'cause i'm a hopeless wanderer

[venatical]

Who: Dean Winchester and you!
When: Day 46
Where: All around, idk. I'll worry about the narrative timeline.
What: Dean arrives, has no idea where he is, and starts walking around town to get some information.

There are a lot of things to appreciate about his family batcave, but the mattress is definitely in the like, top five. Top three. Okay, it's number one. He's never had so many good hours of sleep all together consecutively in his life, and it helps that he feels safe, too. Dean needs to be able to wake up if his phone rings, but otherwise he can sleep hard. At least his mattress was awesome, but he must've made it remember him too hard because this is so not the cushiony goodness he fell asleep on. He tries to roll over, but instead of a pillow, he faceplants into the ground.

And now he's officially awake.

Once he's up and taken inventory of himself -- whoever brought him here left him all his weapons, so that's either really good or really bad -- he's got his freaking out under control. He'd jammed some buttons on the wrist thing and heard the message about how wise it may or may not be to stay at this bullshit excuse for a new home (excuse you, he had a new home already), and now he's just not sure what to think. Demons? Angels? They haven't screwed around with him like this in a while. Something new?

He'll have to check the place out, see what he can find. He doesn't think he should start walking around armed, just in case, but he does have his knife ready to go, and he has his guard up. And oh, his guard's in tip-top shape after Purgatory.

Comments

[happytobleed]

Castiel sees Dean from about 40 feet away. There's no mistaking that gate. It's Dean, or at least it looks like him. If Dean had really come back, he would have told Castiel. He would have come and found him.

He appears suddenly and without warning in front of Dean and grabs the front of his jacket, slamming his back into a tree. "Who are you?"

There's a cold anger in his eyes that he hasn't felt in a long time. Who would do this? Do they think they're funny?

[venatical]

Dean starts to jump back, but Cas grabs him and pins him before he has much chance to react. He struggles because hey, ow, and also what the hell, but also it's Cas. Dean hasn't seen him since the business with Alfie, and honestly, he'd been worried.

"Ouch, Cas -- it's me! Cas, it's me. Let go."

He tries to push at Cas's shoulders even though he knows it won't do any good. If Cas wants to pin him to a tree, Dean's stuck here until he lets up.

[happytobleed]

"How long have you been back?" He's not convinced and he doesn't let up at all. He keeps Dean's back pressed against the jagged bark of the tree. "Why didn't you tell me you were back?"

Yes, he's been with Meg, but he's watched his communicator and he's checked all over the town over and over again. "I looked for you everywhere."

[plaidsamurai]

The scent was unmistakable. Hell, he was still sniffing around the woods for Laura.

When he picked up Dean's scent, he wasn't sure whether to be overjoyed or completely apprehensive. Regardless, he was going to follow it and find him... preferably he'd be finding Dean alive and breathing.

He'd been bracing himself for the worst, so seeing Dean just... standing there, it was like he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

"Dean."

[venatical]

Dean had been expecting (maybe hoping) to run into people, provided they weren't a) demons, b) victims of the Croatoan virus (is that still a thing?), or c) something that wanted to kill and eat him. When he spots this guy, he figures he ought to try to talk to him, especially when he catches the guy's eye, and he doesn't seem gleefully ready to attack him. He's still cautious, but that's usually a good first sign.

When Mutton Chops knows his name, Dean's even more on guard, and he shifts his weight on his feet.

"Uh. Hi. Do I know you?"

[plaidsamurai]

He should have expected it. It's not like Dean and he had been acquaintances before this place and everyone else who had gone missing had turned back up with no memory of being here or anyone else they'd met in that time. He shouldn't have expected differently, but it still stung a little.

"Well... kinda. You were here before, then you disappeared. When people go missin' around here their memories tend to go with 'em. We were... friends," He couldn't help emphasizing that word, it was a bit short of the truth, but he wasn't about to get into that. "Sorry. The name's Logan."

[hung_garian]

His Winchester senses are tingling. This is rarely a good thing in his books, but it probably needs looking into - if not for any other reason, then because if one of the boys has managed to get away from the scientists they might know where Balthazar is. There are other reasons too, of course. Making sure whichever of the boys is back hasn't broken the world or anything is one of them. And making sure they're reasonably okay is another very secret one.

Of course, none of these options require him to play nice, so he's perfectly happy to just pop up behind Dean, flick the back of his neck, and then duck out of the way of the inevitable punch (or knife) in the face. What? It's definitely a way to get his attention.

[venatical]

Dean whips around when he feels the touch to his neck, one hand reaching up to check it and the other pulling out his knife, and once he sees who it is, he... yeah, there's no relaxing.

"You? Did you do this? Where am I? Where's Sam?"

How Gabriel's alive is another question he'd like to ask, but it's father down the totem pole of importance here. They can save the chitchat for when Gabriel zaps him right back into his bed.

