Rice Bluff The Chariot and The Sun

continuation of Cheddeer

---

Bustling kitchen sounds mumbled through the small house: cake pans being slid onto metal tables, industrial mixers whirring, timers dinging. And snoring. Quiet enough that it might only be heard in the blips of silence while the video played. On the couch laid a pajama-clad Newton Ellison on his side with one arm stuck out over the edge of the couch and a leg dangling. His head was propped up on the arm of the sofa, mouth agape.

He didn’t mean to pass out. The intent was to wait for Holly to get back and then they were going to eat an entire wheel of cheese. But after a first shift back on his feet for apparently too long plus a very hot bath and mental therapy session with a wolf, he was easily lulled to sleep by a Japanese bakery video and the rhythmic throbbing in his feet.

The sound of the door opening did wake him up, but he didn’t hear it, per se. He made a very loud pop of a snore and then grumbled, shifting on the couch to get comfortable enough to go back to sleep. But the wolf was alert, craving sight because he recognized the footsteps moving into the room.

Look

---

Texting Newton all evening about Céleste and cheddeer and the shift at Outlaw Moon had helped compartmentalize her feelings about her father being in town. Up until the point when she was finally home. Holly saw Newton in the living room, having already removed her coat and boots at the door. She felt it all come rushing back. The emotional turmoil, the new bandaid on her palm. A physical reminder of being different from her family. Different and likely unwelcome.

Holly sat down on the floor near Newt's head as he snore-grumbled and set the block of cheese on the coffee table. She pressed a small kiss to his temple and waited to see if he'd stir again, lingering to give Hollywolf a moment with Fig. If Newt didn't wake, she'd drape the blanket over him, put the cheese in the fridge and try again with the whole day tomorrow morning. She did hit pause on his phone, just to not hear bakery sounds anymore. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts.

It was more Fig shoving him awake, all his grogginess set aside, than anything. The wolf loped up to her to give her his typical aggressive sniffs; where had she been, was it fun? Something felt off. It made him sniff harder, trying to shove his nose into the base of her ear, under her cheek.

Newt stirred and tuned into the feeling of Holly sitting beside him, humming before he opened his eyes halfway.

"Mmmmhey. Did I fall asleep?" It was a dumb question. His eyes closed so he could lift his eyebrows in sleepy humor.

"Yeah," Holly laughed but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She stretched up a hand to place it on his forearm for comfort, not only from Newton but from having the wolves together. It felt like they needed each other more these days. The wolves. Holly too. She felt needy. Maybe it was because Newton was moving out soon. Maybe it was just from the sudden overwhelming feeling of having her dad so close to home again.

Holly trailed her fingertips against his skin thoughtfully while Hollywolf sniffed back at Fig, whining in the process. She had a hard day!

"S'okay. Wanna eat cheddeer in the morning?"

Something was wrong! This began the barage of licking Hollywolf's face like it could cure all wounds. Insistent grumbles puttered between laps. He couldn't pinpoint what was bad. Was she tired, sad, mad...hungry? Because Fig could basically fix any of those problems.

The laugh sounded hollow. The thought clicked quietly in Newt's head, so he lifted his head to get his bearings more. Besides:

"No, no. I got bread. I'm up," He reassured. "How was work? And rehearsal. Both."

Hollywolf huffed as he licked her face. It was a welcome reprieve from a difficult day! She was burned! Again. She let out a lower whine and shoved her face into his chest, the stinging in her paw present but not too bad. It could have been worse. Mostly she felt bad about the stranger.

Holly held up her free hand with the bandaid on her palm.

"Burned myself." A beat. "And, uh, my dad dropped by rehearsal." But! "Other than that, it was fine."

Fig sniffled for another second before he stretched out his neck to rest his head on the top of hers. He could be strong too!

Newt stared at the bandaid and his brows furrowed. How had she done that? And then she gave him whiplash. His anxiety flared and he was suddenly very much awake.

"Wait, what? Your dad? Just appeared?"

Hollywolf let them rest there, her head against his chest and his head on hers. It was comforting. She found she didn't want to move from their shared metaphysical plane. This was her very best friend, who knew everything there was to know about her since the beginning.

"Yuuup," Holly replied, with a popping sound on the 'p'. "Said he was 'just passing by'."

