A/N:
Thank you so much to goldacharmed and Kajensen07 for the reviews!
Scar leaned forward to glance over the words Dean pointed out. They were all written in the blocky human lettering, and looked clumsy and difficult to him. He couldn't make any sense of most of them, and let out a terse sigh as he straightened. That wasn't what bothered him the most. The strength of these supposed demons nagged at him. If Dean was to be believed, they could take on a man of his size, a giant, without a problem if he wasn't prepared.
Enemies to the sprites were already hard to fight. Scar knew that better than anyone. Even Sam, who threw himself into his training and boldly stepped up to defend the village when the time came, hadn't tangled with nearly as many threats as Scar had in his tenure. That experience lent Scar the wisdom to recognize a fight he shouldn't pick. That frustrated him to no end, but at least Scar had other places to focus his energy.
"Blast it," he muttered, crossing his arms. "I can't send any knights against this thing. If I didn't know you well enough, Sam, I'd suggest you hang back for the defenses, too, but I already know you won't."
He looked up at Dean, a stern demeanor hiding his disappointment. There was nothing quite as frustrating as knowing he couldn't do anything to help, no matter how much he ached to. He could potentially lead an attack on a regular human, but not against a thing that never fell. "I trust that you'll be able to dispatch the beast. In the meantime, I will help you search."
Dean nodded solemnly. "Not to worry." He already knew the sprites and Sam wouldn't be able to help him fight. He wouldn't want to put them in danger, either. This was his job. "I've already got a plan for that."
He gestured back at the book. "Words, for demons, are as powerful as any knife. When we find it, me or Jacob can hold it off. If Sam stays up in the air, he can read the exorcism without worrying about it grabbing him. He can be my backup, in case I can't get it out. The first thing that demon is going to try to do is stop me from saying the exorcism."
Sam stepped up on the book, reading through the Latin script. He absently mouthed a few of the words, trying to remember the enunciation from across half a lifetime of memories. Glancing up at Dean, he pointed down. "Do you have something I can write on?" He waved his pen in the air. "Sprites don't use paper."
Dean's eyebrows went up. Now he understood why the entire wall of the leaf glider garage was covered in diagrams. Instead of being able to draft up a design like a human might do, the small human had made do with the materials on hand. It would be far more unwieldy compared to writing on a sheet, but it clearly got the job done.
There was only one thing Dean had that he could offer him. He reached over to the journal, and found a page corner that wasn't scribbled on. Ripping off what he judged to be about the size of a sheet of paper for someone a twentieth his size, he offered it to Sam.
Sam hesitated. He knew as well as Dean how important that book was for them, and now he'd have a sheet of his own from it. "Thanks," he replied quietly before he took it and sat right down on the journal to start copying. His absence from humanity showed through as he wrote out the exorcism in elegant sprite script.
While Sam copied down the exorcism, Scar sidled around the other items Dean had left scattered around the journal. He crouched to run a hand over the beads, and he squinted at the container of water. Most of the methods Dean described seemed so strange. Scar had never heard of a creature like a demon before, and he was glad that his usual fare was more straightforward. Even a wolf would back off if persuaded by several small cuts with the sharp rapiers the knights carried.
He turned to face Jacob, eyeing up the bruise on his face. A little higher, and the swelling might have affected the human's vision. "You be careful out there, too," he warned him.
"Don't need to tell me twice," Jacob assured him. Scar let out an amused scoff before a flutter of wings carried him into the air.
"I will inform the knights of the situation. We will not engage, but if it comes to it we can create diversions with the best of them." He glanced pointedly at the canopy above them. "Thank you for lending your expertise, Dean."
"That's what I do," Dean said, quirking a smile as the knight rose above their heads. It was definitely the oddest case he'd ever been on, considering the sprites alone. Nevermind rediscovering his lost little brother, who continued to write steadily on the small scrap of paper. The tiny knight was just as dedicated to the cause.
All the way down on the ground, Sam didn't even have to try to hide the prideful smile that crossed his face at Dean's words. His older brother had grown into a man to be proud of, willing to put himself on the line not only for humans like any hunter, but for the innocent sprites that made the forest their home.
"If you need any salt or holy water, let me know," Dean continued. "It'll come in useful if you need to create any diversions, or if he gets past us. I've got plenty to spare."
