Delilah sat up, looking around. Her body didn't ache at all. Given, she wasn't exactly in her body. She stood up and looked at Donnie working on her neck.
She walked to the front of the Tartaruga truck. She watched Casey drive and Dill give orders to Mick about the upcoming bikes that seemed to be coming endlessly.
"Long time no see." Delilah jumped and turned to the voice. She smiled slightly at the familiar face.
"Hi, Leo," she whispered. He was sitting on the couch in the truck, smiling at her warmly.
"I didn't know you spoke Portuguese," Leo said, making room for her.
"Yeah. My parents were fluent, and my siblings and I caught on." She sat next to him on the couch.
"Nice. My siblings and I all know Japanese as well as English. I learned Latin as well, and Donnie and Mick also know French," Leo said.
"Interesting," Delilah said.
The two of them watched Donnie work on Delilah's body.
"I feel awful. About this," Delilah said, motioning to Donnie. "I feel bad for making him so upset and... Angry. But Raph needed help- I couldn't just stand by and let the Foot destroy him. I was glad it finally clicked to Donnie on why I went into the Foot Clan's van. But I still feel awful."
Leo was nodding along.
"Yeah, I hear you," Leo said. Delilah nodded.
"The look in Donnie's eyes..."
"I know. It was so different than his usual self." Delilah nodded in agreement.
"I must be doing something wrong," Delilah said after a while. "Am I giving too much reign, since I'm not forcing them to train? Or meditate in some way?"
"You're doing perfect," Leo said.
"Then why did I act without thinking? That's not like me," Delilah said, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Well... That's a question for Master Splinter," Leo admitted.
"He's not here. I can ask him at the Lair-" she was cut off.
"My what a curious eye, gaze into the past to find the future. Must I be your new tutor? You will learn what you can for I must be gone, you will know before the year is done." Delilah looked around, then saw Master Splinter on the couch opposite herself and Leo. "I said that to you when I first saw you, yes?" he asked.
"Yeah," Delilah responded. "I'm still not sure what it meant. And why bring it up now?" she asked.
"Let's see. You want to know if you're doing something wrong, and why you thought 'without thinking,' and you want to know what I mean. Let's break down what I said, shall we?" Delilah could tell there wasn't a 'no' option.
"Let's start at the beginning. 'My what a curious eye, gaze into the past to find the future.' What do you think that means, Delilah?" Master Splinter asked.
"Um... The person wants to find answers to their questions about the future, so they look to the past for guidance?"
"Perfect!" Splinter smiled. "Now, 'Must I be your new tutor?'"
"The past is offering to tutor the person," Delilah said.
"How so?" Splinter asked, crossing his hands in his lap.
"Maybe... Through memories, or... Spirits?" she questioned.
"Perfect," Splinter smiled, happy with the progress she was making.
"Now the final sentence: 'You will learn what you can for I must be gone, you will know before the year is done,'" Master Splinter said. Delilah thought.
"The person will learn from the tutor- the past?"
"Precisely, for the first half," Splinter said. "What about the second?"
"That seems self-explanatory," Delilah said. "The person will know the answers by the end of the year?"
"Yes. Now, all together, what story do the phrases tell?" Delilah thought.
"The person wants to find answers, so they look to the past for guidance. Their guidance comes from the past, who is tutoring them in finding their answers through memories and/or spirits. The person will learn what they can from their tutor by the end of the year," Delilah said, thinking about what they had talked about.
Master Splinter was greatly pleased which how easily she accepted the information.
"Exactly, Delilah," he smiled. "Now, you didn't understand then, but you do now. Why do you think I've made it clear now?" Deliah thought.
"I... I'm not sure, sensei," she whispered solemnly. At this point, Raph came back into the Tartaruga truck, covered in bruises and small cuts. Tina grabbed the alcohol and gauze and started to tend to Raph's wounds.
"I cleared it now for you to seek guidance from Leonardo and myself. We are your tutors, Delilah. Your spirits," Master Splinter said. "We cannot answer your question directly, only guide you to your answers." Delilah thought, then smiled weakly.
"My questions are- simply put: 'Am I doing something wrong in leading the team?' and 'Why have I started acting without thinking?' If that makes sense..." she whispered.
"They do make sense," Leo confirmed, putting an arm around her shoulder.
"Okay..." Delilah said. She looked back at Master Splinter who was in deep thought.
"What makes you think you're acting without thinking?" Master Splinter asked after a while.
"I knew Donnie said I shouldn't fight so I wouldn't die, but the moment I saw Raph in trouble, I went into the fight anyway. I didn't even think of the consequences, and now I could die," Delilah said, waving to her body.
"What made you go into the fight?" Leo asked.
"Raph. He was in trouble, he needed help. So I went to help him," Delilah responded.
"Why did you help him?"
"Because I love him, so so much," she said with a smile. "I'd do anything for him. For everyone in this truck, really," she added.
She looked at Casey and Dill in the front seat. They were able to pull the truck next to Foot Clan's van so they could see the driver, who looked panicked. Dill was acting as if they were on an adrenaline rush, but Delilah could tell they were still worried about Delilah. Casey was concentrating on making the right moves at the right moment with a professional's skill.
