September 20th excerpt:
“Bowman, what is that thing?” a sprite asked in a low voice from their porch above him.
Bowman glanced at the EMF meter, paused, and then shrugged. “Human thingie,” he said dismissively.
Tag: g/t writing
September 19th excerpt:
Younger sprites, many of them restless after being kept inside so much in recent days, hoisted themselves up on the window sills. Any kid that spotted Sam on Dean’s shoulder sent him excited waves. More than one nestling dropped back to the floor in their home with quiet thumps in their excitement to see the sprite-sized human, especially when he waved back with a grin.
September 18th excerpt:
Dean finished scanning the area near the tree with nothing more than a low-level blip that meant nothing. “S’cuse me,” he murmured softly, leaning closer to the tree itself and beginning another scanning pattern to be sure he covered every inch. With the size of the sprites, it would be too easy to miss a clue like that.
Dean’s actions had a captive audience. Sprite faces peered out of the homes on the tree, watching his hand curiously. Most of them showed no trepidation, only interest in the object in his hand or hope that he’d find an answer in his sweeps.
Sneak Peek
Last but not least and never forgotten, There’s No Place Like Home!
Idly stretched out along the margins of their dad’s journal, Dean slid his whetstone along his knife, admiring the silver gleam that caught the light while Sam frowned down at a passage in John Winchester’s heavy-handed scrawl.
They’d spent most of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon like that. Dean got his exercise when Sam needed to turn the page, and Sam persisted in trying to kick him out of the way instead of letting him get up on his own.
They always found their own balance.
Both of their bags were left off to the side, next to the journal. Once he was done checking over his own knife, Dean was planning on going over Sam’s just as assiduously. They needed to keep the only weapons they owned in tip-top shape. They couldn’t risk the precious knives for anything. Any other weapon their size wouldn’t come close to the craftsmanship or quality. Dean would be damned if he let Sam’s weapon fall out of repair, the best defense his little brother had against the too-big world.
“Y’know, I was thinking,” Dean said aloud, breaking their easy silence.
Sam arched his eyebrows in Dean’s direction. “Thinking? You do that?”
“Smartass.” Dean stared up at the ceiling high above. He had one leg casually kicked up on a knee, and was lying flat on his back. “But anyway, I was thinking we might want to see if we can get Jacob some more practice on the guns. He could use it.”
Sam shrugged, walking past Dean. He whapped Dean’s boot with a hand as he passed, making Dean briefly flail when his balance was lost. “We’ve got some time while we’re in town if there’s any gun ranges around. I doubt his parents or the neighbors will appreciate it if he starts taking potshots at cans in the backyard like at Bobby’s.”
Dean sat up. “We’ll just have to–”
Sam never found out what he was going to say.
The sound of footsteps trudging up the stairs made it through the walls. Dean twisted to look towards the door, only faint concern on his face. It was early for Jacob to be back, but the cadence and floor-shaking impression they could feel was nothing like how Mike and Mariana walked around the home.
Sam turned as well, but a shock ran up his back. The world almost dropped away as the door was tossed carelessly open, slamming against the wall and nearly jarring them from their feet.
The figure wasn’t as tall as the human they’d grown used to seeing over the last few months. He was thinner, too, not nearly as muscled. His head was topped with pale blond hair and his eyes were blue like ice. Aside from the arrogant demeanor of someone that clearly thought he owned whatever ground he walked on, one fact darted right through the brothers’ hearts like steel bolts.
It wasn’t Jacob.
September 17th excerpt:
Dean handed up Sam’s iron nail. “Just in case.”
Sam took it, tucking it under one of his arms. The small nail was the size of a short sword to him, though fighting with it was better done by stabbing it at his enemy. Unless it was a spirit they were fighting, and all he needed to do was touch them with it to discorporate them.
Sneak Peek
A few story titles were guessed before we started posting the sneak peeks to go along with them, so with no further ado I present Clash of the Hunters!
The second Jacob’s hands were on the cage, Dean was on the move.
As dangerous as it was to attack with Sam still in the line of fire, there would be no better chance. The hunter had lost his gun. Jacob was free and had his hands on the cage containing the sprite, reducing the chances of collateral damage of a fight between the older hunters.
Sam knew the risks as well as Dean.
So while Jacob was backing off from the hunter with Bowman safe, Dean was already sprinting through the field. Long legs covered the ground that had taken Sam a half hour to cross in seconds. His boots dug fissures in the ground with the force of striking the ground, all to propel him towards his enemy. It was enough that if any of the sprites were in his way, there would be nothing left of them.
