Fifteenth Truth [Accidental Video/Action]

[tadanokusuriuri]

[There might be something familiar about the young child wandering around outside, near the front door. Perhaps it's the patterns on his bitty little kimono, the distinctive red marks on his face, his pale skin, the odd shape of the toy sword he has tucked into his belt

Comments

[dashboardlite]

[Ever since the clinginess fiasco that happened between him and Castiel - admittedly, the angel hadn't noticed anything off, but Dean could sense a certain weirdness - Dean's been meandering around the halls, looking for something to do and hoping to locate a hot chick and some mistletoe. He steps into the foyer and is most assuredly surprised to see someone...really familiar.]

...Medicine Man?

[Dean raises an eyebrow, moving closer to the kid with weird markings on his face. He looks to be around seven or eight. It's hard to tell. A lotta kids look the same to him. He's seen a few other little kids running around the house, so it must be a fucked up Christmas thing.]

Hey there. [He offers a harmless smile, slowing his pace and stopping several feet away from the little booger.] How ya doin' there, buddy?

[This place isn't safe for kids at all.]

[tadanokusuriuri]

[The small child looks up at him, confused. He's a little ill at ease with the human acting like he knows him, but there's no one else around, so he can't really be ignored...]

...I'm well.

Thank you.

[dashboardlite]

[He always feels as though he has to keep an eye out for people he knows...and the Medicine Seller has helped him plenty of times before. Even though he's tiny and probably can't remember Dean right now.

He's still vulnerable, and Dean's got a soft spot for kids.]

This house isn't that safe, dude. You gotta watch yourself around here. You need any help?

[tadanokusuriuri]

[He considers this in silence for a few long moments.]

I... think not.

Tell me... [His slow, deliberate speech patterns are so much odder with a child's voice.] ...What dangers are there here?

[dashboardlite]

All sortsa stuff. People who think they're countries, ghosts, angels... [He's wary about leaving the kid alone. This tiny Medicine Seller is small enough to get stepped on.] ...I'd hate to see you get hurt, little buddy.

[He really is genuinely concerned.]

[tadanokusuriuri]

Ghosts... aren't uncommon. [He's tiny, but he seems to look straight through Dean when he talks to him. Dean's concern doesn't really make sense to him, but then again, he's not quite on the same wavelength as humans.]

[dashboardlite]

...well...yeah, but...you gonna take 'em on all by yourself?

[This is harder than he thought it would be. Even as a little kid, Medicine Man sure is perceptive. Dean wonders if he has any human in him at all.]

[tadanokusuriuri]

[There's a flicker of doubt on his face, and he shifts uncomfortably. Can he?]

...I need to know their Form, Truth, and Regret. [He clutches his toy sword closer.]

Then I can.

[But he can't just know that information. Someone--the person whose heart holds those truths--has to tell him.]

[dashboardlite]

[Damn, this is the most personal information Dean's ever gotten out of the guy. Medicine Man is usually pretty mum on the subject as to how he handles the shit he fights.]

How do you know that, though?

[Dean crouches at the child's level, cocking his head to one side curiously.]

[tadanokusuriuri]

[The Medicine Seller doesn't really talk about himself; he talks little enough about anything else, though, to be fair. He will disclose bits and pieces about his methods, though, when they're relevant to the situation.]

The Form is the easiest. It can... be told from the signs that the spirit leaves.

[Cat's hair for a bakeneko, children's laughter and birthwater for a zashiki-warashi, and so on.]

The Truth and Regret... must be revealed by those who know them. [Usually, the people being haunted, but sometimes the mononoke itself.]

[dashboardlite]

[Fine some way to relate, Dean chastises himself. Unless he shared, he was going to get jack-squat from the kid and the tiny little Medicine Seller would be wandering the halls, alone, unprotected. The thought made Dean's stomach twist.]

We have somethin' like that for what I do. [Shoving both hands into his jacket pockets, he pauses upon realizing that the small charm the Medicine Seller had given him is still there. Dean pulls it out and holds it up.]

...do you remember this at all?

[tadanokusuriuri]

[He examines it, his detached air of calm seeming entirely out of place on a child's face.]

...I don't.

[He recognizes it for what it is, but doesn't recall seeing that one in particular.]

[dashboardlite]

[Hunh. Strange. Dean would have at least expected a little recognition there. Maybe being a kid turns your memories to scrambled eggs. Pocketing the charm, and rubs his face and sighs before looking back at the child. The Medicine Seller is still staring at him with wide, calculating purple eyes.

This is so fucking weird.]

So are you gonna take on anything and everything that comes your way, buddy?

[tadanokusuriuri]

[The child smiles; his canines are just a little bit too pointed for comfort, but hey, it's not like he looked completely human in the first place.]

Not everything... is my business.

[dashboardlite]

[...well that's a little creepy. An expression that he would have deemed normal on the Medicine Seller as a grown man was somewhat disturbing when he was around eight years old.]

There are so big monsters here, though. Do you think you can handle them? Or do you want my help?

[tadanokusuriuri]

[Again, he pauses to think. With the Medicine Seller as a child, it's rather clearer that that was the purpose of him pausing, rather than just to throw off people's timing.]

What help... do you have to offer?