Who: Dean and Oz
Where: The woods at the back of their house
When: Late afternoon

Dean wasn't at all sure where the day had gone. It had started just after dawn, that was for sure. And he knew a shit load more about vampires than he had done this morning. And he was fairly convinced that his cousin and her partner had done this kind of thing before - either that or they were just stunningly well prepared for anything and immediately snapped to it. He didn't know for sure though, because standing around talking hadn't much been the order of the day. Instead it had been more like lots of little jobs, do this, get that, check something else. He'd checked in on Thia every now and then, but Joshua was always there and he wasn't needed. At one point, though, he gave her his phone, telling her that she could use it to text people, pretend she was him. Check everyone was okay. All in all, the day had just flown passed, and suddenly it was the afternoon and Dean was just finishing off his latest job out at the front of the house.

Oz walked up, having done a lot of his own little jobs all day, preparing things, going over details with everyone, checking on Lullaby. He had another order of business, however, and as he put up with the sunshine outside, shades on, he stopped a few feet back from Dean as he finished. "Time to go do a little target practice." he said. Really, he wanted a little time away to talk to the kid too. There was...a lot going on. On a lot of different levels, and it was past time to have a conversation with him.

Dean looked round as he heard someone approach, putting down the hammer he'd been carrying and nodding. "Okay," he agreed, trying not to look as nervous as he suddenly felt. He'd kept the gun with him as he'd been told since he got it last night. He even had a holster for it now which Oz had given him a few hours back, so he no longer had to carry it around in his hand. That made things easier, but it didn't mean that he was less aware of its presence. And now, apparently, he had to learn to fire it. Things became more and more real all the time.

Oz nodded for Dean to follow, and started around the house towards the back, to slip farther into the woods. He'd gotten a second handgun for the house...something that had cost him a pretty penny, but he figured was worth it. He had that on him, though didn't have a holster for it like Dean's. He preferred the shotgun, really. But shotguns? You didn't really have to aim, per se. When they got to the treeline, he started speaking again. "So!" he said. "Your best friend's back from the dead." he continued. "You've had a...very eventful life lately. Let's talk about that."

Dean looked at him - he had been expecting the matter to come up sooner or later, especially since he'd been all 'this is how it is, I don't have time to argue about it' about the whole situation last night, but he hadn't expected it to be that, well, blunt. "What do you want to know?" he asked, figuring 'I told you everything I know last night' would just come out as being childish.

"...everything, really. Just...pick a point, and work from there." Oz said, not trying to make it hard on him or anything. "I'd just like to know what's been going on, and if there's anything you've missed out. I...get why you didn't say anything." he added. "But, I'd rather now that it's out, that you don't leave details out, please. You're not in trouble, I just..." he paused again. "I might understand shit better than you think."

Dean looked across at him, consideringly. "I - I guess I kinda thought you would," he said, hesitantly. Hesitantly because it was the truth, but he wasn't sure he could put into words why exactly he'd thought that. He'd just always assumed that Oz would understand. About everything, really. But... Pick a point. "I found her at the beginning of the week," he said, figuring that was as good a point as any. "I'd gone round - there was this guy, Journey. He was her best friend, they grew up together." I'm his replacement. "Anyway, he moved out of the country a while ago, but his house is still there. Kinda, half furnished and someone's paying the bills, I guess. But, after... I didn't know if anyone had told..." He broke off, realising he was going for the comfortable lie, when he kinda thought Oz deserved the truth. "I missed her," he said, his tone different. "And I was thinking too much. And I'd been going from place to place - all the places she'd been. And his house was one of them. It was dark and I let myself in. And there was a noise upstairs. I went to see what it was and... there she was. That was the night I didn't come home."

Oz nodded. "I...knew there was a new scent on you. After she got here, I realized that's what I'd been picking up. Her scent's changed." he said quietly, not wanting to interrupt Dean's flow there. "I can see why you didn't come home, I wouldn't have either." he added. Because he knew himself well enough to know the truth of the matter there. No way in hell was the answer. He also didn't at all seem weirded out by Dean wandering around places that were associated with Thia. It was just...part of the process. Only he was lucky enough to have that process turned on it's ear. "Go on." he encouraged.

