CHAPTER ONE
I shifted uneasily in my seat, I had to keep telling myself not to be scared but I am. I haven't flown in an airplane in my life and this is my first time.
"Lyka, iha, calm down." My Papa placed his hand on my shoulder and I leaned into the weight immediately. It was meant to be comfort and I want to see it like that. But I was so scared I can't even tell him thank you.
Sinag, my Kuya just let me hold his hand as tight as he could, he smiled at me but the pain in his eyes just made me want to throw up or cry.
"Everything will be fine," He always makes these promises, he always tries to make everything better, but I know it's not. "I'll be fine and you'll be fine." He assured me, but he's not fine.
His missing leg is proof of that.
His still healing chest wound is proof of that.
He kept getting hurt because of the Hunt for us.
And I still can't understand why they're hunting us.
"Remember, even if he never raised you, he's still your blood-father." Sinag reminded me, patting my hand, I bit my lip and nodded. I can't trust myself not to tell him that I can't care about my father. "He'll still care for you."
I don't want a father that I never knew to care for me.
I want my Tatay. I only remember snippets of him but all these memories were always happy. I remember blanket forts and fairy tales and I remember tickle fights and messy baking.
I don't want someone who doesn't know me. I don't want to be invisible again. I don't want a father who'll just see me like a burden.
Papa patted me on the head and smiled, I tried to smile back like how my Kuya advised me to but I can't. I think he saw my face because he immediately leaned down to rub his nose against mine.
"We'll make sure you'll be okay with them, Bunso." He can't promise that, can he? I mean I have burns and wounds and I just know I'll get hurt even more than I already had.
"Anyway, they won't figure it out until they read Nay's letter," Kuya cut in with a reassuring grin, "as far as they're concerned they're meeting us for an important discussion on what they're hunting."
Papa only looked at Kuya before shaking his head, "Lyka's existence is still an important discussion," Papa added in with a raised brow at Kuya, "I could never understand why you and your mother think it wise to avoid telling her father of her existence." Papa paused before he proceeded to rub the short fuzz that was supposed to be my hair.
"She's still too young to have seen the world like this, Sinag." The look Papa gave me was sad and at the same time protective. It made me feel like he wanted to pick me up and bundle me up in all my warm clothes, I don't think it's because I'm cold but it's because I was one of his youngest grandchildren.
We've been stuck in this plane for too long but I learned to just focus on Papa and Kuya's lips and to keep myself focused on their words. They were discussing other stuff that I can't figure out but I did catch the names of my dad and his family.
The first time they told me that they were sending the youngest tribe members back to their human families with an assigned Guard I got scared. I didn't want to be sent back to the streets. My Tatay was dead. No one will be there for me. I tried to tell them I could fight, that I'm strong enough, but Kuya said that he didn't want me to have night terrors added to my trauma.
The next day Kuya woke me up and told me he found my father, he was a hunter of Dark-Folk. Kuya told me that I will be going abroad to keep myself hidden and safe like the other kids, I got scared again. Scared and angry. All I could remember doing next was that I called him so many bad names but Kuya only looked hurt before trying to explain why I have to go.
He never gets mad...so when I get mad and he just looks sad, it hurts so much. I didn't want to go but he didn't want me to die.
So we both made a promise that when they finish the War with the Dark-Folk hunting us, he'll send me word and we could be together again. Like how we were after he found me on the streets when no one cared about me.
~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~
I didn't realise I fell asleep until Papa was waking me up, I only whined and held my arms out to him. Papa chuckled and picked me up, I nuzzled into his shirt, it's nice and soft and Papa won't mind if I make him a pillow. Papa was big and strong, so he could always carry two kids my age and size in both hands. He loved laughing too, it was because when he laughs, it makes the kids like me feel less scared. Papa also has a long beard and he likes wearing typical old people clothes like sweaters and pants for his disguise. None of us could tell him how funny he looked because he's really proud of his disguise.
When we got off the plane, Papa let Kuya take over so he could grab my bags from the spinning belt thing, so Kuya held my hand and began asking me the usual questions he's been grilling me with ever since they found out who my father is.
"Lyka, what's your family's last name?" I huffed and puffed my cheeks out, trying to think of the answer again.
"Dela Cruz?" I said hesitantly, Kuya smiled and nodded.
"First names?" He pressed, I looked down on my shoes and thought really hard on what I should answer with.
"Papa Batha-" I stopped, my eye widening when I got the name wrong and looked to Kuya, I don't want to Reveal anyone.
Kuya smiled and set his crutches aside to sink to the same eye level at me.
"Papa Bal-tha-zar." Kuya spoke slowly and gently and he even sounded out the syllables. He wasn't mad. No, Kuya and Papa never got mad. It was who they were. I swallowed and nodded.
"Papa Balthazar," I mumbled out, I stumbled over the way the name was and it felt wrong to say that about Papa but my father needs to know through Nanay. Kuya nodded, trying to keep me going, "Nanay Maya, Tita Hannah, Tita Tala, Tito Apollo, Kuya Simeon and Lyka Dela Cruz." I finished the entire list of my family and I looked at Kuya, he looked proud, but he looked like he might cry too.
