Honestly, Ashmedai wasn't entirely sure what he was doing anymore. After taking on all those coyotes, he found himself making his way East. He had lost a decent amount of blood from his wounds. His right shoulder had bled like a bitch, but it was just several deep punctures. His left foreleg had a nice chunk of skin shredded off all the way from his elbow to his wrist. Although most of the blood had slowed to a trickle or coagulated, it still hurt like crazy.

So his body brought him East. Brought him towards the group of healers he knew most likely to pity him. It was habit, he had to assume. He'd go East and Sparrow would yell at him and patch him up.

But she wouldn't. She was gone. She had been gone for a while now, hadn't she? Ash wasn't quite sure between all the drinking. He wasn't even fully sober now, although he was getting pretty close.

Somehow the realization that Sparrow wasn't there to scold him or help him stopped Ashmedai in his tracks. He suddenly felt so old and tired. He leaned against a tree- much to his shoulder's peril.

Fuck. Actually fuck everything.

Peggy had been a little puzzled, some time back, when she had been wandering from her den near the rapids towards the larger den Kassander had once used, only to scent something strange that had wrinkled her nose. Shaye and Rhyme, which wasn't unusual, but a strange sour-sweet scent and another deeper, musky scent that she couldn't place but she found disturbing on an instinctive, primitive level that ahe couldn't quite understand. It was unsettling, and she had been quick to get what she wanted to collect from the old healers den and escape pack lands. She made a note to check in on Corvus and his family when she got back, but she had made a resolution to do more to contribute her skills to the pack and part of that was starting to actually participate as a healer while she learned to fight.

She had found a pack on her more recent travels, a tan rig with detachable packs and loops she could hang things from. She liked how she could carry an emergency kit of herbs salvaged from Kassanders den in one pouch like she had now, and have other pouches to put fresh herbs in as she gathered. It was winter, but even in winter there were medicinal plants if you knew where to look. She was going to be on the lookout for juniper and wintergreen berries today.

But as she wandered into the now-leafless forest, an uneasy feeling came over her, and she sniffed. Wolf blood, some old and some fresh, sent it's tendrils into her nostrils. Someone was injured, an injury that wasn't all that fresh if she was any judge. A thrill of nervousness rolled through her, though it rang with more than a hint of excitement as well. She might be trained, but very little of her knowledge came from actual experience, so while she felt driven to help she was also not confident in herself just yet.

She went trotting along, passing through a grove of dormant trees and bringing into sight a tall, blue-gray male with pale speckles. Her gaze, while frank and admiring for the appearance of the long-legged warrior, was quickly drawn to the ugly wounds, and her breath caught with a slight hitch. She firmed her jaw, though, and squared her shoulders, marching up to the taller male to look up at him with a matter of fact attitude. "I am a healer," she stated outright without preamble, "And you are going to let me take a look at those wounds before you get gangrene and your leg falls off." Her mother had told her to always keep a confident demeanor to keep her patients calm, though Peggy was perhaps erring more on the side of bossy than her gentle mother ever had. She didn't wait for the males reply before setting to wriggling her way out of the pack.

The scent of Abaven hit him before everything else and, in his current state, he was almost sure he was dreaming it. When a pale girl with those eye lines appeared and demanded that she heal him. Ashmedai snorted even in his half conscious state, leading to a rough, deep laughter.

"Okay Miss Destruction," he said between laughs, although the laughter hurt both his maw wounds and his heart. He called her 'Miss Destruction' without thinking about it, but something about the words cut deep, reminding him of Sparrow. His laughter died down quickly and Ashmedai opted for offering her his shredded leg instead.

Peggy started slightly in surprise, pausing a second halfway through her scrambling out of her pack to throw him a blinking, confused glance. How did he know her name? A moment later she chided herself for her own stupidity. He must know other Destructions, probably Shaye, and recognized the markings beneath her eyes. His laughter stopped abruptly, and he offered her his injured leg.

Solemnly she examined it without touching. "I'm guessing it was no rabbit you tangled with," she said in a dry joke, smiling at him to take any sting out of the teasing. She worried at her lip, though, staring at his foreleg. It did not look good, and she didn't have any faith in her ability to get it to heal without a scar - though it didn't look like he had damaged the tendons, which was a relief.

