Mocha 10 & CCM 19
Author: Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy (NIEE) universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Mocha 10 (mind your own business) & CCM 19 (ambiguous)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel
Word Count: 1,617
Rating: PG (mild violence)
Summary: Dean tries to piece together who has him and why, with little help from Sage.
Notes: Follows fairly closely after this . This means more Dean and finding out what some of what happened to him! A little bit has happened between parts, Dean has woken and found himself with Renie, his 5 year old cousin who has no idea they’re cousins. He has had a brief conversation with Sage, who definitely ‘won’. It’s a little long, for which I apologize. They got away from me!
Dean shook his head, gaze going unbidden towards the small encampment. Sage had gotten the fire going again and was kneeling by it, obviously making something, although the three kids were just far enough away that Dean couldn’t tell what it was. As he watched, the leader came over to her, crouching at her side and speaking to her quietly. Dean could only see Sage’s face, but the expression on it was something he’d once see on Morgan’s, although he couldn’t exactly put words to it. It was near to a lack of hope, but worse than that. Like she’d signed some bargain for a fate worse than death, and despite the fact she’d picked on Renie, Dean felt himself grow defensive of her and before he knew it, he was on his feet.
“Hey! Hey, you!” he called and then made a face. “No, I don’t want most of you. I want the tall, stupid one who thinks he’s the big, bad leader of this motley crew,” Dean said, raising his chin.
“I thought I told you to keep him quiet,” the leader snapped at Sage as he rose. “Shut up, kid.”
“Dean! No!” Renie gasped as she and Sage turned to him with identical looks of horror on their faces, although Sage’s rapidly morphed into something much less defined. “The bad man doesn’t like you,” she said urgently, hugging Connor closely.
“Yeah, you. The one who is nothing more than a big bully. Get off on picking on people smaller than you?” Dean asked.
Sage quickly got to her feet and said something quietly to the leader, but he physically brushed her aside, leaving her grasping at the nearest tent and stalked over towards Dean. He stopped just a pace or two away, reminding Dean once again of his small stature, as the man loomed over him. “Watch your mouth, boy.”
“Or what?” Dean asked, relieved that his voice, at least, managed to keep up the cocky act.
The leader’s hand shot out, wrapping itself in the front of Dean’s shirt and dragging the boy off his feet so that the leader could shove his face right in Dean’s. “Or I’ll teach you the hard way what happens when people don’t.”
“I’ve already gotten a dose of that and I’m still standing. Do you think I’m afraid of you?” Dean asked scornfully and then went sprawling into the dirt, just missing smashing his head freshly on the tree trunk, as the leader shoved him to the ground.
“Tourn-” Sage had caught up but she cut off as Tourn put his foot in the center of Dean’s chest.
“Stay out of this.”
“Tourn, you’re not supposed to hurt him any more than is necessary to get him home,” she said and Dean, even with his ears ringing and head pounding, caught the odd note at the end of her sentence.
“If I say it’s necessary, then it’s necessary,” Tourn snapped.
“They’re my responsibility,” Sage said more firmly, straightening to her full height. “Your orders are just to get them and bring them back.”
“Shut up and go finish cooking, Sage,” he said, as he put slowly more and more pressure on Dean’s chest, ignoring the way the twelve-year-old wiggled, too weak from his injury to make much headway.
“Tourn,” Sage said, real fear and desperation edging her voice now. “My father won’t be happy if he comes back badly injured. And he has to make it back.”
For a moment, no one moved, the only sound Renie’s sobbing and Connor’s cries, Dean suspected from being squeezed too tightly, which he could currently sympathize with. Then, suddenly, the pressure was gone and he gulped in air too quickly, setting him coughing as he curled up on his side. “Next time you won’t be this lucky, boy. Do you understand that?”
Dean nodded but was roughly kicked back over onto his back.
“I said, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Dean gritted out, even though the sir hurt to say, but he could tell from the looks in both Sage’s gaze and Tourn’s that it was the right thing to say.
“Good. You had better,” Tourn said before turning swiftly on Sage, gripping the teen’s chin in his hand. “You owe me for this. Keep the brat quiet or else I’ll just accidently forget the boss’s orders.” Tourn now glanced back down at Dean, who was smart enough to know when to quit, at least most of the time, and was staying safely on his back in the dirt. “You owe me,” he repeated.
