"I will shortly." Ash responded.

"Just... ugh, if I weren't a Harmony memb-" he started to say further, before he clammed up, horror in his eyes.

Kelly just rolled her eyes in response.

"Zeke already spilled the beans on that." she told her.

"...great." Ash growled.

"But I suppose, given the circumstances, secrets between friends, family and allies are extremely dangerous." he then reasoned with a sigh.

Ash snapped a glare at Casey... and then regretted it immediately, as the sudden turn of his head made pain shoot from his shoulder through his body, causing him to wince... hard.

"Ow..." he mumbled.

"Anyway, yeah, get going." he told Kelly.

"Pack as much as you feel you need." he said further.

"Stay safe, and good luck." he finished.

Ash just smiled a her, before literally forcing himself to a position where he could hug her... and did so.

Casey could see it was causing him pain, but she also saw that he didn't care.

"You're my daughter, Kelly." he said.

"If it meant I got to give you a hug and tell you I love you, no amount of pain is too much." he continued.

"Love you, Kells." he then told her sincerely.

"If anyone shows up to try and hurt you... give 'em Hell."

Ash nodded in response and chuckled.

"Duly noted." he said.

"Anyway, go pack up and come see us before you head out." he told her. Kelly nodded and left the room... and as soon as she did, Ash seemed to seize up and let loose a scream. But it was a silent scream. He then got back into his previous position, and waited for about a full minute, before he relaxed again.

"Ahhhh-ha-HA!" he exhaled with a laugh.

"MAN, lets you know you're alive!" he declared, before looking at Casey.

"...and before you ask, YES, it was worth it." he told her.

"Stupid?" Ash asked, almost pointedly, before sighing.

"I don't feel like I did serious damage." he told her.

"...also, I don't know if I'll ever see her again, Casey." he then admitted.

"I refuse to potentially die, thinking 'I never hugged my daughter and told her I loved her the last time I saw her'." he declared.

"I'm sorry, but if that's stupid, then I'm stupid." he stated.

"I hurt physically, but I feel more at peace now."

"....yeah." Ash muttered.

"I concede that you're right on that." he admitted.

"I should probably try and contact Ashleigh as well." he then said.

"Just see if things are going all right." he went on.

"She IS out on a hunt, after all..."

Ash thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers.

"Ah!" he exclaimed.

"Should be just in the other room." he told her. "The battery was at like, 10%, so we plugged it in out there because... well, because reasons." he muttered further, shrugging slightly.

"But yeah, if you get it, I'll fire a text off or something." he said further.

"Then maybe call if it's too long since sending it."

"Oh, good." Ash replied, accepting it and typing out a text.

Ashleigh, how's things going on the hunt? Respond to this or call when you get a chance. he sent.

"I'll give it an hour or so." he told Casey.

"Then try a call." he said further.

"I know better than to frantically try and contact someone on a hunt." he went on.

"...that can be life or death."

Ash just chuckled.

"I've had worse." he told her.

"Seriously, I've been mauled by a hook-claw badger, remember." he then reminded her. "I'll come back from THIS, too." he assured her.

"You worry about yourself, and get to the draydin's place." he told her further.

"I'll update you on your mother when I can." he promised.

"But remember, it won't be unheard of for there to be silence. She's on a hunt, so we can't panic right away if she has little communication."

"I already got on the horn with them." Ash responded.

"After some calls, Jimmy's going to be covering my shifts for the next bit. Once this is all over, I'll be covering HIS shifts to make up for it." he assured her. "Trust me, I've dealt with work obligations." he said.

"All I need to do now is stay put, in more ways than one." he laughed.

"Now. Just for the sake of sanity, let's check up on each other regularly." he suggested. "A text every couple hours or so." he continued. "Unless we're sleeping then... yeah." he muttered.

"But when possible, we need to keep communication going. Just to make sure all's well, if nothing else."