Ride Away Cowboy (Ash)

[Ashley Bates]

Ash smirked at Dakota’s description of him. It was not the first time that he had heard someone describe him that way and she was not entirely wrong either. He knew that he was a stick in the mud by most standards and many people couldn’t understand why he took things so seriously. He had his reasons though and more often than not his seriousness had saved him from making foolish mistakes. That didn’t mean he wasn’t enjoying himself however. In fact nothing could have been further from the truth.

Listening to her light chuckle Ash had to nod his head in agreement with her statement. "We all have our responsibilities. Fortunately there are chances like this to provide a little excitement. We just have to enjoy them when they come." The statement might have sounded odd coming from Ash but he said it as simply and plainly as ever showing that he believed it.

Ash wondered for a moment if Dakota really minded that he was so serious. She certainly didn't seem to. Still, perhaps he could explain it a little about himself while showing he was not quite as much of a stick in the mud as she might have thought. He didn’t know if it was the girl being so close to him or the feeling of soaring through the air that had gotten his blood up but he was in a show-offy mood.

“Growing up I was always quick at learning how to ride, how to take care of animals and how to hunt but in the area of relaxing I have always been a little slow.” He said in his usual stoic tone before letting his voice show a little more emotion. “I am having fun though. My riding companion is having something to do with that I think but perhaps a demonstration is in order. Hold on tight.” Moving one hand over hers to insure she didn't let go Ash cast a smile back over his shoulder and then pulled back on the reins sending Blue Sky into a rushing dive.

[Dakota King]

Dakota looked up from Ash's hands to his face as he spoke. Despite having a stick up his butt, he gave out sage advice. She cocked an eyebrow as she thought about his words for a moment before she slowly nodded her head. "I guess I understand that," she said as she shrugged her shoulders a bit. "Especially with me being in the infirmary a lot, this is a very nice change. I like it."

She kept looking at him as he talked. She could tell he lightened up a bit. There was something different in the way he was talking or his facial expressions. Dakota couldn't exactly put her finger on it. Hold on tight. She raised her eyebrows at him as he smiled at her and put his hand on top of hers. That's when she felt it: that sudden sensation in her stomach of falling.

Dakota screamed. She screamed loud as she tightened her arms around Ash and buried her face into his shoulder. She squeezed her eyes closed as she hoped that he wouldn't land them in the infirmary today.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash couldn't tell if Dakota's screams were of fear or of excitement because for the most part they were drowned out by the rushing wind as the pegasus and her two riders dropped from the sky. He wondered for a moment if Dakota would be mad at him for this but wasn't particularly worried. Even if she hadn't tightened her hold on him he held her hands firmly in place as they fell and he would be lying if he said the thrill of the rapid plummet wasn’t exciting.

Ash’s smile remained as they began to quickly approach the ground. He would have never tried this stunt if he hadn't thought he could handle it but for the moment at least he was enjoying Dakota holding on to him. Still, the moment couldn’t last forever and just when it seemed like it would be too late he finally let up on the reins allowing Blue Sky to spread her wings and level them out into a speedy glide over the tree tops. “You alright back there?” He asked realizing for the first time that she was buried herself pretty comfortably into one of his shoulders. “Don't close your eyes. You might miss something.”

[Dakota King]

Dakota buried her face more into Ash's shoulder as she felt that feeling her stomach travel up to her throat. But soon enough, that feeling went away as she felt Ash even them out. They didn't crash and they were still flying for all she could tell. She opened her eyes and peeked over his shoulder to see that they were gilding over the tree tops. She smiled sheepishly as she lifted her head off of his shoulder a little bit.

"I'm doing okay," she said as she glanced over at him. A smirk crept onto her face before she asked, "Do you always try to kill your riding companions by doing death-defying stunts? I've never pulled that stunt off with Blue Sky before."

[Ashley Bates]

He had caught Dakota by surprise just as he expected and he thought that was a good thing. She seemed to have enjoyed that little show of spontaneity and considering she still hadn't let go of him Ash took that as a good sign. Blue Sky was certainly handling things admirably and if the pegasus had any qualms about the stunt she wasn't giving any sign. In fact, Ash bet that the pegasus was enjoying the chance to stretch her wings.

The son of Apollo went back to concentrating on his riding again bringing them around over the lake and really putting Blue Sky through her paces. He was glad Dakota was okay and seemed to have warmed to him a bit. "I told you I could ride once I figured out how." He said in confirmation. "Besides, I wouldn't have let you drop. I've been enjoying our ride too much." He paused for a moment to let his hands stroke the pegasus' mane and then gently returned his hands to hers. "Blue Sky handled the stunt well also. Perhaps you should let her practice it more."

[Dakota King]

Dakota rested her chin on Ash's shoulder as she lazily kept on eye on his hands while she down to the scenery below them. Ash steered them over the lake and Dakota couldn't help but think of that one scene from Aladdin with the magic carpet. She smiled a bit as she softly hummed the song from it. She kept herself close to Ash, deciding that she liked being this close to him while riding Blue Sky.

She kept humming as she glanced over at Ash as he talked. She stopped humming and chuckled a bit before she said, "I didn't doubt your riding skills. I didn't know how you would handle a pegasus." She smiled softly as he mentioned he was enjoying their ride. At least that stick was loosening up, she hoped. But his next comment made Dakota raise her eyebrow. "Let her practice it more?" she repeated as she blinked a couple of times before a slight smirk crept onto her lips. "I think I'll let you let her practice it more since you seem to enjoy them better than I do."