“And I’ll pay up,” Sage said, seeming to force each word out and Dean suddenly realized that, although she was holding her ground admirably, she was shaking. “Just leave him alone.”
“I don’t understand why you care about him.”
“Because it’s my job,” she said flatly. “Now I need to go check on the food before it burns,” she added and he dropped his hand back to his side, letting her walk away. He looked back at the three kids briefly and then headed over to the encampment too.
A few minutes later, Renie straightened. “Sage is comin’,” Renie said, sitting back, putting hands protectively around Connor again.
Dean looked up, noting that she was carrying multiple bowls and had a bag slung over one shoulder. She knelt down as she reached them, seeming, to Dean’s thoughts, to be avoiding his gaze and again he wondered at her and Tourn. Looking up, he was unsurprised to see that Tourn was watching them like a hawk. Sage set down three bowls. She pushed one in Dean’s direction and one in Renie’s. “Eat,” she ordered and Dean peered down to see stew in it.
“Who are you?” he blurted abruptly.
“No one important,” Sage said without even looking up. “I suppose you could even say I didn’t exist.”
When Dean didn’t reply, studying her through narrowed eyes, Sage looked up. “I thought that was my line,” he said mildly and was rewarded with another flash of humor.
“If it is, it’s a good one,” she said, as she turned her attention to filling Connor’s stomach.
Dean glanced at Renie, but she’d finished her stew and was now drawing pictures in the dirt and dust. “What did Tourn mean?”
Her entire body stiffened, obviously instantly knowing what he was referring to. “None of your concern, Deany.”
“But,” Dean started.
“All you need to know,” she said, cutting him off with a violent slash of Connor’s spoon, “about Tourn is that he will not hesitate to kill Connor or even Renie if you do not behave. And, I don’t believe I have to add that he could care less about you.”
Dean decided to drop that line of questioning for the moment and fish for more information instead. “Does he know who I am?” He kept the question vague, having no idea just how much they knew.
“Does it matter? I doubt he’d like you any better if he did.”
So he didn’t know, Dean mused, picking up on the intrinsic meaning in her words, even if she hadn’t meant to give away the information. Dean had too much training picking up on what wasn’t said as well as what was said. “Wouldn’t he get in trouble with your father if he did?”
This time, he got the biggest smile yet, although it was just as fleeting. “You’re quicker than you look,” she said, carefully sliding the baby off her lap and handing him back over to Renie.
“Well?” Dean prodded, even if he was now sure she wouldn’t give him much more.
“Who my father is and how he might react to Tourn’s actions are not important.”
“They are if your father is the one in charge,” Dean countered.
Sage handed him the water skin and then scooted forward again, opening the bag at her side. “Let me see your leg and then your head.” Dean stretched out his leg without argument, having been absently rubbing feeling back into his wrists. Sage cut the rope, freeing him and then looked up, catching his questioning gaze. “You’ve met Tourn and Renie and Connor sleep with me.” Another ghost smile darted across her face. “And I bet you’re too noble anyway to leave your cousins alone. Am I right?”
He didn’t answer, silently turning so she could access his injury and privately fuming at how well she’d read him. Maybe his fuming wasn’t so private, he thought a moment later, because he could just feel her smugness radiating off her.
“Aw, did I hurt your delicate feelings?” she asked, breaking the silence this time, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“No, but you’re right. I wouldn’t leave any two kids in Tourn’s grasp.” He paused. “You have experience with kids, don’t you?”
“Leave it alone, Deany.”
“Why?”
“I said, leave it alone.”
Something about the way she said it prompted Dean to turn towards her sharply, unable to help a wince as her finger jammed into his wound a result of his actions.
“What?” she asked, plainly startled. “You idiot, you’re bleeding again.”
“That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“Talking to you is like talking to an angry version of myself.”
Sage stared at him for a minute before surprising Dean yet again by laughing and shaking her head. “You’re quick, but not quick enough.”
Dean scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She had the audacity to reach up and pat him briefly on the head. “Leave it alone, Deany,” she said, sounding amused.
“I’m already getting sick of that phrase.”
“Good, maybe it’ll get you to follow it,” she said before turning his head again so she could go back to work.