[hung_garian]

He has a whole list of sarcastic answers lined up for most of the questions, but then the 'where am I' sinks in. That complicates things.

"You don't know where you are? Yeesh. I knew you were a drinker, but that's a pretty serious state you're in, Father Jack."

Gabriel steps back, paying a little more attention as he looks Dean over this time. This place has always messed with his ability to differentiate between timelines, thanks to everyone being from a different time to him, but there's definitely something off - if nothing else then just the fact that Dean doesn't seem drunk, just confused. Well, and angry, but that's par for the course when talking to Gabriel.

"Cape Kore. Remember?"

[bostonhowler]

Brigid went running. It helped settle the wolf a little and let her think. She wondered when the full moon would hit here, and if she should worry about things. Would her control carry over? Would the moon bother her more here?

Jogging around a corner, she stumbled to a stop, panting. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." She should be paying more attention to her other senses. She'd been so wrapped up in worrying about the moon, she'd almost run into the poor guy.

"Are you new here?"

[venatical]

Dean tenses when the girl appears, and he watches her warily, not trusting her friendly demeanor or the jogging shtick. Yeah, it could be legitimate, or it could be a total lie. He's not being lulled into any security here, and though he's not holding any weapons, he has his hand casually near his pocket, ready to pull a knife out.

"It's okay." He hesitates, looking her over again before he nods. "Yeah, I guess I am. Mind telling me what 'here' is?"

[bostonhowler]

Her nose twitches. There are weapons on him. Hunter? She can't tell. Her breathing smooths out easily.

"It's a place called Cape Kore." Brigid tells him, unsure of what to say. "I was in Boston before I got here, but then was suddenly at the fountain." She fidgets with her long sleeves uncomfortably. She is wary, because it'd be just her luck to have a hunter show up here. At least he's not pulling a sword to cut her in half.

"Supposedly, we're trapped and we're being monitored." One finger rises, pointing at the cameras on the side of the building near them. "I don't know why."

[villainized]

Unlike the humans that hide in their hovels, afraid of what lurks in the shadows, Lucifer spends a great deal of time outside. This isn't his world. Not the bright and beautiful Earth that his father made and summarily handed off to the hairless apes as though it was worth nothing at all. But it is a world. And frankly, it's better than being cooped up in a human house, surrounded by the trappings of a human life.

That he encounters one of the little pests on his wandering doesn't surprise him. They're like ants, always underfoot, always where they're least wanted. But that it's a Winchester he spies, well, that's a form of entertainment he isn't about to pass up.

Stepping out into Dean's path, some few feet away from him, Lucifer cocks his head and gives him a critical, and wholly disapproving, look. "There's a difference between being fashionably late and downright rude, Dean. But I suppose better late than never, hm?"

[venatical]

Even after Dean gets the rundown on what this place is, he wants to check the place out for himself, get a feel for the perimeter and the kinds of people that are here. Plus, he's just restless and pissed. He busted out of Purgatory, and he was dragged out of Hell, and now he's stuck in some craphole science experiment? Without Sam, when Sam really needs him? His next step after wandering around is an entire six pack and whatever else he can find.

The movement catches his eye, and his blood runs cold when he recognizes Lucifer. He stops dead in his tracks, and he narrows his eyes, sliding into a defensive stance without even thinking about it. Yeah, he knows he should be worried; Lucifer's strong and he doesn't have anything on hand that'll help him if he decides to get murderous, but Dean's not going to let that stop him.

"They dragged you out of Hell for this? Oh, well. I guess you're still in a cage, huh?"

[villainized]

And here’s the bravado, right on schedule. Lucifer would be lying if he said he missed it, and lying simply isn’t something he does. Especially not to himself. Why should he? Everyone else does it so well.

“Oh, no. This—” He lifts a finger, waving it slightly in a gesture meant to encompass the entirety of the town. “—is your cage. Meant for humans, not for me. I’m here for another reason, and quite frankly, Dean, it has very little to do with you.”

There’s no threat in Lucifer’s posture, relaxed and easy-going as it is. And there’s none to be found in his expression, either, which hovers just this side of friendly.

“But your friends are here. Castiel and Anna. My brothers. Meg and Crowley. That might have something to do with you.” He smiles, a quicksilver flash of teeth. “You might want to check into it.”

[foundacause]

There is only so long Meg can stay cooped up in the house hiding from Crowley before she starts to go stir-crazy. Which probably explains why she's currently out about in the park with Bernice - Cas' sabre kitten.

It certainly beats watching a bunch of people weep and wail over people they probably didn't even give a damn about over at the cemetery. And Bernice did like to run. And so far Meg hasn't let her maim or maul anyone. Not that many people are foolish enough to approach.

