Destiny sticks to what she decided. She still never manages to wake up before Diaval, but that hardly dampens her spirit. She goes outside every morning after breakfast with her sword in hand and her hair tied back. Diaval sits beneath the tire swing tree and levitates himself for as long as he possibly can, taking short breaks in between attempts. He pulls out his bow and arrow sometimes, shooting at various targets that Destiny suggests, and he hits it dead on each time. Destiny does katas and gets used to the handling of her sword, little by little.

She can't help but feel slightly robbed whenever she looks at the weapon, knowing that she never got to use it in battle after Splinter gave it to her. Despite that regret, she uses it as motivation alongside the knowledge that snow isn't too far off, which will make training difficult. Imagine how fun it will be when she'll get to show off how good she's gotten at using it, that is, when she does go home. She'll be stronger than ever.

Destiny and Diaval sit inside after their sessions, Destiny relaxing her aching muscles and Diaval relaxing his aching mind. She reads one of the books that she found on the shelf inside the home, titled "Knights of the Round Table", while he sits at the table and stares at the fireplace as he chews on a carrot.

"Do you have to go help Oscar soon?" she asks without diverting her attention from the book, flipping a page as she says it.

He nods. "Yup. Baling hay, get it in the barn."

He stops chewing the carrot long enough to yawn, his head dipping down into his elbow to stifle the noise. Her stark irises flicker to him for a second as he smacks his lips quietly.

It doesn't take a genius to see that both teenagers are overtired, but Diaval seems more so. He's had the circles under his eyes for as long as Destiny's known him, but somehow they look darker to her now. Her mouth presses into a straight line.

"You seem more tired than usual," she says slowly, pretending to still be half-paying attention to her book. "Are you sleeping okay?"

He grimaces slightly as he swallows a chewed up bit of vegetable. "Fine. Sleep's good."

She arches an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Mhm." He looks at her for a second. "How's the head?"

Her ears flatten against her hair. "Alright."

"Mhm."

She exhales and decides to drop the conversation. Unfortunately, most of their interactions add up to similar ends. Destiny brings up a concern or thought, Diaval shrugs and offers little more to go on, they lapse into silence. She'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't mind it at all.

He stands up from the table, adjusting his cloak as the last part of his snack disappears into his mouth. He starts towards the door.

"You should have another nap," he says, jerking his thumb upstairs. "Could do you good."

He pulls his shoes on and heads out, shutting the door behind him. Destiny stares at the door, the quiet invading the space. She glances down at the page she's on, a long sigh leaving her.

A rhythmic beeping sounds from the centre table, where her t-phone sits. She reaches over and picks it up, reading the text.

M: Dudette, I know you're off in Canada, but this is important! What character would you be in Mazes and Mutants?! Please respond, Desti-bear, I bet against Raph on this!

She frowns slightly, wondering what on earth "Mazes and Mutants" is. She opens her phone and does a quick internet search, her lips forming an "o" shape as she reads that it's an old roleplaying game.

She goes back to the text message, but doesn't move to type anything. Her pointed teeth snag against her lip as she puts her phone down. She glances down at her book, where it's open to a story about a princess and a knight named Tristan.

She gives in and types out a quick message.

D: Warrior princess, maybe.

She sends it and sets her phone down, fidgeting in place as she gets back to her book. The next time the phone alerts her, she merely peeks at the message.

M: Ooo, yeah! I win! Raph said you'd be some kind of animal tamer! Haha!

She smiles faintly. She tries to get back to reading, but her headache worsens as it goes on and she finally gives up, bookmarking her page before heading upstairs to take a much needed nap.

----------

One night, Destiny wakes from her nightmares. She takes shaky breaths, wiping the tears from her cheeks and trying to make her entire body less stiff. She has to admit, she's surprised that her usual dream about Leonardo didn't interrupt the terrors today.

She tries to burrow deeper into the blankets, focusing on sleep, but her thoughts keep straying to the dark side of things. Blood, screams, Shredder's spine chilling laugh, they echo in her ears and invade the black sheet of her vision when she closes her eyes.

She sits up, bunching the blanket around her legs as she looks across the small room to where Diaval's bed is. He has his back to her, his blanketed body lifting and falling with his breaths. The house is dark save for the light of the moon coming in from outside.

She pushes herself out of bed and shuffles across the floor to his bed, hesitant, and peers over at him, taking in the sight of his almost peaceful face, his hair in a mop on the pillow and forehead. The moon casts slight shadows over the curves of his jaw and nose and he has one arm resting over top of the blanket, revealing his pale yet muscled arms. Destiny looks at the mark over his eye, idly wondering if a certain Foot member gave him that too.

"Diaval?" she whispers, reaching out to him. A wind blows outside and the grove of trees erupt into a rustling bunch of noise that makes her fur stand on end. "D-Diaval?"

Her fingertips graze his shoulder. His eyes snap open and he instantly goes rigid, his hands tightening around his blanket. Destiny yanks her arm back as if she just touched a hot stove. 

Diaval's breaths come out harsh, tight, and strained, but he doesn't make a sound. He stares at the wall. It's like he's waiting for her to do something.