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy (NIEE) universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Mocha 10 (mind your own business) & CCM 19 (ambiguous)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel
Word Count: 1,617
Rating: PG (mild violence)
Summary: Dean tries to piece together who has him and why, with little help from Sage.
Notes: Follows fairly closely after this . This means more Dean and finding out what some of what happened to him! A little bit has happened between parts, Dean has woken and found himself with Renie, his 5 year old cousin who has no idea they’re cousins. He has had a brief conversation with Sage, who definitely ‘won’. It’s a little long, for which I apologize. They got away from me!
Dean shook his head, gaze going unbidden towards the small encampment. Sage had gotten the fire going again and was kneeling by it, obviously making something, although the three kids were just far enough away that Dean couldn’t tell what it was. As he watched, the leader came over to her, crouching at her side and speaking to her quietly. Dean could only see Sage’s face, but the expression on it was something he’d once see on Morgan’s, although he couldn’t exactly put words to it. It was near to a lack of hope, but worse than that. Like she’d signed some bargain for a fate worse than death, and despite the fact she’d picked on Renie, Dean felt himself grow defensive of her and before he knew it, he was on his feet.
“Hey! Hey, you!” he called and then made a face. “No, I don’t want most of you. I want the tall, stupid one who thinks he’s the big, bad leader of this motley crew,” Dean said, raising his chin.
“I thought I told you to keep him quiet,” the leader snapped at Sage as he rose. “Shut up, kid.”
“Dean! No!” Renie gasped as she and Sage turned to him with identical looks of horror on their faces, although Sage’s rapidly morphed into something much less defined. “The bad man doesn’t like you,” she said urgently, hugging Connor closely.
“Yeah, you. The one who is nothing more than a big bully. Get off on picking on people smaller than you?” Dean asked.
Sage quickly got to her feet and said something quietly to the leader, but he physically brushed her aside, leaving her grasping at the nearest tent and stalked over towards Dean. He stopped just a pace or two away, reminding Dean once again of his small stature, as the man loomed over him. “Watch your mouth, boy.”
“Or what?” Dean asked, relieved that his voice, at least, managed to keep up the cocky act.
The leader’s hand shot out, wrapping itself in the front of Dean’s shirt and dragging the boy off his feet so that the leader could shove his face right in Dean’s. “Or I’ll teach you the hard way what happens when people don’t.”
“I’ve already gotten a dose of that and I’m still standing. Do you think I’m afraid of you?” Dean asked scornfully and then went sprawling into the dirt, just missing smashing his head freshly on the tree trunk, as the leader shoved him to the ground.
“Tourn-” Sage had caught up but she cut off as Tourn put his foot in the center of Dean’s chest.
“Stay out of this.”
“Tourn, you’re not supposed to hurt him any more than is necessary to get him home,” she said and Dean, even with his ears ringing and head pounding, caught the odd note at the end of her sentence.
“If I say it’s necessary, then it’s necessary,” Tourn snapped.
“They’re my responsibility,” Sage said more firmly, straightening to her full height. “Your orders are just to get them and bring them back.”
“Shut up and go finish cooking, Sage,” he said, as he put slowly more and more pressure on Dean’s chest, ignoring the way the twelve-year-old wiggled, too weak from his injury to make much headway.
“Tourn,” Sage said, real fear and desperation edging her voice now. “My father won’t be happy if he comes back badly injured. And he has to make it back.”
For a moment, no one moved, the only sound Renie’s sobbing and Connor’s cries, Dean suspected from being squeezed too tightly, which he could currently sympathize with. Then, suddenly, the pressure was gone and he gulped in air too quickly, setting him coughing as he curled up on his side. “Next time you won’t be this lucky, boy. Do you understand that?”
Dean nodded but was roughly kicked back over onto his back.
“I said, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Dean gritted out, even though the sir hurt to say, but he could tell from the looks in both Sage’s gaze and Tourn’s that it was the right thing to say.
“Good. You had better,” Tourn said before turning swiftly on Sage, gripping the teen’s chin in his hand. “You owe me for this. Keep the brat quiet or else I’ll just accidently forget the boss’s orders.” Tourn now glanced back down at Dean, who was smart enough to know when to quit, at least most of the time, and was staying safely on his back in the dirt. “You owe me,” he repeated.
