Ash came back shortly after Ruby sat down with the spools of spider silk she had requested. She thanked him and immediately stood back up with a groan and got to work mixing the poultice. It had been a few years since she had any wing injuries but mixing these was a basic survival skill for fairies. She was quite good at it. The only problem was that she couldn"t always reach the place she needed to bind up with the spider silk by herself.
This was a two person job but could she really ask a stranger she had barely met to help her with something as intimate as fixing a wing? Fairies typically didn"t show their wings to other races because they were their most vulnerable point.
Could she trust this vampire? She supposed she had some degree of trust in him already because he had helped her out with her aunt and uncle earlier. And she would be staying here for at least a few weeks until she could fly away. That required trust too.
Ruby sighed, feeling like she was going to regret this. "Can you help me patch up my wing? I can apply the medicine fine on my own but tying it by myself is a bit tricky."
Ash was obviously surprised. "Are you sure? I heard fairies are very protective of their wings."
She scowled. "We are. But it"s not like I have another fairy here to help me, now do I? A vampire will have to do as a temporary wing doctor."
An unfathomable expression crossed his face and he bowed again like before. "It would be my honor to a.s.sist you, Miss Ruby."
"…no need for that. Just help me." This guy really went back and forth between casual and formal too quickly. It was hard to tell whether he was being serious or if he was messing with her.
Ruby let her glamour drop but only around her wings. Right now she looked like her human form but with wings that had the same pearly glow as moonstone. Her wings were unusual for a fairy too but it wasn"t like a vampire would know the difference.
He would definitely know there was something wrong with her if she let the rest of her glamour slide. That would not be happening. Showing her wings was nerve-wracking enough.
Ash tilted his head to examine them more closely. "Is this really what fairy wings look like? Fascinating! I had no idea they practically glowed. That is a pretty nasty tear though. Would you like me to apply the medicine as well? It would save you a lot of twisting around."
She squinted at him suspiciously and he was quick to defend himself. "I don"t mean anything strange by it! I…feel slightly responsible since you hurt yourself hurdling through my broken window. Let me do this for you."
"Do you even know how?"
"Is there a specific technique to it?"
"Well, no. You apply it over the affected area like any poultice. But have you ever done anything like this before? Do vampires even get injured?" Ruby fretted. She didn"t want this to be done wrong and affect her healing.
Ash"s face went hard. "We aren"t immortal, you know. We get hurt and die like any other type of fae."
Whoa. For a moment there she felt an insane amount of bloodl.u.s.t coming from him. But it vanished as suddenly as it appeared and he smiled at her like nothing had happened. "To answer your first question, yes, I"ve applied poultices before but not on wings."
As if any other fairy in the world would ever let someone from another race touch their precious wings! Let alone a vampire. They had their covens but tended to keep to themselves and out of interspecies affairs, unlike witches who got into everybody"s business for the sake of amus.e.m.e.nt.
As Ash applied the poultice very gently, Ruby tried to think of everything she knew about vampires. The sun didn"t burn them like in popular human myths but it did make them dizzy. They drank blood but she wasn"t sure what kind.
They couldn"t turn into bats or fly either but they dabbled in blood magic, including but not limited to seals, barriers, and controlling the blood in others" bodies. They typically slept during the day so it was very likely she woke him up by crashing in here.
That was it. The extent of her knowledge.
"Is there a specific way you need me to wrap this?" Ash asked once the poultice was properly applied.
He did a good job. The pain was starting to ease a little already. Ruby was slightly impressed before realizing that was stupid because any idiot could apply a poultice.
"You have to give the wing a little room to breathe but the spider silk needs to trap the poultice on the wounded area so I"d say medium tight," Ruby said before wincing at how unspecific that was. Would he understand a pathetic direction like "medium tight"?
It turned out Ash did understand medium tight after all because he got it right on the first try. Now she was even more impressed. It normally took fairies a couple of tries to get it right when they were learning.
"That"s perfect! Thank you," she told him sincerely.
Ash smiled. "You"re very welcome. Thank you for trusting me."
That was an odd thing to thank someone for. Did people not trust him often? She supposed vampires did have a bad rap for being aloof but there weren"t any truly scandalous rumors about them. You know, aside from the blood drinking.
Did they drink fairy blood or was it human blood only? Was Ruby in danger staying here?
"Yeah…about that. You aren"t going to eat me, are you?"
Ash burst out laughing to the point that he was doubled over and clutching his sides for support. This went on for a solid three minutes before he finally managed to compose himself and she stared, bewildered, the entire time. Was it really that funny?