Sequel: Angel's Child ›
Golden Angel
Chapter 53
“Why are we out ‘ere, Artie?”
“We’re all going to be fighting together, so I thought some spiritual connection was in order.”
“…Splinter told ya an’ Leo ta stop makin’ out in the barn?”
“…Yes…”
Mizu giggled a bit at that, covering her mouth, and Kasai had an amused smile on her face.
“But that’s not the point.” Artemis insisted.
Chi stopped snickering, and the four teens sat comfortably on the soft grass of the clearing they’d entered.
“We need to learn to work as a team and make up for each others weaknesses. Our different elements should make this much easier.”
Mizu seemed curious enough, and tilted her head.
“How are we going to do that?”
Artemis sighed, not really enjoying her time as ‘leader’.
“Any good team is built on trust. I trust my brothers with my life, and that’s why we work so well. So all we need to do is start gaining each others trust.”
“We trust ya…” Chi stated awkwardly.
The other girls nodded in agreement.
“I know. And I trust all of you.” The jade-skinned turtle assured.
“But can we REALLY trust each other? Can we tell each other are darkest secrets?”
She looked up, eyes demanding their full attention.
“I’m willing to open up my heart to you guys, but will you join me?”
Hesitant expressions, but Chi steeled herself.
“I will.”
Feeling reassured, Mizu nodded in agreement.
“We’re with you.”
Crimson eyes turned to Kasai, asking the question over again.
“…Me, too.” The gold-eyed girl forced out, no stuttering in her voice.
She wasn’t going to back down now…
The she-turtle relaxed, a smile on her face.
“Alright, then…”
She looked up at them, keeping her breathing calm…
“Where should we start?”
All three tensed, turning their eyes away…
“We have to start somewhere.” Artemis insisted, not giving in.
This was important, and they’d do it!
“…Sisters?”
They looked back at her hovering hand, registering what she was asking.
“…Sisters.”
Mizu’s hand joined the three-fingered one in the center of their circle…
“…All fer one an’ one fer all.”
Chi smirked a bit at her joke, placing her hands on theirs…
“…F-Family.” Kasai agreed, joining them.
“No one gets left behind.”
Artemis put her free hand onto the pile, eyes closed.
“Air, water, earth, fire…They seem so different, but they’re not. And neither are we.”
She looked at the three other girls seriously.
“Our strengths and weaknesses balance each other, we need each other to be whole. We’ll stick through everything together. Never alone.”
The others nodded, feeling a small weight leave them at the thought of having someone there to catch them for always…
“We’re with you.” They chorused.
The gold-banded turtle smiled, and the group relaxed their arms.
“Then lets start.”
The girls settled into the Lotus position, and crimson-colored eyes landed on Mizu.
“Mizu?”
The unasked question.
Would you do this for us?
Will you let us help you?
The Waterbender nodded hesitantly.
The others settled, the storms in them calming for now, unaware of the one about to be unleashed…
“…I lived in the Battle Nexus most of my life, just…being a kid. My mom seemed to enjoy seeing me happy, but…”
Blue eyes lowered…
“My father always seemed displeased with me...He wanted perfection from everything, and I couldn’t give him that…Then…”
Tears shimmered, like raindrops over a clear lake…
“Mom died…”
Sympathy wrenched at the others hearts, one only able to imagine the horrible pain and the others remembering…
They surrounded her in a warm embrace, soothing the tears that began to flow and reminding her that everything was alright…
“Someone had stabbed her in the heart…No one ever found who had done it…And my father handed me over to the Council…”
“Council?”
“Some men that looked over my village…They already knew what I was…What I was meant to do…My mother had been the only thing standing in their way…”
The earth rumbled, the wind howled, and fiery sparks filled the air with crackling…
“They took everything from me…and my father let them…”
She closed her eyes, hiding her face in Artemis’s plastron…
“At the Battle Nexus…That was the first time I’d seen him in six years…and the first time I’d spoken to him in eight…”
Tears flowed, dried, sobs cut through the air like knives…
But the three girls never released their hold.