"She was so alone - she didn't really know what she was, was worried that she was something bad, or evil. Or something. Her dad - her real dad, he left when she was a baby and her mum married again, so the guy from last week was her step-dad. Anyway, her dad apparently was there and told her some stuff, but... He made her what she was years ago, and not in very nice ways. It sounds like bad shit. And he wanted to take her away, start a new life somewhere else. And... she didn't want to go. And eventually she had to... force the issue," Dean said, realising he was picking his words carefully here. "She asked me not to tell anyone, but eventually Joshua - he's her boyfriend - found out. And then last night happened and everything went out of the window."

"Understandably." Oz said. One bit there though made him twitch a little, and he looked sideways at Dean as they walked. "Forced the issue how?" he asked. "And...do we need to be worried about this guy? You said Fades were made from the dead and magic, and...well..." He didn't quite know what to say after that. All he did need to know was if some bad mojo motherfucker was going to show up demanding they hand over his daughter. That seemed like a spectacularly bad plan.

"Force the issue in that she stabbed him with a pair of scissors or something," Dean said, hating the fact that she'd had to do that. Someone like Thia should never have had to do that. But then Oz' question really caught his attention - he'd never thought about whether her father would come back. He'd just merrily assumed he was gone-gone. "I don't know," he admitted, feeling like a prize idiot for not contemplating something so basic. "She said he left, but..." Oh yeah, he looked worried now.

Oz caught the worried. "We'll...figure it out." he said. Unfortunately, he was also not really that terribly keen on interrogating a girl as hurt as she was right now. So he was going to sit on that for a few, trying to figure out what to do about it. Maybe he'd ask Billy to ask Maddie if she could keep an eye out for non-vampiric dangers as well for a while. He stopped walking once they hit a clearing, and he tugged a paper target out of his back pocket to start taping it to a thick tree. "She asked you not to tell, but you weren't going to leave her in town when this was happening." he prompted, so Dean could move forward. Oz would grind over the possible pissed off father angle.

Dean nodded. "Well, actually the other day she amended it to be more of a 'please don't tell unless you really have to'," he said with the ghost of a smile. "Which I think she kinda knew that I would judgement-call it anyway. Secrets are great, but there's a time and a place, y'know? I just didn't expect it to be this soon." Or ever. "But, yeah - you kinda guessed now that's where I've been? Right?"

"Yeah. I figured." Oz said, walking back over towards Dean. "How are you holding up?" he asked seriously, leaning back against a tree, and he nodded to Dean towards the target. "Comfortable stance, a little wider than usual, squeeze the trigger, don't pull it, and remember to breathe." he added lightly.

Dean looked towards the target and realised that this was the moment where he was actually meant to give this a go. He took the stance as indicated and raised the gun, sighting along it. "If I break this, I'm sorry," he muttered, knowing that that may always be a possibility for him - a gun had moving parts, that meant that, at least in theory anyway, he could fuck it up. Great if it happened to be in someone else's hand, not so great if it was him holding it. He took a breath and held it, then remembered that he was meant to be breathing and tried again, squeezing the trigger as he exhaled. The recoil wasn't as bad as he'd been expecting - though he didn't know what he'd been expecting, so he knew he'd probably imagined too much. He dropped the gun to his side and looked at the target, unsurprised that he hadn't hit the middle, but he broke out into a grin when he saw a little hole in the top edge of the sheet.

Oz smiled too. "Not bad for your first shot." he complimented. "Make sure you sight it well, aim, take your time. Don't rush a shot if you don't have to, and today, you don't have to at all." He instructed further. He also noticed that Dean hadn't answered him, but he would give the kid a few moments to collect his answer on that.

Dean looked across, still smiling. He'd always had a good eye for this kind of thing - he didn't know if it was connected to his habit of always concentrating on people, or whether it was part and parcel of his abilities, but he had good aim. "Can I give it another go?" he asked, before realising that, yes, that was why they were here. He turned back to the target and tried again, this time getting closer in on the paper. He took a third shot, correcting again before he did so. That one was almost accurate.