But they knew when to keep clear and when to attack. Scar was a good leader, and would see his opening just as Dean had found his.
The hunter hadn’t fully turned in Dean’s direction when there was suddenly a fist slamming into his jaw. Dean didn’t waste a second in his attack. The man was thrown backwards from the force, and his pocket slammed away with him. Only a passing guilt hit at the fact that Sam was about to be in the center of two dueling humans. He would do what he could to keep Sam safe, even during the deadly fight.
It was for this reason that he didn’t use his knife right off the bat. Instead of a vicious follow-up, Dean’s hands sealed around the other hunter’s wrist, preventing him from falling at the same time as he prevented a counterattack. Either could be disastrous for Sam.
“You think you can come in here and terrify a bunch of peaceful sprites?” Dean snarled. “Threaten to cut their wings off and trap them in cages? This forest is under my protection.”
A flurry of leaves blew up around them as the wind kicked up.
“Mine. And theirs.”
September 16th excerpt:
Bowman shook his head. “Nothing’s happened since yesterday.”
“Well, that’s what we’re here for,” Dean said, shifting the position of his duffel so it stopped digging into his back. “We came packing.”
“Plenty of new human magic for you, Bowman!” Sam called out.
Sneak Peek of Brothers Discovered
Things on the side of the walk weren’t an unusual sight at all, especially in John’s part of town. There was always a little rubbish someone missed, toys or other belongings some kid might have dropped earlier in the day that got swept aside.
So when John noticed a small figure huddled against the wall, his gaze downturned thanks to the precipitation, he passed right by it with hardly a question.
A few steps away was a crossing, which had just turned in the direction that John wasn’t heading, so he shoved his hands in his pockets with a sigh and waited patiently for the light.
Boredom struck quickly, and curiosity brought his attention sliding back the way he’d come, to that strange figure in the snow. He didn’t understand why until he thought about it; whatever it was, was small enough to be a toy. But a fallen toy wouldn’t manipulate itself in such a position.
Curiosity won out, and with a glance back at the traffic lights, John meandered his way back to check out what was over there.
Frowning thoughtfully, John crouched down for a better look. He wasn’t around children often, but he’d never seen toys quite like these.
It seemed to be two figures, clinging to each other in the snow. Too lifelike to be simple playthings, and he couldn’t see any telltale joint mechanisms to allow for movement. Perhaps it was some kind of subtle art piece, a political statement maybe.
They looked an awful lot like kids.
John couldn’t quite tell. After a moment of thought, he took one hand out of his pocket and reached out to brush a bit of the thin layer of snow off this supposed street art.
Dean heard the footsteps returning after the most recent giant passed by. They shook the ground under him, how could he miss such rumbles?
Darting one glance towards the shadow he could see moving along the walkway, Dean pulled Sam closer, his arm protectively curled around his little brother’s body to keep him close. Whatever happened, he couldn’t afford to be split apart from Sam. After months in captivity, they’d escaped together, and had each other to rely on in a completely alien world from where they’d grown up. Dean refused to let Sam slip away from him after coming so far.
With the shadow rapidly approaching, it was for the best that Sam was out cold. There was even less of a chance that anyone would realize they were alive if they didn’t move, and the younger kid had less self-control than Dean.
The footsteps slowed and came to a stop about a foot away, and Dean saw the massive shape crouch down, looming over them both as the stranger leaned in to see them better. Shoes bigger than both brothers together crunched against the snow.
Dean stared up at the giant. Keen blue eyes looked them both over, vaguely interested and strangely piercing at the same time. He willed himself to keep still, trying so hard to avoid notice, but deep in his heart knew it was too late. Whoever this stranger was, he’d found them. If they were lucky, he’d pass them up as two broken toys on the street. If not… Dean hated to think of Sam back in that cage again.
His words from before, said to reassure Sam, were coming back to bite him as a hand reached for them.
(Artwork by @soluscheese! <3)
September 15th excerpt:
“And I’m still not a giant,” Dean griped.
“Can’t have it both ways, Dean.”
Bowman finally had his turn at a teasing grin. “Facts, Dean,” he reminded him.
September 14th excerpt:
“But seriously,” Dean complained, still stuck on the height thing. “You gave me problems about my height when you’ve got this Sasquatch around?” He jabbed a thumb at Jacob. “He’s taller than Sam!”
Jacob frowned skeptically, but resisted the urge to say what immediately came to mind. Of course he was taller than Sam. Aside from being taller than most people, he had a significantly unfair advantage over the sprite-sized guy.
Brothers Apart 