The Disciplines Of War
Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.
Author's Note: For this story I combine two loves or interest if you will. Actually three.
Ninja turtles Horses and Dressage. I once owned a dressage horse she was trained to medium class two. She was also a bit of a brat but I loved her nonetheless. As for dressage it is a beautiful and ancient art form that brings rider and horse closer together and is one of my favorite sports. Hope you enjoy.
Rated- G
Part One
The boys had decided that it was time for a little R & R they had been fighting the Foot on almost a daily basis for over two months and some of the battles had been quite strenuous. Now that there was a lull in the constant battles the boys dearly wanted to take advantage of it by heading up to the farm in Northampton.
The farm offered them freedom that they could not normally achieve in New York they could relax and roam around in broad daylight far from prying eyes and be able to just relax and unwind.
Leo strolled out onto the patio deck they had arrived earlier that day and had spent some time cleaning up and Mike had cooked a large meal for dinner leaving Leo feeling uncommonly stuffed.
Leo took a couple of deep breaths as he looked out at the wide meadows and the forest not far from the house. The brilliant shades of green mixing and mingling under a late August sun there was just a hint of coolness in the air that warned of fall and winter months ahead.
Leo gave a reflective contented sigh before deciding to go out for a run along some of the forest trails he could enjoy the scenery and the exercise would help him digest his meal he wondered if he ought to get his brother's to join him then decided that it would be more of a hassle then it was worth.
Leo made good time to the lake which he knew was about four miles out from the farm he could smell the fragrant smell of the trees and the woods the sun dipping in the sky sent golden shimmers across the lake water.
Leo wasn't quite ready to head back just yet but he knew the odds of people being around the lake were pretty good and he didn't want to risk the chance of being seen but he knew that there was another trail that lead away from the lake that would probably be safer.
Leo knew it was a horse trail but he figured few horses and riders would be out and the few that might be venturing on the trails at this time of day he would probably hear long before the horse or rider could catch sight of him.
He kept to the trail until he noticed a break in the trees and judging from the amount of light up ahead Leo figured he was nearing a meadow so he slowed down to take stock of the situation before advancing.
He stuck cautiously to the shadows of the trees as he glanced out at the meadow he could see a series of jumps set up in the meadow varying in height and style. He knew next to nothing about jumps for horses but just looking at the height of some of the jumps made him guess that they could be used by anyone the shorter jumps for beginners and the higher ones for more advanced riders.
A movement lower down in the meadow caught his eyes curiously Leo moved down to get a closer look he stuck to the shadows as he had been trained not wishing to reveal himself.
As he neared the spot he saw a single black horse and a rider, Leo crouched down in the shadows of the trees keeping a bit of a distance wanting to observe without being seen.
The rider was clearly female and she sat tall and poised in the saddle she hardly even looked like she was breathing. The horse on the other hand had its head slightly bent in towards his chest, it's muscled neck arched, its nostrils were large and there was foam in its mouth. It had powerful muscles in the back end. The horse was performing a series of intricate patterns at different paces circles, turns, figure eights and more.
Leo pondered over this for it seemed to him that the horse was doing all of this simply because it suited him for he saw no sign of the rider doing any thing.
He did see that she carried a whip in one hand though she wasn't using it in any way.
The horse snorted slightly, blowing out sharply before starting to move sideways and diagonally across the meadow. Then the horse started to move faster with first one front leg then the other striking out in front of him making it look like he was skipping along.
Something about all these movements made Leo think of a dance only the horse seemed to dance to music only he was capable of hearing.
The horse stopped but seemed to keep the momentum as his front legs pivoted around his hind legs, which stayed almost in one place. Then the horse seemed to prance in one spot each hoof rising and falling but not moving so much as one step forward.
The horse suddenly went up on hind legs and for the first time Leo saw the girl give a negative shake of her head.
" Come on Ninja you can do it in hand boy. Let's try it again." Her tone was gentle and firm as she stroked the slightly sweated neck of her mount.
Leo was intrigued because he never knew that horses were capable of doing such maneuvers and he felt that it must take awhile to train a horse to do those things. It was also clear to him that the horse was in deed being guided by its rider but he still hadn't seen how it was being done.
His mind raced with questions why would anyone bother to train a horse to do these things? What was it used for? It had to be used for some thing after all.
He watched with interest as the horse again pranced then rose on hind legs this time he kept his body lower and closer to the ground not stretching up as high as he had the first time. The horse held the position for only a second or two before dropping to all fours and his rider approved.
" Good boy Ninja" She swung effortlessly out of the saddle in a single fluid move and hugged the horse.