Oz watched, that tiny little twitch of pride in the expression again. See? He'd made a good call. Dean was pretty damn good considering. So, he'd do well. He was determinedly not thinking about that aim in regards to himself, but it made him feel slightly better on that score too. "You might be a natural at this." he observed.

Oz spoke just as Dean was letting off a fourth shot and he jerked as he heard the words, the bullet going wild into the trees and he dropped the gun back to his side. He looked over, his eyes a little wide, conflict clear in them. He didn't know what to think at that - he didn't want to be a natural at this, he didn't need any more suggestions that all his was good for was destruction, that he was some kind of weapon waiting to be used. But, at the same time, he didn't want to let people down. Especially not Oz.

Frowning, Oz looked at Dean for a long moment, head tilting to the side a little. "What's the matter?" he asked. Because even without being a werewolf he could see that clear as day. Something had just really irked him. And all he'd said was he was good at shooting. That wasn't a bad thing.

Dean held his eyes for a moment, then dropped his gaze down and off to one side a little. "Nothing, doesn't matter," he mumbled, before shrugging and turning back to the target. He told himself that he was being fucking ridiculous - vampires were attacking the town, they'd all been running round as if they were preparing for a siege and he was worried about the fact that maybe he had a natural talent for something that could be useful? He really needed to get over himself.

"Yeah, really not buying that." Oz said, still watching Dean very carefully. "What is it? C'mon, talk to me. I mean, it's just us." he said. "Obviously something about what I said bothered the shit out of you. What part of being good at something is making you twitch?"

What was it with people around him not letting him get away with brushing things off anymore? He'd never used to have a problem with that kind of thing. First Thia, now Oz. Dean shook his head and turned to the guy. "It's... Stupid, probably," he said, his gaze resting on Oz's face, but not meeting his eyes. "Look, everything I can do - my abilities. They're all... destructive. Kinda makes a guy think that's all he's good for. Like... We were talking the other day about what people would do if they found her and I was saying about how sometimes I wonder what people'd do if they knew what I could do and how, like, the army would probably love to get their hands on me - I mean, who wouldn't want a guy who can, like, drop a ballistic missile out of the sky or some shit? And now I'm apparently going to be a 'natural' at killing things and... I know that's good, because we're in the middle of shit and things only seem to be getting worse and I want to be able to protect people and help, but I just... I said it was stupid, it doesn't matter."

Stupid was kind of the last thing Oz thought on that score. He shook his head as he thought it over. "No, that's not stupid." he said. "It's something to think about." he added. He actually knew intimately well the kind of thing Dean was talking about, even, which was kind of giving him pangs for the kid. "I also know exactly how you feel. In your case...Dean no one can make you do anything. And I know before you said that you don't always have control, but you can get that. You can learn it. I have faith in you. As for being a natural at killing things...I said you were a natural at shooting. There's a huge fucking difference. You never have to kill with a shot, if you don't want to. And if you're good enough? You'll never have to. Honestly, I gave you the gun because I wanted you to have something that would drop almost anything at least for a limited amount of time. So whatever you were running from would be slowed down enough that you could get away." he explained. And thought maybe he should have explained that before now.

Dean shook his head. "No, you gave me the gun so that I could kill you if it came down to it," he averred. He didn't raise his voice, but the emotions there were clear. "That's what you said, if I ever thought you were a danger, that I was to shoot you - that I was to try and kill you. That's what you said, that's why you gave me this."

"That was part of why I gave you that." Oz said. Then he sighed. "Look, Dean." he started, then he sat down at the base of the tree. "I was bitten when I was...like two." he said. "I don't remember ever being normal. Ever. I was always a turned werewolf. I had cages I had to be put into on the moons, and I had to be careful never to bite anyone. Ever. Not even in human form. I had to be careful not to get too upset. I had to be careful never to get too hurt, because those things could trigger a change. And when I changed, I didn't have any control." He gave a humorless little half smile. "You were talking about feeling like a weapon, like all you could do was destroy things...that was my life. And the worst part was I knew from the get go that if anything happened, I'd tear right through the people I loved and wouldn't even know it. Later...things..." he paused. "Changed. I met your cousin. We lived in a town a lot like this one--meaning there was a lot of weird shit that happened on a regular basis. Things happened, and she got control over me." God this was a long story.

