A Good Source for Info

Who: Dean and Dorian
Where: Nevermore
When: Morning

Dean had headed into town alone. With the unseasonably good weather, Thia was staying in - the sun always made her feel ill. Plus there was the whole 'the town thinks I'm dead' of it - which still held true, even if a handful of teenagers now knew it wasn't. Dean still didn't know what to do about that. It would just be a case of seeing what tomorrow held, how people were reacting.

Of course, there was always the hope that they'd be more focused on the demon attacks of the last few days to be overly concerned about a little case of resurrection. Maybe. It was a horrible thing to have to hope, really. But that was where his life was now. There was nothing for it but to carry on, and to deal with the problems as they came up, which was the reason he was heading for Nevermore this morning. He'd considered just phoning up Caleb, but he'd asked the guy for far too many favours already lately, and his friend was hurt. He could do with a day or two without being bothered, so Dean was going to go the official route - he was going to go shopping. He hated shopping, but at least a book shop should be quieter than the mall - especially on a Sunday morning. Really, there was only one way to find out and Dean pushed open the door and headed inside, stamping the worst of the snow off his boots as he headed in, his leather jacket zipped up over his grey hoodie.

Dorian was humming slightly to himself as he shelved a new shipment of books. They were books he'd ordered before the whole leaving ordeal and he'd tried very hard to seem annoyed when he found them in the back room before going to bed last night. He hadn't slept much better last night, but he blamed that on full moon. Eventually he was going to have stop making excuses for the lack of sleep and give in to Caleb's insistence that his living conditions were crap.

He didn't look up with the door open and closed, but called over his shoulder while he slid another two books into place. "Welcome. I'll be just a minute if you need anything."

Dean had to stamp down hard on the instinct to just assure the guy he was just looking and didn't need any help. He did need help -in fact, he needed to order a book in, if there was any book that actually existed to be ordered in. Dean knew very well that Nevermore's only available book on Fades didn't have the information he needed, so - he needed something that Nevermore didn't have. or hadn't had last time Caleb had looked for him. And he also needed a book on demons, which might be easier to find, so he headed that way, hoping for the best and not wanting to pressurise the guy into hurrying. "Sure. I'll, erm - just be over here," he called.

Dorian shoved the last two books into place, dusted off his hands and headed towards the customer who actually looked about Caleb's age. "Sorry about that, sometimes if I'm focused on something it's best to finish it before I move on to something else." When he reached Dean, he silently noted the direction the younger man had headed in. "Looking for anything in particular?"

Dean shrugged a shoulder, looking over. "S'okay," he told the other guy. He hadn't actually expected anyone to drop everything for him anyhow. That would have made him feel kind of uncomfortable. "Er, yeah - I guess." He knew he could beat round the bush, pretend to know less than he did, try and figure out a way to come at what he wanted without it seeming somehow important to him, but he worried that if he tried that, he'd just fuck it up and make it clear that it was so important to him that he was trying to be secretive and cover that up. He really didn't have faith in his abilities at times. This was definitely one of them. "Er - I'm... Looking for books on demons. And I wondered if you had an ordering service or something?" he asked.

Dorian watched the teen closely but did his best to keep it discreet. Briefly he wondered if perhaps he'd be pulling out the same book on demons he had for Caleb, but there was no need to jump to conclusions. Dean might not even know Caleb, especially with the English accent. "Demons in general is sorta vague," Dorian pointed out, motioning to the large bookshelf next to them. "You've got all the different areas of the world which all have text on local demons. There's legends, without recent sitings, just stories to scare kids at night, then all the different religions which all have their own variant of demon-like creatures. Finally there's the few arrogant hunters which have put together text on their travels." As he rattled off the list he gestured to different portions of the shelf. "Are you looking for something more specific? As a topic, demons is like ghosts, there's way to much scattered data to really have kind of a catch all encyclopedia. Plus different cultures call the same thing by different names." Dorian tugged at his hair some, thinking while he scanned titles on the shelf for anything that might help, but the question was too vague to answer something specifically. "And, yea if you want to order a specific title and we can find it we'll get it," Dorian answered the second question.

"I'm not bothered about myths and stories - I mean..." Dean paused, then reminded himself that this place was owned by Caleb's family. Even if this guy was only an employee, hopefully he'd know what was out there. "I mean I want to know about the reality. And... Short, black demons was great bloody claws." He left the question of the ordering of books for now, even though that was actually more important to him. He really didn't want to draw immediate attention to that.

