OOC: Set ambiguously after the meeting.

Okay, so that sure was a meeting if Ashmedai ever saw one. As soon as he was able, he bade Sparrow and Kanja to follow him and went off to a private area. After a while, when he was sure they were in the clear, Ash turned and waited for the two women- or at LEAST Sparrow- to come.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You're taking over, I get that, but last I checked Abaven wasn't really the brawler type of pack and I'm pretty sure y'all are the smallest pack I've seen in a while. Give or take a few, anyway."

He made sure to be out of Sparrow's snapping range before he continued.

"The way I see it is: you need protection. Well guess what! I found you some. I bet- just going on a whim here- if you asked nicely, batted your eyelashes, and let her adventure in your little pack, Kanny here would be willing to fight you. Y'know, for training. She MIGHT even let'cha heal her after."

Ashmedai did a quick, dramatic gasp, "I wonder if she'd even be willing to explore with you to get herbs since you know this and the surrounding areas SO WELL."

Sparrow literally lived here her whole life and often made the trip from this pack to Imperium. Ash was willing to bet she knew some secret spots.

"All I ask in return is for some free food and a place to rest. It's pretty humble of us, don't you think? We're looking after you, right Kanyeh?"

After everything had settled down after the meeting, Sparrow made her way to follow Ashmedai. She still wasn't totally thrilled with his appearance at the meeting. She wondered what he was thinking. Slightly intrigued- and possibly a little irritated, Sparrow sought out her old friend.

Once she got to the clearing, Ashmedai went on an exuberant rant that made her want to snap at him more than once. He suggested she asked the other woman- Kanja- for help training in return for staying in the pack. Sparrow quirked an eyebrow at him, "So you're saying you want to join the pack... without joining the pack?" Her eyes glanced to the other woman. What did she think of all this?

"It's possible, she admitted to both of them, "That I do need some help and some training. And, I would be willing to heal you whenever you needed in exchange. If you'd like, I'm able to show you around these areas as well, but-"

Sparrow hesitated for a moment, "I'm unsure of how the pack would react to strangers being allowed to enter and exit freely... How do you propose we handle that?"

She had an idea. Maybe something a little new that would allow them to be in the pack, but still retain some freedom. She wanted to see their ideas on it first, however.

By the time the meeting was over Kanja was ready to fling herself off a cliff. Hopefully that was her first and last meeting, because every second of it sucked. She had to wonder, just how often did packies torture themselves with things like that? Did they get together once as season to talk serious business and shit, maybe beat each other with branches to make things truly maddening? Bleck. Could her day get any worse?

Apparently it could, because as soon as they were alone with the alpha Ashmedai jumped straight into trying to make some kind of deal with the damsel. A deal that included a very clueless Kanja. Without her permission. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized first the damsel and then the oaf before deciding to stare daggers at the side of Ashmedai's head. If looks could kill her gaze was filled with enough venom to kill a small mammal. He tried to get her to play along and agree with him, but she was having none of it. Kanja refused to chime in even with a sarcastic "right, Ashy!" because fuck him. She wasn't happy.

"I would like to make it clear from the start," she said tartly, her venomous gaze still locked on Ashmedai in case he was thinking about trying to get her to join this pack one day, "That I have no interest in joining this pack - or any other for that matter." Finally her eyes left Ashmedai and settled on Sparrow. For the pixie she dropped the venom - her beef wasn't with the alpha lady -but her gaze still remained sharp.

For a moment she mulled the idea over. Packs gave her the heeby jeebies, but there was something to be gained here. And perhaps it wouldn't hurt to form allegiances with pack wolves. Maybe that would come in handy one day. "I'll do it," she said slowly. Free food, shelter and all that jazz. What wasn't to like besides, of course, someone else making all the arrangements for her? "Maybe," she said tentatively, hating what she was about to suggest, but nonetheless trying to participate, "One of your pack members stays with us the whole time." That was an awful idea. Absolutely terrible. The words had just left her mouth and already she hoped the idea would be rejected. "Or maybe we howl at the border to let the pack know when we come and go."

Okay, so neither of the women seemed too thrilled about Ashmedai's suggestions. He licked his lips somewhat nervously and threw on a goofy grin. Sparrow didn't seem to completely hate the idea, however, and Ash's tail waved behind him. Kanja looked like she was about to shove his face in the nearest pile of shit she could find. Ash shot her several apology glanced. She would understand later, he hoped. Time was important since Sparrow was a fresh alpha. They had no time to waste getting acquainted with the leadership and the pack. If they waited, the deal could never be worked out and they would never be able to live in a somewhat beneficial partnership with the pack.

