MIAKODA
Sliding the filled cooler of food – several foil-wrapped burritos from wraps that she'd nipped into town for and a couple of other things too – and beer into the back of the Impala, Miakoda grabbed a bit of rubbish and shoved it into a bin bag by her feet. The Impala wasn't dirty by any means but if the two were getting ready to leave, might as well clean the car as they went right?
Sam was up and moving. "Sam's up."
"Damn it," Bobby muttered under his breath and Miakoda sent him a look, both sympathetic and amused at the same time. The boot to the Impala squeaked shut as Dean finished sorting out ammo and the other necessities.
"We'll call him later."
"Call me from where?" Sam's voice came from behind and Miakoda gave him a closed-lip smile, absently wrapping her cardigan around her. She'd gotten used to acting human around actual humans that it was more of a comfort thing than a cold thing. Her instincts had been warring from within her. Part of Miakoda knew that Soulless!Sam had been doing the best thing to survive, that, in his mind, where things were black and white, cut and dry, killing Bobby and her would work out best in the long run. Sam with a Soul was currently an amnesiac. He didn't know what he had nearly done.
She couldn't decide what to feel. Her Wolf kept shying away from him. It made the whole 'everything-was-fine' thing difficult.
"Oh." Dean stopped, turning towards him, "Uh, there's this thing in Oregon."
Sam looked between him, Bobby and Miakoda who didn't seem dressed to be going anywhere. "Great. I'm in."
Miakoda covered the smile that pulled onto her face as Bobby quickly grabbed his stuff from the passenger side by scratching at the dip in her upper lip.
"Whoa, whoa." Dean held out a hand, stopping his brother from going any farther, a confused furrow to his face. "You just got vertical."
"Exactly." Sam nodded, hands moving a little, gesturing to himself. "I'm up. I'm good."
Maybe she wasn't the only one who mother-henned, Miakoda couldn't help but muse as she took in how Dean tried to come up with a crappy excuse to get Sam to stay behind. The leg that he thought he had to stand on was swiped from under him when Sam fired back, "Right. Because that's what you did when you got back from Hell."
"Hold on." Miakoda blinked a little, head jerking backwards a bit, hand moving as if to brace herself. "You were where?"
"I'll explain it to her." Bobby made up the excuse and both brothers turned to look at him as he moved towards the house.
"You're not coming?"
"Oh, you two go on ahead. You got this covered. I, uh, forgot, I promised that idjit, Rufus, I'd work the phones for him, so…"
Remembering what they'd discussed just nigh on two hours ago, Dean raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "You sure?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Bobby waved him off. "You enjoy catching up, okay?"
The trio watched as he quickly made his way inside, the door shutting behind him. Miakoda climbed onto the first step, leaning against the railing. "What was that?"
Dean shrugged. "One part age, three parts liquor."
As they moved to both their respective doors, born from many a year on the road together, Dean looked over to Miakoda. "You sure you don't want to come with us?"
She squinted, still see-sawing from going with them before waving it off. "Bobby's right. Gives you tow to catch up. 'Sides I'd be better here anyway. Stay safe you two."
"We will."
"Will you though?" she narrowed her eyes at him slightly playfully.
Sam laughed a little in the front seat. "We will try."
"Haven't you two got a damsel to find and save?" Miakoda waved as the Impala then quickly purred out of the driveway and made her way into the house.
Bobby sat at his desk again, light on to focus more on a text in front of her. He looked over to her as she began to tidy up a bit. "I still think it's stupid that you're staying back with me. And you ain't my housekeeper."
"You're not the only one whose instincts is telling to be careful 'round Sam, Bobby. I've just had years to perfect looking normal."
"You'd be better use in the field than behind the desk, that's all I'm saying."
Miakoda put the board that she'd wiped down away and ran a hand through her hair, frustrated. She braced herself against the counter, twisting the cloth in her hands. "Why?"
"You did pretty well against Sam when he went all Terminator on us both."
"He knocked me out."
The chair he was in creaked a little as he leant back, crossing his arms, raising an eyebrow. "Were you holding back though?"
Her head see-sawed again, jaw going. "If he'd woken up as a Wolf, if it had even taken in the first place, he would have hated me from taking that choice away from him. Even if Dean had permitted me to Bite him, Bobby, I wouldn't have forgiven myself. So yes, I was holding back. He may have been Soulless, but he is still human, and therefore, still breakable."
"The Bite doesn't always turn you?"
She shook her head, cracking her neck to get rid of the tension that had suddenly settled on her shoulders. "It's like certain medicines. Sometimes they take, sometimes the body rejects it. If someone who is Bitten rejects it…" Miakoda sighed heavily, "they die, and from what I've been told, they're in pain the entire time as they do."
"Hell," Bobby said after a while but didn't approach the subject again, having taken in how Miakoda had reacted. "Still think you'd be more help with them."
"Sam doesn't know me." She threw up her hands. "Dean, whilst he may know me slightly better by living with me for a month, has never seen how I react to a hostile. It felt weird as well. Like, by helping you guys, I'm betraying some unknown Creature code or…something."
