i have the remedy , open

He'd heard a couple of rumours about one certain Fire graduate that walked through the doors of the Medical Wing, and one of them was that he was southern. Certainly looked it, though Ashton, what with his cowboy hat and his attire. But the Earth leader averted his gaze, instead studying a piece of abstract artwork that hung in the waiting area. Why is that even here? It was probably to brighten the atmosphere of the room, but it wasn't like the art was particularly uplifting. Ash wasn't an artist, though. Maybe it was an artistic thing, where you had to be a visionary to see it? He didn't even care--truth be told, he was just trying to avoid conflict by not staring at the Fire elemental who had just entered the room. He wasn't an utter coward or anything of the sort, but he knew that the Fire kids could be rather cruel and irrational in their reasons for attacking someone. They'd assaulted him simply because he'd been seen hanging out with Asha, after all. 'Their kind', they'd said, but he'd known immediately what they meant. Why did it have to be so difficult to hold down a friendship in this place? It wasn't like Asha was their leader or anything.

But you're a leader, he reminded himself with a bitter sort of sigh. Politics was a real pain in the backside once you got to thinking about it. He wasn't allowed to have friends that fell outside of the 'code', he wasn't allowed to disagree with his own element and their decisions to outcast someone because of their beliefs. He didn't believe that the Earth students would so blatantly kick him out like they'd done with that boy in Fire, but he was a bit afraid for his position at the moment. There had been a lot of change in the hierarchy after the war. His stand-in position had been solidified, and they'd lost the female Earth leader and even the male Fire. People were being replaced left and right, and Ashton really just didn't know how to deal with it all. Except for to survive, really. Tough it out.

Slowly, the Earth leader lowered his hand from the side of his neck, wincing as he did so. It hurt like a bitch, but at least he knew that this would be working to heal it. That made him come to a strange revelation--what was wrong with the Fire male that had just come into the Wing? A deft glance toward him was made just in time to see the guy sigh and tip his hat down. Other than looking sort of glum, however, the graduate appeared to be pretty healthy. Partially out of curiosity and also because he wasn't a complete and total coward, Ashton decided to ask him about it. "Hey, are you sick? You don't look injured." It wasn't rude or even accusatory. In fact, coming from the lips of the friendly Earth leader it could even have been considered polite. It was clear that he was asking from a place of general curiosity and concern, rather than just trying to be an asshole and passing off the problems of someone else as trivial in comparison to the bad burn that was now very red and visible against his neck.

Except for the fact that they didn't know one another other than by possible reputation, and so this situation could turn awkward pretty fast if Ashton didn't introduce himself. He was being potentially stupid by talking to a Fire graduate much like the one that had just burned him, but he'd already made a slip up and so what was a couple more? "Uh, I'm Ashton by the way," he introduced himself. He was even ballsy enough to stick out a hand and arch a brow, as if wondering what the graduate would do about it. "Ashton Raleigh. The Earth leader." It still felt weird to refer to himself as the Earth leader. He was used to being 'that kid that's standing in for Rich'. But he wasn't standing in for Rich any more. Richard had never come back from his unfortunate accident, and after the war his element had asked him if he'd like to make it official. He'd said yes, and that was that.

Ashton went from being confused to being outright baffled when the Fire graduate mentioned a check-up. Ashton wasn’t in the habit of coming here to get himself checked out when he wasn’t actually sick, and in his life that had always been the definition of a routine check-up. Rather than trying to fix something that was wrong, you were trying to figure out if there was something wrong in the first place. Call him oblivious, but Ash hadn’t even noticed that Jarred had been clutching his side the entire time. The Earth elemental was very kind and didn’t tend to judge, nor did he make a habit of observing others. Subtle things like hand gestures and wincing weren’t things that he would always pick up on. Sometimes, perhaps, if he was studying you, but Jarred made him a little nervous. He never really knew how to deal with Fire elementals until he’d deduced their personality. Some of them, though, some of them were alright. Josh came to mind, that guy that had risked his entire Alliance coming after him to side with a friend. So Ashton was always willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt. “Are you worried about getting sick?” he wondered innocently. He truly didn’t realise that the check-up was for something else. “I know a lot of people get paranoid in the winter, but it’s almost summer now.” Then again, there were always the hypochondriacs to worry about.

