take flight

“Tonight, I’m gonna have myself a real good time.” Annie sang along to the Queen song playing from the stereo of their family Ford Mustang happily, her window down as she sat with her feet kicked up in the back seat, her sister and father occupying the front seats. Smiling to herself, Annie couldn’t stop the excitement — she and Adara were on their first hunting trip, and their father had promised to let the girls make their own decisions with the possible Wendigo they were hunting, and Annie felt like they were ready.

Luke sat in the back seat on the van, parked up in the parking lot of an out of the way, rural motel. The parking lot was empty apart from him and his best friends and brothers by everything but blood and name, Michael, Ashton and Calum. “When’s Allen getting here?” He complained, sick of the heat beating down on the van, the door slid open to allow some air. “I wanna get this thing beat.”

Adara grinned as she listened to Annie sing, rolling her eyes playfully in the rearview mirror, though she couldn't help but to quietly sing along from the front seat, leaning back as she stared out the window. She was excited about this chance to go on a hunting trip, but nervous, too - anything could go wrong. Their father had always drilled it into their heads, she was sure that was part of the reason it'd taken so long for their father to actually take them on a hunt, but he'd finally caved and she didn't want to screw up.

"We're almost there, girls," Allen told his daughters as he drove. "I think you're going to like these boys, too." It wasn't the first time he'd said it - he'd told the girls the story of his hunt with the boys over and over again; they'd been good guys, in his opinion, and he rarely spoke so highly of anybody.

Michael leaned back in the front seat, having leaned the seat back enough that he was practically lying down, a hat covering his face as he relaxed, waiting. "He should be here soon," he assured, "Last time Ashton talked to him, he was just two cities over. Shouldn't be long now." And, he figured that, as soon as Allen got there, they could get straight to the hunt. Lifting the hat a bit, he grinned as he peered back at Luke. "But if you complain so much, I'm sure Allen will sense it and drive slower just to piss you off." He laughed with the thought, finding it amusing.

Annona smiled at Adara through the rearview mirror, kicking the back of her sister's seat teasingly. "Dad, you've told us this a million times." She groaned, putting her hands over her face. "We get it, they're good boys." She told him, sitting up as the patriarch of the Barone family informed they were almost at the meeting spot, somewhere in rural Wyoming, at some dingy motel. It had been a long drive, and all Annie wanted to do at this point was stretch her legs. "It's nice to hear you say something nice about someone." She teased.

Luke shot a look to Michael, gently smacking the top of his hat so it would collapse onto Michael's face with a small grin he didn't want to admit to wearing. "You're annoying, Michael, really annoying. We should of let you be wraith food." He commented, kicking the back of Michael's chair - not wanting to cause him any actual harm, but more for the sake of getting on Michael's nerves. "All I want is to eat, sleep, and kill this bitch with fire, and Allen chooses today to drive like a Grandma?" He groaned.

Calum laughed in amusement with his best friends, shaking his head. "Do you two ever go a moment without fighting?" He teased. "We should use you as Wendigo bait."

"I feel like he's trying to play matchmaker with how much he talks about these guys," Adara joked with a laugh, though she made a face as Annona kicking the back of her seat, sticking her tongue out at her sister through the rearview mirror. Shaking her head, she couldn't help but to be amused. "Honestly, since when do you brag about somebody so much?"

"I brag about you two plenty!" Allen defended with amusement, shaking his head, "And I say plenty of nice things about you two, as well." Pulling onto the road heading to the motel, he kept his gaze out for it.

"Oi," Michael complained with a pout, leaning over the seat to smack Luke's leg in return, scoffing lowly. "You lot would be lost without me and you know it." Grinning, he settled back into his seat but flipped Calum off. "If anybody's being Wendigo bait, it's you, Cal." His grin broadened. "We could tie you up, give the Wendigo an easy hunt."

Ashton laughed as he listened to the others, shaking his head. "This is why we'll never get anything done until Allen gets here," he joked.

