Supernatural Fic: "You Catch More Goddess... & The Ultimate Odd Couple," Canon & Original Characters
You Catch More Goddesses with Berries and The Ultimate Odd Couple
Authors: sailorhathor and Riguel
Fandom: Supernatural RPG The Second Coming
Rating: Adult
Date Written: April-May 2019
Word Count: Each post will include as close to 10,000 words of RP as we can get, although I'll break it up into stories.
Category: Drama, Horror, Romance
Summary: While Cas and the hunters discuss how to capture Verdandi, Val and Skylar finally make it to the reservation to meet John Fatespeaker.
Warnings: Language, adult themes, sex talk
Played by Riguel: Sacha, Val, Craig
Played by Sailorhathor: Dylan, Skylar, Leo, all others
At times, the action may seem to backtrack when one player responds to the other. This is the nature of RP and a story written by two people. I inserted an extra line after each player finishes writing their part to try to help the reader keep it all straight.
Val stared at Skylar for a moment, pondering how to answer him. "I think I’d like that," he admitted. "But before we try anything like that, I want to do it with you in a normal way. I mean just us, you know ? I’d like to have that and enjoy it that way first." Val shook his head when Skylar mentioned recording themselves. "No recording. We can do a video call from a laptop, put the computer camera next to the bed… Easy."
"You forgot the nickname you gave me?" he laughed. "You called me snoka," Val said with his Swedish accent - which made it sound something like ‘snoo-ke’. "You were thinking you were calling me ‘ferret’. You can keep on calling me that. Nobody else will ever call me that. Henrik will find it funny when I’ll tell him."
Val was listening to the silly short story Skylar had made up on the spot with the out of state car plate. "Alright, I’ll try," he said. The next few cars they passed by all had a Kansas plates. Eventually, a different one came in sight. Val has to squint to ensure he could see which state it mentioned. "Louisiana," he said while glancing at Skylar. "Let me think for a moment."
Val tried to remember the few things he knew about that state. Probably everything he knew were big clichés from movies or stories he read in papers or on the internet, but he had nothing else to work with anyway.
"Okay, I have an idea. Looks like there are kids sitting on the back seat of the car, so I guess it’s a whole family in the car and they are fleeing from their hometown because they are scared of hurricanes. They have already gone through many of those and now they are so scared that every once in a while, they put all their stuff in the car and drive away to evacuate, even if there is no alert, so they keep on practicing," he said before looking at Skylar to see if the story was game worthy or not.
****
"I’m sorry, Dylan. I wasn’t paying too much attention. I came in the middle of your conversation. I’m not sure I got all the details,” Sacha said as an excuse to justify his total lack of input. He really had no idea what they had been talking about, except that it was something related to Cas.
When Dylan told him he had just left to go and talk to someone he knew, the face and voice of the stranger from the parking lot appeared in his mind. Sacha didn’t know if he would call him a friend, but surely he knew him, although he couldn’t say from where and since when. Something also told him he wasn’t supposed to tell Dylan the man’s name, although again, he wasn’t remembering why.
“Oh... Yes, you mean that guy... Yes," Sacha nodded. He looked around and then back at Dylan with a small smile. "I just went to say hi. We didn’t have time to talk. He... He had to leave," he added dismissively. "Should we get some drinks?” he asked out of the blue to change the subject.
The things Val said in preparation for the dirty show they would eventually put on for Henrik were already turning Skylar on. "Sounds good to me," he said, almost purring. Val wanted to go further with him, he wanted to have sex with him. "I'm happy to hear you are that attracted to me, because I'm very turned on by you, and not just for your looks. You have a fascinating personality too. Interesting people drive me crazy." He chuckled deep in his throat.
"Oh, yeah - snoka. Ferret. The way you say it almost sounds like Schnookie." This made him bust out laughing heartily. "You my little snoka," Skylar growled, rubbing Val's knee and patting it a few times before placing his hand back on the steering wheel. "Man, I can't wait 'til later, when I get to cuddle my snoka."
After listening to Val's story, Skylar laughed loud and hearty again. He was a man who loved a good laugh. "Sometimes they pack up their whole car and flee to another state just to practice!" He laughed some more. "Oh, I do like you, Val. A whole lot. But you know, I heard that that's just what the family tells people because they know no one would believe the real story. The truth is, this family often has to get in the car and run from a giant Louisiana crawfish!" Laughing, he added, "Named Barry!"
Another car passed them with a Louisiana license plate. "Barry has a friend!"
****
Dylan rolled his eyes at Sacha when he said he hadn't been paying attention. "But you were sitting right here..."
"That guy?" Dylan repeated.
Sacha suggested they get drinks, to which Bailey replied, "I am awfully thirsty."
"Fine." Dylan signaled for the waiter, who wasn't Audrey for once. "Now listen this time. Cas is avoiding Sam and Dean because they had a difference of opinion on how to deal with Kelly's child. Kelly is the woman you thought was his wife. Just a Coke for me." They gave their drink orders. "Cas doesn't want us to tell the Winchesters we know where he is until after the baby is born. I'm just not sure I can keep that secret for so long. What do you think?"
Val gave Skylar a knowing smile. He seemed totally onboard with the idea of letting Henrik watch them. Maybe for now he was mainly enthusiastic about the fact that Val had told him he wanted to sleep with him. Whatever it was, Skylar was up for it and although Val had known him for a few days only, he was perfectly comfortable imagining himself in bed with him and with his boyfriend as active spectator.
Skylar’s laughter was contagious and Val couldn’t stay quiet when Skylar started to address him as his little snoka.
"Barry?" Val asked. "Why would the crawfish be called Barry? Is it a reference to that Gilligan Island show?" he asked when he had calmed down and was only giggling.
****
"Yes, that guy I know. Why?"
Sacha ordered an ice tea. Dylan was now recapping the situation involving Cas and he paid attention this time. When Dylan was done, however, he wasn’t sure what the big deal was. He waited a moment before talking, just to see if Dylan would add anything else. "Okay, but why can’t you keep this for you? I mean, it’s their baby, not yours. If they don’t want Dean and Sam to know about it or that they are staying here, it’s not your problem. I don’t see any issue," Sacha said. He had obviously not heard the part about the special nature of the child, but all of a sudden, Sacha seemed much more alert. The remnants of the strange conversation and interaction he had just had in the parking lot with the stranger were wearing off and Sacha was much more like himself again. "In the meantime, did you find a way to catch the goddess who crossed into our world?"
Skylar couldn't stop giggling. "No, Barry is just the first name that popped into my head. It sounds pretty funny though, Barry the crawfish." Giggling his way through it, he asked, "What would you name the other crawfish, Barry's friend?"
****
"Nevermind. You're just acting weird," Dylan said, and lowered his hands from his hair to the table.
Sacha began to answer him about keeping secrets for Cas and Kelly. Shaking his head, he tried to correct him. "No, Sach, you don't understand. This isn't Cas and Kelly's baby, it belongs to... another angel," Dylan said. He didn't want Sacha to obsess over the fact that the baby was conceived with Lucifer. "A dangerous angel. And Sam and Dean are my friends now. I feel horrible lying to them."
"If you're going to tell them, can you at least warn me ahead of time so we can run?" Cas requested. His voice sounded annoyed, but also weary.
The sound of his voice tugged at Dylan's heart strings. "Cas, I know this is hard on you, but... Let me think about it while I'm having my drink. I just need some time to think."
Nodding, the angel replied, "Alright."
"We do have a few ideas," Dylan began. "Cas knows of a berry that grows on the Tree of Life, that if Verdandi eats it, or drinks a tea made with it, it will calm her down. If she eats or drinks a lot of it, she'll pass out, and we can take her back to Asgard. Of course, all of this will require a great deal of help from Cas."
"Which I will gladly give, as long as I'm not having to run from Sam and Dean," Cas added.
This statement instantly pissed Dylan off. "That's practically blackmail."
"I'm just stating a fact," the angel said with a shrug.
"Well, we may have to go with my idea, then."
"Your idea?" Bailey said, jumping into the conversation. "Sacha, do you know what Dylan's idea was? He thinks we should call in another god to fight Verdandi to the death."
Shifting uncomfortably, Dylan grumbled, "It would take care of her."
"Yeah, after they've destroyed half of the state of Kansas."
Castiel put a hand over his face and shook his head.
Val tapped his index finger on his chin while he thought for a short moment about a good name for Barry's friend. "I think he'd be called Heinrich," he said. "That rhymes. Heinrich the crawfish. He's a German friend of Barry," he said while trying to stay serious.
****
Sacha looked at Dylan, who seemed to start losing patience a bit, or maybe he was just annoyed with Cas. Either way, he didn't seem like he understood Sacha's point of view. Sacha sat back in the booth. He didn't want to argue with Dylan and truthfully, he was now wondering if he didn't still miss part of the information. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't think of this. I didn't want to annoy you by saying what I said, alright?" he said while putting his hand on Dylan's. "I know it's not fun to hide things from them but... You've known Cas was here since a while now. You haven't said anything. What difference will it make if it's for a few more days?" Sacha reasoned. He seemed much more on the ball now. "It may be more important to get rid of the goddess fast and help Kerry get rid of Kiera. You seem to need Cas for that. Once that's done, you can address the topic of the baby with Sam and Dean. How does that sound? The baby is not about to be born, right? Do we still have some time?" Sacha asked Cas.
Then Dylan started to explain the ideas they had to take care of Verdandi. Dylan and Cas began to argue and Bailey butted in to try to pull Sacha in the discussion. It was obvious that Cas and Dylan were not in agreement about what to do with the goddess.
"How can we go to Asgard to bring her back there? We will need to use the door in Steven's room?"
Sacha let Dylan and Bailey disagree and then stepped in. "It's messy enough as it is, don't you think?" he asked Dylan. "We don't need to bring more supernatural or god creatures here. I don't know anything about all this, but if there is a way to try to send her back to her world without bringing more Nordic gods in town, I think that's the best idea. And who knows? When she hears her daughter is dead, perhaps she will leave by herself. Why would she stay here?"
Still giggling, Skylar said, "Heinrich? Are there a lot of crawfish in Germany?" He reached for his phone to check it, then remembered he was driving and thought better of it. "Let's say there are German crawfish. How did that conversation go? Do your best German accent. I'll be Barry. Hey Heinrich!" Skylar adopted a funny voice, deep and scratchy. "I know some great houses we can have, all we gotta do is bust down the door and clear out all the tiny people that live there. You in?"
While doing his funny voice, he imitated a crawfish claw with his left hand, holding all his fingers together and moving it like a living letter C.
****
He wanted to continue being angry because he was frustrated, but Dylan couldn't help but rub the backs of Sacha's fingers with his thumb, slowly and lovingly. Dylan knew that Sacha and Cas were right, but he doubted that the time period he would have to keep lying would be so short. "But it's not going to be only a 'few more days' that I have to lie to the Winchesters. It's months from now."
Cas opened his mouth to clarify the time period for him, but he kept talking, so Cas decided to be patient. If there was one thing he was good at, it was being patient.
"And now that Kerry is a Winchester, I'll have to lie to her too. She's going to want to side with her brothers for a while, now that she has them back."
Sacha weighed in with his suggestions. He asked how much time they needed until Kelly's baby would be born. "About a week," Cas replied.
Dylan stumbled over his drink, dribbling Coke down his chin while trying to take a sip. "A week?! What?!"
Leaning across the table, Bailey touched the angel's hand. "Cas, do you have the hospital arranged? Does Kelly have a regular doctor who has been seeing her all this time?"
Castiel shook his head. "The birth of a Nephilim is not normal. People who do not know what to expect should not witness it."
