1st Hunt ✖ Action/Dictated

[lovemesomepie]

[He wakes up to darkness.

Something in him registers the chill in the air, the crinkle of dead leaves tangled in his hair, trapped under his body.

His heart beats a-one, a-two, and then blood roars in his ears and he springs to his feet, all senses on red-alert as he reaches for a knife that isn't there. His knife's not there - shit, fuck, damn - and where the hell is he, anyway? Where's Sam? Where's Cas?

The closed journal half-buried in leaves next to him doesn't get noticed, at least not right away. His pulse that had been so calm mere moments before is now hammering at a jackrabbit's pace. They'd done it. Killed the big bad, saved the day - so why wasn't he back in Roman's lab? What, exactly, had gone wrong, and how was he gonna get home? And where the hell had his weapons gone?

Hyperaware of the weights he always carries on him, their absence is all too obvious. The gun tucked into the back of his pants, the blades in his boots and his sleeves - even the knife that had been in his hand, all gone.

Whatever trick Dick Roman played on them, Dean doesn't want to stick around to find out. Experience tells him that he's the punchline. Better to get out of here - wherever here is. The trees are thick around him, leaves gold, red, and brown at his feet. When he looks up he can see pale silver fingers of moonlight.

The prickle at the back of his neck cautions him to stay silent, but the urge to find his brother trumps that.]

Sam? [He waits a beat. No response.] Sam! [It doesn't take a genius to figure out that wherever Sam is, it's not somewhere nearby.

But he knows there's someone who can hear him no matter how far apart they are from each other. Dean clenches his eyes closed to pray. His words aren't snarky or tinged with ironic comments like Dean's prayers usually are, instead grimly sincere; the prayer of a desperate man.]

I dunno where you are, Cas, or where Sam is, but I need you, buddy.

[Again he waits. Eventually he cracks one eye open - there was no rustle of feathers - of wings. He looks around again, stunned. Cas didn't answer.

Something is very, very wrong.

Dean presses through the trees - it doesn't take very long until he reaches the fringe of the woods he was in. If he wasn't surprised before - well, now he's floored. Ahead of him, within maybe ten minutes' walking distance, is a giant castle.]

Not in Kansas anymore...

[He's out of options - suspicious as he is, seems like the castle is his only option for the moment. He shoves his hands into his pockets, not sure if he wants to risk it - he could always lay low out here; not very comfortable, but he's had worse.

And that's when his hand makes contact with the journal, which sure as hell wasn't in his pocket before. He's never even seen anything like this. It's clearly for him, though - it's got his name on the front.

He takes the chance to flip through it, accidentally smearing a bit of black Leviathan blood across the page when he turns it.

It doesn't take long for him to snap the journal closed.]

No way. No freakin' way.

[That just further turns him off to the idea of staying in the Castle. But Dean rarely takes his own discomfort into account, and it doesn't take long for him to reach the doors to the Lobby.]

---

[A little later, Dean's had time to discover the journal and take some time to really flip through it. He's settled in the Lobby, having checked the nearest entrances and exits: back outside or up staircases he's not sure he wants to go up yet. Not without a plan, at least. He still doesn't like what he's read. This castle seems more like a witch he'd hunt than anything, or the work of some douchebag angel.]

Look. I did my research, got the memo. Sentient castle, grants wishes, raises hell. Regular little carnival of fun you got goin' here.

But I'm not starrin' in another Shack in the Forest. Alright? [Snort.] I've got enough crap on my plate already.

Now. I know there's a bunch of ya. We can worry about how many later. But one of you musta seen my brother, Sam - ten feet tall, needs a haircut? Or my friend Cas. Castiel. Tax accountant in a trench coat, stares into your soul? If either of you are out there, you got some serious explainin' to do.

In the meantime, where can a guy get a little Jimmy Buffet around here? Far cry from paradise, but I could do with a beer and a burger.

((On his way into the Castle, in the Lobby, or simply over the journal - just specify.))

Comments

Action

[putuporshutup]

[You have got to be fucking kidding.

Meg's been quite happy here thanks very much, mostly thanks to a complete lack of anything from back home - besides Cas, of course - to ruin her fun here. Dean Winchester crash landing in Paradisa wasn't exactly something she had been counting on... but somehow, it just seemed to make sense. Things had been a little too good lately, after all.

She decides to go see this for herself and saunters down to the lobby.]

Well, well, well. Look what Castle Wonderfuck dragged in.

Action

[lovemesomepie]

[Dean immediately tenses up upon hearing the familiar voice. Meg.

He hadn't thought she'd get taken here too. He'd almost say it was comforting that someone he knows ended up here as well - hadn't heard from Sam or Cas yet - but he and Meg aren't friends. They get along better than they used to - common enemy and all that - but he still has his suspicions, even when he'd been forced to trust her.

But hell if he's going to broadcast that. Demons love weaknesses.]

What, the Leviathan didn't kill you?

Dictated

[i_got_this]

Kitchen's on the first floor. Or there's the Lux if you're a classy douchebag, or the Death Match, if you're cool. Then there's always wishing it up and staying in your room, which is great when you don't want to deal with people.

Dictated

[lovemesomepie]

I'll pass on the magic food. Take my chances with a real person first.

Where's the Death Match?

[dog_eat_dog]

How many? About a hundred and ten.

As for food, I'd get a beer at the Death Match, get them to rustle up a burger, too. You sound more Death Match than Lux.

[lovemesomepie]

[He whistles.] Damn. [That's a lot of people to look out for.] Tell me at least some a' you are lookin' for a way out.

I'll do that, thanks. [There's a hint of amusement in his tone - the Death Match is for 'cool' people, he'd been told. He just got a compliment.]

