A/N: Glad to have FF back to normal. :)
Charles: SHE OWNS NOTHING EXCEPT HOPE AND JOSHIE!
Me: I own your ass.
Charles: Crap.
Okay, onto chapter six! (I can't believe I've actually gotten this far... usually I lose all inspiration within a week. :D )
The next morning, Bobby woke from a restless sleep. Glancing over, he saw everyone else in the motel room to be asleep. His eyes fell on Hope's bloody bed, and the previous night's events all came back to him. Old bones protesting, he launched himself from the small couch and ran to the bathroom, hitting Sam and Dean on his way to wake them. His eyes widened at the sight that met him. He hadn't noticed before the blood that coated the walls. Seeing Hope's still, bloody body lying in the bathtub, he ran forward, kneeling in front of the teenager. She was dead.
Face emotionless and pale, bloody hands limp…. Wait. No. Her eyelids fluttered. "Hope? Are- Are you there?" His voice cracked and his eyes teared up as her eyes flickered open, bright blue standing out among all the red.
"Bobby?" Reaching up a blood-coated hand, she cupped his cheek. "What's wrong?"
Chuckling out a relived sob, he clutched at her outstretched hand. "I thought you died. Do… Do you remember what happened last night?"
Her eyebrows drew together as she tried to think back. Then her eyes widened and filled with tears as the memories from the previous night flooded back. "I- I was bleeding. It hurt so much. Joshua held my hand and sang to me until the pain went away."
Grimacing, Hope twisted, attempting to get out of the uncomfortable bathtub, reaching out her hands for help. Sam and Dean both reached forward and helped her stand, while Bobby placed a gently hand on her shoulder. Then Joshua piped up.
"Are they sore?"
She stared at him for a few moments before realizing what he was talking about. Twisting her neck, she looked over her shoulder to reveal two blood-soaked wings. "Oh my God."
"Well, move them! If you don't, they'll be useless pieces of muscle and feather," Joshua instructed sternly.
Despite her discomfort, Hope found the strength to roll her eyes. "Bossy, bossy." Then the wings moved, stretching out to about 18 inches. They were very small. Hope's eyebrows scrunched up, "It's really weird. It's like telling your finger to move. It's just…. Natural."
Obviously weirded out by the whole thing, Bobby moved out of the small bathroom, calling back, "I'll go get you some coffee."
Sighing heavily, Hope sat down on the edge of the bathtub, wings hanging down limply by her sides. "Can you guys step out so I can shower? Do my best to get all this blood off me?"
Patting her head, Dean walked out, followed by Sam and Joshua. Carefully peeling off her blood-saturated tank and sweatpants, Hope turned on the hot water. She just stood there enjoying the feeling of being cleansed; water running down her back and through her feathers. Hm. My feathers. I've got feathers. That's just weird. Then she set to scrubbing. Grabbing the scrubber, she rubbed her skin until it was raw, using her nails to scrape through dried blood on her face. When her skin was relatively blood free, she reached a hand around and gently combed her fingers through the feathers on her right wing, feeling blood come loose and wash down the drain in the hot water.
Suddenly the water started running cold and Hope yelped in surprise, "Eep!" grinning, she jumped out of the shower, long hair flinging water all over the small bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, she studied her reflection. There were small specks of blood here and there speckling her skin, and her hair was completely clear (probably thanks to the 10 times she washed it with shampoo). Taking a deep breath, Hope turned a few inches to the right, revealing her small wings. Now clear of blood, she could see that they were the tan, brown and white of barn owl wings. Grey speckling covered the parts closest to her body and the undersides were white with the occasional black dots. Giggling, she made them flap slowly. "Damn, that's cool!" then looking around the bathroom, "Oh, crap. Er…. Hello?"
Dean answered back, "You alright?"
Sighing, Hope replied, "Yeah… Can you bring me some shorts and a tank from my bag?"
The door cracked and Dean's hand shot through, waving around wildly. Chuckling, Hope snatched the bundle of clothes from his hands. Laying them out on a fairly clean and dry part of the counter, she wrapped her hair in a towel. Glancing at her clothes, she saw that Dean had grabbed her knee-length jean shorts and a loose white tank top. Laughing quietly, she also saw that he had been forced to handle her delicates. She dressed carefully, being especially cautious of her still-sensitive wings. When she exited the bathroom, she was met with a much more awake-looking Bobby and the smell of coffee. She felt her wings stir excitedly.
"Well?" Bobby asked as soon as he saw her. "Lemme see 'em!"
Feeling self-conscious, Hope spun in a small circle, wings shifting awkwardly. She combed her fingers through her still-damp hair, blushing slightly. "I'll have to get some looser shirts."
