Deadliest Game (Ash)

[Audrey Appleby]

It was late and Audrey was in a tree. Not that she was stuck in said tree, but she was waiting for some creature to pass by so she could kill it. Ever since she got Gideon's blood on her hands, she had this insatiable want to do more. She wanted to take more life from this world with her bare hands. It was addicting. She wanted, no, needed more.

She had her bow and arrow strapped onto her back, but she hand her knives strapped all over her even if it didn't appear like it. Her eyes narrowed once she heard rustling and movement in the distance. A deer appeared into the clearing right below Audrey. She pulled out one of her knives and was about ready to aim for its heart when it dropped dead onto the ground. Audrey knit her eyebrows together before she noticed that an arrow sticking out of the deer. She shot her head up and glared once she noticed another person walking up to it. She strapped her knife back on before she dropped out of the tree.

"You just shot my deer," she snapped once she landed on the ground and straightened up. She narrowed her eyes at the boy and glared as she approached him.

(tag: Ashley Bates )

[Ashley Bates]

Ash had been stalking his prey through the forest for about an hour now following the tell-tale signs of a deer as it made its way along a well used game trail. The signs weren't much, a few prints, rubbings and some scat but they told the story plainly enough. Ash knew that he was gaining on his quarry bit by bit, he could feel it, and he brought up his bow in anticipation of a sighting.

After continuing along the path for a few more moments he finally spotted the deer just as it entered a clearing. Ash didn't waste any time. Going to one knee he drew, took aim and shot in a smooth motion and when a moment later his arrow brought down the animal with a clean strike he quickly went over to check out his kill. Kneeling beside the deer he began to remove his arrow and it was then that he heard the sound of something landing behind him causing to jerk his attention up and away from his prey.

He saw a girl approaching him in a fury and instantly the boy went on guard as his eyes took in her obvious anger and armaments. Ash stared the girl down as she came forward despite the accusations she was throwing at him and tensed his muscle in preparation of trouble. He could see that she was mad but as far as he was concerned her claims had no merit. She had been waiting in the shadows like some ambusher not stalking her prey like a hunter. "The deer was there to be claimed and yet you didn't." He said simply enough. "I fail to see how that makes it your deer."

[Audrey Appleby]

Audrey glared at the boy as he stood up to face her. She had half a mind to kill him like he killed her deer right then and there, but no. He looked like someone would miss him at camp. And that would to search parties and the eventual discovery of his body. No, Audrey didn't need her intentions or her group found out. Not this early in the game.

She reached down to hover her hand near the dagger that was by her waist as she raised her eyebrows at the boy as she got into his personal space. "Oh," she said as straightened up to size up the boy. "I was about to kill it when you did. I didn't know I had to call dibs in order to make sure it was my kill." An evil smirk crept onto her face as she leaned in to get her face closer to his. "So dibs."

[Ashley Bates]

Ash saw murder in the girl’s eyes and he also noticed her hand move to hover near one of her daggers as she attempted to provoke him by getting into his personal space. All this went to tell the boy that he was right to be on his guard. The girl was acting more like a rabid animal than a reasonable person right now and he had no doubt that she wanted him dead with that look she was giving him but for the moment at least he kept his hand away from the hunting knife at his hip. He would draw it but only if there was nothing else to do. Sometimes blood shed was inevitable and Ash knew as well as anyone that if something was foaming at the mouth you had to put it down. Still, that didn’t mean he had to push the girl in that direction.

Instead Ash stared down at the shorter girl as she got inches from his face with an icy look of regard. If she thought he could be intimidated with the ridiculous claims of some boisterous hot head she was sorely mistaken. “You don’t have to call anything.” He said cooly. “The deer was there and you didn’t kill it. You can believe what you want but that doesn’t make it so.”

[Audrey Appleby]

Audrey was hoping to intimidate the boy and make him back down. She wasn't mad that the deer was dead, she had no plans for it beyond killing it, but she was mad that this boy, stupid, stupid boy, had to be the one in between her and her kill. There was other deer in the forest for her to kill, but it was only the principle of the matter.

You can believe what you want but that doesn’t make it so. Audrey raised her eyebrows in an oh fashion as she took a step away from the boy and pulled out her knife by her hip and glanced down at it while an evil smirk crept onto her lips. "So by using your logic," she said as she looked back up at him. "I can believe I can kill you, but I can't? Except.. I know I can." She chuckled a bit as she raised her eyebrows expectantly. "So I might want to change that stance if I was you."

[Ashley Bates]

The girl stepped away from him and drew her knife. Ash had no doubt that the girl could or would attack him but by the way she was acting it seemed like she was looking for him a reason to. That was not something he was willing to give. If she was willing to attack him here she would have to show it. He would not be driven like some cow down a chute.

