“Aye lass, the flowers are pretty. Thank ye for ‘em,” Angelus replied. He had yet to see himself in a mirror, so there was no comment on his change in appearance. That shock would have to come later. For the time, though, he seemed relatively peaceful. As Ashlynn started to explain that Lord Damien would keep her close, he nodded, almost in agreement. She was definitely a powerful Angel. He would most certainly want to keep a watchful eye on her, if not to find a way to replicate what had been done.

Angelus settled back in the bed, relaxing as the woman started to spill her life’s story. He listened as any good person would, and when she was finished, he cleared his throat to give his input. “Lass…we all come from broken backgrounds. The Angel Julia was bitten by a vampire and left for dead. Her family tried to kill her when they found out what she was, and they drove her away from her village.”

He sighed. “And then there’s me. I made a mistake that cost the lives of quite a few people, and was exiled from my home. When I came here, I thought it would be a great chance to redeem myself. However…a greedy Angel decided I was not worthy, and she…” He glanced to the side. “Well, let’s just say I’m one of the Faith in name only. I do practice the tenants…all but one. Lord Damien suggested it himself. He said if there was someone around who could satiate the Angels, that maybe what happened to me wouldn’t happen to another. And he’s right. Ever since, we’ve not had an issue.”

“I can never ascend, but at least I’ve got a place in the Faith….”

Ashlynn listened to him and nodded. Everyone here was broken in some way or another. She hadn’t wanted him to feel sorry for her. She just wanted to relate in some way. A frown deeply set on her face as she listened to him. “I…” She was upset again. She didn’t want to do that to someone else. For some reason looking at what she had done to Angelus made her actually upset at the thought. “That is wrong to do.”

Tilting her head at him she gave a smile. “You don’t have to worry about that with me… Somehow I don’t think I have it in me to do this to someone.” It hurt her heart to think about even if it was her job she didn’t have to go as far as she did with Angelus. That much was true enough. Ashlynn took care of Angelus while he got well enough, she felt responsible for him in a way.

Once he was well enough to be released Ashlynn helped him out of bed and to get dressed though she appeared shy about it. “You know… I don’t really know my way around the compound at all. Could you show me? I got lost easily coming here and had to keep asking for directions and I kept getting turned around.”

The process of Angelus healing was surprisingly quick. It might have been attributed to whatever Damien had done to him to keep him alive. For the most part, he was not overly shocked at his new appearance, though the decided that he would have to remove his now white beard. He didn’t like the fact that it made him look like an old man.

There were a few complications getting up, but with the aide of Ashlynn, he was up and stumbling around. One of the helpers handed him a cane, to which he adjusted to fairly quickly. With his ability to walk around settled, Ashlynn asked him to show her around the compound.

“Ah, right…I was supposed to help out with that, but obviously things didn’t turn out as planned,” he said with a chuckle. Angelus pointed, “To the left there. Let’s walk that way.” He walked with careful precision, and finally, they came across an open portcullis leading outside.

“Obviously this here is the courtyard. There are four separate entrances plus the main gate. When we walk out, head left. That’ll be the main barracks where we un-ascended stay. It’s nothing fancy, but we’re well taken care of. Here…lead the way.”

As they walked through the court, Angelus pointed to the broken fountain in the center. “D…, Lord Damien is working on fixing that. He says it should be functional by the end of the month if things go well.” It was a warmer day, and the sun was high in the sky. Already, Angelus felt winded from the constant strain he was putting on the cane. The humidity wasn’t helping either.

“Well…maybe we can take a second and sit under the tree there before we head in.” he said. “If you don’t mind.”

“Easy,” Ashlynn watched with concerned eyes as he moved. Her hand centered on his chest to hold him up while one of the help gave him a cane. It was to her surprise when he adjusted fairly well. She returned his chuckle and nodded. “Yeah, you were.” There was a sweet smile on her face as she walked by him making sure he didn’t fall.