"Oh." Bailey looked at the others.
His hand over his eyes, Dylan sighed and said, "One problem at a time, okay?"
Sacha had more questions, which brought up all the details of the plan Cas had put before them. "As an angel, I have ways of getting into Asgard, to get the berries and to take Verdandi back."
As he expected, Sacha didn't think Dylan's plan was good either. "Alright, I didn't completely think that through," he admitted. "Once Verdandi finds out Kiera is dead, she could have one of several reactions. She could squash Steven and go home on her own."
Bailey gave him a dirty look.
"She could get upset and destroy the city. She could ask Steven what he intends to do about it, and he tells her about his plan to resurrect their child. She stays to help him resurrect Kiera."
"Not good." Bailey considered the situation. "Could we somehow call Verdandi to us and talk to her? Tell her what's up and how important it is for her to be back in Asgard, completing her duties as a goddess? Maybe she would go home voluntarily."
Dylan squeezed Sacha's hand lightly. "What do you think, babe?"
"Of course, there are crawfish in Germany. We have those in Europe too." Val wasn’t too sure he could do a good German accent, but then he remembered he already had an accent, so that would help.
"Ja, but why do we have to take over the houses of people?" Val asked with his best bad English to imitate a Germany-speaking crawfish. "We live in water. We need a house with a swimming pool."
****
Kerry was still a sensitive topic for now. Sacha would try to make his boyfriend think positively when it came to her. "Let Kerry decide. She may be their new sister, but she’s still your sister as well."
Sacha’s eyes widened when he heard Cas say they had about a week before the birth of the baby. Judging by Dylan’s reaction, he wasn’t the only one who was taken by surprise with that news. "Well, at least you won’t have to keep the secret for much longer,” Sacha said as he shook his head. He recalled that Dylan had talked to him about nephilims already, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know more after Cas said that people not knowing about them shouldn’t see it happen, which anyway could probably apply to witnessing any births as far as he was concerned. Too much blood and yucky fluids involved.
Bailey was trying to calm everyone down and to think about a way to interact and speak to Verdandi and make her leave willingly. Once again, Sacha was in over his head with the situation, but a new thought just crossed his mind, not as optimistic as what Bailey was trying to think about.
When Dylan asked him what he was thinking, Sacha tilted his head to the side. He seemed pensive for a moment, but then he looked at Bailey and Dylan and shared his thoughts. "Maybe we need to think about something else. If she gets upset, she might not destroy the city or kick Steven’s ass. Or maybe she might do that, but she might also want to take her revenge... Steven has another daughter. What if this goddess decides that if Steven’s wife killed her daughter... She gets even with him and kills Amy? I don’t know, but from what Steven said and what you said, gods don’t behave like us and they probably don’t care about humans much. That could get ugly.”
"Oh, I thought crawfish were a Louisiana thing. But that's probably just because they love them so much down there. It's not something I've ever looked up." Skylar thought about it a moment and chuckled. "One of the few things I haven't."
He started to laugh again. The accent, the way Val played along, he couldn't have held back his laughter if he tried. "You have a point, Heinrich. That's why I chose houses for us that have swimming pools!" Skylar said in his funny crawfish voice, and cheered. He put his arm around Val and pulled him in for a kiss on the side of his head. "You're awesome, Val. I love being around you."
****
Dylan smiled a little in reply to Sacha's assertion that Kerry could still side with him. "Yeah, maybe you're right." He brought Sacha's hand to his mouth and kissed it.
Yes, Sacha was correct - Dylan and the others would not have to lie for long. But the possibility he brought up next sent chills down Dylan's back.
"Fuck," he said. "You're right. That's a very good possibility. Amy is in danger." Dylan reached across the table and grabbed Castiel's hand, knowing that contact communicated urgency to him as an angel. "Go get the berries. Call me when you get back. Okay?"
Cas nodded once. "Certainly."
"Now, we've got to go back to Steven's hospital room and convince him to let Amy come with us. He's too weak to keep her safe. With us, there's safety in numbers, and we're educated and armed enough to protect her. Not to mention the fact that the Bunker is one of the safest places you can be when there's a supernatural threat." Dylan turned to his boyfriend. After what happened earlier, he wasn't sure how Sacha would react to the idea of going back. "Sach, are you going into the hospital with us, or would you rather wait in the car?"
Val laughed as well as Skylar’s talking crawfish confirmed they’d only take over houses with swimming pools. “I never played this kind of games before,” Val said. “I guess the stories get crazier and crazier as the trip advances and people playing it get tired of the drive,” he said.
He gave Skylar a wide grin after he got an affectionate kiss on the side of his head.
Traveling with Dylan’s brother was definitely fun.
****
Although it was a pretty bleak prospect, Sacha felt he had at least been useful by bringing up the comment about Amy. Dylan seemed to think that it was definitely a possibility that Verdandi would try to harm her as revenge against Steven.
“I don't know... I might wait for you in the car if you go back to the hospital. Fiona will remember me, I am afraid, and I’m not trying my chances with her a second time today.”
"Now why would a story about giant crawfish who take over people's homes so they can live in their swimming pools get crazier and crazier?" Skylar asked, and wiggled his eyebrows.
The Ultimate Odd Couple
The black car drove into the garage and the engine was killed. Out stepped the handsome, dark-haired stranger who had manhandled Sacha in the back parking lot of Finley House. The garage was attached to a big, ordinary house out in the country, a little bit away from the nearest city, but close enough for its owner to work and do his side business without anyone bothering him.
Leopold sauntered into the kitchen to warm himself up something to eat. Craig had made sure to keep the blinds and curtains closed, blocking out the afternoon sun; Leo appreciated it, he really did. It was just too bad how all this would have to end.
He put on some water to boil, then got a plastic baby bottle of cold blood out of the refrigerator. Leo put the bottle into the water. Same way many mothers warmed up a bottle for their infant.
What he really wanted was a warm neck from which to drink. The neck of Alexander. With the one that got away as a chaser.
Leo removed his hooded coat and hung it on the coat rack near the front door while he waited for his lunch to warm.
Craig poked his head out of the study where he had been sitting for most of the afternoon. He saw his new house guest moving around between the entrance hallway and the large kitchen and dining area. “I thought I had heard something,” he said as he walked out. “How did things go? Did you see him?”
Leo had told him he would go after Alexander and persuade him to reconsider his decision to no longer give blood. At first, Craig had been a little unsure about the idea. After all, Leo was his main customer, and he would have preferred to keep his clientele separate from him. However, when he had to admit he wasn’t getting much take up on his new venture, and most of the people who used to come to the clinic to give blood had turned down the idea to continue to do so outside of the blood bank premises, he hadn’t had any choice. The vampire was getting impatient and wanted to secure donors, starting with the shifter, whose blood had been Leo’s favorite treat since he had tasted it.
Craig saw that Leo had started to prepare himself a snack in the kitchen and joined him there, where he sat at the kitchen island. “I sent some emails around this afternoon and called some people. I have connections who know other animal shifters. A couple of werewolves and a bear shifter. They could be plan B,” he said to reassure Leo and show him he was working to find replacement donors.
Leo turned when he heard the voice of his gracious host. A small, crooked smile touched his lips. "Hello there. I'd say it went very well. It will take a few more sessions with him before I would say he's under the spell of my thrall to the point that I can get him to come with me wherever I want." With a sigh, he rolled his eyes. "Alexander wouldn't even sit in the car with me this time. He's a tough sell. I can believe he told you no."
"Hmm, werewolves and a bear shifter? Hmm..." While waiting for his "snack" to warm up, Leo considered his future potential meals. "You know I am a connoisseur of fine dining, Craig, and a very wealthy man... werewolves are spicy and so, I do like them, and bears taste like meat, but a little gamey... They will do, yes. But you know the best blood I have ever tasted is wild cat blood." Leo, licking his lips, then let out a content and overdramatic sigh. "You simply must find me more cat shifters."
He looked over at his bottle of blood warming on the stove. "Craig, be a dear and offer me your wrist."
Craig refrained from making any comment when Leo stated he believed him now. Obviously, as charming as Leo could be, he didn’t seem to trust Craig very much. He had to stifle a chuckle at that thought. He was the human allowing a vampire in his house and the vampire was the one having trust issues…
Leo seemed OK with the new potential shifters he had managed to identify. Now he still needed to actually get in touch with them and see if they would agree to come over, but that as a first step. Unfortunately, it still seemed like his new meal provider suggestions were really only a plan B. Craig crossed his hands and studied Leo’s body language. His eyes had a strange glow under the artificial light of the kitchen.
"Wild cat shifters are not easy to find. Honestly, this guy, Alexander, is the first lynx shifter I have bumped into. I guess they’re just like their actual animals. Not so friendly towards humans and a bit aloof. And anyway, it seems there are way less of those around."
Craig felt a shiver run down his spine when Leo casually asked for his wrist. It was not that he had never done that, or had that done to him to be more correct, but he didn’t understand why Leo needed him to feed right now. "You’re just having your meal reheated," he said with a frown. "It won’t take long."
"Is it possible that Mr. Romanov could know some cat shifters himself, or have family members who are also shifters? Or does he just hang out with dangerous hunters? Leave no stone unturned!" Leo instructed, but in a good natured tone.
"I have to say, I like playing this cat and vampire game with Alexander. He's quite handsome." Tittering, he said, "Did you hear what I did there? Cat and vampire instead of cat and mouse?" He giggled at his own joke.
Oh, he liked playing games with Craig. The man was quite nervous around the hungry, hundreds-of-years-old vampire. "Did I say I was going to bite you? Wrist, please."
Craig scratched the side of his head. "I think he doesn't have much family here. The emergency contact he had put in his file at the clinic was somebody abroad. He's from Russia. It would be hard to investigate. He's not going to take my calls and I cannot hire a PI just to track all his whereabouts. It wouldn't make financial sense. I will try to search online if he shows up in anything or can be connected to other shifters via my contacts. They didn't seem to know about other cat persons, but I guess I can try again."
Craig smiled politely at Leo's little joke. He had too much to worry about to be in the mood for play on words, but he didn't want to appear rude. This Leo guy was a little old fashioned for some things, which was probably explainable when you were in reality from the 18th or 19th century. "Yes, I got it."
It was pointless to try to resist. Leo seemed amused at his reaction and gentle protest. He asked him for his wrist again and he wasn't sure if Leo was joking or not. Craig sighed and unfolded his arm. He extended it in Leo's direction and watched to see what the vampire wanted.
"If you drink, don't make me pass out, please."
After listening to Craig's reasons for a lack of cat shifter blood to sell him, Leo sighed and checked his bottle on the stove. "Yes, yes, I understand. I just wish my favorite meal was more readily available."
Craig had to make one last comment about drinking from his wrist. "So distrusting," Leo said, and made 'tsk-tsk' sounds before taking his bottle of blood out of the boiling pot with an oven mit and squirting a drop on Craig's wrist. "How's that? Too warm or just right?" The vampire licked the blood off his wrist and smacked his lips. "Just right! Thank you."
Leo poured the warmed blood into a glass. Picking it up and holding the glass to the kitchen light, he said, "When I have more of Alexander's blood, I shall drink it from a champagne glass." He smiled. "You do have some, don't you?"
Craig had really not expected Leo to just test the blood temperature off his wrist. He cursed under his breath for having made remarks and suggesting Leo would drink from him. You wouldn’t want to upset a vampire, he thought to himself. Leo didn’t seem too annoyed. He just looked disappointed and a tad condescending about Craig’s attitude. Great. That was even worse than upsetting a vampire.