Dean watched him carefully as he spoke, his attention drawn from his own problems to what Oz was saying. About halfway through, Dean joined him on the ground, sitting down across from him, leaving the gun abandoned by his side. "I... I didn't know that you'd been bitten, I always just assumed..." What? What had he always 'just assumed'? He didn't know, he realised. Possibly that he'd always been like that, that he'd been born like that. He'd never seemed to be like the monster-movie type werewolf, so Dean had just always assumed that there was something different about him, or that that image of werewolves was wrong.

He nodded. "I'm more like the born shifters now than before. But it took a lot to get there." Oz said. "Anyways, Sophie got control, and that's one thing that you'll definitely need to know. She can control me. I...listen to her now. Even back then, I did, it's...complicated." To put it mildly. "A few years ago, I underwent an experimental ritual. Took five months, nearly killed me a few times. It was rough, but it was that or continue not having any control but what she could exert...and she wasn't around at the time." He didn't go into the full story because there was simply too much so he was sticking to the pertinent bits. "But after I lived...after a couple comas, too...I did have control. Now, even on the moons when I shift, I'm still me, still there. But I'm never going to forget what it was like not to. So if you're wondering why I still lock myself up on the moons when I'm not really a danger...that's why. Sophie trusts it all. I partially do, but I never forget."

I don't get you two. Dean nearly said that - he'd always been aware that there was something between them, something in their shared history, something he'd always just put down to them being very much a couple and since they were the first couple he'd spent any real time around who weren't his mum and dad, he'd had nothing to compare normally couple-y behaviour against. But that didn't mean he got it. It could be perfectly normal and he'd still not get it. He wanted to ask why - why could Sophie control him? He had a weird moment where he wondered if, if he asked that, whether he'd end up with some 'true love conquers all' answer. Or something. He guessed that it was possible. But he didn't, just like he didn't bring up the fact that Oz had terrified the living fuck out of him by giving him a gun and silver bullets and telling him he had to be prepared to kill him, when, apparently? That wasn't a danger. That this whole entire thing had been because this guy couldn't let go. Great. Perfect. Thanks a fucking lot. "Right," he said, instead, his tone unreadable.

"Anyways...I know how you feel. But in the world we occupy...especially people like us, with abilities or something else, we need to know what to do with them because sometimes you have to be able to do the hard things." Oz picked at some grass by the tree. "For instance, the eye thing?" he said. "Happened not that long ago. I was living with Billy at the time, and he was attacked by a vampire, someone he knew who was turned, he'd invited him in before he realized his mistake. I got home pretty much just in time. And I saved him, obviously, and I'd never have been able to do it if I wasn't a werewolf. Probably just would have killed the both of us then. You've got a gift. Yeah, it can be destructive. Yeah, being a good shot can be destructive, but trust me. It's better to have it and not need it than the alternative."

"Right," Dean repeated, working on shrugging off the spark of annoyance. It wasn't needed here or now. People did what they did and being petty and irritated about it wasn't going to help anyone. He'd just have to deal. And concentrate on what Oz was trying to tell him - which made sense. It did, it really did, though he still didn't see how what he could do would ever be of any use to anyone. He looked down at the gun, and quirked a half smile. "I could break this," he said, quietly, running a hand over it. "If it was pointed at me - or even if it wasn't, really. I could make it so it would never fire again." That was useful, wasn't it? Destructive, but useful if someone he cared about was threatened.

"Excellent thing to be able to do. A lot of people think a gun'll stop just about everyone in their tracks, but if you don't actually have to be afraid of them? Good." Oz said. He just hoped he didn't break the one he'd been given, but he didn't say that. "Being able to disarm someone without them knowing, or without having to make any contact...that's definitely a perk."

But it'd hurt, Dean didn't add as he continued to stare at the gun. He wondered at the likelihood of taking a severe setback from doing that - how much would it take out of him, how hard was it? Could he do it with only minimal risk? Or would it floor him? "Right," he said again as he looked back up at Oz. "So... how much trouble are we actually in?" he asked.

