Neh. Sorry for the wait peeps! -swt- I don't have access to a computer (as of the moment) like I would other wise, and so it takes a while to write them out. At any rate… I GOT REVEIWS! OmG I love you people XD!
Stefany – Hehe! I might consider that suggestion. But I'm not so sure; I wing it pretty much all the time.
QJP – It's already started, but glad to know your looking forward to it –sweatdrops- Thanks for the review and I'll be sure to look at your story…
Chosen Moments Stable
Session 2 : Clueless to a Point
For the moment, the morning was quiet uneventful. The day would be warm and cloudy, the wisps of silver clouds in the sky didn't hint of rain, which the land would love to have. It was around at least eight or nine a.m., InuYasha wasn't sure. His black cowboy hate hadn't even been put on right. One it was on backwards, and two it was on the side, as if being held on his head by his ear like a coat rack would. His hair hadn't even seen a brush; it looked like he was wearing the same clothes he wore yesterday. Which isn't entirely true. Given, the jeans were the same, but the shirt was torn and sleeveless.
Pretty easy to tell that he just woke up. Sesshoumaru went out of his way this time to amuse himself. He had stolen InuYasha's hat and attempted to smother his younger half brother to death with it rather than wake him up. So, InuYasha had snapped awake from lack of air, but strangely it didn't even wake him up half of the way. Which left Sesshoumaru the extra joy of just dropping the hat on his head, and with a brisk order of "Get up. You have a lesson to give…"
Grumbling at the minor flashback out of spite with a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth, he makes his way over to the stable to get Kagome's horse out and ready. Normally he doesn't give the actual lessons of riding till they know how to feed, groom, and tack them up themselves (which saves him the work most of the time) but right now he didn't feel like messing with that, so he'd teach her about that crap later.
Reaching Stolen's stable box without error in his step, he only snorts to find out that Rin was taking the mare out for her self to ride.
"Ohayou InuYasha-ojikisan!" shouted Rin.
"Feh…"
"Your not supposed to be smoking around the stables!" Rin popped at her "Uncle."
InuYasha didn't respond as he picked up Rin under her arms, holding her up so she could place the blue halter and lead rope on Stolen's elegant aged head.
"Sesshoumaru-sama says-!"
"Sesshoumaru-sama says this, that! What are you? His loyal mindless minion?"
InuYasha snapped at the ten year old little girl, dropping her on her feet and then snatching the lead rope away from her.
"I need her for lesson," the hanyou resorts to the girl once the horse is out of the box stall.
"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Rin mumbles as she heads off to get her pony instead, even though she wouldn't be able to jump with him unless they were set low to the ground.
"No, I just woke up, period." InuYasha corrects Rin as he ties Stolen to a hitching post and goes into the tack room. Of course Rin didn't catch that; she was out of hearing distance.
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Cranky, awake, InuYasha already hated the day. As he walked into the tack room, he saw Miroku and Sango were already in there. He raised an eyebrow at them wondering why they were here so early. Miroku didn't have to give lessons till around noon, and Sango didn't normally show until around then either. Before he could even open his mouth, Sango already popped Miroku a slap on the cheek.
InuYasha sweatdropped.
"Houshi!" –slap!-
"What? I didn't even touch you! I swear!"
"It's the thought that counts!"
Miroku stared blankly at his co-worker/student.
InuYasha, for a rare chance, caught on before Miroku did. "Were you thinking about grouping her ass as you walked by her?"
"Err. Yeah…?" Which, right as Miroku answered, that clued him on to what Sango meant by that comment
InuYasha snorted as he draped Stolen's saddle over his arm, along with the pad and other required tack, "Sango."
"Hmm…?"
"If you can read his mind so well then why aren't you guys at least dating?" InuYasha questions calmly as he leaves the tack room, not excepting any answer of the sort, just to rattle their cages a bit for the hell of it.
Sango blushed a faint cheery red while Miroku whistled innocently and left the room.
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"Serves you right you little dirt-bag! Taking my wallet!"
