1998-04 – Letters from Leonardo

Hello!

Amazing! So much time has passed since we last spoke! It’s very difficult for us to get a chance to write… I wish that it wasn’t so! In fact, if it weren’t for Donatello nagging us, we wouldn’t have sat down to write this week either! With Spring arriving, our work efforts have stepped up dramatically!

Venus and I have been making an effort to clean up our section of the sewer. She worries (rightfully so!) that we’ll get sick from living in so much garbage and debris. Fortunately, our mutation seems to have made us immune to most common sickness and disease, but we’re getting older now so we’ve got to start being more careful. Master Splinter is most pleased with our efforts! My brothers, I’m sad to report, don’t seem to find value in a clean apartment… so it’s an uphill battle for Venus and I to keep things under control (which isn’t really a surprise, but it is disappointing).

Venus has really become part of the family now. All of the initial nervousness and awkwardness is gone, and she can finally let her guard down. Although she is very kind and disciplined, she can cut insults with the best of them! She really took Raph down a few pegs a week or so ago when he refused to clean his room and gave her lip about it! I’ve never seen her so fiery… and I’ve never seen Raph look so shocked! After she let him have it, he cleaned his room… FAST! Ha hah! Poor Raph!

On one of our cleaning trips, Venus and I came upon the rooms where Leatherhead had set up a base for a time. Don has been using the area to store equipment (since Leatherhead had stockpiled a huge amount of Utrom’s equipment there). We didn’t really know what to do with this room, as we weren’t sure what Donatello had planned for it… but it was also one of the largest and most protected spaces nearby, so we wanted to use it for more storage at the very least. Fortunately, Don happened to be in salvaging parts when we arrived, and he agreed to help us reorganize the room. This alone took three full weeks! Donatello was very thorough about how things should be stored and in what order, and when it was all done we had condensed everything tightly and the space had far more room and things were easily located. It was hard work, but we felt very satisfied in the end! Don actually thinks he may move his lab here, as he’s getting cramped in our current abode.

Don also told us about his adventure with Renet… I’m sorry that we weren’t there to help him, but I’m glad that everything worked out okay. In the past I’d probably have blamed myself for not being there for Don, but Venus is helping me to understand that I can’t be all things to all people and be everywhere at once. Trying to be a “leader” is very complex, but Venus is helping me get over the stress that I inflict upon myself… which she rightly points out only hurts my performance. She’s a great friend!

My ankle has healed fully from the fall I took back in February. The warm weather helps! When it gets damp and cold it aches… Master Splinter suggested that I grow accustomed to that, as the pain may never go away. Oh boy… something REAL great to look forward to in my old age!

So Spring is here and things have been busy with work… which is a nice change over being busy with fighting! We had a few skirmishes with the Dragon Lord and his henchmen of course, but while we were initially very outmatched by these thugs, we’ve since learned their weaknesses and now they are no more a danger than the Shredder and the Foot were… which isn’t to say that they aren’t dangerous, just that we are more confident that we can hold our own against them. We had April check up on what happened with Bonesteel. She said that he was charged with possession of illegal weapons and served 30 days in jail, but he’s out now… which unfortunately means that he’ll be back to bothering us soon.

That’s the news for now! I hope you’re Spring is going well!

Master Splinter

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