On Dangerous Ground | Dakota

[Ashley Bates]

Ash stepped out of the deeper woods and back onto the forest path. He had been following some tracks off the beaten path when he realized how late it was getting and that he had said that he would meet Dakota after dinner. This being the case he had turned around and made his way back even though the trail he had found had been troubling.

Ash knew the forest like the back of his hand and he knew that it wasn't well traveled by many of the other campers. Why then had the footprints he had found led him to a clearing where they were joined by more all arriving and leaving from different directions? Granted it could have been some of the other campers sneaking out to have some fun after curfew but if it was a party why weren't there a sign of any partying? IT was a good question and it was enough to make Ash's suspicious mind wonder.

Still, he could investigate it more later. He didn't want to leave Dakota waiting especially when he had been the one that had brought her into this mess. Slipping his bow back over his shoulders like he was returning from a hunting trip Ash made his way over to a tree along the path and leaned back against it so that he could watch for Dakota's arrival and think about what he had found. There was a lot to do before they would be able to take this before Chiron but hopefully with Dakota's help they would be able to get to the bottom of whatever was going on here. Ash just hoped they weren't too late.

Dakota King

[Dakota King]

What was Dakota getting herself into? She agreed to see Ash. Actually see him and in the forest after dinner, no doubt. She wondered what was actually going on, but she could her hear sister's words echo in her head. Was she in love but in denial? She couldn't be. That was wrong. She went into every relationship with no strings attached. But then again, she never saw guys once she broke it off with them. And for some reason during dinner, she suddenly lost her appetite. She picked at her food the entire dining hour before it was finally time to meet him. To meet Ash. What was she thinking.

She could've abandoned him and his crazy conspiracy theories, but instead of walking back to her cabin, she walked towards the forest. It was getting darker now and colder. Dakota crossed her arms in front of her chest as she shivered a bit. She was warm for now as long as the breeze stayed calm. As she approached the forest, her eyes scanned along the treeline looking for him. "Ash?" she called out as she got a little closer, not seeing him right away. "Are you there?"

[Ashley Bates]

Positioned as he was Ash had no trouble picking out Dakota as she got closer. Talented in both first aid and riding she may have been but at the art of moving silently through the forest she was not. That was okay though. He liked her for many other reasons that more than made up for it. Still, he couldn't help but watch her for a moment happy that she had remained true to her word and come out to meet him. He definitely wasn't over her yet, of that he had no doubt but as she got closer and he began to hear her calling out to him he decided to push those thoughts again to the side and focus on the task at hand.

Stepping out from the shadows so that she could see him clearly Ash called to her in his steady, unemotional voice as he motioned her over. "I'm here Dakota. Don't worry." He wasn't sure why he added this last part. He had no doubt that Dakota could take care of herself but it simply felt right. He wanted to be her protector, wanted to make sure she was alright even if that wasn't something she wanted herself. "I trust your meal was good. I've been pretty busy since the last time we talked."

[Dakota King]

Dakota pressed her lips together as she kept scanning the treeline. Was he even there? Or was he blending into the trees so well that she was missing him? And it didn't help that it was getting darker by the moment and the thought that she was possibly stood up crossed her mind. Would Ash stand her up? Well, after what she done to him, she wouldn't blame him for standing her up. But then again, this was his idea.

She nearly jumped as she finally heard his voice. when he asked if her He was here and for some reason, her heart fluttered a bit. She managed to figure out where he was and started walking over to him. She nodded her head when he asked if her food was good. Well, it would've been good if she could actually eat it despite her nerves. But as she got closer to him, she noticed something was up, especially since he said he was busy. She knitted her eyebrows together as she looked at him. "Is everything alright?"

[Ashley Bates]

Dakota jumped when he spoke and Ash felt a momentary pang of guilt for having spooked her. He easily forgot that others weren't quite as attuned to the forest as he was and in truth he hadn't been hiding, not really. More than that though he couldn't miss the fact that he had to suppress the urge to go to her when she jumped and wrap his arms around her to comfort her. If there was something out here to be afraid of then it certainly wasn't him. At least he hoped.

Ash was able to suppress the urge though and that was good because he didn't think the action would be well received. Instead he simply nodded to her from the shadows and then stepped out to meet her hoping she wouldn't hold the slight against him. "Unfortunately I don't think so." He said in answer to her question. Ash had never been one to mince words and he didn't do so now. "We're safe enough out here for now so don't worry but I did some scouting while you were eating and the signs I found...well they might be nothing but if they are then they are very troubling."