He shouts after the frightened and pained Yume, gritting his teeth, and throws the cotton saddle pad on Stolen's back, making the old mare jump. InuYasha offers no means of a comforting gesture to the mare as he centers the pad and puts the saddle on. Lifting the flap up, he reaches under Stolen for the girth and tightens enough so the saddle does not slip around. He jerks on it, testing it, then places the bit and bridle on Stolen. Leaving the halter on, he takes the lead rope off and replaces that with the reins.
Hige, this whole time, has been following InuYasha around…
As he lead Stolen into the ring, he took the reins off and just let her loose, mumbling to himself about catching her once Kagome got here. He watched as the mare basically went out of the way to stretch out her old bones and muscles with various movements. Sitting on the fence, he sighed boredly as Miroku came up with his hat he had left on the hitching post.
"I wanted to leave that there."
Miroku shrugged as they both watch Stolen and looked for signs of Kagome appearing.
"Why are you here so early? You normally don't show around till noon."
"Sango and me were going to go out riding, so we thought we'd watch you fail to give Kagome her lesson properly while we had the chance."
InuYasha developed a vein pop and was about to punch the smart mouth houshi in the eye, but then Kagome appeared!
"Yer lucky." InuYasha spat as jumped down from the fence to clip Stolen's reins back on her bridle.
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"I believe you lost this yesterday," Kagome says as she comes up to the corral, holding his wallet out for him to take back.
"Uh… Thanks." InuYasha says quietly so only she could hear and snatches it away like a greedy five-year-old. Looking though it he is quiet satisfied that all his cash and other items are still in it. However, it would need replacement, Yume's teeth had ruined the leather with nasty imprints. The awkward silence fills the air as he stuffs the wallet in his pocket. Stolen nudges him in the shoulder, as if wanting to be introduced…
Kagome smiles at the eager horse, and comes into the corral herself to get closer, trusting that InuYasha would handle the horse while she petted her on the muzzle."Is she the one I get to ride?"
InuYasha nodded his head, "Have you ever ridden before?"
"Yeah. When I was little dad would stick me on a pony and teach me a few things. He wouldn't let me go beyond a walk, that and I think Kaiki was a little to old for anything faster," she answered with a smile as she gave an affectionate pat to Stolen's neck. "She's huge!"
'Good. Make my job easier,' InuYasha thought, ignoring that last comment on how big Stolen was while hoping Kagome would remember a few of those basics and that she wouldn't try to become a Miss know-it-all while he gave the lesson. "Well, this is Stolen Empire, Stolen for short, a retired thoroughbred racer. 16.3 hands high. She very easy to read, so, you get stuck with her."
Kagome nodded her head.
At any rate, InuYasha grabbed Kagome by the wrist and pulled her over to the left side of the horse and made her stand next to the saddle by the stirrups. He positioned her arm to touch the flap on the saddle, then took the stirrups out to the length of her arms till it touched her under the armpit. This made InuYasha fluster a tad, but he ignored it and went on in adjusting the stirrup irons reached her armpits. Kagome had let out a yelp from surprise when InuYasha pulled her under Stolen's neck (who remained unaffected by the sudden movement) and placed her by the saddle. She doubles blinks, as he seemed to ignore her.
"I'm adjusting the stirrups to the correct length."
"Aw."
Once done with both sides, they both stepped away to make sure they were at the correct level.
"That's an English saddle?" Kagome asks, "I was hoping to start in western."
"You'll be thankful I start you in English, and by that, I guess you don't know how to mount a English Saddle?"
Kagome nodded again.
InuYasha sighs, "What? Your Dad just picked you and dropped you on Kaiki?"
Kagome nodded and with a smile of the memory answered, "Yep! How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess. Approach her on the left side shoulder, hold the reins in yer left hand and then place that hand on her withers."
"Withers are?
"The end of the neck before the pommel of the saddle."
"Pommel?"
"The top of the saddle," InuYasha snapped growing impatient.
Kagome decided not push her luck.
"Hold the stirrup with the right hand and place the ball of yer left foot into the stirrup."