When Kanja suggested one of the pack members stay with them, Ashmedai's jaw dropped. "Really, Kanja?" Ash thought. "Have you SEEN these kids? IT would be a LIABILITY."

Then, Kanja suggested they howl at the boarder before leaving or entering. Ashmedai perked up, "That's a great idea Kankan, one that doesn't put anyone in the pack at risk by trying to keep up with one- or both of us." Ashmedai was quick to defend this option, looking between the two ladies. THIS was the best option, Ashmedai was sure of it.

Sparrow listened to the tall woman, Kanja, carefully. She said she had no intention of joining any pack. Sparrow couldn't argue with that. She thought that if she too had been born outside of a pack, she would enjoy her freedom as well. Sparrow nodded firmly in affirmation at the woman.

To Sparrow's surprise, however, Kanja agreed to help out. She made two suggestions, and Ashmedai seemed to favor the latter. Sparrow did too. There was no telling what would happen if she sent one of the pack members out with two loners.

"I... agree with Ash. Though, if you find any exotic herbs on your travels, I must request you bring some back to the pack." Sparrow's eyes seemed to sparkle at the mention of exotic herbs. That was one thing she loved to check out when she traveled.

"Speaking of herbs, you two needed healing, right? I'll be right back!"

Sparrow dipped her head and turned, giving Ash one last warning glance before she ran off to collect her herbs.

---------

When she returned, Sparrow dropped the bundle of healing supplies, "Okay," she sighed, "Where do we start?"

Her first idea was quickly dismissed and for that Kanja was grateful. If it hadn't her pride would have prevented her from rescinding it and she would have been more or less shackled to a packy. The idea alone was almost enough to make her shudder. If she could kick herself for suggesting it, she would.

The alpha - whose name she still didn't know - agreed to the terms and while part of her was pleased that they'd reached an agreement, Kanja couldn't help but feel like she'd just sold her soul to the devil. The devil in this case being a cutesy little pixie. Kanja side-eyed Ashmedai. Or maybe the devil was that big, scheming oaf. God, she wanted to bite him so bad. Her gaze darted back to the damsel. "Sure, I can do that." It wouldn't hurt to toss a plant at the woman every once in awhile. If the tossing was literal it might even been fun.

The pixie said something about getting herbs for the wounds and then disappeared, leaving Kanja alone with the oaf. Immediately Kanja's head snapped around so she could lock angry eyes on Ashmedai. She eyed him for a split second, her anger building, before lashing out suddenly and sinking her teeth into the side of his neck about the collar of his shirt. Her intention was to get his attention, not to do any real harm, but she was hoping to draw a little blood. If he squealed, all the better. "Consider that a warning," she snapped. "Next time?" Kanja's eyes glittered angrily, her expression promising hell. "You eat the coat."

And then just like that, the pixie was back. Kanja's gaze stayed rooted on Ashmedai for a second longer before she managed to tear it away and fix it on the alpha lady. She sniffed then said, "You better start with him."

OOC: permission to powerplay given by Iko.

Aww, the two seemed to be getting along. That was pretty sweet. After a moment, Sparrow disappeared to grab some herbs. Ashmedai watched as she left and before he could zone back into reality, he felt a sharp pang on his neck. He jumped away with a little "A-cha-cha!" exclamation, thinking perhaps there had been some snake.

When there was no snake to be found, Ash looked up to Kanja, "HEY, RUDE!" His voice sounded more hurt than angry. Consider that a warning? "For what? This is all working out, right? It's a good deal. If we waited, who knows who would come and steal our base of operation?" A smug smirk rose on Ash's face, hoping he at least piqued Kanja's interest. Before they could discuss further, Sparrow returned.

Sparrow asked who she should tend to first and Kanja allowed Ash to go first. "Uh- yeah. I have this STRANGELY FRESH wound on my neck. Oh, also, maybe my back paw is broken, I dunno." Ash shook his back left paw for emphasis. "Just do whatever you gotta do."

Sparrow returned, unaware of the incident that took place. Once Ashmedai gave her the list of problems, she got to work. She chewed some yarrow into a paste and applied that to Ash's neck. It would help to stop the trickling blood for the most part and it should help to stop it from getting infected although Sparrow wasn't worried about that for such a small wound.

After application, Sparrow pulled back, "So, Kanja... How did you meet Ash?"

