cape_kore | 01 | Video/Action

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01 | Video/Action | Day 108

[It's been a week since Anita's arrival in the Cape, and all that time, she's managed to monitor the network without actually making herself known, taking the opportunity the blackout and the defunct network had provided her to move around town unnoticed and get the lay of the land. By now, she's more or less settled -- she has housemates she gets along with reasonably well, one of them a stray Allison brought home after no less than two days after their arrival. She has a potential ally in a man she's still not entirely convinced isn't a yeti, and a woman who practically reeks of magic but without that undertone of malice.

All things considered, there's something of a silver lining to this new situation, though she certainly has plenty of choice words for their captors if she ever gets the chance. She's determined to make that opportunity arise sooner or later.

When she addresses the feed, she's sitting on the front steps of House 10, arms resting on her knees.]

I haven't been here long, but I think I've got most of the details by now. [People had been helpful, for the most part.] The food supply is low and it sounds like people are doing whatever they can to help supplement it. I hear people hunt. I'd like to get in on that, but it would help to know what's available to us in the way of weapons.

[She has her knives, and her guns with their limited ammo, but she's never been much of a trapper despite being vaguely outdoorsy. She'd done a lot of field work during college that had required her to spend time out in the woods and knew well enough how to forage, but hunting anything that wasn't, you know, monstrous was entirely new. Animals couldn't be all that different, could they? Just... smaller. Potentially less vicious.

Right.]

Do we have the resources to replace or even forge spent ammunition, for instance? Or do we get to play pioneer and do it the authentic way?

[You know. Bows and arrows. That kind of thing.]

Any kind of feedback would be appreciated. If I'm going to be stuck here, might as well pitch in and do what I can to help.

[The feed ends. She'll be sitting outside of House 10 for awhile if anyone comes by or wants to pester her, and later in the day, she can be found at the docks, doing a little investigating.]

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Yeah, you know, like--

[She makes a vague sort of gesture to his entire person, lost for words.]

People with some kind of power usually give off an aura. They don't give off anything if they're nulls, and on that same note, a null wouldn't be able to sense it, but I've always been pretty good at that kind of thing. Auras are pretty distinct, you know? A witch feels a hell of a lot different than a werewolf, and a vampire feels different still. ... they also kind of smell a little.

[Yup. She sure is just casually talking about vampires.]

So mystical was right on the money. What kind of trials? You get yanked here before you could finish your ritual or something?

[ Sounds like she's about as familiar with the world of monsters and mayhem as he is. It's a little comforting, and he has to wonder - ]

Are you a hunter? [ The hunter network is pretty small where he comes from, but he's sure that out there, in some other world or where ever she comes from, there are such things. ] You seem like you've been dealing with this kind of stuff about as much as I have.

[ Even if she isn't, or even if she isn't exactly human, it doesn't really matter. So far, she's been nothing but reliable and Sam knows damn well being a human isn't the only deciding factor of trusting someone. ]

I did. Was interrupted by my brother before I could finish what I was doing. [ Not gonna mention the 'probably going to die' thing. ] The end result is going to be something big. Closing the gates of Hell, actually. Demons sent back home, maybe a little peace for once.

[ He doesn't really believe true peace exists at this point, but even a little can go a long way. ]

Vampire Executioner, if you want to get technical.

[She smiles wryly, shrugging like it's no big deal. She's had this talk with his brother, to a degree -- he'd seemed to enjoy the fact that she actually had a physical license to show off. If the government would just get around to giving her a proper badge, she'd be all set.]

At least on paper. I've come up against a lot more than vampires. Mostly lycanthropes, since they're the next most common beastie, but I've seen all kinds of things. Ghouls, wraiths, fae. Even saw a naga once.

[That had been particularly harrowing, actually. She raises an eyebrow when he mentions demons -- and closing the gates of Hell.]

Your brother mentioned demons when I was talking to him earlier. Didn't say anything about hellgates. That's pretty intense. You're not just pulling my leg, are you?

[But she's good at reading people. She's always been good at it. She knows he isn't.]

Shit. And I thought my job was rough.

[ Sam files that away to mull over later - vampire executioner, that's something he hasn't run into just yet. Seems like they've got some things in common, when it comes to jobs anyway.

Not that his is entirely legal, or even existent to the general public. He wishes they could have some kind of official badge, if only to keep authorities from bothering them. They get in the way more often than not. ]

No, not pulling your leg. Kinda wish I was a little. [ And he shrugs it off, because what can he do? It's a done deal. Or will be, if he has anything to say about it. He isn't going through this crap for nothing, that's for damn sure. ] So...what was a naga like?

