Without You ||| Ash

[Ashley Bates]

Ash listened to Dakota’s response to his question. He wondered slightly what she meant about not feeling safe at night but decided it probably wasn’t his place to ask, at least not now. When she came to the part about the camp feeling a little uneasy he nodded along with her words as if this was something that he had expected to hear. "Most of the campers I've talked with seem to have the same opinion." He said somberly and for the most part they were right. Still, he wasn't sure about all this usurper business but there were definitely some troubling things that kept popping up that made him wonder if this was a false sense of security.

Ash looked at her steadily for a long moment and then seemed to decide something. "I'm going to you to trust you, Dakota." He realized how this must sound to her, even more so to hear it after everything that had happened between them and he lowered his head a little shamefully. When he spoke again his voice was distant. "I have to trust someone…" Shaking himself visibly from these thoughts he looked back at her and found her eyes again. "I don't know if this has to do with any usurpers but I do know this. Something is wrong here and I have reason to believe that it is something big."

[Dakota King]

Dakota couldn't help but wonder what Ash was getting on. She remembered the Kraken attack and heard about the Usurpers ambushing the campers at a masquerade, but she was working that night so she never saw them firsthand. But after since that night, the camp was completely uneasy, especially if someone like Ash was picking up on those vibes as well. Dakota tried to ignore it, but she knew there was a reason she didn't like to be out after dark on her own.

She pressed her lips together as Ash talked about trusting someone. She trusted him. More than trusted him, but was he really that scared about everything that was happening at camp? She took a deep breath before she slowly nodded her head. "You can trust me," she said slowly as she looked at him.

[Ashley Bates]

When Dakota said that he could trust her Ash nodded to himself. That was good. He had hoped that he could especially with something like this and the fact that she seemed to recognize the gravity of the situation meant that his instincts about her had been correct. Dakota knew him better than probably anyone here at camp and he was counting on her help in a way.

“Thank you.” He said finally, wondering how to tell her everything that he knew. “I’m going to ask you to enter into a kind of counter-conspiracy with me Dakota. I have reasons to suspect that things aren’t right here at camp. Something is building up here and I think it is going to boil over soon. I don’t have any hard evidence so you can understand why I don’t want to go to Chiron yet but I have been looking into things for a while now and I don’t think we can ignore this.” He sighed realizing this wasn’t getting anywhere and finally decided to come to the point. ”I want you to help me figure out what’s really going on here.”

[Dakota King]

Dakota pressed her lips together as she looked at Ash. She wondered what got him bugged so badly that he had to look for someone to trust. She knew that the Usurpers were a thing, but she didn't view them as something that was a big threat. As far as she could tell, they hadn't done anything major since the masquerade attack.

She raised her eyebrows when he asked to have her enter a counter-conspiracy. This had to be big if he was thinking along those lines. She pressed her lips together a little harder before she nodded her head. "Okay..." she said slowly as she looked at him. "I'll help you... figure out what's going on, whether it's Usurpers or not..." She unfolded her arms and tucked her hands into her pockets as she looked at him. "Do you have a lead or a hunch to go on?"

[Ashley Bates]

Ash grinned at her when she said that she would help him and this time it wasn't the serious grin. This was working out even better than he thought. With Dakota on his side he would finally have someone else to help him with his investigation and hopefully get to the bottom of whatever was going on here. If they were lucky it wouldn't be anything at all but Ash had his intuitions on the matter and those intuitions weren't usually wrong. In that case he just hoped they weren't too late to get ready for whatever was coming.

"The hunter leader. She is the one who started all this by telling me that there would soon be a time when the whole camp would be in turmoil. Since then I've been watching her in silence and I haven't liked what I've seen. She's dangerous Dakota and she is involved in whatever is going on here I would almost guarantee it but don't worry. I'm not going to have you getting involved with her. Just mark her and avoid her Dakota I..." He paused for a moment wanting to say that he was trying to protect her but realizing how that might sound. Finally he sighed. "...Just promise me that you'll be careful around her. Instead I want you to keep an eye out in the infirmary. I've heard rumors from multiple sources about kids popping back up at camp who had disappeared or who were thought dead. It's enough to make me wonder and since you see practically everyone at some point in the infirmary what better person to be watching for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary? We may try and do other things later but right now keeping our eyes open and looking at examining everyone's actions in silence is the best thing we can do."

[Dakota King]

“The hunter leader?” Dakota repeated as she listened to Ash’s little anti-conspiracy spiel. “You mean Audrey, the head huntress? Why do you think she’s involved? Because she got a little cranky with you?” She shook her head as she rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen her at cabin leader meetings and she’s always like that. She’s all dark and reserved and moody… honestly I think she has her panties in a twist, but that’s just me… but you really do think she’s linked to all that Usurper stuff?”