For some reason, and not just out of fear, Craig wanted to please Leo. He wanted him to consider him as worthwhile to associate with, like a real business partner. So far, however, he mainly had the feeling that Leo was using him conveniently without holding him in high esteem.
Craig had heard about the thrall and spellbounding ways some vampires had. Perhaps this was that? Why else was he now thinking this way? Was Leo using some of his power on him without him realizing?
He watched the vampire pour his liquid meal into a tall glass. "I’m not sure I have champagne glasses. I’ll have to look, maybe in the cellar,” he lied, knowing damn well he didn’t have any.
Craig checked the time on his watch and sat up. “I’ll get back to my checks. I’ll be in the study. Are you going to stay home tonight?” he asked.
"I would appreciate you looking, thank you. If you can't find them, I can buy some champagne glasses. Just let me know." If a vampire could be cheerful, Leo certainly was as he drank his lunch.
"I shall be home part of the night, but the other, I will be working on my thrall. Well, good night!" With a flourish of his hand, he exited the kitchen and went into the living room to watch some TV.
Craig watched Leo leave the kitchen. His demeanour was quirky and a little too much, borderline annoying. Still, he was fascinated by the creature. He had dealt with vampires before, but he had never known or done business with one more closely. He didn’t know if they were all like him, but Leo was definitely a peculiar character.
He picked up the empty bottle and rinsed it quickly in the sink before putting it in the dishwasher. Leo probably had butlers and maids picking up after him in his previous life as a living human being. Craig didn’t really know much about his origins and past, or how he was usually living. For the time being, Leo had made this arrangement of living in his house, but Craig knew that it wasn’t because Leo didn’t have any other places to stay. The vampire had money, that was sure. How much exactly and where it was coming from, Craig had no idea.
Once his host had gone back into the study, Leopold found it easier to think. He sipped at the warm blood while clicking from channel to channel, trying to find something amusing to watch. Tonight, he would have fun with Alexander and his boy toy. The two men were hot, so hot that it drove him crazy that he couldn't just eat them already. No. Leo knew that would be too dangerous. The hunter was friends with more hunters. After what had happened to the vamps in his past nest, he wasn't going to tempt fate.
The nest... Leo missed the vampires from his past. They had the best connections. It was vampire groupies offering warm necks and wrists all day. Then the hunters came. Now he had to hide out in dirty abandoned houses or find a guy like Craig who would take him in. If Leo checked into a hotel, it would eat up all his money and leave him vulnerable to being found. This was the best he could do for now. But damn, how he missed the nest...
Ah! Re-runs of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"! Leo loved this one. It came pretty close to depicting the real life of vampires at times, except for the bumpy forehead thing. And in no life was Angel an attractive person. Still, the drama! The sexy people getting bitten! With a dark chuckle, Leo settled in to watch, fantasizing it was him biting Alexander instead of Spike biting some random girl.
"Soon," he whispered. "I'll have you all to myself."
And now, back to our regular story...
"Now why would a story about giant crawfish who take over people's homes so they can live in their swimming pools get crazier and crazier?" Skylar asked, and wiggled his eyebrows.
An hour and a half later, they were closing in on the reservation where they were supposed to meet Jed and Marianne before heading on inside to see John Fatespeaker. "I completely forgot that Marianne has to go to the reservation with us because otherwise, my dad would have to take her home and then come back here, which would take a long time. Geez, I don't want to see her anymore."
Skylar turned on the radio. "I subscribe to Pod Radio. It's a channel that broadcasts various podcasts from all over the world. One of my favorites just started. Is it okay if I listen to it? Do you have any favorite podcasts?"
The women on the podcast were in the middle of a conversation. "I mean, what was she going to tell her friend when she got back? Oh, I'm sorry I cleaned out your bank account. I live in an Ikea fantasy world."
"Start the car! Start the caaar!"
Skylar laughed, shaking his head. "I think I know who they're talking about." He looked over at Val, who appeared a little confused. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's a podcast about true crime and missing people. With all the missing people I've had in my life, I'm kinda interested in it. You know, Marianne was missing and... no one knows where Shiloh is..."
He looked away, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Coming up in the next hour, we'll be discussing the case of Daniel Swain: Is he innocent? Convicted of killing his wife in 1993 without the recovery of a body, Swain is appealing his death sentence for the second time as his date with destiny approaches this year. Those familiar with the case will remember - "
Swallowing hard, Skylar turned off the radio. At first, he didn't offer a reason, but after taking a few seconds to stare at the road ahead, he said, "That one's a repeat. I've heard it before." He looked at Val with a forced smile, then studied the highway, silent.
****
Dylan tried not to laugh, but couldn't hold back a light chuckle. "I understand. But you know, we can always get you a bottle of holy water."
The group separated from Castiel at that time and went upstairs to pack Amy a bag. While Dylan tried to figure out what clothes the tween girl might need for a few days, Bailey got on the phone to tell Steven and Rain what happened and to try to convince them that Amy was safest with them for now.
With a suitcase open on Amy's bed, Dylan picked through her closet for a few extra school uniforms and some street clothes it seemed the girl would like. The suitcase was purple with pink butterflies.
Dylan held up a denim jumper with a striped shirt to wear under it. "What do you think? Does this say young and hip necromancer chick?" he asked Sacha.
I guess it gets crazier when Barry and Heinrich start to get chased by zombie flying pigs?" Val replied with a fake sheepish look.
Both guys shared some more laughter at their silly story and ideas. It made the long drive pass by fairly quickly.
Val sensed a bit of nervousness when Skylar mentioned he didn’t want to spend more time with Marianne. “It will be fine. Your father will be there as well. Just stick with him and she won’t be too handsy with you hopefully."
“I’m not used to listening to podcast, but back home I listen to the radio when I’m alone in the house. Music or different programmes. I like the new online radios that have no ads every fifteen minutes.”
When Skylar turned on the radio, it wasn’t obvious to Val what the program was about. He listened for a while, but couldn’t say it was a comedy or an actual interview between two women who were telling jokes or funny anecdotes. Then Skylar offered an explanation about what the programme was about. At first, Val thought it was odd that he’d be listening to cases of missing people. Marianne was mentioned again and then Shiloh as well.
“Shiloh? Oh, one of your siblings you said, right? I’m sorry, is it a man or a woman? I never heard that name before.”
The atmosphere in the car changed. Talking about a missing member of his family was obviously bringing up bad memories in Skylar’s mind. The silence got even heavier when the next podcast started and the presenter announced what it would be about. Skylar turned the radio off and said he had heard it before. Val suspected there was another reason why he had cut the programme short, but he didn’t want to force his roadtrip companion to speak about it if he didn’t want to.
Val quickly checked the time on the car dashboard. They would be arriving soon. It was almost two hours since the moment he had been told how long they still had to go and there were signs announcing the reservation on the road. Val leaned back in his seat and took a few deep breaths to calm himself from all the chatting and laughing they had done earlier, getting himself ready to meet the local shaman.
****
“Yes, please, a whole big holy water bottle for next time, but I’ll still pass on the visit for today. You got lucky the hospital staff didn’t catch you walking around with a lynx in the corridor. Imagine the mess if they had seen that or tried to take him away," he said while shaking his head.
Dylan didn’t seem to be very sure about what clothes to pick for a pre-teen girl and Sacha didn’t think he’d be of much help. That was till he saw a navy blue and white sport jacket in the closet. He pointed at it for Dylan to pack it. "I saw her wear this a few times when she doesn’t wear her school uniform.”
Skylar had to laugh, a little sheepishly over the idea that Marianne might get handsy with him in front of his father. "You're probably right, although if she can do it in secret..." He looked at Val for a moment. "We have to find some way for me to sit away from her during your visit with John." With a sigh, he added, "I may have to get tough with her."
Val mentioned radio stations with less ads, which made Skylar brighten up. "Yeah, this is one of those stations! You pay a subscription fee and in return, you get almost no advertising, except for programs on that station. I really like the format. It doesn't cost that much."
"Shiloh is complicated to explain. She's a girl, and she was adopted by my dad around the same time I was. She's not, well... she's not totally human." Skylar glanced over at Val and then put his eyes back on the road. "She's a shapeshifter. Those are supernatural creatures that, in their natural form, are kinda ugly..." He chuckled sheepishly. "...so they often shift their appearance so they look different. Thing is, they can only make themselves look like someone they've seen. For a long time, there was a thing around the Campbell compound that they wanted someone to successfully raise a shapeshifter to be an ali in the battle against evil. They're usually thought of as dangerous, unstable killers. The member of the Campbell family who started this wanted to prove that nurture could overcome nature in this case and adopt a shapeshifter to raise as his own, but he was too old to really do it, so he put forth the challenge to the younger generation. My dad took up that challenge.
"Well, he doesn't know exactly how all that turned out because Shiloh struck out on her own some years ago and we haven't heard from her in a very long time. He blames himself, feels like he drove her away." Shaking his head, Skylar continued, "Shiloh was a little weird sometimes, but she was okay. Decent hunter. I do wish she would keep in touch."
As they pulled into a parking space in front of several apartment buildings, Jed and Marianne got out of his car from a space nearby. "Hey Val, you ready?" Jed asked. "We're supposed to meet John at his apartment. Don't be nervous or anything; John's a really nice guy."
"Does he still sell that peyote tea?" Marianne asked, and Skylar couldn't hold back a snicker. "What? I like it."
****
Dylan burst out laughing at the idea that Animal Control would come take Lynxcha away. "That's why we ran to the car, to avoid the whole scene of you being taken to the pound like some wacky sitcom. Then they'd charge me for having a pet that's a little too exotic and when they returned to the cage where they left a lynx, they'd find a naked man, asking to be let out so he could go home."
Sacha pointed out a jacket that he knew Amy liked. "Good! Good, we've got one thing we know she'll approve of." Dylan looked into the closet again after packing the item Sacha pointed to and a few other things. "Man, I hope she isn't staying long. I don't know if I could pick out enough outfits." He folded up another school uniform skirt and stuffed in a few more pairs of crazy socks. "We'll have Bailey look through this once she gets off the phone."
Dylan put in a case of colored pencils he found on her desk. "We're going to need those on account of I told her, um... we'd help her color her flower poster." By the time he reached the end of the sentence, he was mumbling, and he cleared his throat.
Entering the room, Bailey began going through the suitcase, counting pieces of clothing and matching them up. "Steven and Rain agree that it would be best if Amy came to stay with us until we know Verdandi is no longer a danger. He's given her permission to be out of school until Monday unless it's necessary for her to be out longer, simply because it's going to be quite hard for the girl to have a body guard at school. Of course, I'll watch her the majority of the time because we have a good time together... Dylan, you packed three skirts, five school shirts, ten pairs of socks... Look, you two go get Amy and meet me back here. I'll get this packed."
"Okay." Once they were in the hall, Dylan turned to Sacha and went, "Phew! Got out of that one." As they approached the elevators, Dylan suddenly smacked his forehead. "Damn! I was going to discuss the demon that attacked Steven with Castiel. I think she may be connected with Taylor, our other demon buddy. Remind me when I talk to him next that we need to discuss all these demons hanging around Finley House, okay?"
"A shapeshifter? They really exist?" Val asked with wide eyes. "I recall some Star Trek episodes on TV where there was such a creature. Always thought it’d be pretty cool to meet one." He could sense some sadness in Skylar’s voice as he was talking about his sister and how she had vanished, but now he had heard his explanation, he suspected the creature might have felt the need to go away and not be found anymore and hadn’t gone missing because she had been abducted. At least he hoped this was the right theory.
