Duel Conversation

who: dean and caleb
where: on the phone!
when: noonish

Caleb was sitting on the grassy hill that lead down to the 'lake'. He was watching spirits down there. Which sounded stupid, but after observing for a few days, that was in fact, the only thing they could be. They were hard to see if you didn't know what you were looking for, but if you did...the little threads of light flowing back and forth, sometimes faces that seemed to drift up towards the surface. It was too quiet around him. Seemed like the wildlife didn't like it here, and he couldn't say he blamed them. He didn't know what had gone down here? But whatever it was had been major. Still...the spirits were oddly beautiful, in a massively fucked up way that probably said all kinds of bad things about him. He was sketching, sort of...capturing faces. It wasn't like he could do anything. He wasn't an exorcist.

Either way, he eventually dug his phone out of his pocket and dialled up Dean, watching one spirit drift closer and closer, seemingly moving with a tide of her own. Definitely a she. He could see long hair streaming out behind her, drifting.

Dean was standing outside the store in town as his cell went and he pulled it out of his pocket, assuming that it'd be Sophie with last minute instructions before they left. he was actually mildly surprised to see that it was Caleb, but hopefully it was good news. "Hey mate - you okay?" he asked as he answered.

"Hey, and that was kinda my question." Caleb said. "I was talking to Rose--she um...called again--and she said something about you telling her you were leaving. So...the fuck?" he asked. It wasn't an accusing sort of tone, just pretty confused, and there was a slight undercurrent of not pleased about that. Dean was currently about his only actual friend. He had other people he could probably call but not with the level of comfort he had with Dean, and while they were still sort of getting to know one another and shit, that didn't mean he was cool with the guy fucking off. He was probably the only friendship he had that didn't involve pressure of any description. That was good for him.

Dean smiled a little and his voice was truly happy as he spoke. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured the other guy. "At least - doesn't look that way any more. yesterday - yesterday was fucking shit, but I think it's all sorted now. So - you talked to Rose again? That's, what? twice in two days? More? You two getting on, or have you picked yourself up a stalker?" he joked.

"Oh fuck off." Caleb said good naturedly, even as he made a face, watching the spirit drift closer and closer. Up nearer the surface. "She's just...I don't fucking know. Vulnerable, and lonely and shit. She's...sweet? I guess? In that really naive sort of manner that you really only get with girls who grew up in towns smaller than our school population. I'd prefer if anyone was stalking it was me, but she has asked a shit ton of questions." he admitted. "...and good. That you aren't going anywhere."

"She wanted to pay me for helping her. I take it the vague shit you gave her about me was meant to be me getting Maddie to do a location spell on her family, right?" Dean checked, wondering if he'd missed anything obvious in the mix. He didn't exactly know a huge amount about magic.

"That was the plan, yeah." Caleb said. "And she offered to pay, huh? ...yeah, that girl really needs someone to tell her that this shit isn't a good idea. She said she at least took the website down though. She also said everyone there is giving her shit over it. That no one believes her. I'm kind of under the impression that she's latched on, because we actually don't tell her she's batshit insane. She actually get you what you need for your witch?"

"Hope so - she promised to send me her brother's baseball cap or something. Anyway, I'm figuring it won't arrive til Tuesday at the earliest, so I'm not holding my breath. And, you know? not surprised she's getting shit for that site - she did come across a little... Well, yeah, you know, right?" Dean said, not wanting to be as blunt as his friend had been on the insanity front there.

"Yeah, I know." Caleb agreed. Then he paused. "She wants to meet me." he said. Which he was still sort of wondering about. It was possible he was looking for confirmation that he'd signed himself up for something stupid. The spirit drifted back and forth, getting to the shallow parts of the lake, though it didn't breach the surface yet.

"Yeah?" Dean asked, considering that. "You gonna? You've gotta pass that way again, haven't you?" he added, realising that he didn't actually know where Caleb was right now. And then that the girl was somewhere at university anyway and that could be anywhere - Dean's knowledge of US geography was particularly poor.

