Three Lefts

[Yuki]

Listening carefully to Aiden's idea of using Teagan in place of the children, Yuki continued to walk, but said nothing when he finished his explanation, for they had arrived at the pool before she could speak. Thoughts buzzed in her head wildly, and she closed her eyes in an attempt to sort them out. This was all going on the assumption that Teagan was in the cabin. What if it had been demolished years ago, and that was the reason beyond its removal from the map? Or what if it was simply what it seemed to be--an abandoned cabin? And then..."If Teagan is still alive..." If. There were too many "what ifs." She hated going in blind, not knowing what to expect of the enemy, but what could they do? The two hunters were doing everything possible to find their missing team mate and eliminate the being that had taken her. Still, she should probably bring up those points when they were through interrogating Scott...but, then again...

"What use would it do to bring up those points anyway?"

Yuki shook the questions from her mind as the adolescent came to view. She needed to focus on the case. Making such inquiries was pointless. There would be no way to answer them until they investigated the cabin themselves.

Nearing them, the teen looked at her and Aiden through half-closed eyes and talked in a rather bored tone. It seemed as if the boy had weighed the two options between watching the children and talking with them. Clearly, he had found it more interesting to talk to the two who came asking about Teagan. He didn't seem like much of a counselor, much less a shtriga. Scott looked as if he had the potential to be energetic, but was probably bored from watching the kids.

Still, appearances could be deceptive. Additionally, the clue she had found earlier--the strand of hair--fit perfectly with the color of the boy's hair. Even if that was a small lead, it was better to be alert and cautious in such a situation. As Aiden spoke, she remained quiet. Good, he didn't reveal his name... If the child asked who she was, she would wait for Aiden to respond, in case he had formulated a plan, but otherwise, she would tell him she was a family friend. A concerned family friend. Yuki stood, listening with exaggerated intensity to the boy's response, trying to look as saddened and worried as possible. Seriously, this really is ridiculous...

[Teagan]

Teagan’s cousin, the boy claimed to be. Funny, he didn’t bear any resemblance in the slightest to the girl. A thought crossed the immortal’s mind. Could this be the hunter that she had called? He looked younger than Scott anticipated by around 10 or 15 years. Not to mention the kid looked pitiful. Something had completely drained any joy that kid had ages ago. Chances were that he probably wasn’t the hunter, and this Aiden that Teagan had called would find a more subtle way to infiltrate the camp other than walking straight up to the enemy. Or, at least, that’s how decent hunters used to act. The ones who were productive, even though more chances than not, they ended up tasty snacks.

Still, it didn’t hurt to play it safe. “Yeah, Teagan and I chilled together. Lucas too. We’re both pissed that the rangers cancelled the search. When did I last see her?” Scott scratched his head, pretending to think. Last night, the true answer was. And maybe tonight, if he couldn’t lure away the red-head in Cabin 5. “I’ve seen her every day. You know everyone in a camp this size, and our rotations always matched up; archery, the rock wall, swimming, canoeing, and even free time. A better question would be when didn’t I see her.” Scott paused his ramble to move on to actually answering the question. “We ran to town a few days ago to get supplies. She disappeared later that night.”

His eyes narrowed. “But if you think I had anything to do with it, I swear I didn’t. Teagan, Lucas and I have each other’s backs, and Lucas and I are especially protective of her. She’s barely 5 feet tall. She needs all the help she can get.”

[Aiden]

Seeing Yuki worry did make Aiden feel a little bad, because after all, they were either using innocent children as bait, or they were going to be using their faction mate as bait. He would rather use Teagan, he knew that she would be more along the lines of fine with it than a child would should they find out what they were really being used for. Using Teagan was also a more controlled situation, because using the kids meant using a large group, and that made it harder to cover them all. Teagan would have some real explaining to do when they found her, like how she didn't wait for Aiden and Yuki to show up before gallivanting off into the woods by herself...well, Aiden knew the answer to that one himself. It was because he wouldn't have come, the only reason why he had was because Teagan had gone missing in the first place, and now he was out to kill the thing.

