Okay. This chapter has quite a few languages in it that you may not know. I'm going to put the translations at the bottom and label them by language. If it's slightly off, please don't blame me. I did my humble best.
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. Never have. Never will.
Secrets of the Street
Chapter 2
Meeting Lightning
The next morning Dean was awakened by a shout.
"HEY! Winchester brothers! Up and at 'em! Lightning's running out of time, we're gonna have to go in ten minutes!" Dean groaned and the sound was echoed by Sam.
"Wha' time izzit?" Sam drawled sleepily.
"Seven-thirty, you lazy bum, get your ass out of bed!" Silver had slammed the door open right when Sam had asked his question and was glaring at the brothers in amusement.
"Up. Now."
"Alright, alright," Dean grumbled, "We're getting up." He yawned. "Where we goin' anyway?"
"I told you yesterday, our last base." Silver grumbled.
By the time Sam and Dean came downstairs, the street kids had a piece of toast in one hand and coffee in the other. Watching the three street kids eat was telling. They didn't seem to chew, almost directly inhaling the food.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down 'fore you choke!" Bobby stared at the three in shock. "When did you guys last eat?"
Silver swallowed the last mouthful of toast and thought for a moment. "Two, no three, days ago." She chugged half the black coffee in her cup down in one go. "Why?" Bobby simply shook his head and handed her another slice of toast. The twins ate in the same rapid mechanical pace as she did, but they didn't drink the coffee black.
Dean was on his second cup of coffee and third piece of toast when it happened. A low whistle which peaked into a high note, then quickly lowered again. Silver dropped her fifth piece of toast and coffee cup, hurrying to the door. She flung it open and whistled also, starting at a medium pitch, peaking into high, then dropping into low. Then she waited, fingertips tapping restlessly against the door frame. Then whistles that Dean recognized as Morse code echoed through the air. Silver frowned, then gave it up, turning to Daniel with a raised eyebrow.
"What did he say?"
"Password?" Daniel muttered.
Silver sighed, "Do you remember it?"
Martin nodded and whistled back. His message was quite a bit longer than the question had been. The three street kids waited, tension showing in Silver's bitten lip and the twins' clenched jaws.
"What did you say?" Sam wondered.
"Nothing I have ever-" Martin answered. "It's a two-part password." The answering whistle seemed to reassure them and the hunters' raised eyebrows had Silver rushing to explain.
"Known. That's the last part of the whistled password."
Silver hurried outside.
"Dallas?!" She called.
A tall blonde ducked out from behind a car. "Yeah?"
"Any injuries?"
"You sound like Lightning," He muttered and Silver snorted.
"Not my fault you get injured every other day. The kids?" She asked and Dallas raised his hands.
"Fine. All fine. Have you heard from Lightning?"
Silver nodded. "We're going there as soon as the Winchesters finish breakfast."
"You found them?" He sounded surprised.
"Yes we found them."
"Где? И как? Я думал что Raven пытаетса их наети уже неслако лет?" Dean and Sam stared at the blonde. "What was that?"
Bobby shrugged. "Russian, I'm guessing."
"I don't know how, but Bobby managed it." Silver answered whatever it was the Russian asked.
"И ты собиряешся освободить Lightning?" Dallas asked another question. "Yeah."
Dallas shrugged. "Okay." He answered in English.
Sam turned to Martin and Daniel. "Silver speaks whatever that was?"
"Russian," Martin supplied. "And no, she doesn't. She can understand it, but not speak it."
"Okay." Dean said.
"Lightning speaks Russian." Daniel blurted.
"What?!" Bobby exploded.
Martin shrugged. "Lightning speaks eight languages."
"Which languages?" Sam asked, curiosity taking over his features.
"Uh...Russian, English, French, German, Latin, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish."
"Holy shit!" Dean muttered.
"She's completely fluent?" Sam asked in disbelief.
Martin and Daniel nodded. Dean glanced at the clock then at Silver, who was talking to a rather short young woman with blond-brown hair. He stepped into the doorway, straining to hear the quiet voices.
"Nicolas got left behind?" Silver's tone was worried.
"Who's Nicolas?" Dean asked.
"Our youngest. He speaks no English, and he's just barely five years old." A black woman he hadn't noticed behind the car answered.
"What language does he speak?" Sam asked.
"French and German." Dallas answered. His voice contained a very slight accent, almost unnoticeable.
"Lightning's been teaching him Latin and English."
"You guys all speak Latin?"
"Most of us do, for safety reasons." Silver muttered. She glanced back at Dallas. "Bist Du sicher dass Ihr dann Hier geschützt sind?" German, Martin mouthed at Dean from the porch. Dallas hesitated for only a moment before answering.
"Ja." Silver sighed, before turning to the Winchesters.
"I'm assuming you two have access to a car."
"Yep." Dean stared at Silver for a long moment. "But I'm driving." Silver bit her lip so hard, it almost turned white.
"Fine." She said reluctantly. "But I sit shotgun." Sam groaned, but said nothing else.
Forty minutes later, Silver tapped Dean on the arm. He glanced over at her and she indicated that he had to stop. She hadn't complained about the music, no matter how loud he made it. He turned the car off, allowing the the place to go silent.
"We're close by, but we'll need to walk the rest of the way." Sam got out of the car examining the gravel road that Silver had directed Dean to. Dean's loud music had prevented any talking, and Sam had so many questions about his apparent sister, he didn't know where to begin. Why did she have tattoos? How much did she know about his existence? Where had she been for the past twenty-six years? What was she like? The questions bounced around his skull so much, that he almost didn't notice Silver and Dean heading into the forest.
Silver walked as quietly as they did, gracefully gliding through the forest. Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the trees, and Silver and the brothers froze.
"Silver?" A hoarse voice wondered, but Silver didn't relax.