"A lot." Oz said with a sigh. He reached up to drag his fingers through his hair. "That town I mentioned that Sophie and I were when we met...it was hit by the same types of vamps. So we've lived through this before. Which means we're better equipped to handle it this time..." he added. "I was...15 when it happened. We were both just highschoolers, and she didn't even know much about anything at that point. And what she did know she kind of wished she didn't, if you know what I mean. But the town was totalled. Literally. It's at the bottom of a lake right now. A lot of people..." he had to stop for a moment, turning his face away. "...died." Like my cousin. "But we live someplace where we're less likely to be hit, and if we are, we'll be ready for them by tonight."

Dean considered this. The guy had been his age, a little younger. "Is that why you thought I could cope with all of this?" he asked, frowning slightly. He wondered if he was, coping. There were moments when he really didn't feel like he was, when the enormity of the situation hit home. And in between? Well, things had to be done - there wasn't time for thinking about whether or not he was coping, he just had to get on.

Oz considered that question before he answered. "Whether you can or not, this is happening. I see similarities between the two of us. I think you're stronger than some people think you are. I think you can handle a lot, if you have to. Right now, you have to. You found out there was trouble, and the first thing you did was think of her. You didn't decide to hide in the basement where a lot of people in your position would have. No, the first thing out of your mouth was that you had to tell me something. So that right there, just that, tells me that you're capable, Dean. And even after you knew better that shit was going to be really bad, I don't think I saw you even hesitate. People don't do that unless there's a lot to them."

Dean experienced a flash of pride at that - at being compared to Oz. Somewhere along the line, since he'd moved here, he formed the opinion that Oz was someone he wanted to be like and to get confirmation that he might be able to do that, to be that kind of person, that gave him something back. But, still, he found himself wanting to be honest and he'd been holding enough back in this conversation as it was. "Sometimes I don't know if I can do this - all of it. It's all so... much. Last night... Really, there was no choice, there was nothing to...There was no choice. But, when I stop, when I think about it... I don't know if I'm that strong at all." He'd asked Thia not to tell anyone, but that didn't mean he couldn't admit to his own failings.

"It's kind of always like that." Oz said. "You just have to keep going and roll with the punches as they come. But so far, you're doing a damn good job. You are, don't sell yourself short." Then he gave a little half smile. "And trust me, I know what you mean exactly on the no choice thing. I'm like that, like with the vampire and Billy. I didn't think about it. At all, never even crossed my mind that I could get myself killed, it was just...hey, there's a vampire attacking my best friend, that wasn't happening on my watch. But you know...there are people out there who it'd never even occur to them to try. There'd be no choice for them but to hide until it's over. Those aren't strong people. But you, you're set up differently. And in that, it gives you strength. Conviction does that."

Dean's mouth turned up at the corners - not quite a smile, but he didn't smile all that often, so it was as good as his version of. "I guess this was exactly the same. If there was going to be hell, I didn't want her out there in it. Especially not on her own," Dean told him. "Her dad told her that if she was killed, she'd resurrect again, but I don't know how much we can trust someone who'd do that to someone. What if he's wrong? What if she was killed and..." He looked away, thinking about seeing her injured last night, the panic that had shot through him.

"And you lost her again." Oz filled in the blank. "Trust me, I understand. but...still. Either way it makes you a strong, good person, Dean. I think you'll be able to do this. It'll be hard, and it's going to be painful, and I know even that right now it is, because she's hurt. But we'll get through it, and we'll figure it out from there. But you'll do fine. And if you need any help, I'm around, and so's your cousin, and...well, so's she, currently." It wasn't like Oz didn't now know screamingly well just how much she meant to Dean.

"Currently?" Dean asked, questioning that in the light of the fact that they'd just been discussing the what ifs of her dying. He really didn't like that 'currently' right now, it made it sound like she might not always be there, that she might not make it through this. What if her injuries were worse than he thought and just nobody had had the heart to tell him.