"Weren't you the one who was saying that Hunters helped keep the Supernatural side of the world quiet?"
"What if they ran into more Hunters and they found out that the Winchesters were shacking up with one of the things that they Hunt?"
"You worry too much."
She was serious as she locked eyes with Bobby. "Last time I wasn't, my Pack was murdered; if that happened again…" Miakoda broke the connection and flinched at the phantom pain that flared. Her Wolf pressed against her teeth, whining.
Bobby couldn't say that he didn't feel for the girl. He'd read up on the case after she'd gone to bed one night. The youngest body that they had found was that of maybe 3. The woman would have had Survivor's Guilt by the bucket load if the troubled glint in her eye was anything to go by.
"You also can't be stayin' stuck in the past, girlie."
"Maybe."
The conversation drew to a close as they both fell into a rhythm. Bobby had taken up the phones whilst Miakoda went through books of Lore and what she could immediately connect with the clues that several Hunters gave them. Miakoda was still on the fence but her Wolf paced at the idea of leaving two Pack members by themselves with unknown danger. She knew that the Winchesters could take care of themselves, they were legends within the Supernatural world for a reason, but apparently, Miakoda wasn't prone to irrationality.
She was still tossing the idea around the next morning when Dean phoned with a conundrum. "What do you know about dragons?"
Bobby put the wooden spoon he was using to stir the soup that Miakoda had put in his hand rather than the can of beans and…something and turned a little. "What? Nothing."
"Seriously. What about Koda?"
Miakoda thought on it. Whilst dragons were one of the main sources of medieval folklore and mainly in the European and Asian regions, they were extremely rare. "Well," Bobby drawled, seeing her expression, "I was gonna say they weren't real but Doc's got something. Here."
Taking the phone, Miakoda shoved it between her shoulder and her ear as she looked up cheap flights to San Francisco from Sioux Falls. Would be a hell of a lot quicker and potentially cheaper than driving the 26 hours. "Got a pen and paper ready?"
"Uh…" Dean dragged out and she heard papers rustling a little. "Yeah, go."
"Dr Visyak," Bobby jolted a little when she mentioned an old flame as she put her information down for the ticket. "S.F.U. She's head of the Medieval Studies on campus. I'll phone ahead for you but can you pick me up at the airport on the way passed? The Fates only know what she'd be like if you just show up?"
Miakoda ignored the slightly amused look Bobby had on his face as she threw in the question.
"Dr Visyak. S.F.U. and yeah, just message your details."
"Will do." With that, she hung up, sent the flight information to the printer, chucked the phone back over to Bobby and headed to her room. Miakoda chucked a few shirts and underwear and socks into the go-bag she used on digs, along with a large refillable water bottle, before grabbing her passport from the small box of important documents she'd grabbed from the house before she left. Her laptop was slid in with its charger and she got changed. Her sturdy khaki jeans with pockets with a slate grey Henley, her leather jacket and boots along with her necklace and Miakoda was ready.
Bobby raised his eyebrows from where he stood by the doors, her flight stuff and keys in hand. "'mon I'll drop you off."
"The historian in me slightly shrivels up at what he could potentially get up to."
"And Visyak ain't someone you want to piss off."
Miakoda cocked her head at that, a smirk on her face. "You got history with her, Bobby?"
"I might do."
On the way to the airport, Miakoda phoned Dr Visyak, still having her contact details on her phone. "Hey, Dr Vee? It's Koda."
"Hello Koda," Dr Visyak said pleasantly, "What can I do for you?"
"An associate and I are currently in a bit of bind with a Creature, that I think you can help with. I was wondering if we could meet at yours."
"Certainly." Dr Visyak nodded. "When should I expect you both?"
Miakoda glanced at her watch and did the math quickly. "Later on today? Around 5? Ish."
"Just ring the door when you get here. I'm sure with whatever the problem is, it'll be enlightening that is for certain."
"Will do, thanks, Dr Vee."
Quickly hanging up, Miakoda tucked her phone into her pocket. "You're on a nickname basis with her?"
"She did a few lectures when I was in Oxford," Miakoda shrugged, "even though she's Medieval based, several of my classes for Archaeology were medieval for where I was. I'll let you know when we have everything ironed out."
With a last word of thanks, Miakoda grabbed her bag and swung out of Bobby's truck. Well versed in how airports worked, she soon had herself through security and into the departure lounge, texting Dean her flight number. In the little shop, Miakoda bought herself a bag of Jolly Ranchers to suck on the plane before settling herself down in front of the gate, passport and ticket in hand.
She didn't have to wait long, 10-15 minutes at most before Miakoda was being ushered onto the plane. It wasn't a packed flight from the looks of things and Miakoda found herself being able to use the 7 hours to finish up working on the finals paper for her unit that, even though she was technically not teaching anymore, enabling her TA to get the experience as they wished to try and get Assistant Professor, it would still make it easier for the TA to give tips comes final exams if they, themselves, got a chance to look it over. If Miakoda got an hour or so of a nap well, it was nobody's business.