Normally Dorian would have asked more questions, but since he'd already looked up something with a similar description for Caleb, he guessed that Dean was after the same information. "I'm guessing you mean this one," Dorian asked, handing over the text he'd just pulled down open to the appropriate page.

Dean glanced at the page, then took the book, scanning over it. "Yeah - yes, yeah. That's exactly what I mean," he agreed as he got caught on a detail. Poisoned claws. "....so that's why he warned me about them," he said, almost under his breath. Caleb had told him to stay away from the claws - now he knew in full detail just why.

"Figured as much. I'm guessing you were on the same school trip as my brother then?" Dorian asked casually although he was curious enough if the "he" Dean referred to was in fact Caleb. He moved another step or two down from Dean, pulling out another book that he'd looked at after Caleb had left. The location of the attack hadn't made sense to Dorian so he'd continued to research it in his free time, only to no avail. "Myths and stories may seem ridiculous, but they are mostly based in reality, you just have to work your way through to it. This one has more information on the rakshasas as well."

Dean's eyes ticked up to the guy before him and he looked a little surprised. "You're Caleb's brother?" he asked. He knew Caleb had two brothers - though he couldn't remember what they were called. Dean had a god-awful memory for names. He'd apparently seen both of them at the mine, but that had been before he'd known Caleb and there'd been loads of people there, so he didn't remember who they all were. He'd definitely not talked to either of them. But he'd seen one of them when the guy had come round to his house after the group had gone missing. That was before oz had begun letting him in on things though, so even then it had only been in passing. That guy hadn't been this guy though. So this must be the other brother.

Dorian nodded, biting back the response to point out he was the brother Caleb hated, as if that might clarify things. "The one who owns the store," he pointed out instead. "Dorian." This time he offered his hand to shake. "Are you friends with Caleb?" The question was unsure, as if Dorian didnt' believe Caleb might have any friends.

Dean quirked a small smile and shook Dorian's hand. "Yeah, I'm Dean. And yeah - Caleb's friend. One of them," he added, catching the other guy's tone. Dean wasn't entirely sure where he came in the friends ranking, so he left it at that. And he didn't mention that he knew of Caleb's family's lineage either. Den was good at keeping secrets - even from people who already knew. "And yeah, he said that his brother owned the store. I just... I'd heard he, er, you, were out of town," he explained.

"Good to meet you Dean," Dorian answered with a smile. The name didn't place, but then that wasn't really a surprise. "I was out of town, just got back." The new knowledge about Dean's friendship with Caleb shone the teen in a different light. Before he'd just been another kid with questions, now he was actually connected to Dorian. "And with the demons, how did you fare? You look like you're in better shape than Caleb."

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, well, I can't do what he can do, so I don't have to suffer for it," he pointed out, not wanting to come out and mention blood magic. Or the fact that he had his own particularly destructive method of dealing with things that was more main stream - and definitely more illegal. He'd had a twinge of conscience when he'd got up this morning and it had felt natural to slip the gun into its shoulder holster - even if the holster which he was now wearing beneath his closed jacket was still damp from where he'd tried his best to sponge demon gunk off it. Dean knew that if Sophie saw it, the thing would be going in the bin, but he wasn't going to be going around advertising the fact he was armed, and after the last few days, he really felt more comfortable like that. "But, we did okay - most of us got through it, I think that's the best you can hope for." Of course, better would have been them all getting through it. Next time he'd have to do better. They all would.

"Few can do what he does," Dorian pointed out. Most avoided blood magic on principle, but even those who don't mind the root of it aren't always skilled. Dean's response had answered some of Dorian's questions. He'd thought Caleb was worse off than he'd let on, but he'd covered up most of the damage when he came to see Dorian. "More than the best. Most getting through, especially since I'm assuming most were untrained? Hell in some cases you're lucky any of you made it out of there alive. Rakshasas are fighters, hell bent on destruction. They don't tend to leave survivors."

He shrugged once more - a very familiar move for Dean, one of his more obvious methods of expression, even if it was downplayed like the rest of him. And like his response to being questioned about the trip. It wasn't that he was actively trying to hide things from Dorian - he assumed that Caleb would have told his brother what had happened, he was just a naturally modest person and didn't like to play up his involvement in anything, and he'd been involved with this. "Some of us had been through stuff before, that probably helped. And they were pretty hell bent, but between us we managed to stop them."

