Outside the farmhouse, the night is quiet and serene. A few owls hoot from their roosts, the wind blows and rustles the leaves and bend the thin branches of smaller trees. Everything is peaceful and relaxing.

Inside Destiny's head is a whole other story.

She whimpers softly as she sleeps, her dream world filled with nightmares. While the visions of Shredder are long gone, other memories take their place and she has no way of getting rid of them. Her ears flatten against her hair and tears swell behind her closed eyelids. She clutches for her pillow, cramming it around her face as she begins to thrash, the covers becoming more and more wrinkled.

A shadow falls over the bed.

The door swings open slowly, creaking as it goes. Leonardo peers inside the room, his pupils expanding as he tries to get used to the darkness, the only spot of light being that coming from the window. The turtle stops mid-step when he notices that Destiny isn't the only person in the room. Diaval stares down at her from her bedside, his hair hanging unrestrained and shielding his side profile from view.

"Diaval?" Leonardo nearly hisses, keeping his voice low. The boy's head snaps upwards and his blank expression tightens. "What are you doing here?"

Diaval blinks. "None o'your business."

"She's my friend, which makes it my business," the turtle retorts.

Destiny makes a soft sobbing noise that's quickly muffled when she curls herself into a tight ball and clings to her pillow. The moonlight caresses her skin, accenting the thin white scars on her arms, and she rolls over with a low whimper. Leonardo doesn't even move his eyelids as Diaval continues to stare at him, eyebrows furrowed slightly over his pinkish eyes. He exhales softly and looks down at the wolf girl.

"Gets scared, show her desire," he says.

When the turtle doesn't say anything, Diaval reaches over and brushes his fingertips against Destiny's shoulder. He shuts his eyes, taking in a slow breath, and Leonardo's body slackens as he watches Destiny's scarred face relax and her fingers unfurl. Soon, she's sleeping soundly again as if nothing ever disturbed her.

Leonardo feels his chest tighten and he swallows, his hands forming fists at his sides. A cricket chirps outside. Leonardo purses his lips before slowly lifting his head towards Diaval as he takes a few silent steps inward.

"What does she want?" he whispers.

Diaval doesn't meet the turtle's eyes. His jaw shifts and his cloak sweeps outwards as he adjusts his footing. The archer's chin dips toward his chest. "Moon, forest, freedom. Comforts her."

His words do little to soothe Leonardo. Instead, a flame ignites within his chest and the heat spreads outwards. "I used to comfort her, you know?"

"Didn't talk about you much," Diaval murmurs, his voice oddly quiet. He shrugs and his eyes meet Leonardo's with the ferocity of driving ice. "Guess she doesn't need you. Not now. Not ever."

The heat flares and floods every nerve in the blue-masked turtle's body and he has to forcefully grit his teeth together to stop from saying something choice and regrettable.

Diaval looks back down at Destiny and nods, flicking his hair from his eyes. "All done here. Gonna go," he says. He takes a step, then stops. "Don't tell her."

He brushes past Leonardo without a second glance, chin tipped upwards and back straight so that he looks more confident than he ever has in his life. Leonardo watches him shuffle down the hall, hand held out in front of him so that he can catch anything he might trip over.

Leonardo moves to Destiny's bedside only once Diaval has gone into his room. The turtle reaches over and brushes the streak of black hair from Destiny's eyes, watching as her nose twitches and her ears swivel at the brief touch.

He knows it's stupid of him to be so ticked at Diaval's words, yet at the same time he feels that it'd be odd for him not to be. Did Destiny really not talk about him when they were in Canada? Does she really not need him anymore? If her desire is freedom, Leonardo wonders whether he's part of the reason that she feels trapped. He wants her to be happy. Perhaps it's time that he let her go.

He tries to go back to his room and sleep, but he ends up staring at the ceiling with the dull, aching thud of his heartbeat against his plastron filling his ears.

----------

Another morning training session comes. Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, Casey, April, and Destiny stand in a loose circle, the humans watching while Destiny, Donatello, and Michelangelo hold uncut logs. Diaval, as per the usual, stays far away from the action beneath a lone tree, trying to levitate in place.

"Alright, team. If you can clobber Kraang, you can crack logs," Raphael announces, both hands resting on his belt. "Watch and learn."

"Aw, yeah. Time for some ninja training, farmhouse style!" Michelangelo whoops, thrusting his log into the air with a laugh.

Raphael breathes deeply, changing his foot position as he punches the air and does a few fluid movements, centring himself. April watches with a hand on one hip, head tilted and one eyebrow raised.

