Bloodlust: Remastered

[dust_of_life]

To say that the last week or two had been stressful was more or less of the equivalent of calling the Titanic a minor mishap. Getting Sam back had been a dream come true. Getting a side of Dean? That was a little bit more complicated.

After a few whispered conversations, Fatima and Sam agreed that they needed to wait to tell Dean about Zelien and Haven. And that they were sleeping together. Fatima was pretty sure Dean was suspecting the latter. She didn't know what to do or say about the former. Given how hard it had been to convince Sam, who had been there, she wasn't sure anything would sell Dean. Short of his brother's word.

That was problematic right now, since Sam had been missing for twelve hours. As much as Fatima tried to reassure herself that he was a big bad demon hunter who could take care of himself, her old biases about anything involving vampires left her feeling queasy and anxious. For a very long time, she found herself sitting in the hotel room, staring at her phone and willing Sam to call. He was an hour late to check in. Then two hours. Then three.

And then she couldn't sit still any more.

Fatima let herself into the boys' room. Sam had begun to explain this world's lore about vampires to her and she didn't have the right supplies. She thought she would check their weapon cache. But then something else caught her attention. Sitting on the nightstand, beside Dean's bed (she assumed it was Dean's since it was unmade), she saw the journal Sam usually consulted. She'd never gotten a proper look at it, but knew it contained a lot of information about the supernatural, in this world.

An answer?

Well, it was possible.

Uncertainly, she walked over and picked it up, flipping it open to a page at random.

Comments

[travelon]

He really wasn't sure how he felt about Fatima. Why Sam had suddenly done a 180 and was vying for her made zero sense to Dean, something he attributed to grief, maybe. Sammy always did have his own way of coping, but it wasn't usually in women. Far from it! He was still pretty confident she was crazy, too, but she'd behaved herself since they found her again at the Roadhouse. Ellen, Jo, and Ash all seemed to like her too.

What was everyone else seeing that he wasn't? So suspicious? Oh yeah. It was nice to just have him and his brother out for a change when they inevitably ended up helping out Gordon Walker. Sam was being his usual uptight self and decided to leave. Well, whatever. He could enjoy a few drinks at a bar like an adult. So he did! But even Dean knew he had to go back, at least to check on his brother. A little buzzed and feeling a little better after talking to someone who gets it for a change, Dean made his way back to the motel.

He opened the door with a grin on his face, "Sammy--"

And that was decidedly not Sam.

[dust_of_life]

She looked up, more startled than guilty. After all, it wasn't like she'd broken in. Sam gave her a key.

...did Dean know that?

Didn't matter. She shook her head, turning her attention back to the book. Rakshasa? No. Definitely not what she was looking for. "He's three hours late," she said, flipping the pages.

Werewolves? Shapeshifters?

...Missouri?

"Have you heard from him?" She'd be annoyed if he remembered to check in with Dean, but not her. But she'd get over it. She was still so new to the lifestyle. She could forgive it. As long as he was okay.

[travelon]

He definitely hadn't been expecting Fatima and he didn't look too happy at the surprise, but whatever initial discomfort there was in his face is immediately replaced by concern when she said that Sam wasn't even there. Where else would he go?

"...He's three hours late and you didn't say anything?" Yeah, it was easier if it was her fault.

[dust_of_life]

Fatima turned to look up at him, her face frozen for a moment incredulity. "It's the first thing I said when you walked in the door," she said.

What was he expecting? A carrier pigeon?

It hasn't really occurred to her to call Dean. That wasn't the standard operating procedure with the Order. Any time you called someone, they were inevitably around vampires. And therefore inevitably around people with super hearing who would eavesdrop on every word.

[travelon]

The look he gave her said 'Don't sass me' even though he didn't voice it. She wasn't his responsibility, but he expected her obsession with his brother to make her a bit more proactive. Dean threw his car keys on the table and slammed the door behind him. Without a word, he pulled out his cell and dialed Sam's number.

Obviously the first thing she should have done. Except it doesn't even ring, it goes right to his voicemail.

"Shit," he mutters, slamming the phone down. Right to voicemail meant it was off. Off, meant there was no way to track it. "Okay, so...he's probably wandering around letting off steam." He hoped.

[dust_of_life]

No, she hadn't called Sam. That was rule number two. For all she knew, he was skulking through shadows, trying to get the drop on someone. The last thing he needed was his phone going off.

There was a legendary story about that happening to a vampire spying on a Giovanni clan meeting. As she recalled, they'd bound his soul to a urinal in Wriggle Stadium.