"Alexa?" She asked guardedly. The other girl, the Mexican known as Alexa that they'd seen in the video stepped from behind a tree, hands open and obvious.
"Christo," Both females muttered at the same time. Nothing happened.
"Where's Lightning?" Silver asked immediately.
"Last I saw, she was running with Nicolas." Alexa bit her lip.
"What is she running from?" Dean asked quickly. Alexa smiled bitterly.
"The same thing she's been running from for years. A demon." A sharp scream cut Alexa off.
"Nicholas." Silver muttered, starting forward.
Then a second yell echoed through the woods. "Geh Nicholas! Schnell!" Silver started towards where the voice had come from, the brothers and Alexa following.
"Who was that and what was that?" Sam asked.
"That was Lightning giving orders in German. As for what-" Alexa shrugged. "I don't speak German. I speak Spanish, and I'm the one who taught Raven. Hey Silver!" She called to the girl in the front. "What did she say?"
"Go Nicholas! Quickly!" Silver translated. Dean felt a memory come to the forefront of his mind, heard his dad tell him, "Take Sam and run, don't look back! Now Dean, go!" He shoved it viciously to the side. This was a hunt, and he couldn't afford to get distracted. Granted, he generally didn't hunt for long-lost little sisters, but that wasn't the point here.
A tiny blonde figure slammed into him, nearly toppling him over.
"Nicholas!" Silver yelled, grabbing the struggling figure. "Nicholas, it's okay, it's just me."
The kicking didn't stop and child yelled, "Christo! Christo!"
"Ich bin ein Mensch." Silver had switched to German in an effort to calm the little boy. He stopped struggling, glancing up at Silver at last.
"Argen?" He asked cautiously. Silver smiled gently.
"Ja, Ich bin's." The boy shook for a moment, then calmed. "Wo ist Marie?" She asked who Dean assumed was Nicholas. The boy shook his head so hard, his shoulder length white blonde hair went flying from side to side.
"Ich weiss es nicht. Sie sagte das Ich gehen sollte." Silver bit her lip.
"Wieso das?" Nicholas's gray eyes grew wide with fear.
"Zwei Männer. Sie hatten Schwarze Augen, ganz Schwartz!" The boy started shaking again, and Silver rocked him absently.
"What did he say?" Dean's impatience won out and Silver gazed up at him for a moment.
"Two men. With completely black eyes."
"Demons." Alexa muttered, staring at the trees in unease. Silver started to nod, then a shout pierced the silence. No words, just raging fury.
"Was that-?" Sam began and Silver and Alexa shook their heads.
"No. Lightning would never shout like that; not even under torture."
"Find her!" Came an angry yell. "Find her, or I'll let the boss have you!" Alexa smirked.
"She's given them the slip. Again." The bellowing demons grew fainter as they drew further away and Dean felt his tension ease slightly.
"Now," Silver murmured, lifting Nicholas onto her hip as she stood. "Where in the nine hells is Lightning?"
"Who knows?" Alexa muttered.
"Nicholas? Comment ça va?" A voice came from above them and Dean whirled around. His sister was sitting in a tree, gracefully perched on a limb.
"Oui, ça va bien. Qu'est-ce que c'était?" Nicholas answered immediately, the strange sounding syllables rolling off his tongue like water.
"Pas un problème. Vous êtes en sécurité." Raven answered as she swung easily down branch by branch.
"Merci, Marie." Raven smiled at the small child.
"Il n'y a pas de quoi, Nicolas."
"Anyone mind translating?" Dean asked, half sarcastic. Raven grinned again, completely unrepentant.
"I asked if Nicholas was okay, he said he was and asked what those things were. I told him they weren't a problem and that he was safe now."
"Safe?" Sam asked in disbelief and his sister shrugged.
"He's five years old. We do not scar children under the age of thirteen for life." She shrugged again and picked up a twitchy Nicholas. "We teach 'em how to fight and everything, but we don't tell them why."
"Did that work for you?" Sam asked, curious about his sister. Her smile became rather strained.
"How about I tell you what happened to me after the hospital later? Now is not a good time and this is not a good place, especially with demons running around." Silver stiffened.
"You are not Lightning. Nicholas komm her!" Nicholas lashed out, struggling and kicking to get down. One well placed kick to the head and Nicholas ran to Silver. Silver stared at the other girl in open hostility.
"What was the first password we used, just between us?" Dean stared at Silver in disbelief. How the hell is she supposed to- oh. Photographic memory. A shapeshifter would have a hard time filtering through all the memory stored in her head.
"Jolie Hélèn." The voice came from behind Dean and he whirled around. Standing behind him with a twisted ankle, a black eye, red liquid covering half her face, and a t-shirt half saturated in blood, was his sister. She was holding a knife easily between her thumb and forefinger
"How the hell," The shapeshifter asked in confusion. "Are you on the loose?" Raven grinned, a harsh, all teeth, no humor grin. "That's for me to know and you to wonder." There was a harsh thwack as the knife landed in the creatures chest. It screeched, and collapsed.
"Is it dead?" Alexa asked, carefully standing in front of Nicholas. Raven shrugged as she stepped forward.
"Christo?" Silver asked wearily and Raven smiled.
"It's me." She turned to Dean with a slight frown. "That's just creepy." She muttered and when Sam looked between the two of them, he could see her point. They had never seen each other, yet their stance was the same. Their face, at least, what he could see of Raven's, eyes, hair color, all was the same. And yet... There were a few differences. For one thing, she had a scar on the right side of her neck. For another, even though Sam was an expert at reading Dean, he couldn't read his sister the same way. She was also at least three inches shorter than Dean. Raven was staring at Dean, memorizing his features. Then those green eyes flicked to him, and he could almost feel those eyes analyzing him, taking in everything about him. Finally, she turned away again, facing Silver.
"So the half-giant is?" She asked and Silver snickered.
"That would be Sam." Raven nodded slowly.
