The hard-bristled brush scraped against Winter's coat, pulling away the dander that had gathered. With the deep ache of cold taking over the landscape, Hollis didn't dare bathe them traditionally. Even with the warm water of their personal, insulated stalls, the risk was too great. If they emerged before fully dry or the pipes gave way to the encroaching ice, they'd have dead horses. It would be dust baths for now, but Winter didn't complain much.
"Are you ready?" Azriel asked as he walked down the center aisle.
Turning to glance over his shoulder, Hollis nodded in return, "Leon is set, I just need to finish Winter's mane."
"Good, meet me there when you've finished." He said, continuing forward and into the arena.
Hollis made quick work of detangling her tail and braided the silver hairs with minimal effort. It wasn't long before he offered her a sugar cube, pressed a kiss to her snout, and left, chuckling as she whinnied after him.
The arena wasn't empty, but certainly not active. Azriel stood in the center, holding Leon's bride as he approached, and to the right in the stands sat Cassian and Kyra wearing expectant, curious expressions. His attention was quickly diverted by what Azriel held in his other hand. The sleek, ebony body was similar to the poles Bran had him work with in the past, but instead of a blunt end, a long dagger extended, coming to a deadly point.,
"This is a lance," Azriel nodded, "You are going to be charging with Leon until you make contact." He pointed his scarred finger, and Hollis followed its trajectory to a stuffed dummy situated across the arena.
Taking a deep breath, Hollis nodded, "Alright." It wouldn't be the first time he had used Leon to charge an object, but they were usually ten feet away and didn't require gaining much speed.
"Take it easy and trust your instincts."
Stepping into the stirrup, he hoisted himself onto Leon's back and gently patted his neck, "Thank you, Leon."
Leon snorted in return.
As Azriel retreated to the edge to watch with folded arms, Hollis held his lance as Bran had directed him with the pole before nudging Leon with a firm command to the line drawn on the ground as a starting point.
"Your goal is to maim, Hollis," Cassian said from the stands.
Keeping his stance, he tightened his grip on the lance and urged Leon forward, to which the mammoth of a horse obliged and moved forward at a slow trot, quickly gaining speed. They'd reach the end within the next minute. Hollis quickly calculated which direction he intended to go and how far he could get with Leon's temperament. He seemed to be doing well, still focused on his task as they closed the distance.
A door in the distance slammed shut, reverberating the tinny sound of warped metal. It happened too quickly to make sense of much of it, but Hollis, suddenly tucking the lance to his side, gripped the reins with gentle pressure. Instead of turning left as he'd originally planned, he slowed their speed and continued straight. Preparing himself, he tightened his legs to ensure he stayed seated as Leon reared back with a distressed bray.
"Easy…" Hollis said calmly, not daring to let go of the reins to soothe his neck while still clutching the lance. It wasn't until Leon had stopped bucking his head that Hollis urged him into the center of the arena to take some slow circles with the hope it would calm him down.
"Nice work," Azriel commented as he neared the edge, but didn't get too close. "What do you think happened?"
Hollis nodded, "I imagine the sound of the door sounded like swordplay. Bran mentioned he's seen war, and the similarity might have triggered his panic."
"What will we have to do for him now?"
Swallowing, he glanced at Azriel, watching Cassian and Kyra approach, too, as he slowly dismounted and took Leon's bridle while keeping a hand against his neck for comfort. "We can try to desensitize him to the noise, but that could cause further trauma. I imagine training a new horse and letting Leon retire to calmer settings would be best for him."
Cas nodded, smiling softly as he offered his hand to Leon, which he immediately nuzzled in search of a treat. "I was worried about that, but you're right. He did well in the field. It's why he was sent from the main stables. Who will you train now?"
"Me?"
Az smirked and nodded, "We'll show you how, but we'd like you to gain the knowledge of training horses for their tasks."
Pursing his lips, Hollis contemplated for a moment, "Ruby will be having a foal soon. It can only be Leon or Wild's descendant. Best scenario would be Leon's, which seems less likely, but even with Wild…if they have the same temperament as Ruby, there might be promise there. Until then, we have a few horses that aren't too easily spooked in their own quadrant. Among the ones Nova calmed during Solstice that year."
"Alright," Cassian nodded, "Have one selected before the next session and we'll see if they're suitable."
Reaching into his pocket, he offered Leon a few sugar cubes; he'd earned it. As he was turning him toward the exit, Kyra spoke.
"Nova asked if you'd go to her room when you get the chance."
He raised his brows and looked at her as his stomach knotted uncomfortably, not imagining the glance between the Illyrian warriors.
"Okay…"
"She said to bring snacks."
Blinking, he nodded but said nothing more as he led Leon back to his stall. If his hands weren't filthy, he'd have been chewing his nails to the quick.
What kind of snacks?
The sleeping tonics were nestled safely away in Madja's luggage, and for that, Nova was grateful. Her muscles still ached, but it was nothing like it had been. She could sit up in bed, with some support, and though she knew she needed to eat, she had declined any food until Hollis arrived.
It had been over two weeks of constant bed rest and tonics, and Nova had barely eaten anything. She'd had enough to function, but with the amount of sleep she'd been getting, her appetite had been nonexistent.
A light knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts, and she glanced at Madja, reading in a corner chair.
"That's probably Hollis. Can you give us a moment?"
Madja frowned and furrowed her brows, but nodded as she stood to open the door. There, holding a tray of assorted finger foods, stood Hollis with reddened cheeks and a sheepish smile.
"Nova asked for me?"
Madja smiled, "Hm, not too much fun, she's still resting."
His eyes widened as she walked around him. Hollis glanced at Nova, who rolled her eyes and sighed. "I didn't ask you up here for anything physical. I just want to talk."