[ Okay, he knows they have something they're supposed to be doing but seriously, he can't help himself. ]

[She almost presses the subject, wanting to get a few more details, but the way he shrugs it off like that -- he obviously doesn't want to talk about it, and they're not good enough friends for her to push. Not yet. She smiles wryly, gesturing for him to take a seat at the kitchen table as she heads in that direction.

Sure, they have rummaging to do, but why not talk shop for a little while first?]

It took me a few minutes to recognize it for what it was. Someone had skinned it alive. Because of their regenerative properties, it wasn't enough to kill it... kind of hard to watch, actually. It was in a lot of pain.

[Not aggressive. Not hurting anyone. Just another victim.]

Kind of goes without saying given the situation, I guess. They're immortal, so I can only hope that they would be able to grow their own skin and scales back.

[ There is no small amount of relief when she drops the subject of the tablets. One part of his reluctance to talk is from years of reluctance to talk about anything like this with someone other than his family. Another part is the fact he's just kind of tired of it, dealing with it. As long as he's okay now, that's what matters.

He takes a seat, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table. He wishes he'd brought a notebook, honestly, because it never hurts to jot some things down. Keeps it organized for him. ]

Sounds rough. We've got stories of naga where I'm from, but so far they've just been stories. Not ready to write them off completely yet. [ He half smiles at this. He'd practically written off dragons as real, and yet they appeared. Maybe not exactly how he imagined them, but real nonetheless. ] Most of what we get can look like you and me, so it's hard to distinguish them from humans sometimes. It involves a lot of luck, honestly.

[ Along with a few tests, that is. The holy water stuff isn't so bad, it's the silver knife crap that's annoying. ]

It's gotten to the point I can't greet my brother without going through a few hurdles. Drinking down some holy water, cutting skin with a silver knife. Knocking out demons and shapeshifters in one go.

I don't think there's really much that can be written off as 'just stories' anymore. Not at this point -- at least, where I come from. Some of the stories might be exaggerated, but most of them have some basis in truth. Like trolls. Trolls are real, but not all of them are carnivores or even violent. There are peaceful tribes, too.

[Not a whole lot, since their numbers were thinning, and people were always pushing to have the law forbidding the hunting of trolls revoked, but for now, they were safe enough. She listens to him with interest, nodding as she goes about getting each of them a glass of water, setting one in front of him before sitting across from him.]

Sorry, don't have much else, things being scarce like they are.

Most people where I'm from are only acquainted with the stuff that manages to look human -- shapeshifters, and some of the younger vampires can pull it off, too. They have a hard time passing, but most of them don't want to, anyway. They like the attention they get just for being undead.

[She snorts lightly. Clearly, she doesn't approve of that particular facet of their society.]

Sounds like you guys have the routine down pat. That's good. Can't be too careful. If I couldn't tell what something was right off the bat, I'd probably do the same.

[ He gives her a smile in thanks for the water, taking a drinking from it as he listens. It's fascinating, hearing about the world she comes from that sounds so much like his own.

There are marked differences, of course - the fact she seems to work in some official capacity, and the part about 'peaceful tribes'. He's not sure if trolls are walking around where he comes from, but he wouldn't be that surprised. ]

Mostly, people don't know about vampires, werewolves, or any of that back home. They prefer keeping them to stories, and there are all kinds of excuses people tell themselves to avoid the truth. [ It never ceases to be amazing, really, the length people will go to in order to deny the truth right in front of their face. ] It's hard to keep it quiet, especially when we're hunting, but so far we've been lucky.

[ If nobody counts the times they've been arrested, had a federal agent hounding their ass, the near death experiences and the actual death experiences. He's here and breathing, he considers that pretty damn lucky. ]

What are you able to sense, exactly? Just that there's something off, or are you able to pinpoint what someone is at first glance?

I think a lot of people back home would like to be able to believe they're just stories. Some of them really work at staying ignorant, but it's next to impossible these days. Most people have met or heard about a shapeshifter in their vicinity, and vampires are legal citizens now, so there's no avoiding them. They'll be rocking the vote sooner or later.

[She gives him a wry smile of sympathy.]

I remember having to keep it quiet. In some ways, it's still like that -- the laws can hurt more than they help a lot of the time. I've been forced to kill more than a few vampires without a warrant in order to keep other people or myself alive. If the cops found out, I'd be up on murder chargers.

[Hell, she has been. She shifts in her seat, making herself comfortable and taking a sip of her water.]

Well, different auras have different feels to them, if that makes sense? If someone has potential or an affinity for magic, I can feel it. If they're a null, I don't feel anything at all. Power kind of has -- a presence. Sometimes it's hard to define, but some are easier to pick out than others.

