Naturally, I don't have to wait until tomorrow for excitement.

My dreams are filled with the weight of faceless bodies on top of me, smothering me, and holding me down. I'm screaming with all I've got even as I feel their hands grabbing me and tugging me in every direction. There are so many hands that I can't even tell how many there are. A pair starts shaking my shoulders and sound finally breaks through. "Kaira!" Mor shouts but when my eyes open, I can barely see her frantic brown ones amidst all the shadows billowing from me. Another voice joins hers, but I can't quite make it out. "I don't know! I don't know!" She shouts before I see a pair of hazel eyes hovering above me.

"LEASH THE SHADOWS!" He thunders and it's the loudest I've ever heard him.

How, how, how, how.

"Pull them back in like breathing in air!" Azriel specifies and I take a deep breath which calms the shadows marginally. He nods and I know that this is a step in the right direction. Smooth hands vanish as scarred ones take their place and I focus on the feeling of them as I take another deep breath. My hand reaches out and I put it over Azriel's chest to feel him breathe with me despite his racing heart. In through the nose, out through the mouth, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Bit by bit the shadows retreat back into me and the deep curls at my back. The three of us are breathless as we look around the room to find every piece of furniture smashed and blackened as if the shadows stained it.

"I'm-"

"There's no need to apologize," Azriel tells me firmly and I don't flinch when he runs a hand over my sweaty forehead. He takes my hands in his as I sit up with a wince, then my stomach roils. I don't bother trying to stand and instead winnow into the bathroom before emptying the contents of my stomach into the porcelain. My whole body burns from soreness along with my throat and nose from puking. I'm not sure whose hands pull back my hair, but I'm grateful all the same.

When I've emptied everything in my stomach, and most of my organs besides, it's deathly quiet. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Azriel's voice murmurs as cool and calm as the shadows around us. He releases my hair as I sit on the floor to face him with my body crying out in the process. Mor has vanished somewhere and I don't have the energy to ask where.

"Water," I respond softly and he instantly moves, grabbing a glass and filling it before returning to me. He doesn't wait for my heavy arm to lift before tilting the glass and I take tentative sips. Our eyes are locked on one another as he reads when I need more and when to pull back. He allows me to have my silence as long as I want it which is until the glass is empty. Then he sets it aside. "What..." I'm not sure how to finish the question, but he seems to know anyway.

"The shadows can get...unruly. They can react to dreams as well as reality." He tells me evenly and I don't look away from him.

"Do you see my dreams?" I ask quietly and he nods once.

"Sometimes."

"Then you know...you know that some of them are not fiction." I watch him carefully and see cold fire flicker to life in his eyes, then vanish.

"Yes." He answers gently and I take a breath.

"Does that matter to you?" I ask and I'm not sure why it matters to me, why it would hurt if it did. "Do you think differently of me knowing that I'm sullied?"

"No." He answers instantly and I feel the honesty of the word press against me. "You are not that to me. You are not what happened to you." I find myself accepting his words as fact simply for the conviction that he says them with. But knowing and believing are two different things. I take a deep breath and rise on shaky feet, happily accepting his hand as my muscles ache.

"Ow." I groan and flutter my wings slightly to loosen up. Azriel's eyes skim my body as his apprehension fills his eyes.

"Maybe we shouldn't train today." I hum softly, but then we walk out into the room and I see how I've blackened it. My hand releases his as I walk over to what used to be a desk, snatching up a ribbon to tie up my hair.

"The room," I say softly and twist my hands together.

"Don't worry about the room. It can be fixed. Cleaned. Put right." He assures me, but that doesn't erase the fact that I nearly destroyed it. I sigh and nod anyway before turning to him.

"You don't have to stay," I tell him and he makes no move to leave.

"Would you like me to go?" His voice is gentle despite the fact that I don't deserve it. Despite what I've done here.

"No, but if you want to get some sleep, then you should." I'm not sure how I feel about the heat that flashes in his eyes before he reins it in.

"Whatever you need." He offers instead and I could cry at the lack of judgment or expectation in his eyes. Hesitantly, I walk over and stand in front of him in the middle of the room. As gently as he spoke to me, I take his scarred hands and lift them to frame my face. Comfort drifts over the bond and I soak in as much as I can while staring into his sharp, hazel eyes. This is the only thing I have to give.

"This is okay," I tell him as his thumbs skim my cheeks and the tips of his fingers graze the curls that have escaped my ponytail. My hands move to his wrists as I guide them down over my neck, then onto my shoulders. "Your scars—" His eyes harden slightly, but his touch remains feather-light. "your scars let me know that it's you. They feel distinct. I can't tell through clothes, so you can only touch me skin to skin." I share without looking away from his eyes for a moment. My hands leave his wrists as I let him have free reign, but all he does is lift them back to frame my face.

