2 - Down at Ellen's place

The figure turned towards the group and walked towards them slowly, hands raised, to show them no harm was meant. They were dressed in a fashion similar to Corvus - their beak was shorter, and the clothes wearing a bit thin. Not to speak about the arrows and bow on their back. Once close enough, they started signing. "I am Pica. Here to be of service, and help you to reach a shelter safe and sound."

Bobby frowned slightly, and pondered over the thought for a while. "You mean, before we're here to do the deed Corvus asked us to do? Shouldn't we get the place safe first?" Well, he wasn't known for trusting people right away.

The figure seemed to shrug, but their shoulders were actually shaking under some kind of snicker. "That's also one of the reasons for which I am here. I've been told you could use an extra hand. And I will enjoy helping you wiping out a vamp or two~"

Bobby remained skeptical. But in the end, the hunter known as Pica proved to be really reliable, and helped them a good deal to take out that army of vampires. Hell, there had been so many of them they were exhausted when they finally climbed on their horses again.

"Please tell me your safe place is not too far away, or that we could find a shelter halfway there." Bobby sighed as he wrapped a clear cloth around his arm, where he had been bitten.

"We're close", Pica reassured them, gesturing quickly. Their guide was clearly just as worn out as them, and had just enough energy to bring them over to the side of a mountain, out of that hellish forest. While Pica started to gingerly hit the rocks, apparently trying to find an entrance, Dean hissed. "Careful Alaskan - that part of my back hurts."

Bobby frowned slightly. "What are you doing, hoping to find the entrance to a dwarve's hole?" He held back a snort. Well. Dwarves and elves were still sort of a legend, in that world. In his own opinion they probably had gone extinct long ago.

"... Oh. I'm sorry, were you hurt?" Castiel inched back to look at Dean, a concerned look on his face.

Pica took just the few seconds that were needed to slowly turn to Bobby, make him a mocking gesture of silence by bringing an index finger to the beak of their mask, and then turned again, knocking. They insisted with the knocking once they seemed to have found a rock with a different, void sound.

"Yeah, kind of", Dean muttered. At some point he had been slammed pretty hard against a tree. At first his back hadn't protested enough, probably because of the adrenaline, but now? Now it was hurting like a bitch. "I think I'll be sore for a couple of days minimum. Were you hurt?", he asked then, concerned.

Bobby was about to throw in a sarcastic comment when a small rocked moved. Then went back into place. Before a sort of door opened in the rock, tall enough for them to take their horses inside. And a small man gestured for them to come inside quickly - or so it seemed. That man looked oddly like a woman with a beard.

"It's superficial cuts, I'll heal fast," Castiel replied, before he straightened up to look over Dean's shoulder. "Oh. A dwarf door," he commented, without an ounce of surprise. Of course, as an angel, he knew dwarves and elves were still around, hidden somewhere.

Pica gestured for them to move in before getting into the opening, following the dwarrowdam inside the refuge.

Horknath was honestly speechless. He had never, ever seen anything like that - he had only heard old histories about dwarven cities hiding into mountains, but had always thought they were all legends!

Dean mouthed a 'What the fuck' as he followed the group inside, looking around with eyes this big. He turned to Castiel, visibly appalled. "... how can you sound like - like this is mundane?"

The dwarrodam nodded at Pica when she walked by, and closed the door behind the hunters.

Bobby blinked while looking around. "Dear Lord," he whispered, when he realized they were going down a path that lead to a small city. Everything was carved so big they could even remain on horseback.

Castiel looked back at Dean, and only then did he realize that what he said was actually quite suspicious. "Oh, hm. I've already seen one before. Long ago," he replied a bit awkwardly.

The astonished group would soon reach an ample, weirdly-well illuminated underground... town? Yes, we could define it town. It wasn't big, far from it, but the walls and the houses still talked volumes about how good and expert were the hands that made them. Pica guided them to a house, slightly larger and clearly human-made. How else would they fit? The other places were so small! Pica waved at many of the dwarves while they passed them, and then invited everyone to climb down of their horses. "There is a stable behind this house. Someone will take care of them. Follow me inside, when you are done", the 'mysterious' stranger signed. "Sure, if you can manage to believe your own eyes in the meanwhile." That was clearly aimed at Bobby.

Dean squinted at Castiel meanwhile. "... you saw dwarves?", he said, sounding vaguely suspicious. "Nobody I know has ever seen one - let alone one of their caves. How did you find one, when you barely remember when to go to sleep!"

"Bobby grunted and got down from his horse. "Is my sign-reading getting rusty, or is that guy mocking us?" he whispered to Ellen, a bit moodily. Well, he was tired!

"Well, I- suppose it's one of those memories that are hard to forget," Castiel replied, looking away. Then again, his friends supposed he had been tortured so much by angels that his mind had grown confused about a lot of stuff.

