sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood

[madskilled]

Comments

[pumping]

( Mickey's in the barracks, finished with his debrief.

He doesn't know what to say besides what happened, so he detailed stumbling upon the big meeting. Things going sideways. Splitting up and finding Cooper again and then getting out of there. He's praised, if only because he didn't end up dead like half of their ranks.

He needs a fight, a fuck, a shower, and a drink.

Being the soldier, he's desensitized to the deaths. Cooper cut it close, though. Cooper, who's storming past him. )

Hey, where's the fire.

[positiveinfluence]

No fire.

[Not yet, anyway.]

I just wanna talk to the woman who got my brother killed.

[It's not that Coop isn't used to death. You can't do what they do and not be. It's the fact that his brother, the one he's trusted to have his back his entire life is gone, and someone needs to provide answers for that.]

[pumping]

She's dead. Fiery sister-witch. Locked us in witch territory.

( He pushes himself up from the mattress. )

[positiveinfluence]

[He shakes his head.]

Nope. Not that one. The one who sent us into this situation in the first place.

[And he's just gonna keep walking. You can come if you want, he doesn't care.]

[pumping]

Woah, Coop, wait up.

( He's so tired, but, he can power through that and pick up the pace to try and slide in front of him. )

Were you debriefed?

[positiveinfluence]

No, I was not debriefed.

[Whatever that's supposed to mean.]

Is me getting debriefed going to give me the answers I want? Because that sounds like me doing a whole lot of talking while zero questions get answered.

[pumping]

What questions do you have? An op went sideways. Witches are as dangerous as we think they are. And they can trap us like rats.

( He didn't know they could do that. )

I know Lucas didn't make it, but, there are casualties. That's war. Dude, I'm sorry. And I'm here.

[positiveinfluence]

How about the fact that we shouldn't even have been there?

[He scowls in response.]

Those witches weren't hurting anyone. They weren't making deals with demons. And what, we just go in and wipe them out for no reason? That's not how this job is done. I'm not a fucking exterminator.

[pumping]

That wasn't - it wasn't no reason. Your brother died, Weller, dead.

( He remembers the sequence of events. Doesn't he? )

[positiveinfluence]

Yeah. Because Weller fucking provoked them.

[Which was not a crime.]

Why were they even there? No one can answer that for me.

["Maybe you should take some time off, Coop." His father's voice is the last one he wants to hear right now, but he feels the hand on his shoulder before he shoves it off. "Tonight was rough on all of us. Take the night. Think about what you're saying."]

Or what, Dad? What's she gonna do to me?

[pumping]

Suspend you. They call it leave, for the hunters that can't hack it, but they're on leave permanently. You're a good hunter, Cooper. Maybe the best we have.

( His dad's right. )

[positiveinfluence]

["Look, you think you're the only one upset about this? I'm devestated about your brother. You're not the only one who lost something tonight, kid. Between the witches, and the vamps."]

Wait, vamps? What vamps?

[Another one of the hunters speaks up. "It's just a rumor, but some say they saw Elijah Mikaelson inside the barrier. But there's a lot of hunters out there with their throats torn or their hearts ripped out."]

Shit. How did we not know Elijah Mikaelson was there? See, this is what I mean. We should have known that. We should have done the ground work.

[Papa Sullivan tries to head him off at the pass again. "And that's something we can address tomorrow." He then looks over Coop's shoulder at Mickey. "Look, Mick, why don't you take him out for a drink or two. Clear his head."]

[pumping]

That blonde guy.

( He reminds Cooper about Spike, or the ashes that Spike was now. He doesn't know who Elijah Mikaelson is. He's right, they could have been better prepared. )

Bars're open?

( It's not a no, either. )

Yeah.

( Forget what they must smell like. )

Your dad can talk to Monroe. Square everything away.

[positiveinfluence]

[Coop doesn't trust his father to talk to Monroe and square up everything. He very much expects to be fed a line of bullshit tomorrow that's not even true. But he knows enough to see that his rage isn't getting him anywhere, so he steps back and lets Mickey pull him away.]

Fine. Whatever.

[pumping]

I got him, Robert. We'll stink up a bar down the street.

( He pats Cooper's shoulder as he keeps walking him away. )

Come on, Coop.

[positiveinfluence]

[Coop nods as they go, waiting until they're a ways away from the rest of the group, then turning back to Mickey.]

The blond guy wasn't a Mikaelson. They wouldn't have gone down that easy.

[And he's not entirely sure why Spike was there, but he didn't seem to be on a murder spree. They're still alive, after all.]

[pumping]

Dude, you keep forgetting, I'm new. What's a Mikaelson?

( He keeps his voice low as they pass other hunters. Hunters that must be mourning, too. )

[positiveinfluence]

[Yeah, that's why he's saying something.]

A Mikaelson is an Original vampire. There's this magically created line that started about a thousand years ago, and they're the heads of it. They're nearly impossible to kill - you need a specific stake from a specific tree, and to be fucking faster than them, which is hard enough. Not even a werewolf bite can take them out.

[pumping]

And one of those, there were reports of him here. Tonight. Sounds like we got lucky, Coop.

( His... brother, aside. But, he holds the big door open for him as they return to the early morning air. )

Then who was the Billy Idol wannabe?

[positiveinfluence]

My guess? If he's rolling with Slayers, probably Spike.

[Which is probably not going to make Buffy Summers happy, but. Can't do anything about that now.]

Not much better news, but a different kind of vamp. Word was never really clear if he was a good or bad guy.

[pumping]

Now he's a dead guy.

( So, word doesn't really matter anymore, does it. )

Look, I know tonight was big. And it won't be the same. But, we did survive.

[positiveinfluence]

We did.

[Surviving does count for something. But it matters whether or not they should have been in that fight in the first place.]

Something about this doesn't feel right though.

[pumping]

About what? Something went sideways. It happens. It was above our pay grade and ... they paid the price. You'll have your day in court.

( You know. With Tamara. )

[positiveinfluence]

[They reach the bar and shakes his head before waving it off. He'll likely stew on this for a while, but he's reaching the point where the anger is flagging, giving way to a sadness that he doesn't know how to articulate otherwise, so.]

I need a drink.

[pumping]

You and me both.

( He sinks into a seat next to Cooper, but lasts only one before his fatigue really sets in. His body is spent, his muscles are locking up and he needs sleep.

He sets down euros, finishing his first and only drink, steadying himself as he stands. )

Tank's low, I'm going to head back. ( And the day has gotten to him, he just doesn't know how to talk about it. ) You want me to wait?