They soothed and hugged and spoke until the pain was gone and Mizu’s old scars finally began to heal.
Once sure the black-haired Waterbender wouldn’t break down, everyone returned to their seats in the tighter circle.
‘Who should be next?’
Artemis didn’t want to know the extent of Bishop’s cruelty just yet…
“Chi?”
The Earthbender sighed, closing her unseeing eyes and trying to breathe…
“I wasn’t ‘lways an orphan…I had my ma, an’ that’s all I needed. She…did a lot ‘a thin’s she wasn’t proud ‘a in order ta support us, but I ne’er blamed ‘er…”
Artemis steeled her soft heart…
“She…had ta be a prostitute in order ta get money in, an’ ‘lways came ‘ome wit’ bruises…”
Eyes glazed over with something other than blindness…
“One night…she ne’er came ‘ome…some ‘ad killed ‘er…killed ‘er fer no good reason…”
Earth shook, startling birds into the air as tears escaped her lids and burned her cheeks…
“I lived on the streets after that…an’ was found by the Purple Dragons…”
Artemis felt her heart tighten…
‘Oh, Chi…’
“They took care ‘a me, ‘specially when they foun’ out what I could do…I ne’er did nothin’ bad, but they were probably tryin’ ta build me up ta it…”
She gave a shaky breath, feeling the warmth of the others surround her.
She felt safe, and her floundering soul found firm footing.
“…Sorry…” She managed to force out, gripping to Artemis like a lifeline as a gentle hand rubbed her back.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for…” The she-turtle soothed as the others tightened their hold.
“No one could blame you. Besides, you’re in a better place now.”
“…I know…”
Sure the Earthbender was stable once more, the jade-skinned turtle let out a breath…
So much kept inside…
Didn’t it hurt?
Then again, she wasn’t one to talk…
She’d hidden things from her brothers…
Kasai was next, and she knew it, so she fiddled with her deep red tank top nervously.
A jade-skinned hand over her own…
“Kasai?”
“…I-I lived with m-my parents out i-in the country wh-when I was l-little…They were n-nice, I remember…a-and sweet…when I-I turned five, I-I began to d-develop my inner f-fire, and accidentally sc-scorched the stove…”
Kasai looked away, still insecure…
“S-Somehow…Bishop found o-out…Stormed our h-house…”
Tears welled up as the memory replayed in her head…
“Th-They dragged me a-away…”
One slipped free, cooling her skin as she pulled her knees up to her chest…
“All I h-heard after that w-were gunshots…”
Warm hugs, like the sun itself was cradling her to its bosom, and she let the tears free…
“I-I couldn’t c-control it…m-my fire…”
The three understood, having seen her when they’d first gotten to the farm.
The sun made Firebenders stronger, and her long absence from it made the power too much for her to control…
Raph had somehow managed to calm her, and the gold/red-haired girl slowly grew used to it…
“E-Everything was g-gone…And m-my nightmare s-started…”
Mizu spotted the almost-white scars on the inside of the girl’s arms, and trees shook as the water within them raged…
“Did you…?”
“N-No…he did…”
Artemis began to rock back and forth as Kasai sobbed in her lap, muttering soothing words into her ear until she calmed.
Once the girl’s shaking had stopped, as well as their own, everyone hesitantly separated.
Now-expectant eyes turned to the gold-banded turtle, and she knew it was her turn…
“I don’t have much to complain about…I have a great father, loving brothers, and an amazing boyfriend…but…”
She stilled her hands as they began to shake…
“What I’ve been so scared of is losing them…”
The others understood…
Artemis was so close to her family that being without them would have been like ripping the turtle’s heart out…
“They always ask me why…Why did I take that punch? Why did I stay and get hurt? Why did I get in the way?”