He was about to ask something more about her when Skylar stopped the car. Val hadn’t realized they had arrived. Jed and Marianne were already there waiting for them. Jed mentioned meeting John in his apartment. Val almost pouted out of disappointment when he realized the man was probably living in a ‘normal’ accommodation. Then he thought about his own village in Lapland. He too was living in a wood cabin that was really a small house and no longer in a tent like his people probably did hundreds of years ago.
"It’s okay, I’m not nervous. I’m actually excited. I have plenty of questions for him," he said while grabbing the canvas bag in which he had put the peaches to give to John. He also picked up the small drum he wanted to present to him as a gift and put it in the same bag. "Skylar stopped at the farmer’s market and we got him peaches."
Val combed his hair back with his fingers and smiled at Skylar. "What are you going to do while we’re there? I don’t want you to get bored while waiting. I can probably text you when I am done so you can go and drive around or to some other places."
****
Sacha cocked an eyebrow at the remark Dylan made when he packed the colored pencils. "Color what?” he asked since he didn’t catch very well what Dylan had said at the end.
Sacha followed Dylan to the elevator and nodded. He had already too many things to think about, but he would try to remind Dylan about the demons too now. They stepped into the elevator and Sacha leaned back against the back wall. “Why is Cas not going after those demons? He’s staying here, they’re here. Aren’t angels supposed to punish or send bad guys and demons away? Doesn’t work like in the movies?” he asked, though he was already expecting that Dylan would tell him that no, it didn’t work like in the movies.
"Yep, shapeshifters exist. I grew up with one. Consider her my sister." The subject did make Skylar feel a little sad; he missed Shiloh and hoped she was okay. "I have a theory of what might've happened, but we're almost there, so let's talk about it when we're alone again. I don't want to say these things in front of my father."
"Peaches! John loves those," Jed confirmed. "I'm sure he'll love your gifts."
Skylar shook his head when Val suggested he run some errands while Val spent time with John. "Thanks, but I want to spend time with John too. I haven't seen him in a while," he said with a big grin.
"I would like to run an errand. Topeka has a record store I want to visit." Marianne turned to Jed. "Can I borrow your car, Jed?"
He grinned, then handed her the keys. "There are few people I would trust with my car. Take good care of it, and call me if you're not going to be back within a couple hours."
Once Marianne left, Skylar looked at Val and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now, I must warn you... John and a friend built a wigwam in the courtyard as sort of a joke, since none of the Native Americans who live here have ever lived in a wigwam. But, everyone uses it for fun, especially the children, and John's always trying to get his guests to sit in it and drink peyote tea with him," Jed explained. "Are you familiar with peyote, son?"
Skylar stifled a giggle.
****
"Um..." Dylan shifted on his feet, seeming uncomfortable. "I promised Amy if she did the reading for me, you know, contacting Renae and my parents? I said if she did that, we would help her color her flower poster." He smiled innocently. "Coloring is very relaxing for adults. Have you heard that?"
"I don't think Cas even knew the demons were here until I told him about Steven being attacked. Usually, he could go smite them, but we need to question them first. Why did this woman try to kill Steven, and what is Taylor up to? Does he really know the location of some kind of weapons storehouse or is he lying?" At this point, they had reached the ground floor and were crossing the lobby. "I gotta make a list to keep up with all we've got going on."
Within twenty minutes, Amy was climbing in the back seat of Dylan's car. "Hi Sacha," she said. The girl seemed a little down, most likely because of her family being in danger. "Are you guys going to spend some time with me tonight?"
"Sure we are," Dylan answered for both of them. "You're going to sleep in Bailey's room, but we'll watch a movie with you guys before Sacha and I head over to Sacha's to spend some time alone. Right, Sacha? Those are our plans?"
Dylan didn't mean to crowd his boyfriend by making plans for them, but Amy just seemed so down, and it would cheer her up so much if they spent a little time with her that night.
“Okay, you’ll tell me more about her later,” Val said with a small nod. He had a bedtime story to share with Skylar and now Skylar might have more to share with him as well. It sounded good for the return drive or while they’d be hanging around at the university.
Val smiled widely when he understood that Skylar would be coming with him and his father to see John.
Once Marianne had left and they were walking towards the entrance of the building, Jed started to explain to Val the story about the wigwam. Val laughed. “Oh, I see. This is also where he takes naive shamans from other countries to impress them?” he joked. “I don’t mind and I’m ready,” he said with a confident face. “But no, I never heard of that type of tea. What is it?” He didn’t miss Skylar’s reaction. “What? Another funny thing he does for kids or tourists?” he asked Jed while putting one arm around Skylar’s shoulder, almost without thinking about it.
"That depends. Are you impressed?" Jed asked, and winked.
"Peyote is a type of cactus. You can brew parts of it into a tea and when you drink it, it makes you hallucinate. You see things. Many Native Americans believe the things you see come directly from a higher power, that you're communicating with the gods," Jed explained. "It's much better than other hallucinogens because there's no flashback or freak out later. You can try it if you'd like."
"It's not like you're driving," Skylar added with a snicker.
They went to John's apartment and he let them in. Jed and John hugged and clapped each other on the back. "Jed, it's good to see you!" He turned to Skylar. "The distinguished Mr. Swain, how are you?"
Skylar winced slightly. "Good. I'd be better if you called me Skylar."
Laughing, John gave the side eye to Val. As a Native American, he had long black hair to his shoulder blades, covered by a brown hat with a brim. Val was the most exotic shaman he'd ever seen. "My, is this my visiting shaman from Europe? Hi, I'm John Fatespeaker. Are all those things in your arms for me?"
“I’ll see if I’m impressed when I see that thing in the courtyard. But I think I might be,” he confessed.
Now that Val knew what peyote was, he was intrigued. “I heard about plants Native Americans would take to have visions. I guess that was this plant. I didn’t know the name.” Val suddenly looked a bit shy and he glanced at Skylar. “I wouldn’t mind trying, but how long will the effects last? I wanted to visit the lab with Skylar after this, at the university and then...” Val stopped mid sentence, but the look he gave Skylar would have betrayed what he kept to himself. He didn’t want to be high as a kite if they ended up fooling around some more or sleeping together later that evening. At least, he didn’t want to do it like that for their first time.
Val let Jed and Skylar greet John and exchange a few words. The man had the typical look of a Native American, with a dark skin tone and jet black hair. He had a wide jaw and slightly slanted eyes.
He saw the man was sizing him up before he even spoke to him. It was not the first time. Val knew he had peculiar looks. He was also often considered ‘too young’ to be a shaman, although that was usually only the kind of assumptions narrow minded people had. The image of the 80-year old man full of wrinkles and covered in animal skins and other odd garments was a die-hard cliche he had to battle with. Of course he didn’t think John had any of these biases in mind, but he was much younger than him and basically his exact opposite with his platinum hair and alabaster skin. That probably explained why John was staring a bit.
The older shaman turned to him. Val shook his hand confidently. “Yes, I’m Val. Nice to meet you.” John had guessed the bag he was keeping in his arms was for him. “We stopped on the way and got peaches at the farmers’ market. I also wanted to give you something from home, to thank you for taking the time to see me. It’s a small thing, but I hope you might like it, and use it maybe,” he added while he took the little drum he had wrapped in a cloth out of the bag to give it to John.
****
Sacha looked at Dylan for a few seconds without saying anything. He could see his boyfriend was a tad embarrassed to have to tell him he had committed to have both of them color something for Amy. Sacha smiled and shook his head, chuckling. Dylan would probably be surprised at his reaction, for once. “You know, I don’t usually color things, but I like to draw. So whatever she wants us to color, I’ll let you fill it and I might customize the drawing. How does that sound?”
Sacha wasn’t sure what to expect when Amy got into the car. He thought she might have been mad at him after what had happened in the hospital room with Fiona. She was outside and didn’t actually see his shift happen, but he had no doubt her father or Rain would have told her what had happened when she had gotten back in the room, after hearing all the commotion the lynx had caused. Perhaps she might have even caught a glimpse of the cat when Dylan carried him away.
Yet, she didn’t mention anything about that. She only looked a little concerned and asked if they would be around in the evening.
Dylan was trying to be nice and he was right to do so. As much as Sacha didn’t like Steven, his daughter had nothing to do with all the mess that was happening. She was just a kid and she was probably quite lost and confused about everything that had happened. Now was not the right moment to say that he had never babysat anyone. He could do a movie with all of them.
“Sure, we can do that,” he said with a smile to Dylan, to let him know he was okay with the plan. “Will be nice to have a quiet evening and relax.”
Chuckling, Skylar replied, "The effects last ten to twelve hours." He waited for Val's reaction before continuing. "I would take some peyote home with you and we can plan a time for you to try it if you really want to. I'm going to bring some back to my brother. You never know when you may need to commune with gods."
"Peaches?" John asked with much hope in his voice. He peered into the bag of golden and red fuzzy fruit. "Mmmm! Either you have the gift of psychic sight or someone told you how much I love peaches. It really could be either one, what with you being a shaman and all. Thank you, Val.
"Let's head to my special hideaway where I will open my present and I can give you yours," he said, and turned to lead them to the courtyard.
John took them to the wigwam, where a group of three very young kids were playing with rag dolls dressed in traditional tribal garb, along with a couple of Bratz dolls. The wigwam had been constructed large and showed the wear of the weather on the outside, but still looked very sturdy. It was a hut with a rounded, domed roof, made of pieces of wood and other natural-looking materials, with two rough doorways leading in and out, built with the traditional living structures of the tribe in mind. A fire pit stood cold in the middle of the wigwam, although it had obviously been used recently and often, and there were five plastic chairs inside, placed in a circle around the pit.
"Let an old man have a seat, little one," John said, moving one of the kids out of his favorite chair. Honestly, he only appeared to be about sixty-five, tops, but to many, that was considered "old."
The other two children saw Val taking a seat and cried, "Ooooh, wow, your eyes, your hair is so light, are you a fairy king?" They touched his hair with wonder. Being only about four or five, they had seen such light skinned and fair-haired people on trips into town, but rarely one who looked as exotic as Val.
"They all have light hair except for Papa Fatespeaker."
John clapped his hands to get their attention. "Children, don't touch other people's hair without asking for permission first. Some people would like a little warning before you touch them."
He allowed the children to stay while he opened his present. John really seemed to love the drum, and played it while singing a song for the kids. The girls danced to the rhythm of the drum and sang along with him. Then he asked them to play outside the wigwam for a while so the men could talk.
****
"I think it's really up to Amy if that's okay," Dylan said, giving Sacha a little bit of a hard time. "You'll have to explain to her how you will customize her poster while I color it all by myself." He waited a moment to see if Sacha would get grumpy, then couldn't help but break out in a smile. "I'm just giving you a hard time. But it is true that you're going to have to answer to Amy on this."
As Dylan drove them back toward Finley House, Amy couldn't stop looking at Sacha. "When Dylan and Bailey were running away earlier, Dylan was carrying a ginormous bundle wrapped up in the shirt you're wearing. I saw its face and it looked like a wildcat! So I asked my dad what was going on and he said you were the wildcat! Is that true, Sacha? Are you a cat shifter? Your paws are so big and cute!"
"I would love to watch a movie with you guys! Can we rent one that's rated R? If not, can we get the live action Beauty and the Beast? What kind of popcorn can we have? White cheddar? No, caramel! Or double butter."
"Sacha, I am getting the idea that Amy is excited to stay over tonight. No idea why," Dylan said with a shrug.
Note: Yes, I (Sailorhathor) got the idea for Shiloh's origins from season 6 with the Campbells.