Sparrow asked out of genuine curiosity. Hoping Kanja could fill the silence while she applied herbs to Ashmedai. Until then, she worked on chewing and applying another layer of Yarrow to Ash's wounds, checking him over for any other scrapes or bumps- there were several that she applied the paste to- before she moved on. Hopefully Ash wouldn't go running off and cracking off the paste as soon as it dried.

Ugh, even when he was hurt and surprised he was a smart ass. Kanja's stubby tail lashed around in aggravation and she rolled her eyes at him. Whatever. He was missing the point. It wasn't the idea that irked her, it was his assumption that she was just going to play his game and go along with his cockamamie plans. This was his quest to fuck the princess. Not hers. She sniffed. It just so happened that this time they wanted similar things. Not the princess fucking, mind you, but the perks of their arrangement and the possible long term benefits.

As the alpha asked her question a slow smile teased up the corners of Kanja's mouth. Here was another perk: messing with whatever relationship was between the oaf and the damsel. "I found this poor fool throwing himself at a tree and took pity on him," she said wryly.

Kanja peeped at Ashmedai out of the corner of her eye. She had an idea. Her expression turned coy. Summer was her season - surely the pixie knew that by now - and after their adventure Kanja's scent was all over Ashmedai. She didn't know what the alpha lady thought of him, but if she was interested in him she might be hurt by the implication that he was sowing wild oats. Kanja shrugged, her expression casual, "We had some fun." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "I think he broke my tailbone, which is why I followed him in the first place. You know, his buddy being a healer and all." There was some truth to that; if not for him she wouldn't have busted her butt on his back.

Kanja spoke of how she and Ashmedai met. If Sparrow hadn't been very delicately placing herb paste on his wounds, Ash would have been tempted to wrestle the nub-tailed woman to the ground.

"Some fun?" he questioned, "We had a fucking blast, Sparrow. AND we got you that tree."

Kanja complained that she thought he broke her tailbone and Ash rolled his eyes, "She was on top of ME," he began, casing a sly eye at Kanja. "I'm surprised I didn't get more injuries."

As Sparrow finished up her application, Ashmedai lifted his back left paw for her to inspect. Surely it wasn't really broken, was it? That would definitely put a damper on things.

As Kanja began speaking, Sparrow scoffed, "Throwing himself at trees? Sounds about right." Sparrow didn't mean it as bad as that probably sounded. She was simply used to him going on wild and seemingly nonsensical adventures.

Wait. That was bad.

Oh well.

The two bantered back and forth and Sparrow had trouble making sense of their suggestive story. Once or twice Sparrow's minty eyes glanced up in surprise. Sure the woman was in heat but... it all sounded a little crazy. The tiny woman threw in an "uh-huh" every now in then to indicate that she was listening and trying to sound not at all baffled by what they might mean by broken tailbones and who was on top of who.

Ashmedai might need a little something for the pain, but probably not for the tiny wounds.

The foot. Right.

"And, uh, Kanja, what did you do before um... coming here?"

Sparrow inspected Ashmedai's foot. Well, it WAS swollen, but it didn't seem broken. It probably just needed to... not be run around on. Sparrow groaned inwardly. There was no way he was going to stop running around, was there?

Sparrow dug through her herbs, "Okay Ash, take this and don't take any more until I say you can. Otherwise you will die." Okay, it was a 'might die' but if she said that, Ashmedai would definitely test it.

Sparrow passed Ashmedai a small ball of boneset, trying to give him a stern look. After a moment, she turned to Kanja, her expression softening, "Okay, what can I do for you?"

Damn, he wasn't nearly as distressed as she had hoped he'd be. Maybe he simply hadn't caught on? Oh, well. It might still wound the pixie. "You didn't really expect me to be on the bottom, did you? Your fat ass would have pounded me into the ground," she retorted without missing a beat.  

Ah HA! So the damsel's name was Sparrow, huh? Alpha Sparrow. Queen Sparrow? Kanja mulled this new information over before deciding that no, there was no way to make that name sound bad ass. No matter what title was put in front of it the name Sparrow only brought to mind cutesy little birds. The name itself was rather fitting. A fluffy, harmless name for a fluffy, harmless woman. For now, anyway. Kanja had to remind herself that she was here to do more than mess with Ashmedai and collect a debt. She had to turn the fluffy little bird woman into a killing machine.

Or at the very least make her just a little harder to kill.