But she didn’t want to question Ash. It had to be something serious if he was pointing fingers. He didn’t seem to be the type to jump to conclusions. “I’ll be careful around her,” she finally agreed as she nodded her head. The only time she saw Audrey was during cabin leader meetings, but now she would probably need to find an excuse not to sit by her. She pressed her lips together as he asked her to keep an eye on the infirmary. The infirmary that she was trying to spend less time at because of his siblings. But she slowly nodded her head too. “I’ve heard those rumors too and I’m pretty sure they’re true. People are coming back left and right.” She took a deep breath as she nodded her head. “But I can keep an eye out to see if anything is out of the normal… well, at least the infirmary’s normal because there’s a lot of weird things that happen there.” Like finding out her brother knocked up a girl. That was an interesting day.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash wasn’t one to argue the finer points of what he felt about the hunter leader. Did he have any proof that she had gone bad? No, but that was precisely the reason that he hadn’t publicly called her out or brought her actions to the attention of Chiron. He knew what he knew about her though and if Dakota had been there that day and seen the murderous rage in the girl’s eyes then she might have seen it too. Still, he supposed he probably should give Dakota something to go off of instead of asking her to blindly believe him. “You said I could trust you and I’m asking you to do that now. The girl, Audrey, our interaction was more than just a disagreement. There was murder in her eyes and I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t blood on her hands already. I can’t prove it but I know what I saw and I want you to be careful, especially since you do have more dealings with her than me."

Something was wrong with the hunter girl. He had seen that murderous hatred in eyes of countless monsters before and if asked that would have been what he compared it too. That was fine, he had faced monsters before and didn’t think the girl would be moved to action against him too quickly but if she found out that Ash had feelings for Dakota...he didn't think he would be able to live with himself if he got her hurt in some way.

That wasn’t all of it though. This conspiracy ran deeper than one single person as was evident by the many campers suddenly popping back up at camp and when Dakota confirmed this Ash clenched his hand into a fist and raised slightly in a silent gesture of confirmation. “I knew it!” He said more to himself than Dakota but then turned his attention back to her. “I hope it’s nothing as serious as what I suspect but I think it’s safe to say that something is happening.” He found her eyes again and locked in on them. “I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t think it was important Dakota. Know that.”

[Dakota King]

Dakota still couldn't believe that Ash thought that Audrey was somehow connected with the Usurpers. It just didn't make sense to her. Wouldn't one of the gods catch onto her? Didn't she spend a lot of time in Artemis's company that at least she would be found out? How could she be a Usurper and have nobody figure it out? It was just not making any sense as Dakota shook her head. She said that Ash could trust her and she needed to believe in what he was saying, even if it sounded completely far-fetched. "I'll be on my guard around her," she said as she looked at Ash trying to reassure him. "And I'll even keep an eye out on her during the meetings to see if I can see what you're seeing."

But the people coming back to camp when they were presumed to be dead was a little unnerving. It was something she didn't want to think about, but working at the infirmary, she was forced to face those facts. And she knew that Ash wouldn't have come to her about this if he suspected something was wrong. She slowly nodded her head as she looked at him. "I know and I understand. I'll keep an eye out for you and stay cautious around camp."

[Ashley Bates]

He considered her words silently for a moment. He didn't know if Dakota believed him or not but then again he had asked her to trust him for a reason. Right now Dakota didn't have to believe just so long as she kept her eyes open. Even the best conspirators slipped up sometimes and so long as she took his warning seriously he had no doubt that the truth would come out in time. If only he had some real hard evidence to substantiate his claim...but there was no point thinking of that now.

"Good. I don't think I have to tell you to keep this between us right now. If this does all turn it to be nothing then no one will be the worse for it. If I'm right though, well then knowing could be dangerous." Ash shook his head. He knew how it sounded but he also knew enough about Dakota that he knew she could be discreet. The very fact that he hadn't been attacked by vengeful Aphrodite siblings yet told him that much.

Sensing that he had said enough on the topic for now he turned to his pegasus. Rusher looked at him and whickered way back in his throat as if to say 'it's about time we were going' but instead of listening to that call Ash turned back to Dakota one more time looking like there was still something else on his mind. "There's something else I want to say. I don't like returning to where we started but, I feel like I must."

[Dakota King]

Dakota pursed her lips as she looked at Ash. She had to be serious about this. Ash needed her to be serious about it. It really didn't make sense that that head Hunter was somehow behind this, but she had no proof to counter him. For all she knew, she was going into this completely blind, only trusting Ash's gut feelings. And she really hoped that they were not wrong. "Okay," she said as she nodded her head. "This is between you and me... and the Pegasi, since they like to gossip." She gave him a sheepish smile as she shrugged her shoulders. Not that many people could read Pegasi's mind, but this wasn't the most secure location to exchange information like this.