"Bullshit," it wasn't said in anger, but he was baffled. "Like, a surprise? Are you good?" Most of the Hopper family had set themselves up for disaster in Newt's eyes. But he'd gotten over it thinking Holly could figure shit out in her own time. But he couldn't help but feel that this was a little underhanded. An ambush.

Fig rumbled nervously, catching on the thorns of Newt's thoughts.

Holly nodded, or well, she tried to nod. Okay, so she didn't nod. Her head remained still, but that was only because she was fighting the late afternoon thoughts of not being okay with it at all.

Her bottom lip quivered, and she was very, very aware of coming undone by this simple question at whatever-o'clock it was at night.

"Not really?" She replied with a huffy laugh as she tried to shake the feelings off that came with it. Hollywolf was more open, letting out a sad, annoyed whine.

Fig detached himself from her head and swung a front paw around gently to paw near her head. He whine-barked, his tail wagging.

Bad. Yeah. Not really good. Newt slid off the couch to sit beside her, reaching out to rest his hand against her leg. He didn't actually expect...this? The anxiety, sure, but not tears.

"Tell me what happened." He said, frowning, trying not to preemptively get pissed.

Hollywolf squinted as he gently batted her head. It felt like the dog equivalent of 'there, there', which only made it more endearing. The wolf whine-barked back at him and shoved her snout toward his muzzle, her tail starting to wag as well.

Newt came down to the pity party on the floor, and Holly frowned, too. It was hard to really explain? Start from the beginning.

"I was practicing my solo in one of the rooms, where he joined me. I asked what he was doing here and he said he was 'just passing by', that he missed my voice? I told him he should have told me he was in town, and uh. Yeah. He said he might have if I picked up the phone? I tried to tell him I was busy, which sort of devolved into a lecture." She shook her head. "He's staying in Alder Heights with friends from one of his old shows. I told him about Lotus. And, um. You." Holly took a breath and wiped her face with her free hand. Don't cry.

"I couldn't tell him about them-" She started and stopped.

Yes, lecture your thirty year old daughter who has done just fine without you. The corners of his mouth dipped slightly. "You get to tell him when you want to," Newt reminded her, sliding his arm now around her shoulders to pull her close. "Did he seem suspicious?"

Fig snapped back at her, teeth clicking sharply in a quick rhythm before he dropped into a play bow, tossing his head with more snaps. It was working!

Holly let him pull her closer, leaning her head against his shoulder as she wrapped an arm behind his back. Did Nolan seem suspicious? Holly didn't... think so?

She shook her head. "I don't think so? He, um. He reached for my hands and I forgot his wedding ring is silver, and uh. Yeah. It burned, obviously. He seemed to think it was a new side effect of my old voice power. 'Skin sensitivity'." Ugh. "I, uh, didn't correct him."

It was definitely working, Fig. As he bowed, Hollywolf cocked her head to one side and mirrored him with a bow of her own. She let out a woof!

"It'll be alright." He was one psychic dude. What could he do? Other than break his girlfriend's heart. "You still have time to figure it out." He sighed, thinking about how much she'd helped him over the last few months. "Is there anything I can do?"

Fig took off, almost skimming Hollywolf's side as he zoomed past her as fast as he could. He snapped at the air next to her before he left her in his metaphysical dust.

Humans had it rough. They couldn't just run it out.

It'll be alright. It was easy for Newton to say the words. It wasn't as easy to believe them. She shook her head. Holly didn't think it was just something that could be fixed. Talking about it helped though. She was glad she had Newton. Glad to have the wolves run circles in their heads.

"He's going to wonder why I'm not using my powers when he comes to see the show." She sighed and wrapped an arm over his middle. "Assuming he's still in town." It gave her about a month and a half to think about how she wanted to broach the subject.

Hollywolf chased after Fig as fast as she could manage. It didn't take long for her to catch up, and she nipped at his side playfully while they ran.

Newt didn't know this guy. Didn't feel like he had any worthwhile suggestions other than...lie. And that wasn't ideal.

"Everything will work out," he said, quieter, and leaned his head against hers. "You still have the pack. You still got me." A kiss was pressed against her head. It felt heavy. The old monster that haunted them half a year ago rearing it's ugly head again. The reminder was as much for him as it was for her. It wasn't his fault that her family had imbedded this fear in her. But he still felt that faint reminder that he was the reason that the fear was even plaguing her now.