"And, uh, Kanja, what did you do before um... coming here?" Kanja's ears twitched briefly. She got that Her Royal Majesty, Sparrow, the Reining Monarch of Abaven -nope, still not impressive- was just trying to pass the time, but come on now. She didn't really want to hear about Kanja. The giantess doubted she was even really listening. "I killed wolves for their skins. Wore them like The Ashole's overcoat 'til the stink was unbearable. Then I'd get another one. But," she paused for effect, "that got old fast so now I'm just drifting."

Sparrow seemed slightly more uncomfortable than before and Ashmedai was glad she couldn't see his grin. He kept his eyes locked on Kanja as they spoke. After Sparrow was mostly done, Kanja explained that she used to wear the pelts of other wolves. Ashmedai wasn't sure if she was serious or not, but he scoffed anyway, "And you were surprised when you saw MY overcoat."

Sparrow instructed him to eat some herbs and he did as he was told, not thinking too much into her warning about dying or whatever. They sucked. They tasted... bad. Ashmedai wrinkled his nose as he chewed the dry-feeling herb.

"Well," he said between smacking as he chewed, "My mother kept a severed lion tail that she won during a fight. Is that how you lost your tail Kanji?" He gave her an herb-filled grin, half expecting her to bite at him again. Somehow, it felt like he'd never be able to swallow these herbs.

Kanja didn't explain to Sparrow where she was hurt so Sparrow tentatively looked her over. She didn't know what she could do about a broken tail bone, but she was fairly sure her tailbone was just about as broken as Ash's paw.

As Kanja mentioned killing other wolves for their pelts, Sparrows ears shot up.

"OH," she said, trying to not sound as surprised as she was. She failed and her 'oh' came out as more of a squeak. "Well, I can at least see how you and Ash became such good friends."

Really, they seemed so similar- Kanja lacking a little of the goofiness Ash had- they could almost be related. Sparrow continued to look over Kanja, feeling a little sheepish about being so close to the giant woman.

This... might go faster if you tell me where you hurt specifically..." Sparrow hinted. Tried to hint. The tiny woman just hoped she could get this healing over with before the pair caused themselves any more harm.

Kanja snorted at Ashmedai. "That's because yours is tacky." Of course she hadn't really skinned anyone. She was only trying to see if Sparrow was really listening and maybe, if she was, get her to choke on her herbs.

Oh," the teeny alpha lady squeaked in response. Kanja couldn't help it, she snorted a laugh. "I'm kidding, of course." Her carefully cultivated expression suggested this was a lie. She didn't expect Ashmedai to buy into her bullshit, but Sparrow's squeaky voice suggested she might. "I only wore the first one."

A lion's tail? Now who was spewing bullshit. Still though, the idea of taking tails as trophies was rather appealing... "Yeah? Now there's a woman after my own heart. And," she said, her tone suggesting an impending challenge, "If you give me your overcoat, I'll tell you how I lost my tail."

As for her and Ashmedai being friends... Okay, fine, maybe she did like him. He was an entertaining "sparring" partner and in her experience those were hard to find. If she were truly being honest with herself, his personality was probably what had kept her from running to the hills at his suggestion she train Sparrow. Of course she'd deny that to her last breath- and it was for that reason she decided to let Sparrow's comment slide without a retort.

Oh, yeah. Injuries. "I bit my tongue pretty good. I can still taste blood. Um..." she quickly did a pain assessment in her head. "The ribs right behind my left elbow are pretty achy." She wasn't quite she what had happened to them, but she thought she might have landed on part of the branch. Kanja twisted around to point at the spot with her nose and was surprised to see that whatever she'd hit had broken the skin. There was a gash/puncture wound that seemed to confirm her suspicion about the branch. "Hm," she said in surprise. ""Guess the branch put up more of a fight than I thought.

Ashemedai stuck his herb-coated tongue out at Kanja. His coat was not tacky. "It's called fashion. Look it up."

Kanja said she only wore the first coat of the wolf she killed. Honestly, Ash didn't even consider if it was a joke or not. It sounded like something someone from Imperium would do- heck one dude wore a skull around and his mother collected a lion's tail.

Speaking of tails, Kanja said she'd tell him about hers if he gave her his overcoat. Ash snorted, "See, I'm gonna guess it was a comment like that to the wrong wolf that cost ya yer tail."

Ash let Sparrow tend to Kanja as he struggled to get the herb taste out of his mouth.

"Sparrow, what is this anyway? Tastes like shit. Like... what's it supposed to even do?"

Sparrow snorted at Kanja's comment about Ash's overcoat being tacky. It was... bright, for sure. Sparrow composed herself for a moment before the tall woman went on to talk about how she only wore the first one. Sparrow shot her a glance that suggested she didn't really know what to say.