Then again, isn't 'foolish' the Winchester boys' middle name? Or isn't it 'reckless' or 'dumbass'? She's pretty sure it's something like that.

[venatical]

Oh God, what the hell is that? It occurs to him as he stares at the monster cat just how humany most of the things he hunts are. He freezes and wonders what he should do. Shoot it? Not... shoot it? While he's debating -- that's when he spots Meg, and his expression turns into a scowl.

"What, are you a hellcat babysitter now?"

He's -- well -- not really accepted being here, but he's got a mental map of the place now, and his annoyance is abating, turning into determination to find a way out of here and get back to Sam, taking Cas with him, and helping to spring the others too, if he's lucky enough to find a way out that's big enough.

[foundacause]

Oh, look at that, think about a Winchester for more than a split-second and one pops right up. Never when you actually want one to appear though. Like girls with their pesky acne that strikes right before a big date. The Winchesters, the pus-filled zits of the universe.

As appealing as the thought of letting Bernice hunt him down and use him as a brand new chew toy is, Meg's pretty sure a certain featherbutt would have something to say about that.

She raises a hand. "Bernice. Down." With that the kitten drops to a lying position and relaxes. Don't say she never does anything for you, Dean.

"Nice of you to pop in, Freckles. Get tired of playing hide and go seek? You must've found a good spot. We couldn't find you." Ugh. She's pretty much just admitted to looking for him. That leaves a bad taste in her mouth.

later...

[gleans]

It's technically not going out alone if you don't stray far, right? Besides, Galen still feels like this is his first day back in weeks; the urgency of Kore's unpredictability has ebbed quite a bit in that time. Still, he knows and is acknowledging the fact that if he wanders off, Kenzi or Jesse - or both of them - might just kill him.

So he's sitting out on the step of house 20 with the guitar he and Kenzi had salvaged from the crates, playing sort of aimlessly, eyes drawn out in the direction of the lighthouse -- so not watching the road, if anyone is in fact coming by.

[venatical]

Someone is coming by. Dean's sniffed around the edges of the woods and wandered around the buildings, poked his head into a few. Now he's looking for where he figures he's staying with Cas and... Meg. And Bernice, little snotwad. He's not completely sure where the house is, and he's not in a rush to get there, so when he hears music, he follows it. He's less suspicious that everyone here is a demon now, but he still slows in his approach to get a good look at the guy.

"Not half bad," he calls, like he's some guitar-ista.

[gleans]

Galen's head turns, and he stops playing when he hears a voice that rings somewhat familiar. Is that... it is. Galen never properly met him, but he recognizes the guy as the one who gave him the ukulele for Christmas. Dean.

"Thanks, guess I haven't lost it," he replies, smiling a little. "I graduated from the ukulele, but I'm still hanging onto it, don't worry. ... When did you get back?"

[onteamdyson]

Galen and Jesse might not be allowed out unsupervised, but Kenzi... that's a different story. She has stuff to do! Important stuff. Survival stuff. She has to--

"Oh. My. God." She sees the pretty unmistakable view of the elusive Winchester from behind as she's heading towards the center of town. Said Winchester has been missing for quite some time, which means she is fully entitled to her next course of action.

Kenzi comes running up behind Dean at full speed, only to jump at him and put all her tiny, little force into punching him right between the shoulder blades. "DUDE! Where the hell have you BEEN?!"

[venatical]

Even though Dean's gotten the rundown on this place, he's still not relaxed, and definitely not relaxed enough to take someone jumping him from behind. He's spinning around, grabbing her arm in one hand, and pinning her back against the side of a house with the other before she probably has time to realize what's happening. And then Dean's nearly choking her with an arm across her throat.

Once he gets here there, the deadly look in his eye starts to fade when he gets a good look at her.

"Who are you?" he says, not nearly the gonna-kill-you growl it could be. "Why'd you hit me?"

[charring]

Screw patrolling, Charlie's sitting on the fountain edge with her journal. She's writing in shorthand. It's how she works. She can get a lot more use out of a journal if she writes that way. Plus, it's not like many people can read it.

Shorthand is this girl's best friend.

When she spots Dean, she looks up briefly, studying him carefully. He had to be new. This place was running on near-empty, due to the food issue, and they're still stuffing people in like sardines. Wonderful.

She watches him some more, head tilted a bit before she speaks.

"You just got here, right?"

[venatical]

Dean's checking out the town, looking for signs of anything recognizable, even if he's heard stories about what this place is and why they're here. It'll just make him feel better, and besides, the alternative is idling somewhere in a house he splits with Meg and Cas, and that sounds... awful.

He stops when she pegs him as new, and he slips into the charming, friendly, just-a-nice-guy act that works in diners and bars and anywhere else civilian.

"Do I still have the new car smell?"