Nothing Left To Fear

8

Dean feels somewhat naked without a gun somewhere about his person, he has a semi-automatic at his waistband, another in an ankle holster under his boot cut jeans, and a sawn off in a custom rig at his back. He has a machete hanging from his belt, and a few other knives, in a variety of metals, here and there about his person.

Castiel seems unarmed, but Dean knows better than to think him safe because of that, he is more dangerous with his bare hands than most of them, but Dean can relax the Limits on him enough that he can destroy the demons with a touch. The other Hunters stand wary of the two of them, each of them dangerous in their own way, armed with silver and salt and iron, but if a demon shows they will back down for Dean to take over. A few have one to their name, but Dean is armed with demon killing weapons. Weapons that are so rare that he will not share them.

They walk through the frozen undergrowth almost completely silent, their information suggests that it is an Drowner, the sort of thing that needs more than one, and Hunters reject working with others. This is to train them to work as units, Dean and Castiel are only back up. He's not unafraid to get his hands dirty but he needs them to learn to work without him. He won't always be there.

Tonight they hunt a monster they have taken to calling a Drowner as that is what it does. It's the fleshy spirit of a person who drowned. No one knows why sometimes they come back, just that they do, and they lurk on the fringes of water and woods, in swamps, and pull people into the water with them. There are two ways to take them out, one find out their identity and destroy the item that binds them, which is the traditional method but takes time. The second way involves finding the beast and destroying it utterly with silver, this is quicker but more dangerous as the beast can use a sort of necrotic poison that can they extract and call Cadaverine. It causes rot in any wounds it is introduced to, and can be used to coat steel blades to cause greater damage in other types of monster.

That is the second point of this hunt, they will use the raw materials of the creature to create other things and weapons. It is one of the teachings given by Cho, he calls it al-kamiya. They do not allow him his laboratory alone, Bobby stands over him, learning his skills. It's almost become second nature for them now.

The monster is reasonably dangerous, but for five Hunters is really only an exercise in team building.

This one has been checked that it is only a Drowner and not one of the more dangerous Drowned Dead, who are often confused. Dean once took out a Drowned Dead with Sam, it damn near killed them both, but they did eventually take it out, but not before two kids had died.

Cas lopes along beside Dean, he's been antsy, bored. It's been a while since he's been allowed out to play. The more violence and blood then the more excited he becomes. He wants the Hunters to fail so he can take over, Dean can feel his need itching through the link caused by the Limiters, it must be bad to bleed over like this, Dean thinks. He will arrange with Bobby and Ellen about a solo hunt for them, he will talk about keeping his hand in, but if Castiel gets bored he lashes out on the Hunters for minor infractions. It makes him more dangerous and volatile.

He considers taking the demons too, letting them exert their anger against something else for a change, even Cho, who seems so peaceful on the surface.

Let the Hunters have their Drowner, he'll find something more vicious for his own monsters to play in with.