Arielle lead them into the kitchen, Sam limping his way to the table where his duffle bag waited. "Grab your stuff. We'll hit the road," Dean stated to the blonde. Sam's hand froze over the duffel's strap while Arielle stopped as her foot hovered over the first step to the second floor.
Sam opened his mouth to protest. "We shouldn't leave," Arielle said, beating Sam to the punch. She turned away from the stairs and stepped back into the kitchen. "That thing is still out there."
"Yea, let's stay in the house your mom got ganked in. That's a great idea," Dean said, immediately regretting his word choice when the blonde's features darkened. "Arielle- " he started, taking a step towards her.
"Look here, brother of mine. I know she ain't you're mother. You could probably care a rat's ass about her. But, don't you dare, for one second, pretend you know for sure if my mother is alive or death," Arielle said through gritted teeth, her hands instantly turning into fists as she saw him come closer. Dean immediately stopped after taking note of that. "You don't know that at all."
"I'm sorry. I am. I didn't mean that," Dean said, rubbing at his eyes. "Look, we're gonna take you, drop you off at Bobby's, and then Sam and I will come back and finish what Dad started."
Sam finally pulled an ace bandage out of the duffel bag, stopping midway through opening it to look at Dean with disbelief. "How? We got no leads, no witnesses. And, well, we do have what this thing wants," he said, casting a quick glance towards Arielle.
Dean scoffed, placing his hands on his hips. "That's why you want to stay here?"
Sam gave an exasperated sigh. "Dean, this is the only chance we might have to catch this thing. And we'll be here to protect her."
"I'm saying this once and only once," Arielle interrupted, crossing her arms. Her green eyes switched between Dean and Sam. "I don't care what either of you think. You may be my brothers, but I sure ain't letting you be my keepers. And I ain't going anywhere. I either kill that thing and get my mom back or die trying."
"We can train her – get her ready. She's already a great shot," Sam added, starting to bandage up his bruised ankle as Dean paced the kitchen.
"She could die, Sam."
"We could all die, Dean," Sam reminded him with a pointed look. "Even if we do kill this thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge, on Dad, on us." Testing out his leg, he set it down with a satisfied look. "What if they find the kid instead and she's not ready?"
"I really wish you'd drop the kid thing," Arielle stated with an annoyed look. "First, I'm not completely defenseless if I managed to only come out with a slash after a late night date with a monster." Sam and Dean exchanged a look as she stepped up between the two men. "Second, you seem to forget I made the son of a bitch bleed back at the hotel."
Dean opened his mouth immediately, but when no response came out, he shut it again. He turned to Sam who only gave a smug grin in return. He gave an exasperated sigh, throwing his hands up as a sign of surrender.
The warmth of the day and the clear blue skies brought new life to Arielle. Taking a deep breath, she gripped the gun, relishing the weight of the weapon in her hand. Her face turned to the sun for a couple of seconds, enjoying the feel of it before she focused on the painted trespassing sign. She exhaled slowly and squeezed off three rounds, hitting inside the smallest circle Sam had drawn on a trespassing sign. A smirk spread over her features as she dropped Dean a wink and extended her hand out.
"Beginner's luck," the oldest Winchester muttered as he slapped a $20 into her open palm. "Happens."
"Maybe you should push my luck. You wanna go a second round?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's the farthest dad taught me to shoot from, but I mean, it's only fair I give you a chance to get your money back."
Sam stood against the Impala, enjoying the showdown between Dean and Arielle. He couldn't explain it, but it felt right having her along. She had dad's toughness; he saw it when she interacted with Dean. But there was another aspect. He couldn't quite say tenderness, but something along those lines. "Would you just admit she's good?" Sam finally joined in, pushing off the Impala to join them.
"Luck, man," Dean corrected as Arielle loaded the clip again. She rolled her eyes at him, slamming the clip back into place. "You know what? Try the shotgun."
The blonde gave a shrug and headed to the Impala's trunk, pulling out the sawed-off shotgun and heading back to the appointed shooting spot. "Double or nothing?" she asked, suddenly turning to Dean with an innocent look.
Dean narrowed his eyes. "Double or nothing," he affirmed, standing beside her with arms crossed. She gave him a wide smile and turned to the marked target sign, shouldering the shotgun and taking careful aim.
"Double for me!" Arielle grinned after the gunshot echoed out into the field and the previous holes were disintegrated by the shotgun shell. She heard Dean groan beside her as she barely even moved from her stance when the recoil hit her.
Palm up, she gave her oldest brother another grin as two more $20s ended up in her hand. Crumpling them up, she stuffed them into her jean pocket with the bill from earlier. She rested the shotgun's barrel against her shoulder, hooking her thumb in her jean's loop. "I'm hungry. Let's get lunch. On me," she winked at the brothers as she went to place the weapons back where they belonged.
"Beginner's luck?" she heard Sam tease Dean. The oldest Winchester snarled before opening the door and sliding behind the driver's seat. Sam snickered. "Always a sore loser."