Fandom Rottmnt—Mystic Mayhem

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

Mystic portals were always such a hassle.

Arii's stomach dropped as gravity vanished, sending their heart into their throat with nothing less than the most embarrassing of squeaks. It felt almost like they were underwater—if being underwater was the most stressful, limb-numbing, panic-inducing thing they'd do all day—what with the soft, cool brushes of energy rushing past their skin and seeping into their clothes all in the span of a moment that felt as though it lasted hours.

The particular portal they took was one of their favored shortcuts—the hidden city was smaller proportionally to New York, and it was far easier to simply walk a few miles down there instead of in the bustling, loud streets of the sky-facing city, where any misstep could dislodge their cloaking brooch before they even had the chance to make it to the bus stop.

And what Jet didn't know while he was at work wouldn't hurt him.

Point being, that Arii knew what the other end of the portal looked like—an alley graffitied in nothing but oranges and reds, cleaned meticulously by themself because they quite liked the graffiti on the wall, and it was easier viewing it when the place didn't smell like trash—and the dumpster they were so unceremoniously spat out into was absolutely not their alley.

Something crunched under them as they were launched into the piles of black bags, their limbs flailing every which way as they reacted first to the smell and then to the texture of the environment around them. A hash jitter ran up their nails, and it took everything in their power to avoid gagging as the sensation traveled down their fingers and arms. Their tail—tail? Tail?—smacked against the dumpster's lid, and it was only their surprise that they had a tail that kept them from yelping at the plastic slamming down on their head.

Arii's scramble out of the dumpster was neither graceful nor particularly well-planned, several of their limbs getting nicked by the lid before they managed to stumble their way upright in the—new. Unfamiliar—alley.

The first thing they did was reach for their shoulder, somehow unsurprised to find that their cloaking brooch was gone.

Damn.

The second thing they did was take stock of their surroundings and realize that there are more.

They didn't know why it felt so ominous, even after they realized that what stood in front of them were fellows—other yōkai. They figured it was simply because yōkai were more prone to being rat bastards than the humans they regularly interacted with, but did their best not to bristle as they let their eyes graze over the group.

A particularly loud car passed on the street just outside the alley and Arii's spine prickled.

They couldn't go out looking like... this.

 

[PureDark006]

The day had started like any other. Wake up, spend an hour or two curled over that one pump that tended to overheat to the perfect temperature for warming him up, then slither off to spend the rest of the day scavenging. His last meal had been four days ago, but it had been a big one; Zagan had found a butcher loading things up by themselves and had manage to steal an entire turkey, so food was not going to be a priority for a few more days. No, what he wanted to find now was the second item in his list of 'essential stuff to live': entertainment.

After all, being in the sewers by himself for years tended to get boring, and he could only spend so much of his life napping.

Which brought him to his current predicament. He'd seen some humans putting cardboard boxes out and had taken the chance to rummage through them, when his greatest enemy - a small and fearless dog - had found him. Obviously he couldn't harm the annoying pooch, or it'd be all over the news and the humans would start a manhunt. With an exasperated hiss, all he could do was hide in one of the boxes and wait until the thing's owners came to collect their devil spawn, hopefully not checking why it was making such an ungodly racket in the first place.

It would have worked. But then a truck stopped next to him, picked the boxes up, loaded them inside, and drove off to who knew where. He had no choice but to wait for the vehicle to stop and for his box to be unloaded, before slithering off as fast as he could in a random direction so no human saw him. And now here he was, in a new city, with no idea of how to go back home, hiding under a dumpster.

Joy.

Really, his best bet was to wait. The night would at least give him some cover while he tried to find clues as to where the hell he was. So he settled down and covered his eyes with his tail, hoping to conserve energy until he needed to move again.

Only to be woken up by a loud thump over him. Ugh. It better not be another chihuahua.

Spoiler alert: it was not another chihuahua. Zagan stared in shock at the scaly legs obscuring the alley, wondering if he had somehow ended up near another cosplayer convention. But no, the scales looked too real to be a costume or make-up, and a quick flick of the tongue confirmed a reptilian scent in the air - along with other mammalian beings he had failed to see until now.

Whatever these guys were, they were most definitely not human cosplayers. Or any animal that he'd know about. Okay, breathe in, breathe out. Test time. Did they understood English? After a quick glance to pick an escape route if his plan bit him in the ass, he tried clearing his throat and saying something. "I s'ppose none of ya know how to go to Lake Michigan?"

 

[Tapfic]

The road to happy family days was just as risky as it was rewarding it seemed.

Or at least that's what Luc thought to himself as the iron blade of a chef knife flew past his ear and embedded itself into the hard brick wall behind him with a crack.

" Would ya' take a 'sorry, sir?' , perhaps an ' it was just a prank, bro' ? " Luc called to the boar that barreled after him, hurling pots and pans and cutlery of all kinds down the street, angry foam leaking from his mouth.

" Stay away from m' daughter you no good street mutt! " The burly man yelled, voice hoarse with rage and adrenaline pumping through him in the race.

Now based on this image alone, one might jump to the conclusion that Luc had been a it of a flirt. Perhaps stolen a kiss from the daughter of a man who had so kindly taken him in off the harsh streets of the under city- given him food, water, and more chores than one sane dog could ever handle. Normal kindly old man things. And while most of that was true- "daughter" wasn't quite the direction Luc had ever taken.

" Me and May only share a platonic bond sir, I swear! " The boar stopped throwing things momentarily. Slowing pace and seemingly contemplating the truth of such a statement.
" Miles on the other hand-" A meat cleaver tore past the dog's torso, narrowly avoiding the creation of a fine canine fillet.
Sorry Miles, it seemed it was time for Luc to make his leave, and so through the portal he went. Ducking into the glowing wall with a single fluid movement.

Team doggo: 1
Team dad: 0
Except the other side of the portal was not right.
Luc was spat into the pile of discarded human items; thrown out like yesterday's sorry potluck lasagna.
Along with some others it seemed. A malfunctioning portal must have brought them together! Unless that was just a Luc thing and everyone else liked hanging out in the trash.

A puppy dog-smile and friendly wave to the new additions to his world as he lay, relaxed on the pile of cardboard boxes and black plastic bags.
Perhaps this was his destined family.
" Heyo!"