She pursed her lips, her grip on the journal tightening a little as she watched him make the call. He'd probably just given away Sam's position or something.

"What do you mean, letting off steam?"

[travelon]

"Ah," he waved her off with an annoyed sound. He didn't owe her any explanations, really, but part of him needed to say them anyway, if only to reassure himself. "He's just been in a mood since we ran into this other hunter--" Which, honestly, made Dean more worried than anything.

But he was momentarily distracted when he saw what she was holding. "Hey." He marched right on over. "Do you normally just go around snooping through our stuff when our backs are turned?" His stuff is one thing. But dad's? No one touched that.

[dust_of_life]

She was just about prepared to ask Dean what he'd done to piss Sam off. But then he went and pissed her off. It was a whole great circle of pissing off. Or something.

"Sam is missing," she said irritably. "There have been vampires in the area and I don't know jack about the kind of vampires you hunt. I'm sorry if I didn't mind my P&Qs."

[travelon]

Okay, so she had a point. But that didn't mean he needed to let her know that. He lifted his chin slightly as he regarded her.

"Yeah, well--you don't see me diggin' around your panty drawer for clues." He snatched the journal from her without remorse. "Look, I get that you're 'new' around here, but this? This is something you ask first. Got it?"

With that, he set the journal down on his bed. It's the closest to the door, it always is; he'll be the first thing any intruders find.

"All you need to know is you gotta lop off their heads. We ganked a couple of vamps before we hit the bar."

[dust_of_life]

The panties comment raised an eyebrow. As did the snatch and grab. But what Fatima still found the most astonishing was the fact that he wasn't trying to redecorate the walls with her blood.

She didn't say it out loud to Sam, she couldn't, but Fatima still found herself wildly uncomfortable with his brother. She just couldn't get past the trauma of the way he'd treated her in Zelien. Which was funny. She'd known Dean first. A Dean. And he'd been a pretty good friend. His 2014 counterpart had just...ruined things.

It was what he was good at.

But that was beside the point. "I wasn't looking for a way to gank them," she said dully. "I was looking for a way to track them. They don't exactly leave a papertrail at the local butcher shop, like the vampires I'm used to." And anyway, she didn't have the computer skills to track them if they did.

[travelon]

"Bodies," he said flatly. "You follow the bodies. All we've got is a friggin' hamburger plague." Okay, yeah, now he's starting to get antsy. Dean looked towards the window, his face set stern. Was it possible that they set off the rest of the nest? Once a vampire had your scent, it would never forget.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath.

He grabbed his keys and marched towards the door.

[dust_of_life]

She stood still for a second, forcing herself to separate her frustration from what Dean was actually saying. And what she'd just said. In a snit of sarcasm, she realized, she may have found something.

"What if it's the hamburger plague?" She turned to look at Dean. "It's even easier than going to a butcher. You don't have to pay. And no one would suspect it was vampires and not just vandals."

It was sloppy. At least in terms of the Masquerade. But there was no Masquerade here.

She was after him in the next second. "You're right. We need to follow the bodies. The cows."

[travelon]

"What?" Dean turned around, giving her a look of slight annoyance and disbelief. Or was it slight disbelief and annoyance? Either way, he didn't look too pleased at the idea of her riding shotgun.

"We?" He almost laughed, the smile anything but friendly. "Oh no, you're sittin' tight here."

[dust_of_life]

"Not likely," she replied, breezing past him to open the door. "I don't sit around on my hands when someone's in trouble. Especially when that someone is Sam. Besides, you need me. I may not be an expert on your vampires, but I can detect them, foolproof."

Probably better than anyone in this world. As far as she knew, she was the only dhampir.

[travelon]

"Foolproof." Was that a scoff? That was definitely a scoff and he's not keen to believe her on her word alone. "Are you the cow whisperer all of a sudden?"

[dust_of_life]

She turned to look at him again. "The more time you waste making fun of me, the more trouble Sam could be in," she said. "So are you coming or not?"

[travelon]

"Nuh-uh," Dean shook his head as he stomped out the door, holding up a finger to her in warning. (Note that it was his index finger, not the middle.) "I'm not havin' your dead weight on my hands unless you tell me what you're thinking." He spoke as he made a bee-line for the Impala, however.

[dust_of_life]

Fatima followed right after him, determined not to be left behind again.