"Yes, as in currently she's at the house. I've been trying to think of a way to get her medical attention, and about all I can really figure is after the dust settles, bringing her up to the copper country to a hospital there. No one would know her, and we could sort of...get her in, get her treated, then get her back out again. Makes me wish I had a friend in the medical profession or something but I don't. And I don't especially want people asking too many questions about a girl who's supposed to be dead. I know that's not the best scenario, but I think it's about all we've got. She hasn't been complaining, and I've still got pain meds from when they tried to fix my eye, and when I first got hurt, so she can take those too. We can make her as comfortable as possible until we can get her better treated." Oz said. He paused as he eyed Dean a few moments. "I thought for a second this morning I was going to have to pull you off of Billy." He paused again. "She doesn't have any idea...about how you feel about her. How are you doing with that?"

"I thought he'd hurt her - done something to her," Dean said, not denying there was at least a moment where, yeah, he would have had to have been pulled off the guy. He nodded to the treatment aspects - he knew there was no easy fix to this. Hell, he wasn't sure how they'd get her treated even in another county, given that they'd ask all kinds of questions about who she was and everything, but what did he know, really. He'd trust Oz in this. "No, she doesn't know - though I'm starting to think she's the only one," Dean muttered, tightmouthed. It appeared to be stunningly obvious to everyone else, after all. "And I don't want her to know. She doesn't need to know, she has a boyfriend, they're very happy together. How am I doing with that? I'm being her best friend, of course," he said, as if that was all there was to it.

Oz nodded at the first bit. He could understand that, in Dean's shoes, he probably would have done the same thing. He had an overprotective streak a mile wide, after all. He eyed Dean at the rest of it, paying strict attention to all the cues people gave off, even if it didn't look like he was. "I only know because I'm a werewolf. We kind of...notice these things." he said delicately. "That and I see the way you look at her, when she's not looking at you." he added. He could recognize it, definitely. "You don't want her to know, that's your business." he added. "I just know what it's like to be around someone you care about that much but can't actually have for whatever reasons, so I figured I would ask."

Dean raised an eyebrow at that. "My business? What - do you think I should tell her?" he asked, wondering at the way that Oz had put that and trying to stomp down on the inner No nononononono ohhhh shit no no way never not happening reaction.

Not answering immediately, Oz actually had to think that one over. "I think it's one hell of a secret to keep." he said after a bit. "And I think eventually she'll have to figure it out. I mean...she doesn't seem stupid or anything, just a little...naive. Either way it depends on you, really." He eyed Dean some more, looking thoughtful. "How do you feel about her?"

"I..." Dean started, then stopped again. He'd never put it into words and he wasn't sure he was ready to try and categorise it like that. "I really like her," he said, in the end, though he knew that wasn't at all the right way to sum it up. "But, I want her to be happy. And right now, I can do that by being her best friend. And - she's got him, and look at them - he hasn't left her side all day..." Dean sold this as a positive thing, someone who'd stay by her side and give her the attention she deserved, even though the practical, sensible part of him had been bitching earlier that there was a lot to do and they could have done without losing a perfectly capable pair of hands like that. No, he'd just written that off as an inner twitch and a spike of jealousy.

Oz listened. He hadn't really been looking for a solid label word, more exactly what Dean was telling him. Description of it, not a specific title. "Yeah, I noticed that..." he said at the last bit, though he didn't sound quite so impressed. He too was of the opinion that they all needed to be pulling their weight to help out, but he wasn't going to be ordering a kid around who he didn't know so well, and who's girlfriend was randomly seriously injured. For Dean, he'd thought it was kind of good for him to get his mind off of her condition for a while--but not his call to make on Joshua. "So, you want her to be happy, and she's got a boyfriend." The important bit was the him wanting her to be happy, though. That stood out in Oz's mind pretty brightly. "You know you're a lot more mature than most guys your age, right?"

