2178/Worlds Colliding

Worlds Colliding
Date of Scene:	26 August 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Winifred Burkle, Sam Winchester, Angel

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Winifred Burkle has posed:
Things have been a little crazed for Fred the past few days. It's not unusual, lately, for Fred to not stay at the Hyperion every night. Neither is it unusual for Fred to be behind the counter or in the office researching. Right now, she sits at the table behind the counter, books upon books open up to various pages and her brow furrowed as she studies them. While she's a smart woman, she doesn't know a lot of these ancient or demon languages. What is a little unusual are the bruises about her neck, hidden partially be a collared shirt and leaving her long hair down.

Picking up one of the heavy tomes, she cradles it against herself to try and get a better look at one of the drawings. "Hmm. I can't tell if this one's helping or hurting the other guy. Is that supposed to be a spear? Or is it a bandage? Sam, you don't happen to be able to read Avestan, do you?"

Sam Winchester has posed:
"Not yet," Sam admits, turning to look at the drawing. He shakes his head. "I think it's maybe a garotte," he admits.

He is sort of sitting on the front desk with a book in his own lap. He is dressed in a green t-shirt, a green and blue plaid shirt, a blue tactical jacket, jeans, boots. He frowns, studying the picture. He rarely finds terrific clues in them, but..."I think garrotes in religious art is mostly common to the Inquisition's era, and that's quite a bit earlier, so I could be wrong. Or, if I'm right, that could point to an interesting weapon or weakness for a certain demonic type but...I think that would be a reach."

He shrugs a bit helplessly, exhaling. "I'll call Bobby, maybe he has gotten his hands on an Avestan-English compendium. I think he's actually responsible for making stuff like that in his spare time, these days, though he'd never admit to it."

Angel has posed:
    Angel walks down the stairs of the Hyperion Hotel from his office after noticing that it was dusk. His eays and eyes scan the room, and from the looks of things, there was something going on. He moves towards the office, and hears Fred talking. Was it to herself? No she said Sam. And then he hears a male voice.Angel walks up and regards the two for a minute, before saying, "I take it you are both looking into something? Anything I can do to help?"

    Angel looks at the man standing with Fred, and says, "I take it you are Sam Winchester? I have heard a lot about you and your brother. Terrorizing demons and evil supernatural creatures alike. Sounds like we have something in common." Looking down at the pile of books, and the two trying to figure something out, Angel says, "Sounds deep."

Winifred Burkle has posed:
Frowning, Fred nods as she sticks a post it note on the page, just in case, so it can be translated should this Bobby come through. "Well, if it's a garrote, I don't think that'll be so helpful. Maybe the text about it'll clear that up." Her hearing is not as good as Angel's so when she hears him nearby she looks up at him with surprise and then a smile. "Angel!" she greets with a smile. "Hey there."

Gesturing at Sam, she nods. "This is Sam. Sam, this is Angel. We've been researching some demon stuff." Holding the book up, she raises her eyebrow. "What does this look like to you?"

Sam Winchester has posed:
The man who sits at the desk with Fred smells of sulfuric woodsmoke, herbal soap and shampoo tinged with hellfire, and beer; and those hell-smells aren't external. They're running deep through his blood. He also smells like ink, for the moment, as his hands are covered with it from their research.

The young man clears his throat as Angel appears, puts his book aside, and stands to offer a hand as Fred makes the introductions. "I've heard a lot about you as well," he says politely. "It's nice to meet you."

At Angel's offer, he looks down at the book pile, exhaling. "Don't suppose you know how to break a demonic contract?" he asks. "Because that's the problem we're up against at the moment. My brother went and did something he shouldn't have. Twice." But he shuts up when Fred asks what the thing looks like. Hey, it might end up being relevant, after all.

Angel has posed:
    "Hi Fred." Angel nods in return, also with a slight smile. Turning at the introduction, Angel takes Sam's offerred hand, shakes it once, and says, "It is good to meet you Sam." Angel doesn't say anything as he is inundated with scents and "flavours" from the Winchester. It was obviously out of the ordinary though, as Angel goes from a slight smile, to a brooding frown.

    Dropping the handshake politely, Angel looks over at the book that Fred offers, and the others that Sam is looking at, and his frown deepens. "Demonic contracts are the darkest magic." He nods to Fred, an inclination that it looks familiar. His gaze then returns to Sam, "Ah. I see. Brother's can be like that. Emotions are harder to control when blood is involved." Was that a comment on two levels? "Well, I'm here to help. Where do I start?"

Winifred Burkle has posed:
As Sam does a quick recap about what they're researching, Fred nods and gestures at the books. "I pulled everything Wesley had, I think. Just thought going through them as best we could might help." Lowering it a little, she tilts her head a bit as he says it looks familiar. "Do you think it could help?"

When Angel asks how he can help them, she sighs and looks about. "Well, figuring out how to get out of a contract somehow? Is there a way to break it? Or negotiate around it?" There's a sigh. "We're a little lost in figuring a way out of it. Also, how hard was it for you to stop drinking blood? Human blood, that is." Non-sequitur? Yes. But, that's generally how Fred talks.