"I'm thinking," she said, catching up to him, shoulder to shoulder, "that the vampires are drinking cow's blood. That's what's causing the mutilation. And they're probably not hitting the same farm twice. That would be stupid. There's gonna be extra security anywhere they've already hit. So the right place to go would be another cow farm nearby, one they're likely to hit soon."

[travelon]

"Vampires. We are talking about vampires, right?" Since when did vampires get a hankering for beef? Dean gave her a look before opening the driver's side door. Yeah, the passenger side was locked if she continued to follow him.

[dust_of_life]

Frustrated, she cut in front of him, putting herself between him and his baby. "Blood is blood is blood. If a vampire is smart, they'll feed off of cows to avoid leaving behind a trail of bodies. Which is exactly what you told me was the best way to track them," she said, her frustrating and urgency rising.

She didn't bother to point out that there were also vampires back home who drank cow's blood because they didn't want to harm human beings.

He so wasn't ready for that yet.

"Don't you get it? They're mutilating the cows instead of leaving you a trail."

[travelon]

Hey now, no one stands between Dean and his baby. The pointed look he gave her said as much, what little patience he didn't have already worn thin.

"Right. Before we track down Old McDonald, you're gonna need to move."

[dust_of_life]

The funny thing was, the slang term for vampires who fed off of animal blood, back home, was 'farmers.'

She glanced over her shoulder, to the passenger door. "Unlock it," she said, nodding over to the door. Did she trust Dean not to drive off without her? Not even a little bit.

[travelon]

Dean narrowed his eyes, not backing down. What was her angle? Why did she just come out of nowhere with all that convenient information, and why did Sam suddenly believe it? He didn't like it.

After a tense moment, there was the telltale click as he lifted the door locks from the driver's side door.

[dust_of_life]

Still not feeling sure, she considered making a fuss and demanding that he step away from the car until she was inside. But she was already skating on thin ice with Dean.

Maybe another method was required.

"Do you have any..."

...shit? What was it that insane journal said?

"...dead man's blood? In the trunk?"

[travelon]

"This isn't my first rodeo," he said unnecessarily, grumbling as he slid into the driver's seat. He closed the door behind him--frustration might have caused him to slam it, but he wasn't so upset he'd ruin his car.

"You comin' or what?" He turned the key and revved the engine.

[dust_of_life]

Letting out some air between her teeth, Fatima ran around to the other side of the car. She opened the passenger door and sat down, sliding off her boots before she pulled her feet inside.

She too had the temptation to slam the door, but she was respectful of the car.

"We passed a farm on the way into town," she said, trying to be polite. "Is that one that's been hit already?"

[travelon]

Good, because if she slammed that door? She'd have been walking right back out of it. He wasted no time pulling back out of the parking lot. Did Dean Winchester obey traffic laws? When he felt like it. And while he wasn't too thrilled at the idea of Fatima playing shotgun, he was more curious about why Sam wasn't answering his phone. Sam could throw tantrums when he wanted, but with his new best friend hanging out, it didn't make sense that he'd piss off on his own. For that long.

"One of 'em." Somehow he doubted Sam would go off to investigate those by himself, but he wasn't sure where else he'd wander of too anyway.

[dust_of_life]

Aaaaaand, Fatima decided putting on her seatbelt was probably a good life choice. She set her boots on her lap, reaching over her shoulder to buckle up.

"It's a possible vampire target," she muttered.

Somehow, she sensed that playing backseat driver wasn't a good plan. She'd gotten Dean to let her come along. It was something.

[travelon]

She would be right, she was already on thin ice. Luckily for her, Sam trumped his dislike. Of course, his dislike of her really had everything to do with Sam, too. Under normal circumstances, who knew how they would get along?

"Yeah, we'll see," he mumbled, heading south towards the farm they had originally passed. "Give Sam a call from your phone."

Just in case Sam decided to be vindictive and block Dean all together.

[dust_of_life]

Everything she'd ever learned told her that was a bad idea. People who were being stealthy never appreciated phone calls.

And she didn't know how Sam felt about Chicago baseball teams.

But with a sigh, she supposed he would be smart enough to turn his phone on vibrate. She fished hers out. There weren't a lot of people on speed dial. Mostly just Sam, Jo, Ellen, Dean, and this guy named 'Bobby' that Sam insisted she add.

No idea why.

Closing her eyes, she hit the send button and put the phone to her ear. "C'mon, Sam," she muttered softly. "Answer. Please..."

