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HomeFront: 23. What’s a Draft

Training was going to start later today. Miwa had told the night before that she will be making an early trip to the bustling marketplace of the nearest village for her groceries. Both Leonardo and Venus were relaxing in Venus’ old home. With no TV and keeping away from their phones, they tried to live the day without electronics. At first, it seemed doable, that is, until sheer boredom kicked in. Leonardo lay back on the couch in the living room. The entire space was cleared on the sides of the wall, courtesy of him and Venus. Plastic lay atop the hardwood floor, protecting it from any paint that may dare to stain it. In the middle of the floor, a colorful Venus sat. Green skin was speckled, globbed, or smeared a color that was not her own on her hands, face, and body. Previously, she had purchased plain animal figurines meant to paint upon as a project. In her hands currently, a traditionally scaled horse of orange characteristics was being painted upon.

“Is that one supposed to be Mikey?” Leonardo asked. Before she began, she introduced her idea to him. Having been painting animal figurines for years, she thought it would be really cool to have a family set of her own. ‘Why horses?’ you ask? Because she loves how their power, beauty, and versatility merely reflect her family’s attributes more than any dog. Besides, what’s prettier: a painted dog or a painted horse? “Mm hm.” Her lips were sucked into her mouth when she responded, concentrating on the details of it. Venus wasn’t half bad. The figure was dark orange at the neck and flank, and then they both evenly blended into a bright orange by the time it reached its stomach. Currently, her brush held the color red as she inscribed the turtle’s Japanese caricature on its shoulder. “Now, I see that these figures look a little different.” Venus nodded her head, not taking her eyes off her figure. From the couch, Leonardo reached for the figures that were already painted their model’s bandana colors, but have not yet had details painted on them. Good thing they had already dried from hours before otherwise Venus would probably burn down the house. He picked up the one meant to be Donatello and the one to be Raphael in the other. Both were held up on his chest as he studied and compared their features. “See, Donnie’s is taller, which makes perfect sense since Raph’s is shorter and fatter, but I can also tell” He traced his finger on the nose of horse-Donatello “this one’s nose slopes while the other” He traced horse Raphael’s “one’s is a little cut. You know?” “The figures are all different horse breeds. I chose each one according to our own attributes.” Done with the first detailing of Michelangelo’s, Venus set him down gently to dry on a piece of ripped up cardboard. When the horse was standing securely, the female terrapin crawled up to the couch. Her shell leaned on the supporting structure and cushions as she sat on the floor near Leo. “Donatello,” she pointed to the purple figure. “Is a shire, known for its intelligence and willingness to do work. It is also the biggest of the draft breeds.” “What’s a draft?” Leo quizzed, quite surprised that her interest and knowledge of horses was something she hasn’t shown for the many months she had known them. Venus giggled. In her mind, she believed these were the basics that people would know, but that only meant she was so knowledgeable on the subject. She composed herself to explain with a smile. “Work horses. They’re the ones you see plowing fields or pulling heavy equipment. Since we work like horses, might as well be a draft.” She commented. Her arm reached out to grab the Raphael figure from Leonardo’s hand. “Raphael is a Suffolk Punch.” She took one of its legs between her finger and thumb and swung its large body within them. “Makes sense.” Leo chortled at his own joke. Venus giggled back, knowing far too well that it was a very befitting name for a