#also yes splinter is a ferret in this au and not a rat

[bambiraptorx]

Welcome to Not Quite Hidden AU. This is a poll-based story. Word count: 504

There are many things that Draxum isn’t a fan of, and small children and grocery shopping are among them.  Not that he hates either of them, of course, it’s more of a mild dislike than anything else; something that must be dealt with occasionally but can generally be ignored.  Annoying as both of those things can be, they are a part of life.

Combining them, however?  Rather more than a mild dislike at this point.

He pins his ears back under his helmet and grimaces as he tries to compare the cost of two boxes of crackers and ignore the shrieking from the aisle over.  Someone has been letting their horrid little offspring run rampant for the past ten minutes, and if they don’t do something Draxum will.  A supermarket is not the place for kids to be running around and playing tag, much less for screaming!  If one of them even gets close to him he’s going to—

A small giggle alerts him to the presence of one of them.  Oh, great, they’ve infiltrated this aisle too.  Once the others catch up to this one, it’s going to be nothing but noise.

Something tugs at his train.  “Mister?  Whatcha lookin’ at?”

Draxum twists away, yanking the fabric away from the small hands and glares downward.  “None of your business, you little—”

A small green face stares up at him, pouting slightly.  It’s a young turtle, wearing little more than an oversized tunic that still doesn’t quite manage to escape the rips and tears of being forced over such a spiky shell.  He has a good deal of spikes, actually, small reddish points scattered across his shoulders and arms and larger ones on his elbows.

Titan above, the boy looks like one of his.

The child stares at Draxum, his eyes flicking back and forth, and suddenly brightens.  “You have arm sharpies too!”

And yes, Draxum does have spikes on his gauntlets, but that does nothing to explain why this turtle looks so achingly similar to what Draxum’s would have been at this age.  Might have, really, he doesn’t know for sure.

“Raph!  Raphie!  Raph, Donnie’s it now!”  Another child barrels around the shelves and all but skids behind Draxum.  This one’s a turtle as well, with a smoother but more decorated shell and small yellow splotches across his face and limbs.  Draxum’s breath catches.  Another, so similar too?  How is that possible?

He’s about to ask them a question—clearly they know each other, and he’s always hoped that at least one of his specimens might have survived somehow—when a short ferret yokai turns the corner, two more small turtles trailing behind him.  

“Boys, where did you go?  I told you not to run off again—” his semi-desperate call trails off as he catches sight of Draxum.

Draxum stares at the other turtles—a softshell, and a slider.  Exactly like his own. There can be no doubt now, these are Draxum’s turtles.  But how did they all make it out, how are they all here?

Info:

I decided to try a new format for an au. This is going to be something of an interactive, choose your own adventure type story. Also it was originally based on this post lol. Feel free to ask questions if you're curious!

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