cape_kore | first shot → video → day 103

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first shot → video → day 103

[ It's fairly early when Allison poses her question to the network. Not obnoxiously so, just a little earlier than most would expect a teenager to be up of her own accord. She's already been for a run and there's a little evidence to show as much. She's just a little puffed, breathing returning to it's normal rate, and the clothes she's scavenged from the house aren't an ideal fit, but they're still closer to gym gear than the dress she'd arrived in (thanks scientists). Her hair is piled up in a loose bun on the top of her head, cheeks still just a little flushed, and she's only just at the door. She really should go inside and get herself sorted first, but network etiquette 101 is escaping her right now - and besides, the question is important.

There's a friendly smile at least, and for a moment she just eyes the feed a little, unsure of how to start. Finally it comes with a light clear of her throat and a sheepish look at the device on her wrist. ]

So I really hope this thing is working, or I'm going to look like an idiot. [ She laughs, a little awkward, and moves to sit down on the porch. The video jerks in response to the movement, but settles again once she does. ] I just have a quick question, nothing too taxing I promise.

[ She glances away for a second, a little stuck for how to pose the question without sounding like she's up to something, but finally just decides to bite the bullet. Everyone needs to defend themselves, right? That sea monster sure proved that. ]

I'm looking for a bow. Mine got...left behind, I guess, and I'd just- I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I had one. If anyone knows where there might be something like that around town or...God, even if you know how to make one, I'd really appreciate the pointers.

[ She pauses again, all awkward awkward Allison, and she's about to add something else.

Unfortunately at that point, the feed cuts out. Or perhaps fortunately, for the people listening. At that rate, they were going to be there all day. ]

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[ Dean's eyes narrow, though there's still a hint of his smile at the corners. ]

Uh-huh. You win any titles?

[ That's okay, Allison; Dean'll find a way to cycle back around to that super obvious lie. He comes up to her and takes the crossbow from her, loading it up with another arrow and casually holding it up, taking aim. His body is relaxed, his gaze focused; he's no newbie to this either, and when he takes his shot, it lands just above Allison's and to the right a bit. ]

[ Nailed it. So smooth. So subtle. ]

A few, yeah. I'm more experienced with a recurve though, probably could've given you your Robin Hood moment with that.

[ She watches as he takes the shot, unable to help the semi-critical gaze. He's got good form, a little less rigid and a little more casual, but certainly practical. It's not a professional stance, it's a hunters. ]

You're good. Who taught you?

My dad. And a friend of his. [ He eyes the bow and then passes it back to her, stepping back. He knows exactly what he just showed off to her; he never messed around with the pretense of being into this for any reason other than hunting. That's all he had time for anyway, and he always looked the part. ]

I'm better with a rifle though. Nothing fancy; just enough to do the trick. [ Sawed off shotguns and handguns, actually, but who's counting. He smiles, his eyes more knowing than his dialogue necessarily lets on. ]

But you don't hunt, right? [ Not that he's talking about your usual hunter's fare. He doesn't automatically assume supernatural hunter, but this place isn't exactly a random sample size of the population. And why would she stumble her way through a bad excuse for a lie over deer hunting? ]

My dad started me out too. [ She smiles, but it's still sad because that's complicated and she's not sure how to feel about that any more. She's not sure how to process the idea that her dad - the guy who huge her when she cried about her break up with Scott and taught her how to properly grip a bow and helped her with her freaking math homework - is a serial killer sacrificing innocent people for an unknown cause.

So she doesn't process it. She just shakes her head and smiles, wondering vaguely if Dean's a sport or survival kind of hunter (because she doesn't think there's others, it hasn't occurred to her yet) and looks at him a little curiously. ]

I haven't shot a gun. Well, only once, but it was a long time ago. [ But she doesn't even get as far as asking her next question because he's asking leading ones of her own, and Allison clearly hasn't been as subtle as she had hoped. Pressing her lips together as she tries to come up with something to change the subject, she shrugs and tucks some flyaway hair out of her face. ] I- do I look like a hunter to you?

