Iolaire had been a big, mopey mess. She'd been bitten in the face by a coyote when patrolling with Deathbelle. Her looks were ruined as far as she was concerned. She was going to be ugly for the rest of her life. Might as well curl up and die. Truthfully, the marks weren't all that bad. They would most likely heal without a scar since she'd taken good care in healing them. Once the fur grew back, you wouldn't be able to tell. Alas, the small woman thought the worst and so she had been avoiding everyone to save them from looking at her ruined face.

Today she sat upon the wind swept plain, a gentle breeze ruffling the dame's thick pelt. She hadn't even been taking care of her coat. It was still clean, but it lacked that typical, Iolaire shine. What was the point when you were ugly? A sigh brought silver shoulders raising and falling. What would she do without her looks? Vanity was definitely her sin.

In Zee's travels away from the Armada's lands a familiar scent drifted towards her on the wind. Her ears perked, head tilting slightly in confusion. What was Io doing out here? Sirius wouldn't be pleased that his new charge was wandering and he was bedridden unable to protect her. Mingled with her scent was the stale smell of blood, and concern flooded into the new queen. She moved quickly towards her Ambassador, finding her sitting in the middle of a plain. "Iolaire." Zee's worried greeting came as she moved closer. Something about their new member seemed sad, and Zee's ears fell back to her skull empathetically. It seemed she wasn't the only wolf dealing with some serious personal issues. "Are you okay?" Her head was still turned from Zee, and as she stepped up alongside the small wolf she craned her neck so she might be able to see her face.

At the sound of Zee's voice, Iolaire visibly cringed. Her own ears plastered to her skull momentarily before she cast a glance over her shoulder at the approaching wolf. The concern in the woman's voice brought another sigh from the tiny, dark fae. There was no use in worrying her. Maybe if she said that she was fine, Zee would go away and would leave her alone. "I'm fine," she said, though not terribly convincingly. Io turned her head away from the horned woman, trying to hide the scrapes along her muzzle and chin. Her lower lip had a healing gash in it as well. Io was obviously out of sorts. She was very uncomfortable and just wanted the encounter to be over with. If there was a medical need, however... she would get over it as she had when she healed Deathbelle.

The other woman glanced back at her and then turned away quickly, though Zee could still see the injuries upon her lovely face before it was hidden once more. She insisted she was fine, though her sad posturing said otherwise and the blue-tinted woman shook her head in rejection of the false words. "Your face. You're not fine." Concern furrowed her brow and she tsk'd sadly at the other. "If you prefer to speak with him, I can drag Sirius from his den instead. I'm sure he'd be happy to be relieved of his bed rest." She gave Io a gentle smile at her attempted infusion of humor, moving to nudge her shoulder with her nose. There was something missing in the way the Ambassador held herself, a lack of confidence that Zee understood well. It didn't appear the injury was serious, though she herself knew if her face was marred in such a way that Zee might act like she was dying, too. She waited patiently, her soft yet unrelenting gaze willing the other woman to speak.

The barest of smiles tugged at the corner of Io's maw at the jest, but she still turned her head away. Even when Zee bumped shoulders with her in a friendly manner. "No, you don't need to get him. I'd hide my face from him as well." In her mind she just wanted to be left alone. Having company though... it felt good. She'd been avoiding everyone for days. Mostly she stayed within range of the pack just in case someone needed help, but today she'd struck a little further out. The solitude had felt nice at first, but then the feeling of being utterly alone became realized. She wasn't used to being alone anymore. Not after joining the Armada, finding Sirius, Deathbelle, and of course, Zee. "You don't need to worry," she said softly.

Zee shook her head once more as Io continued to assure that she was fine and there was no need to worry. "I don't worry about your injuries, Io. You're a capable healer... I only worry when my healers worry, I have faith you can handle your own wounds." Her gaze ran from the other woman's face and down her back, a frown touching her lips at the less-then-perfect condition of her coat. Zee had noticed over the weeks that like herself, Io liked to keep herself looking flawless. Surely her scrape along her face didn't help that perfectionist mindset. Luckily having been a servant of Deathbelle, the new queen had learned how to help make another wolf look their best. "Come, that stream." She pointed with her nose. "We'll get you into the water and fix you up." If only she'd had her special soaps on her, perhaps she should consider getting a pouch to carry with her some healthcare essentials.