Fig leaned to barely graze her side and barked like a madman before he very intentionally banked hard. The barrel of a wolf hit the ground shoulder-first and dramatically tumbled all legs for a distance before thrashing on his back. Exhilarating!

Holly wasn't so sure of the first statement but she had to believe it. What else could she do? It was reassuring that she wasn't sitting in her house alone and untethered. She had people who cared about her either way it ended up. Still, it stung. Would her dad be proud of her if she told him the truth? Holly had a difficult time answering that question. She closed her eyes when Newt kissed her head and hummed softly, focusing on the creatures in her mind. Funny how much reassurance the wolves gave her now. She used to hate Hollywolf.

"Yeah," She replied quietly, squeezing Newton's side gently in her hand.

Hollywolf barked back and yelped as he tumbled to the ground. She diverted from their path to chase after him until he stopped to thrash around. The wolf barked some more, jumped, and lifted her paws to bop at him as he thrashed. There was truly no one else Hollywolf trusted more than Fig. She searched for an in and when she was certain a leg wasn't going to hit her in the face, Hollywolf laid across his middle. Trapping him.

Newt decided not to say anything, mostly because he was out of things to say. He just wanted to remove the barrier. The wolves seemed mostly ignorant to all the bullshit. Or...well, it flowed easier off of them he figured. What did they have to worry about?

He shut his eyes and sat with the more pleasant feelings playing out, not quite for him to see, but to feel, in whatever part of his brain kept the wolves.

Fig kicked at her boxing attempts. His mouth was agape, all teeth and snorfy sounds. Even though on he was on his back, Fig was certain he had the upper hand. He was bigger. He could ki---

Hollywolf found an opening and flopped onto him. He wolfily groaned playful noises, trying to tuck his chin to nip at whatever part of her he could reach. Maybe their start had been rocky; Fig hadn't known any better! She was the first wolf he'd seen in...years. Too long. But now she was here to make sure he was OK and, well, if anything happened to her he wouldn't know what to do. She'd been his pack first...Fig was belly-up for her.

Holly was content to sit there quietly for now and let the emotions come and go, rolling off her shoulders as she honed in on the wolves. Newton was quiet, too. Both of them were thoughtful and tired - it was late. She closed her eyes too and felt the weight of the wolves.

Hollywolf wagged her tail and let out a proud whine even as Fig tried to nip at her. She tapped her paws against his belly as she got comfortable, enjoying the onslaught of teeth at her front legs and side. She awowowowed at him, knowing there was absolutely no one else she'd rather be around 24/7 than him. Holly shared in the feeling, and it warmed her heart for the moment, making her hopeful again amidst the scarier thoughts. Holly remembered the people at the bar that night and thinking about what things would look like for her when she was in her fifties. She hoped it was this. Two messy but trying werewolves excited to eat cheese together. Ready to comfort each other as best as they could.

No one else existed in their little world. Hollywolf took solace in Fig's presence and leaned into the feeling. She whined and rested her head on his belly and for a moment, it felt like they were outside. Trees began to pop up around them in their liminal space. Hollywolf pressed forward into the magic that surrounded and flowed through them, innately understanding more than her human host.

Newt tried not to look ahead. The future was filled with a void of unknowns that were best left to be faced when they appeared. Why spend all your time bracing for something that might never happen? But while he didn't search in the future, he sat in the present. At least in this moment, maybe half-asleep, in that odd lulled state of comfort. Realizing that a year ago he never would have imagined sitting here. Six months ago he couldn't have imagined it. But they were here. Facing obstacle after fucking obstacle and it would end eventually, right?

Who really knew.

But he could enjoy this ever ticking forward of "present". They fell into the future constantly. And he felt like he was getting OK at letting himself fall.

The cold wind blustered through his fur and Fig rolled onto his side carefully. He laid his head back, distracted, to take in the sight of trees and a bright glowing moon. He breathed the cold air. Fig inhaled again and curled around to press his nose to her cheek and huff warm air. He felt a little like he was following her lead. Like she'd brought them here, but it wasn't just hers. This was their space; he could smell it.

The moon hung above them, shining its light down on the two wolves curled up around each other. Greenish-blue stars bespeckled the sky around the moon, much like the glowworms that hung in their favourite caves. Hollywolf felt the warmth of Fig's breath in the liminal space they'd made for themselves and was pulled back to him. She laid her head down against him and closed her eyes. For a moment, it felt like she was floating, hovering above the ground and when she opened her eyes, she could no longer see Fig. But she could still feel his presence.