With three well-aimed punches from Raphael, three separate logs split in two. Michelangelo lets out a whoop of praise as Raphael hitches his belt up on his waist and Destiny claps politely, nodding her head as if celebrating a celebrity accepting an award.

He looks over his shoulder at April and Casey. "You like that?" April rolls her eyes and Raphael's smirk grows. "Your turn, April."

April turns and readies herself as Casey holds up a new log.

"You sure you don't want me to soften it up for you, Red?" he asks, grinning.

"Just hold it straight," she tells him, adjusting the log as she says it. Her hands linger on the wood as she leans towards Casey. "Wouldn't want to miss and accidentally kick that smug grin off your face."

"Oh snap," Michelangelo says.

"Remember, it's not just physical strength that breaks the wood," Donatello reminds her. "It's also inner strength."

"I got this," she insists. "HEEYA!"

She kicks her leg straight out, unintentionally ramming Casey in the gut and sending him flying. He grunts, landing on his face and skidding for a second before going limp against the earth. April gasps.

"Ooh, I wish I could see that in instant replay," Donatello says. Casey spits some dirt from his mouth, grimacing. "How's that mud taste, Casey?"

He laughs. Destiny's ears perk up as she hears grunting and panting in the distance and she turns around just in time to see Leonardo emerging from the woods. He limps forward before buckling to his knees, expression twisting.

"Leo?" she calls, taking hesitant steps toward him.

Everyone else's gaze flickers to Destiny before following her line of sight to the blue-masked turtle. Donatello's eyes widen and he dashes over to his brother, brushing past the wolf girl in the process. Raphael and Michelangelo follow. When they reach Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo each pull one of his arms over their shoulders.

"Dude, what happened to you?" Michelangelo asks.

"I had a realization in the woods," Leonardo replies as April, Casey, and Destiny wander closer.

"Going off alone with a bum leg was a bad idea?" Raphael guesses.

"No, it's just what I need," he responds. "What we all need. We're so caught up in t-phones and junk food and TV that we've become at odds with nature. A true ninja must become one with it to master himself."

"Hey, man. You leave TV out of this," Michelangelo says, placing a hand on his brother's plastron and staring him deep in the eyes, dead serious.

"Even Master Splinter did it," Donatello says, scratching his chin. "He said 'only when you become one with nature can you make peace with yourself.'"

"Make peace? What are we, hippies?" Raphael asks, giving his brother an appalled look. "We're ninjas!"

"We'll do three days of meditation and practiced awareness in the wilderness, only eating what we can forage," Leonardo decides, his stern gaze switching between the turtles flanking him and the others grouped before him.

"Three days? We're gonna live like animals!" Michelangelo whimpers. He steps away from Leonardo, imagines the scenario again, and flings his arms into the air with a terrified, "AHH!"

"But...you are animals," a voice says from directly behind Casey, April and Destiny. All three teens startle, Casey letting out a short yelp. Diaval doesn't move, face blank and his head tilted to the side. "Living like animals," he repeats. "Bunch o'you already do."

"Figure of speech," Destiny says, her face pleasant despite the fact that her heart is still pounding.

Casey leans closer to April, lifting his hand to cup near his mouth. "Seriously, I think Leo might've taken one too many kicks to the head," he mumbles.

"No, Leo's right," she says, walking closer to Leonardo. Casey's face slackens. "Camping's a great idea. I'm tired of being stuck at the farmhouse."

Leonardo shakes his head as Raphael helps him take a few steps towards the house. "I'm sorry, April. This trip is ninjas only."

She gasps, her body following the pair as they pass her. "But...I'm almost a kunoichi!"

"Yeah, almost." Raphael laughs.

Destiny's shoulders sag, as do her ears. She purses her lips and looks towards the trees, a wind rustling her multicoloured curls. She knows that she isn't ready—although you won't ever catch her admitting it—but there had been a small part of her that had gotten excited when Leonardo spoke of it.

Her hand clenches into a fist and she takes a deep breath, thinking back to the dojo when she first lived in the lair and what Leonardo had said about training. She's got a long journey ahead of her before she'll even be half as decent in ninjutsu as the turtles.

"Hmph," April grumbles, making Destiny snap out of her trance.

The wolf mutant turns back to the group to see that three of the turtles have disappeared into the house, Donatello trailing the furthest behind. April and Casey remain in place with Diaval.

"Cool. Looks like we'll be stuck in the farmhouse," Casey says to the redhead, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Donatello turns back for a second as Casey winks. "Together."

"No..." Donatello whimpers.