Because she'd only had her carryon luggage, Miakoda managed to just pass through customs easily before swinging into the Impala, which Dean had been leaning against the front wheel waiting for her to show up.
"Let's go, we got dragons to fight."
Directing Dean to Dr Visyak's was relatively easy. The two filled the time by Dean giving her the ins and outs of the case so she knew what she was getting into. Whilst Dean may have been a little uneasy about Sam potentially remembering everything, Miakoda spoke up.
"Maybe it could be a good sign? If he's starting to remember little things, maybe nothing Armageddon-like but if it's happening naturally, it could be okay."
He sighed, drumming his fingers on the inside of the steering wheel, elbow propped against the window. "Maybe. I don't know."
"From what I've seen and from what you've told me, Dean," Miakoda shifted to rest her back against the door, knee tucked up slightly, "Sam's a naturally inquisitive person. He's going to go digging to see if he can remember the past year and a half, amnesiacs do that. Let's just take every day as it comes." She looked up at the road and pointed at the up-coming corner, "Also, it's this next right."
Dean took his glance around the neighbourhood and let out a low whistle. "Swanky town."
"Wait till you see the inside," Miakoda warned.
"You've been in?"
"Couple of times," she nodded, "her and I collab-ed on a paper and her library has first editions that are extremely difficult to get your hands on."
"What was it on? The paper."
Miakoda thought back, gnawing her lip. "Uh…how ancient Creatures within folklore began to become recognised within the medieval times in Europe."
Dean made a face in consideration as he pulled up to the circle driveway. They pulled to a stop by the steps of the door and Dean turned off the car as Miakoda made her way up the stairs, ringing the buzzer.
"Yes?" Dr Visyak's drawl came from the speaker as Dean came to a stop beside Miakoda. He took in the big chestnut door and ostentatious knocker.
"Hey, Dr Vee, it's Miakoda."
"Oh, you're early!"
Miakoda cocked her head, tracking Dr Visyak's heartbeat through the ground level of the house. Soon the door swung open and a blonde woman with sharp blue eyes stood in the entranceway in a lovely deep blue dress and nude pumps.
"Hi, Eleanor."
"Koda." She smiled to the Wolf before it cooled considerably when her eyes settled on Dean. "You must be the associate Koda was talking to me about."
"Eleanor," Miakoda introduced, "this is Dean Winchester and we need your expertise on a case."
"You both better come in then."
Eleanor watched as Miakoda dusted her fingers down the spines of her books as she and Dean spoke. Miakoda had always been a bibliophile and Eleanor knew she was listening to the conversation.
"So Bobby Singer sent you?"
"I was the one who made the call, Ellie."
"Yes dear, but Bobby Singer still sent your Hunter to me."
Miakoda rolled her eyes at the possessive noun that Eleanor had put in front of the word. Dean wasn't hers. Humans and Creatures alike still confused Wolves with being primitive beings. They were protective and yes, sometimes possessive of Pack members, but being in a Pack was just as much about free will as it was fate. The Wolf may have chosen who was in the Pack but the member could leave if they wanted to.
Eleanor poured herself a finger or two of scotch and leant against the old table behind her. "Tell him something from me next time you see him."
"Hmm?" Dean encouraged her as he sat tiredly on the white armchair. 10 hours was a long drive.
Miakoda smirked at the smell of vindication that brushed through Eleanor's scent. "Just kick him in the jewels." The blonde grinned viciously. "That's more poetic."
"No love lost between you two, huh?"
"Did he do that whole thing of 'I'm not good enough for you?" Miakoda asked as she sat in the wing-backed chair beside Dean, crossing her legs at the knees. Her head rolled towards the only man in the room. "That shit doesn't work by the way."
"That's his story to tell." Eleanor moved over to the chair across from Dean as he held up his hands in surrender. She found their dynamic already fun to watch. "He's the idiot. So what's this about?"
Dean sighed, rubbing his hands together. "Well, uh…Dragons?"
"Really?"
His brow furrowed when she didn't immediately laugh, seeming genuinely stunned. "What, no twelve-sided-dice joke?"
"Hey!" Miakoda protested. "D and D is fun okay?
Eleanor sent her a look to quell the bickering and crossed her legs elegantly. "We can joke about them because they've disappeared. But they aren't funny. At all."
Dean seemed tired as he gave information over. "Well, one just flew in stateside."
"Are you sure?"
"Fits the lore to a tee."
Even Eleanor seemed confused at Dean's truth. "But how? I mean why? It's been seven hundred years."
"Shit's been weird for the past couple of years, Ellie. For the Winchesters," Miakoda shook her head, "not exactly crazy."
Eleanor sucked on her teeth for a second and she nodded. "So you want to know how to kill it."
Dean and Miakoda nodded. "That's right."
"Well, you need a blade."
Dean blinked and Miakoda had a feeling it wasn't going be that simple. "Uh…Okay. What kind of blade?"
"One forged with dragon's blood."
