Wolvena

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme

As Esme lay on the bed, with her arms still over her face, she listened to Duke come into the room and shut the door behind him. When he didn’t immediately come over to the bed, she grew a bit worried but still couldn’t bring herself to look over at him. When she heard his boots hit the floor and his hat land on the dresser, she figured he was getting dressed and would maybe walk back out giving her space when he was done. She wouldn’t have thought anything of it if that was what he would have done, but he didn’t. He stood at the end of the bed, she could feel his presence there and heard his deep breath to calm his nerves. She had made him nervous to come near her after everything that happened outside. Concentrating, to push past the shield Sarah caused, she could feel his nervousness, and it made her sick to her stomach. She didn’t want him to ever be nervous to approach her after one of her little episodes, which she hadn’t had in some time. She wanted to hide away from him more than ever now.

She then felt the mattress dip as Duke crawled onto the mattress, then all the way up until he was next to her. It was strange witnessing him be so careful as if he was afraid she would go off on him again. She didn’t have it in her to go off on him again, and she was still kicking herself for going about it the way she did. When he took hold of her wrist, her heart sped up. The gentleness of his touch started to break her out of her makeshift walls. She didn’t fight against him when he pulled her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles after he spoke. Duke’s light teasing and making sure she could feel his smile, caused an ever-so-slight smile to tug at the corners of her mouth. With him acting like this, she was finding it difficult to keep up her shield. Plus, it wasn’t him that needed to apologize, it was her. She was the one that needed to apologize to him for her actions outside. Calling her Sweet Pea was what did her in, she could no longer lay there without looking at him, especially with how sweet and gentle he was being.

Esme slowly pulled her arm from her face to see he was reaching for her other hand. Without thinking, she placed her hand within his, then looked up at him. She then forced herself to sit up and looked into his blue eyes, so she could talk to him, her eyes shifting between his as she looked at him. “Duke, I’m s….” she dropped her head and looked at their hands. “I’m sorry for the way I acted out there.” She then lifted her head to look at him, then looked over at his hat on the dresser. “In less than an hour, I became a completely different person. I blew on you over the bounty hunter idea. Then when I went and talked to Cason, I used blackmail to get him to help us find Anna.” She then dropped her head and shook it with a heavy sigh. “That’s not me. I don’t blackmail those that have helped me or are a part of the group I’m in.” she rambled to him. “I’m honestly surprised you’re even here next to me after I bit your head off. I’ve been a real bitch this morning.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme

Esme only had seconds to dwell on her words to Cason and how they had affected him before there was a knock on the door, followed by Duke’s voice. She almost smiled behind her hands at what he said but how she was feeling prevented her from doing so. She let his words echo in her mind for a moment, truly debating if she wanted company, other than Sarah, in the room with her. She was also surprised that he’d even want to be in the room with her after she scolded him not that long ago. This morning she had gone from being sweet and happy to a bitch to both Duke and Cason all in less than an hour. She wouldn’t blame either if they didn’t want to be around her, but surprisingly Duke did. She didn’t even acknowledge him after talking to Cason. She had gone straight to Sam, told him Cason was going to help them, then went to the room, all without even casting a glance his way. He was far too sweet a man and at that moment she felt she didn’t deserve him. That she didn’t deserve to have him at her side taking care of her injuries or even comforting her but she wanted him there with her.

She needed to hear him say that it was alright, and he understood why his words had hit her so hard to have her react the way she did to them, even if she felt she didn’t deserve them. Sighing heavily, she lifted her face from her hands and ran both hands through her hair to push it from her face. “You can come in if you want to.” she finally called out to him, her tone holding a mixture of emotions. She didn’t even look at the door when she called out to him, she had looked down at Sarah and placed a hand on her head and gently rubbed it. “I really don’t deserve him.” she softly breathed to Sarah. When she heard the door open, she leaned back on the bed, letting her hand slide off Sarah’s head before bringing both her arms up and laying them across her face. She couldn’t bring herself to look at the hurt she knew was on his face. Though she was sure he’d end up coming over to the bed and then gently remove her arms from her face, asking her not to hide from him.

(wolvena/furiephoenix) Daughter's of Darkness (Supernatural rp)

Using her bo staff for support, Arabella took to her feet now that she had the opportunity to. Once on her feet, she rubbed her sore neck as she looked over at the steps as Harper called over to her. “Don’t worry about me. I have things covered down here.” she called to her in a raspy voice. As soon as Harper disappeared up the stairs, Catherine and Rayden appeared just feet in front of her, Arabella smirked as she stared them down. “Bring it on, Caspers.” she taunted. Lifting her staff from the floor, she spun it over her head, then brought it around behind her as she took a fighting stance. Holding out her other arm, palm up, she closed and opened her fingers to get the ghosts to attack her. “You and your friend won’t be leaving her alive tonight!” Rayden yelled as he and Catherine attacked in unison. Arabella’s smirk grew as she moved from her spot, in almost a dance-like manner, and brought her staff down on both ghosts. “We’ll see about that!” she called out. She hoped that she could keep these two distracted to give Harper enough time to locate the items to salt and burn them.