----------

Michelangelo kneels next to the refrigerator next to a large burlap backpack, shoving supplies into said pack. Ice Cream Kitty peers down at him from her spot in the freezer.

"Ah, thanks for the to-go bag, Ice Cream Kitty," he says. "I'm sure gonna miss you while I'm out there getting all natured up."

"Meow!" she replies.

He gets up, scratching her creamy chin as she purrs. "Kitty kitty kitty," he coos.

In the living room, Donatello frowns as he looks out the window at Casey and April as they train. "Okay, I'm all for getting in tune with nature," he says, "but those two are gonna be getting in tune with each other!"

Leonardo looks up, grimacing a little before composing himself. "You have to learn to let it go," he says. "We all need to leave our worries and fears behind."

"Oh, and you're fine with Des and Diaval being here...alone?" Donatello asks.

The blue-masked turtle's expression fails to betray his true feelings. "Like I said, we all have to learn to let that sort of thing go," he says, his tone gaining a softer edge as he swings his backpack onto his shell. He glances around. "Where's Des anyways?"

"Up in her room, I think," Donatello replies, his nose still buried in the curtains, eyes trained on the outside world.

Leonardo thanks him before turning and heading up the stairs. He glances into each room as he passes before eventually finding Destiny laying on their bed. She has her arms hooked beneath her head as she stares at the ceiling. That distant look is back, as if she's imagining that the roof above her is the open sky and she could just go if she wanted to.

Leonardo wonders if she's feeling trapped again, like Diaval insinuated. His gut clenches and he swallows, leaning against the doorframe.

"Aren't you going to pack?" he asks.

She glances over at him, genuine confusion written on her marred face. "Pack?"

"For the trip."

She sits up as he walks in and settles down on the edge of the bed. She hugs her knees to her chest, her fluffy ears flattening against her hair.

"I'm not a kunoichi yet," she says. "I can't go. You said it yourself."

He purses his lips, kicking himself internally. Sure, he knows that she isn't anywhere close to being a kunoichi. That's something that Master Splinter would have decided one day, if he had stayed alive. Leonardo has other motives behind his decision, nothing he'll ever say out loud.

He wants Destiny with him, away from the farmhouse, away from Diaval. He wants to spend time with her, walking in the woods beneath the stars, and maybe it could be like it was before, even for a little while. After the journey is over, he'll try to give her the freedom she wants. This is the time he needs to move on.

"Well, I think having you out there would be better than leaving you behind," he says. "You're amazing in the forest already, it could really help us out."

She arches an eyebrow. "Are you sure you aren't playing favouritism?"

He takes a deep breath, pivoting his body so that he can sit on the bed crosslegged. He pulls her arms away from her knees, grasping both her hands in his own.

"This trip will help us heal," he says. Her eyes glint. "It'll help you heal."

She bites her lip, her hands tightening in his for just a second. She takes a soft breath in and out and flashes of the past night come back to her: the typical memories of torture, of pain, only dispelled by a silly dream that she can't seem to leave behind.

"You said—" she starts.

"Des, the forest is your element. If anyone is to help us survive out there, it's you," he interrupts. She looks unconvinced and he gives her the cutest puppy eyes he can manage. "Please, Des?"

She looks away from him, dragging her fingers from his grip and knotting them together in her lap. She shuts her eyes, a tremor rolling through her before she shakes her head.

"April and Casey will be ticked if I leave with you guys," she says. "I'll do this quest with April once we're both kunoichis."

"Destiny—"

"Oh, but you know what?" Destiny's ears shoot up and she almost grins, but the look falls into sternness a second later. "There is someone you should bring."

Leonardo swears that his blood runs cold. "No."

"Leo—"

"He's not coming along."

"Leo, he's been a Foot Clan member since he was thirteen!" she retorts. His frown deepens. "Sure, he's not the best at hand-to-hand combat or even ninjutsu, but he's the best archer out of any of you." Leonardo snorts and she glares. "Shush, you know it's true. Bring him along, maybe a detox could help him find some peace. It's not like his shoulder is a problem anymore either."

Leonardo stares her in the eyes. Destiny doesn't relent, shooting back a lethal amount of the deep-set feeling that she's not going to give up. He realizes this and groans, his shoulders drooping as he flings his hand out.

"Fine, he can come," he mumbles. Her chest puffs with success and he points at her, halting any further movement. "But he's gotta listen to the rest of us or I'm sending him home."

"Deal," she says with a pointed grin. She hops off the bed and dashes from the room. "DIAVAL! DIAVAL, GET OUT HERE!"

Leonardo massages his temples and lets out a long breath.