Once the sprite vanished into the canopy, Dean glanced over at Jacob. His eyebrows scrunched together in worry. "How you holdin' up over there?" Dean asked. "You only just got attacked, are you sure you're up to facing your friend again?"
Jacob shrugged. "Other than the bruise, they said I'm good, healthwise," he answered. That didn't necessarily mean he was ready to take on one of his closest friends possessed by a demon, but he doubted that anything could really prepare him for that. Jacob didn't feel he had many options. His friend needed his help.
He watched Sam copy off the rest of the exorcism in silence, thinking about it. "I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll do what I can. I mean, you said he could have tossed us across a field, but he just hit me and Chase and then left us there."
Dean shrugged. "It all depends on the demon. Not all of them are just after death and destruction. They can have longer-reaching goals that have nothing to do with killing some kids in the woods. We'll just say you got lucky."
He started to gather up the supplies arranged on the ground, tucking them back in their places in his jacket. "I've got another bottle of holy water for ya in the duffel," he told Jacob as he did so. He was cautious to avoid bumping against Sam, who was tucking his exorcism and pen into his jacket. "Ready, Sammy?"
Sam gave him a bitchface in return, but climbed onto the offered hand nonetheless. "It's Sam," he insisted.
Dean grinned brightly as he scooped the journal off the ground and stood up. "Whatever you say, pint-"
The second half of the nickname never made it out of Dean's mouth. As Jacob stood, a green blur with familiar wild, pine-green hair came hurtling back towards the village. The sprite swerved around him in surprise, only to flare his wings wide with a snap and come to a stop right in front of Dean, cutting him off mid-nickname.
Gunner Leafwing's dull green eyes were wide as he stared back and forth between Jacob and Dean. He hovered directly between the two giants, breathing heavily and obviously surprised to find them there.
Jacob blinked a few times. At first, he'd thought the sprite was Bowman, but he lacked Bowman's vibrant green gaze that Jacob was used to having leveled at him in a glare. "Uh. Hi. Sorry for standing up right in your way," he told him.
Before the flustered knight of Wellwood could answer, another voice joined their party. "Dad?" Bowman glided back towards the huge humans after finally spreading the word of the demon, just as surprised as his father by the scene. He stopped to hover not a full foot away, and Jacob raised his eyebrows. Bowman looked a lot like his dad.
"Ah," Gunner muttered, completely derailed from his speedy return to the village. "Bowman," he greeted with a nod, then glanced over to see Sam standing on a giant's hand. "Sam."
Dean stared down at the sprite, still getting over the close call. It was doubtful an impact would do more than bump against him, but for the sprite it could do more damage. Kinda like running into a wall wearing leather, if Dean was being honest with himself. It felt weird to think of himself as more of a building than just a regular guy on the street.
Plus, his hands were full with a journal and Sam. He'd have to drop the journal to save the sprite. "Uh…"
Sam came to the rescue. He waved at Gunner, glad to have the chance to let more of his adopted family meet the brother he'd lost so long ago. "Hey, Gunner!" There wasn't much that could dim his exuberance at finding his older brother after so long. "We finally brought Jacob to visit, and this is my older brother Dean!" He twisted in place to catch the gaze of the hunter. "Dean, Gunner is the sprite that took me in when I was first cursed."
Dean's eyebrows went up. Around every corner in the village was another person he felt like he should know. "I think I owe you some thanks, then," he said.
Gunner regained his bearings with a slow sigh, gathering his thoughts after the near-collision. "I ... suppose," he answered, inwardly very glad that other than Sam, none of his fellow knights witnessed his flustered stalling.
Bowman had to rein in his smirk and rescue his father from the awkward silence that his own uncertainty created. "Is everything alright?" he asked, glancing at the way Gunner's wings labored at the air from his rapid flight, and the tension in his shoulders. "Did you see something?"
Jacob's eyebrows went up. "Another giant, maybe?" he cut in. The Bowman-lookalike turned to stare up at him in surprise, and nodded.
"Yes. I saw him wandering very near your clearing, actually," he answered. Jacob was slightly amused that the clearing where he usually made his camp was already 'his' according to the sprites, but more than that he recognized the seriousness of Gunner's words. That clearing was only a few miles from the village. A short trip for the demon if he knew which way to go.