“And I’ll pay up,” Sage said, seeming to force each word out and Dean suddenly realized that, although she was holding her ground admirably, she was shaking. “Just leave him alone.”
“I don’t understand why you care about him.”
“Because it’s my job,” she said flatly. “Now I need to go check on the food before it burns,” she added and he dropped his hand back to his side, letting her walk away. He looked back at the three kids briefly and then headed over to the encampment too.
A few minutes later, Renie straightened. “Sage is comin’,” Renie said, sitting back, putting hands protectively around Connor again.
Dean looked up, noting that she was carrying multiple bowls and had a bag slung over one shoulder. She knelt down as she reached them, seeming, to Dean’s thoughts, to be avoiding his gaze and again he wondered at her and Tourn. Looking up, he was unsurprised to see that Tourn was watching them like a hawk. Sage set down three bowls. She pushed one in Dean’s direction and one in Renie’s. “Eat,” she ordered and Dean peered down to see stew in it.
“Who are you?” he blurted abruptly.
“No one important,” Sage said without even looking up. “I suppose you could even say I didn’t exist.”
When Dean didn’t reply, studying her through narrowed eyes, Sage looked up. “I thought that was my line,” he said mildly and was rewarded with another flash of humor.
“If it is, it’s a good one,” she said, as she turned her attention to filling Connor’s stomach.
Dean glanced at Renie, but she’d finished her stew and was now drawing pictures in the dirt and dust. “What did Tourn mean?”
Her entire body stiffened, obviously instantly knowing what he was referring to. “None of your concern, Deany.”
“But,” Dean started.
“All you need to know,” she said, cutting him off with a violent slash of Connor’s spoon, “about Tourn is that he will not hesitate to kill Connor or even Renie if you do not behave. And, I don’t believe I have to add that he could care less about you.”
Dean decided to drop that line of questioning for the moment and fish for more information instead. “Does he know who I am?” He kept the question vague, having no idea just how much they knew.
“Does it matter? I doubt he’d like you any better if he did.”
So he didn’t know, Dean mused, picking up on the intrinsic meaning in her words, even if she hadn’t meant to give away the information. Dean had too much training picking up on what wasn’t said as well as what was said. “Wouldn’t he get in trouble with your father if he did?”
This time, he got the biggest smile yet, although it was just as fleeting. “You’re quicker than you look,” she said, carefully sliding the baby off her lap and handing him back over to Renie.
“Well?” Dean prodded, even if he was now sure she wouldn’t give him much more.
“Who my father is and how he might react to Tourn’s actions are not important.”
“They are if your father is the one in charge,” Dean countered.
Sage handed him the water skin and then scooted forward again, opening the bag at her side. “Let me see your leg and then your head.” Dean stretched out his leg without argument, having been absently rubbing feeling back into his wrists. Sage cut the rope, freeing him and then looked up, catching his questioning gaze. “You’ve met Tourn and Renie and Connor sleep with me.” Another ghost smile darted across her face. “And I bet you’re too noble anyway to leave your cousins alone. Am I right?”
He didn’t answer, silently turning so she could access his injury and privately fuming at how well she’d read him. Maybe his fuming wasn’t so private, he thought a moment later, because he could just feel her smugness radiating off her.
“Aw, did I hurt your delicate feelings?” she asked, breaking the silence this time, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“No, but you’re right. I wouldn’t leave any two kids in Tourn’s grasp.” He paused. “You have experience with kids, don’t you?”
“Leave it alone, Deany.”
“Why?”
“I said, leave it alone.”
Something about the way she said it prompted Dean to turn towards her sharply, unable to help a wince as her finger jammed into his wound a result of his actions.
“What?” she asked, plainly startled. “You idiot, you’re bleeding again.”
“That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“Talking to you is like talking to an angry version of myself.”
Sage stared at him for a minute before surprising Dean yet again by laughing and shaking her head. “You’re quick, but not quick enough.”
Dean scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She had the audacity to reach up and pat him briefly on the head. “Leave it alone, Deany,” she said, sounding amused.
“I’m already getting sick of that phrase.”
“Good, maybe it’ll get you to follow it,” she said before turning his head again so she could go back to work.