we built this city on broken glass

He had hardly anticipated that moment of consideration within the woman as she strove to wipe that blood from his torso. Those tender moments of...care she displayed towards him still having a habit of unsettling the stallion all the same, if only because he was so distinctly un-used to those very gestures. A part of him unsure just how to accept them as his hands reached up to gently still her own. Frost content to utter softly that he should surely manage it himself, the sheer amount of blood on the cloth seeming to have baffled the young woman all the same. Cleaning blood from himself was perhaps one task he knew all too well. Those actions were almost methodical as he gently took the cloth from her to run it beneath the water, lifting it back to his chest then to begin to wipe away what remained of that red stain, his gaze glancing upwards at her assurance petri dish was hardly a word he needed to know. Frost making a note to look it up all the same before those fears seemed to gnaw at her once more. The rejection she felt from her brother and former pack still so clearly turning within her. Truly, he supposed, he could hardly blame her. Would he have been any different? Perhaps, once, he might have felt those same emotions. Such things having ceased to exist for him in the same capacity now and yet that hardly meant he failed to understand her worry for the children. When did a mother not think of her children?

Nadya shifted then to lean back against the island, Frosts own gaze lifted to watch her as the last of that blood was wiped clean from his chest, his features frowning softly in that consideration as she further offered him those fears that seemed to plague her. That Tetradore and Tobias would reject their son and daughter and niece and nephew all over again and that- eventually- the twins would be old enough to feel it in the way Nadya herself did. It was a risk, he supposed, one that allowing the twins to know their family exposed them too and yet to prevent them from that relationship only allowed Nadya herself to be painted as the villian in their minds. There was no easy choice, no simple fix, not to this. The children already referred to him as their father. Though whether Nadya intended to correct it he hardly knew. He supposed, in some capacity, he acted as their Father. A part of him perhaps inclined to almost desire that they were his own and yet he was rarely prone to such idle consideration. Any further words he might have offered were abruptly cut short by the young woman stepping forward to brush that white hair from his features, Frost often loath to allow that blind eye to be seen by anyone and yet he was, slowly, becoming more accepting of Nadya doing just that. A small simper tugging at his lips as she leaned in to steal that kiss. A gesture he was more then willing to return as she assured him she still intended to learn to ride.

"Very well."

He offered simply as she wandered from the room, that soft simper still in place despite that simpleness of his words. Frost entirely content to admire the view from behind as she wandered easily upstairs to attend to the children. That cloth was tossed lightly from his hands then, Frost returning to the sink to wash them before making his way from the kitchen and up to his own office. Nadya would be some time with them yet. Frost having learned their routine over time and as such the man remained content to attend to his work. It was only some time later that he became aware of his girlfriend's presence once more. Frost glancing upward to peer beneath those locks of snowy white hair, her suggestion of going now met with vague hint of surprise as his gaze turned toward the window and the slowly lowering afternoon sun. The riding school he intended to borrow would likely be closed by now, making it all the easier for him to get what he needed. Frost merely offering that singular nod as he moved to push that chair back and rise from his desk, that sudden request to learn to fight seeing him pause again. It was an intelligent request on her part. The events of today no doubt having inspired some desire within her and with so little known about what they might face on that return to his own homeland their was little harm in teaching her those skills.

"I think that is a good idea. Women especially should know basic self-defence if nothing else, especially in your human form. Come on, we can walk over to the riding school in the park now, it should be well and truly closed by the time we get there but I know where the keys are."

Alexander and himself had been borrowing those stables for months, after all. Alex finally having gone about organising for those owners to leave the keys for him so they might use all those stables facilities as they desired. Whether the Hunter had merely demanded it or paid for it Frost hardly knew and yet he supposed he hardly cared either way. The equine paused briefly once more to fish something from the top draw off his desk, tucking it into the back pocket of his jeans before simply holding one hand out for Nadya, taking her hand gently in his own then to lead that way from the house and out onto the street in that simple moment off....affection. Frost still very much learning to offer those gestures.

"I intend to teach you how to saddle a horse on your own and to ride with and without and riding tack. It may take you a few weeks but in the least I anticipate you to have some sort of natural balance. You are a cat, after all. If you fall I assume you will land on your feet."

One eye lifted just so in that tease, that soft chuckle rising within his throat then as they made their way towards the park, the walk hardly far in any sense. The riding school having closed its doors for the evening as Frost had anticipated. He gently released Nadya's hand then with that simple request to wait there. Frost returning a few moments later from behind those stables with the set of keys, gesturing for Nadya to follow as he slipped through that side door and into the stables, shutting and locking that door once more behind him. The scent of horses and hay taking over that spaces as rows and rows of horses and ponies peered out over those stall doors towards them.

"I highly suspect their isn't a saddle in this place that will be large enough to fit me in my equine form so I suggest we borrow one of my cousins here for you to practice on. For the actual riding you can use me. Chester here looks like he's used to beginners."

'Chester' was easily twenty years old if not more. The grey pony undoubtedly used for children, his ears pricked forward in a clear curiosity as Frost unlocked that stall, slipping that headcollar and rope effortlessly over the ponies nose and head before gesturing toward his saddle and bridle resting on the rack outside his stall.

"Bring those with you Nadya, we'll go outside to the arena. If we need to carry anything with us when in Iceland you will need to know how to put a saddle on- I can't do it myself in my horse-form."

It was simple practicality, Frost waiting then for her to pick up that equipment before leading the pony from his stall, Chester effortlessly wandering along beside him with a clear curiosity of where they were going as his hooves ran out against that stone floor. Frost easily lead that small party out those back doors and into the first large, circular practice arena, a far smaller space the the rectangular dressage arenas Alexander and himself used on a nightly basis- Chester effortlessly hitched to the rail as Frost moved to take the saddle and bridle from Nadya then, resting them on the rail beside Chester before coming to stand beside his girlfriend and the grey pony.

"You ready? First things first, even though it will be Were-horses we are mostly dealing with the principles remain the same. Some of them have not been human in so long all they know is to be treated as a horse and horses, like panthers I suspect, are prone to be more instinctive in their animal form all the same. You do everything from the the left side of the horse. Not the right. We are trained to expect you on our left. This is doubly important for myself because I cannot see you on my right at all. Here, give me your hand."

His fingers wove easily with her own then, Frost gently moving to rest her hand against the ponies shoulder then, resting it there a moment, that simper finding his lips again.

"Always keep one hand on your horse so he knows where you are all the time. I'll show you this first and then you can have a go- then we will get to the actual riding."

His fingers gentle unwound themselves from her own, Frost reaching for that riding blanket then, one hand smoothing the fur on the ponies back back placing that riding pad atop it.

"You want it even on both sides and slightly lifted up at the front so the saddle doesn't push it down to firmly on the horses back. Once its resting their the saddle goes on, try to place it gently, it's easy on a small horse. Once the saddle is on, like this, reach underneath the horse for the girth- the part that holds the saddle in place- that comes up like this, you thread it through here and then it's almost like doing up a belt. Put it on as tight as you can and then just before you get on, do it up tighter again by going up a few more holes. Like this. Are you ready to try?"

Frost stepped back easily then from that saddled horse, affording Nadya that chance to examine it then. The man sure they could worry about the bridle once she had mastered the saddle itself.

FrosT