Scott didn't seem to be that interested in his relation to Teagan, or he was and he was skeptical like the rest of the damn camp. Fine, from now on, he was going to be their step-brother, that could work for both of them, and would explain why he didn't look like either of them. Problem solved, he decided as he scowled in his mind. Scott began speaking, and Aiden listened carefully for any double meanings behind his words, anything that stuck out. The blonde hair looked like it belonged to this guy, and he knew that giving away that he had evidence would start something, either a supernatural battle, or a fight with a civilian. When Scott finished, he gave Yuki a furtive look. "So there was no one strange around her, it was just you and Lucas?" he asked, trying to determine how he should proceed. "Did she seem any different on the day she vanished? Acting strange? Anything going on in the camp?" he asked. He knew what was going on in the camp, but he couldn't let Scott know that. "And, I'm not blaming you, I'm really not. I'm just trying to find out as much information as possible, and I mean, if you were always around her, surely you would know something, right?" If Scott would catch his double meaning, he didn't know.

[Teagan]

The questions the boy had asked seemed innocent enough, but Scott hadn’t survived by luck alone. His instincts told him that something about this kid wasn’t right. The emphasis he placed on his last sentence shot warning flares into the air.

“She did seem a little strange that day,” Scott ‘remembered’, glancing back at the pool to make sure none of his future snacks drowned and ruined his meal. “More depressed, really. Lucas and I tried to get her to talk about it, but she wouldn’t tell us anything. And she’s as stubborn as a log when she wants to be.” His face fell a bit. Time for a test… “You don’t think she ran off because of a complicated situation at home, do you? I don’t mean to pry, but Teagan never really mentioned much about her family. Whenever we tried to bring up the subject, she closed up and refused to do anything for a good half hour.”

The blonde lifted his eyes and pointed looked at the brunette before him. “I swear, if she had any reason to not want to go home next week…” He let the threat hang in the air between them.

[Aiden]

Oh yes, there was definitely something off about Aiden. He was the one that was going to gank this shtriga's ass when the chance came, without a second thought or hesitation. He didn't know that anyone had been with Teagan when she made the call, so he didn't know that Scott was looking for someone that should resemble a hunter. One of the elements Aiden had was surprise--most supernatural creatures thought him a meal before he killed them. Instincts let Scott live, and it would be instincts that would lead to his death...eventually, when Aiden found out of course. For now it was a suspicious interview, and so far, he hadn't needed to give out his name, and Yuki hadn't been addressed. Good. As long as the attention was on Aiden, who knew what he was doing, this would go smoothly. Blondie here was on his list of suspicious people, and he wouldn't be getting off so easily.

Well if course she was acting strange, you retard, she knew something was going on, he thought in his head, not being able to help his impatience with the guy. Good, she didn't tell anyone about the supernatural, either. I only know how well that goes,he continued in his mind, giving Teagan more credit by the second. So she knew it was something, maybe she didn't know it was a shtriga. She wouldn't open up...so was she planning? Did she go after this thing? Its the only possibility that makes sense. But go after it alone? What was in her head at the time? It didn't make sense, why would she think she could do this all by herself? It was hard enough for Aiden to work solo, but a new hunter like her? It was insane.

Scott's inquiry made Aiden's brow arch upward. Problems at home, with the family? That would translate into Aiden and Yuki, for the time being, which meant Aiden kicking her out. Yes he felt bad, yes he regretted it now, but he couldn't let Scott know exactly what happened. "Look, I don't live with her or anything, but so far as I know, her home life is good. She got to spend her summer all over the country at different camps, and she's going to the University in a month. Don't assume its home life. Are you sure something didn't happen here? I saw her just before she came here, and she was perfectly normal," he explained, if perfectly normal was arguing with Aiden and being kicked out. "And I swear that if anyone here at camp tried something with her..." Aiden growled back, looking into Scott's eyes. There was something about this guy that rubbed him the wrong way. "Look, do you know anything about the night she disappeared, or not?" he shot, giving a look at Yuki, who had been silent through the whole exchange.

[Yuki]

Keeping quiet during the entire exchange between the two males, Yuki remained cautious and alert. She was extremely skeptical of the blonde adolescent's behavior. It was easy to catch the double meaning behind Aiden's words. His approach was to perform a cross-examination upon the boy, asking questions that would apply to both a shtriga (the culprit) and to an odinary human being (the innocent bystander). It was their job to determine which of the two titles the teen before their eyes held.

However, Yuki felt that Scott was also asking questions that could be construed as accusatory. Whether he was the shtriga trying to find out if they were hunters, or if he, as an ordinary being, sincerely blamed them for Teagan's disappearance, she wasn't sure. As the conversation went on, her expression changed from concerned to stoic. She sensed Aiden's impatience and anger starting to rise. What had begun as asking simple questions had become a threatening interrogation, implict of discontent and suspicion. "Don't blow our cover, Aiden," she thought to herself, wishing she could relay her thoughts to him whenever he turned to look at her. "If this boy is truly the shtriga, he will know who we are with such conspicuous remarks."