[Ashley Bates]

As he brought them over the lake Dakota found a way to lean even closer to him by resting her head on his shoulder and humming familiar tune. Ash thought about it for a moment and then added his own voice, a carrying baritone closer to the Peabo Bryson version of the song than the movie original, to Dakota's own showing that his father's musical talents hadn't completely missed him. It was fun and he kept it up until she stopped a few moments later to talk to him.

"Well I'm glad I could show you a few new tricks in any case. Still, I could benefit from a few more lessons I think." He said hoping that this wouldn't be the last time he got a chance to ride out with Dakota. There was something about her that just had an effect over him and he didn't think that it was just because she was a beautiful Aphrodite girl. She was fun, sweet, and light hearted. All things that Ash wasn't and that was a good thing or at least he thought it was. All of this was still pretty new to him. Still, he had always trusted in his feelings and his feelings were telling him to keep going. "If I still have a good riding companion to help me that is."

[Dakota King]

Dakota raised her eyebrows at Ash started singing along with her humming. A slight smile crept up onto her face and she really wanted to laugh, but she wanted to not stop him singing at the same time. He had a wonderful singing voice. She silently cursed herself as she made it end all too soon because she had to talk to him.

"A few new tricks?" she asked as she raised her eyebrows at him. "I think you need to show me these tricks some times. I would like to see what you know that I haven't learned yet." She readjusted her arms around him as she thought about his statement. She didn't think that he needed more lessons, but at the same time, it wouldn't hurt to spend a little extra time with him, especially in this riding position. She smiled a bit before she giggled slightly. "Nah, you still have your riding companion. When are you free to do more of these?"

[Ashley Bates]

Ash angled them around the lake and back towards the camp proper. He would have enjoyed the chance to stay up here all night riding around with Dakota holding on to him as she was now but even good things needed to come to an end. If they didn't it would be hard to appreciate the good things when they came. “I think I've surprised you enough for one ride but I'm sure if you stick around me for long I will again.”

The son of Apollo thought for a moment. He didn’t have many extracurricular activities at camp aside from the normal stuff most kids were involved in. There were his hunting trips but those were mostly up to his own whims and could be arranged so as not to interfere. Truthfully he was very open and he planned to use that to his advantage. “How about tomorrow? We could meet up after you got off at the infirmary and catch a bite to eat before heading out.”

[Dakota King]

Dakota chuckled before she rested her chin on Ash's shoulder once more. "Well," she said with a bit of a smile. "I don't think I'm going anywhere anytime soon, so I think you have plenty of time to try to surprise me." Her eyes lazily checked on his hands to make sure his grip was loose before they drifted to the scenery below them. He turned them back around, so there was less lake and more camp. She glanced over at Ash when he started talking about arrangements.

"I should get off around five tomorrow," she said with a bit of a smile. "We can do a bit of a dinner and a ride. Does that work with you?"

[Ashley Bates]

"Five sounds like the perfect time. I'll go ahead and get everything ready for us as I should have a little time before then." His hands had not left hers since the sudden drop and he was reluctant to do so now but they were rapidly approaching the stables. "Unfortunately it looks like we've made the loop and I must return you to the place where we began our little ride." As he brought them in for a landing he took up the reins with both hands and guided Blue Sky carefully down to the stable yard in a gentle glide. It was his first landing and perhaps he could have handled things a bit better but for the most part the pegasus seemed to know what would be required of her and made thins easy enough. When they had landed Ash led the pegasus to a halt close to the stables and held her there so that Dakota could dismount. "I would say we had had a pretty successful first flight though and perhaps Blue Sky has earned a few of those sugar cubes don't you think?"

[Dakota King]

Dakota's face saddened as she realized that it was getting towards the end of their ride. She felt like she got to know Ash a lot better in this setting than how she usually met guys. She lifted her head off of his shoulder, but she didn't move her arms at all. His hands were on top of hers and they felt nice. She didn't want to move them unless they totally had to. "Well," she said softly with a bit a of a sad smile, "I guess we do need to save some of this tomorrow too, right?"

Ash landed the three of them beautifully and Dakota was a little reluctant to dismount. She sighed before she dismounted and her hand went to her pocket before Blue Sky could start nosing it. "I think she deserves more than a few, especially with how she handled that stunt of yours." She pulled out a few sugar cubes and held them out to the pegasus. Blue Sky didn't think twice before trying to grab her treats from her owner.

[Ashley Bates]

The tone of disappointment in Dakota’s voice as Ash brought their ride to an end did not go unnoticed. Perhaps he was just imagining it because he was feeling it too but he didn’t think so. The girl genuinely seemed like she wanted the ride to continue and he would have had to agree. This had been fun....very fun and fun wasn’t really something he was used to having.

Dakota dismounted and Ash followed suit letting Blue Sky have a much deserved break from carrying the two of them around. After the workout they had put her through Ash would have said she needed a whole pocket full of sugar cubes but the pegasus seemed to accept her reward willingly enough. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind another such trip tomorrow evening. “Somehow I think you will find a way to take care of her.” He said smirking at Dakota as he watched the girl feed her pegasus. “How about I help you bring her in? It’s the least I can do for letting me take her out with you and besides, a second helper could make the work go faster.”

[Dakota King]

Dakota smiled a bit as she glanced over at Ash as he offered to help with putting Blue Sky away. It would be nice to have the extra help to take care of her pegasus, plus it gave her an extra excuse to spend a little bit more time with Ash before this day was over. She slowly nodded her head. "Yeah," she said with a smile. "The extra help would be nice. Plus I can show you the extra stuff to take care of a pegsus, since it's not all about riding, ya know." She grabbed the reigns and started walking back to the stables with Blue Sky in tow as she talked with Ash about how she liked to take care of Blue Sky.