[Dakota King]

Dakota crossed her arms across her chest as she took a step forward towards Ash as he walked out of the shadows. The light must have been playing tricks or something, because he was looking especially good tonight. Good enough that she felt a pang in her chest along with her sister's words, but there was no way in Hades that she was in love with Ash. She couldn't be...

And she had to push that out of her mind as he talked about the signs he found while she was at dinner. She pressed her lips together as she looked at him. "So what did you find?" she asked as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you think it's related to the Usurpers?"

[Ashley Bates]

Ash took moment as he considered how to answer her question. Was he sure that this was related to the Usurpers? Not really but he did have his suspicions and that was enough to make him think that he could be confident in what he said next. “It’s not much.” He admitted honestly. “But when combined with everything else I’ve found I think it is another piece of this puzzle that I’ve stumbled on and the picture is starting to come together.”

He nodded to her and held out his hand. He told himself that he was only thinking of her safety. He didn’t want her to take a misstep and twist an ankle after all and maybe that was true in a sense but he would be lying if he said that it was just that. “Come on there’s a trail not that far from here. I’ll show you the way and you can make a decision for yourself.”

[Dakota King]

It wasn’t much, but could add up to something more? Dakota wondered for a second what she might have gotten herself into, but she knew she was doing this for Ash, even if it was one giant conspiracy theory or not. Dakota slowly nodded her head as she tried to put everything together. Dakota never thought Ash to be the irrational type, so this all had to be real, at least for him.

But he held out his hand towards her and Dakota paused for a moment as she couldn’t help but remember how his hands felt against hers. Everything she liked about Ash just seemed so clear at that moment and it didn’t help that she had her sister’s words echoing in her head. But he was doing this to be a gentleman. The only reason he would. She nodded her head as she reached out to take his hand, trying to ignore all the butterflies in her stomach. “Lead the way,” she said with a slight smile on her face.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash took Dakota'’s hand and he found that it slipped into his with remembered ease almost as if no time had passed at all. He had almost forgotten how good it felt to hold her hand like this but it was easier than he had thought it would be to fall back into those old habits. Still, he had promised her that he wouldn't let his feelings get in the way of what needed to be done here and the thought of what he had to show her allowed him to tear his eyes away from her smile and shove that part of himself away for the moment.

He gave her a nod and with that he turned to lead her along the trail that he had found. The footprints he had discovered were worn down by time. It was likely if they had come out a week or maybe even a few days later it wouldn't be visible even to Ash's trained eyes but the son of Apollo was a good hunter and he picked out the tracks with confidence. As he did he spoke to Dakota about what he had found. "I came out after I talked to you this morning and found this trail. At first I thought it was nothing, just another camper coming out to explore the woods or to find some privacy." He paused here leading her around a tangle of roots that could have snagged her foot. "But it's where they led that is interesting. Maybe it's still nothing but I'm out here enough that I can recognize most of the usual visitors. These tracks were new to me."

[Dakota King]

Dakota had to take deep breaths to compose herself as Ash left the way. It wasn't really helping that he was so close to her and that his hand felt so nice against hers. Her mind was wandering to other aspects of their relationship and if they would still feel as good as they did back then... But she had to stay focused and make sure she was watching where she was going. They were in the forest after all and there were all those roots and stuff that could easily trip her, but she knew that Ash would catch her. Hopefully.

But he started talking and Dakota tried to listen to what he was saying, but all she could really focus on was on his lips... She shook her head trying to knock herself back in shape as she looked back at him, trying to avoid looking at his lips. "So there's a strange trail that you found?" She knitted her eyebrows together. "What makes it so?"

[Ashley Bates]

Ash didn't say much more in the way of explanation because there wasn't really too much more he could say. It really was something she had to see and something that he had to explain when they got there. Fortunately the clearing wasn't too far away either so they wouldn't have to walk in silence for long. While they did though Ash thought he could use the few moments of silence to go over what he was going to say.

What Ash discovered however as he led Dakota along the path was how difficult it was to actually concentrate with her so close. Not only that but he couldn't get over how could it felt to be holding her hand again and that was a distraction in itself. By the time the trees opened up into a small clearing in the forest Ash hadn't really thought about his explanation at all, a fact that was somewhat frustrating to him. Gods this girl had a hold on him.