I don't like returning to where we started but, I feel like I must. Dakota sighed as she glanced off to the side and pursed her lips together. She took a deep breath before she said, "Ash... we have to..." She looked back at him as she too another deep breath as she tried not to have her eyes water up in front of him. "We can't go back tot he way we were... not when I know how you feel about me... we can't..."

[Ashley Bates]

Ash considered Dakota’s statement. He had already thought about the pegasi and while he believed he could trust Rusher and hoped the same for Blue Sky, Dakota was right. In the future they would have to be very careful with how they were handling this situation. Perhaps meeting away from camp, probably even without Blue Sky and Rusher around. In any case Ash would have to take it on himself to be careful enough for both of them not because he thought Dakota couldn’t but because if this was as bad as he thought then both of their lives might be in danger because of him.

That was something for the future consideration though. Right now he watched as Dakota took a deep and struggled through her next statement. It wasn’t what he intended to say but hearing her rejection of him wasn’t any easier the second time around. Still, at least this time he had come to accept it. “No,” He said slowly. “It’s not that Dakota. I told you what I feel but it wasn’t to convince you to take me back. I understand and I don’t want to put you in that situation again.” He paused for a moment in thought but when he spoke again his voice sounded unanchored slightly wavering in his throat a little for the first time. “Dakota I ask that you please do the same for me. This is hard enough on me knowing that I was looking for something that you had no intention of giving but I’ve made peace with that I think.” He sighed. “Shit…How can I talk about it when I don’t even know how to think about it?” He shook his head visibly obviously struggling with words that he wasn’t much good with anyways. “I think that I can keep up with my side of our bargain, I hope that I can, but I’m still not over you Dakota. Keep that in mind, try to be understanding and don’t take advantage of that. Please.”

[Dakota King]

Dakota tore her eyes off of Ash as she glanced off to the side and closed her eyes again. She took a couple of deep breaths as she tried to calm and recollect herself. This day had not gone anyway she'd expected and here was Ash right in front of her asking her not to take advantage of him? She sighed softly as she opened her eyes and looked over back at him. Did he honestly think she was going to take advantage of him because she knew of his feelings? Usually, that was something she didn't encounter since she avoided all of her exes. But Ash was proving to be different and he wasn't even an ex.

She took a deep breath as she nodded her head and looked at him softly. "I won't," she said softly as she gave him a slight smile. "You do have my word on that. I won't take advantage of you."

[Ashley Bates]

Rare was the case when Ash doubted if he was making the right decision but he had found with Dakota all bets were off. The smarter thing, the easier thing by far, was to continue avoiding Dakota completely and to just try and forget all this. The only problem was that he couldn't forget about her, not really, and he didn't think ignoring the issue would solve anything. Still, he supposed he didn't have to trust her like this, didn't have to make things even harder than they already were going to be, but there was also a deeper issue there. He didn't really want to let her go and as difficult as conspiring with her was going to be it was still a connection he could still hold on to.

All of these thoughts played through his head as he considered how best to proceed. He thought he could handle it, thought he could keep his emotions separate because that was what he had always been good at but love wasn't so easily vanquished. If that's what this feeling really was then he would only be able to stand it so long. In the end, like a barn before a tornado, he would be caught up and blown away but that was a risk he was willing to take. "Thank you Dakota." He said with a surprising amount of control. "For what it's worth I don't regret meeting you or really any of it."

[Dakota King]

As Ash spoke again, Dakota pressed her lips together. He didn't regret any of it? Even after what she did to him? What he did to her? But did she regret knowing him or anything after that? She didn't, but she knew better to say anything to him to get his hopes up, again. She promised not to take advantage of him and she had a feeling giving him false hope was something that fell under taking advantage.

She slowly nodded her head before she turned her head and moved to push her hair out of her face. Awkward. That was the best way to describe this. Awkward. She turned back to look at Blue Sky before she turned back to Ash. "So do you want to get out of here away from the gossiping horses to... I don't know... see what we can do to prove your theory to Chiron?"

[Ashley Bates]

Ash flashed a smile again, the good one this time, when Dakota mentioned the gossiping pegasi. He wasn't sure if Dakota felt it or not but he thought things were at least a little better than they were, a little more like normal. Granted they were still a long way from where he wanted them and 'normal' might not ever be a phrase used to describe them but it was a start and barring a miracle he thought it was a good one.

Nodding, turning his mind back to business and away from thoughts better forgotten Ash looked back into Dakota's eyes encouragingly. "I think you might be on to a good idea there." He said softly. "I have a few leads if you want to try investigating them with me. In any case it would probably be best to discuss them away from prying ears." Glancing over at Blue Sky and Rusher he hoped he hadn't said too much already but if they had it was probably too late. They would just have to be more careful in the future.