fandomhigh | Hunting 101

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hunting 101

Hunting 101 - Wednesday

"Okay, kids," Dean said, taking a seat on the teacher's desk. Look at him being all teacherly. And nary a dodgeball in sight! "Today we're gonna talk about shape-shifters. The kind that can turn into anyone they want, not the ones that grow fur and fangs. Those'll be covered next week."

"I apologize to anyone who ate right before class, because this might get kind of gross," Sam said with his best puppyface. "Like Dean said, shape-shifters can take on the appearance of anyone they want, and the ones we're familiar with do it by, well, shedding their skin with each new appearance. Literally."

That got a smile out of Dean. Because he was a twisted individual. "If they see you, they can look like you. And if they look like you, they start being able to think like you. And we mean literally. They have some weird ability to get your memories and and mannerisms. Which makes them harder than hell to catch when they start killing people."

"Not all of them are automatically killers," Sam said. He was still determined to be the diplomatic one here. "But it's pretty easy to get away with crimes when you can change how you look whenever authorities get too close."

"Or impersonate the cop investigating the crime..." Dean shook his head. "Easy way to check. Cameras. They can look normal everywhere but on film. Their eyes glow like they're on fire or something."

"And, probably obviously, finding a pile of gross skin sitting around is a bad sign too." This was the anti-eating class, seriously.

"Oh, and teeth. Hair too." DAMN IT, BOYS. Dean clapped his hands together. "Alright, how to stop these suckers is simple. Silver works on them. If you're fresh out of silver... decapitation. Which works for a lot of things, really. When it doubt, remove the head and burn the remains."

"We're not going to have you practice that sort of thing yet." Suck it up, Dean. "For now, we're going to give you guys some cameras and have you practice your photography skills. Taking pictures when something strange is going on is always a good idea in general. Snapping good shots of suspicious people takes a little practice, so try to get your shots without stopping and focusing for too long. You might not get the chance to take your time."

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"And how do we know that you're the one who should be deciding who's the monster?" Raven had calmed down enough now to shift her eyes back from their natural gold. She folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head at him. "You find out someone's killing people, find a shapeshifter, and then, what, assume they must be the one doing it? Stab them with your silver knife, watch them explode, and call yourself a hero?"

What? He said shapeshifters in his world pulled off their skin. Exploding wasn't any weirder than that.

"Yeah, it sure must be nice on your high horse," Dean shot back, leaning into her space. "I don't call myself anything. I do the job and people live. End of story."

"Except the people you kill," Raven said, eyes flashing gold again. This conversation was doing nothing for her control. "And now you're teaching teenagers to spot and kill those people without really getting into any of the 'only if you're mostly sure they're killing other people' part."

"I'm teaching them how to defend themselves," Dean replied, eyes hard. "You've got a personal interest in this, I know. Maybe shit's different where you're from. But that's how it is where Sam and I are from."

"Where I'm from, I grew up in hiding because people were more interested in 'defending themselves from monsters' than bothering to try and understand that sometimes little girls are born with blue scales. Only difference I'm seeing here right now is the texture of the skin."

"You got the urge to eat someone or kill 'em?"

"I'm not psychotic," Raven said. "But, yeah, I really get angry sometimes. Don't you?"

Dean frowned, looking away. Mmmm. Anger issues and PTSD.

"I'm an angry guy," he replied sarcastically. "But I don't go after anything that is living peacefully."

"Sometimes it's really easy to blame the 'thing' for not living peacefully."

"Yeah, actually it is. Some thing killed my mom. And my dad. And my brother." He flashed her a quick, joyless smile. "So, yeah."

"Some people killed my parents." She had no idea if that was true. But it stood to reason. "That doesn't make all of them evil. How are you making sure the 'thing' you're going after is the 'thing' that actually did it?"

"We investigate it. Make sure it's not some pyscho human." Which, you know, happened occasionally.

"When are you going to teach us how to do that part, then?"

"If one of you thinks they can go on a hunt, they're an idiot." True story. "Sam and I have been doing this crap since we were kids. All we're doin' is giving you a clue of what is out there and how not to get ganked by it. Because amateurs? End up dead in a hurry. Or they get good people killed. And yeah, maybe even innocent things."

This was... possibly as nice as he got about monster rights. Sorry, Raven.

"Then maybe," Raven said. "You should make sure you remind the class of that, sometimes."

Because, yeah, she'd been accused of everything from shoplifting to murder to communism (because blue was the new red?). She didn't need this class teaching people how to be better at witch-hunting.

"And . . . shapeshifters in your world don't really explode when they get hit with silver, do they? Because ew."

Dean rolled his eyes. "No. They don't. And I'm guessing you don't either."

"Not that I know of. No one's ever actually tried to stab me with a silver knife."

That she knew of, anyway.

"Can you wear it?"

"Well, my foster mom mostly just has gold around -- she thinks silver's tacky -- but yeah. I don't get a rash or anything."

"Then I really doubt you're anything like the ones back home." Plus, you know, skin peeling.

"Good," Raven said, a little primly. "Because ew."

"Yeah, trying coming across a pile of skin," Dean replied dryly. "Pretty sure Sam puked the first time."

This might be a lie, but. You know. Older brother privileges.

"It sounds like it probably hurts." Shapechanging shouldn't hurt. It should just feel kinda neat.

Dean just shrugged. "So, am I gonna get some explanation about the blue scales?"

Well. He hadn't tried to kill her yet. Raven glanced back to make sure no one was watching, then held up one hand, letting it shift back to its natural shape and color. "I have them. They can change shape. I was born like this. The end."

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