Werewolves or wereleopards who aren't good at hiding their power feel warm and sort of electric. Vampires feel cold and very still. Heavy. Like death is weighing on you. And they smell kind of like... snakes? Musty. But that's not part of their aura, just an unfortunate fact of life.

[ He wonders if it would make life easier if the population at large was aware those monsters from scary stories were alive and walking among them. After a moment, he decides that ignorance is better. There's no telling what kind of chaos would ensue. ]

Yeah, makes sense. [ He can briefly remember the times he'd been possessed (courtesy of Meg and then Lucifer), and though he hadn't been in control the entire time, he could still sense some of the things they could. He hadn't thought much about it at the time, he was more worried about other things obviously, but thinking on it now he can picture it. Kinda. ] Are you able to control it, or is it one of those things you can never shut off?

[ ....wait a second. ]

Wereleopards? We've only got werewolves. [ So far. Doesn't mean he's not interested. New things. ]

It's on twenty-four seven, more or less. Most anyone with enough power will give me some kind of reading, although it's a little different for the dead and undead. I can actually reach out and actively seek them, if I need to.

[It's come in handy once or twice.]

Just the wolves?

[She raises both eyebrows, mildly surprised. Her world has so damn many shifters that it sounds strange for his to just have wolves.]

Werewolves and wererats are the most common where I'm from, but there are plenty of others. Leopards, like I said. Weretigers here and there, but they're rare. Werehyenas, weresnakes, swanmanes. Shapeshifters are pretty much everywhere.

We've got a few skinwalkers, but so far they've only been able to change into canines.

[ He's not sure how he would feel about such a wide variety of shape shifters who could change into other animals. Resigned, probably, because that would heap on the work like nothing else. ]

Haven't run into any for a while, though. Everything's been pretty quiet since we had a run-in with some Leviathans. Hope you don't have those running around, because they are hard to kill. Not to mention their fondness for human dinners.

[ He frowns as he talks about them. God, he thought they would never get rid of them. Then everything went to Hell once Dick had been taken down. ]

Any ideas on if we've got any shifters around here? Haven't run into any so far, but I did meet someone who made a storm when she arrived.

[ It was pretty cool. ]

Charlie mentioned them, too. We don't have any where I'm from, but there are plenty of other things that love to eat people to make up for it.

[Some of which she is more intimately familiar with than she would really like to be.]

I haven't met any face-to-face, but there's a lot of power here. I'm guessing we have at least one or two, if not more. There's a witch, too, and I'm banking on a couple of vampires, although I don't feel the pull. But I'm assuming that they might feel a little different than what I'm used to, seeing as our origins are different.

[She sighs before cracking a sheepish half-smile.]

I must sound like some new-age freak.

[ Sam's not ready to jump the gun on the vampires being there - or any other supernatural species that's around. He's learned that, sometimes, they aren't the monsters to look out for.

Though years of training practically scream at him (in the voice of his father) to dig deeper, find out who the vampires and witch and whatever else are, and have a little 'talk' with them, he doesn't. Sam is just fine with peaceful co-existence. ]

Nah. [ He smiles back at her, shaking his head. ] You work around the supernatural long enough, you get it. I've had my own share of...I guess powers. In the past. It might not be the same, but I can relate.

[ 'Might not be the same'. Kind of an understatement there, but he really can relate to it. He remembers what it felt like, to be able to sense so much more than what humans normally can. What it was like to be near demons and angels alike, how each felt similar yet different. ]

Yeah, well, suffice it to say that you're a lot more open minded than most people.

[Her smile turns grim as she shrugs. It's a bit of a sore spot back home, or it was. For the most part, she's over it. Freak and proud.]

Some of them are pretty quick to write me off as being a witch or one of the monsters. [The latter is closer to the truth than not, she figures.] I don't do black magic, but that doesn't seem to make a difference to them. Others find what I do to be useful to them, so they keep their opinions to themselves for the most part, but once they have what they want, it can get ugly.

You can't just leave it hanging there, though. I figured you were more than meets the eye.

Hard not to be open minded when I've been on the other side like that.

[ Though, really, Sam's always been more open to talking than just shooting first. It's necessary sometimes, but just because someone isn't human doesn't always make them a monster. ]

When I was born, there was a demon. He...did something to me. [ Not exactly willing to put up the 'fed me demon blood' fact just yet, but he's frowning just the same. ] It changed me, and in certain situations I could do things. Use telekinesis, send demons back to Hell without killing the person they're possessing.