Miakoda and Dean shared a look before Dean voiced what their thinkings. "So you need on to kill one," he gestured, elbows on his knees, "but you got to kill one to make one. How does that work out?"
Dr Visyak shifted in her seat, picking up her drink to hold it in her hands. "Well, there aren't many dragon swords around anymore. Five or six, tops, worldwide. I mean, there's the sword of St. George, and, of course," she gestured with a manicured hand, "there's Excalibur. And there-"
Dean laughed a little, "You know a lot about this stuff, don't you?"
"Well, she has a doctorate in medieval studies so I'd assume so." Miakoda sassed back, just as tired herself from the long plane ride.
"I also have one in the basement."
"Hold on, what?"
As the trio walked down to the basement to where Eleanor kept a dragon-forged sword, Miakoda couldn't help but snip, "You know, Eleanor, most people keep like Christmas and Halloween decorations in their basements, not a dragon-forged sword."
She shrugged elegantly. "I had no other way of making sure the blade wouldn't rust. And no other place to put it. Finding it took two decades, countless hours and some really bad sex with an Eastern European ambassador, but yeah."
Through the big heavy, dark wooden doors there was something…reptilian about the scent of the iron. Eleanor pushed it open to reveal, much like Excalibur in Merlin, a sword in a boulder. Dean stepped into the room eyes wide with almost boy-like wonder.
"That is not real." He grinned, glancing back at them, pointing to it, "Is that real? Is it Excalibur?"
"No." Eleanor shook herself, a wistful smile on her face. "This…is the Sword of Bruncvik. Love of my life."
"The Sword of Bruncvik?" Miakoda's head snapped to the blond beside her. "You just so happen to keep the Sword of Bruncvik in your basement?"
"It's a dragon-forged sword, Miakoda, what was I supposed to do? Leave it there?" Dr Visyak rolled her eyes and Miakoda remembered the reason why the two had only worked together for a short time.
They had very opposing views on what to do with artefacts.
To defuse the tension, Dean gestured to the cement. "So, uh, what's with the cement shoe?"
"You know," Dr Visyak shrugged as Miakoda slunk into the room, "binding sword to stone used to be all the rage. To protect them."
"The story goes that when the Czech lands are at their lowest, in their greatest need," Miakoda said quietly, hand ghosting over the pommel of the blade, "St Wenceslas will rise from the dead, take Bruncvik's sword and save them from ruin."
"All right," Dean nodded before looking to Dr Visyak, "well, how do we get this puppy out?"
Dr Visyak laughed a little. "Oh come on," she near crooned to Dean and Miakoda felt her hackles rise a little, "You know this one. We need a brave knight who's willing to step up and kill the beast."
Sensing where this conversation was going, Miakoda backed up with a bitten back smile as Dean stared before a spark of excitement entered his scent. Apprehension too. His heart started to pick up as adrenalin started to race, spicing his scent. His green eyes were bright.
"Right," Dean nodded to himself, to them, trying to hold back the grin. "All right, well, I'll, uh, give it a whirl." He gestured to the pommel of the blade, glancing back at Dr Visyak. "Do you mind?"
Dr Visyak gestured to it with a bare hand, palm up, an amused expression on her face as she stood in the doorway of the basement. "Oh."
Miakoda leant against the wall of the room, already thinking of ways to get the thing out if Dean couldn't pull it free. She had a feeling… a smile pulled across her face when Dean's boot slipped as he pulled with all his might, changing his grip to further down the pommel. Nothing. He fell, and Miakoda winced as his knee whacked against the stone.
Oh, that would bruise.
Miakoda ignored the perusing look that Eleanor gave Dean as she cocked her head. "You okay?"
"Never better," Dean grunted before trying again, stepping onto the boulder and using a two-handed grip. Nothing. "Oh, son of a bitch! That's really on there!"
"Yeah," Dr Visyak nodded, an amused look on her face, "afraid so."
Hopping down, he glanced at Miakoda and her eyes narrowed. "Well, I have another idea."
"What?" they both chorused, warning in their tones.
"Well, you're not gonna like it."
Miakoda pointed to him. "No. No. No, no, no, no. No C4."
He scoffed, "It's the only way to get it out. Unless," Dean gestured to the boulder and blade, "you wanna have a go?"
Miakoda felt her jaw grind together and took a steadying breath. "I have another way, that doesn't involve blowing up an artefact that is hundreds of years old!"
Eleanor turned to her. "Which is?"
"I'm an archaeologist." Miakoda deadpanned. "I need a chisel and mallet."
The blonde nodded and went off to find the things that Miakoda to preserve the sword. She turned to Dean and set her hands on her jean-clad hips. "If my way doesn't work," she gritted her teeth, "then you can fucking use your C4 but less is more."
"We're on a timed schedule, Koda!"
"And that sword could save their lives, I know," Miakoda barked, "But it is more used to us whole than being the shattered shards of Narsil."
They stood face to face, barely two paces and a near foot of height between them. Both stubborn but Dean knew that a whole sword was better than a broken on. "You're such a nerd."