Hollywolf didn't panic, despite the very confusing sounding "huh?" that echoed on the human plane. She closed her eyes again and thought of her very best friend.

Setting his head back down and closing his eyes, Fig grew lighter and lighter, like a fog to cradle the moon in her bright wormy sky. It felt safe. It felt right. It felt like...

Holly's sound of confusion woke (?) Newt up. He wasn't even sure if he had been asleep...he sat up a little to look at her. "Hm?"

It felt like...

A dream within a dream until he snapped to, alone, but left with the remnants of her threaded within him. It wasn't a very human feeling. Newt was tired, but he'd been tired.

"Do we--" he felt a little disoriented. "want to Cheddeer? I think we've earned it." There was no move to actually get up, though. Disoriented, but good.

Hollywolf came away with a piece of him, and she was certain Fig came away with a piece of her woven within him. She could feel him. Sense his proximity to her beneath the starry, moonlit sky. It did feel right. It just seemed to make sense.

Uhh. Less so though for Holly?

Her confusion caused Newton to sit up, and Holly looked up at him, feeling something new? Also disoriented, she laughed as a way to release whatever tension she was still holding onto.

"Yeah. Um. Let's Cheddeer." Holly was confused. Definitely tired. Had she fallen asleep? Had they fallen asleep on the floor?

"Did we just fall asleep?"

Newt carefully got up, though only got as far as sitting on the edge of the couch so he could yawn. Somethings felt weird. He chose to chalk it up to passing out on the floor.

"It's been a long day. I think we dozed off." He also laughed, a little more confident in the sound. A little. It was short.

"I'll get the bread." A very brief walk to the kitchen. Just to shake off the sleepy feeling.

"Makes sense."

He moved away, but Holly was, uh, still cognizant of his proximity. Or maybe the wolf was? Or maybe that was normal because he was literally right behind her until he wasn't.

Holly rubbed her eyes and yawned, pulling herself up on the couch in his absence. Hmmm.

"Can you bring a knife and some water too?" She called out as she reached for the Cheddeer cheese. She didn't open it yet though. It felt like they needed to do that together? She'd wait.

Holly was left to sort of sit in her earlier sadness and anxiety again. It was brief, and she pushed it away, hoping for a better night now that they'd gotten the subject of her father out of the way. Hollywolf felt okay though. No. Yeah. She felt good. Holly tried to lean into that feeling.

He made a noise of affirmation as he disappeared into the kitchen, letting his hands trail along the countertop while he collected a knife and two glasses next to the cheap baguette he'd bought. He went to take the glasses to the sink when he felt an ambient wave of anxiety from seemingly nowhere. He'd felt...bad earlier, looking too far back at things that didn't matter. But he couldn't identify the feeling here.

Exhaling, he filled up the glasses, and then juggled them, a knife, and the bread back into the living room.

"You haven't had this before, right?" A lot had happened. He couldn't remember if she'd mentioned it.

Holly closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the couch. Hollywolf could feel the distance between them. He was near but not in the same room. Holly probably would have been able to identify it too, if she understood the feeling. It was something more than watching someone leave and re-enter a room. As he drew closer, her eyes fluttered open again and she shook her head, accepting a glass of water.

"First time." She sat up a little, perking up as a goofy grin spread across her face.

Holly peeled back the plastic cover around the cheese now that he'd joined her. Then she handed it to Newton to cut them off a slice. A team effort.

"Cheddeer virgins," He joked before taking a very large gulp of water. So large, in fact, that he decided to just drink the entire glass. Then he could just set it aside when she pushed the exposed cheese to him. Newt wielded the knife, grinning at the pomp of it all, and cut a very thick slice.

It.

Smelled.

Amazing.

He broke the slice in two and handed her a slice. "Let's see if we even need this shitty bread. Cheers," The slice was hoisted to "clink" against hers. This was better. Shitty families could come later. Right now it was them and cheese and sitting on the couch and apparently falling asleep on the floor.

Holly laughed at the joke and wrinkled her nose a little. It did smell good, and Holly found some newfound confidence moving forward. Even if it was just a smidge.