Kagome did as told, and Stolen decided to move a few steps, making Kagome loose her balance. "Woah, Stolen," Kagome shushed out, making the mare stop.
"Good," InuYasha forced out the compliment for gaining control of the mare with out panicking like some of the girls he'd seen with Miroku, often resulted in spooking the horse and giving the instructor a laugh while the student panicked.
Continuing on, "Face Stolen and take hold of the waist of the saddle in yer right hand, straighten both knees and spring up," InuYasha moved in closer, excepting her to fall back or something that normally happened with new riders. Pleased that she didn't fall back, he quickly gave the next commandment, "Swing yer right leg up and over her back and sit down gently, and place yer right foot in the stirrup iron, and yer done." At this point, he noticed that she was wearing sneakers, an instant no-no for riding horses. Everything else she wore was okay, a pair of blue jeans and the white tank top weren't phasing him. But the sneakers got to go.
"Do you have any boots?"
"Uh. Not that I know of."
InuYasha looked at her, perplexed; "Most women know how many shoes they have, and what kind they are."
"Well, I'm not most women," Kagome says with confidence.
"Keh. Sit up straight," InuYasha continued once Kagome grew quiet again. He sighed and collected the reins, grumbling about being here and instead of trying to catch Kamikaze. "Hold the reins like this." The single reins passed between his third and fourth finger, then his thumb and first finger.
"Remember to keep yer thumbs on top of the reins."
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By the end of the lesson, Kagome was riding Stolen in slow walk around the corral, and InuYasha was quiet pleased with his work.
"Stop her, Kagome."
She pulled back on the reins and a soft, "Woah, Stolen," the mare came to a halt.
"Remove yer feet from the stirrups and make you ankles go in circles for 10 seconds. After that, place yer feet back in the stirrup and touch yer toes on both sides for 10 seconds. Then I need you to swinging arms around. This will whip you into," He paused to pick his words carefully, "better shape, and improve yer posture and balance."
Kagome followed his words, and got ready to dismount, but then stopped. "Uh? InuYasha?"
"Take both feet out of the stirrups, lean forward, hold the reins in yer left hand and it put it on the mane. Your right hand goes on the pommel, swing yer right leg over Stolen's back and spring off."
Kagome lands on the ground on her feet with a thud and then stared over at InuYasha, clueless.
"Just leave her, Rin wanted to take her over the jumps, I stole her away for yer lessons."
Leaving the corral InuYasha went a head to explain what the next lesson would be in the evening, "You'll learn how to tack up and untack Stolen, and then I'm gonna show you how to bath and groom her."
Both Sango and Miroku had disappeared awhile back to tack up Jintsuri and Katanu for the trail ride, and had just now returned. Of course, InuYasha had enough of socializing with others for the hour, and had left to go take care of Tessai and his needs.
"So? How was it?" Sango asked, climbing on to Jintsuri.
"Fun! Can't wait for the next lesson. Although I wish he would stop complaining and sounding miserable. Makes me feel, well, icky."
"You get used to it. InuYasha is quiet the jerk sometimes, but he has his moments," pipes Miroku.
"I'd rather deal with that jerk then a -lecher-."
"Ouch, Sango you wound me with your words."
Kagome laughed. "So? What are you doing?"
"Going out on a trail ride before we have to give lessons ourselves. You'd be welcomed to come, but…"
"I need more lessons?"
"Yeah. Maybe by the end of week?" Sango suggested.
Miroku shrugged, "Depends if InuYasha doesn't loose his job or not."
They all nod.
"Think I'm gonna explore. Anything I should watch out for?"
"Stay away from most of the boarding horses, Sesshoumaru gets really ticked when students mess with them."
Kagome blinked at the information coming from Sango, and was suddenly interested in this Sesshoumaru person. As far she knew he was the horse trainer here, but she'd seen no sign of him all day.
"Well okay! Bye then." She waved as they left, then turned on her heels to go check out the stable yards.
Hmm, I rushed the end of the chapter. Oh well. Not to pleased with this chapter, but it'll work. XD Review please!