"That's not an insult." Miakoda sassed as she took the tools from Eleanor and began her 'dig'. She ignored the two as they spoke back and forth as she took the big chunks off first. It took her a solid twenty-five minutes to narrow it to a reasonable size to reach it.
The old mahogany flooring was covered in dust and sandstone as Miakoda concentrated further as she tried to keep the blade intact. She realised, the closer she got to the blade, there was a slight reptilian tinge to the metal. Forty minutes to an hour later, with a gentle tap of the chisel, the last bit of stone encasing the blade crumbled away and Miakoda nodded for Dean to grip the pommel. Loosened from the stone, the full length of the blade was revealed. It was a longsword, which made sense due to where it was found, with the blade reaching to around 42 inches.
Miakoda wiped her hands on her jeans as she straightened. Her copper skin was covered in dust, along with her clothes as she had tried to extract it as quickly though carefully as she could. She smiled at Eleanor, "We'll get it back to you as soon as we can. But can I borrow your bathroom?"
"Yes," Eleanor nodded, marvelling at the blade as Dean used a bandana to clean it quickly. Disregarding the idea of going back to the Impala and getting a clean set of clothes, Miakoda found a bathroom – following the scent of fancy bath soaps – and did a quick clean, scrubbing her skin roughly.
When she made her way down into the main foyer, Dean held the blade in a wrapped up blanket and whilst, Miakoda still felt icky, she felt significantly better. "Ready to go?"
"Yep."
Miakoda shook Eleanor's hand with a smile. "Again, I'll clean it and send it as soon as we're done."
"Thank you for getting it out."
"You're welcome." She glanced over her shoulder to Dean, "Let's go slay a dragon."
The ride back to Portland went by relatively quick as Miakoda dozed for a majority of it. The tension of being on the plane, surrounded by so many noises in such a confined space had always tired her out and she slept with her head against the window.
The Sword of Bruncvik sat on the back seats, still wrapped in the old blanket that Eleanor had given Dean to hold it. An hour away from the motel, Miakoda spoke up. "What are we going in to?"
"Three girls have gone missing," Dean answered, using the indicator to switch lanes, "all having the same characteristics – brunette, innocent, all wearing a purity ring."
"Please don't tell me you asked a girl if she'd had sex." Miakoda huffed a tired laugh as she scrubbed her face, wiping the sleep from her eyes and letting out a creaking yawn.
"The dragon had left her alive but had taken her ring from her," Dean pointed out and Miakoda shifted to look at him, "but it had left scratches down her back."
"Strange question," Miakoda asked after mulling that bit of information over, "you didn't happen to grab something with her scent on it?"
He glanced at her as they came to a set of lights, curious but wary. "You able to track?"
She shrugged. "If Sam's managed to narrow down the search area then potentially I can do it further. So did you?"
"Her diary."
"Not even gonna ask why."
Dean laughed a little. "So you and Dr Visyak seemed…close?"
"Not really." Miakoda shrugged. "If anything, when she revealed the Sword it made me realise why we'd only worked together that once. Our views on artefacts are very different. Whilst I like uncovering things like that," she gestured to the back of the car, "there are reasons for stories and legends. Whether that's as a warning for Hunters and Creatures or as nightmare potential bedtime story for kids, they're there for a reason."
"You believe the story of the Sword?" Dean asked as he glanced at her.
Miakoda looked out the front window, gnawing on her lip, running a hand through her waves. She moved her head side-to-side undecidedly. "You know what's out there. We're going dragon slaying for fuck's sake, who's to say that Arthur wasn't real, that Merlin wasn't real because we don't have solid proof. When people forget the truth behind myths and legends, that's when things start going wrong. So maybe that's paranoia talking but yeah. By Eleanor having the Sword, has she potentially doomed the Czech Republic? Who knows. Should she have left it where it was? Yes. In my opinion anyway."
"If we didn't have the Sword though, those girls are fucked." Dean pointed out and Miakoda sighed a little again.
"True." Miakoda tipped her head in his direction as he directed the Impala down streets to the motel. "All archaeologists are different. Some do it because they spent their childhood digging shit out of dirt, or they were exposed to it in college. Some do it for the fame. Some do it for travel. Some do it for the adventure."
"What did you do it for?"
"A majority of them but if my face was in papers, it ran the risk of Hunters from…" she rolled her wrist, "you know…"
"Finishing you off."
"Yup, pretty much."
"Fuck," he sighed, a few blocks away from the motel, "I thought my childhood was shitty."
Miakoda watched as he overtook a little Fiat thing. "I mean, if your childhood was shitty, it was shitty regardless. Don't downplay that. Also, if I'm stepping on any toes here…"
"Nah," Dean shook his head, grabbed the sword from the back as he pulled the motel car park, smoothly righting Baby and turning the ignition off, "I invited you back at Bobby's. You just declined 'cause you were being a wuss."
"Was not!" Miakoda feigned a smack at the Hunter as he unlocked the door. "Hey, we're gonna go and storm Erebor, you coming?"