"Cheers," She replied as she clinked her piece of cheese softly against his. She popped the entire slice into her mouth and chewed. It was pretty damn good. Like holy shit.

"That's really good," She laughed, reaching for her glass of water, though she found she didn't feel as parched. No. That wasn't right. She was still thirsty. Huh? She stared at her glass, then took a tentative sip.

In went the whole slice. Newt leaned back, eyes closed, against the couch in dairy-induced bliss. Brought him out of that weird post-nap fog. He cracked one eye. "This bread sucks. It will ruin the cheese," his voice was deadpan, but he couldn't hold the tense neutral expression for long before he smirked and shook his head.

So what if he usually ate like...the shittiest possible cheese because it was cheap? This blew his mouth up. He offered Holly the knife, handle-first.

The bliss was all too real. Truly, the best cheese she'd had in a long time. Maybe since leaving home when she was eighteen? Wisconsin was known for its cheese, after all, hence Cheddeer sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

He claimed the bread sucked and that it would ruin the cheese. Holly was about to assuage his concerns and reach for the baguette when she caught that smirk. He was so fucking handsome and she was so very smitten with him. Her goofy smile transitioned to fondness.

"Inconceivable." Holly gently nudged his arm with her shoulder before stretching out the knife he gave her to cut off a piece of bread.

A bold move. He grinned at her as she nudged him, feeling another swell that stacked on what he'd already been feeling. The elevation of it drove him to express it outwardly.

"I love you." Newt shook his head before he sat up again to steal the cheese and take a decent bite right out of it.

Holly was mid-cut when he said it. She turned her head to look at him and smiled.

"I love y-HEY!" She laughed as he took a bite right out of the block of cheese. Holly set the knife down first before she pounced, aiming to tickle him to the couch, except she felt a lingering sensation in her own ribs, causing her to laugh more in the process. What?!

Newt clutched the cheese tight when Holly threw herself at him. Fuck the bread, but this edible gold could not touch the ground. Newt cackled absurdly loud. Nothing like being tickled to remind you that you were ticklish. Like, obnoxiously so. With his free hand he tried to pay back the tickling favor against her side. But it was hard to aim when his sides ached and he could barely breathe.

Holly was fairly certain she'd never heard him laugh as loud as he just did, and it brought about the warmest laugh and feeling in her chest. Even if she had cheated to get the laugh out of him, she counted it as a major success for the night. Point 1-0 Holly.

Newton reached for her side, so she chalked up the sensation in her ribs as being related to his hand on her, and continued to laugh and squirm, all the while trying to playfully reach for the cheese.

It was hard to find a break in the emotion cycle. He was ticklish, but like ow!

His laugh went quiet, shaking his body in silent hilarious agony and he pulled his arms in to try and protect his ribs. Cheese be damned!

"Mercy!" Newt managed to gasp out.

Holly felt that creeping hilarious agony feeling of being tickled to a lesser extent. As he reached down to protect his ribs and called for an end to her mercilessness, she held up her hands in the air, palms facing him.

"Okay, okay," She giggled, chest heaving. "Cheese truce?" She sat up, giving him space and held out her hand. Either to shake his hand or to steal the cheese back. Only time would tell.

>:]

His abs hurt. Ow. Ow. The feeling lingered for a minute even when she ended her assault and he flopped his head against the arm of the couch.

"As you wish." Newt whispeted, mockingly defeated, and handed over the cheese. The ache and giggle subsided.

Holly laugh-sighed as he willingly handed back the cheese along with her favourite catchphrase. The phantom ache subsided as well.

"I love you too," She finally said as she leaned her side against the back of the couch. She took a greedy, smug bite out of the block and then handed it back to him. Seemed fair.

Newt exhaled the breath that would settle his pulse back into it's were-normal. The cheese thief enjoyed her prize and he sat back up to watch her revel in her victory. His gaze softened at her, longing and grateful. There was no opportunity to feel mortified that he had just cackled like a panicked chicken from being tickled.

"See? No bread needed." He took the cheese back, gladly, and took another bite out of it. Best dinner.

"A bread-free zone," Holly added, catching the softness in his gaze and the feeling of security that seemed to settle within her heart. There was a tinge of gratitude in there too, and while she hadn't expected it, she found she related to it deeply. Without Newton, her night would have ended with her in curled up in bed alone, probably sobbing. Or worse.

Holly took comfort in his presence, and the wolf did too.