Arabella continued to move around the room, fighting off the ghosts with her bo staff with the help of the distorted ghosts, which were beginning to look like a female in their early to mid-teens. As she moved around the room fighting, she was also looking for her gun that had been knocked from her hands, she finally found it and tucked it into her pocket after picking it up. Things were going smoothly until Catherine and Rayden grew enraged and they both went invisible. They double-teamed her and slammed her into a wall, causing her to lose her grip on the staff, then they picked her up and threw her into the stairs with such force they broke under her weight. “Dammit to hell!” she groaned, struggling to get up. Before she could even make it onto her knees, she was lifted into the air by her neck. She lifted her hands to her neck, trying to pry the invisible hands from it. Rayden’s face materialized in front of her face with a wicked grin. “We’re going to rip you apart!” he laughed in her face. Catherine then materialized just as she took hold of Arabella’s arm and began to pull.

Before she could even get out a scream of pain, the distorted ghost came to her rescue once again. She attacked Catherine, who cried out as she was held back. That still left Arabella with Rayden squeezing her neck and fighting for air once again. What’s taking her so long? she thought to herself. Seconds later, the boy in the corner disappeared in an all too familiar way. Harper had found the cases and was burning the items. She found them. she thought in relief. A few more seconds passed and Catherine went with a scream. Enraged, Rayden squeezed Arabella’s throat even tighter, cutting off all her air, and causing her to struggle in his grip. The distorted ghost came to her rescue, hitting Rayden just before Arabella lost consciousness. She fell into the rubble of the broken stairs, coughing and gasping for air. “I’ll kill her before she has a chance to burn my things! I’m not leaving this place!” he yelled and disappeared. Struggling to her feet, Arabella grabbed her things, jumped over the broken steps, ran up the rest, and bolted through the door to meet up with Harper. Before she could reach the room, she heard a crash and an exchange of words between the blonde huntress and Rayden. Just as she entered the room, she saw Rayden going up in flames. She’d done it.

Arabella dropped her bag and leaned against the doorframe, looking into the room at the smashed cases and burning items. “I see you found them. Are you alright?” she said, bringing a hand up to her sore neck. It was then the last ghost of the place showed up, she looked at both women, the distortion fading from her appearance to reveal a young girl about the age of sixteen. “Thank you for setting them free. I know it wasn’t an easy task.” she spoke kindly. “If you could do one more thing before leaving, I would be very grateful.” Arabella looked from the ghost to Harper, then back. “And what is that?” she asked her. The young ghost smiled kindly to Arabella and turned to fully face her. “Set me free as well. I’ve only stayed to try and keep the others from harming the people here.” she told her. She then turned and walked over to one of the glass cases, looked within it for a moment, and back to Arabella. “These are my things. Please help me move on.” she pleaded. Arabella nodded, then retrieved her salt from her bag and walked over to the case, opposite the ghost.

Using her staff, she broke the glass and poured salt over the items after popping the top of the container. After pulling her lighter from her pocket she looked back at the ghost. “Thank you for helping us down there.” Arabella said kindly. The ghost smiled warmly in return. Flipping open her lighter, she lit it and set the items on fire, looking up to watch the ghost go with a pleasant smile on her face and hear a “Thank you.” from her. With a sigh, Arabella walked back over to her bag and put her salt back in it. “Man, this one turned out to be a tough one.” she said as she zipped up her bag. Turning back to Harper, she leaned against the doorframe again. “Thanks for your help on this. I know you couldn’t have been happy about another hunter showing up on your case.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme and Cason (Collab)

As Esme stood at that door waiting for it to be opened, Sarah came over and sat on her left side so she was out of the doorway. Esme shifted her hand slightly to lightly brush the back of her hand over the hound. “Should have known you’d follow me into this.” she whispered to Sarah. When the door opened, Esme was half expecting Nataila to open the door and complain, and that was exactly what she did. She knew how Dean usually got everyone up and ready for the day. “I’m not here to tell you to hurry and get up from Dean.” she told her. It was when Cason spoke she even knew he was there. She had focused on Natalia benign right there in the doorway, she hadn’t even seen him. “I’m actually her to you about something, Cason.” she said, looking over at him.

Cason approached the door a bit as Nat excused herself, sighing at the idea of being alone with Esme. He nodded at Nat's supportive goodbye, waving his hand at her before awkwardly wiping his hands on his pants, and closing the door behind Esme.