Annona laughed with Adara's words. "Oh god, matchmaker. Please." She scoffed, sticking her tongue out in a gagging motion. "Now that we finally have a chance to hunt, I don't want to be distracted by cute boys - if they even live up to Dad's hype." She grinned, leaning in between the front seats. "They could be really ugly, Ad, have you thought about that?" She teased. Hearing her Dad though, Annona grinned. "Aw, thanks Dad!" She smirked.

Luke groaned over dramatically as Michael slapped his leg. "The only lost we'd get is when we abandon you in the wilderness to let you fend for yourself." Luke shot back at Michael, flicking the hat off Michael's face with a teasing grin. "Us three would be fine by ourselves, trust me." Luke teased. "Who was it that tripped and fell while saying an exorcism, again?" He hummed out in false thought. "Oh, right... sorry Mikey."

Calum frowned at Michael's words playfully. "Shut up, Mikey!" He groaned, smacking Michael's arm. Hearing Ashton's words though, Calum groaned and leaned his head back. "Ashton, just because you're the oldest, doesn't mean you're the boss of us."

Adara laughed with her sister's words, rolling her eyes slightly. "I haven't thought much about the guys, to be honest," she said with a shrug, "Training's kept my mind busy. The only time I've thought about these mystery guys is at dinner, when dad shares the same story over and over again."

"It's a good story!" Allen said with a snort, shaking his head. "And, you'll see, the guys are great. You'll both love them." He grinned teasingly, but spotted the motel, and the van the guys drove around, and drove into the lot.

"I got caught off guard," Michael complained with a roll of his eyes. "You're the one who nearly cut your own hand off at the vampire nest a few months back." He smirked teasingly at his friend, but shook his head. "Let's face it, you have more screw ups than I do. That hair of yours gets in the way."

"It definitely does mean that I'm the boss of you," Ashton said with amusement, shaking his head before seeing Allen's mustang. "Alright, look alive, guys. Looks like Allen's here."

Annona grinned. "Over and over and over again." She teased her Father, seeing the only other vehicle parked up was a van. Pulling a slight face, Annona looked at Adara through the rearview mirror. "They have a kidnapper's van." She cringed slightly, not being subtle about it, but still, she looked to her sister. "Show time." She shrugged her shoulders lightly, tightening her jacket around herself, following her Dad's lead out of the Mustang, closing her door behind her, her eyebrows furrowing as she heard the boys' arguing over something silly. Waiting for Adara, Annona looked to Allen. "Really, Dad?"

Luke snorted with laughter, ignoring Ashton's words. "You're always caught off guard because you're clumsy." He retorted with a childish roll of his eyes, ignoring Michael's comment about the vampire's nest. "And my hair is great, at least it doesn't look like a bird's nest." He commented, glaring at Michael, not even acknowledging the Mustang, assuming that it would only be Allen. "Besides, you're scared of werewolves. Wouldn't be surprised if you cried watching Twilight."

Calum shook his head in amusement at the two boys. "Alright, knock it off." He laughed.

"Are you sure they're not kidnappers, Dad?" Adara asked in addition to Annona's question, arching an amused brow as she peered back at her friend. "I feel like we'll step out and run into a bunch of creeps." Making a face, she climbed out of the car, stretching her arms out above her, achy from the long ride, though she blinked as she overheard a bit of the argument from inside the van. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding, they sound like they're kids arguing over candy."

"Just trust me, give them a chance," Allen told his daughters with amusement, shaking his head as he led the way to the van, tapping on the open door as he peered in. "Come on, boys, you're making me look bad in front of my girls after I've bragged about you all so much. You're embarrassing us all."

"Allen, hey," Michael said with a broad grin, though he blinked with the mention of his girls, arching a brow. Allen had talked about his daughters plenty of times when they'd been on a hunt together, but he was surprised that the man was bringing his daughters on a hunt like this. "Blame Luke!" he complained with a huff, shifting to straighten his seat as he sat up straight. "He's being his typical nuisance self." He grinned at his friend before he looked back to Allen. "So, you're gonna introduce us to your girls, right?"

