The sound of the door opening jogged Chrysalis out of a pleasant nap and her eyes blinked open slowly to stare into the embers of the fire. Night had fallen and it was growing cold. Without even turning around to peek over her shoulder, she leaned forwards and nudged a log onto the fire to help warm her, casting her gaze around for her blanket.

“You’re late,” Chrysalis stated flatly, still not turning around.

“Ah had a little trouble,” Evergreen said, his tone strained.

Chrysalis blinked once and turned her head, raising a brow at evergreen.

Evergreen was filthy. His mane was matted with mud, his entire right side was coated in it. Broken twigs and leaves clung to him in various places. His sack also rustled as though with broken glass.

“What happened to you?” Chrysalis asked, staring.

“Ah had a disagreement with a tree about who had right of way,” Evergreen said, deadpan. “Ah think the tree was correct, ter be honest.”

“Once more I bring to your attention that you are not smarter than you look,” Chrysalis stated. She turned back to the fire, and in her periphery, saw Evergreen limp over towards the bed.

chrysalis’ ears splayed backwards a moment, and she rounded on him again. She rose to her hooves and stepped over closer, peering down at his foreleg. “You’re hurt.”

“Ah...it’s nothing,” Evergreen responded hesitantly, shaking his head. “Jus’ rolled me hoof when the tree took exception to mah argument.”

“You’re limping,” Chrysalis narrowed her eyes.

“Well Ah don’t want to put my full weight on it, do ah?” Evergreen retorted, raising a brow.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and lifted a hoof to push evergreen over suddenly, splaying him across the bed and removing the sack from his reach before he could respond.

“Ah’m all messy!” Evergreen protested.

“Shut up, you big oaf,” chrysalis said flatly, leaning down and lifting her hooves to touch at his foreleg, kneading them slowly down the length of the limb.

Evergreen twitched and winced when Chrysalis reached the last joint before his hoof, his ears splaying backwards. “It’s nuthin,” he reiterated.

“It’s not nuthin,” Chrysalis responded with a huff. “You’ve sprained it. You’re not to walk on it for at least a day.”

“But Ah got stuff to do,” Evergreen complained, trying to push himself to his hooves.

Chrysalis pushed him back down firmly with a hoof, her eyes narrowing. “If you get on your hooves, I will cut your mane back until you’re bald, and then I’ll start on your tail, too.”

Evergreen flattened his ears, whining up at her faintly before sighing and then laying back on the bed, huffing a moment. “But who’ll do all the work?”

Rolling her eyes, Chrysalis turned around to peer around the room, looking for a bandage or similar item. Her tone was sarcastic as she said, “Oh, I don’t know, I mean, it’s not like there’s a pony who’s staying with you or anything,”

“Ah couldn’t ask yer to do that. It’s only a sprain,” Evergreen stated, starting to roll over to get up.

Chrysalis didn’t even turn around. “If you stand up, I’m going to find a rope and tie you down.”

Evergreen blinked once at that, harrumphing and then relaxing once more. “Ah might be into that, yer know.”

“I shall bear that in mind if I ever become desperate enough to want to seduce you,” chrysalis said with a shake of her head. “Do you have any bandages here?”

“There’s some under the bed,” Evergreen said, pointing with a hoof, and then moving to reach down and get them himself.

“Stop that, the more you move your hoof, the longer it’ll stay hurt for,” Chrysalis explained, as she ducked under the bed and rummaged around. She dragged out a small black case, and popped it open. Inside were several dried herbs and flowers, bandages, and even a needle and thread for more serious injuries.

Looking up at Evergreen for a moment, Chrysalis pulled out the bandage and gingerly lifted his hoof, trying her best not to hurt him. She carefully wrapped the bandage around his hoof, making sure it was firm but not tight. In a previous masquerade, she had been a nurse. In that time she had learned more about healing and the like than she had ever cared to. Wrapping injuries, stitching up deep cuts, tending to sick ponies whose entire goal in life seemed to be to throw up on everything they possibly could, and obnoxious children who just screamed. It was one of the very few masquerades that she’d abandoned early purely on account of the job she was forced to take.

“Where did yer learn to treat injuries?” Evergreen asked, raising a brow.

“My brothers got hurt a lot,” Chrysalis lied smoothly. “Especially as one of them was a pegasus.”

Evergreen gave a slight nod at that, wincing as Chrysalis pulled the bandage tight over his hoof and then stuck it down with the little clip to hold it in place.

Chrysalis inspected her work carefully, before deeming it complete.

“But there’s a problem,” Evergreen stated.

“And what would that be?”

Evergreen held up his hooves, showing the mud on them, “Ah’m still all messy.”

“Filthy beast,” Chrysalis said with a shake of her head. “I’ll help you into the other room, and I’ll clean you. But you are forbidden from placing your weight on that hoof.”

“Yes, Mother,” Evergreen quipped, gingerly rolling over onto his stomach and beginning to rise onto three hooves, carefully holding the injured hoof in the air. He limped off the bed and towards the back door while Chrysalis scowled at him.