"So, what did they send you to do? Ask me to leave? Hey girl!", he both asked a question and exclaimed as his face spread into a wide grin at Sarah standing on her hind legs, and wrapping her front paws around his neck. He scratched behind her ears, and gave her kisses, before sighing and forcing her down, his hand still rubbing her back.

"They want me to leave, don't they?"

After Natalia excused herself, Esme let Sarah enter the room before herself. As Cason closed the door behind her, she turned so she could see him and properly listen to his questions and speak to Sarah. His affection towards Sarah was actually kind of cute in a way. She sighed heavily at his last question and thought about her words. “I know I’m the last person you thought would come to the door and want to talk to you.” she started. “But no, I’m not here because they want you to leave.” she added quickly as she looked at him. “They….. We…. We're hoping you’d be willing to help us with something that came up.” She paused to take in a breath, not truly knowing just how difficult it might be to get him to help her. She knew she hurt him when he found her with Duke last night. “Anna ran away last night, leaving only a note for Sam. Since you know her better than all of us, we thought you might know where to look for her.” She just came right out and said it, not seeing any reason to beat around the bush.

Cason looked up from Sarah and narrowed his eyes as Esme began to speak, acknowledging the fresh upset of her brushing him off, and ending up alone with Duke. But what piqued his interest the most, was the stuttering when preparing herself to ask for help.

He leaned his head back, nodding a bit as she finished, pressing his lips together in both annoyance and amusement, “So, ex-boyfriend stuff…”

He stepped over to the table, and slipped his feet into his boots, not saying anything for a moment as he picked up his jacket and slipped it over his arms. As he straightened the collar, he frowned again, “No.”

Esme saw Cason’s eyes narrow as she spoke, which wasn’t anything she wasn’t expecting when she acknowledged she had hurt him. She watched his actions to her words, his annoyance and amusement quite obviously showing. She raised an eyebrow at his first words. What the hell did this have to do with ex-boyfriend stuff? She watched him closely as he said nothing as he put on his boots and jacket. His simple “No” caused her to anger slightly, but she kept her cool.

“No, you don’t know where she is? Or, no, you won’t help?” she questioned. “Is this because of Duke and that’s why you’re refusing to help? I know I hurt you and I’m sorry for that.” She held back a sigh that was threatening to escape her. “We have a history, he helped clean and patch me up last night….. But I don’t know what I’m even explaining to you.” She turned slightly and crossed her arms over her chest.

She was trying to be nice about all this, but his simple “No” because she hurt his feelings had gotten to her. She took in a calming breath and slowly released it. If he was going to hold this over her, she could hit him where it really hurts. “Alright, that’s fine.” she said, breaking the moment of silence that fell on the room as she turned back towards him. “I’ll let Sam know…. I’m sure Natalia will be thrilled to hear you’re refusing to help when you're quite literally the only person who knows anything about her life. But maybe Sam will just…. Move on.” she told him.

Cason watched her reaction to his words, almost missing it as she kept her cool nicely. Her not leaving told him that she was going to press this no matter how calm she seemed. So, when her next question came, he rolled his eyes.

“No, I won’t help. Why would I help any of you?”, he asked with a genuinely confused expression on his face. But she cut off his next thought with bringing up Duke, stabbing him in the chest. Heart or not, just thinking about the night before hurt his feelings, and he growled a bit under his breath, hoping she would stop explaining herself. He didn’t want to hear it. In all honesty, he didn’t want to look at her, or Duke…or think about any of it.

When she finally stopped speaking, he sighed in relief, checking his pockets for his money and knife, leaving the room in complete silence, until she spoke up again, and he stopped his movements completely, staring at the floor in front of her feet as she spoke. The manipulation hit him so hard it almost knocked him off his feet, and he turned his eyes up to her face, glaring at her.

“Really? That’s how you’re playing this?”, he asked through gritted teeth, “If I don’t help you on your little goose chase, you’re going to run to Natalia and what, get her to hate me too? That’s just great. I love it. Fine. I’ll help. But I find her. I relay the info. I come back. I’m out. If that’s not enough for them, too bad.”
With the final snap of his words, he brushed past her, and walked out the door of the room, shutting it loudly behind him.

As soon as the words left Esme’s mouth she hated herself for it but she didn’t let it show. She felt that was the only way to get him to help them. She shifted her weight onto her good leg, her arms still crossed over her chest as she saw just how hard her words hit him. She didn’t react or try to say a thing as he spoke harshly to her in his fit. When he finished, she remained silent, letting him walk past and out the door. She flinched as the door slammed behind him, and dropped her arms with a loud sigh that echoed through the room. Stepping back towards the wall, she leaned against it, bringing a hand up and wiping it across one side of her face with another sigh. After a moment, she pushed herself from the wall, opened the room door, and left with Sarah at her side.