"You are behaving like a reckless fool. Attack me if that is what you are set on doing but if not I don't have time for reckless bullies throwing empty threats. I have a deer to gut and clean." Walking around so that the body of the deer was between them Ash drew his knife to begin cleaning his kill. This way he could keep an eye on her and still have some cover if needed.

Perhaps the girl would attack him in cold blood, she looked crazy enough to do it, but if she did she would have to realize that in doing so she would reveal herself as murderer and the last he checked the camp frowned on housing serial killers in its midst. That would be quite the risk even for a crazy person and Ash was calling her bluff.

[Audrey Appleby]

"Reckless fool?" Audrey taunted back as a wide, evil smile pulled on the corner of her lips. The boy was moving away from her, using the deer as a buffer. The poor fool. He had to be the reckless one, especially since he took the kill right from under her nose. She started tossing her dagger into the air and catching it as she watched the boy start to gut and clean his deer. It was a pretty gruelsome site, but Audrey couldn't help but enjoy it. She kept glancing between the deer and the boy for a few minutes before she finally threw her dagger at the deer.

She aimed it perfectly, right next to his hand on the deer. It didn't hit him, but she wanted him startled. She wanted to know the force he was dealing with. She stared down at him as a look of twisted evil crept onto her face. "I don't make empty threats," she said lowly as she raised an eyebrow at him.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash kept cleaning his kill all the while keeping one eye on the girl. He honestly didn't know if she was really going to attack him. All it would take was a single flick of her wrist and if she was any good with that dagger she seemed so fond of then he would be bleeding out on the ground. He wasn't putting up any resistance just going off his instincts and his instincts were telling him that this girl wouldn’t kill him...yet.

It was the smartest move honestly. Like it or not he had the advantage here. If he went missing people would look for him and questions would be asked. The girl might be able to get away with it, initially at least, but eventually she would be found out for what she was. It was much easier to wait for a more opportune time to get her ‘revenge’ and Ash had a good idea that this was what the girl was trying to do here.

He wasn't impressed. Even when he heard the dagger whoosh by and embed itself right next to his hand. It was the action of an upset child. Someone wishing to instill an image of authority and fear in others without doing anything to earn it. In actuality all it had done was mark the girl as someone to be watched closely in the coming weeks and months. There was something wrong with this girl and Ash was going to do everything in his power to find out more about her and what her deal was.

For now though there was the question of what to do next since the girl had taken her threatening to the next level. Ash wasn't really interested in escalating the incident any further at this moment and even though the girl probably was he still suspected she wouldn't. She just wanted to make her threats and that was fine. Ash had been threatened before. Glancing up at the girl he replied in that frighteningly emotionless voice he had. “I've called things by their rightful name all my life. I see no reason to change that for you. You are welcome to take your dagger and go if you aren't going to put it to better use.”

[Audrey Appleby]

The boy had to be dense or full of himself. He just didn't get it. He should be angry, terrified of her, but no. He wasn't. Audrey felt the anger boil in her stomach and spill out to her veins as she started to see red around her vision. The Usurpers feared her, especially once they realized how she rose to power, but no. The boy was more focused on the deer than the true threat in front of her.

She stormed over to the deer and she knelt beside it as she yanked her dagger out of the deer. But instead of putting it back where it belonged, she held up to the boy. "You listen here," she hissed at him. "There's going to be a time where the camp is going to be in turmoil and you're going to regret pissing some people off. You're going to regret taking my deer." She then moved her dagger away from him before tucking into its sheath on her hip. She straightened up and humphed before she turned on her heels and walked away.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash watched after the girl for a while as he pondered her ominous words. 'A time when the camp would be in turmoil.' He didn't know what the girl meant by that but whatever it was it didn't sound good. The girl, whoever she was, could have just been crazy but if not...if not well this was a matter that needed some investigation. Perhaps he should take the issue to Chiron but if so what proof did he really have that something serious was going on? The girl may have been content to reveal her schemes to just anyone that made her mad but Ash was not so quick to act. Perhaps that was a mistake but he needed to find out more, needed to find out what was really going on before he made his move.

Like a game of chess it was easy to move out from behind the protection of your pawns but once you did so the game was really on. If a player came out too early then that usually proved to be their downfall. Ash was no genius on the game board but he did understand the tactics behind winning and this interaction seemed to be a lot like a game of chess to him. The girl had not completely revealed her true intentions but she had given him enough to try to draw him out into moving early. He had passed the first test but clearly this wasn't over. The next time they met Ash would be ready to play and when that time came he planned on playing to win.