[ofthursday]

[Dean.

This is not something Castiel is expecting today, or any day really; he had gotten used to it being just him and Meg in this world--not that he didn't miss Dean and Sam--and the arrival of anyone from their home dimension would've been a surprise. It's a pleasant one, though, to be Dean, and for him to be asking about Castiel.

He considers replying through the journals, but he knows it'll only be a matter of time before Dean demands to speak in person anyway, so he decides to go looking for him. If Dean's figured out the basics, maybe he's in the castle.

It turns out he is, and Castiel is lucky in that it only takes going into the lobby to find him. He approaches, suddenly a little hesitant, as he realizes this is going to be awkward; he's human, and if Dean doesn't know why, as he likely doesn't, it's going to be a conversation he doesn't want to have.

And of course, it's one he can't have verbally even if he wanted to.

When he's near enough to catch Dean's attention, he just gives a small nod of greeting. Hello, Dean.]

[lovemesomepie]

[His eyes widen as he recognizes his friend and he stands up, but stops short of a hug. Normally, Dean would be both happy and relieved to see Cas. And while that's true at first, it doesn't take long at all for Dean to realize that something is wrong.

For one, Cas walked here. Cas never walks; he always flies. And now he's not even talking.

The vessel is familiar, but is it really Cas? Or is it a Shifter or a Chomper disguised to look like him?

Dean's eyebrows furrow and his words are oddly hesitant.]

...Cas? What happened?

dictated

[rightchoices]

[ Seems like Dean's done his research. So, dryly, Lee will greet him with: ]

Welcome to the party.

Dictated

[lovemesomepie]

Do I get a goodie bag?

[ dictated ]

[peacockherald]

I have met Castiel. He fell into the pool when I met him, but he seems in fair health as far as I could assess when he let me.

As for the beer, we have several bars and pubs, but I am not sure who or what "Jimmy Buffet" is I am afraid.

Dictated

[lovemesomepie]

[There's an amused huff of air as Dean pictures the scene.] Bet he loved that. Surprised he let you, actually.

[There's a beat as he processes what Vanyel just said.] Oh, c'mon, you musta heard somethin' by him - Cheeseburger in Paradise, Margaritaville?

[wishmadeinfire]

I think... I remember someone named Sam that would match that, but he is not here anymore. He has not been for well over a year, or at the least I have not seen him within the past year. I did not have the opportunity to really speak with him though. I can only assume he is back in his proper world, the one you were taken from.

[lovemesomepie]

...I guess that's for the best, then. [He'd like to know what Sam thought of the place. It's strange, sure, but it's normal in the sense that he doesn't have to hunt anymore. Sam had always wanted that.]

That means he must be in the journal, yeah?

And you said you've been here for over a year?

[lucre]

He was learning how to swim.

[lovemesomepie]

Who, what?

...Wait, you mean Cas?

Why?

[silentrunning]

[Scrawled in the journal.]

Welcome back, Dean. This is your... what? Third time now? The Castle really loves you.

[She's glad to see you.]

[lovemesomepie]

[Whoever this is knows his name without him ever giving it. Paired with the lack of tone that comes from a written entry, Dean's not sure if it's intended as sarcasm or not. He'll play it safe for now.]

Third? Pretty sure I'd remember this place.

[Does explain how this person would know him, though.]

Anyway, I'm not big on fangirls. Castles included. [Becky Rosen was creepy when she got obsessed.]

Dictated forever

[onlyanapple]

My my, back again. The castle really loves you.

Cas is here, but I haven't seen Sam for a long while.

[lovemesomepie]

So I've heard. Unfortunately for the Castle, the feeling's not mutual.

Yeah, someone mentioned that.

You've been here for awhile, then. How long?

Action

[fairlyclassichim]

[Archer will stroll through the lobby looking dapper as usual, curiously side-eyeing Dean. He was always interested when someone remotely normal sounding dropped into this mindfuck of a place.

A moment later, he'll casually walk up with his hands in his pockets.]

Hey. I, uh, take it you're new here?

Action

[lovemesomepie]

[Dean looks up from his journal to the newcomer.]

That obvious, huh?

[Not said without sarcasm; he had just practically announced it, after all.]

Action

[wizard_redfive]

[Dairine had just stepped into the lobby from the main stairs when Dean walked through the door. Her arms are full of books, recently aquired from the library. It's been almost a year since she last saw Dean, and that had been only a brief encounter. Still there was something familiar about him, which hinted to her that they had met before.

She wasn't feeling terribly social though, so unless he instigates a conversation, she'll be moving towards Ira Tower's staircase.]

Action

[lovemesomepie]

[Dean's waiting for the latest reply to his journal, looking around again, when he notices Dairine.

He calls out without thought, a little indignant - more to himself than anything.]

The hell kinda place is this? It steals kids too?

[Half-Dictated]

[lara_the_explorer]

[Lara heard Dean through the journal, asking where he could get some food and a burger. She was at the kitchen at the time, getting some supplies for the Death Match. Why she didn't wish for it and chose to carry things around is for exercise, and learning not to depend on the castle.

Anyway, she responds to Dean:]

If you're looking for some drinks, I know a place you might like. I'm heading there now.

[And just as she finished her sentence, she reached the lobby and saw Dean at the corner of her eye]

[Dictated]

[lovemesomepie]

Great, sign me up.

Uh--that you over there? Just walked in?

[Checking her out? Yes. Yes he is.]

[ensorceler]

[ If the voice wasn't enough, the mention of beer sealed the deal. ]

Dean Winchester.

[lovemesomepie]

Yeah, that's me. [By now he's learned enough that he's not surprised that people here have heard of him, but he's not used to it either.] Who're you?