Riguel did not know when she named Craig Ferguson that there was an actual celebrity named Craig Ferguson. 😂 We'll be having a little fun with that.
TBC
Authors: sailorhathor and Riguel
Fandom: Supernatural RPG The Second Coming
Rating: Adult
Date Written: April-May 2019
Word Count: Each post will include as close to 10,000 words of RP as we can get, although I'll break it up into stories.
Category: Drama, Horror, Romance
Summary: While Cas and the hunters discuss how to capture Verdandi, Val and Skylar finally make it to the reservation to meet John Fatespeaker.
Warnings: Language, adult themes, sex talk
Played by Riguel: Sacha, Val, Craig
Played by Sailorhathor: Dylan, Skylar, Leo, all others
At times, the action may seem to backtrack when one player responds to the other. This is the nature of RP and a story written by two people. I inserted an extra line after each player finishes writing their part to try to help the reader keep it all straight.
Val stared at Skylar for a moment, pondering how to answer him. "I think I’d like that," he admitted. "But before we try anything like that, I want to do it with you in a normal way. I mean just us, you know ? I’d like to have that and enjoy it that way first." Val shook his head when Skylar mentioned recording themselves. "No recording. We can do a video call from a laptop, put the computer camera next to the bed… Easy."
"You forgot the nickname you gave me?" he laughed. "You called me snoka," Val said with his Swedish accent - which made it sound something like ‘snoo-ke’. "You were thinking you were calling me ‘ferret’. You can keep on calling me that. Nobody else will ever call me that. Henrik will find it funny when I’ll tell him."
Val was listening to the silly short story Skylar had made up on the spot with the out of state car plate. "Alright, I’ll try," he said. The next few cars they passed by all had a Kansas plates. Eventually, a different one came in sight. Val has to squint to ensure he could see which state it mentioned. "Louisiana," he said while glancing at Skylar. "Let me think for a moment."
Val tried to remember the few things he knew about that state. Probably everything he knew were big clichés from movies or stories he read in papers or on the internet, but he had nothing else to work with anyway.
"Okay, I have an idea. Looks like there are kids sitting on the back seat of the car, so I guess it’s a whole family in the car and they are fleeing from their hometown because they are scared of hurricanes. They have already gone through many of those and now they are so scared that every once in a while, they put all their stuff in the car and drive away to evacuate, even if there is no alert, so they keep on practicing," he said before looking at Skylar to see if the story was game worthy or not.
****
"I’m sorry, Dylan. I wasn’t paying too much attention. I came in the middle of your conversation. I’m not sure I got all the details,” Sacha said as an excuse to justify his total lack of input. He really had no idea what they had been talking about, except that it was something related to Cas.
When Dylan told him he had just left to go and talk to someone he knew, the face and voice of the stranger from the parking lot appeared in his mind. Sacha didn’t know if he would call him a friend, but surely he knew him, although he couldn’t say from where and since when. Something also told him he wasn’t supposed to tell Dylan the man’s name, although again, he wasn’t remembering why.
“Oh... Yes, you mean that guy... Yes," Sacha nodded. He looked around and then back at Dylan with a small smile. "I just went to say hi. We didn’t have time to talk. He... He had to leave," he added dismissively. "Should we get some drinks?” he asked out of the blue to change the subject.
The things Val said in preparation for the dirty show they would eventually put on for Henrik were already turning Skylar on. "Sounds good to me," he said, almost purring. Val wanted to go further with him, he wanted to have sex with him. "I'm happy to hear you are that attracted to me, because I'm very turned on by you, and not just for your looks. You have a fascinating personality too. Interesting people drive me crazy." He chuckled deep in his throat.
"Oh, yeah - snoka. Ferret. The way you say it almost sounds like Schnookie." This made him bust out laughing heartily. "You my little snoka," Skylar growled, rubbing Val's knee and patting it a few times before placing his hand back on the steering wheel. "Man, I can't wait 'til later, when I get to cuddle my snoka."
After listening to Val's story, Skylar laughed loud and hearty again. He was a man who loved a good laugh. "Sometimes they pack up their whole car and flee to another state just to practice!" He laughed some more. "Oh, I do like you, Val. A whole lot. But you know, I heard that that's just what the family tells people because they know no one would believe the real story. The truth is, this family often has to get in the car and run from a giant Louisiana crawfish!" Laughing, he added, "Named Barry!"
Another car passed them with a Louisiana license plate. "Barry has a friend!"
****
Dylan rolled his eyes at Sacha when he said he hadn't been paying attention. "But you were sitting right here..."
"That guy?" Dylan repeated.
Sacha suggested they get drinks, to which Bailey replied, "I am awfully thirsty."
"Fine." Dylan signaled for the waiter, who wasn't Audrey for once. "Now listen this time. Cas is avoiding Sam and Dean because they had a difference of opinion on how to deal with Kelly's child. Kelly is the woman you thought was his wife. Just a Coke for me." They gave their drink orders. "Cas doesn't want us to tell the Winchesters we know where he is until after the baby is born. I'm just not sure I can keep that secret for so long. What do you think?"
Val gave Skylar a knowing smile. He seemed totally onboard with the idea of letting Henrik watch them. Maybe for now he was mainly enthusiastic about the fact that Val had told him he wanted to sleep with him. Whatever it was, Skylar was up for it and although Val had known him for a few days only, he was perfectly comfortable imagining himself in bed with him and with his boyfriend as active spectator.
Skylar’s laughter was contagious and Val couldn’t stay quiet when Skylar started to address him as his little snoka.
"Barry?" Val asked. "Why would the crawfish be called Barry? Is it a reference to that Gilligan Island show?" he asked when he had calmed down and was only giggling.
****
"Yes, that guy I know. Why?"
Sacha ordered an ice tea. Dylan was now recapping the situation involving Cas and he paid attention this time. When Dylan was done, however, he wasn’t sure what the big deal was. He waited a moment before talking, just to see if Dylan would add anything else. "Okay, but why can’t you keep this for you? I mean, it’s their baby, not yours. If they don’t want Dean and Sam to know about it or that they are staying here, it’s not your problem. I don’t see any issue," Sacha said. He had obviously not heard the part about the special nature of the child, but all of a sudden, Sacha seemed much more alert. The remnants of the strange conversation and interaction he had just had in the parking lot with the stranger were wearing off and Sacha was much more like himself again. "In the meantime, did you find a way to catch the goddess who crossed into our world?"
Skylar couldn't stop giggling. "No, Barry is just the first name that popped into my head. It sounds pretty funny though, Barry the crawfish." Giggling his way through it, he asked, "What would you name the other crawfish, Barry's friend?"
****
"Nevermind. You're just acting weird," Dylan said, and lowered his hands from his hair to the table.
Sacha began to answer him about keeping secrets for Cas and Kelly. Shaking his head, he tried to correct him. "No, Sach, you don't understand. This isn't Cas and Kelly's baby, it belongs to... another angel," Dylan said. He didn't want Sacha to obsess over the fact that the baby was conceived with Lucifer. "A dangerous angel. And Sam and Dean are my friends now. I feel horrible lying to them."
"If you're going to tell them, can you at least warn me ahead of time so we can run?" Cas requested. His voice sounded annoyed, but also weary.
The sound of his voice tugged at Dylan's heart strings. "Cas, I know this is hard on you, but... Let me think about it while I'm having my drink. I just need some time to think."
Nodding, the angel replied, "Alright."
"We do have a few ideas," Dylan began. "Cas knows of a berry that grows on the Tree of Life, that if Verdandi eats it, or drinks a tea made with it, it will calm her down. If she eats or drinks a lot of it, she'll pass out, and we can take her back to Asgard. Of course, all of this will require a great deal of help from Cas."
"Which I will gladly give, as long as I'm not having to run from Sam and Dean," Cas added.
This statement instantly pissed Dylan off. "That's practically blackmail."
"I'm just stating a fact," the angel said with a shrug.
"Well, we may have to go with my idea, then."
"Your idea?" Bailey said, jumping into the conversation. "Sacha, do you know what Dylan's idea was? He thinks we should call in another god to fight Verdandi to the death."
Shifting uncomfortably, Dylan grumbled, "It would take care of her."
"Yeah, after they've destroyed half of the state of Kansas."
Castiel put a hand over his face and shook his head.
Val tapped his index finger on his chin while he thought for a short moment about a good name for Barry's friend. "I think he'd be called Heinrich," he said. "That rhymes. Heinrich the crawfish. He's a German friend of Barry," he said while trying to stay serious.
****
Sacha looked at Dylan, who seemed to start losing patience a bit, or maybe he was just annoyed with Cas. Either way, he didn't seem like he understood Sacha's point of view. Sacha sat back in the booth. He didn't want to argue with Dylan and truthfully, he was now wondering if he didn't still miss part of the information. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't think of this. I didn't want to annoy you by saying what I said, alright?" he said while putting his hand on Dylan's. "I know it's not fun to hide things from them but... You've known Cas was here since a while now. You haven't said anything. What difference will it make if it's for a few more days?" Sacha reasoned. He seemed much more on the ball now. "It may be more important to get rid of the goddess fast and help Kerry get rid of Kiera. You seem to need Cas for that. Once that's done, you can address the topic of the baby with Sam and Dean. How does that sound? The baby is not about to be born, right? Do we still have some time?" Sacha asked Cas.
Then Dylan started to explain the ideas they had to take care of Verdandi. Dylan and Cas began to argue and Bailey butted in to try to pull Sacha in the discussion. It was obvious that Cas and Dylan were not in agreement about what to do with the goddess.
"How can we go to Asgard to bring her back there? We will need to use the door in Steven's room?"
Sacha let Dylan and Bailey disagree and then stepped in. "It's messy enough as it is, don't you think?" he asked Dylan. "We don't need to bring more supernatural or god creatures here. I don't know anything about all this, but if there is a way to try to send her back to her world without bringing more Nordic gods in town, I think that's the best idea. And who knows? When she hears her daughter is dead, perhaps she will leave by herself. Why would she stay here?"
Still giggling, Skylar said, "Heinrich? Are there a lot of crawfish in Germany?" He reached for his phone to check it, then remembered he was driving and thought better of it. "Let's say there are German crawfish. How did that conversation go? Do your best German accent. I'll be Barry. Hey Heinrich!" Skylar adopted a funny voice, deep and scratchy. "I know some great houses we can have, all we gotta do is bust down the door and clear out all the tiny people that live there. You in?"
While doing his funny voice, he imitated a crawfish claw with his left hand, holding all his fingers together and moving it like a living letter C.
****
He wanted to continue being angry because he was frustrated, but Dylan couldn't help but rub the backs of Sacha's fingers with his thumb, slowly and lovingly. Dylan knew that Sacha and Cas were right, but he doubted that the time period he would have to keep lying would be so short. "But it's not going to be only a 'few more days' that I have to lie to the Winchesters. It's months from now."
Cas opened his mouth to clarify the time period for him, but he kept talking, so Cas decided to be patient. If there was one thing he was good at, it was being patient.
"And now that Kerry is a Winchester, I'll have to lie to her too. She's going to want to side with her brothers for a while, now that she has them back."
Sacha weighed in with his suggestions. He asked how much time they needed until Kelly's baby would be born. "About a week," Cas replied.
Dylan stumbled over his drink, dribbling Coke down his chin while trying to take a sip. "A week?! What?!"
Leaning across the table, Bailey touched the angel's hand. "Cas, do you have the hospital arranged? Does Kelly have a regular doctor who has been seeing her all this time?"
Castiel shook his head. "The birth of a Nephilim is not normal. People who do not know what to expect should not witness it."
"Oh." Bailey looked at the others.