She removed the saddle setting it down in the grass and picked up a halter and lead rope she removed the bridle keeping the reins around the horse's neck before placing the halter over his nose.
" Go ahead and graze boy you have earned it."
The horse snorted pawing the ground with one hoof before dropping slowly and rolling it stood up and shook himself off before starting to crop the grass.
Something rustled in the grass near him and the horse squealed jerking back and almost leaping to one side tossing its head.
" Whoa boy steady." Her voice was soft low reassuring.
The horse however wasn't eased by it reared up suddenly towering over his rider jerking his head sharply back pulling the rope from her hand. He whirled about on hind legs and leaped forward kicking out suddenly with one hind leg as he took off.
The girl remained calm but there was a worried tone to her voice as she called out " Ninja Come on, steady boy" she whistled once but the panicked horse paid no attention to her as he stretched out leaping over a jump and tearing off into the forest.
He makes a lot of noise for a ninja Leo thought ruefully before going off to see if he could catch up to the panicked animal.
It was easy enough for Leo to trail the frightened animal and with the horse crashing through the bush it was quite easy to keep track of the animals path. Going on this information Leo moved onto a path to intercept the horse.
Leo waited to one side waiting for the horse to come near as the horse got close Leo stepped out in front of it " Whoa boy."
The horse snorted and lunged to dive around Leo but Leo moved with quick speed and managed to grab the rope "Settle down now. There is a good boy easy fella no one is going to hurt you."
The horse tried pulling free but Leo's strength was up to the horse's wild frantic antics and the horse finally came to a stop his sides heaving with exertion, giving short sharp blast of air through it's nostrils and it's eyes rolled back showing the whites.
" Ninja" Leo whispered and saw an ear twitch in response, " Calm down Ninja. Easy big boy." Keeping his voice low and calm Leo worked his way slowly hand over hand up the lead rope until he could grasp the halter. He reached up stroking the neck feeling the soft hairs under his rough palm.
Leo considered what little he knew about horses and decided it would be of no help to him with the runaway.
Still if he could manage to keep the horse calm it would probably be easier to return him at least part way to his owner. Something had obviously spooked the horse and Leo wasn't too sure how the animal would react to him but Leo was used to handling strange situations and maintaining control it shouldn't be all that difficult.
As an afterthought Leo recalled the apple he had in one of his belt pouches and fished it out with one hand.
" Want this Ninja?" he offered the treat on an open palm.
The horse sniffed the offering before lipping it up with a soft velveteen muzzle the horse crunched the apple and bits of slobber dropped from the horse's mouth to Leo's hand.
" Yuck!" Leo muttered as he reached up to stroke the fine hairs of the horse's mane it felt silky soft under his fingers.
" I don't know a darn thing about horses so I'll just lead you back if you don't mind."
Leo figured the horse wouldn't understand him but like most animals it ought to respond to tone of voice to some extent.
Twighlight was starting to fall as Leo started to lead the horse back he could hear crickets and frogs singing nearby.
" Ninja!" the call was still far enough away that Leo didn't have to worry just yet.
He considered just letting the horse go when he saw the animal pull forward and move quicker at the summons from his owner. If turned lose he would probably go right to her. Then again he might spook at some other thing along the way either real or imagined and his rider might need her mount to get home.
" How am I suppose to return you without being seen?" Leo questioned the horse suddenly realizing the quandary he had got himself into.
Ninja's only response was to raise his head and give a loud bugling neigh, which shook his whole body.
" Some Ninja you are!" Leo retorted gruffly.
The horse half reared pulling sharply on the rope.
" Oh no you don't. Settle NOW!" Leo ordered in his firm authoritive way.
Ninja struck out quickly with one fore hoof he moved so fast Leo didn't have time to react and the hoof came down hard right on his left foot.
" Ow you brute!" Leo hissed cursing under his breath.
Man that hurt he could consider himself lucky if the horse hadn't broken any bones with that blow alone.
The horse was suddenly quiet he blew out softly and gently lipped along the length of Leo's arm with his soft lips standing quietly his ears perked up and his tail swishing away flies.
" I think I'll just tie you up here. She should find you with out any trouble she is getting a lot closer now."
" Ninja" A whistle sounded only a few feet away.
The horse lunged catching Leo by surprise and yanked the turtle after him as he plunged towards the direction of his mistress.
Leo almost had to run at first to keep up with the horse he wasn't about to let it go charging through the bush again on its own and Leo was determined to not let the rope go except on his terms but at the moment it was drop the rope, run to keep up, or fall under the hooves.
Leo was starting to wonder why he had even bothered to get messed up with this black nag of an animal and where it was leading him to besides trouble.
TBC