"Okay. So that means you're Dean." It wasn't phrased as a question, but Dean found himself nodding anyway.
"Why're you half covered in blood?" Alexa asked with a raised eyebrow and Raven bit her lip.
"Remember the spirit last week?" She began and Silver nodded. "Remember how I wasn't quite fast enough?" Raven continued and Alexa bobbed her head in a nod. "When the shapeshifter and I fought, I think I burst the stitches." Silver stared at her and sighed.
"Brilliant Lightning. Where'd he tie you up?" Raven shifted uncomfortably.
"Tree." She offered unhelpfully.
"Great," Alexa groaned. "How many injuries do you get in a week?" She muttered, hurrying over to Dean's sister and tried to force Raven to lean on her.
"I'm not sure. Considering half of these are from last week, but they got infected." She shook Alexa off in irritation.
"I can walk." Alexa bit her lip, but stepped back. Raven took a few steps, then whitened in pain.
"Yeah." Silver drawled sarcastically. "You can walk."
"Shut up Silver." Raven muttered, before moving on again.
"You're just gonna make that ankle worse Lightning." Alexa warned.
"I walked here, didn't I?" Raven protested. "Besides," She tested her weight on the ankle again. "It's only sprained, not twisted."
"You are not walking back to the car on that ankle." Silver said, her voice rising with her temper.
"Oh yeah?" Raven challenged. "What, are you going to carry me back?"
"No," Silver muttered.
"Precisely." Raven smirked triumphantly. Then she shrugged. "I have to walk. Remember what I say about choices?" Alexa sighed, but it was Silver who answered.
"Choices: I have none."
"Exactly." Raven murmured and kept on, half staggering, half stumbling to where they'd left a trail. Dean gazed at his sister for a moment, then shook his head.
"With that cleared up, let's go."
"We haven't exactly got the tools for an exorcism." Sam added. For a few moments, the two gang kids stared at the female who was so clearly a Winchester. Especially when they saw the stubborn line of her jaw as she raised her chin in an easy defiance.
"All right." Silver said in defeat. "Let's go." Sam and Dean moved to their sister's side, almost unconsciously. Alexa lifted Nicholas and Silver took the lead. And Raven kept up. She didn't fall behind, not once, even though her face became paler and paler as the pain increased, she suffered in near silence. On rough, rocky patches, Dean thought he heard quiet hisses and yelps of pain whenever she misjudged and put her weight on her injured ankle. For nearly twenty minutes, Raven managed, struggling along next to Sam, who didn't dare do anything to help her. A sudden tree root tripped her up, and she went down in a heap. Dean turned and stared at her. Her already pale face had became even whiter and her breath came in ragged gasps. Sweat beaded along her forehead, trickling down her jaw as she panted. Bit by bit, she forced the pain into submission, and she stood back up, looking as though a mild breeze would knock her down again. Alexa shook her head but kept walking, but Silver hesitated.
"Lightning-" She began, stepping towards Raven.
"I'm fine!" She snapped. She took two steps forward, then her leg gave out again. Silver stepped towards her and Raven snarled slightly, standing again.
"You're insane Lightning." Silver muttered, but she backed off.
"Sanity's overrated." Raven shot back, eyes slightly glazed in pain. Dean raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't know girls had pain tolerance." He muttered into Sam's ear. He had not calculated for the fact that Raven had far better hearing than he gave her credit for. A sudden blow to the side of his head sent him reeling a few paces.
"Hey!" He protested, refusing to place a hand to his stinging cheek. "What the hell was that for?" He scowled at the offender, who happened to be his sister.
"You were being sexist." She said with a casual shrug.
"You hit like a girl." Dean smirked. He'd been expecting some sort of stupid answer about how she was a girl, but he had forgotten to calculate for Raven's own smart-ass tendencies.
"Yeah I hit like a girl," She retorted. "But you could too if you hit a bit harder." Dean gaped at his sister while Sam, Alexa, and Silver burst out laughing.
"Nice one Lightning!" Silver exclaimed and Raven chuckled lightly.
"Thanks Silver." She smirked at Dean and he was stunned. It was the same completely insincere smile that he normally gave people, except hers had a touch of mischief in it; a sort of, 'Gotcha!' that irritated him and made him want to smile at the same time. He felt himself grin and her smirk softened in return.
"Need help?" He asked.
"No." She said stubbornly.
"Too bad." He grabbed one arm and Sam grabbed the other. Working together, they lifted her off her feet and half onto their shoulders.
"Put me down!" She protested and she continued to rain accusations on them both until Sam gently tapped her sprained ankle. Raven jerked and cussed quietly in Latin under her breath. Then she fell silent, scowling darkly at the ground as her brothers carried her out of the forest. Since she was about three inches shorter than Dean, they managed to keep her completely off the ground, to her great irritation. However, after Sam's little lesson, she ceased complaining. As they drew nearer to the car, she began to shift restlessly.
"What is it Lightning?" Silver asked.
"Die Gitarre und der Rucksack." Dean groaned. More languages that he couldn't understand.
"Wo hast du Sie hin getan?" Silver asked a question.
"Unter dem Stein." Raven answered and Silver turned to a large rock, indicating it. Dean felt Raven nod against his shoulder and Silver pulled it to the side, revealing a rather beat up back pack and something that looked vaguely like a guitar case.
"Why don't you guys talk in English?" he grumbled as he shifted Raven into a more comfortable position on his shoulder.
"To annoy you, brother dear, why else?" He grunted in return, not willing to deign Raven's sarcasm with a response. He ignored the fact that she sounded breathless. "Who's going to carry the stuff?" He said instead. No response. He glanced at Raven's face, then paled. "Raven?!" Apparently, the pain had been getting worse, and she hadn't seen fit to inform either brother of the information. She had passed out, head lolling limply to the side.