His hand over his eyes, Dylan sighed and said, "One problem at a time, okay?"
Sacha had more questions, which brought up all the details of the plan Cas had put before them. "As an angel, I have ways of getting into Asgard, to get the berries and to take Verdandi back."
As he expected, Sacha didn't think Dylan's plan was good either. "Alright, I didn't completely think that through," he admitted. "Once Verdandi finds out Kiera is dead, she could have one of several reactions. She could squash Steven and go home on her own."
Bailey gave him a dirty look.
"She could get upset and destroy the city. She could ask Steven what he intends to do about it, and he tells her about his plan to resurrect their child. She stays to help him resurrect Kiera."
"Not good." Bailey considered the situation. "Could we somehow call Verdandi to us and talk to her? Tell her what's up and how important it is for her to be back in Asgard, completing her duties as a goddess? Maybe she would go home voluntarily."
Dylan squeezed Sacha's hand lightly. "What do you think, babe?"
"Of course, there are crawfish in Germany. We have those in Europe too." Val wasn’t too sure he could do a good German accent, but then he remembered he already had an accent, so that would help.
"Ja, but why do we have to take over the houses of people?" Val asked with his best bad English to imitate a Germany-speaking crawfish. "We live in water. We need a house with a swimming pool."
****
Kerry was still a sensitive topic for now. Sacha would try to make his boyfriend think positively when it came to her. "Let Kerry decide. She may be their new sister, but she’s still your sister as well."
Sacha’s eyes widened when he heard Cas say they had about a week before the birth of the baby. Judging by Dylan’s reaction, he wasn’t the only one who was taken by surprise with that news. "Well, at least you won’t have to keep the secret for much longer,” Sacha said as he shook his head. He recalled that Dylan had talked to him about nephilims already, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know more after Cas said that people not knowing about them shouldn’t see it happen, which anyway could probably apply to witnessing any births as far as he was concerned. Too much blood and yucky fluids involved.
Bailey was trying to calm everyone down and to think about a way to interact and speak to Verdandi and make her leave willingly. Once again, Sacha was in over his head with the situation, but a new thought just crossed his mind, not as optimistic as what Bailey was trying to think about.
When Dylan asked him what he was thinking, Sacha tilted his head to the side. He seemed pensive for a moment, but then he looked at Bailey and Dylan and shared his thoughts. "Maybe we need to think about something else. If she gets upset, she might not destroy the city or kick Steven’s ass. Or maybe she might do that, but she might also want to take her revenge... Steven has another daughter. What if this goddess decides that if Steven’s wife killed her daughter... She gets even with him and kills Amy? I don’t know, but from what Steven said and what you said, gods don’t behave like us and they probably don’t care about humans much. That could get ugly.”
"Oh, I thought crawfish were a Louisiana thing. But that's probably just because they love them so much down there. It's not something I've ever looked up." Skylar thought about it a moment and chuckled. "One of the few things I haven't."
He started to laugh again. The accent, the way Val played along, he couldn't have held back his laughter if he tried. "You have a point, Heinrich. That's why I chose houses for us that have swimming pools!" Skylar said in his funny crawfish voice, and cheered. He put his arm around Val and pulled him in for a kiss on the side of his head. "You're awesome, Val. I love being around you."
****
Dylan smiled a little in reply to Sacha's assertion that Kerry could still side with him. "Yeah, maybe you're right." He brought Sacha's hand to his mouth and kissed it.
Yes, Sacha was correct - Dylan and the others would not have to lie for long. But the possibility he brought up next sent chills down Dylan's back.
"Fuck," he said. "You're right. That's a very good possibility. Amy is in danger." Dylan reached across the table and grabbed Castiel's hand, knowing that contact communicated urgency to him as an angel. "Go get the berries. Call me when you get back. Okay?"
Cas nodded once. "Certainly."
"Now, we've got to go back to Steven's hospital room and convince him to let Amy come with us. He's too weak to keep her safe. With us, there's safety in numbers, and we're educated and armed enough to protect her. Not to mention the fact that the Bunker is one of the safest places you can be when there's a supernatural threat." Dylan turned to his boyfriend. After what happened earlier, he wasn't sure how Sacha would react to the idea of going back. "Sach, are you going into the hospital with us, or would you rather wait in the car?"
Val laughed as well as Skylar’s talking crawfish confirmed they’d only take over houses with swimming pools. “I never played this kind of games before,” Val said. “I guess the stories get crazier and crazier as the trip advances and people playing it get tired of the drive,” he said.
He gave Skylar a wide grin after he got an affectionate kiss on the side of his head.
Traveling with Dylan’s brother was definitely fun.
****
Although it was a pretty bleak prospect, Sacha felt he had at least been useful by bringing up the comment about Amy. Dylan seemed to think that it was definitely a possibility that Verdandi would try to harm her as revenge against Steven.
“I don't know... I might wait for you in the car if you go back to the hospital. Fiona will remember me, I am afraid, and I’m not trying my chances with her a second time today.”
"Now why would a story about giant crawfish who take over people's homes so they can live in their swimming pools get crazier and crazier?" Skylar asked, and wiggled his eyebrows.
The Ultimate Odd Couple
The black car drove into the garage and the engine was killed. Out stepped the handsome, dark-haired stranger who had manhandled Sacha in the back parking lot of Finley House. The garage was attached to a big, ordinary house out in the country, a little bit away from the nearest city, but close enough for its owner to work and do his side business without anyone bothering him.
Leopold sauntered into the kitchen to warm himself up something to eat. Craig had made sure to keep the blinds and curtains closed, blocking out the afternoon sun; Leo appreciated it, he really did. It was just too bad how all this would have to end.
He put on some water to boil, then got a plastic baby bottle of cold blood out of the refrigerator. Leo put the bottle into the water. Same way many mothers warmed up a bottle for their infant.
What he really wanted was a warm neck from which to drink. The neck of Alexander. With the one that got away as a chaser.
Leo removed his hooded coat and hung it on the coat rack near the front door while he waited for his lunch to warm.
Craig poked his head out of the study where he had been sitting for most of the afternoon. He saw his new house guest moving around between the entrance hallway and the large kitchen and dining area. “I thought I had heard something,” he said as he walked out. “How did things go? Did you see him?”
Leo had told him he would go after Alexander and persuade him to reconsider his decision to no longer give blood. At first, Craig had been a little unsure about the idea. After all, Leo was his main customer, and he would have preferred to keep his clientele separate from him. However, when he had to admit he wasn’t getting much take up on his new venture, and most of the people who used to come to the clinic to give blood had turned down the idea to continue to do so outside of the blood bank premises, he hadn’t had any choice. The vampire was getting impatient and wanted to secure donors, starting with the shifter, whose blood had been Leo’s favorite treat since he had tasted it.
Craig saw that Leo had started to prepare himself a snack in the kitchen and joined him there, where he sat at the kitchen island. “I sent some emails around this afternoon and called some people. I have connections who know other animal shifters. A couple of werewolves and a bear shifter. They could be plan B,” he said to reassure Leo and show him he was working to find replacement donors.
Leo turned when he heard the voice of his gracious host. A small, crooked smile touched his lips. "Hello there. I'd say it went very well. It will take a few more sessions with him before I would say he's under the spell of my thrall to the point that I can get him to come with me wherever I want." With a sigh, he rolled his eyes. "Alexander wouldn't even sit in the car with me this time. He's a tough sell. I can believe he told you no."
"Hmm, werewolves and a bear shifter? Hmm..." While waiting for his "snack" to warm up, Leo considered his future potential meals. "You know I am a connoisseur of fine dining, Craig, and a very wealthy man... werewolves are spicy and so, I do like them, and bears taste like meat, but a little gamey... They will do, yes. But you know the best blood I have ever tasted is wild cat blood." Leo, licking his lips, then let out a content and overdramatic sigh. "You simply must find me more cat shifters."
He looked over at his bottle of blood warming on the stove. "Craig, be a dear and offer me your wrist."
Craig refrained from making any comment when Leo stated he believed him now. Obviously, as charming as Leo could be, he didn’t seem to trust Craig very much. He had to stifle a chuckle at that thought. He was the human allowing a vampire in his house and the vampire was the one having trust issues…
Leo seemed OK with the new potential shifters he had managed to identify. Now he still needed to actually get in touch with them and see if they would agree to come over, but that as a first step. Unfortunately, it still seemed like his new meal provider suggestions were really only a plan B. Craig crossed his hands and studied Leo’s body language. His eyes had a strange glow under the artificial light of the kitchen.
"Wild cat shifters are not easy to find. Honestly, this guy, Alexander, is the first lynx shifter I have bumped into. I guess they’re just like their actual animals. Not so friendly towards humans and a bit aloof. And anyway, it seems there are way less of those around."
Craig felt a shiver run down his spine when Leo casually asked for his wrist. It was not that he had never done that, or had that done to him to be more correct, but he didn’t understand why Leo needed him to feed right now. "You’re just having your meal reheated," he said with a frown. "It won’t take long."
"Is it possible that Mr. Romanov could know some cat shifters himself, or have family members who are also shifters? Or does he just hang out with dangerous hunters? Leave no stone unturned!" Leo instructed, but in a good natured tone.
"I have to say, I like playing this cat and vampire game with Alexander. He's quite handsome." Tittering, he said, "Did you hear what I did there? Cat and vampire instead of cat and mouse?" He giggled at his own joke.
Oh, he liked playing games with Craig. The man was quite nervous around the hungry, hundreds-of-years-old vampire. "Did I say I was going to bite you? Wrist, please."
Craig scratched the side of his head. "I think he doesn't have much family here. The emergency contact he had put in his file at the clinic was somebody abroad. He's from Russia. It would be hard to investigate. He's not going to take my calls and I cannot hire a PI just to track all his whereabouts. It wouldn't make financial sense. I will try to search online if he shows up in anything or can be connected to other shifters via my contacts. They didn't seem to know about other cat persons, but I guess I can try again."
Craig smiled politely at Leo's little joke. He had too much to worry about to be in the mood for play on words, but he didn't want to appear rude. This Leo guy was a little old fashioned for some things, which was probably explainable when you were in reality from the 18th or 19th century. "Yes, I got it."
It was pointless to try to resist. Leo seemed amused at his reaction and gentle protest. He asked him for his wrist again and he wasn't sure if Leo was joking or not. Craig sighed and unfolded his arm. He extended it in Leo's direction and watched to see what the vampire wanted.
"If you drink, don't make me pass out, please."
After listening to Craig's reasons for a lack of cat shifter blood to sell him, Leo sighed and checked his bottle on the stove. "Yes, yes, I understand. I just wish my favorite meal was more readily available."
Craig had to make one last comment about drinking from his wrist. "So distrusting," Leo said, and made 'tsk-tsk' sounds before taking his bottle of blood out of the boiling pot with an oven mit and squirting a drop on Craig's wrist. "How's that? Too warm or just right?" The vampire licked the blood off his wrist and smacked his lips. "Just right! Thank you."
Leo poured the warmed blood into a glass. Picking it up and holding the glass to the kitchen light, he said, "When I have more of Alexander's blood, I shall drink it from a champagne glass." He smiled. "You do have some, don't you?"
Craig had really not expected Leo to just test the blood temperature off his wrist. He cursed under his breath for having made remarks and suggesting Leo would drink from him. You wouldn’t want to upset a vampire, he thought to himself. Leo didn’t seem too annoyed. He just looked disappointed and a tad condescending about Craig’s attitude. Great. That was even worse than upsetting a vampire.
