Raphael could almost sense the beast lurking just out of sight, a small part of him hating how it didn't just attack them already and get the assault over with it. A larger, slightly wiser part of him was completely aware that if it chose to attack and he went down, there would be nothing between it and his injured brother. 

He preferred the beast stay as it was, even if waiting was insanely grating on his nerves.

Donnie told him that it didn't like being seen and that it avoided attack while you were looking at it unless you looked it in the eyes. Trying to look at it while also not looking at it was one of the most complicated things Raph had to concentrate on and sounded incredibly stupid, but it worked. 

A guttural growl would emerge every time he laid eyes on it and then the beast would disappear back into the undergrowth and out of sight, his younger brother flinching violently whenever it appeared.

Donnie was constantly wavering between unconsciousness and reality, forcing the hothead to risk taking his attention off their surroundings each time his eyes flickered shut in order to wake him up.

Though they were words Raph would have never imagined could possibly exit his mouth, the hothead had asked the genius to tell him about whatever invention he was currently nerding out on. He pretended to listen his younger brother began a soft rant on how he was crafting some transmitter to help April with her psychic powers, giving acknowledgment every now and then to keep him talking.

He knew when his younger brother was losing focus and probably trying to doze when his words slurred, and it served as a handy early warning for him to elbow him awake again. He hoped this would help keep the genius occupied and conscious until he could figure out how to get them safely back to the farmhouse.

A branch snapped nearby and Raph felt Donnie flinch at the noise, the hothead releasing him and getting to his feet to yank his sais back into his hands, all senses on alert as he waited to see if the beast was trying a sneak attack.

A long silence passed before Raph dared to head towards the area the noise spawned from, ignoring Donnie's timid plea behind him as he advanced forward, up and tired of hiding from the lurking beast and wanting to put an end to the threat immediately.

"Raph!" He could hear the fear drenching Donnie's whisper as he parted some branches to scan the darkness, the lack of visible fur and bright red eyes sending a wave of relief through him.

Satisfied that sound must have been it becoming bored of stalking them and left, he turned back to his younger brother, the immense fear that swallowed his gaze causing Raph to regret wandering off from him, even if he stayed in sight the entire time.

"Hey, it's alright, Don. I think it-"

A crushing weight slammed him in the carapace and he flew into a tree, Donnie screaming his name as the proud growl above told him just how much he had royally screwed up. Ignoring the blossoming pain, he managed to keep hold of his sais and jumped to his feet just as the beast tried tackling him, the hothead stabbing its leg.

It let out a startled whine and he pulled his sai back, kicking it off of him and onto the ground. It recovered just as he was on his feet and leapt for him, knocking him back into the tree and snapping its large muzzle over his head. If he'd been human, he probably would have been the new headless horseman.

As he was, he managed to duck his head into his shell just in time and popped it back out as the beast started in surprise. Raph landed a pretty solid punch to its jaw and the beast pulled back, giving him four seconds to collect himself before it was spinning around and locking a furious glare on his little brother.

Anger shoving all else to the side, Raph was on his feet and tackling the beast before it took more than two steps forward, once more jabbing his sai into its furry shoulder.

He managed to rip his sai back out as it howled in pain and then took off in the opposite direction; disappearing from their view as Raph landed on the ground panting hard, both from the scare of its appearance and the sudden battle.

His younger brother hurried to his side and Raph was quick to reassure him that he was fine even as the young doctor checked him over himself to make certain of this, practically collapsing in relief. "You idiot."

"Not my finest moment." Raph agreed as he scooped an arm around his shell and practically carried him back next to the wall, wincing in sympathy at the small gasp of pain his action received. "Sorry, Don."

He set his brother down and glanced at his shoulder nervously, hating there wasn't anything he could do for it until they reached the farmhouse. He glanced at his brother and saw that the relief was slowly being consumed by new fear as he scanned behind them, the hothead grasping his hand on squeezing it. "It'll be alright. I won't let that thing touch you again."

"What about you?" The question was small and innocent and made Raph want to punch something.

He couldn't promise his brother that he wasn't going to get hurt defending him; he had a feeling that he'd just got lucky this round and wouldn't have the same luck fighting it again. He squeezed his hand again. "I took care of it once, didn't I? Don't worry about it."

His younger brother's anxious posture relaxed and Raph settled down next to him, prompting him to continue the lecture that he wasn't actually going to bother listening to as a means of distraction, his younger brother content to oblige him.

Raph didn't have any way of telling time, but it seemed only a few minutes passed before they heard branches cracking; Donnie falling silent beside him.

He moved into a crouched position and removed both his sais as he instructed his younger brother to stay quiet beside him, standing up and making his way towards the sound, but stopping just short of actually entering the foliage.

For a long moment, there was silence.

Then Donnie watched in horror as a flash of green announced that Raph was getting dragged into the forest, his older brother's shrill cry the last thing that he heard before he was found himself alone again.