"Her back." Silver muttered. "We need to hurry; she's lost a lot more blood than I thought." Dean and Sam picked up the pace, while Silver scooped up the two items that had been hidden under the stone. Finally, the car came into view and Dean took Raven from Sam's shoulder entirely, holding her bridal style and found that she was far too light. He heard the t-shirt give a sickening squelch on his jacket and he hurried faster. She had lost a lot more blood than anyone had thought. And he had nothing to stitch her up with. Dean cursed himself as he carefully laid his sister in the back seat of the car, faintly hearing Alexa saying that she would walk. She handed Nicholas to Silver, who slid in next to Raven and pressed on the wound gingerly with one hand. The other hand was occupied with holding a sleeping Nicholas. Sam hesitated only a moment before sitting shotgun. Dean started the engine and took off.
He gripped the wheel so hard, his knuckles turned white. Forty-five minutes. He thought wildly. Hold on for forty-five minutes.
It ended up being a thirty minute drive and the Impala skidded to a halt outside the junkyard. Dean jumped out of the car, hurrying to open the back door, ignoring Bobby and his questions. When the eldest Winchester carefully lifted Raven from the backseat with Silver's help, Bobby swore at the amount of blood on Raven's t-shirt and hastened to assist Dean getting her inside. Dean shook him off.
"I got it. She barely weighs anything." Beneath the slight sarcasm, was a note of astonishment. Twenty-six year olds should not be nearly this weightless. From the corner of his eye, Dean saw Silver take Nicholas and hand him to Dallas. He immediately began talking in rapid-fire German, or was it French? Dean couldn't tell. What he could tell, was that Raven need stitches, and she had needed them two hours ago. He kicked the door open, not bothering to wait for Sam as he glanced at the sofa, then went up the stairs instead.
"You going to stitch her up?" Asked the same dirty blonde haired woman who had mentioned Nicholas earlier. She had been waiting in the hallway, almost as though she'd been waiting for him. Dean shrugged, but allowed her to open the door for him instead of kicking it in.
"Who are you?" He asked as he placed Raven face down on the bed, flicking out a knife to cut the t-shirt off.
"I'm Elizabeth Ryans, but call me Liza. I'm twenty-five, even though I don't look it and I'm the 'go-to' nurse if Raven's out of commission. I'd shake hands, but-" She gestured to Raven.
"Do you want help?" She asked and Dean hesitated. Liza raised an eyebrow. "I've been stitching her up since she was nine. Trust me, this ain't charity."
"Okay. Only until Sam comes upstairs." Dean agreed reluctantly.
"Sure." She handed him a lighter, a needle and thread. "In this state, she won't feel much, trust me on that." He pulled the t-shirt up, and stared at the sheer amount of blood on her back. Hints of inked words were visible, but Dean was far more concerned with the cleaning up. Liza vanished into the bathroom for a moment, coming back with a damp washcloth. She cleaned Raven's back herself, somehow sensing Dean's reluctance to touch Raven's skin, even though she was unconscious. As the wound came into view, Dean winced in sympathy. Some of the previous stitches had been torn open and pus and blood leaked onto the washcloth. He threaded the needle and began stitching, as Liza continued to clean. Ignoring the inked words as they came forward, Dean pressed pus from the wound and stitched it back up. The two worked in a companionable silence for some time, neither seeing a point in talking.
"How do you know Raven?" Dean asked finally, bandaging the wound. Liza bit the inside of her lip for a moment, gazing down at Raven's peaceful face.
"I met Raven in a foster home when I was six. We ran for it with another friend later that year. I've had a mad werewolf after me for years."
"Why?" He asked, giving her a confused look and she shrugged.
"No idea."
"Why haven't you killed him?" Sam asked from the doorway. To Liza's credit, she barely even startled.
"He's useful." The Winchesters stared at her.
"How is a werewolf useful?" Dean asked in shock.
"Did I mention the thing is insane?" She smirked at them. "He thinks I'm the only human worth snacking on, but he's never managed to catch me. To make sure that I don't die, he kills anything supernatural that comes near me except demons."
"Seriously?" Sam asked, grinning.
Liza nodded, giggling slightly. "It's funny. He's saved my life quite a few times. Raven calls him wolfy and says he's kind of like a rabid dog. He'll defend me, but only because he wants to bite me himself."
"He is like a rabid dog," Came a tired voice from the bed, and the Winchesters' heads spun around so quickly, that Dean felt his neck protest.
"He's infected with a weird disease, he hates everybody, and he's freaking crazy!"
"You're just jealous." Liza smirked, sticking out her tongue.
"Mature Liza." Raven said, cracking one eye open. "Now would you three get? This is the third time this week that I almost died. Do you mind letting me sleep?"
"We're going." Sam grabbed Dean and tugged him out of the room, but Dean resisted, listening intently.
"-they see it?" Raven asked.
"Dean might have. He was stitching you up." Liza's voice came in response.
"I was wondering why the stitches were better than usual." This time Raven's voice contained the slightest note of teasing.
"Oh, go soak your head in tar." Liza muttered.
"Chicken head." Raven sounded like she was already falling asleep.
"Tar face." Was Liza's answer as she stepped out of the room.
"Lunatic." Raven called sleepily as Liza shut the door.
"Damn it!" She groaned in the hallway while Dean and Sam looked at her with slightly hidden questioning look. "She always has the fu-, freaking, last word." She glared at the door, half fond, half exasperated. She turned to the stairs, hurrying away from the closed door. Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam and they followed Liza down the stairs.
She turned to face them at the bottom.
"I'll answer five questions that you have about Raven, unless I think that she should answer them herself."
"Does she want to come with us?" Sam blurted immediately.
"Are you kidding?!" Liza stared at him in disbelief. "She's been hunting you guys down since she was nine; of course she wants to go with you!"
"Anything we should know? Allergies or something?" Dean asked and Liza thought about it.
"She has a phobia."