Chrysalis trailed after Evergreen, making sure he wasn’t having too much trouble, and then ushered him towards the cauldron. She lit it up the log pile with a deft flick of a match, and stood beside him while she waited for it to get warm.

“So how’m I gonna get clean without getting the bandage wet?” Evergreen queried.

“I’m going to help you, dumb oaf,” Chrysalis stated, supporting his weight to help him into the cauldron.

“Well... Thank yer,” Evergreen said with a hesitant nod. “Ah’m...not so good at accepting help.”

“I’ve noticed, I’m the same way. Now, put your hoof on the edge,” Chrysalis said, tapping the part of the cauldron she was referring to.

Evergreen did as commanded, carefully placing his hoof on the edge of the cauldron, eyebrows raising.

Humming faintly, Chrysalis dipped her hooves into the water. She began to scrub them across Evergreen’s back and the bottom of his mane where she could reach. “Use your good hoof, fool. I’m not doing this all by myself.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Evergreen responded, his ears pinning back a little bit as he used his good hoof to begin rubbing at the mud covering his chest.

“So what exactly happened?” Chrysalis asked, shifting slightly and picking up the comb she had purchased, beginning to drag it through his mane.

“Ah had an altercation with a tree,” Evergreen repeated.

“I got that,” Chrysalis said, rolling her eyes. “But how did that end up with you looking like you mud-wrestled a hydra?”

“Ah was tryin’ ter get at a Niteshade crop and slipped. Thankfully, ah didn’t nudge the flowers, or ah wouldn’t have made it home at all. Took a good tumble down a slope, though,” Evergreen said, relaxing back a little bit of a faint, contented sigh as she kneaded across his neck with her hooves.

Chrysalis’ eyes widened and her ears splayed backwards. She realised that she hadn’t told him about the shopkeeper’s little ‘accident’.

“I...Uhm. About the niteshade,” she murmured uncertainly.

Evergreen scowled. “Did that shopkeeper try ter stiff you?”

Chrysalis shook her head slowly. “He gave me full price... but... uhm... he’s dead.”

The stallion paused, blinking once and turning his head. “...What?”

“He’s dead. He managed to shatter the jar of niteshade...he slipped,” Chrysalis explained, her ears splayed backwards. “I tried to save him! I really did!”

Evergreen gave a faint sigh, shaking his head a moment, his brow furrowing. “Ahhh...these things happen. Yer didn’t inhale any of it, did yer?”

Chrysalis shook her head, fighting to keep a very strange smile off her face. Evergreen was more worried about her safety than the fact that the shopkeeper had been killed. It filled her with a strange warmth—like the energy she got from love, only different. Warmer.

“I kinda cut myself when I jumped out the front door though,” Chrsalis ysaid, letting the smile stretch her muzzle, but morphing it into a more sheepish smile than triumphant.

Evergreen turned around at that, looking her over carefully.

“Ah shouldn’t have sent yer to sell it,” Evergreen stated flatly, lifting his good hoof to stroke along her mane gently, rubbing at her neck to check for cuts. “Ah don’t see much damage...but yer coulda been killed..”

“It was his fault,” Chrysalis said, sniffing once. “If he was paying more attention to where he was going, and not to leering at me, he wouldn’t have tripped.”

“Leerin’ at yer?” he asked, his eyes narrowing slowly as his expression darkened.

“Yeah...why do you think I got those extra bits?” Chrysalis asked with a sly grin. “I just batted my eyes at him and he passed them over.”

Evergreen scowled even more at that, accusing, “Yer been throwing yerself at the males in town?”

Chrysalis blinked, her ears pinning back. She shook her head. “No. No. You have it wrong, I was just batting my eyes at him to get the bits he owed you. Surely you’ve had a pretty girl bat her eyes at you to get you to do things for her, right?”

The stallion frowned slightly, turning back to face the front, his expression and tone grumpy. “Ah suppose,”

Giggling faintly, Chrysalis continued to wash him, leaning in to rest her chin on the top of his shoulder, her tone turning teasing, “Sir Evergreen... are you... jealous?”

Evergreen’s ears splayed and he scowled again. “Ah’m not jealous.”

“You souuuund jealous,” Chrysalis affirmed, a sly grin on her muzzle.

“Ah’m not jealous,” Evergreen reiterated, shaking his head and crossing his forehooves.

Chrysalis tutted, gripping his forehoof by the elbow joint and placing it back on the edge of the cauldron. “You’re jealous, admit it.”

“Ah’ll not lie ter yer,” Evergreen stated flatly.

“Admiiiit it~” Chrysalis sing-songed with a grin.

Evergreen grit his teeth for a moment, his eyes narrowing, and rounded on Chrysalis. “Yer impossible!”

Chrysalis grinned innocently, leaning in to rub her nose against his own, her eyes peering into his, a purr in her tone as she repeated, “Admit it.”

The stallion scowled more. “Fine. Ah was a little jealous.”

“And why were you jealous?” Chrysalis pressed, grinning and keeping her position, staring into his eyes.