She made her way over to Sam, Duke, and Mika, stopping next to Sam and placing a hand on his arm. “It’s done. He’s going to find her, then come back, and let us know where she is.” she told him in a softer tone than usual. Esme then gave him a small smile before removing her hand from his arm. Without another word to anyone, she walked away and headed to her’s and Duke’s room, the door still propped open by the trash can. Opening the door, she walked in with Sarah, crossed the room, and sat on the edge of the bed. Resting her elbows on her knees, she placed her face in her. “God. I feel like such an asshole.” she breathed into her hands. Sarah then came over and sat by Esme’s feet, placing her head in her lap to comfort her.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme

After spilling her thoughts to the group and offering her help, Esme hoped that she didn’t show how desperate she was to help and show she wanted to be helpful, especially after not being able to help with the last case. She silently looked around those gathered as the discussion continued, catching Mika’s look as she took in her attire. It wasn’t like she wanted to go around in a blanket, but it was better than going around in torn and bloodstained clothes. Her eyes landed back on Dean when he spoke saying he agreed with her and Mika. Finally, she could do something useful after being out of commission. When Dean said she could butter Cason up, she winced a bit. She wasn’t sure just how much this was going to be a buttering up, but she was definitely going to try and get the information they needed about Anna. Her eyes darted back to Duke as he spoke about the bounty hunter again and then mentioned killing Cason, which caused her eyebrows to raise. She knew that Duke, like herself, wasn’t fond of demons, but at that moment, she knew that killing Cason wasn’t the answer to any of this. They needed him right now. Without him, they would be up the creek without a paddle.

She was about to say something but Dean beat her to it, she didn’t like the thought of having one going after Anna. Esme sighed softly when Duke finally surrendered to not having a bounty hunter come in and having Cason killed after Dean said they weren’t killing anyone. Though she was surprised to hear that Natalia might have found comfort in him. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind to focus on the rest of the conversation that led back to her. Dean was now telling her to go get dressed so she could go and talk to Cason. “I don’t….” she started, but was cut off by Duke. As soon as the words left his mouth, she felt slightly uncomfortable, and slight embarrassment crept up on her, especially after Dean asked where her bag was. Again Duke answered for her before she even had time to open her mouth this time, paraphrasing the events that led up to her being stranded without clothes. She hid her wince at Dean’s frustration the best she could. Though she couldn’t blame him for being frustrated even if it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know she was going to be kidnapped by demons, beaten, stabbed, and almost burned, then rescued by someone she never thought she’d see again, and not have the chance to retrieve her car.

Dean saying Mika could lend her something caused her to tense up. Esme’s eyes then went wide as he barked the order at Mika to get her something to wear, then added a sweet, please. Yes, he would playfully bark orders at her when they were together, and she would do the same to him but Mika didn’t seem like one you would bark orders at without some repercussions following. She knew Mika couldn’t be happy with the idea of lending her boyfriend's ex some clothes, and to be honest, she was too keen on wearing Mika’s clothes either. It was an awkward situation, even if she did need something to wear. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything in the matter, wanting Mika to take the next step being Dean’s girlfriend and being her clothes. While she waited to see what Mika would do, she turned her attention to Duke as he chimed in once more about the bounty hunter. She had heard enough about hiring a bounty hunter, and he had also ignored her question when she asked about it. Sliding her feet from under Sarah’s head once more than pulled a hand from under the blanket. Taking Duke by the arm, she pulled him a small distance away from the others, then used her index finger to push up his hat so she could see his eyes. The look on her face wasn’t a happy one. “I’m surprised at you, Duke. Are you that hell-bent on hiring a bounty hunter, that you’ll throw getting Anna back unharmed to the wind?” she said angrily.

“Hell, you and I both know they don’t handle situations like this gently. They can also be unpredictable and throw any rules you lay down out the window.” She had run into a few in her life and she had sworn to herself she would never do business with them if she could help it. She turned and stepped away from Duke running a hand through her hair in frustration. “Hellfire!” she said through gritted teeth under her breath in even more frustration. They had the one person they knew Anna better than any of them, and Duke still wanted to go with his option. Which in her opinion, that she was making clear, was the wrong one. The sweet Esme he had seen last night and earlier was now replaced with a fired-up Esme, one that she was sure he remembered from their days together. “We can’t have one of them come in on this for Sam’s sake, and I know you know that somewhere in that brain of yours.” she continued angrily. She then spun back around to face him, a heavy sigh leaving her nose while catching Mika reluctantly heading into her’s and Dean’s room. Which meant she had given in to Dean's request. “We’ll talk more about this later, there are more pressing matters at hand.” she told him while giving him a look that said he wasn’t going to get out of it.

