Emotionless Mutation (Book Three)

Chapter 39: Lessons in Dance

"This is a social media platform from the nineties," Destiny says upon seeing his confused look. "Bolt. It was apparently used to make friends, it has stuff like a horoscope, chat rooms, message boards, instant messaging, but my mom had one when she was in high school and, well..." She gestures to the screen.

"How did you find this?"

"It started with Facebook, but she died in '97 so Facebook didn't exist. Then I dug into the history of social media trying to find something that could lead me to her, so I could learn more about her, and I found Bolt. Donnie and Sarina had to go into some crazy archive thing to recover it but somehow, they did it. They found her page, or...what's left of it."

He looks down at the screen, pensive, as she curls her legs closer to her chest and bites her bottom lip. He waves his hand a bit, stammering and restarting his sentences a few times before saying, "So, uh...what has it told you?"

She brings the phone closer to her and scrolls. "A lot of her stuff is missing, but there are some bits and pieces. She listed her taste in music as rock and the band Lonestar." She scrolls some more, starting to chew on her lip again. "Her favourite colour is blue and she's got a lot of chat rooms involving dancing. Not sure what kind."

"That's cool."

"Yeah. What else...oh! She's apparently of English descent like her great, great grandparents lived in England or something, so...I'm British, I guess?" She lets out a small laugh, but it dissolves swiftly and she inhales sharply through her nose. "Not much else, but...there's this one message to a girl named Kaede, something about her mom threatening to kick her out and how 'Trace doesn't know yet'. Her last message on her board is 'I have a new life to think about now.'" She stops as she sniffles again, eyes getting dewy, and she forces herself to look at Leonardo. "That has to be about me...right?"

Her voice breaks and her jaw clenches as she ducks her head down. A shudder rolls through her, rustling her wings and making her ears flatten against her hair. Leonardo immediately reaches out to her, resting his hand on her leg but jolting away briefly when she flinches.

"Des, maybe that was just when she found out. Who knows what actually happened?" he suggests.

"She died giving birth to me. What if it was something preventable, like...like I don't know, getting proper care? She couldn't have done that without her family to help her, right? She, she m-must've been so...so s-scared. Did m-my dad even, even know about me?" She reaches to scrub away at her teary eyes, another bitter laugh escaping. "God, I asked for t-this, I...I w-wanted to know more about her—"

Leonardo's hands grasp her own, covering the phone, and she doesn't pull away as he meets her eyes again. "This is hard stuff. It's completely okay to be upset," he says, making her sniffle and nod weakly. She wipes at her face again and he perks up, a tiny smile appearing on his lips as he holds out his hand. "I've got an idea. Phone?"

"Okay?" She drops the phone into his awaiting palm.

He starts scrolling, then taps the screen and sets the phone down. Guitar music starts up, the unmistakable twang of country music filling the air. Leonardo stands and moves to the centre of the dojo where he starts to tap his toes and move his arms, bopping his shoulders and wiggling his eye-ridges to the beat.

Destiny covers her mouth to stifle a disbelieving giggle. "What are you doing?"

"Your mom liked to dance, right? That means you've gotta have a rhythm in you," he says, still doing his silly movements. "Come, join me, my lady."

"I don't dance, Leo."

"That's just 'cause you've never tried!" He laughs as the lyrics start up. He tries to sing along but just ends up echoing after the singers in a mashup. "Women rule the world~" he coos.

She covers her face and cries out, "You're so embarrassing!"

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

She watches him as he again tries to sing the words, butchering them even further but still managing to carry a tune. Despite it all, she's starting to smile, her entire face flushing pink.

"That look when they're up to something. Soft touch, oh, that lovin..."

"Leooooo..." she groans.

"I'm irresistible and you know it!" he calls, leaping around and doing a butt wiggle, making her let out a slight howl of a laugh before she stifles it.

She finally gives in, getting to her feet and moving towards the more open space and the ninja turtle awaiting her. He extends his hand and the second she takes it, he twirls her away. She lets out a breathy gasp as he catches her, sparing a wink before lifting her to her feet and letting her spin away.

She stumbles to a stop, blinking rapidly, and he gives her another teasing look. She starts to move her hips, getting in touch with the beat. It's hard at first for her to get past the very country aspect of the band, but she likes the voices. It's different.

They loosen up as the songs start to fly by, mostly Lonestar. A song about a party heard around the world comes on, followed by more pop tunes, then classic rock. Whatever playlist Leonardo found, Destiny likes it. It keeps her on her toes, keeps her trying new moves.

Leonardo almost stops dancing sometimes when he finds himself watching her. She does have a rhythm, her tail and legs moving as if they're partners in a choreographed number, her wings fluttering, flapping and folding as if consumed by the music.

"Now you're getting it," he jokes, scooting to her in a very goofy step sequence as he starts doing the "shopping cart" move. She laughs and he grins wider. "Going shopping, oh! Put something in the cart!" He reaches out to grab an imaginary item and drops it into his invisible cart. "Oh, a sale! Now there's a spill, oh no! Avoid! Whoaaaaa!" He swerves away and ducks into a roll, then popping up in a pose that makes her eyes sparkle.

"This is kinda fun!" she admits, twirling on one foot in a tight spin.

"I knew you had it in you!"

They let the music continue to move them.

----------

Splinter heads to the dojo at a steady pace, hoping that some meditation will help him relax and find some much-needed peace. As he nears the dojo, he hears soft acoustics and the sound of a woman's voice drifting through the air.

Inside, Destiny and Leonardo are moving together, one of her hands on his shoulder, one of his on her waist, the remaining ones clasped together as they drift in slow circles.

"Carefully we're placed for our destiny. You came and you took this heart, and set it free."

Splinter lingers for a moment, caught between leaving them to their innocent intimacy and entranced by the peace that has alluded the entire family for weeks. Destiny steps closer to Leonardo and her head falls to his shoulder, her eyes closing, and he leans his cheek against her hair. They breathe in and then out together.

"Forever is a long time, but I wouldn't mind spending it by your side..."

Splinter smiles and leaves them alone. He can meditate later.