"Of?" Sam asked.
"She calls it a mild version of claustrophobia. Everyone else calls it a fear of large, loud, crowds of people."
"So crowds are out?" Dean asked. That might be problematic, he thought.
"No," Liza hastened to reassure them. "It's just loud groups of people. Things like rallies or concerts. Everything else, and she's mostly fine."
"Mostly?" Sam's eyes narrowed.
Liza shrugged. "She's just gets a lot quieter than usual. If it gets really bad she does what she calls her reaction to too many stupid people." Sam nodded. Raven was a lot like Dean it seemed. He would never admit of being scared of anything either.
"Shut down and shut up is what she calls it, and it's very accurate." Liza gazed out the window, remembering. "Raven just completely clams up. She doesn't say anything and she doesn't react to anything that's happening. She stares into the distance and if you poke her, she won't even flinch. Nothing. It's like-" Liza frowned, struggling to describe it. "It's like the body's there, but there's no one home." She bit her lip. "I've seen her in that state three times only. Once when she was eleven, again when she was sixteen, and the last time when she was twenty-one; right after Emily-" She swallowed, her eyes flickering. "Right after Emily... died."
"Who was Emily?" Sam asked gently and Liza's face twisted lightly in pain. "Emily was her, our, best friend. I met her when I was seven in my first foster home. Raven and Emily met when they were both five and were taken off the street two months later. The three of us ran for it after a demon possessed one of the teachers."
"How old were you?" Dean asked.
"It was two weeks before Raven's seventh or eighth birthday. She got her first knife when she was nine. She's also allergic to nickel." She gazed at them, waiting patiently for their third question.
"What tattoo does she have?" Liza stiffened at Dean's question.
"That's something I can't answer." Sam pouted slightly and Dean glared at the stairs. What was so bad that Raven had forbidden her friends to talk about it?
"Next question?" Liza snapped.
"Any hidden talents?" Sam asked, nudging Dean lightly to lay off.
"Aside from being able to memorize insane amounts of information? Quite a few. She can make a weapon out of duct tape, a pencil and a hair pin."
Dean raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
"A spirit. The hair pin was made of iron."
"Nice." Sam snorted.
"She's a very good knife thrower and not a bad archer." Liza continued.
"She has a bow?" Dean interrupted and Liza nodded.
"She can also play guitar." Liza was about to go on, but two small figures slammed into her, squealing.
"Liza, Liza, Liza, Liza!"
"What?" She knelt next to them.
"Can Marie play some music? Can she? Can she? Can she?" The two children were bouncing around far too much for Dean to see their faces.
"I don't know..." Liza murmured, staring towards where the room was. "I think Marie's sleeping лапушка."
"What did you say?" Sam asked, curious about the odd syllables that had rolled off Liza's tongue. Liza blushed lightly.
"Russian equivalent of sweetheart." She turned back to the children. One of them was a small Asian girl with large dark eyes and a sweet innocent face. Something in the region of Sam's heart twisted at the fact that she was way too small, at the fact that her cheek bones were prominent, at the fact that there was an angry scar on part of her arm. The other child was a boy, a Hispanic, also with dark eyes.
"Alice, how about you and Ray wait for half an hour or so? I'm sure Marie can play you something then." Alice pouted, but grabbed Ray by the arm, pulling him outside again.
Liza gazed after them.
"Oh to be innocent enough that Raven singing and playing guitar would be enough to keep me happy." Sam gazed at her for a moment.
"Raven plays guitar? And sings?"
"Yep! She's pretty good too, considering she's entirely self-taught." Then an outburst of laughter from outside had Liza turning around.
"Why do the children call her Marie?" Dean asked, sending Liza a questioning look.
"And why does everyone but you call her Lightning?" Sam added. Reluctantly, she turned to face them again. Liza sighed.
"That has mostly to do with Raven. She doesn't like it if people she doesn't know well use her name. Lightning is her gang name, the name she earned through her speed, reflexes, and brain. It's a sign of respect towards her to call her by her gang name. I call her Raven because she calls me Liza. My gang name is Blade, but when Raven wants to piss me off, she calls me Sparky. Everyone but Raven calls me Blade. The children call her Marie because it's easier to say than Lightning and quicker too. If they're calling for help, it's faster to say Marie." Sudden childish shrieks of laughter had the hunters and street girl-woman-whirling around
"If they wake up Raven there'll be hell to pay," She muttered and stalked out. Dean glanced at Sam who shrugged and they stepped outside behind her.
The small children raced around, seemingly playing a game. Dean was surprised to see that the sun had lowered in the sky while they'd been patching Raven back up.
"What are they doing?" Bobby grumbled.
Liza was the only one who answered. "Vampires and humans."
"How do you play that?" Sam asked, pure confusion obscuring his features. "Well," Silver took over. "One child is chosen to be the vampire and he or she tries to tag the others. But if the others can tag the vampires neck, the vampire is dead. If the vampire manages to get them first, they turn into vampires too. Three of us make sure they don't cheat."
"We do something similar for demons when they're older." Liza added. "One person is the 'demon' and the others are normal humans. If the 'demon' manages to get them pinned, then they become a 'demon' too. But that's for when they're eleven to fourteen."
"Huh." Dean mused.
"To make the games more difficult, we pick the vampire, but don't tell them who it is." Martin interjected.
"It works well as a training system. It teaches them how to work together to subdue the vampire or demon. We teach them the exorcisms as early as seven, so it's just a matter of application." His twin brother added.
"What happened to good old-fashioned tag?" Sam muttered.
Liza's jaw tensed. "It died when we got kicked onto the street."
"Blade..." Martin warned.
"Sorry." She muttered.
"How long do you think Lightning'll be out of it?" Silver changed the subject. Liza shrugged.