She looked up at them, eyes unguarded and wavering the sunlight…
“I did it to protect them, but they don’t understand…If something happened to them-.”
Her voice caught in her throat with a half-sob at the very thought…
“I don’t know what I’d do…”
Mizu put an arm around the turtle’s shoulders, trying to soothe her…
“I’ve had nightmares for years about them dying…Now they’ve been replaced with reality.”
Chi came in, hugging the she-turtle around the waist, her stable aura helping the crimson-eyed turtle to continue…
“Shredder wants to kill them all and take me away…Stockman’s obsessed with our demise…Bishop wants to dissect us…”
A tear slipped free as Kasai hugged her around the shell…
“It’s too much for one person…”
“But yer not alone.” Chi assured firmly.
“Remember, we’re sisters. All for one and one for all.” Mizu agreed.
“W-We’re family. Nobody g-gets left behind.”
After a moment, Artemis nodded, leaning on her friends…
She’d been their anchor, and now they were hers…
She couldn’t think of anything better than having that weight lifted off her heart…
“I think that’s enough for today…” She managed to force out, smiling.
“We’d better head back…There’s no telling what the guys have gotten themselves into…”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Firebending isn’t just about destruction. It’s life, it’s passion, and you don’t need anger to fuel it.”
Artemis nodded, facing her teacher as the others watched from the porch.
“Anger is hard to control, volatile, and you need to find another source.”
“Like what?”
Kasai smiled slightly.
“What are you passionate about?”
The she-turtle blushed, a smile creeping up her face…
“Leo…”
“Well, love is the hottest fire you can have. All you have to do is learn how to control it.”
Nodding, Artemis fell into a stance, breathing steadily.
“Breathing is the most important part of Firebending. Lose control of your breathing, and you lose control of the flames.”
Closing her eyes, she kept a steady breathing pattern, imagining the fire inside her…
One in the pit of her stomach, simmering like hot coals, and another burning in her heart.
It sparked hearts and seemed to crackle like bird’s songs…
Opening her eyes, the jade-skinned turtle looked up at Kasai.
“I found it.”
“Good, but that’s the easy part.”
The gold/red-haired girl closed her eyes, breathing out steam…
“The hard part is channeling it…”
“I’m ready.”
Both locked gazes, muscles tense, and Kasai smiled.
“We’ll see…”
Sparks flew, and limbs clashed as they sparred.
It was like a suspenseful dance that kept its audience on the edge of their seats.
Leo was worried Artemis would get burned, but Raph’s attention was riveted to the Firebender.
Something about her seemed…
DIFFERENT…
She hardly stuttered anymore, and seemed more prone to smiling and laughing around him.
Like a weight had been lifted off of her and she was free.
And her fighting…
Unprovoked, she was a defensive and swift-footed fighter, no fire behind her few attacks…
But provoked…
Even in a spar, her moves were fast and violent, purely offensive, fire surrounding her in an angel’s glow…
The two bender’s stopped in a stalemate, breathing deeply, before they smiled.
“Y-You did great.”
“You give great advice.”
One thing would probably never change…
Kasai would always blush when complimented…
Now free of their spell, the two elder turtles noticed their younger brothers had snuck off with their girls, and were, in Mikey’s case, probably making out.
“You guys didn’t have to watch.” Artemis teased, throwing a towel around her neck.
“We would’ve been fine.”
She noticed Leo staring at her intently, as if not hearing her voice, and she quirked an eye-ridge before she realized what it was.
The fast-paced sparring and the heat had caused her to sweat, and her skin and plastron glistened like diamonds in the sunlight.
“Well, am I to assume hormones are at work?”
The blue-banded turtle looked up at that, blushing, but he still smiled, pulling her closer.
“Well, maybe if you weren’t such a tease…”
She smiled coyly, leg moving up his own to make him shiver…
“Oh, really? You can’t tell me you don’t like it…”
He nuzzled her shoulder, breathing in her scent…
“That might be true, but you sure don’t hide that you like it, too…”
“Why would I?” She asked innocently.
