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When Eodwine brought Flíthaf back to the stables after his ride, it was quite a while after his and Javan’s return, but Léof was still thinking on the end of their ride. What had possessed Javan to take off like that? It had been senseless, in direct opposition to his instructions to him. There was a reason that they had been going slowly through the streets of Edoras! It had taken Léof a bit to catch up with Javan, because Æthel had spooked at all the commotion, and by then the man that had helped Javan had disappeared and Léof’s initial burst of anger had been tempered with relief that neither Javan nor Herefola had been hurt, but he could not check the annoyance in his voice as he rode up.
“That was a stupid thing to do, Javan,” he said, “and I’m not sure why I should still trust you after a stunt like that.” Javan didn’t seem to know whether to respond in anger or shame. “Now, come on. Let’s get these two back to the stables.” Javan quietly consented, and Léof noticed that his mount up was considerably shakier than it had been earlier that morning. “That scared you a bit, didn’t it?” Léof asked. “Good. Remember it.” Without waiting he nudged Æthel forward, leaving Javan to follow after. The thought had briefly crossed Léof’s mind that he was being cruel and making the situation worse, not better, and that he might regret his actions later, but he also felt enough justified in his remarks that he made no move to amend his terse words. Nor did he look back over his shoulder to see what kind of looks Javan was giving him.
When they had reached the Hall, Léof had had Javan walk Herefola out and brush her while he did the same with Æthel. When they were put away, Léof finally felt that he had gathered himself enough to talk civilly with Javan. “I won’t tell Thornden or Eodwine about what you did earlier, although I’m not sure why. I like you, Javan. I want to be your friend – but I’ve been put in charge of you, too, and in charge of the horses.” He sighed. “Look, go ahead and take a break; I don’t have anything else for you to do right now. Come back around lunchtime and help me switch out the horses in the paddock with those we left in here and muck out the rest of the stalls.”
Really he had just wanted some time to think without interruption, and he had gotten it, though his thoughts were hardly less clouded than they had been, and now it was nearly lunchtime, when Javan should be coming back. He hoped that Javan had done some thinking as well, and might be willing to talk, though Léof wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. As he put Flíthaf away in his stall, he murmured, “Horses are so much simpler than people – haven’t I always said that?”
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