As much as she tried to tell herself that what the kitsune had said was meaningless, something that was at best an odd lie or at worst something to torment her, she couldn't shake it. Worryingly, she thought there might be some layer of truth in it. Mae couldn't explain it, but it was hardly the first time that she thought there might be something different about her. She wouldn't have gone as far as to say she wasn't human but there were enough signs to think she wasn't completely normal either. Neither than niggling worry nor the assertion of the kitsune helped her understand what it could be.

Just because it agreed to come with them didn't mean this was resolved. Again, she found herself with both too much information and not enough, only left to guess what the kitsune meant and why. The kitsune was oddly still, even after hour after hour of sitting until it lifted Sam's hand from his sides and spent a few minutes examining them, turning them to look at his palms and the backs several times. "Are you all like this?"

Mae's eyes narrowed as she furrowed her brow, and she glanced back at Sam with a slight hint of suspicion. She knew there was no benefit to continuing to talk with the creature as she barely understood the point of any of its questions or statements. Still, her curiosity got the better of her. "Like what?

When Sam looked at her, it wasn't with his eyes at all. "Not quite like other humans."

"Are you asking me if all humans aren't like other humans?"

"I have never spent so much time in a human. You and he are alike. But not. But not like other humans."

What could she and Sam have in common? Was it the visions Sam had? Were hers somehow similar? There didn't seem to be any connection to them, between them. Although she didn't have a great deal of experience with his. Maybe it was simply that they both had visions, and it continued to be unclear why. Aside from having them, the visions weren't similar. When and how they had them weren't alike. One similarity was their lives had been touched by the same demon. But the same could be said for Dean and the kitsune didn't seem particularly interested in him. What exactly did the kitsune know or think it knew? Sam certainly didn't know the depth of her visions. Dean might have told him the minimal details she had shared. Was it pulling from a memory Sam had or just guessing. Or trying to prolong the conversations. Or setting up some kind of leverage should it lose the upper hand?

"You have a question."

"No," she lied.

The kitsune made a sound close to a purr. "He does not understand either."

"You can talk to him while you have him possessed?"

"No. But he is…aware. Listening."

Her face contorted with worry as her eyebrow shot up and her frown sank to the depths of her chin. Her voice became a bit deeper with concern. "Is he okay?"

"Yes. But he would like me gone."

Mae snorted. She couldn't tell if the creature was trying to be funny or not. Did it really expect a warm welcome? "Yeah. You weren't invited. If you think humans enjoy that sort of thing, you're in for an unpleasant reality. Her voice turned like a blade, sharp and cold. "If you go back on your word, I will end you - even if it means sacrificing him in the process. And it doesn't matter to me that means brother hunts me next. Do you understand that?" Her eyes dared him to argue, but there was no mistaking her coldblooded intent.

"Yes"

"Then you also know that if I don't have to worry about keeping him alive that I can kill you and you won't get to ascend?"

The kitsune seemed to hesitate for a moment in its answer, as if it was uncertain if it should go through with what it had planned. That doubt quickly disappeared and it finally said "Yes", but the hesitancy lingered in the air around it.

"Good. Then as long as you don't double cross us, you'll have no problems."

"You will hold up your end too," he huffed, his voice a low vibration that ran to her bones.

"You're so sure?" she challenged.

"You want to do the right thing."

Assuming this is the right thing, she thought to herself, but dared not say it out loud. "Is that what you're wondering if we're all like?"

"No," he said with a sneer. "Few people are like that."

The air grew thick with tension as they sat, the sound of the highway the only thing punctuating the air, locked in a battle of wills that neither was willing to lose.


They finished the drive largely in silence. It would have been better if they could have rested for more than a few minutes at a truck stop to get gas, stretch, and trips to the bathroom. It would have been better if they could have switched off driving between the three of them, but all things considered, it seemed safer to keep driving straight through to her house. It was becoming obvious to Mae that the kitsune was becoming more comfortable possessing a human. It assured her Sam was okay but there was no clear way to know for sure. Nothing else she could have asked the kitsune seemed worthwhile, though the situation was still interesting to her.

Admittedly, if it Sam weren't the one being possessed, she might let it play out longer until she could understand more about its motivations, perhaps learn how to more easily tell kitsune apart. Instead, there was no more serious talk or discussion until they arrived home, with Dean shortly behind her

"Tetsu." The kitsune hissed as she pulled into the gravel driveway.

"Tetsu? What's that?"

It thought a moment. "Iron."

A small smirk moved across her face. "And I guess you can't cross it on your own, maybe not even in a person."

At first, it seemed as though the creature wasn't sure whether or not to tell her the truth. Cautiously, it uttered a quiet "Yes", as if weighing its options before confessing.

"It's all around the property."

"Why?"

"Protection. From evil things that want to hurt me and my family. Things like you."