She had not been addressed during the entire conversation, but she would intervene if things got out of hand. Knowing Aiden, if this kept up, he was going to explode in the same manner he had towards the camp director. Although Yuki had not been there to witness his verbal attack, she had witnessed the aftermath, and that was enough. There was no need to draw attention upon themselves midst the flock of children nearby. As of right now, they had virtually full access to most places in the camp, without having to sneak around after dark, which was of great relief and convenience, as opposed to the usual sneaking-around after-dark method. The last thing the two hunters needed was to get kicked out of the camp and to have to resort to such means.

[Teagan]

Scott did not like the tone he was receiving from the kid in front of him. And, if it continued any longer, Scott would have to smile through his teeth to keep from breaching the “camp reputation of happiness”. Oh, the irony behind that phrase. But if he crossed the line, they wouldn’t “hire” him back next time he came around. Whenever that would be.

“No, I didn’t see her after dinner, alright?” Scott’s fingers danced impatiently on the red floatation device on his knees. “And trust me, nothing happened to her at the camp. We’ve had a rather uneventful session. Well, until now,” he amended. “Look, you’re probably a bit concerned, and trust me, the rest of us are too. If you can find out any information, let me or Lucas know and we’ll help you out. Any time of the day. But if you’ll excuse me, I have to make sure nothing happens to any of the other kids.”

The dismissal polite, but firm, his hair ruffled in the afternoon breeze as he turned back to the pool. “Mason! No running on the side of the pool! And Jeremy, kid, you can’t swim! Get off of the diving board and back into the shallow end.” That little one was begging for death, and a natural one at that. “Or at least a set of floaties.

[Aiden]

Of course Aiden would challenge Scott. He was here looking for the girl he had kicked out and inadvertently got kidnapped and maybe killed, and here he was with the audacity to accuse him of giving her a troubled home life. He did a lot for Yuki and Teagan, and sure, maybe he wasn't nice about it...but for Scott to subtly call him out? No, that wasn't cool, and if Scott assumed that Aiden had something to due with it, then Aiden had every right to assume that Scott, the one that was supposedly always around Teagan yet didn't have a clue as to what happened, was involved somehow. He could see in Scott's eyes that he was equally ticked, and Aiden was smart enough to know that if he got any angrier, it would blow their cover, just as Scott knew that about himself.

Turning stubbornly to Yuki as Scott walked away, he stared into space as he processed the conversation. "That guy has some nerve," Aiden said in a low voice, and then motioned Yuki to leave. When they were a good distance away, Aiden glanced at the woods. "Honestly, I'd say our best bet is that cabin. It should be just a few miles in, we'll probably make it before sunset," he said, glancing at his watch. From his pocket, he pulled out a small flashlight, and tested the battery. "Alright, let's go," he said, moving towards the edge of the woods when none of the camp staff or campers were watching. The journey through the dirt and fallen leaves was relatively easy, and some of the trees were marked by the rangers so they had known where they had already checked. Following those in made the path all the more easier.

They walked for a good ten minutes before Aiden picked up the sound of a repetitive thwacking noise. His first instinct was to draw his gun, but keeping in mind that there were children about, he kept it hidden. Motioning to Yuki, Aiden moved through the trees, and found a trail leading over to the archery range, where one man was standing. Aiden remembered this to be Lucas, and he gave another motion to Yuki indicating it was okay. "Alright, one more interrogation, and then we go," he said, stepping to the edge of the archery range.

[Lucas]

Twack!

A bit too high.

Twack!

Too low now. Lucas quickly readjusted his grip and drew back the bowstring. His teeth gritted angrily as a bead of sweat poured down his face.

Twack!

Too far to the right. Right. Nothing was going right these past few days. After devoting the past month to going through all of the work of developing an alias and infiltrating the stupid camp, his efforts were wasted because he couldn’t manage to keep one little Hunter out of trouble. What was the deal with Hunters, anyway? They only had to be somewhere for five minutes and fate threw something in their face.

Twack!

Stupid girl for disappearing. Stupid girl for not being smart enough to keep herself out of the supernatural businesses of other creatures. Lucas didn’t know what happened to Teagan, but she didn’t just stumble out of the camp like most people speculated. No, the native to Seattle had more brains than that. And so did Lucas. Within a day or two, he would find out exactly what inhabited the Big Brother Big Sister camp and prove to it that there was only room for one supernatural creature at a time. Hopefully, he would be able to find Teagan in the process and not waste an entire month’s work. His cover might blow in the process, but whatever it took to get the information he needed was worth it.

