Chapter Seven – Mysteries and Mayhem
"What the fuck do we do now?" Dean yelled as he rolled away from another dive attack.
"We gotta ground it!" Buffy yelled back, dodging a swipe from the creature's wing.
It was a beast unlike anything they had seen before, not just in the real world but here as well. The things wing-span alone was amazing, but the creature was as long as it was wide, with a flicking tail that threatened to sweep their legs out from under them. Having a beast attack by dropping on them was one thing, they had learned to cope with that, but from the air? This was something entirely different. There was nowhere to run or to hide when it was bearing down on them from above. As long as it was above them, the thing would always have the upper-hand.
"Any suggestions?" Dean called, barely escaping a talon as it flew past him.
It swooped down again and Buffy had an idea. The winged beast had been coming down low, she could almost reach it. Anyone who wasn't used to dealing with creatures like this probably wouldn't have been able to come up with a plan, but she wasn't anyone. She was a Slayer. The longest living one. So far, anyways.
"Dean! Launch me!"
Dean understood her command quickly, having been the launched individual a few times growing up, and folded his hands together, waiting for the Slayer to reach him. She ran full tilt towards him and landed her foot in his hands, making her body a sleek shape as she reached upwards as high as she could. Dean pushed her foot up at the same time, sending the small blonde into the air. Buffy soared through the air and landed on the back of the beast.
It bucked wildly causing Buffy to barely manage to keep hold. Her fingers dug in so strongly that her nails bit into the thing's flesh, leaving crescent shaped marks where each finger sat. Her legs wrapped around as much of the monster's body as she could muster, falling well short of grabbing onto it's stomach. Her small stature made it hard for her to hold on, and it robbed her of the ability to be on the offensive. Her knee crackled and squished in its place, protesting the strain being put on it. There was no down time here, no healing time, and she would have to work through it.
"Kay, I didn't think this through!" She shrieked, realizing there was nowhere to go from here.
Sometimes her spur of the moment ideas worked wonderfully for her, there were plenty of times in the past where that had been the case. This was not one of those moments. She was at the mercy of this beast, and it seemed completely unfazed by the weight on it's back.
Dean watched with amazement as the slayer flew with the beast, holding on tightly. His amazement turned to concern when he realized that she didn't seem to be making any progress in bringing the beast to the ground.
Suddenly Dean realized that the knife was still in his hands, "Shit. Slayer!" He dodged another swoop by the thing and tossed the knife up to her as she passed by.
The creature was moving so fast that she was barely able to catch the knife and continue holding on to her unwilling mount. Once she had the blade she wasted no time and drove it deep into the monsters neck, causing it to buck wildly, throwing Buffy to the ground. The beast crashed to the ground several feet away, flailing and bucking.
Buffy hit the ground hard and slid a good distance from both the beast and Dean. The wind was temporarily knocked out of her, and her head throbbed from striking the ground. The blow threatened to knock her out, and if she had been alone she may have actually lost consciousness. Remembering Dean, and not wanting to leave him on his own for this battle, Buffy managed to hold her tenuous hold on reality.
"Probably should have waited until it was lower to the ground for that. Smart move." Buffy muttered as she stood up stiffly.
Dean didn't see her crash landing, he didn't have time to worry about the slayer. Instead, he was on the creature as soon as it was on the ground, grabbing the knife as he passed by its landing spot. No matter what had happened to the small blonde, this beast needed to be dead. It took some maneuvering to get around the thrashing limbs of the monster, but Dean finally got close enough to deliver some damage. Stepping on the beast's wing, Dean leaned over and plunged the knife into it's head several times until all movement stopped. Two more blows were delivered for good measure before Dean was willing to back off.
"Well that was new," Dean said, wiping the blade off on his jeans.
"Yeah, this place has a habit of sending all kinds of stuff at ya. Wings though? Wasn't expecting that."
"You good, sweetheart?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Ya done with the sweetheart thing yet? It's not as endearing as you think."
Her aggravation finally hit a boiling point. She couldn't pinpoint exactly why the nickname sweetheart bothered her, but it did. Each time he said it, she lost a bit of her cool. The chauvinistic tone in his voice was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. Buffy had heard this same tone from Cain when he tried to hunt Oz, and she hadn't taken it well then, either. Maybe that was part of the reason she hated it so much. No matter the reason, she was through.
"Who said I thought it was endearing?"
The sly glint in his eye did nothing but fuel her anger.
"You're really a pain in the ass you know that? No wonder hunters work alone because quite clearly you are all lacking in the social skills department."
That hit a sour note with Dean and his face showed it. He stomped off away from the slayer, not wanting to let on that her comment had stung. He didn't need a reminder that hunters had to live a quarantined lifestyle. Thinking of that made him think about Sam, and how alone he must be now. Yeah, he had Cas, but Cas was absent more often than not. The idea that he left Sam all alone made him sick to his stomach.
