The Joker Ain't the Only Fool (Open)

[Yuki]

Eyes scanning the computer, index finger clicking the mouse in front of her like a trigger, Yuki read through countless numbers of online articles, scanning for potential hunts, categorizing and logging in a fashion that only those who knew Yuki could ever really understand. Her organizational skills were borderline obsessive-compulsive, and she developed an intricate system when it came to determining which hunts to pursue and which ones to call off, or which ones would be designated to other hunters nearby, or passed on to other factions. Ever since that night she chased after Aiden and found him sitting alone near that hill, things had started to change, and not just around Portland, but everywhere. Soon after that day, Jefferson decided to pursue solo-hunting, the Austin faction had dissolved, a new faction formed in Tennessee, and her own faction had a few new faces.

Change. It wasn't something Yuki was accustomed to, and she was quite territorial about what she already possessed. With Aiden and Teagan, it was the first time she ever felt like she was a part of something, so with these trainees, she acted rather hostile. She treated the newcomers with nothing more than indifference. It was as if they were infringing upon her established home, and she was not happy about it. She was quick to point out their mistakes, for it seemed to her that everything they did--'they' being CJ, Elle and Fox--was completely wrong, and any attempts to please her were shot down with glares and looks of disgust.

This applied to hunts as well. All of them were sloppy, not nearly as skilled as her. Even in these situations, it felt like Teagan knew more than all of them combined, and that was saying something. Yuki rejected any help they offered when they did in fact offer, and she made it a point to always show them up in whatever they did. She wanted to let them know that she was a formidable hunter, in many ways better than they could ever hope to be. Aiden and Teagan may have trusted them, but she frankly did not.Perhaps one day she would fight alongside them, but that was a longshot.

She paused in her online search as she stumbled upon one particular article that she had already read a couple times. It seemed to be a drawing a lot of attention in New Mexico. This one she found in the newspaper, "Las Cruces Sun News."

"That's original," Yuki muttered, as she proceeded to scan the article. It mentioned that a lot of the men in the area were disappearing, as well as a few of the women. Already five victims in the city itself, as well as three in the outskirts of the place. Six were men, two were women, all middle-aged. And all disappeared without a trace--all but one, who notably came back to kill his wife. He was the first one reported missing, and after he came back, others continued vanishing. She would've written it off as a kidnapping case, not supernatural related, were it not for the sheer number of victims and the fact that one of the men came back to kill his wife. Apparently, the woman managed to call the police before he killed her, but he reportedly died in his jail cell a few days later.

It was all suspicious. Wreaked of the supernatural. So she called a faction meeting to announce the hunt, as was her duty now. With Portland faction present in the kitchen area of the tavern, she passed around copies of the article, and laid out a map on the table for all of them to observe.

"The city is right here," she stated, pointing to the northwestern part of New Mexico. "Now, this would normally be under the boundary of the Austin faction, but since they've dissolved, it is our mission to take that area under our jurisdiction. Teagan and I shall be heading over to the state to investigate. Others are welcome to join," she said a bit hesitantly. She then turned to Aiden. "I understand that you are busy, but feel free to join the hunt as well if you do have time to kill."

**NOTE: If you are joining this hunt, please do so only if you have the time to post, as this is going to be a very active thread.**

[Aiden]

Suddenly being a faction leader for Casey felt like it became a full time job for Aiden. What seemed to all start with a simple hunt turned the factions upside down. Aiden met Harley, the newest leader, and went on a hunt with her. He tackled some personal issues on said hunt, but at the same time Jeff finally came into the picture again, going solo. Aiden couldn't really blame him; hunting was generally something that one did alone, per safety and ease. The more people around you, the harder it was to maintain a cover.

Aiden was relaying a lot of information around the country, and he felt like he was acting as Casey's messenger at this point. Lilith was back in town, and that meant that the demons were going to be moving. There was no signs of the Winchesters. He took up the search with Teagan, following up on anything promising. Everything turned out to be a dead end, and the miles added to the Camaro were quickly adding up.

At the same time he was worrying about the new members, especially seeing how CJ was still young, the youngest there. Yuki and Teagan knew that Aiden bore a soft spot for children, and even teenagers fell into that category. It wasn't preferred that CJ become a hunter by Aiden, but seeing as CJ didn't really have any alternatives, well, he didn't have a choice. But the kid was not going to die under his watch, no one was.

All of this work was making Aiden exhausted, and it didn't help that Lori was interested in some guy. Aiden and Lori had a complicated relationship, with Aiden being hesitant to go anywhere because of his profession. Lori was already involved enough, and that was barely, and Aiden wasn't in any way going to endanger her. Ariel would definitely take a swipe at her, and Ruby already got to her. But seeing her with another guy didn't help his mood, it was sort of a blow to his ego--knowing he was good enough to make her happy was great, but seeing someone else do it better? Yeah, it put a guy off.

The previous night Aiden drove straight back from central California following a lead, so he spent the day reasonably close to catatonic in his room. The space was a mess, with various books open to different subjects, multiple maps scattered around the room, trinkets and weapons left all over the place, and an explosion of clothes littered the ground. He woke up several times, each time cursing his body. On what he could recall as the fifth, he was about to fall back asleep when there was a knock at his door.

At this point he already put up with noise all day from visitors, his faction mates, and cars outside. Earlier he heard CJ, Yuki making some remark to Teagan, and what he could only assume was someone falling for a prank Teagan set up for them that included a very audible bang. So when the knock at his door came just as he was about to fall asleep, he was a little ticked. And he didn't really care that he was dressed in the basic tee shirt and boxers to sleep. He answered the door by pulling it back somewhat forcefully, and looking outside.

It was Yuki, holding a stack of paper. Asking for a faction meeting. Telling him to go downstairs in a few minutes. She walked away, without waiting for him to respond. "Good morning to you too," he grumbled, closing the door and grabbing a pair of jeans.

He arrived downstairs to find the group, and took one of the articles. He read it over, trying to go over past hunts in his head. He'd hunted a lot of things, and one that matched this was a siren. He'd only ever run into one once, about six months after he joined Malcolm, so he barely remembered it. "Alright," he said tiredly, "my guess is siren. I'll go with you, sure. I need a break from being Casey's go-to." He set the article down, his bare feet padding across the wooden floors as he did so. "Anyone else going?"