"What, because I'm not going to randomly go round breaking up a relationship that I'd probably only fuck up anyway?" Dean asked him, picking at a thread on the bottom of his jeans, they were fraying at the back on the hemline. "You don't do that to people. Any people. there's like... rules. That's one of them - a girl's taken, then she's taken. End of story. But, yeah, I want her to be happy. And she is - well, was, well... She's trying right now, but everything's a mess." He chuckled, dryly and without much humour. "Dying does that to a person. Now I mostly just worry about her and try and do everything I can to make it easier for her. Which isn't much, really," he shrugged.

One thing Oz was learning really fast was Dean wasn't terribly good at taking credit for anything he did. "Yeah, actually. Putting what you think someone else's needs are above your own. That's more mature than most guys your age. Most would go for it anyways. And I think you're probably doing a lot more than you think." he added. Because of that, he was positive. "For one, you rescued her from possible horror." he added. "But there's a lot that can be said for being there for someone when they need you." He just wasn't sure if Dean didn't know that, or if he was built to downplay everything.

"I know," Dean confirmed. "And that's what I'm trying to do - just kinda be there. The little things, y'know? And if most guys my age would go for it, then they're dicks, I couldn't do it. Anyway, she doesn't see me that way, so it'd be a waste of time - I'd just... end up ruining things between us and pissing him off and I'd be out on my arse and still nowhere and she'd be upset and he'd be pissed and... right now? We so really don't need that crap."

"The little things mean a lot." Oz agreed. Or, they did to him, and most of the people he cared about were largely the same way. But then again, he wasn't a bigger picture person. His world was pretty simple. He had his pack, he had his mate, and those were the axises on which his world turned. Everything related back in one way or another. "And yeah...drama that doesn't need to be there, I get it. I just...like I said. I've kind of been there, so...I was wondering how you were doing with it. I know it's not that easy all the time." To understate it.

Dean actually gave that some thought now, trying to turn the query in on himself, rather than just thinking about how it would affect her. He wasn't too good at that self-examination shit, more likely to brush it off, but Oz had asked twice now, in a non-pushy way, so he'd give it a go. "It's hard, sometimes," he admitted eventually, sitting with one knee pressed to his chest as he continued to fiddle with the cuff of his jeans. He was looking over at Oz though, his head almost resting on his knee. "Like... I question my motives a lot. Why I'm doing things. Like..." He blushed slightly. "She's a really huggy person. And I know she appreciates it when I hug her, but.... I kinda have to always figure out if I'm doing it for the right reasons and not just..." to bring her in and smell her hair and pretend for a moment that she's mine, Dean thought, before bringing that particular line of thought to an abrupt end.

Oz had to give a little half smile at that. "Iiii can definitely understand that." he said. "Though honestly, Dean, I know I haven't known you long, but you've given only evidence that you're trustworthy, and an all around good person--I think you're probably thinking too much on that. And besides. You know, it's not exactly a crime to every once in a while do something that isn't so selfless. If you want to hug the girl give her a hug. You're friends. And if she's huggy anyways...might as well. I highly doubt that that'll break the damn and fuck everything over for no reason."

"Yeah, but it might give Joshua a reason to break my nose," Dean joked, though he was half-serious on that. Oz might see him as trustworthy, but he really didn't think Joshua ever would.

"Point." Oz conceeded. "Though that just means you don't do it when he's around. And besides...you're not making a play for her." Not that Oz could say that he also wasn't possessive and jealous by nature. But that didn't actually mean everyone else was, and he realized that there were some wires crossed in his head due to the werewolf shit on that score. "I can't talk a whole lot. I'm a werewolf, things are a little..." he paused, quirking a smile. "Weird."

Dean tilted his head to the side. "Weird?" he asked, happy to get the focus of the conversation off of him and his feelings for Thia. And away from Oz being under the impression that he was selfless, which was shit, because he knew he wasn't - at least, not in his head. Often his thoughts were far from selfless, he just kept a close watch on them.

"Yeah, it's just...nevermind. Just strange. I've realized my view of things particularly those of relationships are off compared to everyone else." Oz said, just a little evasively and a bit self deprecatingly. "You going to burn the rest of the clip?" he asked further, glancing to the gun.

