Puck didn't blame him. Moving your head back and forth so much could make one dizzy.

Jason knew that for sure now, he rubbed the back of his neck a bit. It hurt a little bit.

"You good?" Puck asked

"Yeah, necks just a bit sore." He said, giving a thumbs up.

"Yeah, that happens. Wanna give it a rest?"

"If that's alright with you." He said, giving a small nod.

"Sure."

The days settled into a safe, if not comfortable, routine. At dawn, before the sunlight touched the forest floor, Ash would drag Jason out to the little clearing to practice sword drills with him. He was a patient yet strict teacher, pushing Jason to stretch beyond his comfort zone and fight like he meant to kill him. He taught Jason defense, how to dance around an enemy without getting hit, how to turn his opponents' energy against them. As Jason's skill and possibly confidence grew, their practice scuffles became more serious. There was a pattern, a rhythm in the art of swordplay. It became more like a dance: a tempo of spinning, darting blades, and constant footwork. There wasn't really much to do in the afternoons. Puck hung around for the moment. Sometimes Ash was there, lying on the couch reading a book; sometimes he disappeared into the forest for hours at a time.

Jason took the practices much more seriously now, not one hint of it to him was a game really. He sometimes spent his time watching stars as the sun would set, mentally drawing things in them or making up stories in his head of what they could be. But he still had heavy thoughts on his mind, whether they bothered him horribly or not.

Evenings were the hardest. Ash was as good as his word and never pushed, keeping all interactions between them light and easy, still trying to give Jason the break he asked for. He never turned Jason away; he was always there, quiet and strong. One night, bored and restless, he found a stack of dusty board games in a closet, and asked Jason what Scrabble, checkers and Yahtzee were.

He looked to Ash, expression relaxed and calm. He smiled softly, and explained each one as clearly as he could. He felt a lot better around Ash recently, less tense and nervous. His freckles often had lavender in them now, rarely any hint of orange or red at all.