Why was she so adamant about helping her? "Really, you don't need to go to the trouble." She was perfectly capable of cleaning herself if she wanted to. Io almost began to refuse, but the voice of Sirius asking her to befriend the woman rang through her mind. With an inward grumble and a curse towards her adopted sibling, the little fae rose and sulked towards the stream. Shrugging out of her pack, Io nosed into one of the small front pockets. She pulled out a chunk of homemade soap, scented lightly with hyacinth. It was going to be a gift to Deathbelle, but she'd thoroughly embarrassed herself after their last meeting and would likely not be seeing the woman for a while.

Padding out into the stream, Io deposited the soap upon a somewhat flat rock while she began to wet her small frame. She didn't want to be wet. She didn't want to get clean. Being clean wouldn't wash the wounds from her face. But, here she was, doing things that she didn't want to for the sake of others. Meh.

Zee couldn't help but laugh softly as the other woman sulked away towards the directed stream, her smile remaining upon her face even after the sound was gone. "Sirius has claimed you as his own, and thus you are my own. Now shush and let me take care of you." Her words were not at all unkind and her tone was joking and friendly. She stepped down into the water after her and watched as Io retrieved her own soaps from her bag. Zee's ears perked, and she moved to sneak in and snatch the bar from the rock it was deposited on. While Io wet her pelt, Zee sat in the stream waiting and watching until she was ready to lather herself. Once the moment came, she'd move to gently run the soap along the woman's pelt if she'd let her.

Once thoroughly soaked to the bone, the small woman gave a little shiver and sat still. She'd noticed that Zee had snatched up the bar of soap and assumed that the woman planned to bathe her like a pup. Obsidian ears stuck out to the sides as she waited. Her words brought a little huff from the dark fae. Sirius had claimed her as his. His sister. His healer. She didn't know what she and Zee were to each other yet. They were still feeling one another out. Hopefully they would settle into some sort of relationship in time. This, oddly, put them off to a good start.

Iolaire released a pent up sigh, two toned eyes closing. "Thank you, for taking the effort. I appreciate it, Zee." And she did. If she wasn't feeling so dejected and vulnerable, the story may have been different. For now, she sat in the running water and allowed herself to be washed.

Zee took care to scrub at every inch of the woman's precious coat, feeling herself fall back into the rhythm of servitude easily. It was a welcome break from the drama that'd transpired lately, and although she knew little of this woman it was easy to care for her as she had Deathbelle - after all, both wolves were precious to her Sirius. Once she'd lathered her body well enough she stepped back and placed the soap back down upon the rock. "It's not a hardship." She assured her kindly, her smile still upon her face. "We're a lot alike, I'm only doing for you what I'd want done for myself." A pause, and the blue-tinted female sighed. "You're beautiful, and your scratches will heal. Until then, us women of Ashen must keep ourselves looking our best so the rest of the world continues to envy us." It was another small joke, though there was a layer of truth to her words. Confidence was an important thing for a wolf, and if your sense of self-worth came from appearance then it was best to not let it fall into shambles.

As she was scrubbed and cleaned, the woman's eyes drifted closed. She rather enjoyed this. The attention was nice and Zee was very deft and precise in her duty. No doubt she'd had practice with Deathbelle. Silver brows furrowed slightly at the thought of the speckled empress. What a mess that was. Iolaire hadn't even checked on the woman after she'd tended to her wounds. Lucretia was her healer. She would see to her sister and so Iolaire wasn't worried about that bit. She was worried about seeing Deathbelle in general. Part of her didn't want to do it. Ever. The other part of her knew that she would have to see her, and soon.

Zee's words pulled Io from her thoughts and she cast green and gold eyes in her direction. Surprisingly, Iolaire issued a soft laugh. "Indeed." Perhaps they were a bit alike. They were of a similar mindset, at least. She did believe that Ashen had to look their best. Iolaire, though new to the pack, was very, very proud of it. They would be the best and that was that. Reaching one paw out, she placed it gently upon the horned fae's own small paw. "Thank you, Zee. Truly. I needed this."

Withdrawing her paw, the small wolf moved out of the stream, shook herself well away from her companion, and settled herself in a patch of wavering sunlight so that she might dry. Not meeting Zee's gaze, she asked softly, "Have you seen Deathbelle lately?" She wondered after the woman that she'd taken as a lover. There was pain within her at both her own behavior and having been apart from the woman for so long.