Sam kind of did a double-take seeing her there, duffel over her shoulder in an adventurer with a brain type look of hardy jeans, Henley and sturdy boots. "Really, a Hobbit reference?"
"Just chuck your crap on the bed," Dean waved and Miakoda did so, tipping her chin up to flare her nose, following the slightly floral scent. "Hey, do virgins smell different?"
"Dean." Sam whacked at his brother as Miakoda found the girl's diary. "Seriously."
Absently Miakoda tried to get a strong enough lock on the girl's scent, she cocked her head – much like a curious dog, Dean realised with a slight burst of amusement. "I mean, sort of? Males and females, in general, have slightly different scents due to the hormones they have in their body. Also, diet can influence their…baser scent and what they use day-to-day. Gunpowder and leather are both prominent in your guys' scent because of the car and the Hunting. But there's no real indication if someone is a virgin apart from the fact that there may be lingering scents interwoven together, though if there's a recent…progression, blood is higher on the surface."
Sam made a curious noise and the brothers shared a look before he spoke, still sitting by the little table, "So fiction got it wrong then?"
"No, a majority of fiction on Wolves are written by Humans, who think they know about Wolves because they romanticise about it." Having familiarised herself with the girl – Penny, according to her slightly loopy chicken scratch – and what she smelt like, Miakoda stood up.
"My nose is better four-legged but you two might get funny looks coming out with a big-ass wolf."
The brothers shared a look before Sam looked at her, cocking his head, curious. "Can you track Penny from the car?"
Miakoda furrowed her brow, thinking on it. "You have an area where you think they'll be?"
"The sewer." Sam gestured to the map on the wall where there was a map of the Portland area pinned up along with the places where the girls were taken in a different colour. Scanning it, Miakoda nodded.
"Once we get to the sewers then it'll be easier. The girls won't be in water; that's what distorts the scent."
"Great." Dean clapped his hands once, "Let's go."
Once outside the sewers, whilst the boys found the entrance, Miakoda slipped behind a tree and they cringed a little at the sounds of her bones breaking and reshaping. In the low, dark light, Miakoda was a corporeal shadow with red beacons for eyes. Dean whirled the sword in one hand, getting a feel for it whilst Miakoda began the descent into the sewer system.
The stairs made slightly unpleasant squelching noises under the boots of Sam and Dean as they followed Miakoda down. Dean gagged at one point, coming down around a corner, touch in hand, "Ugh! God, Just when I get used to a smell, I hit a new flavour."
Sam snorted at Miakoda's look. "How'd you think Koda feels?"
"Sorry." Dean cringed and Miakoda caught the smell of human…skin? She tugged the Bonds over and Sam shone the torch over to an altar. Miakoda sneezed off to the side. Gods, this place…
"Holy crap…" Dean breathed, lifting a gold watch, "Okay, maybe there are dragons here."
She turned to find him crouched over a bag of gold, already putting some in his pockets. Curiosity had her padding over, sniffing at the pile. It was rich in scent, both metallic and other humans, most likely from the humans that had this stuff taken from. It smelt a lot better than the book of human over on the altar.
Heartbeats. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Miakoda turned away from where Sam and Dean were inspecting the book and tugged them via the Bonds.
"Hello?" came a timid, scared voice. "Is anyone there? Hello…"
Miakoda trotted ahead and found a brunette peering through a cellar with the door on the top beside a metal catwalk. The boys hurried over to them and Miakoda scanned for any other heartbeats apart from the seven that were in the sewers at that moment.
A low growl of warning came from her chest as she stepped in front of the squishy humans as two humans came out, though going by the scent of brimstone and reptile coming from them, Miakoda knew that these were the dragons.
She slid into a stance, planting her paws deeper, letting her hackles rise and built the growl up. Feigning a snap at the skinnier one, Miakoda bared her drool drenched fanged at them, gnashing them threateningly. Dean shifted from behind her as Sam tried to break the melted lock.
"Where do you think you're gonna stick that?" the bulkier Dragon sneered down at the Sword of Bruncvik. She shifted and Dean whirled it in a quick arch, slashing the arm of him.
It gasped in pain as the Dragon-blade did as foretold. The sneer and cockiness that encompassed its scent, became slightly tinged with fear. "Where did you get that?"
Dean grinned. "Comic-Con."
The brimstone and reptile came from behind and Miakoda whirled in a flurry of teeth and claws. Her jaws clenched around the skinner Dragon's arm and she locked the grip. Instinct had her whipping her head back and forth, either further damaging the arm or ripping it from its socket. She got clocked on the side of the head, once, twice, as the Dragon who'd forgotten that it could be a Fire-Bender as well resulted to human defences.
Her jaw released enough for it to wrench it out and she crouched again, licking at her blood-stained teeth. The arm was ruined; blood began to drip onto the concrete below them as the bite mark had revealed bone and muscle, shredding tendons and ligaments like a hot knife. Sam kicked it in the chest as it had forgotten he was there in the veil of pain that it was in.