Dean frowned, the reason he was in the forest rushing back down onto his shoulders. "That's my cue," he said, already preparing himself mentally for the fight with the demon. The last one he'd tackled had tried to use his past against him, throwing his failures and uncertainties in his face all while nearly crashing the airplane they were on at the same time. Taunting him with the way his brother had vanished, reminding him that they'd never found a body.
At least now he had an answer to why they'd never found a body.
The sprites had taken good care of Sam since being lost, and now Dean promised to himself that he would do the same whenever Sam was around. He owed it to his baby brother.
Dean lifted up the hand Sam was standing on while he tucked the journal into his leather jacket. "So I'm guessin' you and Bowman can get me there, right?" he asked, his brow creased.
Sam nodded confidently. "It won't be a problem. We traveled to that field more than anywhere else in the last few months." Despite the circumstances, he flashed a grin in Jacob's direction. "Jacob was the first human I ever got to see since my curse. I had a lot of questions."
"Good." Dean glanced towards the pine tree that Sam called home. "We need to get going, then."
While Dean and Sam returned to retrieve Sam's glider, Jacob glanced down at Bowman and his dad. The older sprite did show a few differences from his son after the initial glance. He wore a knight's jacket like Scar and Sam, and he carried his own little rapier at his side. There was a coiled tension in his body that Bowman lacked, and yet both of them hovered with a casual ease that gave Jacob little doubt about where Bowman's flying talent came from.
"I think Scar was gathering the other knights," Jacob supplied, pulling the man out of his dazed stare after Dean. It seemed like Dean was pulling a lot of that attention, after everyone had Sam's story memorized for years. The sprites had been looking forward to seeing the man for so long that they didn't even know what to do now that he was actually there.
Gunner blinked and then nodded. "Thank you." He turned towards the huge cottonwood tree that stood proudly at the edge of the stand of home trees, and Jacob realized with awe that much of the center of that tree was devoted to sprite architecture. There were tiny windows on several branches and dotted around the trunk itself.
"Dad," Bowman spoke up before his father could fly far. Gunner glanced at him, schooling his concerned expression into a neutral one. "Be careful, wouldja? This thing seems pretty dangerous."
Gunner smirked faintly and nodded. "You got it, kid," he answered, before darting away. Bowman rolled his eyes and wandered closer to Jacob. In short order, he'd landed right on the human's head.
"Comfy?" Jacob asked, amused. A wing, spread wide, slapped down on the top of his head.
Dean watched as Sam strapped himself into the glider, tiny belts forming a harness that he'd discovered had a failsafe built into it for a quick escape. The makeshift glider was amazingly innovative, for a person who had little more to work with than sticks, leaves, rope and his own mind.
And it worked. That amazed Dean the most. Sam could keep in the air with the best of the sprites, more at ease at such a height than Dean could ever hope to be. He was proud of what his little brother had made of himself after all these years separated.
"You watch yourself there, pint-size, okay?" he said quietly as Sam put on the last of the belts. "Don't come close to the demon. Let me or Jacob hold it off for you."
Sam waved at him to back away from the tree, and Dean did so, checking behind himself as he stepped back. Leaves and twigs crunched under his boots, but the sprites knew to stay well away from either humans' feet while on the ground.
"You don't have to worry," Sam said soothingly. "I know what I'm doing. I've been flying patrol in the forest for years, and working together with Bowman comes naturally. We'll be your eye in the sky." He smiled, knowing Dean would appreciate the wording.
Dean laughed, but it choked in his throat when Sam once again ran towards the edge of a cliff and hurled himself out into open air.
He was never going to get used to that.
Dean followed Sam back over to Jacob, the little glider leading the way. It floated up on the air currents until the tiny knight was on the same level as Dean's line of sight.
"We almost ready to head out?" Dean asked as he came up to Jacob. Sam began to circle around the two humans.
Jacob waited for Bowman to flutter off of his head before nodding. Soon, the sprite was following his adopted brother's pattern through the air, and it seemed the group was ready to set out to find Bobby. Before he finds this village, Jacob thought, the recent memory of the tiny nestlings galvanizing him. They were in danger from something they didn't even understand.
"Yep, let's get this show on the road," he answered. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He turned his head to watch Sam and Bowman's flight for a second. "Lead the way, guys."