Esme then walked past Duke and back to the others without looking back at him to see if he was following her. As she waited for Mika to return with the clothes she worked on calming herself with Sarah’s help, by the time Mika came out with the clothes, she was calm enough to handle what she needed to do. Taking the clothes, she thanked Mika and headed back to her room to get dressed. Once dressed, she came out and looked at everyone but Duke, she was still a little upset with him, her eyes landing on Sam last. “I’ll get him to tell me where she is. I want her back just as much as you do.” she told him with a kind hand on his arm. She then looked at Dean and Mika. “Just make sure someone keeps an ear open in case this goes sideways.” she asked. She wasn’t saying it would but she wanted to make sure someone had her back if it did. “Wish me luck.” she said before walking over to the door. Once at the door, she gave a knock on it. “Hey? Can we talk?” she called out.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme

As Esme stood there waiting for an answer to her questions, she was starting to feel she hadn’t been heard and a little ignored after Duke asked and received an immediate answer. Though she did acknowledge Dean’s nod of good morning to her, that was at least something. Right? But hearing this was about Anna and not Natalia, she grew concerned for her. She may have not known her for long but she still cared for the girl. At Duke’s next words, her head snapped towards him in surprise. A bounty hunter? Why the hell would a bounty hunter be needed in this situation? Her attention went back to Dean as he spoke once again, turning down Duke’s offer of a bounty hunter and saying they were leaving it up to Sam. She continued to listen in silence as Dean had an epiphany about Cason, then watched as he looked to Mika and then to Natalia’s door, which confirmed her thought of who they were talking about. Out of everyone in the group, Cason was the one that knew Anna better than all of them. When she met Anna and Cason, they were dating and had been together for some time from what information she managed to gather. As she let this process in her mind, her gaze shifted to the ground, before she soon came to a conclusion, at least one of them would have to go and talk to him to get the information they needed about Anna.

Lifting her gaze, her eyes darted to each member of the group that stood outside with her. Dean was obviously a bad choice to go with. That was just asking for things to go wrong. Sam could go but he would probably be reluctant to. Duke hardly knew him, so he was out. That left her and Mika. She still wasn’t fully sure where she stood with Cason after the whole cupid thing, but something told her she wasn’t the best choice either. Taking in a deep breath, she let it out through her nose and looked at Sam and then Dean. She hesitated a moment, still feeling like the odd member of the group. Plus, she didn’t know Anna as the others did. Adjusting the blanket around her, she finally decided to speak. “I know I don’t know Anna as well as the three of you…… But I’d like to help out in any way possible.” she started. “I’m not sure why Duke suggested a bounty hunter and I’m curious about why the hell one would be needed in this situation, but that sounds drastic to me.” she told them. Her gaze then landed on Sam’s worried face, she was still getting to know him but seeing him in this state really got to her.

“Do any of you know if she has anyone to go to or anywhere to go?” she questioned. She fell silent for a moment, giving a slight shiver as she finally started to feel the chill creeping up on her from her bare feet on the cool concrete. At her shiver, Sarah moved closer to her and lay next to her, placing her head on Esme’s bare feet. Esme couldn’t have been more thankful for the action and wished she could have thanked her at that moment. Pulling her mind back to the situation at hand, she looked around at everyone that stood there, then to the door Dean had looked at, then back to everyone again. Even though she didn’t have all the information, she still couldn’t get the thought out of her head and felt there wasn’t any other option at that moment. Esme’s gaze went back to Sam, her features softening even more than they were. “Sam? I know you care deeply about Anna, and you’re probably at a loss as to what to do…… But if you plan on finding her and going after her, I can offer to help get you the information you need.” she offered. She fell silent to let her words sink in, then carefully slid her feet from under Sarah’s head, and moved closer to Duke, only to have Sarah move with her and place her head back on her feet. Esme looked up at Duke and leaned in closer to him. “What did you mean by asking if a bounty hunter was needed?” she asked in a whisper.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme continued to sleep soundly until Dean slapped the side of the truck, causing her to jump slightly as Duke rolled over to look at Dean. She half opened her eyes to see Dean looking down at Duke as the two of them bickered. It was all she could do to hold her grin and laugh at bay as it brought back similar memories of when it was just the three of them traveling and hunting. But instead of her wrapped up in Duke’s arms, she was in Dean’s arms, sometimes in the same attire she was in now. She was also pretty sure that Dean would have killed Duke if he ever found them like this when they were a team, but she would have never done that then to keep from hurting Dean and causing tension between them. Esme loved them both back then, and she was sure both of them knew that, but her heart had fully belonged to Dean, there wasn’t any questioning it. If she was being honest with herself, she missed those days, and still mentally kicked herself for leaving the way she did. She knew there was a better way of going about it, but the next step Dean wanted and was willing to take in their relationship scared the hell out of her at the time. There had been so much she still wanted and needed to take care of, she had feared it wouldn’t get done or even get Dean killed.

