Taking Care of Business

[thepurpleone]

WHO: Donnie and you!
WHERE: NG-102
WHAT: Trying not to get too distracted from mission while most definitely getting too distracted
WHEN: Uh. Yes.
WARNINGS: N/A
NOTES: Will match tagging preference


This is more like it. This is how space adventures start- panning into the expanse of some kind of sprawling conglomeration of structures hanging against the darkness of a star-pocked backdrop. Yes, Donnie is fully aware that they are here for Reasons, but this is the first chance he's ever gotten to go anywhere that resembled some sort of active alien civilization. A spaceport like that is just screaming new and interesting sorts of technology and culture just waiting to be explored.

Eager as he is, Donnie's also practical. While waiting for things to be cleared for them to disembark, he pulls up any information he can on the station, a directory, a map. There has to be some equivalent of a space extranet or something, or at the very least a local network to patch into. He knows better than to dive into some place that big without doing some research!

He's also quite aware that paying for things is going to be an issue. It's tough starting out from scratch, but he's always been the enterprising sort, and he's not about to let such foreign circumstances stop him from getting down to business. It'll just take some work.


I. Research & Development
The turtle teen spends the first couple of days getting a feel for things and looking for business opportunities. He figures he shouldn't stand out too much amidst an alien crowd, but he also knows that certain people can pick up on Tourist vibes and he's not about to let himself be a target. Having swapped to Communications for the occasion, he makes note of places that might be interested in hiring someone for repairs or upgrades and places he might be able to sell to. Copies of rare cult classic Earth movies? Foreign plants? Small but functionally useful gadgetry? Ka-ching.

In the days that follow, he's out making deals. Hopefully people don't think him underdressed for doing business but he still carries himself about as professionally as one can when they're just dressed in a purple hoodie. He has a bag slung over his shoulder and a backpack awkwardly set over the bulk of his hidden battle shell. If he sees someone from the ships, he makes a beeline towards them.

"Hey, you busy? Okay cool-" not waiting for a response, he passes the backpack over. "-here, hold this and whatever you do don't drop it."


II. Deployment
The best part about having money is being able to spend it. With what he hopes to be a sufficient amount of starting funds, Donnie sets out with the intent to shop. He has several lists, one for parts needed to repair the Agrii mess, one for Leo because Donnie is a most benevolent brother, one for himself of course because what's the point of having money if you aren't going to buy yourself cool things? and another for general items that might prove useful for the inevitable return back to the isolated, ruined city.

...he doesn't want to really go back, not when they've been able to do all this.

Unfortunately it's difficult to haggle when there's a problem with communicating. Donnie's in a bit of a mood as he leaves one store, folding his arms tightly in front of him and his bag as he goes. He may not understand the language but he's pretty sure they were trying to overcharge him on his purchase, and so he'd left without it. Would it be weird if he switched data points and came back? Annoying, certainly. He sighs, starting down along towards where the repair shops are. Maybe putting in some hours fixing crap will make him feel better.


III. Roots
It's not stealing if it's junk, right? The spaceport may as well be its own city, and that has to mean it has its own salvage and trash lots. This is Donnie's normal means of acquiring most anything to tinker with back home, so it's second nature for him to track down where things are being dumped and go to scope things out.

The areas aren't the nicest places, but then that's no big surprise. Making sure to avoid security cameras, Donnie's elbow-deep in junk as soon as he finds a promising spot to dig through. Maybe you caught a glimpse of him sneaking out here. Maybe you were following the toughs that were meaning to have a nice secret exchange at an unsuspecting junk lot. Maybe you just got lost.

In any case, things might get hairy in a few minutes, and Donnie tends to get a little carried away with his scavenging.

Comments

[faceguy]

Leo perks up at that. The food is so good, it would be a shame not to get something bigger, right? Besides, they'll both still be hungry if this is all they eat...

"Well, we did get a sale price on that tablet..."

He's just saying!

[thepurpleone]

"Truuuuue..." Donnie says carefully, finding it all too easy to see this in their favor in regards to current funds. He drums his fingers on the table before reaching over to tap at the menu puck again.

"Okay, if we use the prices on the appetizers as a baseline... Which page is this for? Entrées or desserts? Or something else?" he asks as he nibbles on something else.

[faceguy]

“Uh, apparently that’s soups and salads? Man, a whole page just for that…”

He reaches over and gives the menu a swipe.

“…Okay, now we’re talking!” A pause, and then Leo makes a face. “Man, hope you didn’t want a steak, because that’s even more zeroes.”

[thepurpleone]

"What? Lame. I didn't come all the way to a super fancy restaurant for a hundred dollar salad," Donnie snorts. "-unless it's made of very specialized and greens. ...in which case it would still have to taste pretty amazing."

He drops his chin into a palm as Leo takes over the menu perusal. "Somehow I am not surprised. Guess we can pass on steak, not my go-to anyway."

[faceguy]

Of course Donnie would get excited about a fancy salad. Leo makes a face.

He goes over the entrees for a bit, before looking back up.

"Here's a pasta thing? Sounds pretty good, and it's not much more than the appetizers... I think."

[thepurpleone]

Thankfully Donnie doesn't seem convinced to spend that much even on an alien salad. He is trying very hard not to eat the entirety of any one of the appetizer dishes they have while Leo is looking through the menu, his head lifting at the next suggestion.

"Ooh, pasta could be good." He's going to have to trust Leo on the costs here. Alien numbers should not nearly be so difficult to figure out without a translator in your head! "Let's do it."

[faceguy]

"Alright!' Leo claps his hands and sets the menu puck aside again. "I'll order it when the waiter comes back!"

His eyes travel down to the plates, and then he makes a face and quickly grabs for some of the appetizers before Donnie eats them all.