Some of them had been through stuff before? That opened a whole new line of questioning that Dorian had to suppress. He knew Caleb had been through plenty, a good chunk of it in order to save Dorian's ass, but the other teens? That seemed a little intense. What was happening to kids these days? "Still, survival is different every time, even if you're fighting the same thing." Dorian didn't push the topic, almost certain that Dean would clam up on principle if he asked. "What was the other book you were looking for? The one you wanted to put on order?"

Dean just nodded to that, knowing the truth in it, though he thought that the skills were transferable. At least, they seemed to be getting better at it, and the shock was less, the fear more controllable. But Dorian didn't ask and they were moving on and Dean shifted, dropping his eyes very slightly, not entirely looking away from Dorian's face, but focusing more on his cheekbones than his eyes. "I dunno. It's... More of a subject than an actual book? I dunno what's out there so..." he trailed off, hoping that Dorian would get what he meant and be able to help him.

Dean's unease wasn't lost on Dorian, but he wrote it off on having issues asking for help. Very rarely do teenage boys want to find themselves in situations where they are forced to ask an adult, no matter how young an adult, for help. "Specific subjects are searchable. It might take slightly more time than if you had a specific title, but it's not impossible," Dorian told him, trying to be understanding and giving him the happy bookstore worker routine. "What's the subject?"

Dean paused for a moment, before coming out with it. "Fades," he told Caleb's brother. As he said it, it occurred to him that maybe Caleb had told his brothers about Thia. He hoped not - a secret was a secret, after all, but it was possible. "I have the book you have in stock here, but I wanted to know more. I'm trying to find out as much as I can about as much as I can," he said, adding in a vague explanation there, though he didn't think he did a particularly good job of being convincing.

"Fades?" Dorian asked somewhat rhetorically, thinking of Chance. "That's a sticky subject. I know some, but what I do know is that it's big dangerous magic. Most of the information is a little taboo because it's requires too much sacrifice." He knew more, having known a fade, but he was hesitant to elaborate. That type of magic was the type of thing that could get a kid killed just trying it, or even considering it. "Why exactly do you ask?"

Dean's gaze batted up to meet Dorian's, then he looked slightly away again. "I said: I'm trying to make sure I know everything I can about everything. I mean, I... I heard about them and..." It wasn't hard to channel nervousness, even f it was redirected. He was actually nervous about giving too much away about the fact that he knew a fade, and he'd do anything to keep her safe. He used that to try and convey a more general nervousness, but he didn't know whether he managed it, or whether he just sounded like he was spouting bullshit. "With everything that's been going on in town lately. I mean... Vampires? Werewolves? Shadow bloody things that who the hell knows what. Then demons at the hospital. And ghosts... Who knows what does and doesn't exist, right?" Maybe. The one book they had in stock about fades was pretty detailed - unless you happened to be living the reality, and then it became obvious that it was one sided, bigoted and severely lacking in practical detail. Which was really why Dean was after another. But Dorian was right on one thing - it was a taboo subject, and the sacrifice was far to great.

Dorian didn't believe Dean, but didn't comment. He was related to both Mathias and Caleb who were expert bullshitters, and this kid wasn't nearly as good. Close, but not quite. Maybe Dean knew Chance as well and didn't want to spout the secret. Not many would know that Dorian knew the truth. "The thing is, there's little detail on them in general. Since the magic itself is so disapproved of, most of the information has been squandered on it. More than that, if someone were to either become or observe a fade, they aren't going to publish their findings. Most consider the creatures abominations, and although that's not true really, anyone caught doing that sort of magic...It makes a good argument to start burning witches at the stake again."

Dean's jaw flexed and he'd taken half a step forward as Dorian for a moment seemed to call fades 'abomination'. He managed to calm it down some as the guy continued on, but only some, his green eyes flashing with controlled anger. He couldn't help it, any time anyone even got near to threatening her - he just couldn't help it. "You saying there's nothing else out there?" he asked, thinking back to Caleb's comment before he'd left for England - that he, Dean Conway, was near enough to expert on fades now. That he could write what he liked and people would believe him because there was so little else out there and he had that actual experience.