Duke rolling back over and curling back up to her pulled her from her thoughts of the past. She was about to snuggle back into him when she heard Dean tell him to get up and he was going for food. Duke’s next words caused her to laugh softly, breaking the illusion she had been asleep the whole time. As Dean walked away, Esme rose up and propped herself up on her arm, being careful to not let the blanket fall from her shoulder and chest. “Hey, Dean?....... Do you think you could pick me up some clothes while you’re out? Please?” she asked him. Before waiting for an answer from him, she settled back down next to Duke, snuggled up to him once more, and adjusted her head to where her nose was just inches from his. “So, how did you sleep?” she asked Duke as she softly nuzzled his nose with hers. She barely heard Dean walk past the truck to go talk to Sam. In the back of her mind, she thought it was someone else even if she hadn’t heard the Impala’s engine roar to life. As she waited for Duke’s answer, she got lost in his baby blue eyes.

She was pulled back by a gentle nudge to the shoulder by Sarah. Adjusting herself so she could see her, Sarah turned her head to look over the side of the truck bed. Raising up and holding the blanket in place, Esme looked over the side of the truck to see Dean, Mika, and Sam talking just outside his and Anna’s room. Sam had a look of extreme worry plastered on his face. The peaceful look that was on her face was now gone and replaced with concern for Sam. Esme sighed heavily as she turned back to look at Duke. “It looks like we may have a situation this morning.” she told him sadly. “I think we should go over and see what’s going on.” With that said, she reluctantly slid from Duke’s arms and scooted to the tailgate, and off. All the while being careful not to pop one of her stitches or lose the blanket. Once her bare feet were on the cold cement, she held the blanket tighter around herself and waited for Duke before making her way over to the group. She was aware of the growing emotions as she closed the gap between herself and them, she took a deep breath to help herself keep herself from getting overwhelmed this early in the morning.

“What’s going on? Is everyone alright?” she questioned in concern when she had closed the gap. It was on seconds after she asked the questions, she felt the emotions from the others fade and a slight pressure against her side. Sarah had gotten out of the truck and followed her over, then sat down by her side as an emotion shield and in a protective manner.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme

Esme’s memory dream continued to play out with the two of them sitting and talking while waiting for Dean to return with food. Time had seemed to pass by slowly that night, giving them what felt like a rare opportunity to just sit and talk without worrying about injuries or concussions. If one had a concussion, the talks were random just to make sure they didn’t fall asleep. But this night, they had a true conversation that led to them learning even more about one another. Some of what they talked about surprised them, since they swore to themselves they would never tell another soul about it. Of course, teasing followed after secrets were revealed, which only strengthened the bond they had already started to form. They had both admitted that the secrets they shared were ones that couldn’t be pulled from them unless they were drunk, which sent them both into another fit of laughter and wincing from their bruised stomachs. After calming down and collecting themselves, Duke had set down the makeshift ice pack, then grabbed his Stetson as he got out of the truck bed, and walked around to the driver’s door as he placed it on his head. Esme watched him open the door, turn the key to where the battery kicked on, then turn up the radio.

A single eyebrow rose as she watched his movements. He rolled down the truck windows before closing the driver’s door and walking back to the tailgate. His signature charming smile rested on his lips as he held out a hand to her and asked her if she’d care for a dance as he bowed slightly. If it had been anyone other than him or Dean, she would have called them crazy and would have turned them down in a heartbeat. With a warm, soft laugh in her throat, she scooted herself to the tailgate and took his hand, accepting his offer. How could she refuse an offer like that? Plus, a good song was playing on the radio. After Duke helped her out of the truck, he took her into his arms and led her around the field. What made the moment even more memorable was they both started to sing along with the song as they danced in the field. The two of them danced to a few songs before they could hear the Impala in the distance signaling Dean was back with the food, but that didn’t stop them from continuing to dance and sing along with what was playing on the radio. The memory dream faded as Dean pulled up in the Impala, parked it next to Duke’s truck, and then got out.