/H/
Later that day after a rather long research session, trying to learn more about what the demons were up to, Joshua was passed out on the couch, Sam had the 'Ive-been-in-front-of-the-computer-too-long' stare, Bobby was rubbing his eyes and groaning, Dean was staring out the window blankly and Hope was experimenting with her new appendages. She noticed that when she was agitated, they would shift around (like a nervous twitch), and when housekeeping had scared them, her wings had fluffed up defensively.
Thinking back to her awful dream, she realized that she had no idea how to fight demons. Her mother had taught her to deal with the odd bully, which was common thanks to her not-so-skinny body-type, but never how to fight with something that had super-strength or speed.
"Uhm… Hey, Dean?"
Turning from his vigil, Dean appraised her thoughtful expression. "What's up?"
"Will you…. Will you teach me how to fight demons?" fidgeting quietly, she was seated on the end of her and Joshua's bed.
The prospect of doing something other than research made Dean's eyes light up. "Of course!" Looking around, he clapped his hands together. "Help me move some things around." So he, Sam, and Bobby set about turning beds, shoving tables and sticking chairs in corners. When they had a respectable space in the middle of the floor, Bobby, Sam, and Joshua sat back to watch the fireworks.
Shedding his flannel, Dean rolled his shoulders and gestured to Hope. "Okay. Take a swing."
Looking at him uncertainly, Hope launched her fist toward his jaw, only to be met with his palm.
"You'll have to do better than that- OH!" He doubled over as Hope slugged her other fist into his gut, grinning triumphantly. Rubbing his stomach ruefully he shot a glare at the three on the beds, who were laughing loudly. "Okay, so you can throw a punch. Now, with demons you've gotta be tricky with weapons. C'mere." Turning away from the smiling bird-mutant, he dug through a duffel bag, coming up with an old, rusty, very dull knife. Tying a rag around the blade, he handed it to Hope hilt-first. "So. Attack me now."
Studying his posture, she thought she should strike low. So she lunged forward, jabbing the covered blade toward his stomach. But the second the tip touched his t-shirt, she found herself pinned on her knees, facing away from Dean and the knife spinning across the floor.
"How the hell did you do that?"
Smirking he let her up, then demonstrated how he crossed his hands, and twisted his wrists to relieve her of the knife.
"Okay. Now you try," he said, spinning the old knife in a loop before lunging at her. As he rushed toward her, Hope felt a spurt of adrenaline rush through her body, wings spreading out slightly for balance. Crossing her thumbs like he showed her, she wrapped her hands around his wrist and jumped as high as she could, scrambling on top of him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Then throwing her weight forward, she set off his center of balance and sent them both tumbling to the floor. She struggled to get to her feet, but found herself pinned underneath Dean's heavily muscled body.
"Crap. Er…. I'm stuck," she mumbled.
Chuckling, Dean helped her to her feet. "Well, that was spontaneous. Okay, let's go again."
/H/
Hope was sitting cross-legged on the bed across from Joshua, both giggling as they played a version of mirrors with their wings. Joshua's white and black ones would move a certain way, and Hope would have to move her own the same way. It was Sam's idea to build muscle control in her wings.
Eyes scrunched up in concentration, Hope struggled to hold her small wings above her head.
"C'mon, Hope! You can do it!" Joshua cheered as he raised his own effortlessly.
Grunting, Hope let her wings fall down and slumped forward onto her stomach dramatically. "It burns!"
Laughing, Joshua jumped off the bed, pulling his t-shirt back on as the exhausted teenager pushed herself up, brown wings folding themselves against her back.
"When do you think Sam will be back?" Joshua asked her as she came up behind him. Hope smiled inwardly. Ever since Sam had bought the boy a shirt with a Velociraptor on it (which happened to be feathered) he had seemed to worship him. If Sam was cleaning his .45, Joshua was right there with him, watching every little thing he did. If Sam was doing research, Joshua was there with a large book struggling to comprehend the old wording.
"Not sure. He and Dean went out to find out more about whoever's after us."
"Where's Bobby?"
At his question, Hope paused. She had no idea. Just then, Bobby himself walked into the motel room.
"Hello, children."
Heading toward a cushie-looking chair, Hope stopped cold. That wasn't like Bobby. Bobby is short, gruff, and to the point. He doesn't waste time with "Hello, children."
Remembering what Bobby had taught her before; she decided to turn his own trick on him. Taking Joshua's hand nonchalantly, Hope turned and popped the cap off of a beer and handed it to Bobby. Nodding to her he took a drink, all the while Hope walking backwards slowly, keeping Joshua close.
Suddenly, Bobby's mouth started smoking and he screamed. His eyes turned black.
Yanking Joshua backwards, the two minors fell backwards onto their bed as Bobby threw down the Holy water-infused beer and stalked toward them.
"Uhm..." Hope muttered, "Oh, shit."