He lunged for the sword where it had been knocked into one of the grates and Miakoda lunged at the bulkier one that had grabbed Dean. Denim gave way as she clamped onto its calf and she wrenched, trying to trip it or get it to loosen its grip on Dean's throat. A yelp escaped her as it managed to catch her in the ribs but the Dragon suddenly stopped fighting as Sam had wrenched the Sword free and killed it.
One down. One to go.
Miakoda lunged for the skinnier and it high-tailed it out of there. She let out a frustrated howl. If the one was still out there, there was still a chance that they would be able to get more girls. Fulfil whatever scheme they had in mind. Miakoda thought it may have something to do with Crowley. Something to do with Purgatory.
"Koda," Dean called, sharply.
Red eyes locked on him and he gestured his head towards the five scared girls.
Great, she mused agitatedly, pacing at the end of the catwalk, trying to release that pent up…something, now they probably thought that she'd hurt them.
She sat on her haunches. Took a deep breathe in and reined in the Wolf. It was harder to do with her instincts so close to the surface but the girls had been through enough, she wouldn't hurt them more. Couldn't. Not with the Supernatural world on a precipice of something.
Dean watched as she became settled, her hackles which made her look twice the size smoothed and her ears relaxed. He ran a hand through his hair as he helped the final girl, Penny funnily enough, out of the cellar-grate thing and he and Sam began ushering them across the catwalk.
Sam nodded to Miakoda. "You lead them up. Your eyesight is the best."
The look she gave him made one of the girls giggle a little. Miakoda cocked her head. What was she? A fucking guide dog? Biting back a scoff, she slid under the giggling girl's hand and let her grab a handful of her scruff before gently guiding her to the stairs.
Slowly, aware of the fact that some of them had probably been in here for a few weeks, Miakoda herded them up to the fresh air.
"She's warm." The girl murmured as Miakoda waited for one of the two-handed ones to push open the door to the surface. She was pressed right up against the girl. Suppressed a shudder as ice-cold hands began to seep through her thick pelt. She'd been around squalling babies, this would be nothing.
Time went by as Sam called the event in and Miakoda lay on the damp ground, keeping the girls' feet warm as they waited for the police to show up. Noticing her perk up when the sound of cars entered her ears, Dean nodded for her to go, brushing over her paw prints as she slipped behind the tree.
"Where's she going?" Penny asked as the humans watched her vanish.
"It wouldn't do well for the police to see a giant ass wolf here;" Dean pointed out, eyebrows quirking, "they'd call Animal Control and well…"
"What are we supposed to say?"
Miakoda left them there to finish up and grabbed the bag of her clothes that she had left behind, taking the long route back to the motel. Shifting before entering civilisation, Miakoda noticed the smell of greasy food. Her stomach growled. Luckily she'd stuck her phone in her bag and that had her cards and shit in it.
Grabbing dinner for the three of them, she didn't have to wait long outside the boys' motel room – Miakoda had gotten her own, no need to put them out further – for the Impala to pull in with a rumbling purr.
Dean near salivated at the sight of the food and drink tray as he unlocked the door. Miakoda, burger in her hand mid-bite, held up a hand to shut Sam up when he went to protest before pointing to the burger that Dean was holding out.
"Don't protest, Sammy," Dean huffed, "take and eat."
Sam sighed, his shoulders hunching. "Thanks, 'preciate it."
She grunted.
The burger was gone in the next few bites and her Wolf gave a happy little purr in her chest. Dean scanned her over. Her hair was damp and her clothes were cleaned and comfy and she looked a little wiped. "You can take the be-"
"I have a room two doors down. I shared a room with siblings before, nearly got a fucking lamp to the head for getting midst a fight. Now, if you'll excuse me, Dragons are assholes and I am wiped."
He remembered a few things. "The skinner one got a few licks in, you good?"
"It was one lick and the fatter one got me in the ribs with a boot." She waved her hand. "They'd healed when I reached the top of the stairs. The girls okay?"
"Statements and stuff are being done at the station, we gave them a basic thing to go down." Sam nodded, "Should be good to go."
"Great."
"Meet here by 8 tomorrow, we got a long drive ahead of us."
"Will do, night boys."
"Night Koda." They chorused and she left for her room.
Usually, for someone with senses like hers, motels like these irritated the fuck out of her but at the state of exhaustion she was in, Miakoda locked the door and then forgot anything after she hit the pillow.
A day and a half later found them near debriefing back at Bobby's place. Miakoda ignored the amused look of 'I told you so' that Bobby sent her and went to check her emails. Before they had left Portland, Miakoda had made sure to clean the blade and express-ship it back to Eleanor, chucking a thank you note in there alongside it.
She relaxed when she had gotten an email back from Eleanor with the picture of the Sword of Bruncvik on the wall, plaque already in place with the Bruncvik lion on it like a sigil. Rolling her eyes a little at the dramatic display, Miakoda absently tagged where everyone was and relaxed further into the sofa.
"The boys are in the yard, by the way." Bobby pointed out as she answered back a few emails.
"I know…" Miakoda nodded, "but I got a feeling there was something left unspoken that they have to hash out."