In the middle of the night, Esme woke to find herself wrapped up in Duke's arms and held close to his chest, and still in the truck bed with Sarah. A tired smile graced her lips as she realized he must have tried to wake her without success. So instead of risking waking her or losing his towel, he climbed in with her. She could only imagine what played out between him and Sarah at that moment. Carefully lifting her head so she didn’t wake him, she looked at Duke and noticed his head rested on Sarah’s hip, which was a good sign to her. She then noticed he didn’t take any of the blanket for himself, causing her tired smile to grow a little. He was obviously worried she’d get cold if he did. He was just so caring, and that was one thing she loved about him. Being careful once again to not wake him, she worked some of the blanket free and draped it over his body. “There you go, Bright Eyes.” she softly whispered. Esme then planted a soft kiss on his cheek before settling back down and snuggling up as close as she could to him. She fell asleep in no time with a sigh and nuzzle, as she always did, listening to his heartbeat, his breathing, and his slight snoring with a smile on her lips.

Esme slept soundly and deeply wrapped in Duke’s arms the rest of the night and through the morning. Being outside, you would think every loud noise would have woken her, but being exhausted and sleep deprived, she was, for a lack of better words, dead to the world. She had gone into such a deep restful sleep; she didn’t hear Anna when she left. She didn’t even hear Sam that morning when he came out of his room and started pacing in front of his door.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme

Esme continued to lie in Duke’s truck bed with Sarah, staring up at the stars and making out the constellations. At one point, she lifted herself up off Sarah to look over the sides of the truck bed to check on the others. They looked to still be in deep conversation. Whatever it was about seemed to have them all on edge, but that was only a guess, since she couldn’t feel any emotions from anyone being close to Sarah. She then settled herself back down against Sarah, making herself comfortable by snuggling into the Hellhound. Which made Sarah curl around her more and rest her chin on Esme’s arm. Esme tilted her head to look at Sarah, giving her a tired smile. Pulling her free hand from under the blanket, she shifted so she was laying more on her side, then placed her hand on Sarah’s head. She lay there in silence for a bit, just looking at Sarah as her mind and body relaxed from the silence that surrounded her from the Hellhound. She noticed Sarah was watching her as she looked at her as if she were making sure she was really doing okay. Esme gave her a reassuring smile and a scratch on the head to let her know her presence was helping her out.

After a moment of silence and staring at each other, Esme sighed softly before speaking to Sarah in a soft whisper. “I know you’re still unsure about Duke since he seemed to have shown up out of nowhere and joined up with us.” she started, then paused for a moment. “But he’s a good guy and I trust him with my life. Years may have passed since we’ve seen each other, but nothing has changed between us. He’s still the same man I knew back then.” she smiled as she scratched Sarah’s head. “Give him a chance and please don’t do anything to him.” Esme watched Sarah take in her words and then sigh heavily. She then nuzzled her as if saying okay. “Thank you.” Esme smiled. She continued to scratch Sarah’s head as she tilted her head to look back to the sky, a tired smile still resting upon her lips. She knew Duke was wary of Sarah, but she hoped he could get used to her being around and get the opportunity to prove themselves to one another. She didn’t like the tension Sarah caused between everyone, but she also found herself not wanting to be without her. Esme sighed and let the thought slip out of her mind and made herself relax again.

As she lay there, fully relaxed now, her mind drifted off to another time she was in this truck bed. It had been a long day of working a case involving a couple of elusive Wendigos. Just when Esme, Dean, and Duke thought they were on top of them, they vanished without a trace and they would have to start over again. After finally finding their lair and torching their bodies after a good fight, the three found themselves in a field, taking a breather. She and Dean used the stream nearby to clean up a bit before they both hopped into the truck bed of Duke’s truck. Then they laid back staring up at the darkening sky wrapped up in each other's arms. His cheek rested against her head and her head on his shoulder while Duke cleaned himself up. As the memory played out, her eyelids grew heavy. She tried to fight against the sleepiness to wait for Duke to get back, but she lost the fight, and the memory played on. After some snuggling, making sure each other was good, and a couple of kisses on top of her head, Duke showed up and sat on the tailgate. “Alright, lovebirds. Break it up.” Duke teased them. Both Esme and Dean laughed as they sat up, an arm still wrapped around one another. “What? Too much affection for you to handle?” Esme teased back before Dean could say anything. Both men laughed and Duke shook his head. “No, I’m starvin’ and it’s Dean’s turn to make a food run.” he stated flatly with his signature smile.

“Oh, that so? I’m almost sure I made the last run.” Dean told him, eyebrows raised. “In fact, I know I made the last food run. What are you planning?” “Nothing.” Duke replied quickly. “Fine….. I just can’t see well enough to drive after taking a blow to the head.” he admitted. Dean released a heavy sigh through his nose and agreed he’d make the food run. Before Dean pulled himself away from Esme, he gave her a one-armed squeeze and a kiss on the head, then told her he wouldn't be gone long. She nodded and watched him leave before making her way out of the truck bed and walking around to the passenger side of Duke’s truck. Opening the door, she reached under the seat and pulled out the first aid kit he kept there. Esme could feel Duke’s eyes on her the whole time. Closing the door, she made her way back and sat next to him on the tailgate, placing the kit next to her. “Alright, let me have a look.” she told him after looking at his eyes for any sign of a possible concussion. When he turned, removed his Stetson, and showed her the spot, she got up on her knees to have a better look. She carefully moved his hair away from the spot and examined his head. There was a clear lump on his head, but no broken skin. She gave a sigh of relief that she didn’t have to stitch him up for once after a case.