The two bantered a bit and Sparrow took the time to decide what to treat Kanja with. Ash eventually asked what he was eating and Sparrow huffed as she went through her herbs, "It's boneset. You can take about that much every few days for soreness or if you have a cold, but if you eat too much it will make you sick to your stomach or- if you're lucky maybe- it'll kill you."

She tried to make it clear that if he wanted to be stupid and try to turn healer on her, he better start with a different plant.

Sparrow passed Kanja some marigold, "Chew on this marigold for a while. It's for gum and throat pain, but it should theoretically help with at least the pain in your mouth. The mouth heals quickly, so if you're still bleeding by tomorrow, we might need to try something else. Marigold can be chewed and while I don't think there's any side-effects, I haven't seen a ton of wolves swallow it. That said- if you're just chewing on it, you can chew on as much as you want to help ease the pain. I have some more in my den if you need some."

Sparrow looked at the gash on Kanja's ribs. It wasn't terrible, but because it went under the skin, Sparrow needed to make sure there wasn't any debris in the wound.

"I uh... need to clean this first, if that's okay. After that I can apply some herbs. It might be better if you talk about... something. Otherwise you'll focus on the cleaning and it'll be more-" painful "- irritating.


OOC: feel free to pp the cleaning.

In response to Ashmedai's tail comment Kanja stuck her tongue out at him. She forgot for a second that its color was unusual, but by the time she'd realized she was possibly giving him more ammunition it was too late. Oh, well. "Keep it up, Bub, and it's gonna cost you your tail," she said cheerfully, her tone belying just how serious she was.

Sparrow pushed some plants towards her and Kanja, not at all eager to chew on grass like a cow, eyed the flowers skeptically for a moment. Ashmedai had done a fair amount of bitching over his plants so she could only imagine what these were going to taste like. Thankfully Sparrow saved her from having to sample them right then by suggesting she talk while her wound was cleaned. What to talk about though? "Go for it."

She side-eyed Sparrow as the pixie moved towards the wound on her side. Irritating, huh? That sounded like healer-speak for 'this is going to hurt'. That was alright; she could handle it. "Do your worst." Hmmm...what to talk about. She could always go back to Ashmedai's tail-taking mother, but then he'd be doing all the talking.

Her wound began to burn as Sparrow cleaned it. Kanja turned to eye her. Was the damsel's tongue made out of tree bark? Damn. She made a point to focus on talking. "Are there any places worth visiting around here? You know, sights to see and all that? After I'm done here I'll continue making my way around the east, but after that I think I'll head south. I've heard there are places that stay warm all year round and rarely see snow..." Kanja ended lamely as she peeked at Sparrow again to see if she was almost done.

Sparrow cleaned the wound thoroughly to make sure nothing had stuck in the wound. She then applied chewed dandelion root do reduce swelling and lambs ear, trying to supplement its stickiness with some cobweb.

Kanja asked about places to visit and Sparrow paused. "I think the East has a lot to offer. Of course, I usually look for herbs, so the East is a great place for me. I think there's some pretty insane cliffs and things like that."

The wound was fresh and seemed fairly clean, so Sparrow would seal it for now and check to see if it needed more medication later.

"If you're heading out of the East- that's Ash's territory. I'm pretty sure he's been everywhere."

Ashmedai shot Kanja a sharp smile at her little taunt. Adorable. Her tongue was that strange color some wolves had. Maybe they were related? Ashmedai couldn't even remember who he had seen that color on before. Did they even live in this region?

She told Sparrow to go ahead and clean the wound. Ash snorted- more for the benefit of bringing the attention to himself before he made a comment than anything else.

"You oughta check out her tongue too. I think it's trying to rot off." In truth, it was about the color of Ash's coat- at least in some places.

As the two chatted about where to visit, Ash waited imptiently for his turn. Finally, Sparrow gave him the go ahead.

"You bet I've been everywhere. I've combed this place for packs and I'd say I've visited every single one standing to this day."

A pause came over Ash as he thought, "Unless a new one formed yesterday... There's like six? I talked to all of their alphas too. You should take notes, it's important to have good relations," Ashmedai said with a pointed look at Kanja. He wanted to remind her about the good impressions part because he was planning on stuff- like world domination- and he wanted to take her with him. He wasn't sure when he decided this, but he already had.

Now if Sparrow would just stop being so good, learn how to fight, and join them, Ash's day would be made.