Twack.

Another arrow pierced through the red center of the target a distance away. Bull’s eye. He leaned the bow on the tree next to him and reached for his water bottle on the ground. As he unscrewed the lid, he noticed two figures on the opposite end of the range. “Did you guys get lost or something? Don’t hide behind the tree. That won’t do you any good.”

[Yuki]

Avoiding any form of physical or further verbal confrontation, the two hunters made their way through the woods in search of the cabin Aiden had spotted on the map. Yuki followed silently, stepping over the rubble of rocks, leaves and dirt on the ground. What would they do if they found Teagan in the cabin? Would she be conscious? Would she be able to tell them what happened? What would they do with the information? If she was unconscious, would they try to wake her? Or...what if she was dead?

Dispelling these thoughts, Yuki returned her focus to the task at hand. There was no point in dwelling on such matters. However, the conversation with Scott had not provided them with much information. Indeed, the boy appeared to be hiding something. But his commentary could be simply misconstrued as suspicious, it didn't necessarily brand him as the shtriga. But...if not him, then who? She supposed that the identity wouldn't be that important if they found Teagan. The shtriga would come to them, regardless of who it was.

Her head perked up at the sound of a small object hittting a tree. Instantaneously, she reached for her gun, maintaining her hand on it until she identified what had caused the noise. She saw Aiden do the same, but then, he relaxed and motioned that it was alright. Slowly, her hands returned to their folded position, and she looked up to see someone standing a bit in the distance. Yuki looked around at the field before her. This is the archery range. Which means that must be Teagan's so-called acquaintance. As he addressed them, Yuki eyed him wearily. If the other boy wasn't the shtriga, then it was possible for this male to be the creature.

[Aiden]

The first thing that any good hunter should have done was survey their enemy before approaching them. Everyone in the camp had become an enemy, and when you were in the woods with no one around, it was good to be extra cautious. The guy only had a bow and arrows from the looks of it, whereas Aiden and Yuki both had their guns, and this time they weren't loaded with salt. Bullets traveled much faster than arrows, so he deemed the situation moderately safe to enter. He watched as Yuki did the same thing, only being cut short in her survey by his hand motion. Right before they were about to step forward, he turned around, and Aiden got a good look at his face. Only moments later, they were being called out.

Moving into view from behind the tree, Aiden's hands were at his side, no where near, or indicating that he had a gun. There was a small slope that Aiden shuffled down, the dead leaves littering the ground crunching beneath his feet. He stopped a safe distance away, and put his next mask on, and his next story together. "Sorry, we got a little lost. Are you Lucas? We're trying to find him." Without waiting for his response, Aiden took a few steps closer, and began speaking again. "I'm Teagan's cousin, they told me she disappeared. I'm just...I'm trying to figure out what happened, since the rangers left and all. Do you have any idea? Your friend Scott wasn't much help," he said coolly, glancing back in the direction of the pool. "Anyway, were you with her on the day she vanished? Did you notice anything strange?"

[Lucas]

Two figures stepped out from behind the tree. Both teenagers, boy and girl. Funny, Lucas hadn’t seen them around the camp before. That narrowed them down to health inspectors (but they were too old), new counselors (to replace Teagan, perhaps, but why would there be two of them?), or relatives to his missing friend. The taller one identified himself as her cousin. Cousin? Teagan didn’t have any cousins. And Lucas would know; he had done his research on the girl before choosing her. He wasn’t some low rank, crossroad’s demon.

He took a swig of his drink as the boy continued. They clearly weren’t related to her, so that narrowed the list of their possible identities rather efficiently. Either concerned friends were written down on her emergency card as contacts, or…

Or these were the other faction members he had heard about. That had to be it. Mentally, he kicked his guard up a bit. Having a hunter disappear at a summer camp right after finishing training was suspicious. Chances were that these two had more experience than his young ward. They would recognize the signs of a nearby demon and carry the appropriate weapons around. Lucas would have to be extra careful.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he started, returning the cap to the bottle. “Maybe now we can finally have some progress in the search. No one really takes it seriously. Too worried about the kids. Not that I blame them, of course.” He leaned against the wooden rail behind him. “But there was no word or sign of anything strange the day she vanished. Except that I invited her to hot chocolate in the staff lounge and she refused. Not quite sure what for though.”