[ She laughs awkwardly, glancing down at herself before holding her arms out. ]

[ Hasn't shot a gun before? Maybe definitely more the sport hunting type, but there are other things to hunt that guns aren't really good for. He can't rule it out yet, especially with the way she's stumbling around the subject. Seriously, if she hunts squirrels or doves or whatever, what's the hangup about? What's she shooting these arrows for other than competitions?

He doesn't even give her a sassy look, no snark, nothing. His eyes don't even move from hers. ]

You really want me to answer that? [ Because yeah, she's reminding him of Krissy right now. ]

I'm guessing you don't, since you're trying, and doing a terrible job, by the way, to act like all you use that bow for is winning trophies.

[ Her hands drop back to her sides and Allison frowns for a moment before loading up another bolt. Her lips press into a thin line and she turns, barely taking the time to line it up before she takes the shot. It lands between Dean's and her first one, and she drags her teeth over her lower lip before glancing back to him. ]

You wouldn't believe me even if I told you.

[ It's a cop out of an answer, damn closer to the truth than she wanted to give out, but she's not that great at lying. Well, she's good at lying to certain people, but strangers with pressing questions really aren't her specialty. ]

It's a long story.

[ Dean watches her as she takes another shot, everything from her casual and calm perfect aim to the way she's clearly emotional about this, and she takes it out with the bow and arrow? Yeah, that's definitely familiar territory to Dean, and whoever, whatever she is, whatever she does, Dean's pretty sure he'll be able to relate on some kind of level.

It's cute how she thinks Dean hasn't heard of everything. He licks his lips to keep from rolling his eyes, and then he smiles. ]

Try me. You can give me the short version, though. What do you hunt? [ He narrows his eyes, tilts his head. ] Is it vampires? Werewolves? Demons, ghosts -- am I ringing any bells?

[ When he says 'try me' she just gives him a look - slightly sarcastic and a little unimpressed, and it only gets worse when he says vampires. If he's mocking her it's not funny, and it lasts exactly until he says werewolves. Ding ding ding, we have a winner.

Her expression falters and she fixes a frown on her face again, but when she looks back at him it softens, and maybe she's just a little curious now. Maybe he's not just shooting the shit, maybe he's actually being serious here. ]

You...are you being serious? [ She falters slightly, scuffs her foot against the ground and then sets the crossbow on the floor carefully. ] Because if you are...

[ She doesn't quite know how to finish that sentence, so she just gestures vaguely before letting out a soft sigh. ]

It's kind of the family business.

[ Dean looks serious as the heart attack he's probably going to have one day, his expression not really changing all the way through her realizing that yeah, they are the same kind of hunter. Honestly Dean's not thrilled at the idea of another kid being brought up in this lifestyle, but here she is and she's pretty much guaranteed that he'll be keeping an eye on her.

And then she goes and says that, and his eyebrows shoot up before his face relaxes into a smile. It's a kind of a sad smile, nostalgic and a little pained, but a smile nonetheless. ]

Yeah, it always is. My brother and I, this is what we do. Now, you should know that there are some things here, some people, that might be the kind of thing we'd hunt back home. No one's caused any trouble yet, so you shouldn't either. Too easy to start a panicked situation in a closed-off community like this.

[ After all, he doesn't know how short her fuse is on this kind of thing. Krissy and those other teenage hunters, they were vicious and bloodthirsty in their quest for revenge. ]

[ Her relief is all too obvious at his response as she lets out a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding in. That smile of his is telling in itself and she can't help but be curious. Maybe his family is complicated too. Maybe his family is more complicated. Either way, it's oddly comforting. She hadn't expected to be quite so happy about finding out there was another hunter here - but oh god, she really is. ]

We're...my family is kind of specialised. You know, Argent. [ She's hesitant about talking about it too much, but she has a slightly sheepish smile on her face as she looks at him. It's just been a long time since she's been able to really talk to anyone about the life - since Gerard, really and look how that turned out. ]

I'm not going to go on a crusade, don't worry. [ ~~been there done that~~ ] I don't- there's a code. Besides... I'm technically retired.