The blue-banded turtle smirked, pulling her off towards the forest…
“You’ll see…”
Silence once they were gone…
“W-Well…Everybody sure i-is…BUSY…” Kasai managed, giving Raph a shy smile.
“Do ya wanna just…”
The red-banded turtle looked around as if to find something.
“Watch the sunset?”
She smiled wider, nodding, and pulled her long hair into a ponytail.
Unlike Artemis, who had no clothes on when she was sweaty, the Firebender had the deep red tank top and short shorts to cling to her.
The two settled under a large tree over-looking a low valley as the sun began to set.
The sky was a deep orange, fading to red and purple and finally a deep, dark blue in the distance.
Kasai seemed tired, and rubbed at her eye as if to fight off sleep as she leaned on the red-banded turtle.
He blushed, averting his eyes, and ‘discreetly’ put an arm around her shoulders.
She smiled sleepy, curling up against his side as she rested her head on his shoulder.
The sun was almost lost behind the horizon, and he watched her as the last golden rays made her hair shimmer as she slipped into sleep…
He wouldn’t forget this moment as long as he lived…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artemis churred as her shell was pressed against rough bark, a hungry kiss forced onto her mouth.
“LEO…” She moaned as his hot mouth moved down her neck.
“I can’t take it…”
Their plastrons scratched against each other, and her arms tightened around his neck.
“I need you…”
His voice was a deep growl of arousal, and it caused a heat to spread through her.
“I need you…”
His teeth clamped onto her shoulder, though not hard enough to draw blood.
She almost purred, her legs wrapped around his shell and holding him close.
“I’m yours…” She whispered into his ear, voice rough with heat.
Something like a growl of dominance flooded through him, and Artemis suddenly found herself on the ground, being touched in such a way that made her arch despite her shell.
“Oh, Leo-!”
Let’s say that the…ACTIVITIES…after that left both panting for breath and content…
“We’re all going to be fighting together, so I thought some spiritual connection was in order.”
“…Splinter told ya an’ Leo ta stop makin’ out in the barn?”
“…Yes…”
Mizu giggled a bit at that, covering her mouth, and Kasai had an amused smile on her face.
“But that’s not the point.” Artemis insisted.
Chi stopped snickering, and the four teens sat comfortably on the soft grass of the clearing they’d entered.
“We need to learn to work as a team and make up for each others weaknesses. Our different elements should make this much easier.”
Mizu seemed curious enough, and tilted her head.
“How are we going to do that?”
Artemis sighed, not really enjoying her time as ‘leader’.
“Any good team is built on trust. I trust my brothers with my life, and that’s why we work so well. So all we need to do is start gaining each others trust.”
“We trust ya…” Chi stated awkwardly.
The other girls nodded in agreement.
“I know. And I trust all of you.” The jade-skinned turtle assured.
“But can we REALLY trust each other? Can we tell each other are darkest secrets?”
She looked up, eyes demanding their full attention.
“I’m willing to open up my heart to you guys, but will you join me?”
Hesitant expressions, but Chi steeled herself.
“I will.”
Feeling reassured, Mizu nodded in agreement.
“We’re with you.”
Crimson eyes turned to Kasai, asking the question over again.
“…Me, too.” The gold-eyed girl forced out, no stuttering in her voice.
She wasn’t going to back down now…
The she-turtle relaxed, a smile on her face.
“Alright, then…”
She looked up at them, keeping her breathing calm…
“Where should we start?”
All three tensed, turning their eyes away…
“We have to start somewhere.” Artemis insisted, not giving in.
This was important, and they’d do it!
“…Sisters?”
They looked back at her hovering hand, registering what she was asking.
“…Sisters.”
Mizu’s hand joined the three-fingered one in the center of their circle…
“…All fer one an’ one fer all.”