"I asked my brothers if we could, and they were fine with it. Mostly we're just waiting shit out to see if we're being followed. Wouldn't really do to go meet the girl then have demons trot along behind us and slaughter her for no good reason. Right now we're holing up in Colorado somewhere. Some place my brother knew. Sort of trying to see if we'll get jumped, being it'd be a good place for it." Caleb said, watching the spirit still, as it pushed itself up out of the water. Definitely female, he was guessing late twenties. Her hair still looked like it was flowing in the water, and as he paid attention, her clothes behaved that way too. She wasn't under it anymore, but she definitely looked that way. That was...decidedly creepy.

"Heh - my cousin used to live in Colorado," Dean told him absently, as he walked along the store front and stopped at another point. "So, what are you going to do when you meet her?" he asked. "Apart from making damn sure you're not bringing shit down on her head or anything, course."

Caleb had started to draw, as fast as he could before she...did whatever she was going to do. Didn't ghosts kind of...blip out? Maybe she wasn't going to. Which made him wonder a little if he should be backing off. He didn't, regardless of the idle thought wandering, and he also didn't look down to the page to see how he was doing with the sketch. He did shift the phone to pin between his ear and shoulder though. "Spirits are generally supposed to be invisible, right?" he asked absently, before answering Dean's question. "And I have no fucking idea. Meet her...and...try and reassure her? I'm still working out my feelings on her calling me. I'm not...I'm not really exactly that guy, y'know? Can I direct her to you? You deal better with traumatized females."

"Yeah, unless you're like a medium or a dreamwalker or... Wait, hold on a minute! Where the fuck did you get the idea that I deal well with traumatised females?!?" Dean exclaimed, doing the 'you're fucking kidding me' look, even into the phone.

"Really? Huh. Because I'm definitely seeing one right now. And I know I'm not either one of those." Caleb stated, still sketching, and he flipped the page to start a new one as she kept drifting ever so slowly closer. "And do I really need to answer that? You've got Lullaby. She seems to be all kinds of taken care of, obviously you're at least competent at it."

"No, having a female best friend does not suddenly make me good at dealing with them. Thia's... She's... It's different, okay? And not always... I know what she needs, I can read her. I can't, generally, I get - I... No. I'm just... Not, okay? And I'm terrible, fucking awful if they get upset on me. Remember Janice? That farce? Just - no. I'm not. You sure it's not one of those shadow-things again?" Dean asked, firmly ending on a conservation he could actually have without stammering.

"...would it help if I said Rose hasn't done anything like cry at me?" Caleb asked. "You're just...a nicer guy than me." he pointed out. Then he watched her starting to drift up the hill. "...yep. Damn sure it's not a shadow-thing. This is a chick. Who just climbed out of the water. There's this lake here, I guess it used to be a town or something til something happened and it got flooded. I'm guessing this is one of the unlucky residents." he said. "...it's gorgeous, in a really fucked up way. ...y'know. Artistically speaking."

"I'll leave this one to you, if it's all the same, mate," Dean told him. "Considering the tactic that works best of Thi is to hold her until it's all better - somehow I think that'd just freak Rose out," he chuckled, in typical Dean manner, downplaying what he did almost entirely. "That happen a lot out there? Not the ghosts - the flooded town thing?" he asked. They did it occasionally in Britain, flooded valleys to make resevoirs. Maybe that was it. "And no - I don't know anything about... How far away are you? You sure it's safe?" he asked, suddenly.

"Not thinking holding should be going on. Though hey, if you're still opting not to go for Lullaby, maybe this is fate. You're just meant to be with Rose." Caleb said, ever so slightly teasing. "And fucked if I know, I'm sure it's happened before, but I think generally when they pull that shit, they make sure no one's in town anymore." he pointed out. "...and I'd say ten feet away? And closing?" he suggested, eyeballing the distance. "And no. Not sure it's safe. I haven't dealt much with spirits. Not quite sure what they're capable of." he said. Then paused. "Hold up." he said, and turned his phone to snap a picture of the spirit, sending it along to Dean.

"Somehow, I doubt my chances with a college girl when I couldn't even get anywhere with the girl in my year I was talking to at a party on Friday night," Dean told him before pausing and checking the photo that came through. There was a lake and - something. White, semi-transparent, like a thin mist, but definitely person-shaped. Dean put the phone back to his ear. "Okay, i don't know much about spirits either - but Maddie could call down fucking lightning when she was one. And she could manifest, not for long, but long enough to fuck your shit up if she wanted to - be careful," he warned, urgently, thinking that he really had turned into a paranoid fuck lately.