"I...I'm sorry," she breathes.

There's no change to his body language. "W-What...d'you need?"

Her cheeks flush with colour and she hooks her hands in front of her. "I had another nightmare and now I can't sleep without..." She shudders, gulping audibly. "Could I just lie down with you? Being near someone alive usually helps."

His lips purse. A cricket chirps outside. Destiny's ears twitch as an owl hoots.

"Fine, but...don't touch," he mumbles, scooting closer to the wall as he shoves his extra pillow towards her.

"Okay, I won't," she whispers.

She crawls onto the bed, getting under the blanket and turning her back to him. She closes her eyes, her tail brushing against the material of Diaval's pants as she puts every thought in her mind to work with focusing on the warmth of a living presence near her. He smells like spice, hay, and a barn, yet the scent is more familiar than gross to her. Oddly enough, it reminds her of the lair. With him near, she slowly drifts back to sleep.

Diaval, on the other hand, stays wide awake for long after she joins him. She makes a doglike noise in her sleep and rolls over, nuzzling up to his back as she exhales. He becomes even more rigid, his eyes starting to burn as his heartbeat accelerates.

He forces himself to blink as strained breaths move through his gritted teeth. He reminds himself over and over again that it's different this time. She isn't going to do anything to hurt him. He's safe. She just needs comfort and he's the only one she can turn to.

He shifts in place, rolling onto his back as carefully as he can. She sniffs and nuzzles her head against the mattress, tucking her nose against the blanket as she tugs it further up her body. Diaval shuts his eyes and runs his hand through his hair before looking back down at her, honing in on her desire. The warmth comes, filling him to the brim with the emotions locked within her heart, the ones she doesn't voice, and his tense muscles manage to loosen up enough that he feels he can breathe.

It's enough to send him drifting back into slumber.

The next morning, Destiny is the first awake for the first time since she came to Canada. She maneuvers herself out of bed and tucks the blanket back over Diaval before she pads downstairs to make herself breakfast. When he does wake up, they don't talk about it.

He makes sure that he's always awake to ward off her nightmares after that.

----------

Classical music weaves through the afternoon air, offering a serene mood to the tiny home.

"Diaval," Destiny says. He offers a grunt as a sign that he heard her. "I've been thinking about New York."

"You wanna go back," he states, taking a sip of his tea as he flips through a farm magazine.

She blinks a few times. "Well, maybe...just for a visit. I have unfinished business," she says, unsheathing her claws and using them to scratch at the back of her neck. "How'd you know?"

"It's your desire," he says, as if he just said that the sky is blue or the Earth is circular.

"Oh..."

He takes another sip of his tea and sets down the cup. He glances down at it for a second before reaching over and grabbing the chilli flakes, which he proceeds to shake into his cup.

"I know that the serum is still there, but it's weaker now," she says, poking at the crust of bread adorning her nearly empty lunch plate. "We could go in December, right around Christmas. I've...never had Christmas with a family. It feels wrong not to be there."

Diaval sets down the container and starts to stir his newly spice-ified beverage. "Sounds nice."

"You could see Karai."

His face lightens just a bit at that. "Suppose."

Destiny picks the crust off her plate and flicks the end into her mouth, biting off a chunk as she casts her gaze to the snow starting to fall outside.

"Diaval, how do I know if..." She trails off, the words getting caught in her throat. Diaval glances up at her, his hand hovering over a page decorated with a shiny tractor. "How...do I know if I love someone?"

He blinks. "Uh..."

"I know, it's a weird question to ask you, but I want to know your opinion," she continues, dropping the crust as she starts to twist a curl around her finger. "I've never really loved anyone, but I think that's changing. I'm not sure," she sighs.

He looks at his lap, brushing a few crumbs from his shirt as he does. "If someone makes you happy, if you feel safe around 'em, if...you don't feel alone when you're with 'em, then you love 'em."

A small laugh escapes her. "That's almost like what April said about having a crush," she admits, her tone gaining a note of nostalgia.

Diaval gazes at Destiny, a sudden and inexplicable idea popping into his head as he straightens up. "And, uh..." She looks over at him as his tongue moistens his lips. "They're...the one thing you want most when you're scared?"

Her face floods with blush. "Oh, you think so?"

He slumps back as he nods, averting his eyes. "You're...thinking about Leo?"

Her eyes find the floor. "He keeps showing up in my dreams." She huffs out a breath and clenches her jaw, thinking over her next words. "Did you...hear what he said to me that night?"

Again, he bobs his head up and down in answer. "Yeah."

"It keeps playing in my head. I want to say it, but not because I feel obligated to. I want to say it because I mean it, so what if I get it wrong?"

"'M...not all that smart, but...the heart's a good judge," he says. Destiny's green eyes widen slightly as he gets to his feet and gathers his dishes. "Don't think it'd be wrong."

She smiles up at him. "You're actually pretty nice to talk to when you engage."

He shuffles over and takes her plate, gripping them rather tightly. His lips twitch at the sides. "Mhm."