punch-happy turtle. “It’s a little smaller than a shire, yet what it makes up for it height is its own bulkiness. Michelangelo,” a finger pointed at the now drying figure a couple feet away from her outstretched legs. “He’s a Clydesdale, and if you’ve ever seen the Budweiser Clydesdales commercials, you’ll know why he is.” “Oh no, I got you.” Having watching TV, the “big football game” especially (dang trademarks!), the Budweiser Clydesdales may be promoting a beverage they do not find pleasing to themselves, the horses were nothing short of a favorite. Such large, majestic animals playing football, portraying Rocky, or any other silly antics was all too enjoyable. “You,” the back of her hand hit the back of his shoulder as a way to get his attention. She lifted up his already base-painted model after putting Raphael’s down. “My friend, are a Percheron, known for its power and versatility.” Leonardo studied the unique features it had compared to the others. It was large and full, but Venus was right on the powerful look it had. “It’s a little chunky, don’t you think?” His finger and thumb slipped down his chin, as if critiquing the choice. His brow rose, eyes looking down at the female terrapin, questioning her. Venus responded by raising a brow back, equally sassy. “At least you’re smaller than Raphael.” She defended her decision. The realization and acceptance of her observation was apparent in his eyes. Having getting him, Venus continued her explanations by bringing up a pink painted pony. “Mona is a Noriker, compact and powerful. It’s also smaller compared to all you brick houses.” She joked with a deep, sassy tone. Leo placed a hand on one side of his chest and clutched it. “I take offense to that.” His eyes grew wide and his voice began to whine, adding to his act. “Really?” Her voice reverted back to a more sympathetic tone, but no less sarcastic. Leo dropped his hand. His brows dropped on his eyes, and then shook his head. “No, not really.” He smiled, letting his tongue glide against his teeth. Venus shook her own head, stifling any more giggles that the terrapin could give her. She proceeded, picking up a light-blue painted figure. “And, I’m a North Swedish. Willing, strong, and… mostly because I find it pretty.” Venus confessed with a shrug. Indeed it was a smaller figure than the ones that portrayed the brothers, yet it was still as thick. The animal had a thick, flowing mane that stuck to its body all the way down to the shoulder with a tail to match. “That’s a good looking horse.” Leo nodded. The light blue banded terrapin turned her head halfway. Leonardo was still nodding, although more gently as a light smile plastered his face. Quickly, the female terrapin rose to her feet. She placed her figure on top of his chest. As a hard surface, the figure stood on his chest. Leo looked up at her. There was no smile, but she had a rag in her hands, which tried to remove any wet paint on her hands. “I’m going to go wash up.” She explained. Venus tossed the towel onto the plastic flooring before proceeding into the washroom. Leo sat there in the living room, eyeing the figure on his chest. His finger reached out to pet the nose of the still animal. It traced down and then back up to just to fall down the mane. Every crevice and strand was felt as he did. Then, he looked down to the ground below. As he turned to look, he held the Venus figure against his chest so it wouldn’t fall off of him. He reached down to grab hold of the Percheron that lay above the mix of other figurines. With the hardened yet knobby tail in his fingers, it was enough to hoist the figure from the ground. He placed his figure on his chest as well, examining the two. The stocky, humble Percheron stood beside the small, yet proud North Swedish. He pushed the figures closer until their bodies clicked against each other. Leonardo stared at them, looking at how wonderful and powerful they looked together. Never had he so much wanted to trade places with a figurine horse.

