Nothing Left To Fear

19

The Hunter throws the sodden sack unto the outside table, "I don't know what it is, aint never seen one before," he says, sneering, "but it aint natural and it's dead, figured you might want it for your monster book."

Bobby pulls back the sack to examine the corpse on the table, then shake out it's contents to the floor with a wet squelch, a bumpy and rough-skinned creature two or so yards in length resembling a stump overgrown with algae and with ten paws and jaws like cut-saws. Bobby kicks it.

"How d'ya kill it?" he asks.

"Whacked it with a shovel till it died." The hunter drawls, taking the money that Bobby offers him, "guns had no effect, shots bounced right off."

"Bladed weapons then," Bobby thinks, "Cho," he calls the demon over, "seen one of these before?"

"I think it's an aeschna," the demon replies taking long strides across the camp, "find it somewhere swampy?" the hunter shrugs agreement more interested in counting the notes in his hand.

"Anything worth salvaging?" they get extra for that- all the hunters know that.

"No," the demon says, "we could use the teeth as hooks or something, but nothing useful, and they stink something fierce when you burn them. Sorry, Bobby, did you give him the new monster bonus?"

Bobby rolls his eyes and reaches into his wallet again. The money's not inexhaustible but they make do. They have their sponsors after all and supply most of their foodstuffs themselves. Uncursed trinkets are shipped off and sold, and they have a 100% feedback rate on ebay for trinkets, gewgaws and small charms. If it was edible they would have eaten the Aeschna. They don't advertise that amongst the hunters who can be surprisingly squeamish about such things.

Cho goes to the water's edge and lifts a boating hook, slamming it into the corpse with a sort of meaty thud before dragging it off for disposal.

Dean looks at him askance as he passes, "Al-kamiya," the demon laughs, "it's a messy job, but there's a nice cup of tea waiting on me for when I'm done." He sounds almost gleeful. Dean just shakes his head and goes back into the cabin he shares with Castiel.

"I worry about him," he says, "he gets excited about monster guts."

Castiel tilts his head, "monsters can be fascinating." He replies, he is sat cross legged on the chest of drawers in only a pair of jeans, his feet bare and dusty. "They all die differently." He doesn't move, his chest doesn't rise and fall with something so human and trivial as breathing. "We could kill something." He suggests.

"Yes," Dean says agreeing, "we could, but we have other things to do."

There is a kerthump sound as Castiel drops down to the floor. "we could fuck," he offers, he makes it sound like he offers a cup of coffee, like it's a second thought.

"Not now, Cas," Dean says lifting the books he has been studying with Dominic.

Cas smiles, "when you're ready."

"Why don't you go hunt rabbits with Christian?" Dean asks from the book.

"How can I protect you if I am not beside you?" the angel asks. This question he wants an answer to.

"I took care of myself just fine before I found you." Dean mutters without looking up from the book, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in the relationship, such as it is, that they share.