"No shit, really?" Caleb asked, still trying to decide if the spirit was looking at him in a menacing manner or not. He didn't feel threatened, but then again, it took a hell of a lot to make someone like him feel that way. So he probably didn't have an appropriate gauge. "Lightning, huh? That would suck." he said, still not sounding concerned. He glanced down at the drawing he'd done, then back up to the spirit. Not bad, for quick work. "...and anyways she's a vulnerable, college girl, who's looking for someone to latch onto, quite possibly..." he said.

"Quite possibly she'd go for you. You know, cool, mysterious, actually able to hold entire conversations. I hear girls like that kind of thing," Dean pointed out. "And yes, lightning. Never saw it myself, but crispy fried bad guys by all reports. I'm thinking of buying Thia a pet," he added, since they were already juggling conversations - Caleb couldn't be that concerned if he were still on the phone.

"Any females who attach themselves to me go insane the second I kiss them." Caleb said. "I'm not thinking that it'd be a good plan for Rose, she's got enough problems. And I'm not 'cool' or 'mysterious'. I'm more...uncommunicative and sullen." he decided. He started hearing something, and at first wasn't sure if it was the wind or not, but it definitely sounded like whispers. Soft, almost inaudible whispers. "What kind of pet?" he asked.

"Yeah, well, for me 'uncommunicative and sullen' comes out as 'dull and boring' apparently. And the alternative is 'stuttering moron' - I'm trying to decide which approach works best. And a cat. Maybe. I dunno. But it's her fake nineteenth birthday in a couple of weeks, and I was thinking of buying her something then, but we kinda have the whole 'yay, I'm not being deported' thing today, so I might kinda get her something early. I meant to run it past Oz earlier - you know, that whole 'werewolf' thing, might not be cat-compatible, but he's on a plane to vegas now, I think. Or probably is by now. They weren't sure about timings. Anyway, i didn't get the chance. And now I'm wondering if it's just - I dunno? Do you think it's too much? Or a stupid present?" he asked, hoenstly wanting the opinion.

"...anything is better than coming off as 'boring', man." Caleb told Dean. Come closer.... That's what the whispers were saying. The spirit kept drifting closer to him too, and as he watched, it lifted up it's hand towards him, like it wanted to help him up. "At least if you're stuttering and shit, you might get considered 'cute'." he continued, eyes glued to the spirit. "And a cat? No. I don't think it's a stupid present. Chicks like cute fuzzy things. It's a thing. Besides, she can keep it, it'll always be a reminder of you, and it kind of...brings up feelings of affection and shit." he said. Then he paused. "...I think I've been hanging around Math too much. That was really fucking manipulative sounding, wasn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "...so the spirit chick seems to want me to go with her. That's...special."

"Caleb, mate - the spirit thing from the lake of a possibly drowned town wants you to follow her? Okay - so, you're walking away right now, right?" Dean checked. Because the answer to that one seemed bloody obvious in the 'run away' scheme of things. "And this is a birthday present, not me trying to get into her pants. And she lives with me - oh, she moved back in, by the way - she doesn't need to be reminded of me. I'm kinda always there," he pointd out. "Okay, so, stuttering moron is better than boring and quiet?" he checked. Because, he'd been with stuttering moron and generally it didn't get him anywhere - generally he'd flail at girls until Andy came and rescued him and directed the conversation in a more comprehensible way. of course, that had never got him anywhere either, since Andy had bucketloads of charisma and Dean found he could talk, but he inevitably lost out to his best mate.

"Still, no matter what, that cat will remind her of you. Which should be a good thing, regardless." Caleb commented. "And yes. Stuttering moron is better than being boring and quiet." he confirmed. "Give it a shot, it can't hurt. Like I said...I'm sure there's at least one chick out there who'll find it cute." he added. He watched the spirit get right up next to him, over him, and he had to tilt his head to look up at her. "...not walking away yet." he said. He was too curious. He'd never seen a spirit up this close. The whispers were louder. Come closer...come to me...come with us....come closer.... pretty much that on repeat was said, though he didn't see her lips moving at all. It was kind of trippy.

"Caleb - why?" Dean asked him, dropping the pet conversation for a moment. "Why aren't you walking away? How close is the ghost?" he asked, hearing background noise on the line, though he couldn't make out what it was.