Delilah looked at Mick, who was following order after order. She was hitting the Foot Clan's van with great strength whenever Dill gave her the right-of-way. She knew what was happening to Delilah, but since she loathes surgeries, she didn't let it affect her fighting.
Delilah looked at Tina, who was carefully duct-taping Raph's shell back together. She took out a roll of Doctor Who stickers and let Raph pick a few to put on the duct tape. She was careful in everything she did, for she cares deeply.
Delilah looked at Raph. He was letting Tina put the stickers on his shell, even though he's not the biggest fan of Doctor Who. He knew she needed a distraction from watching Donnie re-stitch Delilah's neck. He was the big brother of a girl who hates surgeries, and he loved the girl being operated on. He was willing to do anything to keep his family calm and he would do everything to protect Delilah from harm.
Delilah looked at Donnie, who was quickly working on her body's stitches. Even though he was still frustrated with Delilah's decision to go into battle, he understood why and put her back together. He still cared about his sister because that is what family does.
"You love all of them?" Master Splinter asked once Delilah focused back onto him and Leo.
"I do. Differently, yes, but I still love them all," Delilah said. Master Splinter nodded.
"If Michele were the one to have gone into the battle and have trouble, you would still go and help her?"
"Of course!"
"And Dill?"
"Definitely."
"Tina?"
"Yes, I would."
"And Donatello?"
"One hundred percent. I'd have a much higher mortality percentage, but I would one hundred percent go," Delilah said.
Delilah thought about what Master Splinter was asking.
"I would go into battle for them, even if it meant my death. I would go as if acting without thinking because I love them nonetheless," Delilah said. Master Splinter smiled.
"And there is your answer."
Delilah was relieved. There wasn't anything wrong with the way she acted, for she was thinking about how much she loves Raph. She was thinking of the consequences and accepted them because she felt love.
After a while of more thinking, Master Splinter spoke again.
"If you were doing something wrong, what would you think you were doing wrong?" Master Splinter asked.
"Um..." Delilah thought. "I don't make them train- only when they want to, they can. I haven't trained nearly as much as I should. I have just been focusing on the leadership title without being an actual... Leader..." Delilah said, her voice fading.
"When we get back to the Lair, I will write out a schedule for training- group and individual." With this idea, Delilah stood up.
"I'm thinking, 2-hour group training on Monday afternoons when everyone wakes up. Donnie and I will train for an hour on Tuesday afternoons when we wake up. Raph and I will train Tuesday nights at 10 for an hour. Mick and I will train for an hour on Tuesday nights at 11:15 Wednesday will be an off day for everyone. Thursday afternoon will be another 2-hour group training. Then the Tuesday schedule will repeat on Friday, with the weekends free," Delilah confirmed.
Leo was watching her, amazed and intrigued. She seemed more put together with a schedule than he was.
Master Splinter smiled at her.
"Is a schedule your answer?" Master Splinter asked. Delilah thought.
"It is a step towards it, I can feel it," Delilah said, using her hands to emphasize her point.
"Explain?" Master Splinter asked curiously.
"I'm not sure what my answer is yet. But a training schedule is definitely a step to finding my answer on being an actual leader instead of just having the title," Delilah said. Master Splinter nodded, giving Delilah a warm smile.
"Alright," he said. "I'm glad you're accepting this so quickly."
"I just want a better understanding," Delilah shrugged.
"And that is alright," Master Splinter said. Delilah smiled, glad she was figuring out her answers.
♦️♦️♦️
Master Splinter left the truck soon after the end of the conversation. He promised a stroll to a friend he had met in the In-Between.
The battle was done. Mick had hit the van so much and so hard that it derailed and Van Noble was able to arrest the driver.
Delilah sat back on the couch next to Leo. Together, they watched Donnie finish up the stitches.
"I should go back, shouldn't I?" Delilah asked.
"In a bit. It'll still hurt a bit unless he gives you something," Leo said.
"Right," she said. That being said, Donnie had Tina take some ice out of the freezer. He put it into a plastic bag and applied it to the stitches. "To numb the skin. Good choice, Donnie," Delilah whispered. Leo chuckled.
"Will it be enough to ease the pain of re-stitching?" Leo asked.
"No, but I can ask if he has Lidocaine. It's a local anesthetic that blocks nerve signals in your body after being applied to the skin," she explained.
"Interesting," Leo said.
They sat in silence for a while. Raph soon knelt next to Delilah's body and stroked her hair out of her face. Donnie told him she was okay and was in meditation. He seemed to sigh in relief, as anyone could tell he was very worried about Delilah.
"I'm going to go back," Delilah said. She stood up and turned to Leo. "What should I tell them we talked about?" she asked.
"Tell them we talked about you being a leader and about how you feel about what happened," Leo suggested.
"About me being a leader and about how I want to apologize for scaring them..." she said, filling in the blanks that were implied.
"Yeah, if that's how you feel."
"It is. I scared them, I know it," she said. Leo nodded and stood.
"I'll see you next time. Hopefully, you're not close to death then," Leo chuckled, offering his hand for Delilah to shake. Delilah chuckled and shook his hand.
"Hopefully," she agreed.
Delilah let go of Leo's hand then aligned herself with her body. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and looked around. Leo was nowhere in sight. She was alive, and boy did she have some explaining to do...
♦️♦️♦️