Hunting 101 -- Class 11 (Wednesday period 7)

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

When the students came in, they found a handout beside the sign-in sheet. Also there were a number of books on various myths and legends and fairy tales and oral traditions piled on a desk near the front of the room.

John waited until everyone was seated then began. "Since this is the last class before Thanksgiving break, I'm going to keep it short today. I'm going to talk briefly and then you'll get an assignment that will be due in two weeks. After that you can use the rest of the class to get a start on your assignment or you can leave early and start your time off.

"We've covered most of the more common supernatural categories -- aside from demons, which will be our final unit. But there's always going to be things that don't fall into any of those categories.

"What do you do when you do when you encounter something like that is research, research, research. Talk to as many people as you can, gather every bit of information on what it looks like, sounds like, smells or feels like. What it does, who it hurts and who it leaves alone and how it hurts them. When you've found out all that you can, you go looking for something that matches the facts. Where do you look? Old fairy tales, legends, myths. Oral traditions." John looked around the room. "There's nothing new in the world, and whatever you're dealing with almost certainly has been dealt with before. The stories and details get retold over and over, until the fact that it was real gets lost and it's treated as nothing more than a fiction. Fairy tales can sometimes be a hunter's greatest resource.

"As a hunter, one of the things you want to do is keep track of what you've ran into and how to deal with it. It also doesn't hurt to do some pre-emptive research and keep a journal or database with information on things that you might possibly run into and what their vulnerabilities are. And that's your assignment this week. I want you to pick something out of an old story or legend or myth and write up what it looks like, what it does, how to identify it, and how to deal with it. Make it the sort of thing that if another hunter was looking for information on your subject, your paper would give him everything he needed to know. Then handout you got has a list of some possible suggestions for subject, but if you have another you want to research, feel free."

John smiled. "And that's it for today's class. You can start work on your assignments, using the books provided here, and if you have any questions, I'm here to answer them. But if you do want to leave early, you're free to do so." He paused. "Happy Thanksgiving."



[ooc: Sorry for the lateness. My brain just wasn't in a hunting class sorta place today. Wait for OCD is up!]

Comments

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe bit her lip and then nodded. How could she forget? "You had a nightmare about that?" Her voice was soft and she squeezed his hand gently.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Only this time...this time Angel didn't stop me."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe did not have a physical reaction. She could tell that this was hurting her boyfriend and a reaction of shock would ust make it worse. Instead, she hugged him. "It was just a nightmare, love. He did stop you."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

"I liked it," Bel said quietly.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

OKay... she remembered him telling her about the urges the demon had and how he was trying to control them.

"The demon did, Cole. Not you. Not the part of you that has a soul."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

"The demon liked it, then," Cole agreed. "A lot."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe nodded and kept an arm around him.

"The demon gets off on hurting people?"

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

Cole nodded. "Yeah...I used to like nothing better."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

"So... we need to find something you love as much or more than the demon does hurting people."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

"I already have," Cole said, surprised. "You."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe smiled. "When the demon is showing that he is feeling these urges about hurting people, does seeing me or thinking about me help push him back?"

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

"You're my strength," Cole said, leaning his head against hers and taking her hand. "I'm stronger with you."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe leaned against him and tried to use her own body langauge to ease his worry. "As I am with you... which is why I know we can beat all of this and get you through it safely... and without harm."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

"But what about when you're not here?" Cole said. "You're going away for the long weekend." He looked pouty.

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

"I may not be there the entire weekend... and if you need me, come and get me. Call my phone and I'll be there for you."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

Cole grimaced. "I'm not going near your grandmother," he said. "I'm not suicidal."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

"So meet me nearby somewhere like we did last year."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

"If I need to," Cole said. "But I want you to have a good vacation home."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[sensethevisions]

"I will worry, regardless, love. You know that."

Re: Talk amongst yourselves,

[demonbelthazor]

"I'll be okay," Cole said, kissing her cheek. "I promise. There will be plenty of people still here. I won't be alone."