Ellen threw a small smile at Bobby. "He's mocking you, Robert", she whispered back, patting his back with fondness. She jumped down from her horse, then offered her hand to Bobby.

Dean hummed, finally remembering that his friend had God knows how many problems with his memory. Who could have an idea of how angels messed him up? So in the end he just shrugged it off. "Well, whatever. C'mon, get down from the horse", he added, slowly dismounting and wincing a bit.

Bobby grunted, but didn't even hesitate before he took Ellen's hand in his, while they guided their horses to their stables. And even after. He wouldn't care if their boys made a comment about it.

Castiel frowned and got down as well. "You should let me take a look at your back. Before it gets too painful." He walked by Dean's side, eyeing him with concern.

"Later", Dean grunted, guiding their horse in the stables along with Horknath and Sam. "Right now I am way too curious to see this place. A dwarven cave! Man, I can still barely believe it!" He seemed excited even as he elbowed Sam, to ask him, "Right?"
And then he saw Bobby and Ellen passing by them, holding hands. And he grinned like he had never grinned before! "Hey, Sam. Look at that~"

Meanwhile, Pica had thrown logs into the main fireplace - how does that work inside a mountain? Ask a dwarf, please! And the mask with the beak was still on, by the time the group started to get inside. For now, at least.

"Oh shut up and grow up, you idjit," Bobby sighed on his way past the boys, while he entered the house with Ellen.
Sam, on the other side, chuckled. "I told you something was up," he told his brother with a wink. "But man, to think we'd ever visit a dwarven cave! Do you think we could visit afterwards?"

Ellen just laughed. "Oh, don't be so harsh on the kids, Papa Bear", she said, a bit out loud so that the so-called 'boys' could hear her. "They do that because they've literally never held hands with anybody, ever. I can get it's kinda new for them."

"Well I sure hope that!", Dean exclaimed gleefully. "Man. I'm so hyped. Could be the adrenaline, but right now, I'm not even feeling pain anymore!" He winced when a sudden motion made him, indeed, feel the pain. "Almost." He walked with Sam and Castiel inside the house, where Pica, finally hearing everybody coming in, let out a "Well, God damn it, you guys are slow!" out loud.

Bobby held back a smile when Ellen responded to the boys' teasing, but stopped dead in his tracks while glaring at Pica. "So you do talk!" he complained out loud.

Sam held back a smile, and frowned slightly when Pica talked. Well. Not everyone was as mysterious and legendary as his- as Corvus, so it seemed.

"In case you missed out, I am not Corvus", Pica underlined, shuffling a bit with the mask. When it finally came off, what was underneath could result... unexpected (or maybe not). A feminine, sharp face, blond hair shaved on the sides and kept longer on the top. A woman. A woman with long, pointy ears. "And, unless I am outside or speaking with them, I avoid signing when I can", she completed, only to be interrupted with an "ELF!!" that Dean just couldn't keep for himself. She rolled her eyes. "Wow, ten points for the observing pup there."

Bobby blinked a bit more, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright. I suppose." He took a deep breath, and looked around. "So. Dwarves and elves do still exist," he sighed, before he bit on his lips just a bit. "Thanks. For. The help, and shelter for tonight." He was taken aback, that was for sure. But he was also insanely tired.

"Is Corvus an elf as well?" Sam asked, suddenly very curious. Well. That would have explained their life expectancy!

"We do still exist. But prefer to keep our asses far away enough from all that bullshit out there." Pica sighed. "At least, usually, we prefer to do that. Some of us, however, would rather stick their necks out and die adventuring rather than getting stuck into a magical forest or whatever." She nodded towards Bobby. "You're welcome. This is one of Corvus' headquarters - the idea was theirs, not mine. And, honestly? I have no idea", she added, answering to Sam, hands on her hips. She smirked. "If you want a piece of mind from someone who has worked with them for quite a long time, they certainly don't seem very elvish to me."

Sam nodded, and remained thoughtful on the matter. Meanwhile, Bobby looked at the whole room around them, trying to gauge how big this human-sized habitation was.
"How long are we allowed to remain here?" He asked Pica carefully. After all, if Aleister was outside, they surely would be safer in here than out.

"For as long as it's needed", Pica answered simply, with a light shrug. "Before the sun sets, Corvus should get here as well. There are four bedrooms you guys can use - do your math and decide how to share by your own... There is a common room, and a library. Make yourself at home", she concluded, starting to walk away. "I'll go ask Leitna if she needs help with the food supplies, if you don't need anything else."

Sam looked around and quickly counted them all. "When you say there are 4 rooms, are you including the ones you and Corvus will need?" Well, not that he minded sharing a room, but. He wouldn't want to share it with any of the new couples.

Bobby nodded, and held back a yawn. Hell, was he tired!

"I'm not. Corvus will be in their own room, and I have my own place just around the corner", Pica answered. She raised a brow. "Why? Are you hoping that much you'll get to share a room with Corvus?" She definitely worded it with a lot of malice.