She started to lean down over him, and Caleb leaned back, dropping down onto one elbow, staring up at her, then he dropped onto his back. "...just curious." he answered Dean belatedly. "And...pretty damn close." he added. She got down over him, hair flowing up away from her, like the current of the water was pulling it away from her face. She smiled at him. Come closer... Then, she tried to reach out and touch him, which had him rolling and kicking out at the spirit, which poofed with a light little echoey cry. He kept looking around for a moment, then picked up his phone that he'd dropped. "...annnd she's gone."

Dean hadn't realised that he'd stopped breathing until he started up again. "Just like that?" he asked, really fucking concerned for his friend now. "When are you leaving there?" he asked. When are you coming home? Dean mentally added 'overprotective' to 'paranoid' on the list of things he'd become since he got here.

"Tomorrow." Caleb answered. "And yeah, just like that." he said. "Fuckinnn..." he trailed off, looking around, because all of a sudden he could hear tons of whispers, louder than before, all repeating the same things. They sounded pissed about it now though. He looked down the hill towards the water, and saw more spirits drifting closer, following the same pattern that the first had. "....walking away now might be prudent." he said, starting to pack up his shit, though he didn't rush it. The first one had taken her sweet ass time getting up to him in the first place, after all. "Not sure where we're headed, I have to talk to Math yet. I'll let you know, though. But for future reference? Creepy drowned towns with a shit ton of pissed off spirits under the water? Not really a good vacation spot." he concluded. "You getting her a cat or not? And a cat or a kitten? I'd suggest a kitten. Chicks also like really tiny cute fuzzy things."

"Dunno - standing outside the pet store now," Dean told him, still staring in through the window. "And - what's going on? You said 'pissed off spirits' - you're leaving, right? And your brothers are nearby?" Shit - Dean really didn't like it when people he gave a damn about weren't within easy reach.

Caleb stood up and shouldered his backpack, and started to walk up the hill, back towards the cabin, though he was watching the spirits, turning to walk backwards as he did so to keep them in sight. "Yeah, I'm leaving." Caleb conceded. "And now there's a bunch of them coming at me. They're just...Romero-zombie slow. Don't worry about it. And...yeah, I think they are. Though not sure what anyone could do against something that's already dead. I mean, my specialty is making things dead, not dealing with them after the fact. Pretty sure my brothers are along that same bent too, though Math tries not to kill shit if he doesn't have to."

"Yeah, well, just remember that sooner or later you're going to have to stop and they don't - ghosts don't sleep. make sure they're not keyed on and tracking you or something," Dean warned him, starting to pace a little outside the store. He really didn't like this. "Maybe you should think of moving on today..."

"Good christ, what are you, my mom?" Caleb asked, smirking a bit. "...y'know, in some alternate universe where my mom actually gave a shit? I'll be fine. And it's not like I can actually sit down and figure out how to lose a ghost. I don't know if they track at all, or what to cover if they did...no clue at all, there. If we get bombarded by ghosts, we'll definitely see them coming, with the slow I mentioned, and we'll just fuck off early. No big deal."

"Okay, look - just, be careful, okay mate?" Dean said, sounding a little unhappy. "And - keep watches and shit. Just - be careful." Caleb was Caleb - he could handle anything, in Dean's opinion. But then again, how did you fight a ghost? "I can talk to maddie, if you want - see what I can find out about them for you. Like whether they'll follow and shit?" he offered.

"Sure, if it'll make you feel better." Caleb said. "The information wouldn't be frowned upon or anything." he added, still walking backwards, watching the spirits just starting to come out of the water. ..damn there were a few of them. Weird. they still all looked like they were under the water. All clothes and hair floating around them. "But I'll be careful. And my brothers'll be careful too. We didn't just drop a bunch of demons to be taken down by some stupid ghosts."

"Good. Look - I'll gonna go. Text me later, okay? Just to say you're alright," Dean requested, wondering if he was going to be accused of mothering again. Well, he'd prefer that to just quietly worrying.

"I will." Caleb said, that not going to be too taxing or anything. "Good luck with the pet thing. Let me know if she likes it or not." he added. Then he finally turned to walk correctly the rest of the way back up to the cabin, to let his brothers know about the weirdness going on down there, and the possible ghost invasion.