[thepurpleone]

Donnie at least manages to look a little sheepish at the damage he's already been doing to the appetizers. "Hey, can you blame me? If Raph were here these would've been gone before the waiter put them all on the table!"

As he speaks he's already walking his fingers over towards the last piece of one of the plates.

[faceguy]

Absolutely not, he will stab Donnie with a fork!

Which he brandishes now with murderous intent.

[thepurpleone]

So it is to be war between them..!

Donnie's eyes widen at that unmistakable position, mouth opening in a silent gasp. You would dare?, he'd say, except he knows his brother well enough that the answer goes without it being asked. So now it's a challenge, his hand tensing in preparation to see just who's quicker.

And of course it's right about then that the waiter starts to head back over to check on them.

[faceguy]

Donatello started this!

Leo is absolutely prepared to stab, but of course the waiter is on their way. They clear their throat as they get close, and Leo scrambles to look more calm and presentable.

“Can I get you anything else?” the waiter asks, and Leo has to take that moment to order the pasta.

[thepurpleone]

Aaand he'll happily end it! But Donnie's also absolutely convinced that Leo would have done exactly the same thing.

...which is why he is totally going to take the distraction as an opportunity to secure him that last morsel over there. Sorry, not sorry, but Leo can't possibly complain when he'd been giving him that look after Donnie had admitted having not eaten earlier.

[faceguy]

Yes he would and yes he did, but that doesn't stop this from being a betrayal!

"Dude!" he hisses once the waiter leaves. "You wanna save some for me?"

He stabs the other appetizer quickly and takes a biiig bite.

[thepurpleone]

It's hardly betrayal! It's just typical sibling behavior!

Donnie's thoroughly enjoying that mouthful though, looking smug about it even as Leo resumes stuffing his own face. "Relax, I only finished one thing dude."

[faceguy]

Which means Leo will respond in kind! Though his most childish impulses are reined in by the fancy setting, which is why he doesn’t fish ice out of his glass and throw it.

“Then you won’t mind if I finish this one.”

[thepurpleone]

There's a grimace at that, but Donnie sighs, sitting back as he picks up his drink. "Fiiiiine," he says, not at all pouting. It's too bad the appetizer plates are so tiny. They've had much bigger platters at Run of the Mill.

"Guess smaller servings but higher prices accounts for style and ingredients around here. Now I have to wonder how big the pasta's going to be."

[faceguy]

Ugh, that's a good point. Leo takes more of the appetizer, though he doesn't actually take the whole thing at once, if Donnie wants more.

"Maybe I should have ordered two..."

But their cash situation is getting tight.

[thepurpleone]

The thought had been there, but Donnie's not so sure they could have afforded two, judging by the look on his face. He seems to be trying to be a little better at not eating everything, but with Leo holding off on that one dish, he helps himself to another piece there.

"Well. Maybe we can find a burger place or whatever version of pizza they might have here, afterwards."

[faceguy]

He'll still be taking the last bite, though, thank you!

"Mmm... I wonder if they even have space pizza here." He mulls it over as he taps his empty plate. "I found a place that was like Space Albeartos, but this girl - Robin - she told me they didn't have any pizza."

Oh, that reminds him!

"She also told me you were a baby for awhile?" What's up with that?

[thepurpleone]

"Whaaat, no pizza?? Surely the concept of artisanal flat bread came be that specific to Earth."

Donnie chooses the wrong moment to take a drink, almost choking at the question that comes up then. "Oh thanks, I almost conveniently forgot about that," he mutters. "Yeah, that was a thing. I thought I might've just dreamed it but Shaw confirmed more or less that it had in fact not been a dream."

[faceguy]

"Right!? If they really don't have it here, we should introduce them to it."

But maybe they do somewhere else. Maybe it's, like, a highbrow food here, or something. Worth looking into.

At the confirmation, Leo can't help but laugh. "Oh man, so that did happen?" He has no idea how, but he's going to assume it was magic of some kind. "For what it was worth, she said you were well behaved. Probably because she didn't have to deal with you stealing her toy cars and stripping them for parts."

[thepurpleone]

"...aw man, missed opportunity. If we could find similar enough ingredients- or just find someone to sell the idea too, then we could have even profited!"

Donnie sighs then. "Yeah, I'm not sure how but I suspect the chocolate was involved..." He makes a face. "Look, it is not fun finding yourself alone in a strange gingerbread-like house with laundry that doesn't belong to you and nothing but snow outside. "

[faceguy]

"Oh man, you're right. And then we could have had anything on this menu."

Man, what a bummer... Good thing he has this interesting story to cheer him up.

"Uh, okay, I understood all those words individually."

A gingerbread house full of laundry?

[thepurpleone]

"Of course that'd only work if there really is no such thing as pizza around here. I should have done more research." Pizza and food had not been a priority on his mental list.

"Oh. So we ended up going to meet up with the Agrii for what I gather is their idea of a New Year's celebration. On a planet that's basically frozen over..."

Donnie pulls his phone out again, thumbing through pictures before he shows Leo a shot of the snowy landscape and little cabins that look like they'd been made out of gingerbread and decorated with icing. It should be no difficult guess as to why Donnie might have picked this one in question considering the amount of purple on it.

"They weren't actually gingerbread by the way, I checked." Not to mention he was mildly disappointed. "But these were staying at, and they had clothing conveniently stored in the dressers...including some sized to fit small children, which I suppose I should have thought suspicious."

[faceguy]

"Too bad there's not an easy way to find out... I'll ask a local later if they've ever heard of it." That could at least give them a clue.

He leans in to take a look. This is the first time he's really heard mention of the crew going to other planets before he came here, so it's interesting.

"Huh. So what, it lured you in with the promise of candy and then turned you into a kid?"

That's kind of funny.