She blew out a sigh to ready herself, then firmly pressed a paw on an uninjured shoulder. "Lay down, please, I need to clean both wounds and it's going to hurt. It looks like you've been walking on this for a bit and it's too dirty to bind up like this. Besides, you are much too tall for me to reach your shoulder without it."

Laying down herself without waiting for him, she carefully took his foreleg between her own forepaws, leaving him to sit or lay down as he would. Carefully, she set out licking the wound clean of dirt from travel, trying to ride the line between being gentle enough not to cause unnecessary pain and firm enough to clean it thoroughly. She'd pour a disinfectant over it as well, but she wanted to get it as clean of debris as possible first.

The girl- Ash had a habit of calling all Destruction women women girls probably as an internalized way of looking down on the Destruction line in general- seemed shocked for a moment at the mention of her last name, but seemed to shrug it off. It was good to know he was right, though.

She said she guessed it wasn't a rabbit he tangled with and Ash raised a brow spot. "And what if it was? Would you stop healing me and shun me for life?"

The girl went on to command him to lie down and Ash snickered, complying slowly.

"You always this charming, Miss Destruction?" he asked with a hint of snark. "And don't worry about hurting me, I've had worse.

As she started cleaning, Ashmedai set his jaw. It did hurt, but he had been through worse, like he said. His gaze focused on the distance, his head starting to nod as his heavy eyelids fluttered before closing completely.

Given a few minutes, his chin would end up resting on Arpeggio's head.

She cleaned the wound thoroughly, quickly planning as she did what she could manage as far as a bandage for the foreleg. That would be easy - the shoulder wouldn't be, because it would be difficult to keep a bandage on there where she couldn't wrap it. She could wrap it all the way around over his shoulders and the front of his chest, but somehow she couldn't see this male putting up with that for long. If she covered it really well with lambs-ear first though, she could plaster it with clay - but she didn't have clay.

Caught up in that dilema, she was startled when a weight suddenly rested on her head. She froze, her breath catching in her chest, realizing that he'd rested his head upon hers. She felt her heart flutter at the warmth of the male's touch but quickly chided herself. He wasn't showing her affection, he was falling asleep! Though her reminder to herself resulted only in a drop in her spirits.

Carefully, trying not to wake him from his doze if that was indeed what he was doing, she pulled her pack towards her and pulled out a corked jar she'd taken from the den in Abaven's lands. It was a rinse that would cleanse the wound of any possible infection started, though she knew it would sting a little. No worse than the scrape of her tongue over the wound, though. She poured it over the wound, then set it aside with the cork loosely plugging it.

She cleared her throat, though the last thing she wanted to do was to make him move. Her skin felt warm and tingled where his chin rested. "I need to see to your shoulder," she told him, and was shocked to hear that her voice and gone low and husky, almost but not quite like it would have if she'd been crying. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I need to clean it and rinse it while your leg dries."

Ashmedai was roused slightly when the girl beneath his chin began to move. Ash groaned as Peggy directed him softly. "You're a good pillow, you know? You sure you gotta do all that healing now?" Ash was rather tired and he was sure the healing could wait.

Despite that, he obliged and shifted his weight slowly, rolling onto his good side so that the woman would have access to his shoulder. He did, however, bury his face into Arpeggio's leg near her shoulder. She was warm and Ash had always been a clingy sleeper. Besides, what was the harm in a little healer cuddling?

"Just lemme know when its done, mmkay?"

Peggy blushed crimson beneath her fur at the older male's assertion that he was comfortable leaning on her, and glanced down at the jar to cover her confusion. "I... I'll hurry so you can sleep," she stumbled to assure him. This time she positioned herself so she wouldnt have to disturb him again when she finished with his shoulder and could put a poultice on his leg - she could reach both. Her skin still seemed to tingle warmly he were he had rested on her, and as she quickly cleaned his shoulder she prodded at those feelings like a loose milk tooth.

She... she wanted him to touch her again, to lean so trustingly on her like... like they were a mated pair long married. He would, she imagined knowing little about him, that he would be an ideal mate for any woman to long after. He was tall and handsome, and strong. Clearly a warrior, so he would surely be a good protector and provider. He was older, sure, but that just meant that he would have more maturity and stability than a wolf her age. She wasnt sure when her examination of the little quivers of excitement in her heart turned to daydreaming about the perfect life this stranger would provide to someone, but it had certainly slipped into daydreaming of her being the mate ge chose out of all of them as she poured the disimfectant rinse over his shoulder.