Evergreen’s cheeks flushed faintly, and his ears pinned back. The lie was obvious in his tone as he said, “Ah... Ah don’t know.”

“Oh, you know, Sir Evergreen. And you’re not getting out that tub until you tell me,” Chrysalis promised, grinning.

“Fine,” Evergreen hissed, eyes narrowing at her, “Ah think Ah’m starting ter like yer.”

“There...” Chrysalis soothed, lifting a hoof to gently rub under his chin, grinning. “Was that so hard?”

The stallion shook his head for a moment, looking down at the cauldron so he didn’t have to meet her gaze any more. “Maybe not fer you.”

Chrysalis grinned at that, nudging Evergreen once and then drawing back. “You’ve been a good boy, so you can get out now.”

Evergreen clambered out of the cauldron, making sure not to put his weight on his bad hoof, and the changeling helped him, supporting his weight until he was stable. She draped a towel over his back, scrubbing it across his form to dry him, seeing as he was only allowed to use one hoof at the moment.

Standing there, getting dried by Chrysalis, Evergreen’s expression softened and he gave a faint little sigh.

“Ah’m being ungrateful,” Evergreen said, shaking his head slightly and turning towards her. “Thank yer, Cee. Yer a very nice pony... At least when yer not insulting me.”

“You love it,” Chrysalis said with a grin, leaning in and scrubbing her hoof through his mane. “I think I’m starting to like you too, Evergreen.”

“Well Ah’m glad,” Evergreen responded, his ears tilting back a little bit. “Ah’m glad yer collapsed out in front of my cottage. Or ah would have never found yer.”

“And I’m rather glad you found me. Or I’d be, you know, dead,” Chrysalis stated blandly. She moved the towel from his neck and mane to along the underside of his neck and then up his chin. Smiling, she began rubbing her nose against his own affectionately.

“Thank yer for the bath, Cee,” he said with a slight nod. His tone was completely innocent and sincere as he offered, “Ah’ll have ter return the favour later on sometime.”

“Anything to get your filthy hooves on me, huh?” Chrysalis accused playfully, smiling at him.

“That’s not it all,” Evergreen blinked, looking chagrined. “Ah just don’t wanna get such an act of kindness and not repay it to yer somehow.”

Chrysalis smiled at him, nuzzling her nose against his own gently, watching him. He looked so cute like that, flustered and embarrassed. It was endearing. He was so close now, staring into her eyes as he spoke, and she was certain that he was going to kiss her. No pony of any worth would ignore such an opportunity.

“You don’t have to repay me,” Chrysalis chided with a smile.

“But Ah feel like a have ter...” Evergreen admitted, shaking his head again and then gently nuzzling his nose against hers, tentatively.

“Then don’t, oaf. It’s more of a gift than a service,” Chrysalis explained.

“Ah... don’t know,” Evergreen admitted, shaking his head once more and nudging her gently. He turned away to move to the other room.

Chrysalis stared at him for a long moment, her eyes slowly narrowing, asking indignantly, “And just where are you going?”

Evergreen’s ears splayed backwards, and he turned back towards her, “Ter the other room?”

“No. You’re not,” Chrysalis stated flatly, her eyes narrowing. “You are going to get back here and kiss me as is proper.”

The stallion blinked at that, his expression uncertain. “But..Ah...—”

“—shut up,” Chrysalis growled, stamping her hoof. “Get down here, and kiss me.”

Evergreen lowered his head slightly and slipped down towards her again with unsure steps, his cheeks faintly flushed. “But Ah don’t know—”

Chrysalis’ hoof cut his words off. “No talking. Just kiss me.”

Evergreen opened his mouth to speak again, but Chrysalis made an impatient sound, cutting him off before he could vocalise any complaint.

After a few seconds of waiting, she began to tap her hoof against the ground impatiently. “I’m waiting.”

Even though she was ordering him to kiss her, she wasn’t prepared for him to actually do it. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know it was coming, or like she expected him to refuse. But the feel of his lips against her own quite suddenly in a firm, forceful kiss, somehow surprised her.

At first, Chrysalis tensed, and then relaxed into it, lifting a hoof to rest on the back of Evergreen’s head to keep him from pulling away prematurely. She twined her hoof into his mane happily as she closed her eyes, just enjoying the simple sensation of his warm lips against her own.

And then, it was over.

Chrysalis tried to reach for Evergreen, to make him kiss her again. But the stallion had already pulled back, terminating their contact. His cheeks were flushed faintly and he was panting a little bit.

She wasn’t quite certain how long the kiss had lasted but as she became aware of her surroundings again, she realised that she too was panting softly, and her heart was beating somewhere in her throat.

“W-wow...” Chrysalis whispered, staring at him for a moment, blinking.

“Wow indeed...Y-yeah,” Evergreen repeated, watching her for a moment, cheeks just faintly flushed. “Ah... don’t know what ter say.”

Chrysalis smiled and took a nimble step forward to capture Evergreen with her forehooves encircling his neck. She leaned in to rub her nose against his own for a moment. She stared into his eyes, her tone warm as she demanded; “Then shut up and kiss me again.”