[ Prep himself to house an angel, among other things. ]

Had my fair share of people out for my blood because of what I was. Even if I was helping.

[ Kind of. He looks uncomfortable, as if he doesn't fully believe himself when it comes to 'helping' during that period of time. He did a fantastic job of screwing up back then, only because he wanted to prove himself. ]

A demon.

[She sounds thoughtful when she echoes him, concerned rather than accusatory. Demons aren't all that common where she's from, but possession does happen -- and looking into the eyes of someone who had been demon-possessed was still one of her most terrifying memories. She had seen things that ranked higher on her Worst Things I've Ever Seen list, things that were more gruesome or more upsetting, but those eyes had chilled her down to her bones. She's always hoped she wouldn't have to repeat the experience.

Pfft. Scared? Her? Tough-as-nails vampire slayer? Surely not.

She nods slowly as he explains, pursing her lips slightly as she considers how best to answer. She had asked for an explanation, and it clearly wasn't an easy one to give. Rather than act shocked -- which she wasn't, not really -- perhaps it would be better to lay her own story out on the table and commiserate.]

So your powers are the kind that land you with a permanent address in the land of gray areas. I get it. Mine are like that, too. Even if I'm helping, even if I'm not doing anything to hurt anyone or abusing my powers, people still freak out and decide they'd rather have me behind bars, burned alive or just dead any way I can get it because of what I am.

[She lifts one hand and smiles wryly, wiggling her fingers a little. Spooky, right?]

I'm a necromancer. We should form a club or something.

[ He smiles a bit, a tired thing that hits his lips for only a few moments before disappearing. Yeah, he lives in the land of gray areas. It's nice for someone to get that, especially so quickly.

It's rare for him to fully come clean about things, but sometimes it feels necessary. In this instance? He feels a little relieved. Maybe he shouldn't feel like that, but if there's one thing about Sam Winchester its he will always feel a little different. Maybe not fully like a monster, not like he used to, but still. Different. ]

We should. Wonder how many members we would get around this place. [ He's thinking at least more than the two of them. Looking down in his cup, he sees he's finished with his water so he pushes himself up to stand, taking the cup over to the sink to set it down. ] I don't really talk about this stuff that much. Kind of hard, you know, with the life I lead. The only person I've got is Dean. And Cas, now.

[ As opposed to when he was younger and felt like he had nobody. Going to college, making friends, having Jess in his life - he had been so happy, but it had all been a lie. The friends had been demons, he was never going to have any kind of normal life, and Jess...well. Even now, thinking about her leaves him feeling hollow. ]

Is it too early for me to add myself to the tally?

[She raises an eyebrow as she turns to rest her arm atop the back of her chair, watching him head towards the sink. She's not trying to be pushy, but she's always been pretty quick when it comes to making up her mind about people. Sam has something in him that most people she meets don't -- something she can relate to.

For a long time now, she's been quick to write herself off as one of the monsters, as if saying it over and over again would make her miss what she'd lost of her humanity less, but it wasn't exactly true. She wasn't the same as Jean-Claude, or Richard, or Jason, or any of the leopards. She was in a category all her own, somewhere between monster and human, and it seemed like Sam was in the same place.]

Kindred spirits are kind of hard to come by.

I don't think it's ever too early.

[ There's something a little more tired about his voice now, and not tired in a sense that all he wants is to pass out in bed. No, this is the kind of bone deep wariness borne from years of pain, anger, and being used as some kind of puppet in a show he never wanted to be a part of.

A normal life shouldn't be such a difficult thing to hold on to, but by God every time it's within his reach it slips through his fingers. He doesn't know if it's him, or if there's some entity out there who enjoys making his life a roller coasters of awful.

If there is, it's probably Gabriel. ]

They are. I'll be honest... [ And he turns around, back toward the sink, as he leans against the counter. His mouth is turned down just the slightest, not a frown but not happy, either. ] Every time I run into someone who's like...well, us. They end up dead.

[ It's blunt, but from what he can tell with Anita she can take blunt. And he's not implying that she'll meet the same fate. It's just his way of explaining why he's kind of alone in this aspect. Maybe he's just bad luck for monster-types like himself, who knows. ]

It happens a lot in our line of work.

[She can most certainly handle blunt. She doles it out pretty generously, herself. It's the best way to handle things a lot of the time. Beating around the bush doesn't do anyone much good. Neither does sugarcoating.]

I've known more than a few people who've met that end, myself. Some were my fault. Some not.

[She smiles thinly in reply, and it doesn't even come close to reaching her eyes, just bitter and full of regret and doing her damnedest not to let it show.]

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01 | Video/Action | Day 108

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