[ Yeah, and look how long that lasted. Two days in Kore and she's already looking for a bow. ]

[ She says that like he's supposed to know what it means, and he takes a minute to scroll through his memory banks, and -- yeah, no, he's got nothing. He's glad to hear that he doesn't have to worry about her going off on some random, but he'll be keeping an eye out all the same until he gets a better feel for how she works. ]

Don't think I know any Argents. Maybe you've heard of me. Last name's Winchester. [ His family name's gotten around among hunters and monsters alike. ]

And good for you, on the retirement. Congratulations. [ He smiles, and he really hopes that it works out for her out in the real world, but it probably won't. Here she is, looking to arm herself already. That instinct to protect yourself never goes away, and by extension, that instinct to protect others when you know you can do it better than they can. ]

[ Flat look, Dean. Just....such a flat look. ]

Argent, as in silver. Werewolves? [ pls get the joke ] And I've never heard of other hunting families. Makes sense that there's more of us though.

[ She laughs though, a lot of the tension lifted as she folds her arms over her chest. The retirement thing is a bit of a sore subject though, and she hesitates for a second over it. It had been the intention, after all. It had been the deal breaker on returning to Beacon Hills in the first place - that Allison retired along with Chris, and they started a normal life. Things rarely work out quite as planned though, and she'd barely lasted a month before she was out again with a bow and quiver over a shoulder.

And she'd lied. She'd lied and lied and look where that had gotten everyone. Nothing is going to be solved by starting that up again, so she heaves a sigh before shaking her head. ] Don't...don't congratulate me. I'm not really. It's- hard to get out, you know? I wanted to, I really did but-

[ She just hunches her shoulders, a wry smile on her face. ] Kind of has a way of dragging you back in, huh.

[ Dean frowns, and then -- oh, oh sure. Argents. Silver. Right. Totally... gets that one. Yep. Dean's face is the face of someone who understands that and doesn't want anyone to explain it to him. He's just going to move on from that (and look it up later). Anyway, her never having heard of other hunters isn't necessarily a sign they don't inhabit the same worlds; could be they're a disconnected bunch.

There, though. The retirement thing. That sounds way more likely, as much as he'd hate to admit it, and some of the tension relaxes away in his shoulders too. Saves him from having to make the speech himself some other time. ]

Yeah, it's not easy to get out once you're here. You can't untrain what you've spent your life gearing up for. I'd like to say that you're young, there could be some hope for you still, and that's true, but... Well, anyway, you're here now. It's not like this place is normal, but the only thing we hunt around here is deer, so there's something.

[ There's a little knowing smirk there, briefly. She knows what's up there, Dean, it's okay. She doesn't speak Latin either, she'll leave that to Lydia. ]

Honestly, that suits me perfectly. Deer's all I want to hunt right now. [ Allison raises a hand to the back of her neck, rubbing slightly at the top of her neck as she tilts her head, and she inspects Dean for a moment. It's...really quite fascinating to her. Sure, it makes sense that there's other hunters, but meeting one outside of the family?

It's...kind of really cool, actually. ]

Vampires though, demons, ghosts? That stuff is all out there too? [ It's hard to believe, but not impossible. After all, there had been no such thing as werewolves in Allison's life only a year ago, and now look where she is. ] And you hunt it?

[ Dean's familiarish sort of not really with Latin; it's his French that's nonexistent unless you're talking about threesomes. Good, though, he's glad they're moving on from the vocab lesson. He can see it in her look, though the question really makes it all clear to him; she's interested in getting to know him, know what he does, and he can dig that. It's good to find out you aren't alone. ]

That's right. These days mostly I'm after demons, but when I started out it was a good mix. Demigods are a big pain in the ass. Always some random special tree root dipped in some kinda animal blood, stake 'em in the heart or the kidney or something stupidly specific.