Carefully, he closed the door behind him and set the food tray on the bed before taking the seat closest to her pillows. Nova pulled the tray closer, so it was directly between them. She took a piece of thinly sliced cheese between her fingers and set it on her tongue, relishing the sudden pool of saliva that sent the bitter afternotes washing down her throat. Truly, she didn't realize how hungry she was until that first bite, but she refrained from taking another piece as she settled a gaze on Hollis, noting his slight frown and confused eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Taken aback, Hollis slowly shook his head, "Sorry? For what?"
"I've not been very kind to you," she swallowed back the shame that settled on her tongue, "I shouldn't have said that to you. About…Peter." She clenched her jaw. "It was unfair of me to make your good deed look like something it wasn't."
"Nova, I…" Hollis paused, searching for the right words, or at least words that made sense. "If I had known he was partial to giving them to you, I never would have offered it. I know what it must have looked like to you, and I'm sorry it reminded you of him."
"I shouldn't be afraid of reminders of him."
"Why not?" Hollis asked gently. "It's been barely three weeks, Nova. You're still grieving. I'm not going to tell you how to grieve, but in whatever way you feel, I'm here to help anyway I can."
Nova was quiet for a long moment, looking down at the spread, which mostly consisted of cheese and crackers. She assumed they were trying to prolong the meat supply. She picked up a cracker and took a crumbly bite.
"Peter told me he loved me." Risking a glance, she frowned to see he was chewing his cheese and cracker combination with a slow nod. She frowned. "Does that bother you?"
Hollis furrowed his brow, "Anyone with eyes could see he was in love with you from the beginning. I saw it, and I only met him twice."
She ventured again, "It doesn't…bother you?" Wasn't being jealous some male right? At least, that's how the others seemed to act, the ones she'd met in the camp. Aside from her family, who must have been trained by a few good women in their lives, other males seemed so… testosterone driven.
While shaking his head, Hollis picked up a black olive. "People are meant to love and be loved. I don't see how that could be wrong."
Nova stared at him for a weighted moment before nodding, "Yeah…" She picked up another slice of cheese and asked, "What did you do today?"
Hollis stayed with Nova until she was ready to go to sleep, but he was happy to see her eat more than she had been. He'd already made a mental note to bring her another tray to snack on, provided her stomach handled it well. He hoped the effects of the tonic were long gone.
As he entered the kitchen to return the empty tray, he jolted, nearly jumping out of his skin. Sitting on the counter was Nieve, and beside her, Kole. They both grinned at him and lifted their bottles of booze.
"We were told to give you some space, but..." Nieve shrugged and smiled, "We decided in this case, it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission."
As the initial surprise ebbed away, Hollis was left with a twinge of relief. "I've missed you." He greeted Kole with a hug, only for Nieve to hop down and squeeze herself into them.
"So," Kole asked as he pulled away, blinking away the moisture from his eyes, "How's married life?"
Hollis cringed and leaned back against the counter, and shook his head. "I feel terrible."
That was putting it lightly.
Every time Hollis thought about how he and Nova were not magically and permanently bound, he felt a little sick. He'd have thrown himself at her under other circumstances, begged to be walked all over by her…but this. There was nothing romantic about it.
Nieve pursed her lips and nodded, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Sighing, he shook his head, "I don't feel like I have the right to. I just…it's going to take time."
"Well," Kole swirled his bottle with a tight smile of sympathy, "Want a drink?"
"Nah," Hollis shook his head and stared at the bottle for a long moment. He furrowed his brows.
Nieve set hers down on the island. "Something wrong?"
"No," he paused, "It's been a long time since I've had a drink."
It had been a long time since he'd felt that terrible, throat-closing anxiety creeping on him like a hungry vulture. He hadn't had a panic attack since…since the day he felt Nova dying. That had been the worst sense he'd ever felt, but now, knowing she was safe upstairs, the stress he felt wasn't enough to force his body to react with it.
He knew now it had been her presence in the tent with him, but that was just it, wasn't it? Nova was the reason for his peace, and for that, he smiled.
With a full belly, Nova felt herself naturally beginning to fall asleep, but it was short-lived as Emerie knocked and entered.
"Good afternoon, sunshine."
Nova groaned and pulled the covers over her face, only for them to be yanked (gently) back down as Emerie plopped next to her.
"Time to get your body moving."
"I'm tired."
"Then when you're finished, you'll sleep very well, won't you?"
Nova couldn't keep the smile off her face if she tried. She recalled one of the times early in her career as a soldier. It was the first, and only, time she'd ever slept in. Even now, she wondered if it was very fair to make her run five laps around the camp before her real workout began.
With Emeries' help on one side and Madja on the other, she stood to her feet as Feyre entered and offered a small smile.
"I brought it."
"Perfect," Emerie replied and nodded down at the ground, "You can put it just there."
Nova arched her brow as she stared down at the object her mother brought—a short, rectangular black box, hardly half a foot on the ground.
It was Madja who explained, "While Helion mended your spine, you've spent so long in one position we'll need to work out the strain on the muscles that have tightened over time."
"Less strenuous activities, along with heat and massage, will help ease the tension." Emerie continued. "What we'll help you do right now is step onto the box and back down."
"That's it?" Nova asked with a frown.
"That's it." Emerie smiled gently. "Have patience, Nova. Taking things too fast will only risk more permanent damage."
Sighing, though a bit annoyed, she stepped up onto the box and gritted her teeth as shocks of red pain radiated up her legs, all the way to her neck. Still, she stepped up and down on the box, glaring at the wall. Before all this, she'd been running miles and fighting in the ring.
Now, a box, the equivalent of one step on a stair, was a challenge.
Fuck me.