Stepping into the clearing he decided he would just have to wing it. That was alright because he knew what he had to say. He just hoped he could convince Dakota of it. "This is where the path leads. I know it probably doesn't mean much to you but hear me out." Ash let go of her hand and stepped away from her for a moment so that he could move around the area. As he did he began pointing out the details that his eyes picked up. "The tracks are joined here by some others that I don't recognize. Here, there, all coming in from different directions. They all stop here in one place or another standing around for some time and then brake off and head back in the directions they came." He paused for a moment walking over to a tree. "As I said, it could be nothing. Perhaps it was some kids coming out to hang out but if so they certainly didn't relax, simply met and left. Maybe it was a party but if so where are the normal signs of a group having a good time? And then if that wasn't enough, this one pair of tracks I do recognize." He said with an almost scary certainty as he pointed at the trail he was wanting her to notice. "The gods curse my aim if these belong to anyone other than the leader of the hunters."

[Dakota King]

Ash let go of her hand once they reached the clearing and Dakota couldn't help but feel a bit empty, but that was completely absurd. She already admitted it to Natasha and her other siblings. She didn't have feelings for Ash or at least that's what she kept trying to tell herself. But it was hard not to admire him in the fading light and her eyes kept drifting to his lips as he talked. She tried to pay attention, she really did, but she only caught half of the words he said. But she got the gist of it. People came, met, and left. Quite unusual in the middle of the forest.

"So you're saying that the Usurpers possibly met here?" she asked as her eyes darted to the ground to see really nothing that she could catch. She looked up at him as she walked over to him. "Couldn't they meet somewhere a little less... dangerous?" Dakota wasn't watching where she was going and missed the root that ended up tripping her and causing her to fall towards Ash.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash was so caught up in his explanation that he didn’t really take the time to notice if Dakota was really listening to him or not. To him the evidence seemed to be laid out pretty plain. If Audrey was one of the Usurpers, and Ash thought she was, then that meant she met with three or four others here for what he could only surmise was Usurper business. Granted it still wasn’t any hard evidence. Not the kind he would need to convince Chiron and maybe not even enough to convince Dakota but it was enough to take note of and that was something Ash was already doing.

As he listened to Dakota though he could tell that his explanation may not have gotten through to her. He was just about to open his mouth to tell her that the danger of the meeting spot would have been precisely what they were going for but before he could he saw Dakota’s foot catch in another root and she began to fall.

“Dakota!” The hunter reacted quickly and instinctively almost without thinking about what he was doing. He was fast, he always had been, and this natural ability aided him here as he caught the girl in his arms before she could crash to the ground. He had been tossing hay bales heavier than Dakota for years on his grandfather’s ranch and he had no problem handling her light frame now as he welcomed her into his embrace. He just hoped she didn’t twist her ankle in the process. “Dakota,” He repeated as he turned her face up to his. “Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?”

[Dakota King]

As Dakota fell, she closed her eyes as she braced herself for the fall. Falling really didn't have technique, but she wanted to make sure that she didn't wind up spraining her wrists or worse when she caught herself. She was waiting for herself to hit the ground, but she never met the ground. Instead, she met Ash's arms and his body instead. It was definitely an improvement, but she was so close to him and that was even more evident when he turned her head to face him as she opened her eyes. He asked her a question. Was she alright? She was, but his lips were so close to hers. Was she alright?

Dakota didn't know if she could answer his question at that exact moment. And she knew better. She absolutely knew better with his lips so close to hers. So she closed the distance between them as she kissed him softly.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash watched Dakota close the distance between them and watched as her lips parted to meet his. He could have pulled away, considering their past and the promises that he had recently made he probably should have pulled away but he didn't want to, not really. He wanted this to happen, wanted to be holding her and kissing her like she apparently wanted to kiss him so when she leaned forward he watched her come and he let the kiss happen willingly.

The kiss, which stated out slow and soft at first, quickly began to heat up as he regained some of the confidence that he had lost after Dakota had left him. He burned against her in his longing for her and before long his tongue was playing over her lips requesting more than just a simple kiss. It felt right holding her like this and it felt even more right having her lips pressed to his. This was how things were supposed to be and would have been if he hadn’t been so reckless. Yet here they were, sharing something that he had thought they would never share again and none of that mattered. Not his honor or his promises or even the fact that she said she didn’t love him. All that was forgotten in the kiss

After what seemed to be an eternity Ash’s good sense finally fought back to regain control. He felt the moment rushing towards him and he was somehow able to pull away from her. He didn’t want to, gods of Olympus kissing her felt so good, but his blood was up and he knew that if he didn’t stop now then he might not at all. He looked at her for a moment in silence. His eyes searched hers questioningly, trying to figure out what this meant, and his head swam in an emotional soup that Dakota had effectively stirred up all over again in a matter of moments. "Dakota..." He began slowly and brushed an errant strand of hair from her face as he tried to decide what to say. “What exactly do you want from me?”