"I'm not sure any of you deserve to be introduced to his girls," Ashton joked lightly, "You'll scare them off with how ridiculously dumb you all act."

Annona raised her eyebrows. "They probably have sideburns." She murmured to Adara with amusement, unable to stop herself from grinning at the thought. "I'd run a mile." She told her, although hearing the boys arguing already made her feel apprehensive about meeting them at all. Rubbing the back of her neck, Annona shrugged off her jacket and tied it around her waist, folding her arms across her chest as she waited patiently, grinning as she heard Allen's words. "My girls." She quoted to Adara, smiling fondly.

Luke slapped Michael across the back of the head gently, finishing the argument with the act. "Blame Michael, Allen. He's dumb." Luke commented. "Your girls, huh?" He grinned. "We're finally meeting them?" He asked with curiosity. "Never thought you'd bring them on a hunt." He remarked, straightening out his hair as he climbed out of the van, stretching his arms above his head. "About time, from all the stories you've told us." He grinned.

Calum raised his eyebrows. "You've never even told us their names." He pointed out with a grin. "It's always been my girls."

"Oh, man, it'd be bad if they have those creepy sideburns, the pervert ones," Adara complained with a pout to her sister, though she stayed back, watching their father interact with the guys, though they couldn't see them yet, the guys still being inside the van. "At least their accents are attractive." She shot a joking look to her sister but laughed. "I wonder how much dad must talk about us if that's all they're talking about right now." When one of the guys climbed out, though, she tried to get a peek, but their father was blocking the view.

"Oi," Michael complained, leaning around his seat to smack the side of Luke's head in return, smirking, though he looked to Allen. "Despite Luke being a complete ass at the moment, I agree. Definitely didn't think you'd bring them on a hunt, every time you talked about them, they were still training." He grinned, though, and shrugged a bit. "Guess we might as well meet them, either way." Shifting a bit, he climbed out of the van, setting his hat aside as he rubbed the back of his neck, adjusting to standing.

"Maybe he didn't want us to know their names," Ashton joked as he climbed out, "I'm more surprised that he brought them on a hunt with us. Sure we won't corrupt them?"

"I'm more worried about them corrupting you," Allen said easily in response, amused, though he nodded. "But, yes, you're finally meeting them. Now come on." He grinned before he led the boys over to his daughters, motioning. "Boys, these are my girls, Annona and Adara." He motioned to each of them as he introduced his daughters. "Girls, these are the guys I worked with a bit. Ashton, Calum, Michael, and Luke."

"Can I just say I'm glad to hear Luke's name last?" Michael joked with a grin.

"Your name was almost last," Ashton pointed out with amusement.

Annona laughed at Adara. "With a van like that, would you be surprised?" She asked quietly, raising her eyebrows in amusement, but nodding in agreement with the accent remark. "Oh, definitely. But uh, I wish Dad wasn't standing in the way." She laughed, shaking her head in false dismay. Leaning against the Mustang, Annona watched the situation in front of her.

Luke groaned as Michael hit him. "You're such a jerk, Michael." He commented with a frown, but he straightened up when he had stretched, inhaling the fresh air. "Finally finished training then?" He grinned. "Did they do well?" He teased, knowing that Allen was a skilled hunter and would teach his daughters to the highest standard.

Calum grinned. "No, no, we'll definitely corrupt them." He insisted, following Allen's lead.

Annona looked up as she heard her Dad's introduction, offering a wave as he motioned to her, taking a moment to look at each boy, relieved that none of them had sideburns. Still, as her eyes lingered over the boy that was named Michael, Annona swore in that moment she'd never seen a man so perfect. Averting her gaze, Annona shifted. "Nice to meet you. We've heard a lot of great things."

Luke blinked in surprise as he studied the girls, having expected them to be different somehow. Still, when Allen motioned to Adara, he blinked, biting his lip. "Hi, nice to meet you." He smiled broadly, unable to stop himself, eager to make a good impression to the beauty that had so easily caught his attention and mentally facepalming at the fact that the girls had probably heard them arguing.

