. Leo scooted next to him and looked surprised. "Oh wow, you even skinned them." Casey smiled a little and nodded. Just as the turtle reached for one, the boy slapped his hand away. Leo gasped and rubbed his hand. "Gah, for why??"

"Sensei, they're not seasoned. You gotta eat good food, and it's not good without seasoning." The boy replied simply. "Case, in case you forgot, we don't got seasoning."

Casey Jr. looked unimpressed and reached into Leo's bag, pulling out a few containers. "One of these is pico de gallo, one is garlic and another is salt. I also brought lemon juice." Leo's jaw dropped. "Dude, where'd you get those from??!"

Casey shushed him. "I dug through someone's trash, and this stuff wasn't expired. And I could only read a few of them." Leo chuckled and nodded his head. "Yeah, fair enough."
The six-year-old finished seasoning them and handed them to the turtle, who grabbed them eagerly. He was about to dig in when he eyed the boy curiously. "Well Case, aren't you gonna eat any?"
Casey shook his head, curling into a ball on the floor. "I don't want food."

Leo's eyes widened slightly and he put a hand on his shoulder. "Jones, you gotta eat something. Neither of us have eaten in a while." The boy stayed still, squeezing his eyes shut. Almost like he was trying to hide from something. Leonardo sighed and set his food down. He grabbed the guitar next to him and shifted around until he found a comfortable position, strumming a few notes. "Oh boy..." This was gonna sound terrible with one arm. He cleared his throat, waiting for the boy to look at him. He didn't. Not yet.

Leo bellowed with an overly dramatic heroic voice. "Who is your favorite fearless he-e-ro, who is your favorite fearless heroooo..?" Casey shifted slightly, opening one eye slowly. Leo smirked and kept playing. "Who's brave and ready for trouble?"