Zee only smiled in response to her thanks, feeling the woman's paw upon her own and her chest clenching at the touch. How could she have ever resented Io for Sirius' affection? It was easy to see why he took to her so rapidly and uncharacteristically. She was left without words for a moment, and watched as the small woman moved to sit in the sunlight to dry. Zee moved to lay beside her, her own legs wet from the stream and needing to dry. The subject of Deathbelle came up, and the warm happy feeling within the new queen dimmed as anxiety gripped her. "I haven't." She admitted, staring down at her paws. "Why, is she alright?" It was true she'd been slightly avoiding the empress, unable to come to terms with the request she'd made and how it would change their relationship. She knew little of Io's relationship to the woman, and didn't know whether she was asking out of concern for a friend or concern as a healer.

Zee came to lay beside her in the soft grass and Io grinned. They'd both be dry in no time. The light scent of hyacinth drifted back and forth in the wavering breeze. It was pleasant. Io didn't enjoy terribly strong scents and so her soap had only a hint of the flower oils within. She'd rendered the fat from the oxen that she and Sirius had managed to fell. It was a process, but everyone needed to be clean.

Upon hearing that Zee hadn't spoken with Deathbelle, Iolaire's ears flicked backward momentarily. The instant tinge of panic in the woman's voice brought the dark fae's eyes to meet her own. "She'll be okay. We were attacked by a pack of coyotes while patrolling together. She was wounded more so than I, but I tended to her wounds. They weren't severe." With a sigh, the woman lowered her head, placing it upon one extended foreleg. "I fear I may have injured her heart more." The look on Belle's face flashed through her mind. "I was panicked and in shock at being bitten in the face. I'm afraid I tended to her wounds, but not her emotions." She would have to apologize eventually. Hopefully Belle would accept that apology.

It was worrying to hear that her empress had been wounded even further then the little healer and Zee's brows furrowed in concern. Io was capable in her role though it was hard to trust that Deathbelle would be fine after such an attack. She hadn't long to think on it however, as Io was speaking once more of a non-physical injury their friend had sustained. "I fear her heart can't take much more trauma." Zee whispered, ears flattening in her own shame. Would accepting her proposal lift the saddened woman's spirits?

She saw the expression in Io's face and sighed softly, it was obvious that whatever was said to hurt the empress' feelings was not intentional and Io was as worried as she was for Deathbelle. "What happened?" She asked hesitantly, laying her own head on her paws so that she could look the woman in the eye.

Zee asked what happened and Iolaire sighed, bringing one foreleg up to rub her face against lightly. "Nothing happened and that's the problem." She had simply left without a word. "Belle wanted to care for my wounds and I couldn't let her. I didn't want her to see my face." She had been avoiding everyone since that day. Zee was the first to find her and force her into an interaction. Aside from that, she'd only been collecting herbs and staying on her own.

"I'll have to apologize soon, I just can't yet." Her mind was still in a bad place. Plus she was terribly embarrassed at her inability to cope with the injuries. Soon. She would go to  Deathbelle and apologize soon. Just not now. Not while her wounds were still so fresh. Not while her face was ruined.

Zee knew how ashamed Io was of the injuries to her face, and could understand her want to keep it from the Empress of Ashes. Though Deathbelle was surely not new to scars and battle wounds, and Zee knew she'd not look down upon the little healer for having a scar of her own. "She's a healer like you." She told her softly. "She's seen it all before." She was getting the impression that there was more to the story, and Zee's head tilted slightly to regard Io curiously. "Why would you feel the need to apologize? I'm sure merely rejecting medical treatment couldn't hurt her feelings enough to warrant one." Hopefully with enough gentle prodding, she could learn a little more about the new member of their armada.

Io wrinkled her dusty blue nose slightly at Zee's response. Had Sirius not told her? It made this conversation a bit more awkward. The small dame just assumed that Zee had known. "I'm very fond of Belle. We've been spending quite a bit of time together." Extending her left foreleg, she showed the lovely cuff that Deathbelle had given her. "We're even giving each other gifts, it seems." She'd given her word that she wouldn't spread their business. Although, Belle and Zee were close. She would no doubt find out eventually.

In an effort to change the subject, Iolaire continued. "How are you and Sirius doing? I know things were tense for a time." Something about his treatment of a 'slave.' She couldn't and wouldn't blame the horned woman for being upset about something like that. Hell, she was upset about it and she didn't even know what happened.