Tranquility

So the woman was a healer. Ashmedai smirked a little, "I know who to go to if I'm injured then," he said as if the two were old friends. An acquaintance healer, or even a healer that slightly disliked you was better than no healer, right? He never expected she was a fighter of any sort. No scars really. No fighter stance. She had that "Mom" vibe a lot of healers had.

Vali spoke of Sparrow and a wide smile rose on Ashmedai's face. He chuckled lightly, "If there's one thing I know about Sparrow, it's that she's suspicious of everyone. Everyone she ever trusted left her, so what do you expect?  Her mind's always working to connect the dots in the minds of those around her. I guess you could almost say she tries to put herself in everyone's pawprints, but..." Ashmedai shrugged. He wasn't really into the whole over-speculation and overthinking thing that Sparrow did. It was probably good when she wanted to be a healer, but then it convinced her she shouldn't be a healer, then that she should. Because of her thoughts, she seemed as if she was almost always conflicted. Then again, Ashmedai guessed a lot of wolves were sort of like that.

Vali reassured Ashmedai they wouldn't be charging into any wars any time soon. Ashmedai scoffed lightly. Good. He really didn't have any confidence in those wolves' fighting skills.

Now she asked why he was trying to look after Avbaven. Ash shrugged, "Am I?" Ashmedai rolled onto his back, "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. It's hard to say really and it kind of depends on what you mean by 'looking after Abaven.' That pack and Imperium are the only packs I knew." Ashmedai decided to leave out the part where his mother- maybe also the rest of his pack- made fun of Abaven and generally viewed them as weak.

"Because of that- and because of some strange familial relations, including Sparrow- I stick around a bit. Don't really wanna join. Not my type of pack. I thought about challenging for it when Bass was here, but right now that feels like a low blow- no offence, I mean for Bass, not you."

Ashmedai stretched for a moment, standing, "But if I ruled Abaven, it wouldn't be Abaven anymore. I'd change a lot; too much for it to still be Abaven. I'm not like those wolves. I don't even consider myself a good wolf half the time. Isn't that kind of Abaven's thing? Even though I never wanted to join, it kind of feels like a part of my life too."

Ash shrugged, "I don't think I would mind if it just kind of fell apart- I half expected it to when I found out Bass was gone. I don't really know why, though. I guess I just want to watch and see what happens. I suppose if any one wolf threatened to ruin it, or hurt the pack, maybe I'd be inclined to fight them, but who knows? It's like that bone you have as a pup. You're not really interested in it, and it doesn't taste good to you anymore, but you'll fight anyone that threatens to chew it."

Ashmedai smiled goofily, "Maybe that's a bad analogy."

He tried to grow a little more serious. "Tell me. Do you really think Bass is coming back? If he doesn't, how long are you willing to hold and protect the pack. If it's yours, will it still be Abaven?"