“I think you’re going to live.” she teased him as she put his hair back in place. Taking to her feet, she walked to the front of the truck bed and to the cooler he kept there. She opened it and pulled out a bandana from her pocket, knelt down, and laid it out over her leg. Grabbing a couple of handfuls of ice, she wrapped the bandana around it, then grabbed some water before closing the cooler and made her way back over to Duke. Esme placed the makeshift ice back on his head and waited for him to take it before sitting back down next to him. She then pulled some painkillers from the first aid kit, opened them, and handed them to him, then the water after opening it for him. “What a day this has been.” she sighed heavily. Some time went by and they talked about the Wendigos and if she was alright after being knocked around some, at one point they moved so they were resting against the side of the truck bed with their legs stretched out to the other side.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Esme

Esme opened her eyes when she felt Duke approach her. She was so lost within everything going on in the moment, she really hadn’t realized that he had followed her outside after her invitation. She still couldn’t believe that she had broken down this much in front of Duke. It was the one side of herself she never wanted him to see, because she knew how much it would hurt him, and she didn’t want to come off as vulnerable and weak. No one in her family, including Dean, had ever seen her state of mind. She was still mentally kicking herself for letting herself fall into such a state, but then again, it had been some time since she had been hit with so much raw emotion in such a short period of time. Plus, becoming a demon nuke didn’t help either. She felt drained and sleep deprived from it all. All she wanted at that moment was a decent night's sleep so she could recharge and get a handle on her empathy once again. Being an Empath with sleep deprivation wasn’t a good mix, there was no telling what could happen if they came across someone in a state of pure rage.

A tired smile came to her lips when Duke spoke. She couldn’t help but smile from the way he called her darlin’. Esme turned slightly as she brought her gaze down from the sky to meet his gaze, as he brought his hand up and brushed his thumb across her cheek, then gently kissed the tip of her nose. This time she didn’t flinch at his touch, both actions caused her to smile a little more as did his words. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on going anywhere. Plus, I’d have to steal a car if I did.” she replied with a small laugh. She watched him as he backed away and then jogged away. It was then she noticed the others. She wondered what could be going on to have them all outside talking, and assumed Duke was thinking the same. She didn’t feel the need to follow him over, because she knew Duke would relay any important news to her when he got back. She also didn’t want to go over in nothing but a blanket and have to explain to everyone why she was in a blanket and Duke was in a towel. She wasn’t feeling up to being put in an awkward situation, but knew it would more than likely be brought up later.

Turning her gaze back to the parking lot, she breathed in more of the cool night air, before she felt a gentle nudge against her leg followed by a whine. “I’m alright, Sarah.” she said as she worked a hand out from under the blanket and placed it on the Hellhounds head. “It seems that this is a trying night for not just me but everyone.” She looked down at Sarah as she scratched her head and ears. After a little scratching, Esme retracted her hand and held the blanket tight around her frame. Looking up, she saw Duke’s truck was a lot closer than she had realized. Picking up the blanket from around her feet, she walked over to his truck and to the back. Being careful not to drop the blanket, she worked her hands free and put down the tailgate of his truck. Then carefully, and with some help from Sarah, Esme climbed up into the truck bed. Once she was seated, she patted the spot next to her, inviting Sarah up. Without hesitation, Sarah hopped up in the truck bed and laid down behind Esme, curling up around her slightly in a protective manner. Esme then leaned back against the Hellhound, feeling everything around her being drowned out.

Once comfortable, Esme adjusted the blanket and curled her legs up close to her body to make sure her feet were under the blanket. Leaning her head back, she looked up at the sky and what stars could be seen. Slowly her body relaxed against Sarah’s, now that she could feel her mind and emotions relaxing from everything that had gone on the past several days. Sitting under the stars and having a shield from all the emotions he felt on a daily basis was something she had desperately been needing since meeting up with all the Winchesters. She never could have imagined that her empathic ability would get such a workout being around them. Yes, she went through some emotional rollercoasters with Dean and also Duke in the past, but nothing like she experienced being around all of them. She sighed heavily as she stargazed. Even though her emotional state had settled, the dreams of her past were still fresh in her mind and she wished she could forget the worst ones so she could have some peace of mind for the night.