On Thin Ice: Azriel x OC

Chapter 20

It used to be one of Nova's strong suits, knife throwing. Being a spy, she didn't often have to kill people, but keeping them at a distance was definitely preferred on the occasion. Since she was good at it in the past, she hoped it would come back to her easily.

They'd been working mostly on close-range combat, to keep the strength in Nova's arms and make her capable of quickly deterring any attacks she would endure. She figured Azriel would keep her doing combat training, so she was thrilled to be starting something else.

"I think you'd be really good at it, you have great coordination and consistency, key factors in the art of knife throwing," Azriel started, "It's also just something different, I know Cassian prefers to train people to master one skill before moving onto another, but sometimes it's good to have variation."

She walked past him to observe the table of knives, the range of shapes and sizes that were laid out with near perfect spacing.

Azriel continued, "I prefer sword fighting, to keep my opponents close, but it's always convenient to have the option to stay at a distance."

Nova turned back to watch his response, "I think you just have a thing for knives."

His lips curved into a smirk as he chose not to entertain her statement, rather redirecting to a conversation about strategy and body placement.

After going over the general technique, he explained the purpose of different size knives with their aerodynamics and the best one for her to start with, then showed her the proper way to grip the handle.

She positioned herself about 12 feet away from the target and did as he told, putting her left foot front and right foot back, bending her knees to ensure stability.

"You will lift the knife straight back above your head, then propel it forward, shifting your weight forward as well. The hardest part is getting the timing right for the release of the knife," Azriel slowly circled her to observe her body placement and commented on anything she should alter.

"Lift and throw, easy enough," Nova said with a hint of sarcasm.

He stayed quiet as she lifted the knife straight out in front of her to aim. She took a deep breath and lifted the knife above her head. Forcing the knife forward, she shifted all her weight into her left foot and let go.

The knife thumped against the wood as Nova took an off-balanced step forward. It landed in the bottom left corner of the board, a couple of inches away from the edge of the painted target.

"Quite decent for your first throw," Azriel said, holding out a second knife from the few he'd been holding.

He placed the knife in her palm, "It didn't even make it inside the target."

"It was your first one, I'm proud it made it on the wood," Azriel said, sending sympathy down their bond, "it's not easy relearning the things you spent decades mastering."

"I just expected all of this to be easier, having prior experience and all," Nova repositioned herself and put her arms out to aim once again.

He didn't respond, she lifted the knife directly over her head and snapped it down with a sharp exhale.

It landed inside the target this time, towards the middle of the outside ring.

"See, only your second throw and it's already inside the target," Azriel sighed, "it's just gonna take time and practice for you to get that muscle memory back."

He handed her a third knife and she kept throwing, taking all of Azriel's quiet comments and tips, noting the things she needed to work more on.

There was no doubt that she was a quick learner, or rather she corrected her work quickly having learned all of this once before.

After the fifth throw, Azriel walked over to collect the knives from the target, Nova felt bad that he just kept watching, not doing.

"I want you to demonstrate," she said as he was on his way back to her, the five knives in hand.

"Why? You're doing great," he replied, as she moved to the side, out of the direct line of the target.

She nodded to indicate for him to take her place, "I'm a visual learner."

Azriel didn't argue, he knew she didn't need a demonstration but was willing to give her a break anyways.

He stood in the spot she had just left, inhaled, and lifted the first knife. Snapping his arm down, as soon as the knife went airborne, he had another in hand, ready to lift again. He proceeded to throw the rest within seconds, only exhaling once that the last knife hit the target.

The knives ended up blade to blade in a small clump in the center of the target. It was as close to five perfect throws as he could get.

Standing still in awe, even though she had known his throws would be nothing less than perfect, she waited until he collected all the knives and returned next to her.

"Any critiques?" He asked, an unmistakable tone of cockiness throughout.

An unimpressed Nova just got back into position, Azriel simultaneously handing her one of the knives.

They continued for about a half-hour longer, until Nova's arms had grown shaky and exhausted from the continuous throwing motions.

She pushed to keep going, but he could see that she was getting tired, "You're only going to hurt yourself if you overwork your body."

Stepping out her throwing stance, she turned to face him, "I was always told that you only grow when you push yourself past your stopping point."

"Not tonight, Cassian will actually kick my ass if you get hurt and I wouldn't forgive myself if I was responsible for your injuries," Azriel said, turning and walking the knives back to the array on the table.

He set them back in their designated places as the target suddenly disappeared from the wall, by the House's magic.

He headed back to her, stopping just a few feet away, "Actual goodnight this time?"

She laughed, "I guess it is."

Nova held her arms out and he immediately closed the space between them, his large figure encompassing her. She was just short enough for him to rest his chin against the very top of her head as he gave a gentle squeeze, just to reassure himself that she wouldn't disappear.

Their embrace was one of affection and protective means, no thoughts or concerns, only each other. They breathed in each other's scents, willing time to stop, just for a few moments, to stay there and enjoy each other's presence.

They parted ways for the night, Nova winnowed back to the guest room of the townhouse. She changed back into the comfortable clothes she had on before their small excursion, and once again got into her bed.

She let sleep take her gradually, just letting her thoughts come and go as she lay in complete darkness and slowly drifted off.

Sleep was troubled and insufficient for Nova, she found herself constantly waking to look over to her window, checking for any ounce of sunlight, and listening for any hushed voices downstairs, by the chance they chose to meet at the townhouse beforehand.

It would signal Azriel's departure and though there was nothing she would be able to do to prevent it, she was still uneasy with the thought of him being in Winter Court all day.

Nova woke once again, this time to the sounds of actual faint voices downstairs. Her left hand was stretched towards the bedroom door, Azriel's shadow somehow urging her hand to move towards it.

She chose to ignore it but got up out of bed to start getting ready. Once Azriel left Velaris, she knew there wouldn't be any more rest until he got back.