"I am not evil. You only see a small part of the whole of everything. Others would worship me."

For a moment, she reflected how odd it was to have this conversation with something she would normally hunt and kill without much question. And she wanted to believe what it was telling her, as odd as that was to her. No, she did believe it and couldn't explain why. "Well, good or evil, I'd be hard pressed to worship any kind of...whatever you are. Frankly, I don't care what you are since you're holding my friend hostage to get what you want."

"I knew no other way."

"Then I guess you have to hope I trust you and you have to hope I'm trustworthy." She said as she parked the car.


Dean debated if they still needed Bobby's help. Instinct told him Mae wouldn't want that, but he wasn't willing to risk their lives to save her pride. And yet, things felt somewhat more under control. If they could trust the kitsune. He remained unconvinced, despite the lore, that it would keep to its word and let Sam go once Mae delivered it to a safe location. He was even less convinced that her home was the safe place.

Of course, if it didn't have control of Sam, he would have trusted the information they'd collected about the creatures. He trusted Mae, even if he didn't totally trust her plan. There were too many things they couldn't control. Mae seemed alight, mostly unworried when they spoke at the gas station. She was tired and on edge but so was he.

He wasn't sure about Sam. She said as far as she could tell, he was doing as well as he could be. Good, bad, or otherwise, they were committed to the plan. He had to push the idea from his mind that none of this would have happened if he hadn't been so instant on the idea that they would all be safer if they went their separate ways for a while.

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Just don't make me wrong, Mae," he muttered before calling Bobby to tell him not to come help them.


It was nearing dusk by the time they rolled up the gravel driveway onto Mae's property. Dean pulled up behind Mae, just as she was getting out of her car. She waited until he also exited his vehicle before walking around to the passenger side of her car.

She opened the door and had to lean in to unbuckle Sam. For everything it seemed to know and be able to manipulate, the kitsune did not seem to understand some basic mechanics of controlling humans. Sam or the kitsune appeared to be in a trance. At her urging however, he did step out of the car.

At this point, everyone was on edge but were unsure of what actions any of them might take. The kitsune examined the area, taking in the house momentarily before shifting its gaze to the fields and trees around the house. It nodded to itself before turning to Mae.

"So, this is your safe place?"

She tried to assess if there was some kind of judgment to the question and realized unless it had seen something in Sam's memories, it wouldn't know what her home looked like or where it was. The creature had certainly taken it on faith that she would deliver it as she had promised and that it wasn't a trick of some sort.

Mae nodded calmly, her voice soft but sure. "Yes. It's remote but, as you've gathered, you can't get out on your own. I have wards in place that will help protect you from other hunters. So... you should leave that human before we assume you're changing the terms of our agreement."

The creature reflected this information for a moment, considering. "Very well," it finally said, its voice heavy with suspicion. "As long as you hold true to your word, I will not harm you or your friend. He should be himself in several days, maybe five."

"What?" Mae asked. Without warning, Sam crumpled to the ground, faster than either Dean or Mae could catch him.

Dean rushed to his brother's side while Mae stood a moment. She couldn't see the kitsune, but she was fairly certain she could sense it as it moved past the house. It didn't seem to take the opportunity to possess her or Dean, so she breathed a soft sigh of relief.

Maybe, just maybe, things were turning around for them. Mae looked down at Sam. He was breathing softly but still unconscious. "C'mon, let's get inside while we can."

She gestured for Dean to help her and together they lifted Sam's unconscious form and carried him into the house.

The inside of Mae's house was cozy with plush looking furniture and a fireplace that likely provided a calming atmosphere on a cold winter night.

Mae didn't feel like moving Sam's dead weight up or down stairs to either of the spare bedrooms she would offer him under other circumstances. "He's heavy, I'm tired, he can stay on the couch for now, yeah?"

Dean nodded and navigated him to the living room sofa. Dean sat beside Sam while Mae went to the kitchen to get water.

When she returned with glasses of water, Dean had taken a seat in the chair next to his brother. "Come on, Sammy. Wake up."

Mae set the glasses on the coffee table and touched Sam's forehead with her fingers. "What are you doing?'

"I don't know Dean. I'm not really sure what we should do. He's...I mean, he seems okayish while not being okay. So, I guess we watch him. All the other people the kitsune possessed came out in a few days."

Dean turned to Mae and frowned. "Yeah. And that thing is still out there."

"It is but we're probably safer here than almost anywhere else. It's practically a fortress, as far as keeping nasty creatures out."

"I guess that's something. So, we just wait it out while it's trapped out there and we're trapped in here."

She shrugged. "I don't know. I hadn't really planned past finding a way to get it out of Sam. But...well, it's either going to kill us during the night or leave us alone. It's kind of out of our control right now. Maybe in the morning we can come up with a better plan."