A lot of outsiders looked upon him and gave an exasperated chuckle, for he was the ceaseless adventurer. A journeyman feeling his way through life one disaster at a time, never settling down, never sitting still. It wasn’t in his nature. He was wild and free, the way he was meant to be, and no one could take that from him. Not even his own sister.

Ashley, rather unusually, found himself not running from some new predator or getting himself into trouble with an animal that was minding its own business (and would chase him later) but instead sitting in the herb patch with a disgruntled frown on his face. He’d entered the area in hopes of being helpful, but instead... He wrinkled his nose. He couldn’t understand how anyone could look at this stuff and see anything other than green with the occasional pop of color. He shook his head. Well, there went that idea. With his luck if he went through with his plan he’d return to the vrachi — and acecoop — with death berries and it’d be taken as a personal offense. He snorted. Thus was the self-centered mind of a royal. They were all the same.

The tom grunted, whirling around, 95% of his muscle prepared to face a predator. Instead what he found was a disgruntled, partially disoriented white and ginger she-cat looking worse for wear. He frowned and blinked in confusion at her, reaching out to steady her. "It's fine," he muttered, looking her over as subtly as he could. Was she injured? Sick? She seemed completely out of it. Had she eaten something wrong? Why was he worried? Why did he care? "Are you okay? You look a little..." He leaned back and lifted his paws to put on a brilliant representation of what looked like a drugged fool swaying on his feet, one eye widening more than the other, jaw slightly slack. He quickly snapped out of it and continued to stare at her, convinced that that little display was enough to finish his question and still make sense.

Ashley blinked, tilting his head. He hadn't drawn the proper reaction he was expecting from her; he thought maybe a chuckle, at the very least, but instead it only seemed to make her more upset. His pelt itched as he glanced away from her, gritting his teeth. He had to admit, he felt a little humiliated. It was the first time he didn't automatically know just what to do to make a lady interested in him; he glanced to the side, where he was originally trying to find herbs. "That's alright, I was actually wondering: Did you need any more herbs in the store?" He blinked. "I'm not tasked with anything today and didn't want to laze about camp."

Her sudden, nearly knee-buckling, earth shattering misery cut him like a blade and he found himself resisting the urge to stumble back in shock. Melodramatic or not, this feline was suffering; she was internalizing all of it, but he could see it plain as day. His eyes slid to the corner, then to the ground. He wasn’t... exactly the best councilor. But he could try his best, at least in this situation. It’s not exactly like we have anyone else. “Oh. I see. And, uh. How does that make you feel?”