Chi smirked a bit at her joke, placing her hands on theirs…
“…F-Family.” Kasai agreed, joining them.
“No one gets left behind.”
Artemis put her free hand onto the pile, eyes closed.
“Air, water, earth, fire…They seem so different, but they’re not. And neither are we.”
She looked at the three other girls seriously.
“Our strengths and weaknesses balance each other, we need each other to be whole. We’ll stick through everything together. Never alone.”
The others nodded, feeling a small weight leave them at the thought of having someone there to catch them for always…
“We’re with you.” They chorused.
The gold-banded turtle smiled, and the group relaxed their arms.
“Then lets start.”
The girls settled into the Lotus position, and crimson-colored eyes landed on Mizu.
“Mizu?”
The unasked question.
Would you do this for us?
Will you let us help you?
The Waterbender nodded hesitantly.
The others settled, the storms in them calming for now, unaware of the one about to be unleashed…
“…I lived in the Battle Nexus most of my life, just…being a kid. My mom seemed to enjoy seeing me happy, but…”
Blue eyes lowered…
“My father always seemed displeased with me...He wanted perfection from everything, and I couldn’t give him that…Then…”
Tears shimmered, like raindrops over a clear lake…
“Mom died…”
Sympathy wrenched at the others hearts, one only able to imagine the horrible pain and the others remembering…
They surrounded her in a warm embrace, soothing the tears that began to flow and reminding her that everything was alright…
“Someone had stabbed her in the heart…No one ever found who had done it…And my father handed me over to the Council…”
“Council?”
“Some men that looked over my village…They already knew what I was…What I was meant to do…My mother had been the only thing standing in their way…”
The earth rumbled, the wind howled, and fiery sparks filled the air with crackling…
“They took everything from me…and my father let them…”
She closed her eyes, hiding her face in Artemis’s plastron…
“At the Battle Nexus…That was the first time I’d seen him in six years…and the first time I’d spoken to him in eight…”
Tears flowed, dried, sobs cut through the air like knives…
But the three girls never released their hold.
They soothed and hugged and spoke until the pain was gone and Mizu’s old scars finally began to heal.
Once sure the black-haired Waterbender wouldn’t break down, everyone returned to their seats in the tighter circle.
‘Who should be next?’
Artemis didn’t want to know the extent of Bishop’s cruelty just yet…
“Chi?”
The Earthbender sighed, closing her unseeing eyes and trying to breathe…
“I wasn’t ‘lways an orphan…I had my ma, an’ that’s all I needed. She…did a lot ‘a thin’s she wasn’t proud ‘a in order ta support us, but I ne’er blamed ‘er…”
Artemis steeled her soft heart…
“She…had ta be a prostitute in order ta get money in, an’ ‘lways came ‘ome wit’ bruises…”
Eyes glazed over with something other than blindness…
“One night…she ne’er came ‘ome…some ‘ad killed ‘er…killed ‘er fer no good reason…”
Earth shook, startling birds into the air as tears escaped her lids and burned her cheeks…
“I lived on the streets after that…an’ was found by the Purple Dragons…”
Artemis felt her heart tighten…
‘Oh, Chi…’
“They took care ‘a me, ‘specially when they foun’ out what I could do…I ne’er did nothin’ bad, but they were probably tryin’ ta build me up ta it…”
She gave a shaky breath, feeling the warmth of the others surround her.
She felt safe, and her floundering soul found firm footing.
“…Sorry…” She managed to force out, gripping to Artemis like a lifeline as a gentle hand rubbed her back.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for…” The she-turtle soothed as the others tightened their hold.
“No one could blame you. Besides, you’re in a better place now.”
“…I know…”
Sure the Earthbender was stable once more, the jade-skinned turtle let out a breath…
So much kept inside…
Didn’t it hurt?
Then again, she wasn’t one to talk…
She’d hidden things from her brothers…
Kasai was next, and she knew it, so she fiddled with her deep red tank top nervously.
