Chapter Text
Leo was not expecting his day to go like this.
He was going on solo patrol due to his brothers being completely drained due to training. Leo rolled his eyes as he remembered his brothers collective groans as they complained about how Sensei had left their shells aching.
Leo was actually quite enjoying the quiet, not having to deal with his brothers whining. His patrol had strayed far off the normal path as he enjoyed the peaceful New York night. Because of this Leo had managed to find himself at New York's edge and was staring at a highway that stretched over and through a thick forest.
The air was fresher out here. Leo sat on the edge of a building and sighed. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, listening to the faint beeping of rushing cars and the wind blowing through autumn leaves. Leo allowed himself a smile, and embraced the calm.
CLANG
Ok looks like the calm is over. Leo stood and quietly creeped over to the nearby ally and looked down. A small covered figure was digging through boxes of fresh meat that must have been delivered to the restaurant below.
Leo glared at the figure ‘Damn porch pirates’ the turtle thought angrily. This guy was only a porch pirate so he probably didn’t need to use his weapons but he was still going to keep his guard up.
The ninja dropped silently into the alley, all he needed to do was scare this guy off so they wouldn't steal from this small business. Leo looked over at a trash can next to him and he kicked it over. The person was obscured by the boxes but he could see them freeze in place at the noise.
Leo took a step closer to the figure, still being in the shadows but silhouette now visible. “Hey, put that stuff down pal. I don’t want to hurt you.” There was no movement for a while and Leo stayed still. Finally the figure moved, but it wasn’t to leave. They leapt from out the boxes with armfuls of bagged raw meat, knocking over more boxes in the process. Leo was going to rush forward and pin them but stopped when he saw the person in full.
Their form was shrouded in a cloak but one thing was very clear… They were a kid. They were hardly at his waist. The kid stated still and stared at Leo, most likely trying to properly make him out among the shadows. Leo took a breath and lowered himself to one knee before speaking slowly and calmly.
“Hello. I’m Leonardo, I don’t want to hurt you. Why are you stealing that?” the kid only tilted their head. Leo guessed he didn’t make a very good first impression. They were probably on the streets and just looking for food. Leo tried talking again, “Do you have parents? A Home? If you need, I can point you to the nearest homeless shelter.” Leo took a hesitant step forward… which was the wrong choice apparently.
The kid turned his back to him and sprinted out of the alley with the stolen meat. “Hey!” Leo shouted. He impulsively gave chase to the surprisingly fast child, and they knew the area better than him so they had the home field advantage. Leo would have kept up fine if not for the kid worming his way through tight spaces and going routes he couldn’t follow.
Eventually the kid had made it to an intersection and much to Leo's surprise darted across it despite the traffic. Leo halted and crouched behind a bush to avoid human gaze. He peeked around the edge of the bush to see the kid make it safely to the other side and disappear into the woods.
Well. that was weird.