He did cry. It was always quiet when he cried. He pulled me close and I clung onto him, whimpering, I never wanted to leave Kuya, he saved me from the streets and kept me safe and showed me what family is. He promised we'll never be apart.
But now his promise is gonna be broken because we're being Hunted and I "need to be safe". It's not fair!
"I'll miss you, Lyka." He whispered, his voice cracking, I pressed my face into his neck and I just tried not to cry harder.
" 'll m'ss 'ou too." I mumbled, sniffling. Kuya didn't let go of me even after he stopped crying and shaking.
When Papa got back, Kuya was still hugging me but his eyes were dry now, we decided to just settle down on the floor and wait for Papa to return so we could get going.
"So your father and your uncle should be somewhere around here," Papa started as Kuya got up to scan the airport with him, he had this blank expression on his face but I knew he was thinking of something negative.
"Or they decided that it's suspicious that a bunch of foreigners know about them and figured they should bail."
I hope the second part was true, if it was then that would mean Papa and Kuya would have to take me back.
...or they would just leave me with someone else I don't know. Someone who doesn't even have a tie with me.
"I doubt that they would bail on our 'information' if it's about the demon they've been hunting for most of their lives." Papa said simply, "If need be, I'll Reveal us and we may as well offer our aid to them so that there would be no hard feelings." Kuya's face said that he doesn't agree.
"Alright." He said instead, he sounded like he really didn't want to say alright but he did. I didn't want us to be Revealed, but Papa always means well so I'm just going to trust him.
"But that's only as a last resort." I nodded, the plan was that I give Nanay's letter to my father then that's when we're Revealed. Kuya said he'll send me a Santelmo so we could talk, or he could have an Anito deliver our messages. Mostly because he wasn't sure if he could trust my father with taking care of my Mirror.
Kuya took hold of my hand.
I bit my lip, taking a deep breath, I nodded.
~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~~OoO~
So that was my father. He won't like me. He doesn't look like he can take care of me. I frowned as I looked at him from behind Kuya. His brother has long hair. That was something I was used to at least.
I looked up at Kuya who was just staring at them blankly.
We found them waiting for us but now we're just stuck in an awkward silence. I think all of us are scared of something.
"Mr. Dean Winchester and Mr. Sam Winchester?" Kuya started, his voice was rough. Like he's trying to keep himself from saying anything that wouldn't be nice.
"Uh, yes, that's us." I cling tighter onto Kuya. Their accents aren't familiar. I could understand what they're saying, but I don't like this. They're not my family. They don't even know why they'll be taking me in.
Kuya nodded and looked at me nudging me forward, I just tried to keep holding onto him.
"We're the Dela Cruz family, I'm sure you remember my mother, Maya."
My father's eyes widened.
Looks like he remembers my Nanay.
A.N. So there we go with my first ever Supernatural fanfic, this happens somewhere around S1 and I'll admit that I haven't gotten very far but I'd say that the idea of Dad!Dean always interested me. So yeah, I decided to take my characters from my original story out and put my main character, Lyka in the fanfic cause here's the thing, her father is never revealed because in the original story, it wasn't really important, but now I'll make a leeway cause this is pretty fun to write about. I hope you like this, please leave comments they motivate me! ;;3;;
iha/hija - my child, my daughter
Papa - Lyka calls her grandfather Papa as a term of endearment
Kuya - big brother
The Hunt - the term demigods use as a reference to how they are being hunted for their blood and insides.
Tatay - Lyka was given to a history teacher who raised her and she grew up calling him Tatay which translates to Father.
Bunso - youngest child or little one.
Reveal - To Reveal yourself as a supernatural being is to show your true self. Gods and Demigods have this ability since their human guise is not their true form. For Demigods, their true form is their bodies shrouded in a blinding light. With the Gods, their true form depends on what dominion they rule over. Mayari has a soft white glow for her true form, Bathala is expansive like the galaxy with shifting shades of glowing colours, Hanan and Apolaki has a golden glow to them, etc.
Revealing also counts when you say someone else's true name with or without the person's consent.
Nay/Nanay - Mother
Guard - a protector of the younger Demigods. They are commonly Kapres, Diwatas or Tikbalangs.
Dark-Folk - the term used for the people who aren't aligned with Bathala or those that are not exactly in the 'good' spectrum.
Bathala - Filipino/Tagalog All-Father and creator of mankind, he loved a mortal woman and had four children with her. Hanan (the Goddess of the Morning), Mayari (Goddess of the Moon, Beauty, Revolution, Hunt, Combat, War, Weaponry and Strength), Tala (Goddess of the Stars) and Apolaki (God of the Sun, Wisdom, Strategy and the chief patron of Warriors.)
Mirror - a bowl with gold Baybayin engravings in it used by Mayari's children to communicate with each other through pouring water in the bowl and letting the moonlight hit it.