Calum raised his eyebrows. "Nice to meet you, ladies." But he turned to Allen. "You're so weird. Why do your family have all A names?"

Allen grinned to Luke and nodded. "They exceeded my expectations - which is saying something, because you all know how high my expectations were for my girls," he chimed easily in response, grinning proudly at his daughters. He shook his head, though, to Calum. "You don't know if we all have A names."

"It's nice to meet you, girls," Ashton said, though he arched a brow to Allen, "Then, do you all have A names?"

"My wife's name is Abigail," Allen said easily in response, amused.

Michael ignored the others' conversation in order to settle his gaze on the girl Allen had introduced as Annona, his heart swelling at the sight of her. He swore he'd never seen somebody so beautiful, so perfect, and, until that moment, he hadn't even thought it was possible for somebody like her to exist. "It's nice to meet you, too," he told her with a small grin, "Your dad never stops talking about you around us." And, he tried not to be embarrassed about the fact that she'd probably heard their loud and obnoxious arguing earlier.

Adara smiled as she listened to the others, her gaze running over each other guys after her father had introduced them, though, when her gaze fell on Luke, she couldn't tear her gaze away, and she found herself watching him, amazed by him her heart racing at just the sight of him, even more so at the sight of his broad smile. "It's nice to meet you, too," she said, offering a small grin in response, "Our dad never shuts up about his hunt with you guys. He didn't mention that you're all over-the-top ridiculous, though." She smiled jokingly.

Calum blinked in response to Allen, shaking his head. "You're like the A-Team, it's kinda cool." He shrugged, although amused by the fact the family all share the same initials.

Annona laughed with Michael's words. "All good things, I hope." She shot a look to Allen, amused by the conversation Calum, Asthon and her Dad were having. Still, focusing her attention back to Michael, Annona smiled again, just taking a moment to take him in, completely in awe of how brilliant he was. He had a smile that Annona was sure could light up New York, and at the thought, Annona toyed with her lip, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, uh, nice Scoody Doo van." She commented, arching an amused eyebrow at Adara at the mention of the van.

Luke smiled softly when he saw Adara's attention seemed to have fallen on him, and he was glad, relieved almost, because he'd never seen someone so perfect, and Luke was eager to make sure that she would be safe hunting with them, and that he stayed approachable and happy, although he almost cringed when he remembered the dumb argument, somehow managing to surpress the sour lemon look he wanted to pull. "Hey, we're not over the top ridiculous." Luke grinned. "I'm averagly ridiculous, at best."

"Kind of?" Allen asked with amusement.

"Oh, don't sound so cocky, Allen," Ashton joked lightly.

Michael grinned slightly and nodded. "Definitely good things. Your dad really loves you," he told her honestly, because he knew how often he worried about the girls, and he could see how much the man adored them by how he talked about them. His grin broadened, though, and he peered at the van. "Yeah, uh... We all pitched in on it." He looked back to Annona, still amazed by her, finding himself just taking her in, memorizing her. "It's great for the weapons, and there's plenty of room inside to relax or even to sleep in on long rides."

"Oh? Is that so? Are you sure?" Adara asked with a small, amused grin as she watched him, arching a brow, though she spotted Annona's look when she mentioned the van, and she rolled her eyes playfully at her sister. Her gaze landed back on Luke and she watched him for a moment, her grin softening to a small smile. Something about him held her attention so easily and she found it intriguing.

Calum grinned, shaking his head. "It's pretty lame too. Get off that high horse, old man."

Annona smiled with Michael's words, but her smile broadened as he spoke about the van. "It's cute, kinda borderline kidnapper, but you know." She teased, shrugging her shoulders gently as she stood straight, rubbing the back of her neck once more, the drive having been a long one. Still, Annona watched Michael for a moment, just studying him, memorising his voice, how he looked in the sunlight, how damn beautiful he was - and although the girls had joked about Allen playing matchmaker, Annona was hopefully she and Michael could at least form a good friendship, if not more.