[travelon]

After a tense moment, he had to ask. "Voicemail?" But his eyes never left the road. He'd lost Sam once before--literally, lost him to a group of redneck psychos, but he'd been able to get Sam back from crazed humans. Vampires shouldn't be too bad...right?

If dad were there--

--...no, if John were there, he'd have Dean's hide for letting Sam disappear. Especially now that he knows what he might have to do.

[dust_of_life]

"Voicemail."

She sighed, disconnecting the call because, really, there was no point to leaving a message. That was just a papertrail that could lead anything to her.

Fatima preferred finding the bad guy, not the other way around.

"He can't answer," she muttered. Because she was pretty sure he'd pick up for her, even if he was in a snit with his brother. They still had a lot of making up to do.

[travelon]

Shit. He thought it, he said it. Dean hit the accelerator, speeding forward on empty streets towards where he hoped his brother was. That was mattered. Fuck vampires.

"You better be right about this."

[dust_of_life]

She grabbed the side of the car, bracing herself against the sudden acceleration. It made sense that Dean was a maniac driver. She'd known enough of them to know about the impulse control issues.

Then again, she supposed, she might be doing the same thing if she were the one at the helm.

It was Sam.

"There are vampires in town," she said, swallowing hard. "Sam disappeared. We find the vampires, we find Sam."

[travelon]

He didn't even bother with waiting for traffic signals--it was a small town, anyway, actual traffic itself was more scarce than the vampires. But once they arrived at the field, Dean was ready to hop out, barely even turning off the ignition.

[dust_of_life]

Fatima pulled her boots on, eyes never leaving the level of the dash as she scanned their surroundings. As a self-professed city girl, she wasn't much for hanging around with cows. Or any animals larger than, say, a cat. But she could definitely see how this location would be a prime target for vampires.

It was actually kinda surprising it hadn't been hit yet.

"Okay," she said, running her tongue along the tops of her teeth. "If a vampire hits this place, they'd do it approaching from an angle that avoids windows where human beings might be looking." She glanced at the surrounding buildings, before finding a dark path, cutting between them. "There," she said, pointing forward.

[travelon]

He didn't like the idea of taking orders from her, least of all suggestions, but he bit his tongue despite himself. Had to get supplies first.

"So, what, vampires your thing or something?" Sam didn't really say much about it. He popped open the trunk, pulling a machete off the rack and pocked a few vials of dead man's blood.

[dust_of_life]

She leaned back in the seat of the car for a moment, after Dean got out, taking a deep breath. It was beginning to feel a little bit like destiny. That she and Dean would never be able to get along, that the only common ground they would ever have was Sam. But that was no small amount of common ground, she supposed. And certainly something worth fighting for.

Shaking her head slightly, she got out of the car, walking around to the trunk just in time to hear his question. "Yeah," she said, reaching in to help herself to a hunting knife. She preferred stakes, but they apparently didn't work so well. "Vampires are my thing. But where I come from? They're way more organized and complicated than here."

She tested the balance of the knife, flipping and catching it a few times. Not great, but it would do. Anyway, she was sort of hoping she wouldn't have to use it.

[travelon]

He eyed her up and down, not really taking her for anyone that seemed like a hunter at first glance, but maybe that was the point. "Monsters are monsters," he said as he slammed the lid of the trunk. "S'long as they die, don't care where they come from."

Sometimes it was easier when life was simple. Dean tucked the blood in his pocket, but kept the machete handy. "So dark and creepy crevices, huh?" he asked, nodding towards the darkened path. "Couldn't get anymore stereotypical?"

[dust_of_life]

Fatima bristled a little bit. Monsters weren't monsters. It was a lesson she'd learned very much the hard way.

And one she'd failed to teach time and time again.

"Not crevices," she said. "They're not lurking. They're gonna want to get to the cattle without being seen. In. Out. No trouble." She bit the inside of her cheek again, eyes scanning the darkness for alternative routes. "I just want to know where 'out' is..."

They had to have a haven. You didn't just kill a cow, drain it, and drink it all in one sitting. It had to be stored somewhere...

[travelon]

In and out, huh. Dean was dubious, casting a glance her way as they moved towards the path. He was following her train of thought without realizing it.

"So, you're saying they've got a stash of cows before they go through the trouble of droppin' off the bodies back to the field?"

[dust_of_life]

"I think they have a stash of blood," she replied. "I think they're feeding off of the cows instead of people. It's the smartest thing a vampire could possibly do."

And, you know, a humane thing. But she wasn't going to get up on that soap box with Dean just yet.

"I'd like to know where they're keeping it."