Surprising him by not only being cordial but actually being friendly, it took a moment for Ashton to respond to the introduction. Ducking his head and giving an embarrassed little grin, Ash replied, “Nice to meet you, too Jarred.” The accent and the very southern style of dress didn’t bother the Earth elemental at all. He hardly ever cared about things like that in people. He was blind to things like race and class and other sorts of stereotypes because Ashton was an all-around accepting guy. It wasn’t that he couldn’t see that you were white or that you were wearing a cowboy hat, he just chose not to let it affect his opinion. Perhaps that was why he’d been an Earth elemental and not been stuck with something like Wind or maybe even Water. Water elementals were nice, but he’d always found his own kind to be a lot more considerate and compassionate. “I’ll admit that I’m surprised to find you’re so friendly. It’s not often I’ve met friendly Fire elementals.” He wasn’t shy in admitting this, but he added a smile to assure the graduate that he meant no offence by the words. He was just chattering aimlessly and being the friendly guy that he was.

Ashton frowned softly as the burn was brought back into the conversation. He would have glanced at it had it been possible, but of course it was on the side of his neck and he’d have looked quite stupid trying to crane it and get a good look. “Yeah,” he said, seeing no point in lying. He didn’t know that Jarred had heard about what had went on and had even followed after his fellow graduates, and he probably wouldn’t have known how to react to the situation even if he did. It wasn’t often that Fire kids went against their own. “It stings like nothing else, but it’s not so bad.” Ashton waved a dismissive hand, trying to be the brave one in the situation. He figured it was Asha’s influence that made him like this sometimes. He didn’t want to be called effeminate or anything, he didn’t want his masculinity challenged again. She might have been joking around with him, but seeing as he liked her and valued her opinion, it had affected him.

He was caught off guard by the question about the Medical Wing, mostly because it sounded as if Jarred really had no idea about how the place worked. “I won’t just get it looked at, I’ll have it healed when I’m there,” he replied. It seemed like the most obvious thing in the world to him, but that was just because Ashton was used to being burned and having to come get treated at the Wing. It didn’t occur to him immediately that Jarred might not be a frequenter of this place. In fact, it took several seconds before he actually slapped a hand against his leg lightly. “Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t you know? They can heal elemental injuries.” He wondered if this guy had ever gotten a burn and just let it sit. That would have really sucked. “I figured it was better to get the burn treated than to just walk around with it stinging for weeks.”

Ashton seemed surprised when Jarred revealed that he had an old injury, and then he reverted into a sheepish sort of smile as he realised that he'd been putting his nose where it didn't belong. "Oh," he said, nodding. "Sorry for prying so much," Ashton apologised, knowing that it was his place to make sure Jarred knew he didn't mean anything by it. Ashton was just a very kind and genuine soul, and he hated the idea of someone thinking him to be a nosy little brat. "I just figured it had something to do with paranoia after the war, you know? Everyone's so concerned about injuries and sicknesses and stuff." The war really had been some kind of hell, and as the Earth leader Ashton had taken a lot of that onto his own shoulders. Not that he was complaining about any of this, though. Raleigh was a good guy that tried to do right by his element and give them the best leadership possible.

The Earth elemental smiled as the older boy spoke. "I like the way you think, Jarred," Ashton concluded. Why couldn't all of the Fire elementals be a little more like this? Ash wasn't naive enough to expect peace love and harmony for the rest of his life, but it would be nice if they could just stay out of the way of the Earth elementals. Ashton didn't like the neighbours dog because it always made a point to shit on their lawn rather than its own, but that didn't mean he went and kicked it. Perhaps this was a bad analogy because Ashton would never consider kicking something as adorable as a dog, but the point was still the same--if you didn't like something, let it alone. "Well then I'll give you the same benefit of the doubt," he decided with a smile. "You've been pretty nice to me so far, so I won't judge you based on your element." It was a pretty nice thing to do, and in Ashton's opinion it was the right thing to do. He was the Earth leader, so here's to being responsible and not starting unnecessary battles.

"Mint and honey?" he repeated, having never heard of doing that for a burn. Ashton's parents used to tell him to treat any sort of burns with aloe when he would catch his hand against something hot like the stove as a kid. They didn't have the convenience of a Fire elemental in their household that could magic away a burn with a flick of their wrist. "Does it work pretty well?" He was genuinely interested in what Jarred had to say, and it was pretty clear that he wasn't just yammering on for the sake of a conversation. Ashton was just that--genuine. It was no wonder that he made a lot of friends and got along with a wide circle of people, because Ashton really couldn't see the bad in someone unless it slapped him in the face. He wanted to believe about good things, not evil. "I used to use aloe, but the Wing is pretty convenient. It stings and looks a bit like sunburn for a while, but it helps prevent scarring." The mark from when he'd been attacked in the dungeons had now faded completely.