A jade-skinned hand over her own…
“Kasai?”
“…I-I lived with m-my parents out i-in the country wh-when I was l-little…They were n-nice, I remember…a-and sweet…when I-I turned five, I-I began to d-develop my inner f-fire, and accidentally sc-scorched the stove…”
Kasai looked away, still insecure…
“S-Somehow…Bishop found o-out…Stormed our h-house…”
Tears welled up as the memory replayed in her head…
“Th-They dragged me a-away…”
One slipped free, cooling her skin as she pulled her knees up to her chest…
“All I h-heard after that w-were gunshots…”
Warm hugs, like the sun itself was cradling her to its bosom, and she let the tears free…
“I-I couldn’t c-control it…m-my fire…”
The three understood, having seen her when they’d first gotten to the farm.
The sun made Firebenders stronger, and her long absence from it made the power too much for her to control…
Raph had somehow managed to calm her, and the gold/red-haired girl slowly grew used to it…
“E-Everything was g-gone…And m-my nightmare s-started…”
Mizu spotted the almost-white scars on the inside of the girl’s arms, and trees shook as the water within them raged…
“Did you…?”
“N-No…he did…”
Artemis began to rock back and forth as Kasai sobbed in her lap, muttering soothing words into her ear until she calmed.
Once the girl’s shaking had stopped, as well as their own, everyone hesitantly separated.
Now-expectant eyes turned to the gold-banded turtle, and she knew it was her turn…
“I don’t have much to complain about…I have a great father, loving brothers, and an amazing boyfriend…but…”
She stilled her hands as they began to shake…
“What I’ve been so scared of is losing them…”
The others understood…
Artemis was so close to her family that being without them would have been like ripping the turtle’s heart out…
“They always ask me why…Why did I take that punch? Why did I stay and get hurt? Why did I get in the way?”
She looked up at them, eyes unguarded and wavering the sunlight…
“I did it to protect them, but they don’t understand…If something happened to them-.”
Her voice caught in her throat with a half-sob at the very thought…
“I don’t know what I’d do…”
Mizu put an arm around the turtle’s shoulders, trying to soothe her…
“I’ve had nightmares for years about them dying…Now they’ve been replaced with reality.”
Chi came in, hugging the she-turtle around the waist, her stable aura helping the crimson-eyed turtle to continue…
“Shredder wants to kill them all and take me away…Stockman’s obsessed with our demise…Bishop wants to dissect us…”
A tear slipped free as Kasai hugged her around the shell…
“It’s too much for one person…”
“But yer not alone.” Chi assured firmly.
“Remember, we’re sisters. All for one and one for all.” Mizu agreed.
“W-We’re family. Nobody g-gets left behind.”
After a moment, Artemis nodded, leaning on her friends…
She’d been their anchor, and now they were hers…
She couldn’t think of anything better than having that weight lifted off her heart…
“I think that’s enough for today…” She managed to force out, smiling.
“We’d better head back…There’s no telling what the guys have gotten themselves into…”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Firebending isn’t just about destruction. It’s life, it’s passion, and you don’t need anger to fuel it.”
Artemis nodded, facing her teacher as the others watched from the porch.
“Anger is hard to control, volatile, and you need to find another source.”
“Like what?”
Kasai smiled slightly.
“What are you passionate about?”
The she-turtle blushed, a smile creeping up her face…
“Leo…”
“Well, love is the hottest fire you can have. All you have to do is learn how to control it.”
Nodding, Artemis fell into a stance, breathing steadily.
“Breathing is the most important part of Firebending. Lose control of your breathing, and you lose control of the flames.”
Closing her eyes, she kept a steady breathing pattern, imagining the fire inside her…
One in the pit of her stomach, simmering like hot coals, and another burning in her heart.
It sparked hearts and seemed to crackle like bird’s songs…
Opening her eyes, the jade-skinned turtle looked up at Kasai.