For some reason, and not just out of fear, Craig wanted to please Leo. He wanted him to consider him as worthwhile to associate with, like a real business partner. So far, however, he mainly had the feeling that Leo was using him conveniently without holding him in high esteem.
Craig had heard about the thrall and spellbounding ways some vampires had. Perhaps this was that? Why else was he now thinking this way? Was Leo using some of his power on him without him realizing?
He watched the vampire pour his liquid meal into a tall glass. "I’m not sure I have champagne glasses. I’ll have to look, maybe in the cellar,” he lied, knowing damn well he didn’t have any.
Craig checked the time on his watch and sat up. “I’ll get back to my checks. I’ll be in the study. Are you going to stay home tonight?” he asked.
"I would appreciate you looking, thank you. If you can't find them, I can buy some champagne glasses. Just let me know." If a vampire could be cheerful, Leo certainly was as he drank his lunch.
"I shall be home part of the night, but the other, I will be working on my thrall. Well, good night!" With a flourish of his hand, he exited the kitchen and went into the living room to watch some TV.
Craig watched Leo leave the kitchen. His demeanour was quirky and a little too much, borderline annoying. Still, he was fascinated by the creature. He had dealt with vampires before, but he had never known or done business with one more closely. He didn’t know if they were all like him, but Leo was definitely a peculiar character.
He picked up the empty bottle and rinsed it quickly in the sink before putting it in the dishwasher. Leo probably had butlers and maids picking up after him in his previous life as a living human being. Craig didn’t really know much about his origins and past, or how he was usually living. For the time being, Leo had made this arrangement of living in his house, but Craig knew that it wasn’t because Leo didn’t have any other places to stay. The vampire had money, that was sure. How much exactly and where it was coming from, Craig had no idea.
Once his host had gone back into the study, Leopold found it easier to think. He sipped at the warm blood while clicking from channel to channel, trying to find something amusing to watch. Tonight, he would have fun with Alexander and his boy toy. The two men were hot, so hot that it drove him crazy that he couldn't just eat them already. No. Leo knew that would be too dangerous. The hunter was friends with more hunters. After what had happened to the vamps in his past nest, he wasn't going to tempt fate.
The nest... Leo missed the vampires from his past. They had the best connections. It was vampire groupies offering warm necks and wrists all day. Then the hunters came. Now he had to hide out in dirty abandoned houses or find a guy like Craig who would take him in. If Leo checked into a hotel, it would eat up all his money and leave him vulnerable to being found. This was the best he could do for now. But damn, how he missed the nest...
Ah! Re-runs of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"! Leo loved this one. It came pretty close to depicting the real life of vampires at times, except for the bumpy forehead thing. And in no life was Angel an attractive person. Still, the drama! The sexy people getting bitten! With a dark chuckle, Leo settled in to watch, fantasizing it was him biting Alexander instead of Spike biting some random girl.
"Soon," he whispered. "I'll have you all to myself."
And now, back to our regular story...
"Now why would a story about giant crawfish who take over people's homes so they can live in their swimming pools get crazier and crazier?" Skylar asked, and wiggled his eyebrows.
An hour and a half later, they were closing in on the reservation where they were supposed to meet Jed and Marianne before heading on inside to see John Fatespeaker. "I completely forgot that Marianne has to go to the reservation with us because otherwise, my dad would have to take her home and then come back here, which would take a long time. Geez, I don't want to see her anymore."
Skylar turned on the radio. "I subscribe to Pod Radio. It's a channel that broadcasts various podcasts from all over the world. One of my favorites just started. Is it okay if I listen to it? Do you have any favorite podcasts?"
The women on the podcast were in the middle of a conversation. "I mean, what was she going to tell her friend when she got back? Oh, I'm sorry I cleaned out your bank account. I live in an Ikea fantasy world."
"Start the car! Start the caaar!"
Skylar laughed, shaking his head. "I think I know who they're talking about." He looked over at Val, who appeared a little confused. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's a podcast about true crime and missing people. With all the missing people I've had in my life, I'm kinda interested in it. You know, Marianne was missing and... no one knows where Shiloh is..."
He looked away, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Coming up in the next hour, we'll be discussing the case of Daniel Swain: Is he innocent? Convicted of killing his wife in 1993 without the recovery of a body, Swain is appealing his death sentence for the second time as his date with destiny approaches this year. Those familiar with the case will remember - "
Swallowing hard, Skylar turned off the radio. At first, he didn't offer a reason, but after taking a few seconds to stare at the road ahead, he said, "That one's a repeat. I've heard it before." He looked at Val with a forced smile, then studied the highway, silent.
****
Dylan tried not to laugh, but couldn't hold back a light chuckle. "I understand. But you know, we can always get you a bottle of holy water."
The group separated from Castiel at that time and went upstairs to pack Amy a bag. While Dylan tried to figure out what clothes the tween girl might need for a few days, Bailey got on the phone to tell Steven and Rain what happened and to try to convince them that Amy was safest with them for now.
With a suitcase open on Amy's bed, Dylan picked through her closet for a few extra school uniforms and some street clothes it seemed the girl would like. The suitcase was purple with pink butterflies.
Dylan held up a denim jumper with a striped shirt to wear under it. "What do you think? Does this say young and hip necromancer chick?" he asked Sacha.
I guess it gets crazier when Barry and Heinrich start to get chased by zombie flying pigs?" Val replied with a fake sheepish look.
Both guys shared some more laughter at their silly story and ideas. It made the long drive pass by fairly quickly.
Val sensed a bit of nervousness when Skylar mentioned he didn’t want to spend more time with Marianne. “It will be fine. Your father will be there as well. Just stick with him and she won’t be too handsy with you hopefully."
“I’m not used to listening to podcast, but back home I listen to the radio when I’m alone in the house. Music or different programmes. I like the new online radios that have no ads every fifteen minutes.”
When Skylar turned on the radio, it wasn’t obvious to Val what the program was about. He listened for a while, but couldn’t say it was a comedy or an actual interview between two women who were telling jokes or funny anecdotes. Then Skylar offered an explanation about what the programme was about. At first, Val thought it was odd that he’d be listening to cases of missing people. Marianne was mentioned again and then Shiloh as well.
“Shiloh? Oh, one of your siblings you said, right? I’m sorry, is it a man or a woman? I never heard that name before.”
The atmosphere in the car changed. Talking about a missing member of his family was obviously bringing up bad memories in Skylar’s mind. The silence got even heavier when the next podcast started and the presenter announced what it would be about. Skylar turned the radio off and said he had heard it before. Val suspected there was another reason why he had cut the programme short, but he didn’t want to force his roadtrip companion to speak about it if he didn’t want to.
Val quickly checked the time on the car dashboard. They would be arriving soon. It was almost two hours since the moment he had been told how long they still had to go and there were signs announcing the reservation on the road. Val leaned back in his seat and took a few deep breaths to calm himself from all the chatting and laughing they had done earlier, getting himself ready to meet the local shaman.
****
“Yes, please, a whole big holy water bottle for next time, but I’ll still pass on the visit for today. You got lucky the hospital staff didn’t catch you walking around with a lynx in the corridor. Imagine the mess if they had seen that or tried to take him away," he said while shaking his head.
Dylan didn’t seem to be very sure about what clothes to pick for a pre-teen girl and Sacha didn’t think he’d be of much help. That was till he saw a navy blue and white sport jacket in the closet. He pointed at it for Dylan to pack it. "I saw her wear this a few times when she doesn’t wear her school uniform.”
Skylar had to laugh, a little sheepishly over the idea that Marianne might get handsy with him in front of his father. "You're probably right, although if she can do it in secret..." He looked at Val for a moment. "We have to find some way for me to sit away from her during your visit with John." With a sigh, he added, "I may have to get tough with her."
Val mentioned radio stations with less ads, which made Skylar brighten up. "Yeah, this is one of those stations! You pay a subscription fee and in return, you get almost no advertising, except for programs on that station. I really like the format. It doesn't cost that much."
"Shiloh is complicated to explain. She's a girl, and she was adopted by my dad around the same time I was. She's not, well... she's not totally human." Skylar glanced over at Val and then put his eyes back on the road. "She's a shapeshifter. Those are supernatural creatures that, in their natural form, are kinda ugly..." He chuckled sheepishly. "...so they often shift their appearance so they look different. Thing is, they can only make themselves look like someone they've seen. For a long time, there was a thing around the Campbell compound that they wanted someone to successfully raise a shapeshifter to be an ali in the battle against evil. They're usually thought of as dangerous, unstable killers. The member of the Campbell family who started this wanted to prove that nurture could overcome nature in this case and adopt a shapeshifter to raise as his own, but he was too old to really do it, so he put forth the challenge to the younger generation. My dad took up that challenge.
"Well, he doesn't know exactly how all that turned out because Shiloh struck out on her own some years ago and we haven't heard from her in a very long time. He blames himself, feels like he drove her away." Shaking his head, Skylar continued, "Shiloh was a little weird sometimes, but she was okay. Decent hunter. I do wish she would keep in touch."
As they pulled into a parking space in front of several apartment buildings, Jed and Marianne got out of his car from a space nearby. "Hey Val, you ready?" Jed asked. "We're supposed to meet John at his apartment. Don't be nervous or anything; John's a really nice guy."
"Does he still sell that peyote tea?" Marianne asked, and Skylar couldn't hold back a snicker. "What? I like it."
****
Dylan burst out laughing at the idea that Animal Control would come take Lynxcha away. "That's why we ran to the car, to avoid the whole scene of you being taken to the pound like some wacky sitcom. Then they'd charge me for having a pet that's a little too exotic and when they returned to the cage where they left a lynx, they'd find a naked man, asking to be let out so he could go home."
Sacha pointed out a jacket that he knew Amy liked. "Good! Good, we've got one thing we know she'll approve of." Dylan looked into the closet again after packing the item Sacha pointed to and a few other things. "Man, I hope she isn't staying long. I don't know if I could pick out enough outfits." He folded up another school uniform skirt and stuffed in a few more pairs of crazy socks. "We'll have Bailey look through this once she gets off the phone."
Dylan put in a case of colored pencils he found on her desk. "We're going to need those on account of I told her, um... we'd help her color her flower poster." By the time he reached the end of the sentence, he was mumbling, and he cleared his throat.
Entering the room, Bailey began going through the suitcase, counting pieces of clothing and matching them up. "Steven and Rain agree that it would be best if Amy came to stay with us until we know Verdandi is no longer a danger. He's given her permission to be out of school until Monday unless it's necessary for her to be out longer, simply because it's going to be quite hard for the girl to have a body guard at school. Of course, I'll watch her the majority of the time because we have a good time together... Dylan, you packed three skirts, five school shirts, ten pairs of socks... Look, you two go get Amy and meet me back here. I'll get this packed."
"Okay." Once they were in the hall, Dylan turned to Sacha and went, "Phew! Got out of that one." As they approached the elevators, Dylan suddenly smacked his forehead. "Damn! I was going to discuss the demon that attacked Steven with Castiel. I think she may be connected with Taylor, our other demon buddy. Remind me when I talk to him next that we need to discuss all these demons hanging around Finley House, okay?"
"A shapeshifter? They really exist?" Val asked with wide eyes. "I recall some Star Trek episodes on TV where there was such a creature. Always thought it’d be pretty cool to meet one." He could sense some sadness in Skylar’s voice as he was talking about his sister and how she had vanished, but now he had heard his explanation, he suspected the creature might have felt the need to go away and not be found anymore and hadn’t gone missing because she had been abducted. At least he hoped this was the right theory.