Buffy almost felt bad, but her frustration prevented her from any form of an apology. They didn't need to like each other, they just needed to work together. Preferably without the 'sweetheart' comments.
The two returned to walking in silence. They started out fuming, but soon their thoughts returned to the questions they wanted to ask. She may be infuriating, but she was intriguing as well, and Dean respected the hell out of her. Anyone who could fight like she did was worthy of respect, but for a small girl to hold her own like she did? Impressed didn't even quite cover it. Buffy was naturally a curious person, so she struggled to ignore all the questions she had swirling around her head. His reaction to her comment only served to make her curiosity impossible to ignore. Finally, a nagging thought of Buffy's slipped out through her lips.
"Is it lonely, being a hunter?" Her eyes kept forward, avoiding his.
Dean took a deep breath, not too sure how he felt about answering that question. He could tell that it was a question she wasn't comfortable asking, either. Usually chicks were all about talking about feelings, but she didn't really strike him as the type. She actually seemed completely uninterested in talking at all. Dean figured there was more to the question than she was letting on, and his own curiosity was getting the better of him. Maybe if he answered her questions, he'd get a chance to ask some of his own. He was about to give some sort of answer when a long tail wrapped around the blonde next to him and pulled her back at an impossible speed.
"Slayer!"
Dean turned to find her, but saw no sign of her anywhere. The winged beast they had just defeated was missing now also. How many stabs did that thing need! His eyes scanned quickly, searching for anything out of place, for some sort of hint as to his companion's whereabouts. Off in the distance he noticed a strange bubbling spot on the ground with the tip of a wing disappearing into it.
"Fuck!"
He didn't hesitate, he knew she had been dragged down there, and he couldn't leave her there. He looked around for a vine to ensure he could return, but found nothing close by. Although not the ideal plan, Dean knew he didn't have time to find something to anchor himself to the ground. Taking a deep breath he clamped hard onto his knife and dove into the pit in search of the girl.
The pit was like quicksand, making his movements slow and causing a great strain on his muscles. Dean could hardly see a few inches in front of him and the dusty substance stung not only his eyes but every inch of exposed skin. He didn't have time to focus on any of that though, he had to find her and fast. It couldn't be safe down here, and the longer it took him to find the slayer, the more likely he would never find her. Who knew how deep this thing ran, and how many other creatures hid in here. Dean rooted around trying to find the source of the muffled screams that he could hear. He caught a glimpse of a shadow and reached out, hoping it was the Slayer. Instead a strong jaw clamped down on his forearm, tearing and shredding his flesh. Ignoring the pain that ripped through his arm, Dean pierced the things head again, aiming directly for it's eye, forcing it to let go.
The creature snaked away from him and out of his sight. Damn thing still wasn't dead, and Dean couldn't believe it. It had taken quite the beating, and he was pretty sure the amount of holes in this thing should have taken it down long ago. It seemed to be gone for now and Dean wondered if he was being naïve in thinking so, but as long as he could find the slayer and get out of here before it came back, he didn't care.
He delved further down into the pit, sweeping his arms out around him hoping to come in contact with something else. Anything else at this point, but mostly hoping to find the blonde. Dean was now far enough down that he had lost sight of where he had come in, but still he moved further down. Finally he saw a hand reach out towards him with a muffled voice accompanying it. He grabbed for the hand quickly, not wanting to lose sight of it. Once he had her hand firmly in his, she was able to close the gap between them. With his arms strongly around her waist he pulled her tight against him and started his struggle to move back to the surface. The slayer was limp against his frame, obviously weak from the attack. He imagined that oxygen was also becoming an issue for her as it was for him, too.
He hadn't made much progress when he saw a familiar shadow circling them, and realized the beast was back. With the slayer wrapped in one arm, barely conscious by the feel of it, Dean only had one arm left to not only protect them, but to attack as well. Not stopping his ascent through the pit, Dean watched for the creature, hoping that he could make it to the top before it found it's way to attack them. As if the creature read his mind, it darted for them quickly, leaving Dean unsure if he could defend them well enough.
Buffy was barely holding on to Dean at this point, was barely staying awake, but she could still sense the impending danger. She could see the creature boring down on them, and kicked her legs out swiftly, locking them around it's neck tightly. Her quick move prevented the creature from moving in any direction, allowing Dean to once again drive the knife through the creatures head. He retracted the knife and thrust it through the monsters skull once more, giving it a sturdy twist before pushing it in further. This time the life drained from the monster, and once the girl loosen her legs grasp on it the thing fell away. They had fallen for it's possum act before, but something told them both that this time the thing was finally dead. Without even a shadow of the creature near them, Dean was able to continue his effort to reach the surface again.