“I’m sure it will be pretty when he fixes it.” Ashlynn had never seen a fountain before, so she was having her imagination run wild. Her eyes didn’t fail to notice how exhausted he was so she helped him sit down under the three. “I don’t mind at all Angelus… Don’t stress yourself too much. You just got out of the infirmary.” She lightly scolded him with her concern before she looked up at the sky. “It’s always so dark in Kurayo…” But still, she could tell where the sun was.

They took up most of the day walking and resting as he showed her the majority of the compound. She helped him where he needed it and at the end of the day, she could see how exhausting it had been for him to even escort her back to her room. Stubbornly she put her hands on her hips and gave him a sincere look. “You are staying in my room tonight. You are in no shape to go back to the barracks by yourself.”

Ashlynn not taking no for an answer started to help him in. “And not for any of that either. You are welcome to sleep in my bed for tonight… Get some rest so you aren’t so tired. I should have made you wait to show me around.” She got him settled into a sitting position up on the right side of her bed before she got changed for the night. Braiding her hair it fell over her shoulder and she watched him for a little bit from her mirror.

“Why does everyone think it’s so weird for me to take care of you?” She tilted her head and finally looked back at him. “I saw their looks when I came into the infirmary and today when I helped you around.” She moved and crawled up onto the bed next to him so they could talk not so far away. She wore a lilac-colored nightdress though probably not overly revealing compared to some angels but Ashlynn was still self-conscious.

The rest of the day that was spent showing Ashlynn around was exhausting to Angelus, and the woman could easily tell. So when she was lead back to her room, and forced him to stay the night, he couldn’t do much to fight against it. Finding himself sitting on one side of the bed, he watched Ashlynn ready herself for sleep.

“You ask a lot of questions,” he stated flatly. “But, if you must know…I’m considered a sinner in the eyes of the Faith. I committed a grave sin and slept with an Angel before becoming ascendant. The fact that someone like you is even looking at me, let alone taking care of me is a shock to them, as well as me. You see, even the other Angels…they take advantage of the services I provide, and then never speak to me, or of me again. It’s just like that every time, save for this one.”

“Lord Damien was right when he said you were special. You’re much too different from the rest of us,” he said. “Well…that might be the other cause of the stares. You’re quite the unique one. No one has ever ascended so quickly…that makes you something akin to a saint. Or…maybe they just don’t know how to cope with not being chosen….” He closed his eyes, the waves of exhaustion hitting him. He started to tilt a bit, accidently finding himself leaning in to Ashlynn.

“Or maybe…” he started, but was cut off as sleep took hold.

Ashlynn gave a pitiful look for a moment as she tried to think about his statement to her. She was only asking questions to learn as she knew nothing about the world itself. Was it wrong to be curious? Was being so different a bad thing? Maybe it was because she hadn’t spent a lot of time with the Faith to know he was a sinner. She simply didn’t think it was his fault and treated him as such.

Soon she held out her arms and caught him as he fell asleep. A sigh left her lips as she got off the bed so she could move him fully up. She was careful not to wake him and even gave him the best pillows on the bed as she tucked him in. Ashlynn slept close to him and closed her eyes letting the dream world take her.

In the morning she crawled out of bed and got dressed. She was quick to scurry to where the food was and bring some back on a tray. Not many at all questioned her but she still got the weird looks. It had probably been widespread by now that she had ascended and either she would be loved or hated… At least that’s what Ashlynn thought. She managed her way into the room with her hands full and kicked the door shut lightly. “Angelus, it’s time to wake up.” She brought the hot food over and put it on the bedstand. "Good morning." She said as soon as he opened his eyes. "I got you some food…"

Angelus slept like a log, but as soon as Ashlynn returned with food, he started to stir.  Her voice called for him to wake up, and he slowly started to process, yawning loudly and stretching as he adjusted to the morning light pouring through the half open curtains.

The smell was delicious, and Angelus had not realized just how hungry he was until his stomach gave an obnoxious protest in it's lack of proper food.

“Morning,” he mumbled, sitting himself up.  He was already moving better than the day before.  He would more than likely be back to his usual self in no time.  “Food?  Well, don't wait..go ahead and grab some.  This can't all be for me,” he said with a smile.  “You're a good woman, Ashlynn.  Lord Damien is lucky to have you.”