"I once thought that my scars were a curse." He whispers and tucks a few curls behind my ear only to smile as they bounce back. "But it's a gift to touch you." Emotion laces every word and I feel how much he means it over the bond. How precious he thinks this is.

"It's a gift to be touched by someone...safe." Someone whose touch means safety and soothing rather than hurt and pain. His eyes rove over my face and I stiffen slightly when his thumb grazes my lips, but then he pulls back. We look away from one another for a moment so I can get my feet back under me. "I'm going to clean." I say softly before looking back to him. His lips lift.

"I'll get a broom."

* * *

So, we clean. He does more than me because I'm more than exhausted and sore, but I try. By the time we're done it's nearly sunrise, so we eat breakfast on the roof. I eat sparsely so he doesn't have to witness me vomiting over the side of the roof, but it's soothing all the same. Peaceful, after last night. He tries to convince me to give training a break, but while weight seems to have been lifting off the spring coiling in my stomach, it's still winding up.

"I want to go and besides, I don't want to hear what Rhys will say if he doesn't see me there," I tell him and bite back my groan as we stretch after sitting so long. His eyes sparkle as if he knows.

"Want to fly there?" He offers and my eyebrows shoot up. "I'll watch to make sure you keep good form."

"And make sure I don't fall to my death?"

"That too." A small laugh leaves my lips and it feels good. Especially when I see his little smile. I stretch out my wings as Azriel's tonic sinks in once again and roll my shoulders. It hurts, but maybe...

My answer is flapping my wings once and I'm surprised to see a wider smile on Azriel's face. I angle my wings a bit more and my next flap has my feet lifting. He nods and opens his own while I shoot up. I pin my arms to my chest so I don't throw off my balance and go high rather than flattening out when I should. When my wings do straighten, I take a breath at the sight of Velaris stretched out in front of me in the burgeoning morning light. Shops are just starting to glow gold from fires being lit as people wake to start their day. It's beautiful and I haven't even walked through the streets yet. Soon. I would venture out soon.

With my legs steady, I only wobble a little as Azriel shoots up to join me. "Good. Try letting your arms loose. Eventually, I'll teach you how to use weapons in flight." His smile is luminous and dangerous which sends a thrill shooting down my spine. Carefully, I extend my arms down so they hover a few inches from my sides. I wobble again a few times with Azriel's shadow remaining above me until I even out. Pleasure idles along the bond and I allow myself to feel a little smug before an image shoots across the bond.

Me, with my wings out. My curls shift and flutter with the wind along with the shadows stretching over my wings, dancing over the edges like fabric in the breeze. I can see the green tint to the veining as well and the fact makes me smile. "Beautiful." The word slides to me and my heart lifts just as I do in the air. It's almost a pity when we reach the House of Wind. I go through Azriel's instructions in my head and watch him land first, then attempt it myself. "Stay calm and keep steady, then remember the backflap." He tells me and I take a deep breath before sweeping in. One flap at an angle to slow me down before I'm over the platform, then two more quickly as I pass over the edge, finally one more as my feet hit the floor—

My feet hit the ground and I roll forward with my momentum, but Azriel is there to catch me before I eat stone. I look up at his eyes to find them absolutely shining. "Almost perfect. You need to have a bit more confidence in your wings to slow you down, but you nearly had it." I glow from his praise and his light touch that keeps to my exposed hands since most of the rest of me is covered in Illyrian leathers. My lips part and I'm not completely sure what I'm about to say before someone clears their throat and our heads snap towards the sound.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Cassian asks and we both sigh before stepping away from one another.

"I flew!" I share and a wide smile bursts on his face.

"Really? Not bad, little sister!" He says and I blink when he steps forward to scoop me up, spinning me in a circle before setting me back on unsteady feet. Azriel's eyes watch me carefully, but he seems to be fighting a smile. "When we're all ready, then we should have a race."

"Aren't you tired of losing?" Az comments and Cassian crosses his arms over his chest.

"The last time we raced, you were not the one who won."

"I was second, so still faster than you."

"Not a chance, it was too close to call!"

"Right."

"Do you want a rematch right now?"

"Actually, don't you have somewhere to be?" I interrupt their squabble before testosterone rises up and drowns us all. Az raises his brows at me but nods once with a sigh.

"Good luck." He bids and Cassian's eyes roll before Az takes a swan dive over the ledge. My heart swoops as I watch his wings spread out glittering red and gold. I shoot the image to him in repayment for the one earlier along with an appreciative hum that has his next wingbeat faltering slightly.

"Very funny."