It took a great deal of work, but he managed to push the girl up through to the surface, and then pull himself up as well, collapsing on solid ground and gasping for air. Buffy was laid out on the ground when Dean pulled himself up. She was coughing and desperately gasping for air, coated in the mysterious sand-like substance that they had just escaped from. Fear had yet to drain from her eyes, and for the first time since he met her, she truly looked small. This is what she would look like if she was an ordinary human, someone who didn't know what lurked in the shadows. It pulled at his heart that a girl that could look this innocent, this sweet, could be so hardened by the world. He could only assume it wasn't just this world that had done that, but her home as well. He wasn't sure which thought hurt more.
A silence came over them, both a little unsure of where to go from there.
"Wanna rinse off?" Buffy offered, finally breaking the quiet.
"Very much so," Dean answered, trying to get the substance out from his ear.
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"Well I'm not going to undress with you watching!" Buffy stated indignantly.
"Well I'm not letting you get whipped off into another pit, so figure something out"
The bickering had started as soon as the pair reached the lake. Their clothing had dusted off just fine, but Buffy's skin and hair were both still thickly coated with the sandy matter, and no amount of dry scrubbing would take it off. She probably would have put up with it if she could stop coughing because of the dust, but her lungs protested the idea of remaining coated. Getting naked in front of Dean was not what she wanted to do.
Dean, however, was less than willing to let her out of his sight again. His adrenaline had taken over when she had been whipped away from him, but he wasn't sure he could save her again if needed. The time they were in that weird pit and drained every ounce of strength and energy that Dean had left. The slayer had been left in a weakened state, too, and he wasn't sure if she could survive another encounter of the same magnitude.
He wouldn't admit it to her, but being partnered up had been way better than he had expected. Sure, she was exasperating, but not being alone was nice. Plus he had gotten used to sleeping again, and that was a huge plus. It helped that she was more than capable of taking care of herself so he wasn't constantly slowing down for her. She reminded him of Jo, in a way. She had been capable as well, but he had failed to keep her safe. He didn't plan on going through anything like that ever again. So he'd much rather not lose this one because he took his eyes off of her.
Buffy sighed, "Fine. Ass."
There wasn't enough time to argue with him, they would have to get moving again soon. The sky was beginning to take on the hues that signaled nightfall, and the longer they stayed in one place the more likely they were to be found. Buffy knew she would regret her decision later, but for now it appeared to be her best option. She waded into the water, clothes and all.
"Seriously?" Dean looked at her incredulously. "Enjoy your wet clothes later, sweetheart."
Her eye twitched at his use of 'sweetheart' again. This time, Dean actually regretted using the nickname. It had slipped out by accident, but the bite that had accompanied it in previous uses was absent this time. It made it almost bearable.
"I will." She smirked. She could be stubborn too.
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Regret didn't begin to cover it. Night fall was fast approaching and she was still drenched. She tried to play it off, but it would be impossible for Dean to not notice that she was shaking and freezing.
"We'll find somewhere to stop for the night soon," Dean said, with a softness in his voice that she hadn't expected.
"Hopefully."
"It looks like there's a cave or another alcove just up ahead there," Dean pointed, "we can set up there. Maybe get a fire going or something."
"We've had this fight before, almost every single night. Can we skip the argument and just come to the conclusion that starting a fire would draw way too much attention? Of the bad kind."
"We'll be sheltered from sight this time. We'll keep it low and make sure to smother it before moving in the morning. You need to warm up and dry off."
"Since when do you care?"
"I don't. I'm just sick of listening to your teeth chatter like a fucking cartoon."
So much for that softer tone.
"Right. Fine. Still have that lighter?"
Entering the small cave, the two of them investigated the shadows of it. The ground looked solid, the walls weren't broken, and the entrance was small enough that it would be hard for something to break in. No threat presented itself. The two felt relatively sure that they could stay here with a fire and not be at great risk.
It was a nice change of pace, and they were almost able to pretend they were just on a camping trip. Not that Buffy had ever camped, but this is what she assumed a camping trip would be like. Minus the constant threat of dying, of course. Soon the only noise they heard was the quiet crackle of the flames, and they were both able to let go of the fear that the fire would draw unwanted attention to them. It wasn't a large fire, but it was warm enough to slow Buffy's shivering until she was barely shaking at all.
Buffy couldn't ignore her surprise at the way Dean had been acting since the attack. She would have never thought he would risk his life to save her. At first she thought it had been a lapse in judgement, falling into old habits like she had done when she stopped the creature from leaving the pack. Now though? It was almost as though he was taking care of her. She'd be furious that he thought she needed tending to if it wasn't so out of character for him. She tried to chalk it up to keeping his partner alive, but even she didn't believe that.
It took a lot of her own personal control to avoid barraging him with questions. Instead she chose to enjoy the warmth of the fire and the moment of peace. They had earned it.
For the first time since they'd been there the silence was simply comfortable. It was likely that it would persist until one of them went to sleep. She was surprised when Dean interrupted the silence.
