Jason paused for a moment,hands gently resting on Ash's shoulders for a moment. He gently stroked Ash's cheek before placing a tentative kiss. "I understand going to extreme limits for those you care for,trust me. Despite how much I'd love to say I've not,I've killed for my younger and older brother. Claw tooth and scales,red with blood. So don't be sorry." He whispered gently to him,then went on to finish up taking care of the wound. "The humans around me don't fear me for no reason,and Lila doesn't struggle to stay my friend because I'm the flower picking type of dragon. I'm no stranger to the taste of flesh." He muttered to himself,pupils now round and clear guilt in him. His wings soon practically hung at his sides,blue and gray washing over his freckles and underwings. Shade had fallen asleep besides Ash and Fatespeaker had found it comfortable on the prince's lap.

"I didn't want to hurt you." Ash's voice was still soft, hesitant. "I thought that if I could make you hate me, it would be easier when you returned to your realm." He paused, wondering if Jason wanted to hear the story. He probably didn't...but it would explain a lot about the feud between him and Puck.

"I'm a softy,hating is not something I do easily. I don't even hate Shade,and I watched him kill our sisters and watched our father shatter..because of the loss. And I had to stop my older brother from shattering as he saw the shards of our father all over. I had to stop myself from shattering as well. It was the first time,but it wasn't the last time I've had to do it for myself and others. Hating others makes my stomach sick,even when I get angry. The dark blood red you've probably seen on my scales is pure rage and hate,where I can't think or control my own outlashes.Trust me,I can't hate easily unless it's hurting those I love." He said,speaking gently toward him,sensing the hesitance. He finished up and used his bindings from his left arm to wrap up Ash's shoulder,his hands skilled in their motions. Fatespeaker rubbed against Ash a bit,purring a soft sound of a bubbling river.

Ash's next words were almost a whisper. "What I did in the courtyard...Rowan would have tormented you even more if he knew." He was referring to when Rowan had attempted to give Jason spill-your-guts. "As for Ian..." He hesitated. "It was quite a while ago. Near the end of summer," he went on, a bit of pain creeping into his voice, "I was with Ian Tularyn. There were three of us that day, hunting together. Ian, myself, and Puck." Ash shifted uncomfortably. "Back then, Puck and Ian were my closest companions. I trusted them completely."

Ash's voice was soft with memory as he continued. "We were hunting," he explained again, "following our quarry into a territory none of us had seen. The wyldwood is huge, and some parts are constantly changing, so it can be dangerous, even for us. We tracked the white stag for three days, through unfamiliar woods and forest, making bets on whose arrow would finally take it down. Puck boasted that we would surely lose to him, and Ian and I made the same boast in reverse. All the while, the forest around us grew dark and wild. Our horses were growing increasingly nervous. We should have listened to them, but we didn't, stubborn pride leading us on like fools. Finally, on the fourth day, we came to a rise that plunged down into a vast hollow. On the other side, trotting along the ridge was the white stag. The hollow separating us wasn't deep, but it was wide and filled with tangled shadows and undergrowth, making it difficult to see what was down there. Ian wanted to go around, even though it would take us longer. Puck disagreed, insisting we would lose our quarry unless we rode straight through. We argued. I sided with Ian though I didn't see the reason for his apprehension if he wasn't willing to go forward, I wasn't going to make him. Puck, however, had other ideas. As I turned my horse around, he let out a whoop, slapped Ian's horse on the rump, and kicked his own steed forward. They plunged over the edge, racing down the slope, with Puck yelling at me to catch up if I could. I had no choice but to follow." Ash fell silent, his eyes dark and haunted. He gazed off into the distance.

Jason,listening,sat besides him and stroked Fatespeaker under her chin. He put a wing gently around Ash,the scales a sort of soft warmth,but not overwhelming. "You don't have to go on..." He said softly,little Shade raising his head drowsily and squeaking something before putting it down on Ash's lap and nodding off again with soft little breaths,snow flakes coming from his little snout everytime he breathed outward.

"No, I want to. You deserve to know what happened." He gave a bitter laugh. "Ian was right, of course. Puck had led us straight to a hungry wyvern pack. We fought our way free, the three of us, side by side. We'd been together so long we knew one another's fighting styles, and used them to take down the enemy. It was Ian who landed the killing blow. But, as they were dying, there was one last wyvern that we hadn't taken notice to and we were miles from any healers. We tried to save him, but..." he paused, taking a shaky breath. "He died in my arms," he finished, making an audible effort to compose himself. "He died with my name on his lips, begging me to save him. As I held him, watched the life fade from his eyes, I could only think one thing--that Puck had caused this. If it wasn't for him, he would still be alive." His voice turned steely. "I swore, on that day, to avenge Ian's death, to kill Robbin Goodfellow, or die trying. We've clashed several times since, but he always manages to slip away or do something that ends our duels. I cannot rest while he lives. I promised Ian that I would continue hunting Puck until one of us lies dead."

He nodded,understanding wanting revenge. He didn't hate Shade,sure,but he did want revenge for his sisters and father. He understood also that he probably didn't know the pain that it had caused Ash to lose a lover. He had been right there,trying to save his younger sister,Lavender already gone, with his frantic shaking talons. But he hadn't been able to. "I swore the same to my sisters and father when Shade got away...and yet he still lives." He whispered,gently squeezing in a reassuring way with his wing around Ash. He looked at his own hands and shut his eyes tightly,remembering Clementines blood on his talons,remembering the black glass shards of their father in his already bloodied talons. He remembered holding Flasher in those same talons and whispering to him,telling him that he would kill Shade,that he wouldn't live after doing this. He had held his brother until he had been able to stop his older brothers shattering. He remembered that,when Silver had turned 4,he had had to tell him about it. He had had to help him finally fully understand why his father and siblings weren't coming home. Would never come home.

He stayed like that for a while before he stood, putting the little dragon on the bed. He shrugged into his new shirt with barely a wince. He glanced at Jason, then back to the door, his expression torn. Then, he shook his head as if he couldn't believe he was doing this. "This way," he snapped, yanking open the closet. "Inside, now."

He looked up at him and nodded,standing. He nodded to Fatespeaker and she pranced in. He then carefully picked up little Shade and held him in a cradled position as he snoozed happily in his harms,walking in.

Putting a hand to the back wall, he closed his eyes and muttered several strange, unfamiliar words under his breath. A thin rectangle of light appeared, and Ash pulled open another door, bathing the room in pale light and revealing an icy staircase plunging into darkness. "Come on." He turned to him and held out a hand. "This will take us out of the palace, but we have to hurry before it disappears."

Behind them, a roar of discovery echoed through the hall, as something poked its head in the room and bellowed for its friends.