"Mm, I didn't think complimenting your ass was funny, but if you say so."

"Careful, or I'll turn around."

"Ooo, what a threat."

"Remember you're training with me next." He leaves me with that and I turn to a quizzical Cassian with a soft smile on his face. Lucky for me, he stays quiet and flicks his chin towards the middle of the roof.

"Since you're already loosened up, let's get to business." He invites and I nod before we get started. We start with the normal punches and kicks, one set with my wings in and another set with my wings out. Cassian is quiet and I'm a little thrown off by the fact.

"Is everything...okay?" I pant while punching his gloves and his jaw ticks before he responds.

"You and Az weren't at breakfast. Mor told us what happened." My fists lower at that and I frown. Is he afraid that I'd hurt Azriel? I open my mouth, but he speaks before me. "Are you okay?" My mouth shuts as my brows furrow.

"You're quiet because you're...worried about me?" I ask and he nods.

"Of course, little sister. We all only pretend to be heartless bastards." He winks at me, but I'm slightly stunned at the unexpected care. "So? Are you alright or should I be doing something ridiculous to make you laugh?" I smile and shake my head.

"You're always ridiculous, but I won't discourage you from any other hilarious behavior." I tease and I'm glad to see a grin return to his face. "No, to answer your question. I'm not okay. But I am better." His smile sobers a bit, but I can see understanding in his eyes.

"That's all any of us can ask for sometimes." He says and walks over to the bench where I once sat as he cleaned me up, then waves me over. I walk to him as he lays out a dozen weapons, then tilts his head. "If you can fly, then it's time you learn how to wield a weapon. Choose wisely." There are swords, daggers, knives, and even a spear laid out in front of me. It doesn't take me long to choose the belt of daggers and Cassian nods in approval.

"A good choice for you. Let's get to it then." He's shown me how to hold them and strike with them by the time Feyre arrives, blissfully without Rhys for now. Cassian chastises her for being late which she blushes at, so I can guess what made her so. He makes her do a round of the basics which she rolls her eyes at before he returns to me. We go over grip, stance, and balance with my wings stretched out, then pulled in before he pits Feyre and me against one another. We both blink at one another, then shake our heads in unison.

"I'd rather not accidentally cut up the High Lady."

"I'd rather not accidentally be cut up."

We say one after the other, then smile lightly at one another. "But you're more than happy to cut me up?" Cassian says and my head shakes while Feyre nods.

"I'll stand in as the other hunk of meat." Rhys' voice drifts over and my eyes roll as he moves in front of Feyre who smirks. Cassian ignores the two who seem instantly involved in a conversation eye to eye while moving in front of me.

"No hesitation. Strike firm and hard." He encourages and points out the weak spots that'll be the easiest to hit. I hesitate despite his instructions, but he just grins. "Give me some credit, little sister. I doubt I'll be hit by someone who barely knows how to hold a dagger." I decide then and there that maybe a little nick would be good for him. My arm lunges forward and he grins as he dances away. "The ribs are too complicated to easily get a good hit there. Focus on slashes there and stab more towards the gut." He says while dodging my every swipe. I learn that silence means I'm doing well and instruction means I've messed up. Neither of us looks over to Rhys and Feyre dancing, but I hear a few laughs from their side of the roof.

"Use your wings for balance if you need to. Remember that they're always at your disposal and that's an advantage that most opponents won't have." I huff softly and keep swiping while making sure to use my wings to keep up a good stance, but all the directions slowly have my head spinning. My brain catches on the last words he said before a half-baked idea pops into my head. I focus a bit more and Cassian's brows pop up as if he can tell. My shadows are almost too eager to help as they wrap from my ankle to his, then a simple yank is all it takes to throw him slightly off-balance so I can land a shallow gash where his neck melts into his shoulder.

I grin as my shadows quickly melt back into me and he steps back with a few fingers skimming over the scratch. Shock is in his hazel eyes and his mouth actually pops open as he looks at me. "What was that about doubts?" I ask softly and hear soft laughter behind me while a fire lights in Cassian's eyes.

"You've asked for it now." He dares and I flare my wings slightly as I settle down into a firmer stance.

"Sorry, Cass, time for the next lesson if I'm going to get anything done today." Rhys steps between us and I deflate slightly while trying to peek over his shoulder at the put-out soldier.

"But—"

"Feyre, darling?" Rhys calls and the woman shakes her head but takes his hand while he offers me his other one.

"Save it for tomorrow." I tease Cassian and he shakes his head with a dangerous grin on his face.

"You'll regret it." He reminds me before we vanish into night and shadow.

*A/N*

A little fluff here. ;) What do we think of Kaira and Azriel so far? What do we think about her powers? Let me know!