"I'm reluctant to say 'nothing' else, but there may not be much. Doesn't mean I can't look around, test out my sources and see what I can find." It would be an interesting puzzle and a distraction from the big puzzle he was working on that had taken up most of his time. "I have to ask, because you seem a little twitchy," Dorian started, acknowledging the fact that Dean had shortened the space between them. "You aren't planning on trying this magic are you? I won't help you if you are." Dorian believed in the pursuit of knowledge, but he wouldn't aide and abet insanity.

Dean finally met Dorian's eyes, and there was a knowing sadness behind his own. "Five people have to die to make a fade. I don't want to be one," he said, with all seriousness. He wanted to find a way to help Thia with the rest of her life, but he wouldn't go that far. he would never go that far. He had his limits, and that was far, far beyond them. Even if it could ever have been considered acceptable to her - which he knew it wouldn't be - he would never do that.

Dorian watched Dean with his arms crossed across his chest, standoffish body language until he was sure that he could trust Dean. After a few moments of silence Dorian gave in, deciding that the pain in the boy's eyes was too real to not trust. "Fine then, I'll look into what I can find," he reassured Dean, nodding in approval. "It might take some time, but I'll let you know when I find something."

Dean hesitated himself for a few minutes, then nodded. "I'd - I'd really appreciate it," he said, eventually. He couldn't go through life not knowing anything else and not having tried his best to find out. She needed to know, so he need to find out. that was just the way it worked. At least if he'd tried his best and still failed, well - he'd tried his best. He'd just have to live with the knowledge that he wasn't good enough, but that was better than living with the knowledge that he hadn't tried. That was slightly more acceptable in the ranks of failure. "I - I can give you my number, but... I kinda - my phone breaks a lot. So, er - if it's dead, i'd just - i'll always give Caleb my new one," he tried to explain. Dean went through several phones a year, usually. And he'd never got very good at transferring his number across. he generally just always let people know what his new number was.

Dorian had moved towards the counter pulling out a log he used to keep track of requests of a specific nature. Most things just went into the computer, but some weren't really appropriate for that. Everything particurally obscure, or things looked into as a favor were done by Dorian himself and he kept track of the information. Most of the log was written in a sort of code which helped keep prying eyes away. "How about I just let Caleb know when we get something in, he'll pass the message along to you at school or whatever?"

Dean would have preferred a promise to call the moment the guy had any information, but knew that that would sound rather, well, desperate, so, instead, he nodded. "Sure, whatever," he agreed, trying his best to sound unbothered and nonchalant.

"Alright," Dorian said, scribbling the information down in the book. It would be something he'd start looking into right away, mostly because he found it interesting and he already had a few ideas for sources. "Is there anything else?" he asked looking back up at Dean.

Dean shook his head. "No, but I'll take this book," he said, still holding the one with the information about demons in it. That was one of the things he'd come for, after all. He hadn't expected to be able to get any more information straight away about fades, so he was happy to leave it with Dorian digging for now. He just needed to keep reminding himself that they had time. Thia's concerns were future concerns, not immediate, after all. he just felt that pressure to fix everything, he always had done, he figured he always would do.

"Right, not a problem," Dorian said, shifting the computer and putting the log away. He punched in a few things and rang up the total for the book. "It's actually a pretty good book overall," Dorian told him conversationally. "There's a lot of general information on a pretty wide range of commonly spotted demons. You won't get the really obscure stuff, but it's a good starting point if you're interested in the topic." He glanced up from the screen eyes half hidden behind hair and waited for the teen's reaction.

"Cool," Dean said, not missing a beat. He was cluing into the fact that whilst he was getting better at the whole 'crisis reaction' thing, he had massive, huge gaps in his actual knowledge. if it hadn't been for the other people there, he wouldn't have really known how to deal with what they were facing. Dean was a person who dealt well with action, he hated being helpless. And you were less likely to be helpless if you have knowledge about things. So - reading up about other types of demons would be good. "I'll make sure to read it all then," he promised, handing over enough cash to cover it. Luckily his allowance had come in last week. Oz would have given him the money for the cook, he knew, but he hadn't wanted to bother the guy.

"It's a good read," Dorian added, taking the cash and counting out the change and handing it back. Something wasn't sitting well with him about a kid so interested in demons and other horrible things out there. He was a kid and supposed to be worrying about Prom and zits not the supernatural in a real life sort of situation. "If you have any questions let me know. If I don't know the answer I'll find it for you." Sure Dorian would rather Dean acting as if he had a need to research this sort of thing, but if he was going to, then Dorian felt obligated to as least help where possible.

