Fanfic:Homesick
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Sometimes, Derren got homesick.
In truth, he was ashamed to admit that it wasn't often. He loved his parents, and his brother was a piece of him, but they were…chaotic. The Tower was ordered and efficient. He felt like he could achieve more with himself here, but still, there were moments when he missed his mother and father, Shienar, the town he grew up in, and most of all, Kerren.
The letters he received with surprising regularity, considering that his brother was not the most ordered of minds, helped keep him connected. Kerren was betrothed and going to be wed in one year, and Derren hoped that he'd be able to get a pass from the Tower to go to his brother's wedding. He was a Dedicated now, after all, and he was sure that he could convince his Aunt Sadira or his grandmother to go with him.
For the moment, however, he was having one of those homesick times. It was at times like this, he did what he could to remind himself of home.
That's what brought him to the stables today. The Grey Tower had its own blacksmith who came in from Hama Valon to attend to the horses here, but there was a blacksmithing equipment all on hand right here, for use by the visiting ferrier. This was where Derren went when he needed to feel that connection to his home again, because it brought to mind the memories of time with his father.
His uniform jacket was slung over a railing and he was otherwise stripped to the waist, sweat a sheen over his skin as it turned gently pink from the heat of the furnace. [i]Saidin[/i] roared through him as he channeled blunt flows of Fire into the forge, keeping it hot while he worked. The steady beat of the hammer against hot metal and the steam of it cooling was comforting, and moment by moment, he felt easier and easier from the unpleasant feelings that had begun to assail him.
After a time, he had a new rack of horseshoes ready for the visiting ferrier, but he also had a horse standing in the ties in the stable aisle.
"Hello, Violet," he said softly, gently rubbing her nose. She whickered softly and nudged him. He smiled and then moved around from her head, running his hand along her back and flank until he was standing just beside her. His rough, still-hot hand ran down that leg to her fetlock to let her know what he was doing before he nudged her. The big animal's weight shifted to her other leg and he picked up her hoof, setting it between his knees.
First, he pulled the nails free and then removed the shoe. After cleaning the hoof out, he took the trimmers and carefully worked around the edge of her hoof to trim the excess; like any man or woman would their ungainly fingernails. He let her leg rest for a moment while he fetched a shoe and returned to it, putting the nails in his mouth and holding him there as he put the shoe on and drove each nail in steadily and carefully.
He repeated this process with the three subsequent hooves. Patting Violet gently on the rump, he fetched the carrot he had ‘borrowed' from the Tower kitchen and broke it into pieces, holding them one by one on his open, flat palm and letting her eat them before he took them back out to her turnout and let her take her new shoes for a turn.
Derren folded his arms across the top of the half-door to her stall, and smiled.
He was feeling a lot better now.