Sam Winchester has posed:
The double meaning may be in there, and it may not, but...Sam thinks he hears it, anyway. He looks away, shoulders hunching a bit. After a second, he turns back to the books just as if he hadn't heard any such thing. For all that Fred had suggested that Angel would be the best person in all the earth to understand Sam's particular situation and needs...

Well, the sense of shame that Sam carries means he's just not eager to talk about it. Fred's seguey into it has him taking down aimless notes all the more furiously, until he figures out how to get right back off that subject...

Which means doing what he wants to do anyway. Talk about Dean's problems instead of his own. He'll do /that/ all day long, until they're solved, anyway. And since he's fairly desperate to solve them, this works out.

Despite all that's going on under the surface, Sam's tone remains as affable as ever; he's soft-spoken and earnest as a matter of course. "And do you happen to know anything about the highst ranking Crossroads Demons? My thought is if there's no supernatural way to break a contract finding plenty of incentive for the contract holder to amend it into uselessness seems like a valid way forward."

Angel has posed:
    "Those kinds of contracts are notoriously tough to weasle out of for obvious reasons, Fred. It really matters what demon or devil you made the deal with, and what are the stakes. Usually their soul, of course." Angel grimaces slightly at the mention of "soul". "Hmmmm...it was extremely hard Fred. I resist every day. It gets easier as you get older, of course. It requires a mental strength I never thought I had."

    Turning to face Sam, Angel nods. "I've known one or two in my day. Highest rank though? Wow, what have you gotten yourself into?" Angel shakes his head, and says, "And you are right Sam. From what I have seen, those contracts are almost iron clad. The contract holder holds "all the cards" so to say." Angel shakes his head. "There are always ways to break that contract though." Angel regards Sam with a deep, penetrating look, and then nods, satisfied.

    "I would suggest something more valuable to trade for the contract. Destroy the demon. Bargain with it. Or a few other things that are extremely difficult. Perhaps getting a Sorcerer Supreme or Deity on your side? An artifact. Short of that, maybe an Angel." His lips quirk upwards in a smile.

Winifred Burkle has posed:
Fred looks between Sam and Angel a few times. She catches Sam's furious scribblings, his hunched shoulders as she brings up the blood. There's a frown for a few moments. She's trying to help and if there are two people that she trusts the most, it's Angel and Sam and she'd like them to help each other.

As Sam brings the conversation back to Crossroad demons and contracts, she doesn't attempt to steer it back that way. Instead, she focuses on the part of the conversation that deals with his brother. "Well, it's not exactly us. Dean had good reasons for what he did, but he didn't really think about the consequences."

His suggestion is met with a nod. "I think destroying the demon might be a bit difficult. We don't even know its name." Deities, artifacts, bargaining chips, she frowns and nods, unable to keep a bit of a smile off of her face when he mentions an angel. "We've got you, that's something."

Sam Winchester has posed:
The pun makes Sam smile briefly. It's a friendly, boyish thing.

He's aware that Fred is trying to help, and her frown makes him grimace in another direction. He exhales, but...if he was uncomfortable discussing it with her and Dean, enough to keep the secret for several weeks, discussing it with a near-stranger is still rather difficult. "I appreciate any help you can give," he says softly. Which is true, even on Fred's gambit. He's just having a little trouble going there. As it is, all of this scrutiny on it is starting to generate a series of cravings. They prick painfully along his veins, make him feel a little bit edgy. He isn't in the mood to deal with that too, so he says: "I'll be right back, I gotta hit the restroom."

It'll at least give them a moment to talk. Of course. It also gives him a moment go shoot up.

Angel has posed:
    "That is true Fred. You've got me." Angel winks at her, and adds, "And I'm here to help. If you need to take this Crossroads Demon down, I will do my best. In the meantime, maybe Wesley or Giles can help. A few others who have a deeper understanding of contracts."

    Angel then asks, not to change the subject, "This...Dean. Does he like pretending to be local law enforcement?" Angel asks, with a questioning voice. "I had the strangest encounter with a man who bears an interesting resemblance to the gentleman that I was chatting with about a similar thing actually...something about demonic powers in relation to the ingesting of blood. I thought very little of it until this moment, actually."

    Angel nods as Sam gets up to go. His eyes watch the man as he leaves towards the bathroom. Then he looks back to Sam. "I see." Is all he says."

Winifred Burkle has posed:
Fred watches Sam go, the look of worry on her face not at all hidden from either of them. "Alright." She doesn't move to stop him. Instead, she gently closes the book she's holding and sets it back down on the table near all the other tomes, both open and closed.

Talking to Wesley or Giles is met with a nod. "Yeah, I was hoping Wesley might have more insight. He knows all about this sort of research. I saw a card for some lawyers around here, too. Thought I might check them out." The question about Dean is met with a roll of her eyes. "That certainly sounds like him, yes." Hearing that he asked Angel about demon blood? It makes her straighten a bit. "He did? Did he say what was he asking for?"

Angel has posed:
    "No. Just for a "friend" who got himself into trouble, and was taking demon blood to strengthen his psychic powers. I told him some lore I knew, and few background notes, but that was about it. It was a very strange encounter...he actually came here looking for you." Angel shakes his head, and continues, "I would have suspected it was someone that was aiming to kill the person taking demon blood, but now...maybe I was wrong." That was a big reveal. Angel wrong.