[ And if that answer isn't a clear sign that her family really do deal with an incredibly niche market of supernatural beings out there, she doesn't know what is. ]

Tree roots dipped in blood? That's...far more complicated than we deal with. Cutting in half does the trick, decapitation. ..Fire. [ Yeah, that one sure does it too. Just ask Resident Argent Victim Derek Hale. She's more than happy to keep listening though, taking a slight step closer as she speaks again. ]

The worst we've had in Beacon Hills is a kanima, nothing close to that bad. Honestly, I didn't even know there was anything else.

[ That gets his attention. She's gotta be new, but how can her family not know this stuff? How can this not have been passed down to her? He's relieved that maybe her training has been just that -- all training, minimal field work, especially if all she's run into are werewolves. Dean's not even sure he's ran into that many werewolves in his day; other kinds of shifters, sure, they were super annoying. ]

Maybe you'll luck out and there won't be. We may not be from the same universe, or whatever. I don't think I've run across a kanima, either, but -- [ He's heard that before. ]

Hey... Are you friends with J-- Lydia?

Same universe? [ She frowns, because that's seriously not an easy concept to grasp. She isn't the sci-fi nerd of the group, like at all. She couldn't even tell you the difference between star trek and star wars, so to say it's flying over her head is definitely an understatement. Still, she nods along despite being so thrown, because he's got to know what he's talking about, right?

And then he drops the "J-- Lydia" bomb ~~what were you going to say there dean does allison have to punch someone~~ and she frowns a little more before raising an eyebrow. ]

...Yeah. She's from back home, one of- well, my best friend. [ She shrugs, still obviously confused. ] Do you know her?

Oh, have you not gotten the universe speech? Yeah, all that alternate universe stuff's true. Not everyone here is from the same place. Can't be because some people have like, comic book superhero style stuff, but I don't have any of that where I come from. Some people are aliens or something too.

[ Be smooth, Dean, be smooth. Act like there's nothing for her to be raising her eyebrow about and there won't be. Come on, casual face... Casual face... He's totally nailing it. ]

Yeah, she's been here a little while. Have you run into her yet? She'll be glad to see you.

Time skips, sure, but definitely not universes. God, I can handle squids but not science fiction.

[ Allison laughs. Honestly, it's about the only reaction she can muster, because how else exactly is she supposed to deal with 'superhero alien' stuff? It's that little tidbit that gets her more than anything else here, and for a moment her head kind of spins as she processes that bit of information - and promptly chooses to try and avoid overthinking it too much. Now is not the time for a headache after all. ]

Yeah, yeah I have. Wish she wasn't here but...it's really nice to see a familiar face. [ That is the worst casual face she's ever seen, and that brow just arches a little more as she looks at him before adding in a slightly more edgy tone. ] How do you know her?

[ Laughing's a good way to handle it; hell, he laughed his way through a lot of the shit that happened in his life, until there got to a point where there wasn't much to laugh about anymore. Hell does that. Still, sea monsters can be pretty hilarious, when they're not killing good guys like Wallie. He smiles along with her, sympathizing. He remembers when this stuff was new and weird to him; simpler times.

Uh oh, did he piss her off with the Lydia thing? Be cool, Dean, be cool. Brush it off. ]

Just seen her around. It's a small place. And um. She told me some things about your home. I didn't realize you were one of her friends.

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first shot → video → day 103

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lmao i didn't realise that i'd left this with the icon browse thing open for like 15 minutes

and i totally missed the name joke OOPS

shdjfsd GJ RACHELLE

IT'S 6 AM AND I'M ALMOST DONE WITH THIS CIDER

wjfhdj u badass

u no it

smooch smooch

see icon for the casual face

so smoov dean

ofc