Daemon AU Drabbles - Part 2
(name will be edited in the future lmao)
Daemons are physical manifestations of a person's soul in animal form. In this AU all the turtles in all the different itterations have daemons, a testiment to them having souls.
This drabble is set in the 2012 series.
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Mikey had settled first, that was true, despite him being the baby, Tsubasa had stayed a tiny black footed cat for nearly three months now. They were all pretty sure the duo had settled, even though Mikey simply kept shrugging when it was brought up: “I can’t tell dudes, it just feels right right now!”
Donnie wanted to laugh, because, for once Mikey wasn’t lying – he had thought settling would be more of a moment, something monumental. But it wasn’t. He just turned around, tilted his head to address his daemon and all of a sudden realised it. It really didn’t feel like anything had changed. He had thought it would be some magical event, something snapping into place, something at least satisfying. But it wasn’t. it was just…
knowledge. A quiet, unobtrusive certainty that Sōsei would never shift again.
It wasn’t anything monumental, and for a moment Donatello was simply stunned into silence. Before realising that it was monumental… it was monumental for a different reason. No spark necessary, because Sōsei was a rat.
Donnie couldn’t stop staring at him. The small, sleek-furred rodent curled his tail around Donnie’s wrist, whiskers twitching as if he could feel the storm of emotions coursing through his human’s head. He was small, but not fragile. His fur was short and smooth, coloured in soft shades of black and grey. His nose twitched, his little fingers flexed. He looked so right, like he had always been meant to be this.
Not because of the finality of it – not because Sōsei had settled into a form that suited him, that reflected something true about who Donatello Hamato was – but because of the implications.
Later, when he grew older, he might realise that this was a slight-bit of an unhealthy outlook on life, on his own worthiness, but right now, at the bushy tailed age of thirteen all he could think of was the resemblance to his father.
His dad was a rat. His daemon was a rat. His very soul had aligned itself with his father’s in the most fundamental, unchangeable way.
Something warm bloomed in his chest, expanding out into his fingers and toes, like a rush of static running beneath his skin. His fingers curled instinctively around Sōsei, cradling him close, pressing him over his heart, as if holding onto him would somehow make this moment more real.
He had always wanted to be like his father, who didn’t? Intelligent, wise, composed, strong. He had always admired his father as any kid did, but he had also always… had a bit of trouble connecting with his father. Never the strongest fighter, never a lover of tea… he played chess while his father preferred card games. While Mikey got to be the cuddly annoying one, and Raph and Leo got to bond with their dad over shared love for ninjitsu, Donnie had sometimes felt like a fifth wheel when it came to their father. He would make various bits and bobs, show it to Splinter, Splinter would pat him on the head with a “good job” and not understand a word Donnie was saying while trying to explain how said invention worked. This was the cause for most of the inventions Donnie gifted his dad being simple to use; a phone, a hamster wheel. You get the gist.
It wasn’t that Splinter didn’t give Donnie enough attention… but Splinter simply didn’t find Donnie’s interests as interesting as he did, and thus Donnie didn’t want to force his dad to politely nod along while he went on and on about coding.
Donnie had always felt a little distant from his father… But now? Now their relationship was something tangible. Something undeniable.
Donnie was the embodiment of his father. He couldn’t be more proud of himself! He wondered if his dad would be proud of him… It was something you couldn’t particularly control… but he liked to think that it was Sensei’s influence that caused this happy phenomenon. (It was statistically more likely for family member’s daemons to reflect one another in some way – most commonly in species.)
Sōsei shifted in his hands, giving him a look. A knowing one. Donnie swallowed hard.
The thought made his stomach twist. Splinter had never shown favouritism, had never let them believe he thought of them differently because of their differences. He loved them all equally. But there was something about this that made Donnie feel like he’d proven himself in some way, as if his own soul had confirmed what he had always hoped to be true.
He was linked to his father.
And that was the greatest thing in the world.
… Even his brother’s annoying (“jealous” a part of his brain whispered to him) comments couldn’t bother him, as smug as he was.
“DUDE. Does this mean you’re, like, Dad Jr? Do we need to re-name Leo now?” Mikey gasped dramatically.
Raph snorted. “You’re gonna start carrying a cane and drinking tea now?”
Donnie should have been embarrassed. He should have scowled, or rolled his eyes, or batted away Mikey’s incoming attempt to give him a noogie. But he didn’t.
Instead, he smiled. Wide. Bright.
“I dunno,” he said, lifting Sōsei higher, watching as his daemon’s little nose twitched in curiosity. “Maybe.”
