Ashton avoided Laudna’s eyes. Maybe they weren’t so similar after all because they really didn’t know how to be in someone else’s corner. “Does it matter how likely they are to be in your corner when you fucking need them?” He asked with a sheepish smile, half-joking, but the history behind the question hurt.
Ashton sighed deeply at that. “Yea–I don’t mind getting hit,” he admitted. They had no problem with looking like shit, feeling like shit, especially if someone else watched. “You do help though! You’ve got some magic that’s so fucking cool to watch. We’ve all got our things.” They felt comfortable in that, in separating out what everyone in the group was responsible for.
"That's when it matters the most." Laudna thought of Imogen, how often that the other sorceress had been in her corner and protected her when towns got shitty about her being mostly dead. She could see the hurt lingering under the surface with Ashton and suddenly the warlock wanted to hurt whoever made Ashton feel like this.
"I suppose, you know, outside of Imogen I think you were the first to not be really bothered by me and my powers." Sure the rest of Bell's Hells had warmed up to her and weren't carrying pitchforks when they had met, but Ashton said he liked weird and had truly meant it.