She carefully pulled a few herbs out of her pack. Yarrow, calendula, comfrey, goldenseal, oooh honey she forgot she had that. Mixed with the herbs and plastered over with lambsear it should keep the bandage on for long enough for healing to start.

She found herself humming softly to herself, daydreaming, as she mashed the herbs together and dropped them into a bowl, then added honey and mixed it all together. She spread it first on his foreleg to give his shoulder time to dry, carefully pressing the soft lambsear leaves against it until they stuck and covered the honey, then moved her attentions back to his now-dry shoulder until that wound, too, was covered. "There you are," she said happily. "That's finished for now, just don't fighting any more rabbits, ok?"

She was pleased with the results, but it should probably be changed in a few days. She wondered if he had anyone to do that for him, and her stomach suddenly dropped as she imagined his mate, surely waiting for him at home, lovingly cleaning and rebandaging the wounds. "Do... do you have a mate?" The words were soft, drawn unbidden, and she waited in n agony for the answer.

Ashmedai drifted in and out of a light sleep, only wakening at the more shocking and jarring movements. He heard her humming lightly and a small, loose smile tugged at the corners of his lips, unaware of the daydreams the girl was having. He, himself, did not have such pure thoughts nor ever thought of 'happily ever after' situations. He did, however, slowly breathe in her scent as he occasionally inched closer.

Eventually- and all too soon- the healing was over. She announced that she was done and Ashmedai drowsily sat up. She said he should be more careful about fighting rabbits and Ash let out a sleepy laugh.

"Aw, but then how would I bring you dinner?" he teased. They didn't even know each other.

Eventually she asked if he had a mate and a coy smile rose to his lips. He had mated with many, even had pups with one, but...

"Nah, no one like that," He said, leaning forward with a dangerous smirk. "Why, you on the market?"

Peggy's breath caught at his rejoinder, and she looked aside, suddenly inexplicably shy though she glanced up at him through her lashes in a way that might have been coquettish if she had been doing it on purpose. "I just wanted to see if you had anyone who could change the bandages for you," she said breathlessly. "They need to be changed and herbs reapplied so that the wound will heal right. I thought I could give you some of them all made up so that she could just put them on. But if you don't have a mate maybe... I... can help?" She couldn't pretend not to be relieved and gladdened that he didn't have a mate, and tilted her head to smile up at him shyly. She couldn't imagine someone like him not being able to find a mate - maybe he was waiting to find someone who suited him. Her heart fluttered in her chest at the thought. "If you... want me to... I could sleep with you tonight?" She blushed at the implication and hastened to add, "so you have someone to watch over you I mean. To help you sleep better. Er... to take care of you..." she trailed off, blushing fiercely and clearly unable to say anything that wasn't able to be taken as suggestive.

Ashmedai could barely resist a sly chuckle that rose in his throat. This girl was adorable in a way only healers seemed to be able to muster. She stammered out an explanation about healery things and changing bandages, saying he might need help changing his bandages and that maybe- of course- she could help. Ash's smile rose, "You can change my bandages anytime."

That was a lame line. He expected the girl to swat him, but was quickly reminded that this was not Kanja or Rhys. No, this was a full blooded Abaven healer through and through.

She suggested she sleep with him and briefly Ash's face fell in disbelief and maybe awe, but she explained it was to take care of him. Well this wasn't helping things. Ash tried to remind himself to reel himself in, but he- knowing the Ash in charge was full of shit- decided not to listen to him.

"Someone like you can sleep with me and take care of me any night," Ash rumbled, leaning in closer and lowing his voice. "An expert healer and a pretty girl to boot. What's to lose?"

He clearly knew what she meant and roughly rose to find a place to settle for the night.

"There's a covered brush area along that way if you wanna.... help me get over there?"

Did he really need the help? No. Would he humble himself for a little shoulder-to-shoulder time with the infatuated healer? Definitely.

She didn't catch the sleazy nature of his comments, because she was certain she was only wistfully adding meaning to his words where there was none. He meant only what the words meant, nothing more. But his compliment was unmistakable, and went straight to the young woman's head. He thought so highly of her meager skill at healing? He thought she was pretty? No one who wasnt family had ever said she was pretty, and what her mother and father told her in that regard really didn't count in that regard because they were biased, and couldn't see her that way. She had always known that she was a sturdy, practically built female and had none of her mother's ethereal grace and beauty, so to have a stranger tell her she was pretty was... well, a rather heady thing for the inexperienced young woman, and since she had only ever seen Archon as bad from the start and he was the only truly bad thing that had ever come from a stranger, she was not aware of how a handsome face could hide less than honorable intentions.

