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The knocking at her window came out of nowhere. However, April knew that her mutant friends were the only ones who used her window to get her attention. When she opened the blinds, the redhead found Ember crouched on the fire escape and immediately opened the window.
“What’s u—ˮ
She couldn’t finish her question as the lioness quickly leapt past her and onto the bed. Her expression was full of panic and her face was flushed as sweat matted her fur.
“Ember, what’s wrong?” April asked.
“I can’t go back!” the feline gasped out. “I can’t control myself!”
“Whoa, Ember, calm down” the human said as she approached her friend and gripped her shoulders firmly. “What’s going on?”
“Too hot. Can’t focus. Need to mate!”
A quick slap to the face ended Ember’s ramblings and the tan-furred mutant began to calm down. With a sigh she said, “Thanks, April.”
“Now, tell me what happened” April said.
“Well, Mikey and I were cuddling in his room when we started to kiss” Ember explained. “At first, it was normal, but then, for some reason, I started to get a little more aggressive with my kisses. M-most of it’s a blur, but I felt this urge to…you know…” her voice trailed off, hoping April would get the point.
Azure eyes widened in sudden understanding and she became fearful. “You didn’t force him, did you?”
The lioness shook her head. “No, thank goodness. He was somehow able to get me out of it before anything could happen. When I realized what happened, I ran out of the lair.”
“Why do you feel this need so suddenly?” April questioned.
“I-I have no idea” Ember said. “I-I mean, I’ve had urges before, but…they’ve never been so strong.”
“Has anything different been happening in the past few days that might explain this?”
“Well…” Ember began, her face flushing once again as she averted her eyes from April’s, “I-I’ve been having these…erotic dreams the last two nights, and when I…take care of myself…I never feel completely satisfied. And then earlier, Mikey said that I smelled really good, but I didn’t even take a shower.”
The redheaded teen rubbed her chin as she tried to understand her female friend’s problem. A sudden idea popped into her mind and she grabbed her laptop, her fingers flying over the keyboard. Ember looked over her shoulder to see the screen.
“What’re you doing?”
Instead of answering, April opened a website about lions and scrolled down to a section about reproduction.
“Hmm…even though there’s no certain breeding season for lions, lionesses’ are able to conceive cubs at 32-33 months-old” the human observed.
“But that’s 3 or 4-years-old” the feline pointed out. “I’m way older than that.”
“You are as a human, but the lion in you probably doesn’t realize that” April said. “The animalistic need to breed, coupled with hormones, is probably causing you to go into a heat cycle.”
Ember’s blush became so red that it rivaled Raphael’s mask and she stumbled away from the bed. “I…I don’t wanna have kids. I’m too young!”
“Calm down, Ember” April said. “It’s alright. All you need to do is stay here until your cycle ends.”
“But what if I lose control? What if I break out of here and…and…”
“That’s not going to happen” the freckled human said as she approached her friend. “I won’t let it.”
“But these urges are super strong and I can’t control or satisfy them” Ember argued. “And now they’re coming back stronger than before.”
April sighed and turned, kneeling at her bed and reaching underneath it. The mutant feline watched in confusion as her friend pulled out a box. Standing, April turned back to Ember and handed the box to her.
“I use this whenever I get…urges” the redhead admitted, a hint of pink rising in her cheeks. “Maybe it’ll help you.”
Brows raised in curiosity, the brunette opened the lid slightly to find a special “toy” next to a bottle. Her hazel eyes widened as her blush returned.
“I-I don’t know how much it’ll help, but it’s worth a shot. You can stay in here and I’ll stay in my dad’s room until this cycle ends.”
“A-are you sure?” Ember asked. “I-I don’t want to intrude.”
“It’s fine” April reassured her. “That’s what friends are for.”
The lioness smiled at this and hugged her human friend tightly. Despite the situation being awkward, Ember was thankful to have April for a friend.
…
“So Ember’s with you? And she’s okay?” Donatello asked.
April smiled at the screen of her Tphone, her earphones allowing her to hear him well and drown out other noises. “Yes, and she’ll be just fine. However, until this…cycle ends—and I’m not sure how long that’ll be—she won’t be able to come back to the lair.”
“It’s funny. I researched lions once Ember started living with us, but because she was human before her mutation, I didn’t think something like this would be possible.”
“I think part of it is hormones” the redhead suggested with a shrug of her shoulders. “Is Mikey okay?”
“He was a little shaken up by the suddenness of it, but I think he’ll be fine once I explain it to him” Donnie replied. “I just hope it doesn’t change things between them.”
“You and me both” April said. “Well, I’ll let you go. It’s getting pretty late.”
“Let us know if anything bad happens. Oh, and you probably shouldn’t let Casey hang around your place while Ember’s like this.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. ‘Night, Donnie.”
“Goodnight, April.”
April hung up with the genius and began playing some music to drown out whatever “noises” that might occur. Even though the situation was totally awkward, the redhead was glad that she was able to help Ember.
…
The turtle brothers were all in the living area doing their own thing when April and Ember entered through the turnstiles.
“I’m back, guys” the feline announced with a smile on her face.
Michelangelo immediately jumped up from the floor, exclaiming her name as he gave his girlfriend a huge hug. Ember laughed as the excited terrapin squeezed her tightly.
“I missed you too, Mikey.”
“You feeling better?” Leonardo asked as he and his other brothers joined the females.
“Much” the mutant female replied when her boyfriend released her.
“Yeah, your flu must have been really bad to need to stay away from us for three days” Raphael said, his arms crossed over his plastron.
Ember let out a weak chuckle and glanced away while rubbing the back of her head. Even though Donnie and Mikey knew the real reason for the lioness’ absence, it didn’t mean that Leo and Raph had to know the truth. “Yeah, it was pretty bad.” She looked up to April and smiled. “Thanks for helping me, April.”
“It was nothing” the human said. “I’m always there for you, Ember.”
Ember gave April a hug, which she gladly returned. Being the only two girls in the group, it gave the feline comfort to know that she could talk to the redhead about things that she couldn’t tell the turtles and not be judged. April was a true friend, and Ember couldn’t ask for anything better.