"I'm sorry," he stopped, and turned toward the oriental girl standing silent, observing him with piercing eyes. The silent types were always the most deadly. "You both obviously know my name, but I didn't catch yours."

[Yuki]

Just as the boy before him, Lucas behaved in a similar manner--nothing concerning what he said obviously hinted at a hidden identity. Yuki supposed that determining who the shtriga was wouldn't be an easy task, yet it was more than difficult when there was no way to physically tell. All the two hunters could do was go by instinct and try to catch tiny clues that could be pieced together to form a larger piece of the puzzle, and then put together those pieces and hope they were gathered correctly.

Yuki was observing Lucas quietly as he responded to Aiden's questions, when he directly addressed both of them in the conversation, asking for their names. Giving them their real names was obviously unsafe. Without pausing to think, she knew what she would say. She had already planned back when they were talking to Scott, in case he asked for her name.

"My name is Kisa," she replied silently. Hopefully, that would give the impression that she was both a saddened companion of Teagan's, but that she was also focused on the task at hand. Yuki was there to find out information concerning the girl, not to exchange pleasantries with a child.

[Aiden]

This guy was definitely smoother if he was the shtriga, but he also seemed...more genuinely concerned. As soon as Aiden mentioned why they were there, he jumped up and said he was glad that someone was looking, almost sounded as if he wanted to come with them. Of course, in the chance that this guy was the enemy, he couldn't allow that. It was only typical--lead the (so he thinks) unsuspecting hunters into the woods, and kill them while he has the chance. For this thought, Aiden decided to keep the information on the missing cabin to himself and Yuki, and she hoped she would do the same. He looked over Lucas, and for the first time in a long time, it was a little hard to gauge his enemy. There were so many aspects that his guy could be hiding, Aiden felt a little discomforted.

So Teagan denied him hot chocolate because there was something else on hand, which would be a supernatural hunt. That still didn't rule out that this guy wasn't the shtriga, although his chances were lessened due to the fact that he didn't have blonde hair. "I'm sorry, but I have to get this out there: You seem much more adamant on having someone find her than Scott is. Any idea why that might be? I was told the three of you were almost inseparable," Aiden noted. Lucas was much more ready to help, happier to hear about her cousin showing up to help look for her, whereas Scott...well, thinking back, he seemed more defensive than anything. Lucas just earned some more trust points.

Aiden's mind tensed up when he asked for their names. He had thought about this on the way to meet Scott, in case he asked as well. He was really in a bind, because Teagan had listed his real first name on the card, and he couldn't go around saying he was the cousin they called if the name didn't match. But if the supernatural being that was terrorizing the camp knew about the faction, he could be found out. "Aiden," he said quickly trying to change the subject. "So, you said she wasn't acting strange...did she say anything at all, that thinking back might stick out? I mean, there has to be something that would make her disappear. I know she isn't that delusional," he said, giving double meaning once again.

[Lucas]

Lucas made a mental note on how fast both Aiden and Kisa directed the flow of conversation away from themselves and back to questioning him. If he had any doubts before, they had vanished. The demon had Hunters on his hands. He carefully weighed his options. While finding Teagan was his first priority, staying under radar ranked right next to it. Demons and Hunters never got along well once species had been established. Lucas knew that he could handle Aiden and Yuki if need be, but a fight would not be the best solution at the moment. No one would find the girl that way. The best option was to act the part: a concerned friend. He could gain the trust of the Hunters, so in the future if he needed to “borrow” Teagan to, oh say, drain information out of secretly, he could directly access her. And he would be safe, for now.

“Delusional? No, not Teagan. Sanest girl I know, if not a little wild. She hadn’t mentioned anything before she disappeared. Nothing out of the ordinary, anyways. Just complained about Chloe, a camper who is rather difficult,” Lucas thought about the rant Teagan had given him. The childish antics made Chloe sound like a demon. And he would know. “Oh, and don’t eat any of the salad. Not because the food isn’t decent, but Teagan…well, you said you’re her cousin, so I’ll assume you know what I mean.” He laughed softly, and then his face grew serious. “Scott doesn’t take anything seriously. He’s one of those kids that never grew up, you know? But if you just talked to him within the past hour, he was in front of the campers. Lifeguarding, I think. We’re supposed to keep a positive attitude around them. He’ll tell you what he really feels later on, away from all of the noise.” Lucas rubbed the back of his head.