Luke grinned, amused by Adara's words. "I'm definitely sure, but I mean, I guess I can be a little over the top ridiculous sometimes." He told her honestly, shrugging his shoulders, finding he had a huge inability to lie to Adara already. Seeing the look between sisters, Luke smiled, seeing how close the Barone family were as a unit. "Alright, well uh, we should get this show started." Luke cleared his throat, although he wanted to spend more time with Adara, get to know her, see more of her mannerisms, how gorgeous she was, just really take her in.

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Calum," Allen shot back easily.

Ashton couldn't help but to laugh with the mention of it, shaking his head.

Michael made a joking face with the mention of it, watching her for a moment. "Borderline kidnapper?" he asked with curiosity, amused. "It's a great van. Smooth drive, plenty of space, comfortable." He arched a brow, amused, as he took her in, chewing on his lip with how amazing she looked, how easily she'd captured his attention, and he swore to himself he'd protect her.

Adara offered a small grin in response, watching Luke for a moment. "Ridiculous isn't so bad, at least," she offered up in response, amused, though she nodded slightly with his words. "Right, you're right. We should probably get started before anything else happens." She looked to the others, though she'd been reluctant to tear her gaze away from Luke. "Everybody ready?"

Calum stuck his lower lip out into a pout. “Allen, why do you have to embarrass me like this?” He teased, but look to Adara, nodding. “Ready.”

Annona grinned. “Everything you’d need for a good kidnapping machine.” She teased, shaking her head in amusement, the fact that Michael could take a joke so seriously attractive to her. Looking to Adara as she spoke, Annona grinned. “I was born ready.” Her grin broadened at that, coming from two hunter parents, despite their Mother having retired to protect their status as normal in their neighbourhood. “Literally.”

Luke stood with Adara, already ready to protect her from whatever was to happen. Anything could happen on any hunt, but knowing that Adara was with them — with him — made Luke wary, knowing she was precious cargo. Watching her for a moment, Luke nodded. “We need a game plan.”

"Because you're relatively easy to embarrass," Allen said easily in response, though he nodded slightly as he listened to the others. "I'm gonna leave the decisions mostly up to the girls, see how they fare with decision making."

"What?" Ashton asked with mild surprise, a little concerned about that, since this was the girls' first hunt.

"You're breaking my heart here," Michael joked as he held a hand over his chest in mock pain, arching an amused brow before he shook his head. He grinned, though. "Confident, aren't you?" He watched her, though, glad to see it, hopeful that she'd get to enjoy herself, but more so hopeful that she'd be safe. He nodded to Allen's decision, though. "I'm fine with letting the girls make the decisions," he assured, focusing on Annona as his grin broadened, "I have faith in you."

Adara smiled slightly as she examined Luke, chewing on her lip, but she nodded to Annona's words, then to her father's. "Well, Annona and I can go look over the cases and come up with a game plan," she offered up, trying to ignore Ashton's reaction to the decision, deciding against letting his words get to her.

Calum blinked for a moment, arching a concerned brow. "Don't you think that's a little soon, Allen? It's their first hunt. I know you've trained them, and you're great, but..."

Annona frowned slightly at Ashton's reaction, not wanting to be yanked back by his opinion, knowing she and Adara had come far and worked hard in their training. Folding her arms across her chest, Annona smiled slightly as she heard Michael, shrugging her shoulders. "Confident? No. Ready? Yes." She explained, although her heart swelled with happiness when she heard Michael say he had faith in her and Adara. "Thank you." She blinked with surprise. "I have faith in us too." She said, loud enough for Ashton and Calum to hear. "There's innocent lives at risk, you gotta trust that we won't fuck this up." Hearing Adara though, Annona nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Luke frowned at Ashton and Calum, knowing he respected Allen and his decision. Every hunter had to start somewhere, and if this was the girls' starting point, then Luke was more than happy to go with it. "Everyone starts somewhere." He spoke his mind, not at all caring about any debate or backlash from Calum and Ashton. "I trust Allen, and I trust the girls to make the right decision." Looking to Adara once more, Luke smiled. "I have faith in you, you've got this. Ignore those boneheads, I bet they think that hunting is still a man's sport." He frowned once more.