"Thanks - I.... I really appreciate it. I probably will have. I... This is really my main source of information. You have a great place here," he added, feeling just a little guilty at the fact that most of his information gathering happened with Caleb and didn't necessarily lead to any sales.

"I appreciate it," Dorian answered honestly. "This place means a lot to me, it's been my brain child for a while." And Dorian remembered again, that in the midst of everything Nevermore was the one thing he was really, really proud of. The one thing he'd done remotely close to right. "I'm trying to be here more, so you can always ask for me if you need anything."

Dean nodded. "I will do - I, erm, well... Really seems like every time I get one thing kinda sorted, something else just happens, y'know? there's always more out there," he admitted. The only thing he'd felt like he wasn't coming at cold had been when the spirits appeared. At least then he'd had some kind of knowledge about what they were dealing with. Of course, that was the one thing that wasn't flat out likely to try and kill him or his - typical.

"I know what you mean," Dorian agreed. He'd been through his fair share of disasters in his life, most since moving to Marquette. "I think even if there weren't monsters out there, there'd be more to deal with. Or we'd be dealing with the same things, just not knowing about the scary stuff behind it." Dorian shrugged. "There isn't much you can do some days other than just survive."

Dean didn't say anything to that, just gave the guy a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. It was harder, to hear adults say that kind of thing. Sure, it was the truth and everything, but if adults had a hard time of it, well - things weren't going to get any better as he got older, were they? He knew it wasn't a fair imposition to put on them, the people around him, but sometimes he couldn't help it.

Dorian hated seeing that, that darkness in someone so young's eyes. Caleb had the same darkness, but Caleb had seen so much already. Not to mention what he was, what all three of them were. They were civilized yes, but there was no denying their demon sides. That could darken the eyes of any person. This kid though, Dean, he had that darkness and from what Dorian could guess he didn't share a similar linage as the Lockwood clan. "Despite that though, there is still quite a bit of good in the world," Dorian said, trying to be reassuring.

Dean laughed a little, shaking it off and trying to take the positive. "Yeah - yeah I know that. thanks," he said. He needed to keep cnocentrating on that, but some days it was harder than others, and when people around him were dying, it was harder still - especially after the fact when he had time alone with his thoughts to deal with it. He might have been getting better at coping in a crisis lately, but he still had hard times with the aftermath - he was starting to think that, this time, that aftermath was just longer coming. "Thanks for the book - I should get out of your hair. Say hi to Caleb for me, okay?" he said, deciding he'd probably bugged this guy for long enough now.

"Never a bother," Dorian reassured him. "It's not like we're slammed with holiday shoppers." Which was true, the store was virtually empty. "I'll tell Caleb when I see him, and let you know as soon as possible if I get more information in." Dorian was unwilling to admit that Dean would probably seen Caleb long before Dorian did. Their last meeting had gone less than well and he doubted his younger brother would stop by soon for a second round.

"Thanks - and maybe things'll pick up," Dean shrugged. Personally, he hated crowded stores. but then, he wasn't thinking about things from a 'making money' perspective. he just didn't like the noise. he couldn't hear, couldn't concentrate when there was too much noise around.

Dorian laughed lightly, brushing the bangs off his face. "It ebbs and flows. Sort of depends on what's going on around town or what classes they are teaching over at the college." He smiled again, leaning on the counter. "Plus I like the calm. Gives me time to think."

Dean raised an eyebrow at that. "They teach classes at the uni covering the stuff you sell in here?" he asked, really surprised at that. Dean had only ever viewed nevermore as a place you came to find out about things that really existed, but he doubted that they would be teaching things like that over at NMU. Maybe about spirits now, but not the rest.

"There's a literature professor who does a sort 'haunted lit' class for English 101. His kids come in sometimes asking about random things for papers and the like. They of course deal strictly in mythology, legends and ghost stories, but it brings in some of the general public. Most of the time it's just people like us." Dorian shrugged. "With the way things are going lately there might be even more classes on the supernatural aspects. They probably won't be practical classes like in Harry Potter, but they might still exist."

Dean gave the older guy a look. "As long as people don't start flogging wands and wearing pointy hats, then I think it'll be all good." He'd come to the conclusion that he was going to stay away from magic. From what he knew of it, white magic just looked too fiddly and complicated, blood magic, well, Thia would probably rip him a new one if he did anything that would get him that hurt. And black magic... No. Just no. Not after what he knew of her dad. Other people could keep to the magic, he was just fine with what he had. "So - you getting more people coming in lately? With everything that's been going on?"