That reminded him that Lord Damien would be be by to check on her later that day.  “Ah right…he’ll probably want to tell you about being an angel and such.  I should probably leave before he gets here.”. He started to eat off of the plate that he assumed was his.  “Did you make all of this yourself?” He asked her.

“If so, I'm a bit impressed…”

The half-elf chuckled a bit as her ears picked up on the noise his stomach let out. It didn’t shock her at all that he was hungry. Ashlynn wasn’t sure when the last time he ate even was before his untimely trip to the infirmary. “Well, I had grabbed it all for you just in case because I wasn’t sure what you would eat or not eat… Or how hunger you were,” she mused lightly as she sat by his side now.

Though his last words sent a pale flush of color across her face as she attempted to try and combat it. “I just figured its what anyone would do for someone who was hurt…” Her voice was very meek at that moment as she looked away from Angelus. “It’s not really anything special… Surely Lord Damien has even better angels than myself.” Finally, her blue eyes flickered back to Angelus shyly as she reached to get some of the food she had brought.

“No idea… I haven’t heard from him since he saved you.” She tilted her head as she frowned. Ashlynn was sort of sad that Angelus would have to leave but she understood full well why. “I made a little over half of it. I’m good with certain things but not with others. The bread was freshly made when I got to the kitchen so I asked if I could have some… Everything else I made so you could at least have something warm to eat. I did all the cooking back home so there is a lot I can make.” She was sure he didn’t want to hear about that as she chewed on some bread.

“How are your legs this morning? You look like you are moving a lot better today than yesterday.” He also appeared to have a bit more energy as well which surprised her but then again how much did she actually know about him? The thought rolled over in her mind a few times before she almost realized that she knew nothing about anyone here really… Even Damien who had saved her was a mystery to her and probably would remain it.

“Your hair is all shaggy…” She chuckled as she attempted to turn her attention off her rather dreadful thoughts. Her fingers reached up and she tamed his mane which had obviously been messed up by his sleep. “There… It looks much better now.” She licked her fingers and smoothed a strand that was sticking up back down on his head. “You should probably get a bath… I bet you would really like one after being in the infirmary for as long as you were.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “You should do that while Lord Damien visits me. I can check up on you later to make sure you are still feeling alright.”

The last thing she wanted though was to be overbearing on him and soon her happy smile disappeared with her last words as she looked away from Angelus once more. “I mean… I could but I probably shouldn’t. You’ve probably had enough of me after the last few days.” There was a pathetic attempt at a laugh but it just didn’t come out all the way as her fingers gripped at the blankets under her. She didn’t mean to cling to him. “I’m sorry for asking so many questions and relying on you so much… I know that has to be annoying for you.” Her blue eyes looked back up at his a bit more timidly.

Angelus had already finished his first plate and was delving in to his second. He was most certainly feeling better than he had the previous days. Despite that, his shock white hair and tanned skin didn’t seem to change back. It was a bit of an adjustment still, but overall it didn’t bother him. It seemed as though Ashlynn was feeling overly guilty about his situation.

“You’re a good cook, lass,’ he said, already half finished with the second plate. “Don’t sell yourself short.” He took a swig of some water that she had brought, and set everything down, smiling. “You’re a real sweetheart, you know.” He turned his body and stood up, testing his leg against his weight. It was holding much better than before, and he doubted he needed the cane any longer.

“Leg’s are holding out, it seems,” he said with a smile. “As I said, all I needed was a bit of rest. Right as rain,” Angelus said with a thumbs up. “Thanks lass for taking care of me. It has been a true help.” She moved closer to him, which surprised the knight, and started to fuss with his mess of a mane. After fighting with it, she finally had it settled, and he rolled his eyes.

“It won’t stay. It needs to be cut. I’ll probably get that done today when i leave.” He chuckled as she mentioned needing a bath, “Right you are. I’ll be on my way then.” He started for the door.

He paused at the entryway, and turned his gaze to her; “You’re not a burden, Ashlynn. The time I spent with you has been fun. I would enjoy it if you checked up on me. Thank you…” With that, he was gone.