Minutes passed before a new body entered the home. The knocked frightened Leonardo, making the figures fall on it. He was quick to keep them from sliding off if him and placed them on the floor with the others. There was only one person they were expecting, so they had already left the door unlocked. “Come in!” Leonardo yelled through the door as he sat up from the couch. With the OK, Miwa entered the room. Having heard the knock, Venus emerged from the bathroom. The female terrapin managed to get most of the paint off, yet she continued to scrub herself with a wet towel when she came into the living room to greet her old sensei.

“Hey Miwa.” She scrubbed some red off of her shoulder. Miwa nodded her head as a greeting. Leo placed a hand on the empty cushion of the couch. Miwa took it gratefully. As she sat, he pushed himself away further to give her some space. “Find what you needed?” “Yes, and I got a little more than I bargained.” “Like…?” Leo’s question lingered. He leaned some on the arm of the couch, his hand and elbow supporting his head.

“When I went to go buy more sweet bean sauce for the Peking duck I was going to make for us, I overheard some folk in the marketplace about some mysterious men walking around.” “Mysterious men?” Venus kneeled down to resume her position on a clean spot of the plastic. One leg crossed over the other as she waited for Miwa to explain more in detail. “I asked them to describe them more and tell me all they knew. They said that they wore masks of grey hues that resembled a human face.” She accompanied her words with hand motions. One hand, fingers slightly curled in, made circles around her own face. “Their entire bodies were cloaked in black. There, they had seen them moving about in the night, meeting with one another. Most of the villagers are not so scared for they have the wizard’s council’s headquarters down the road, but they believe something is up.” “How could it be?” The male terrapin lifted up from the arm of the chair and moved his elbow to his thigh. His hand now supported his hand as he sported a deep thought. “What, Leonardo?” Miwa turned in her spot. Leonardo shook his head, hating to accept the fact, but there were no other people he could reference to. “It sounds like the Foot to me.” He breathed heftily. “How could they be here and what are they doing?” A dumbfounded look took over as he thought more about the possible situation. “The Shredder must be starting to feel better after you knocked him out.” His hand jolted towards Venus, who was equally confused as he was. “My trance should last longer. It would make no sense for him to be healthy so quickly.” “If he’s still not well, then somebody else is probably taking over.” Leo suggested, one of his fingers pressing into his thigh . “The Foot.” Miwa uttered with disgust. Both terrapins, having been distracted in their minds looked at the withdrawn woman. Her arms crossed over each other hastily, almost in a pout. “Like cockroaches, they are hard to rid of.” Leo scratched his head. “You know about the Foot?” Miwa nodded, unable to look at him in the eye and rather stare down at her arms. “In Japan, they are told as legends, but if you knew any better, you knew they were all too real.” Tragedy and negativity took over her eyes as they glared down. Obviously, she was recollecting awful memories, but she tried her hardest not to trigger the two turtles. “They are the reason I left Japan and took refuge here.” “But,” Venus almost trailed off. “You told me that it was because our father asked you to train us and you stayed because of that.” Miwa looked up at her old student. Venus’ head was hunkered down, as if Miwa’s arms were obstructing her view of her face. She wanted to look her in the eye. “I didn’t want to scare either you or your sister,” She explained. Then, she uncrossed her arms and placed them at her sides on the couch. A modest smile began to erase her negative appearance. “But you two are the reason I fell in love with this village.” The truth had no way to hide in her statement. The female turtle’s lips were sucked into her mouth, returning back to the outside with a curvy smile. Sadly, the warmth was short-lived as reality set back into her.

“So, what do we do about this?” Venus asked. Being with her sensei and the team leader, they must have been thinking of a plan to resolve the Foot mystery. As expected, one had and was ready to give his opinion. “We’ll have to go in the cover of night and rendezvous with the Foot there. If we catch one, we could give him a little interrogation.” ‘Interrogation’ was said with a sneaky tone and the rubbing of his own knuckles. She thought Raphael was the only one that does that. Venus nodded at the plan, confirming she understood. “No.” Both Leo and Venus looked back at Miwa quickly. “No?” Leo was confused. He thought it was a great plan. Maybe Miwa had a better one? “Venus will go and gather what she can. You are staying here with me to train.” She instructed. Leonardo was speechless. That wasn’t a better plan at all. What if Venus needed help? What if they catch her? Who would have protected her? The short village people? Not likely if they don’t know who she is. “No offense, sensei, but” he took a moment to pause, trying to give his explanation clearly. “I have saved New York city about once or twice from the Foot. I don’t think one skipped lesson would hurt.” He didn’t want to add that Venus may need his help in fears she may take it the wrong way. Both Venus and Miwa were strong willed, independent women and the last thing he needed was backlash for offering help. Despite his notion, Miwa shook her head. “If you truly defeated them, they would not be back, yes?” She asked honestly. Leo wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. Instead, he sighed and sat back deeper into the couch. Again, she hit him with the hard truth, hit with another lie he had forced himself to believe was true. Seeing the submission to her orders, Miwa stood. She was going to expect Leonardo some time later before Venus took off in the Wu Kwan. “You are staying here.” She repeated, making it 100% certain that that was the plan to follow. With that, she left the room to go to her own home.

Once Miwa was out the door, Venus took her eyes off the door. She stared sympathetically, looking at how downtrodden and upset Leonardo was with the plan. She knew Miwa had disowned him and he was feeling the effects of her words. Feeling eyes on him, he looked up from the couch to the starer. Venus continued to look at him in the eye, showing how she, too, did not like the arrangement. The male terrapin took a moment before pushing himself off of the couch. It was hasty for he was angry. His steps grew heavy as he escaped from the living room to move off to wherever; anywhere to get away from the pressure of the room. The female terrapin looked down herself. Not meaning to, her eyes caught a glimpse of her figures that still lay on the floor. Leonardo hadn’t noticed, but when he placed his and Venus’ figure back down, he didn’t realize that they were still close together. The Raphael, Donatello, and Mona Lisa figurines stood up beside one another yet they had a noticeable space between them. The other two, however, were pushed as close as possible with a good ½ foot away from the others. She closed her eyes tight and turned her face away. Then, she got up and went into her own room to devise how she was going to spy for the Foot that night.

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