“I found it.”
“Good, but that’s the easy part.”
The gold/red-haired girl closed her eyes, breathing out steam…
“The hard part is channeling it…”
“I’m ready.”
Both locked gazes, muscles tense, and Kasai smiled.
“We’ll see…”
Sparks flew, and limbs clashed as they sparred.
It was like a suspenseful dance that kept its audience on the edge of their seats.
Leo was worried Artemis would get burned, but Raph’s attention was riveted to the Firebender.
Something about her seemed…
DIFFERENT…
She hardly stuttered anymore, and seemed more prone to smiling and laughing around him.
Like a weight had been lifted off of her and she was free.
And her fighting…
Unprovoked, she was a defensive and swift-footed fighter, no fire behind her few attacks…
But provoked…
Even in a spar, her moves were fast and violent, purely offensive, fire surrounding her in an angel’s glow…
The two bender’s stopped in a stalemate, breathing deeply, before they smiled.
“Y-You did great.”
“You give great advice.”
One thing would probably never change…
Kasai would always blush when complimented…
Now free of their spell, the two elder turtles noticed their younger brothers had snuck off with their girls, and were, in Mikey’s case, probably making out.
“You guys didn’t have to watch.” Artemis teased, throwing a towel around her neck.
“We would’ve been fine.”
She noticed Leo staring at her intently, as if not hearing her voice, and she quirked an eye-ridge before she realized what it was.
The fast-paced sparring and the heat had caused her to sweat, and her skin and plastron glistened like diamonds in the sunlight.
“Well, am I to assume hormones are at work?”
The blue-banded turtle looked up at that, blushing, but he still smiled, pulling her closer.
“Well, maybe if you weren’t such a tease…”
She smiled coyly, leg moving up his own to make him shiver…
“Oh, really? You can’t tell me you don’t like it…”
He nuzzled her shoulder, breathing in her scent…
“That might be true, but you sure don’t hide that you like it, too…”
“Why would I?” She asked innocently.
The blue-banded turtle smirked, pulling her off towards the forest…
“You’ll see…”
Silence once they were gone…
“W-Well…Everybody sure i-is…BUSY…” Kasai managed, giving Raph a shy smile.
“Do ya wanna just…”
The red-banded turtle looked around as if to find something.
“Watch the sunset?”
She smiled wider, nodding, and pulled her long hair into a ponytail.
Unlike Artemis, who had no clothes on when she was sweaty, the Firebender had the deep red tank top and short shorts to cling to her.
The two settled under a large tree over-looking a low valley as the sun began to set.
The sky was a deep orange, fading to red and purple and finally a deep, dark blue in the distance.
Kasai seemed tired, and rubbed at her eye as if to fight off sleep as she leaned on the red-banded turtle.
He blushed, averting his eyes, and ‘discreetly’ put an arm around her shoulders.
She smiled sleepy, curling up against his side as she rested her head on his shoulder.
The sun was almost lost behind the horizon, and he watched her as the last golden rays made her hair shimmer as she slipped into sleep…
He wouldn’t forget this moment as long as he lived…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artemis churred as her shell was pressed against rough bark, a hungry kiss forced onto her mouth.
“LEO…” She moaned as his hot mouth moved down her neck.
“I can’t take it…”
Their plastrons scratched against each other, and her arms tightened around his neck.
“I need you…”
His voice was a deep growl of arousal, and it caused a heat to spread through her.
“I need you…”
His teeth clamped onto her shoulder, though not hard enough to draw blood.
She almost purred, her legs wrapped around his shell and holding him close.
“I’m yours…” She whispered into his ear, voice rough with heat.
Something like a growl of dominance flooded through him, and Artemis suddenly found herself on the ground, being touched in such a way that made her arch despite her shell.
“Oh, Leo-!”
Let’s say that the…ACTIVITIES…after that left both panting for breath and content…