So when he asked for her help so woefully, she with her head full of daydreams and eager to help him thought nothing of caution as she sprang to her paws. "Of course!" she exclaimed, solicitously offering her shoulder to lean against to help him hobble over there - an awkward thing to manage due to the difference in their heights, but as mentioned she was a sturdy little thing and much stronger than her downy appearance made her seem, so she managed to take more of his weight off his leg than perhaps he had intended her to. She was certain he was hiding now badly he was hurt, and was determined to help the poor, brave fighter despite the strength that allowed him to make light of such and injury.

Step by step she guided him into the brush and fussed with making him a comfortable nest before she finally stopped putting off what she really wanted to say. She still continued to fuss with the mossy bedding to cover her nerves as she peeked shyly up at him, heart in her throat as she managed to say, "I would like to help you any way I can." A deep breath to steel her nerves, and she pressed her shoulder against his chest, lending her words a different meaning than face value, her tone heavily-laden with it. "A-anything you w-want." Words, words. Words that could be passed off as just a kind healer offering her help, not... what she wanted. "Do you... want... me?" she added hesitantly. Her limbs tingled with the dread that he would be offended, that she should just not have said anything at all. He was far too mature and worldly to bother with a girl like her when he could have anyone he wanted. She had to go and ruin everything because she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

The girl helped him more than he thought she could and he didn't bother to hide his surprise. Together they staggered towards the brush. Nice and covered and- oh she was making a bed. Ashmedai tsked a little, "You don't gotta fuss over me," he said, this time being a little more sincere.

Although, nothing could quite prepare him for the words fumbled next. Ok, maybe he was dead. Had he died from his wounds? Maybe he was starting to feel guilty. Each word struck him slowly, one by one.

Anything he wanted?
Did he want her?

Hell yeah was the obvious answer. He wasn't one to turn down an offer like that, but...

Ashmedai came to the woman slowly, entering the bedding area and coming to stand by her.

"I do," he rumbled. "But are you sure you want that? With someone like me?"

He had to be sure. He had to. If she did, by god he wouldn't deny her, but he needed to make sure.

Peggy had braced herself for rejection, but even so she was a tangle of hope and anxiety as the moment of anticipation stretched longer, as the male took in her words and comprehended them. He stepped up beside her beneath the sheltering brush, and the enclosed space made her even more aware of his height and the musky masculine scent of him that was mixed so with the floral and sweet scent of the herbs and honey she had just treated him with. She tilted her head back to gaze up at him, fearless of him even as she feared his rejection of her offer.

But he didn't reject her, and she felt a thrill from ears to toes to tail when he said the words. He wanted her. He wanted her. At this moment nothing that had come before, all those little crushes that had come to nothing, none of that mattered. Just him, wanting her as much as she wanted him. "Yes," she said huskily. "Yes, I want you." Breathless and star-eyed, bolstered by both his wanting and that he would care so much that he held back to be certain it was really what she wanted, she was emboldened to press against him, to look up at him pleadingly.

-fade to black-

Ashmedai by no mean considered himself a good person, but even he had a small hint of the sins he was about to commit. She was willing, consenting, and she was totally star-eyed for him, wasn't she? Ashmedai wasn't a stranger to these kinds of situations and her verbal acknowledgement of her desires only brought the flickering ember of Ash's temptation into full flame.

He thought of himself of a pirate, here for hearts, booty, and bounty. Well, he had at least gotten drunk and in a few fights lately, so he definitely deserved a reward. Besides, maybe this girl's innocence was an act. It wouldn't be the first time Ash fell for a feigned innocence. Although, even in those cases, he still got what he wanted, so he didn't see the big deal. It was honestly better to pretend this girl wasn't as naive as she seemed, not that Ash gave it much actual rational thought. He wasn't really thinking with the right head to begin with.

He returned her affections readily but careful enough to not rush her. He was a pirate, not a barbarian. He could be a gentleman when he wanted to be!

Was this a bad idea? Maybe. Would she regret it? Probably. Would Ash? Nah, no way in Hell.

-fade to black-