Bowman veered away from their circle around the humans first, flitting towards Jacob's clearing before pausing to look back. "If you can keep up with us," he called back with a smirk. The smile hid the nerves that trembled in every inch of him. He saw the serious looks on Dean and Jacob's faces. Bowman hated showing his fear.
"You'll have to do better than that to lose me," Dean called to the sprite gamely. Sam's glider continued on its path without deviating, as placid as always.
When they passed by Dean's duffel, he paused to scoop it off the ground. He didn't sling it over his shoulder like normal, though. Holding it by his side, he rifled through the belongings inside. "If you really plan on helping out, you're gonna need some supplies," Dean muttered to Jacob. He pulled out a water bottle and a container of salt. "If you find him, toss the water on him as soon as you can. Bare skin is best. The salt is better saved for when you're cornered. It can stave him off long enough to finish off the exorcism." He held out both containers. "I've always got extra on hand."
Jacob took the supplies in hand, weighing them thoughtfully. It was strange trying to think that they were more effective to him than a bigger weapon would be. Normally, he could probably throw Bobby over a fence without that much effort. Now, his smaller friend was dangerous to allow too close.
Stuffing the salt into his hoodie pocket for the moment, Jacob held tighter to the bottle of holy water. "Got it. We might be able to flank him." That might be hoping for a lot, but Jacob didn't want to see what might happen if the fight went on too long. Anyone, including his friend, could get hurt.
Bowman treated the flight like any other patrol. He meandered in the air, this way and that, keeping an eye out for anything abnormal. He stuck close to the glider just in case Sam needed his help or needed to call something out to him. The forest seemed to be watching their progress with keen interest, waiting for them to find the dangerous intruder.
Time stretched out as they walked on. The day was slipping to evening, and Sam could see the sun touching the horizon. He frowned. Bringing down a demon would be a thousand times harder if it got too dark to fly, and leaving it alone for another night was out of the question. Bobby had strayed too close to the village already. If they didn't stop him now, innocent sprites might get hurt.
The two humans stayed behind Sam and Bowman, and he cast a glance back at them more than once. It was hard not to smile at the sight of Dean crashing through the underbrush as gracefully as Sam remembered from childhood. His older brother had never been the outdoors-y type. However, Dean had already demonstrated that he could sneak up on even a sprite if he wanted too, after finding Rischa in the forest. Sam had faith.
They would get this demon.
When he knew the field was close by, just pass the last line of trees, Sam let his glider drift down. "Hey," he called to Dean. He couldn't hover like a sprite, but he could land on Dean's head. Before the hunter could jerk his head up, Sam's small boots were landing on the dirty blond hair, and Dean froze.
"The field's right ahead," Sam said, dropping to a crouch with the glider at the ready.
Dean went to nod his understanding, and winced when a tug in his hair reminded him why that was a bad plan. "Okay. Can you and Bowman sweep the field from above? Jacob and I will search for him. If either of you spots him first, find us. We've gotta work together."
Bowman, flitting back and forth above, nodded. "We can do that," he said, just in case the humans couldn't see him in the waning light. That by itself had him restless. Bowman, like many other younger sprites, went out on frequent nighttime flights. However, it wasn't so common for there to be such a big threat present. Owls could be dodged. He didn't know anything about this "demon."
"Remember not to get too close," Jacob warned, and Bowman almost rolled his eyes. He saw the little expression turned his way, but wasn't about to take it back. Bobby was dangerous enough to Sam and Bowman due to his size. With all that extra strength, he wouldn't have to break a sweat to take them out.
"You act like we've never gone patrolling before," Bowman shot back, though his voice was toned down a little more than before. The darker it was, the more on edge he became.
Sam bumped a boot against the surface of Dean's head. "I could use a hand."
Confused, Dean held a hand up next to his head, and almost startled when Sam hopped onto it. Instead of taking it down, Sam directed him to lift it up in the air. Comprehension dawned as Dean held his arm up over his head, giving Sam a high perch to leap off of. Getting height back was harder in the dark, so Sam wanted to start off up.
Sam leapt over the edge of Dean's hand, and in short order the cursed human and the sprite were sweeping towards the field together in the waning light.
Dean watched them as they vanished into the distance, and shook his head in amazement. "What a day," he muttered to himself. He brushed a hand over his jacket to check on his flashlight, then hitched up his duffel.
It was time to hunt.
A/N
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Next: December 9th, 2018 at 9pm est
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