Only Skin-Deep

[Deleted]

A frown made itself onto Tara's lips. She opened her mouth to talk, but quickly shut it. She wasn't entirely sure on how to respond. Her gaze switched to the ground, then returned back to Donny. She gave out another sigh. "Alright, alright, fiine, I can talk about it I guess." Tara said, getting a bit irritable with the subject. Her gaze flickered to her dog tags. "Yeah, it was hard growing up without my dad. Mom kept videos of him around, pictures too, but that was about it. The only other thing I had were his dog tags. That's why I always wear this thing around my neck."

Tara knew her tone was turning from a comforting one to a rather bitter tone. There were some topics she didn't like looking at. This was one of them. "A kid isn't a parent, yet I felt like I was my mother's parent. That's not a good thing for a kid to go through. I was praying for better days when I was younger. I stopped doing that until recently when I got stuck in this God-forsaken universe. I bottle that kind of thing up so that I can take care of myself."

[Donatello]

Donny listened. That was all he could do really. He empatized with Tara, for his older brother Leo found himself in the same situation... Well with his brothers. Splinter was the parent but when he wasn't around, Leo was in charge. It was like that always and Donny never questioned it. He then looked at the dog tags and replied with a kindly smile "Your dad's tags are cool. Very nice"

He then continued "I really can understand this being unfair for your part. I'm sure you had better days but I think it's important to remember that your mom really does love you and wish you the best. Hey, I lived in a sewer with one older brother and two younger with my sensei. I can understand. I may not completely know what you went through but I can see why you wouldn't want to talk about it. It's complicated"

[Deleted]

The subject was briefly turned to her tags. Or her father's tags, whichever you preferred calling them."Thanks. I'm waiting for the day I get my own dog tags. Y'know, if I ever go back home to join yet another army. I'll have a whole lot more experience when I turn eighteen and join up, that's for sure." Tara said, her tone slowly getting back into a much more calm and neutral one. The Boston adolescent listened to what Donny said, feeling a bit bad about what she said earlier about being a parent. Her mother did want the best for her. She was just so depressed she couldn't do much.

"Thanks." she murmurred. "I don't like worrying about her. I'm supposed to be tough and get through it. She can't be doing too awfully, could she? She's still got the dog with her at least. Animals are typically helpful in emotionally healing."

[Donatello]

(OCC: OMG LATE. SORREH)

Donny nodded at the mention of Tara's tags and her motivation of being a member of an army back home. He could see why she'd want to be a soilder, she looked the part honestly. Then came Tara's question about her mom being ok. Donny wanted to assure her again. He nodded, artificially cheerful "I'm sure she's fine. If she has your dog then she's not alone. We'll find a way to get you home. I'll make sure of it. I work with the scientists in our army, I'll make you going home a priority"

[Deleted]

((It's fine. ^J^))

Tara could just ever so slightly catch that Donny wasn't entirely cheerful. It was pretty fake from Tara's view, but she didn't care. Hearing the words that her mother was probably just fine was good enough for her. It was a glimmer of hope for her. Tara was appreciative of Donny's words, but she wasn't vocal about it. She never really was vocal about her feelings. It's just how she was. What he said next brought a lot more relief to her. Despite a war and battle going on, there was a group of people trying to send her back home. She figured that it might take a while to go home, however. She'd probably have to wait for the war to be over with. Wars usually lasted for years. A grim expression crossed her face at the thought of being stuck in Chicago for years. That wasn't something she'd enjoy.

Be that as it may, it was the thought that counted. The thought that someone was trying to get her back home. "Sounds awesome, Turtle Man." she responded. "Just make sure you keep your head in the game, got it? I don't want you distracted with trying to get me and everyone home when somebody's trying to kill us all. That would be less than great."

[Donatello]

Donny smiled again. He knew he was probably getting himself to a situation where he may regret but Tara was his friend, so quite frankly, it may be worth it. The war seemed quite bad and may not end anytime soon so Donny knew his A-game was important to have. Tara then told him to not entirely focus on just getting her home and focus on the war just as much. Admittedly, Tara was selfless in those sentences and Donny knew she was a good-hearted person right then and there. Who else would be so focused and willing to fight for her right to get home?

"You got it tara. I'll be sure to focus, focusing is my middle name" Donny smirked before joking around "Actually I don't have a middle name. If I did, it'd be after someone famous"

[Deleted]

Tara was glad that the mutant turtle adolescent was going to keep his focus on the war. At least hearing the words made her feel better. "Thanks Turtle Man." Her aquamarine hued eyes fluttered to the ground for a brief moment. He didn't have a middle name? Well, he was a turtle. It was highy unlikely he even had a last name, let alone a middle name. Tara was used to calling people by their last names, which was why she usually knew everyone's last name. If it was Brown, Brick, Black, White, Thomas, whatever the last name was, she'd holler it to address them. That, or she'd give them a nickname that was typically pretty degrading. But Donny didn't have a last name. She figured Turtle Man was going to be the nickname Tara was going to stick with. Not Don or Donny, mostly Turtle Man.

"I have a middle name. Lynn. It was my paternal grandmother's name. Well, I guess it still is, considering she's still alive." Tara commented briefly. "You don't have a last name either, do you? I mean, considering you're a giant mutant turtle, I don't expect you to have a middle or last name."

[Donatello]

Donny responded with a smile, he couldn't help but like Tara's nickname for him. Normally he'd be annoyed but Tara was pretty creative "Not a problem" He then pondered about responding about the last name question. He smirked and responded "It's Splintersan, my family is part japanese in some ways since my sensei grew up in japan" He shrugged "The last name is pretty much because my sensei is named splinter obviously and "san" is pretty much a ending type of call for the offspring"

[Deleted]

He did have a last name. "Well color me impressed, the great Sullivan was wrong about something." Tara said, surprised that the turtle had a last name. It was quite a bit too close to Splinter for her, though. She wouldn't be calling 'Splintersan' to address Donny anytime soon. She'd probably be constantly forgetting the 'san' in Donny's last name. Besides, she had a nickname for him, not to mention she could call him Don or Donny. Splintersan just wasn't the same. "I usually call people by their last name. You? I think you're going to be one of the very few exceptions, Turtle Man."

[Donatello]

Donny chuckled amused as Tara acknowledged his last name. Donny then responded assuringly "You're free to call me whatever you want, even if my last name sucks. Hey it could've been a lot worse though. Master Splinter says it's tradition or something down that line" Donny then twiddled his fingers "Japan is weird"

[Deleted]

"Hey, I need to spice it up a bit don't I? I can't go around shouting everyone's last name. Especially when they start getting really unpronounceable, or they don't have any. I doubt any of the animals running on four legs have a last name, except for the pets of course. They would have their owner's surname I'm sure. Anyway, I'll figure out a name to call everyone eventually. I'm sure they'll be far less accepting of their nickname than you are." Tara spoke once more, letting out a light chuckle. "Yeah, I'm sure it could get worse. Like Takatikolosan. Then nobody would be able to pronounce it, and it'd be excessively long too. And Japan does have quite the interesting culture, doesn't it? Mind-boggling to me. I usually just stick to the culture of a soldier."

Tara smiled, leaning back on the bench now. "So, Turtle Man, what was life like for you back in the day? Y'know, before you woke up in Chicago and got into a war with lions, sorcerers, and robots, oh my!"