Felicia went about her day's work, though he could hear her at any point of the day marveling over his various 'improvements' to her equipment. A lot of it had been simple maintenance which was assisted in quality by his superior eyesight and dexterity.

He, on the other hand, had requested a book from her to read. Or several. He had made use of himself, much to his hostess' dismay, and as such she had insisted quite firmly that he make no more effort to help her.

She was rather strange like that. He was able-bodied, moreso than likely any other human on this planet, so her unwillingness to utilize it was surprising. Justifying it with 'host manners' once more, she had shooed him away to the barn after grabbing him a large stack of books.

They were all simple, entertaining enough as he read them. They mostly served as a means to pass the time, as well as keep his mind occupied. By the time noon had come around, he had read through most of the pile.

Thankfully, he could hear Felicia approaching in the distance. By the difference in the weight of her footsteps, she was likely carrying something heavy.

She walked in through the wide-open door of the barn, and true to his hearing she had a pair of large pails, one in each hand. Her wild red hair was frazzled and caked with loose dirt, and she wore a brilliant smile.

"Hey, Horus!" she greeted, walking into the barn and beelining to a stall. "Don't mind me, I'm just tendin' the gals." She had entered one of the larger bovines' resting areas and set down the buckets. They didn't hold any food or some such, instead a wide array of clipping tools and pliers.

One of the larger bovines gave a low moo as Felicia approached. It was somewhat fuzzy, with a light brown coat of short hair and a large and swollen pink organ.

"Hey there Miltank." Felicia said, scratching it behind the ears. "Ready to be trimmed?' Horus raised an eyebrow at the name, as the other bovine was likely more deserving of the title. It was noticeably larger, with a black and white coat.

He was in no place to judge her naming of her animals, though.

A small comb was produced from her bucket, and she began to stroke the beast's hide, the small hairs falling into line. She also rubbed her hand against its head, calming it.

"Good girl." She whispered. Surreptitiously, she wrapped a small loop of rope around its neck. He watched her hawkishly as she guided the animal towards a restraining contraption. Several pieces of metal were locked into place around it, and suddenly the beast was immobilized.

She got to work quickly, running over and grabbing a large pair of what looked like wire shears. Several other clipping tools and coarse files were grabbed, and she returned.

One of its feet was pulled up and nestled between her legs. It didn't panic, leaving Horus to realize it was either used to this, or the process caused no pain. Or both.

The process was quick, showing both practice and expertise as she trimmed Miltank's various hooves. It only took a few minutes, and the bovine was set free.

It mooed loudly at Felicia, but moved away towards its companion and continued to eat.

"That was expertly done." He remarked as Felicia stored her tools. "I feel that no Primarch could do it better." Felicia looked at him with a raised eyebrow for a moment before blushing.

"Oh, uh, thanks." She dropped the final tool into the bucket, using her now-free hand to brush some hair behind her ear. "You're a Primarch, right?" Horus smiled and nodded.

"Indeed. I am one of twenty, all of them my brothers." Felicia whistled at the number, though gestured for him to continue when he paused. "We were all created to embody an aspect of humanity's potential, and I myself am a general. A commander of men." An image of thousands of Astartes warped into perversions of their nature flashed through his mind. "It…did not go as my father had hoped."

Understatement of the eon right there.

Felicia's smile fell, and she approached Horus. Even sitting down, he was taller than her, so he still had to angle his head down to look at her.

"Do you, uh, want to talk about it?" Felicia sat down in front of him, leaving her tools at her side.

Did he? He wanted to, on some level, because it would feel good to air his sins. On the other, he did not want to lose his first spark of redemption for the sake of his own self-pity.

"I…" He couldn't meet her eyes. A vulnerable desire to help radiated off of her like a cloud, burning with surprising intensity in the warp. "I do not know if I should." He surprised himself with those words. He had never truly been unsure about something like this. It was a simple truth, and such things were what he liked to tell in droves.

"Then don't." The matter-of-fact nature of the statement surprised him. "If you're not sure, I won't push. God only knows how many times I've been too pushy in the past."

Her helpful nature only swelled in strength, her smile hardening into a steely determination. One that was not unlike what he'd seen on Alpharius's face (or had it been Omegon?) at the battle of Catalax.

He should tell her. It was not true acceptance if she didn't even know of his past—or rather, his future. It wasn't really forgiveness if she had no information to base her assumption on.

"I know that look." She interrupted his thoughts with a pointed look.. "And you are not sharing it with me yet. I'll wait until you're really comfortable. Then you can tell me."

"You are wise in the ways of emotion, Felicia." He replied. A toothy grin was her response, and she collected her tools.

"My momma didn't raise no fool." She turned to walk out the door. "C'mon, it'll be more fun to work than sit here and do nothing." Horus gestures toward the mostly-read stack of books.

"And I know you're getting bored of reading, too."

Truly, Malcador's suggestion seemed to have some kind of merit already. Perhaps the galaxy would have been better off if he and his brothers were born female.

Next Chapter! Enjoy!