"It depends on how far the infection went." She bit her lip, eyes focused on the piles of junk. "Hopefully..." She cut herself off with a shake of her head. "She'll be fine." Liza muttered, trying to convince herself. "She's too stubborn not to be." The last part was murmured so quietly that Dean barely managed to hear it. "I hope anyway..."
"She'll be fine." Martin reassured.
"Did you see the infection on her back?" Liza snapped.
"No, but it's Lightning. Remember what she always says about her dying?" Martin rebuked. Liza sighed.
"You mean the, 'I can't die. Heaven doesn't want me and Hell's afraid I'll take over.' ?"
"Yes." Martin sounded very satisfied and Dean found himself grinning. Sam smiled reluctantly.
"Apparently my twin sister's a smart ass." Dean remarked and Liza groaned.
"No, she's worse than just a smart ass. She has a sarcastic or cynical remark for everything, even for demons. She can tear people, demons, vampires, anything vaguely humanoid, to pieces with just words. She has a talent for knowing exactly what will hurt someone and using it to her own advantage. Getting in an argument with her is one of the stupidest things to do..." Then Liza smirked at them. "Unless you're a blood relation, or someone as good as." Dean raised an eyebrow at her curiously and she explained further.
"Raven won't be needlessly cruel to family unless she's pissed off and she learned to control her temper when she was nine. It's just who she is. She knows her way around words and language. There's very little she can't say in one language or another." She grinned. "Once, when a demon caught up with us, she started cussing him out. She started with English, then German, then Italian, then Spanish, then Russian, then French, then Latin." Martin laughed.
"I remember that, it was hilarious to watch."
"How'd she get rid of the demon?" Dean asked, remembering his own experience on the plane with a small wince.
"The Latin was an exorcism." Daniel explained. Sam smiled.
"Nice." Liza's own smile softened lightly as she dove into her memories.
"If you want the full story, you'll need to ask her. She'll still know every detail."
"Right, photographic memory." Dean remembered with a jolt.
"The technical term is eidetic memory." The sentence made the four of them whirl around, facing Dean's twin sister who smirked at them. "Photographic memory means that you remember everything you've seen perfectly. Eidetic memory means you remember everything you saw, heard, felt, smelt, tasted, everything." Raven grinned at the looks she got from her brothers, a sarcastic one from Dean and a slightly impressed one from Sam.
"What?" She snapped at Sam. "Just 'cause I can't stay in one place without getting killed, don't mean I can't read." Sam flushed slightly, but was saved from having to answer by Liza.
"Why are you out of bed Raven?" Liza stared at Raven who grinned, unabashed. "You know me. Bed rest and I don't mix." The small children spotted her right as she finished her statement.
"Marie, Marie, Marie, Marie!" Alice charged straight at her and Raven lifted her into the air, hiding a wince expertly.
"What is it munchkin?" Raven asked, almost affectionate. Alice squealed with laughter, mock struggling to get down.
"Play something!" She demanded.
Raven smiled, "Play what?" She pretended she didn't understand. "I know! Let's play... Tickle Alice!" Alice screamed with laughter as Raven's fingers danced and darted along her ribs.
"St-st-st-stop!" She giggled as she thrashed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," Raven said innocently, and tickled even faster, leaving Alice gasping helplessly for air.
"P-play g-guitar." Alice panted. Raven smiled.
"Alright." She set Alice gently back onto the floor before turning to Silver. "Where's my guitar?"
Silver shrugged, "On the sofa. Liberi dormire iam postulant. " The language was too quick and too fluid for either brother to understand.
"Latin," The twins explained. "It's the only language none of the children know well enough to understand." Dean nodded, understanding immediately. Then Alice piped up, calling the other children over.
"Marie's gonna play guitar!" Was all she had to yell, and the small children streamed towards her from their various hiding spots.
"She's popular," Sam remarked, staring as the group went inside. Martin shrugged.
"She's the only children's music we have, of course she's popular." Once inside, the children made a circle around the sofa, where Raven fiddled with the strings, playing a chord here and there, then fiddling again.
Finally, she glanced up, "What song first?"
" 'Jamaica Farewell' !" They all shouted eagerly.
"Alright," She began to play chords, then started to to sing.
"Down the way where the nights are gay
And the sun shines brightly on the mountain top
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica, I made a stop, but I'm,
Sad to say I'm on my way,
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I miss all my friends in Kingston town,"
Then she just played the guitar, fingers darting over the strings as she played. Dean and Sam stared at her from the door. Raven was a brilliant singer, her voice darting easily up and down the notes.
"Her voice is something else, isn't it?" Liza murmured, standing next to Sam.
"Where'd she learn that?" Sam asked, stunned that a street girl would have been able to do something like this. Thankfully, Liza took no offense.
"She can memorize songs easily with her memory, but she never really learned singing. It's just something she can do." Liza shrugged.
"She was singing when I met her. She'll sometimes sing to earn money on the street." Then Raven sang the next verse.
"Down at the market, you can hear
All the ladies cry out while on their heads they bear
Ackey rice, salt fish are nice
And the rum is fine any time of the year."
A few of the children joined in, their childish voices trilling softly with Raven's
"But I'm, sad to say I'm on my way,
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I miss all my friends in Kingston town,"
The children stopped but Raven sang on,
"Sounds of laughter everywhere,
And the dancing girls sway to and fro.
I must declare that my heart is there,
Though I've been from Maine to Mexico,"
All of the children joined in then, and it sounded very nice, ringing through the room with a bright clarity.
"But I'm, sad to say I'm on my way,
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I miss all my friends in Kingston town,"
The children cheered when Raven finished.
"Another, another," Ray begged and Raven smiled.
"What kind, German or English?" The children considered it for a moment.
"English." Alice declared at last.
"Alright. This is the last one," Raven warned. She hummed to herself for a second, thinking through the long list of songs she knew.
"No, two more!" The children protested, staring at her pleadingly. Raven thought about it, calculating whether it was worth it.