Dorian laughed again, visualizing Mathias or some of his other friends in witch hats and cloaks. "I doubt they will be recruiting for magical high schools any time soon, but the more stuff that surfaces the more people are interested in it. And after a while, the crazy authors and professors who researched things like vampires and werewolves will start to seem less crazy and become the experts on subjects." Dorian looked around his store, the worry that coursed through his veins lately replacing the humor on his face. "Yes and no? There hasn't been a huge push yet, but when the ghosts started popping up everywhere? We got a few more patrons. Especially those who wound up with ghosts in their houses. With all the werewolf stuff from last night I'm sure there will be more people in as the day goes by."

Dean considered that, then shrugged a shoulder. "Would prefer they come here rather than get their facts from movies," he said, thinking of the call he'd put into the radio station last night. he'd been so pissed listening to that. Sure, there'd been attacks the other month, but not all werewolves were like that and Oz showed that with some forethought and planning, there didn't need to be a danger. Dean still believed that there didn't need to be a danger - even if the reason he'd been given the gun he was currently carrying was so that he could shoot oz if it ever came down to it. That had been a real wake up call to the harsh realities of the world. Being thrown a gun and some silver bullets and being told that he had to be able to shoot the guy that had become his role model.

"So would I," Dorian agreed. Still people would make of situations what they made of them. Not to mention that although most movies and fiction twisted the actual legends and lore, they were still based off those very legends. Giving someone the actual information didn't mean that they would interpert it differently.

Dean hesitated, looking very uncertain for a moment or two, thinking of the things that had gone down in town over the last couple of months. "Look, erm... if you ever get anyone in. Asking about werewolves and stuff? And... You think maybe, you know... Well - I, er - I know this guy. He's pretty good at putting cages in. Y'know... For people who might need them," he offered, not knowing if anyone would openly admit to someone like Dorian that they would need something like that. But Dorian seemed to be a good person to tell that kind of thing to. like he was a guy that would be able to do something with knowledge like that.

He didn't answer for a moment, instead Dorian just watched Dean. He wasn't sure if he should assume the boy was himself a lycanthrope, but at the very least he'd been around them. And the way he talked? He was probably close to one. Maybe that's where the darkness came from. "I'll keep it in mind." His tone was still reassuring even if the concern had multipled behind it.

The teen nodded. "Do. Y'know, if... But, yeah - I, er... Yeah," he said, stumbling over what to add to that. Oz wouldn't mind him saying something like that. He'd back him up on the fact that anyone who did get bitten should know there was help. And Billy wouldn't mind about the extra business. And it wasn't like he was giving away any of the family secrets, just saying he knew a guy with skills. And This was Caleb's brother anyhow - and he trusted Caleb with his life. of course, there was the 'half-demon' thing, but Caleb he trusted, so surely his brother could be trusted as well.

Dorian smiled, even if it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I know," he said. He wondered again what it was about Dean Caleb liked because the teen reminded him a little of himself. Not entirely but there were some similarities. Although he assumed Dean lacked all of the qualities that Caleb hated about Dorian.

Dean caught the look and reminded himself that it was really time to leave now. Plus, he'd started to lose the ability to form entire sentences, which was always a sign that he should bow out. "yeah, so - thanks again. For the book. And the help and, er - if you find anything else, about the other thing - just... Let me know. But... I'll see you around...-" Shit, name, bollocks! he couldn't exactly call the guy 'Caleb's brother' but, arse, D? It began with D, right? Damn. "'...yeah, see ya," he said, instead, giving up on the name insertion altogether and hoping Dorian hadn't realised that he'd already forgotten his name.

Nodding Dorian gave a small wave. "Not a problem. Like I said, I'm here if you have any questions. You can call too, if you don't want to make the trek. Number's in the phone book." He smiled again, this time it was more believable. "Thanks for stopping by."

"Thanks," Dean said, before starting towards the door, mostly happy with that. He'd met Caleb's brother - even if his usual shitty memory for names had failed him again - he'd found out about demons and had a source, and the guy was hopefully going to find him something better on fades. There was definite positive in the air there. Definite.

Dorian watched Dean go, concerned again about the details of the past few days that Caleb had kept to himself, and possible what else these kids had seen. It wasn't fair, throwing teens into those sort of situations and waiting to see if they came out alive.