"How was he? Sam?"
"More empathetic from what I saw when we got the girls out. He seemed more…human, which makes sense because he got his Soul back and stuff. Things didn't seem cut and dry to him. Not anymore at least." Bobby's shoulders relaxed back, losing some string of tension that had settled around him.
Confusion then dread bloomed in the air and Miakoda got up from where she was sitting on the sofa. "What is it?"
He hovered a finger over a line of the human-skinned page of the book Sam had taken from the altar in the Dragon den. "This seems important."
"Important enough to get them in?"
Getting the nod, Miakoda shoved her feet into her slippers that were by the door and hurried out to where Sam and Dean were.
"So I'm not sure it's that cut and dry." Sam was saying, earnest and with buckets of guilt, "And, look, I a-appreciate you trying to protect me. I really do. But I got to fix…what I got to fix. So I need to know what I did."
Oh shit. Sam had figured it out.
"But you don't know how dangerous that could be." Dean protested, hands akimbo, stress lining his face.
"What would you do?" Silence and Dean had dropped his gaze. "Right. Same thing."
"Sam…"
Miakoda made her way around the corner, wrapping her grey cardigan around her. "Boys, Bobby's found something that you might wanna see."
Over Bobby's shoulder by the desk, Miakoda recognised some of the words. She had taken Ancient Languages as a unit in her second year, found it particularly interesting. She made her way back to her laptop and brought up the Medieval Latin books that she had on her hard drive – Miakoda had taken to buying some of the ebooks rather than physical copies since it made transport easier.
"Now, as near as I can figure it," Bobby was near lecturing the Boys as Miakoda brought her laptop over with a few of the ebooks already up, "this dates back around the 14th century."
"What language is it?"
They all turned to her. "From what it looks like, Medieval Latin which was then changed into Renaissance Latin from the 14th to the 15th century."
"Oh, and, uh, FYI—that ain't skin." Miakoda had never seen Sam and Dean lurch back from something so fast.
"What is it?" Dean asked, curious and disgusted at the same time as he stared at the yellow, slightly thick glossy pages.
"Human skin." Miakoda gave, leaning on the table, "Papermaking like we know it had only truly entered Europe where this seems to have originated from by 1150, and as late as 1612. It was seen as something that only the rich could afford since it was originally made from hemp and linen rags and most people couldn't afford to part with even the smallest of fabrics. Animal skin though was slightly more popular in some countries."
They all made curious noises and Bobby continued. "I'm fairly clear on this first bit, but now I wonder why I didn't get you to translate it, Doc."
"I'll do it from here on out if it makes you happy."
He huffed. "It describes this place. It's like the backside of your worst nightmares. It's all blood and bone and darkness."
Dread entered Miakoda as she read over his shoulder.
"Filled with the bodies and the souls of all things hungry, sharp and nasty." Dean glanced over to see Miakoda go pale as if all the blood had gone to her feet. She moved away from the table as Bobby began explaining to the two of them. "It's Monster Land. According to this, it goes by many names, most of which I can't pronounce, but I'm thinking you know Purgatory?"
"Purgatory?" Dean gave a bitter grin, "Awesome. Well, that is good to know. So, you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks," he began gesturing as he got up, trying to work some agitation and tension out like Miakoda had done in the sewers in Portland, "were squatting in the sewers and reading tone poems about Purgatory?"
"Oh, no, no, no." Bobby shook his head, pulling the book back to him. "They're reading an instruction manual."
Miakoda hadn't been paying attention. If Purgatory was as bad as the book described, then what had the Wolves in her Pack been exposed to? What was it like there? What went on? If the door to Purgatory was opened did that mean that there could be a chance that innocents, like the pups, be allowed out? She wrestled back her Wolf, where it had wanted to rip and tear and howl in grief all over again.
"What the hell does 'Mother of All' mean?"
"I don't know."
She blinked. "It means to some the Mother of Creatures. If they want to…to open Purgatory to let her in then we're all fucked."
Sam, Bobby and Dean watched as Miakoda got up, pale and near grey in the face and left the room. Dean turned back to the book, trying to see what had caused her to react in such a way when it hit him. "She said something when Samuel kept us hostage. Something about how it was where all Creatures went to because they didn't belong in either Heaven or Hell."
"Her Pack was sent to Purgatory when they died."
"Even if they didn't deserve they get stuck in the worst of places."
"And one of the dragons got away, meaning he must have taken the page before he took off which allowed them the ability to open the door." Dean ran a hand through his hair.
"All we can do now," Bobby advised through the thick tension in the air, looking between the two of them, "is try and figure out a way to stop this…Mother of Creation before another Apocalypse happens. Now go away and let me work."
I know it's late but I've lost track of the days since we've gone into Quarantine. I've also been babysitting a lot so there's that.
Good news is that I've finally finished 6x16 so I can move on the next episode. Fair warning, I may skip a few episodes - not necessarily of this season - because even when watching them, I can't quite figure out how Koda would fit into it.
Anyway, I hope you all stay safe and healthy.
Enjoy,
K xx