"Alright," She gave in. "Two more and that's it." Then she started singing again.
"Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly,
All your life,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
"Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
"Blackbird fly.
Blackbird fly.
Into the light of a dark black night."
She played the guitar for a few moments more, her eyes closed, completely ignoring the small rapt faces of her audience.
"Blackbird fly.
Blackbird fly.
Into the light of a dark black night."
There was a sudden silence and Dean shifted, thinking it was over. Except Raven grinned and continued.
"Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly,
All your life,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
You were only waiting for this moment to be free."
The last few notes sang poignantly in the air for a few moments then faded away into silence. The children stared at Raven in awe and adoration.
"I'm going to give you an option now. 'Birds of Paradise' or 'Golden Slumbers'?" Raven raised her eyebrows at the children. "Which will it be?" She asked dramatically.
"Both!" Alice said stubbornly and Raven gave her a mild glare.
"Pick one, or I don't play any," Raven warned and Alice pouted. The other children discussed it carefully before Ray piped up.
" 'Birds of Paradise', " He announced solemnly.
"But I want 'Golden Slumbers'!" Alice yelled, stamping her foot.
"Alice..." Raven's voice carried a distinct warning.
"Want 'Golden Slumbers'!" Alice shouted.
"You'll get nothing at all if you don't stop being a brat," Raven said calmly, strumming the guitar. Alice paid no attention, stomping her foot again.
" 'Golden Slumbers'!" She squalled and Raven winced.
"Liza? Do you mind?" Raven indicated the screaming child and Liza scooped her up, swung her over so her backside was visible and delivered two sharp smacks. Alice jolted and went silent.
"Alice, what are the consequences of behaving like a brat?" Raven asked, as calm as before.
"A sp-spanking." The small girl hiccuped.
"And?" Raven's tone invited further explanation.
"And no songs." Alice sounded so sad that Dean had to bite back a smile.
"Yes." Raven agreed, quite at ease with disciplining the child. "Martin, if you would?" Martin nodded, taking the girl from Liza and heading outside.
"Liza, could you help me?" Raven asked, holding out the guitar and Liza shook her head.
"No. I'll play the flute part. You always play the guitar better than I do anyway." Raven sighed but acquiesced with little protest.
"Alright." She murmured, digging out a flute that the brothers hadn't seen earlier. "Here. Don't mess up." Raven smirked and Liza grinned.
"Oh shut up." She grumbled good-naturedly. "Tar face." She muttered.
"Chicken head," Raven retorted under her breath.
"каза." Liza shot back.
"Glunggi." Raven answered, bantering easily.
"Now that's just mean." Liza pouted. Raven laughed.
"I never made any claims to being nice. I just made a claim on being honest." Liza stuck out her tongue before piping out a few notes on the flute. Raven strummed the guitar twice before glancing at Liza.
"Ready?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and Liza nodded. She raised the flute back up and began to play, fingers dancing over the keys as Raven hummed along. Liza went back on a repeat, and Raven added the guitar to the mix. They played through another verse then Raven began to sing.
"Who are you, who am I?
Is it real, do we touch the sky?"
Her voice was sweet and darted around the flute in an intricate dance.
"Nothing's real, all disguise,
Said the birds of paradise."
Silver sang the accompaniment from the armchair, with a voice that was not quite as good as Raven's, but still not half-bad.
"I'm afraid, can't you see?
Tell me, where do you carry me?"
Raven gazed straight at Dean and Sam, and Dean had a feeling that there was more behind this than just a song to get the children to go to bed.
"You will soon realize,
Said the birds of paradise."
Silver glanced at Dean and Sam also, a fleeting glance that Sam couldn't interpret.
"Flying home!
Flying home!"
Raven's voice filled with longing and something wrenched in the Winchesters' chests. They at least had had the impala and the motel rooms. Raven had only the streets and the alleyways
"To the land that you once have known.
To the peace that once was true,
For a little girl like you."
Now Raven's tone was bitter and Dean felt his own bitterness echo. What peace? When had any of them had peace?
"Flying home!
Flying home,
From a world that is made of stone!
Till your heart is light and free,
Like it once was meant to be."
Now Raven's eyes were on the children, sadness disguised by the flute's melody.
"How can I go ahead,
When my eyes are becoming wet?"
This time Silver took the first part as Raven waited.
"Save your tears, dry your eyes,
Said the birds of paradise."
The song was poignant and sad, but Sam heard a note of something in Raven's voice. He had a sneaking suspicion that Raven was like Dean, and had turned off the ability to cry.
"As the time's passing by,
Say how long do we have to fly?"
Raven asked the question and Silver prepared to answer again.
"Moon will set, sun will rise,
Said the birds of paradise."
The answer was vague and made Dean bristle slightly. Then the two of them repeated the chorus.
"Flying home!
Flying home!
To the land that you once have known.
To the peace that once was true,
For a little boy like you."
Some the children swayed gently along with the music and a few hummed with the flute.
"Flying home!
Flying home,
From a world that is made of stone!
Till your heart is light and free,
Like it once was meant to be."
Liza stared at Raven for a second, worried and tensing as they reached the last verse.
"Hear the sound, see the light,
Now I know that our way was right.
Morning sun can make you wise,
Said the birds of paradise.
Birds of paradise."
Liza stopped playing her flute and Raven stopped the guitar. Silver stared at Raven along with Liza, worry in their eyes as she sang the last line. Their fear confirmed Dean's suspicions; this was more than just a song.
"Birds of paradise."
Liza and Silver gazed at Raven for a second more, and she raised her head, glaring at them defiantly.
"大序呼ぶです!" She spat at them and Sam shuddered. Silver just looked confused and Liza winced.
"ごめなさい.いったできます."
Silver groaned. "Can you two not speak Japanese?" Raven stopped glaring at Liza long enough to answer with a fake smile.