He was about to ask something more about her when Skylar stopped the car. Val hadn’t realized they had arrived. Jed and Marianne were already there waiting for them. Jed mentioned meeting John in his apartment. Val almost pouted out of disappointment when he realized the man was probably living in a ‘normal’ accommodation. Then he thought about his own village in Lapland. He too was living in a wood cabin that was really a small house and no longer in a tent like his people probably did hundreds of years ago.
"It’s okay, I’m not nervous. I’m actually excited. I have plenty of questions for him," he said while grabbing the canvas bag in which he had put the peaches to give to John. He also picked up the small drum he wanted to present to him as a gift and put it in the same bag. "Skylar stopped at the farmer’s market and we got him peaches."
Val combed his hair back with his fingers and smiled at Skylar. "What are you going to do while we’re there? I don’t want you to get bored while waiting. I can probably text you when I am done so you can go and drive around or to some other places."
****
Sacha cocked an eyebrow at the remark Dylan made when he packed the colored pencils. "Color what?” he asked since he didn’t catch very well what Dylan had said at the end.
Sacha followed Dylan to the elevator and nodded. He had already too many things to think about, but he would try to remind Dylan about the demons too now. They stepped into the elevator and Sacha leaned back against the back wall. “Why is Cas not going after those demons? He’s staying here, they’re here. Aren’t angels supposed to punish or send bad guys and demons away? Doesn’t work like in the movies?” he asked, though he was already expecting that Dylan would tell him that no, it didn’t work like in the movies.
"Yep, shapeshifters exist. I grew up with one. Consider her my sister." The subject did make Skylar feel a little sad; he missed Shiloh and hoped she was okay. "I have a theory of what might've happened, but we're almost there, so let's talk about it when we're alone again. I don't want to say these things in front of my father."
"Peaches! John loves those," Jed confirmed. "I'm sure he'll love your gifts."
Skylar shook his head when Val suggested he run some errands while Val spent time with John. "Thanks, but I want to spend time with John too. I haven't seen him in a while," he said with a big grin.
"I would like to run an errand. Topeka has a record store I want to visit." Marianne turned to Jed. "Can I borrow your car, Jed?"
He grinned, then handed her the keys. "There are few people I would trust with my car. Take good care of it, and call me if you're not going to be back within a couple hours."
Once Marianne left, Skylar looked at Val and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now, I must warn you... John and a friend built a wigwam in the courtyard as sort of a joke, since none of the Native Americans who live here have ever lived in a wigwam. But, everyone uses it for fun, especially the children, and John's always trying to get his guests to sit in it and drink peyote tea with him," Jed explained. "Are you familiar with peyote, son?"
Skylar stifled a giggle.
****
"Um..." Dylan shifted on his feet, seeming uncomfortable. "I promised Amy if she did the reading for me, you know, contacting Renae and my parents? I said if she did that, we would help her color her flower poster." He smiled innocently. "Coloring is very relaxing for adults. Have you heard that?"
"I don't think Cas even knew the demons were here until I told him about Steven being attacked. Usually, he could go smite them, but we need to question them first. Why did this woman try to kill Steven, and what is Taylor up to? Does he really know the location of some kind of weapons storehouse or is he lying?" At this point, they had reached the ground floor and were crossing the lobby. "I gotta make a list to keep up with all we've got going on."
Within twenty minutes, Amy was climbing in the back seat of Dylan's car. "Hi Sacha," she said. The girl seemed a little down, most likely because of her family being in danger. "Are you guys going to spend some time with me tonight?"
"Sure we are," Dylan answered for both of them. "You're going to sleep in Bailey's room, but we'll watch a movie with you guys before Sacha and I head over to Sacha's to spend some time alone. Right, Sacha? Those are our plans?"
Dylan didn't mean to crowd his boyfriend by making plans for them, but Amy just seemed so down, and it would cheer her up so much if they spent a little time with her that night.
“Okay, you’ll tell me more about her later,” Val said with a small nod. He had a bedtime story to share with Skylar and now Skylar might have more to share with him as well. It sounded good for the return drive or while they’d be hanging around at the university.
Val smiled widely when he understood that Skylar would be coming with him and his father to see John.
Once Marianne had left and they were walking towards the entrance of the building, Jed started to explain to Val the story about the wigwam. Val laughed. “Oh, I see. This is also where he takes naive shamans from other countries to impress them?” he joked. “I don’t mind and I’m ready,” he said with a confident face. “But no, I never heard of that type of tea. What is it?” He didn’t miss Skylar’s reaction. “What? Another funny thing he does for kids or tourists?” he asked Jed while putting one arm around Skylar’s shoulder, almost without thinking about it.
"That depends. Are you impressed?" Jed asked, and winked.
"Peyote is a type of cactus. You can brew parts of it into a tea and when you drink it, it makes you hallucinate. You see things. Many Native Americans believe the things you see come directly from a higher power, that you're communicating with the gods," Jed explained. "It's much better than other hallucinogens because there's no flashback or freak out later. You can try it if you'd like."
"It's not like you're driving," Skylar added with a snicker.
They went to John's apartment and he let them in. Jed and John hugged and clapped each other on the back. "Jed, it's good to see you!" He turned to Skylar. "The distinguished Mr. Swain, how are you?"
Skylar winced slightly. "Good. I'd be better if you called me Skylar."
Laughing, John gave the side eye to Val. As a Native American, he had long black hair to his shoulder blades, covered by a brown hat with a brim. Val was the most exotic shaman he'd ever seen. "My, is this my visiting shaman from Europe? Hi, I'm John Fatespeaker. Are all those things in your arms for me?"
“I’ll see if I’m impressed when I see that thing in the courtyard. But I think I might be,” he confessed.
Now that Val knew what peyote was, he was intrigued. “I heard about plants Native Americans would take to have visions. I guess that was this plant. I didn’t know the name.” Val suddenly looked a bit shy and he glanced at Skylar. “I wouldn’t mind trying, but how long will the effects last? I wanted to visit the lab with Skylar after this, at the university and then...” Val stopped mid sentence, but the look he gave Skylar would have betrayed what he kept to himself. He didn’t want to be high as a kite if they ended up fooling around some more or sleeping together later that evening. At least, he didn’t want to do it like that for their first time.
Val let Jed and Skylar greet John and exchange a few words. The man had the typical look of a Native American, with a dark skin tone and jet black hair. He had a wide jaw and slightly slanted eyes.
He saw the man was sizing him up before he even spoke to him. It was not the first time. Val knew he had peculiar looks. He was also often considered ‘too young’ to be a shaman, although that was usually only the kind of assumptions narrow minded people had. The image of the 80-year old man full of wrinkles and covered in animal skins and other odd garments was a die-hard cliche he had to battle with. Of course he didn’t think John had any of these biases in mind, but he was much younger than him and basically his exact opposite with his platinum hair and alabaster skin. That probably explained why John was staring a bit.
The older shaman turned to him. Val shook his hand confidently. “Yes, I’m Val. Nice to meet you.” John had guessed the bag he was keeping in his arms was for him. “We stopped on the way and got peaches at the farmers’ market. I also wanted to give you something from home, to thank you for taking the time to see me. It’s a small thing, but I hope you might like it, and use it maybe,” he added while he took the little drum he had wrapped in a cloth out of the bag to give it to John.
****
Sacha looked at Dylan for a few seconds without saying anything. He could see his boyfriend was a tad embarrassed to have to tell him he had committed to have both of them color something for Amy. Sacha smiled and shook his head, chuckling. Dylan would probably be surprised at his reaction, for once. “You know, I don’t usually color things, but I like to draw. So whatever she wants us to color, I’ll let you fill it and I might customize the drawing. How does that sound?”
Sacha wasn’t sure what to expect when Amy got into the car. He thought she might have been mad at him after what had happened in the hospital room with Fiona. She was outside and didn’t actually see his shift happen, but he had no doubt her father or Rain would have told her what had happened when she had gotten back in the room, after hearing all the commotion the lynx had caused. Perhaps she might have even caught a glimpse of the cat when Dylan carried him away.
Yet, she didn’t mention anything about that. She only looked a little concerned and asked if they would be around in the evening.
Dylan was trying to be nice and he was right to do so. As much as Sacha didn’t like Steven, his daughter had nothing to do with all the mess that was happening. She was just a kid and she was probably quite lost and confused about everything that had happened. Now was not the right moment to say that he had never babysat anyone. He could do a movie with all of them.
“Sure, we can do that,” he said with a smile to Dylan, to let him know he was okay with the plan. “Will be nice to have a quiet evening and relax.”
Chuckling, Skylar replied, "The effects last ten to twelve hours." He waited for Val's reaction before continuing. "I would take some peyote home with you and we can plan a time for you to try it if you really want to. I'm going to bring some back to my brother. You never know when you may need to commune with gods."
"Peaches?" John asked with much hope in his voice. He peered into the bag of golden and red fuzzy fruit. "Mmmm! Either you have the gift of psychic sight or someone told you how much I love peaches. It really could be either one, what with you being a shaman and all. Thank you, Val.
"Let's head to my special hideaway where I will open my present and I can give you yours," he said, and turned to lead them to the courtyard.
John took them to the wigwam, where a group of three very young kids were playing with rag dolls dressed in traditional tribal garb, along with a couple of Bratz dolls. The wigwam had been constructed large and showed the wear of the weather on the outside, but still looked very sturdy. It was a hut with a rounded, domed roof, made of pieces of wood and other natural-looking materials, with two rough doorways leading in and out, built with the traditional living structures of the tribe in mind. A fire pit stood cold in the middle of the wigwam, although it had obviously been used recently and often, and there were five plastic chairs inside, placed in a circle around the pit.
"Let an old man have a seat, little one," John said, moving one of the kids out of his favorite chair. Honestly, he only appeared to be about sixty-five, tops, but to many, that was considered "old."
The other two children saw Val taking a seat and cried, "Ooooh, wow, your eyes, your hair is so light, are you a fairy king?" They touched his hair with wonder. Being only about four or five, they had seen such light skinned and fair-haired people on trips into town, but rarely one who looked as exotic as Val.
"They all have light hair except for Papa Fatespeaker."
John clapped his hands to get their attention. "Children, don't touch other people's hair without asking for permission first. Some people would like a little warning before you touch them."
He allowed the children to stay while he opened his present. John really seemed to love the drum, and played it while singing a song for the kids. The girls danced to the rhythm of the drum and sang along with him. Then he asked them to play outside the wigwam for a while so the men could talk.
****
"I think it's really up to Amy if that's okay," Dylan said, giving Sacha a little bit of a hard time. "You'll have to explain to her how you will customize her poster while I color it all by myself." He waited a moment to see if Sacha would get grumpy, then couldn't help but break out in a smile. "I'm just giving you a hard time. But it is true that you're going to have to answer to Amy on this."
As Dylan drove them back toward Finley House, Amy couldn't stop looking at Sacha. "When Dylan and Bailey were running away earlier, Dylan was carrying a ginormous bundle wrapped up in the shirt you're wearing. I saw its face and it looked like a wildcat! So I asked my dad what was going on and he said you were the wildcat! Is that true, Sacha? Are you a cat shifter? Your paws are so big and cute!"
"I would love to watch a movie with you guys! Can we rent one that's rated R? If not, can we get the live action Beauty and the Beast? What kind of popcorn can we have? White cheddar? No, caramel! Or double butter."
"Sacha, I am getting the idea that Amy is excited to stay over tonight. No idea why," Dylan said with a shrug.
Note: Yes, I (Sailorhathor) got the idea for Shiloh's origins from season 6 with the Campbells.
Riguel did not know when she named Craig Ferguson that there was an actual celebrity named Craig Ferguson. 😂 We'll be having a little fun with that.
TBC