"Now what would be the fun in that?" She muttered sarcastically.
"Maybe your brothers and everyone else might be grateful if you spoke a language everyone knew." Silver retorted. Raven and Liza shared an evil grin and Silver paled.
"I didn't mean that!" She protested, but it was too late.
"Sic Latinam est elegantem volo?" Raven asked.
"Scimus omnes Latinam." Liza's brown eyes sparkled gleefully.
Silver groaned. "Do you know how much of a pain it is to try and figure out every word you two say?" Raven shrugged.
"You need the practice."
"What about your brothers?" Silver asked pleadingly and Raven smiled.
"They need to learn Latin anyway." She turned to face them, eyes narrowing slightly.
"You guys do know that Latin can do more than just exorcise demons, right?" She cocked an eyebrow and waited for their response. However, both brothers were too shocked to do anything other than stare. She had raised the same eyebrow that Dean sometimes did, and given them the exact same expression. Dean blinked twice and shook his head.
"That's just creepy." He muttered.
"What is?" Raven sounded supremely confused. Instead of answering, Dean mimicked the expression she had earlier. For a moment, shock flew across her face, then she smiled.
"Cool!" She switched expression again, smirking the way Dean did after successfully pranking Sam. Dean smirked back and Sam glanced between Raven and Dean a few times.
"You two barely even know each other," He protested. "And you already can mock expressions." Raven grinned at him.
"We are twins," Her grin widened. "Sammy." Dean roared with laughter at the expression on Sam's face.
"Your name doesn't have a nickname," He protested. Raven's eyes glittered in amusement.
"Yes it does. It's not my fault that it doesn't annoy me." Even Dean looked confused by now.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
Raven sighed, "My full name is Ravena Mary-Anne Winchester. I prefer the only nickname my name has to my full name."
"Why?" Bobby questioned and Raven shifted slightly in her seat, but didn't answer. Liza, who had returned from getting the children to bed, did.
"Cause whenever Raven got in trouble, that's the name they'd use." Sam raised an eyebrow.
"How often were you in trouble?" Raven squirmed slightly at the pointed question.
"It wasn't that often," She muttered.
"No, not at all often," Liza muttered sarcastically. "Just every other day." The Winchester brothers glanced at their sister's sheepish face and Dean began to laugh. She scowled at them.
"It wasn't my fault." She grumbled, halfway under her breath.
"No," Liza raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Pray tell, how was it not your fault that people woke up with with neon pink permanent sharpie spelling out the words 'I'm stupid' on their foreheads." Dean snickered as Raven's scowl increased.
"It's not my fault that stupidity isn't punishable by law and I had to interfere." She mumbled and even Sam started to grin.
"Yes and their offenses were so criminal," Liza muttered, rolling her eyes. "One of them did what? Call you a sadist?" Raven shrugged.
"Yeah. He deserved what he got." Liza shook her head while Dean snickered.
"Didn't another guy call you a bitch and you dyed his hair hot pink?" Silver asked.
"No, he called Emily that." Liza's eyes flared with anger and Raven's jaw tightened.
"Never mind then. He got what he deserved." Silver muttered, hastily dropping the subject. Dean glanced at Sam who shrugged. Neither of them wanted to push the issue. Liza changed the subject.
"Raven, you know how you owe me a favor?" She began and Raven nodded slowly, her green eyes guarded.
"Yes."
"I'm calling it in. I want you and your brothers to talk." Raven opened her mouth to protest, but Liza didn't give her a chance.
"You're going to answer ten questions from each of them and you're going to answer them honestly." Raven glared at Liza, but gave no further complaints when she and Silver left and locked the door behind them.
"Why didn't you protest any more?" Sam asked and Raven grimaced.
"Does that count as one of the ten questions?"
"No." The brothers said in unison.
"Fine." She muttered.
"A favor is really big on the street. If you owe someone a favor, and they call it in, you have to do what they ask. It's why both Liza and I avoid owing favors. I've owed her that particular favor for the past eleven years." Dean whistled.
"So it's kind of like a money system." Sam tried to clarify and Raven nodded.
"Ten small favors make a big favor and ten big favors mean a debt." She continued.
"What's the difference between a small favor, a big favor, and a debt?" Dean asked, giving his twin a curious look.
"A small favor can't be anything like what Liza's forcing me into. It's something like giving up a share of your food for the day. A big favor is what Liza called in, but it has limits. She can't force me into doing whatever she wants. That's what a debt is." Raven grimaced.
"You avoid debts, if at all possible." She shifted in her seat.
"Can we move on to the ten questions now?" She almost pleaded. Dean grinned.
"First, I wanna know if it's true that you speak eight languages." Raven smiled in response.
"Yep, it's true. I speak Russian, English, Latin, German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, and French."
"Which one did you learn first." Sam asked.
"Latin and Russian were my first two languages." She smirked at their dumbstruck faces.
"German was my third, I learned it when I was seven. English came when I was six; French when I was eleven; Japanese when I was eight; Italian when I was twelve; and Spanish when I was fourteen."
"Damn girl!" Dean whistled and Raven smiled lightly with pride.
"What do you usually speak?" Sam wondered and Raven shrugged.
"It depends. With Liza, it's usually Russian, Latin, English, or Japanese. With Alexa it's Spanish or English. With some of the children it's Italian, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, or English." She shrugged again. "Don't worry about it. I'll speak English with you two." She smirked at Dean's look of relief. "Can we get to the questions now?" She pleaded. "I don't want to do this any longer than absolutely necessary." She explained and Dean smiled.
"Alright."
The three songs were 'Jamaica Farewell' and it's by an Unknown author. The second was 'Blackbird' by the Beatles. And the last one was 'Birds of Paradise' by Peter Reber. I don't own them.
The language translations will be added at a later date, when I have more time. I figured people would want the chapter as soon as possible and the translations could wait.