Oh that's just not fair! Dean thought to himself, petulantly. The guy gets him to talk about his shit and then just does the brush off? That was so much bullshit! But what could he say? It wasn't like they were friends or anything - the guy was basically his guardian's boyfriend, which took him out of that and more towards a parent figure. And you didn't get to call parent figures on that kind of thing. So Dean was left bristling a little as he took up the gun and stood, settling fluidly into the stance and firing off the rest of the clip, each one hitting somewhere on the paper target. He dropped the gun to his side and looked down at Oz, a blank 'I'm hiding the fact I'm pissed but I want you to know I'm hiding it so fuck you' look on his face.

Oz blinked at that, then peered at Dean over the tops of his sunglasses. The sunlight wasn't direct there, so it was less headache-inducing than it could have been. He also looked back at the target. "Told you you were good." he said. Then he looked back at Dean. "You know 'hey, I really want to know' might've sufficed." he added. "If you do, I'll tell you. It's just at least mildly fucked up, and I'm really not sure how much you really want to know about how my head works." he added calmly.

Dean bristled again, feeling a spike of petulance before he sat down, back in his original position, knee up, resting on it. "I really want to know," he said, sullenly, his face down towards his leg, but his eyes fastened on Oz's face.

Amused but trying not to show it, Oz considered how to word things. "Well, for starters, I've considered myself bound and mated--married--to your cousin since I was fifteen." he said. "...and that's always been perfectly fine with me." Where as most guys would twitch all to hell and back even at the concept. But yeah. Pretty much just that said a whole lot about Oz and his entire outlook.

Dean considered this - the idea of being all ready to settle down with someone at his age. His mind went to Thia, of course, but... No, even there... Sure, he liked the girl but there was a mental block somewhere that had nothing to do with how she felt (or didn't feel) about him when it came to applying the words 'for the rest of our lives' to that. Or any girl. That was like... something that happened to other people. Or, well, older people anyway. "I know that you guys were together back then," Dean told him. "Cos I remember her mum bitching when Sophie left to come back. All about some ex-boyfriend - which would be you - who she hadn't seen for years and then she suddenly just up and left to go back to."

Wincing faintly, Oz nodded. "Yeaaah." he said, dragging his fingers through his hair. "I know her family isn't exactly my biggest fan." he added. "But yeah, we were. Kind of." And then she left me. Which he wasn't saying. "That was a pretty messed up story too, everything to do with that there. But the mated thing...that's purely the wolf in me. See, I've got these instincts I can't quite get around? And half the time I don't even know which ones are fucked up, until people give me looks for them. Found out really fast that other people don't kind of ever think about people like I do. Packs...mates...everything like that. Where it's hardwired into me, it isn't for other people. Makes it difficult sometimes just because I have to kind of try to think around things that are as natural to me as breathing. And honestly? I really suck at it. Fighting instinct for me has always been kind of next to impossible. About the best I can manage is to try and curb it, or at least hide it."

"No, which really isn't fair - I mean, i know I don't know what happened there or anything, but, yeah - I always kinda thought that my aunt was just blowing everything out of proportion and blaming you for the fact that Sophie moved away. She and my mum used to talk about it for, like, hours and really, it sounded to me that all she wanted to do was bitch." Not that Dean had been in the room for any of that, but he'd overheard enough to form definite opinions on things. "Packs?" he asked, figuring that 'mate' was a definition that he didn't need explaining, but pack was a little weirder.

Oz had to admit he was curious about that but he stamped down on the impulse to ask further. Hell. He didn't even really ask Sophie about her family and their opinion on him, besides he knew it was whole worlds of Not Good. And it wasn't as if she went out of her way to tell him anything either so he was figuring it was just that much worse. "Packs...yeah. Wolves...packs...it's like a family?" he suggested, going for the closest association. "But it's not always blood relations. It's...the people closest to and most important to you. And they're...well. Kind of everything." He paused. "Last night, I said that there was still pack in town. See, you qualify now. And because she means that much to you, it's..." he made a vague sort of gesture. "I never quite know how to explain it. I know it's kind of fucked up to people, like Billy? He's been my best friend for yeas, and I still think it kind of makes him twitchy. And it's not like I expect people to see me how I see them, or behave that way, it's just how things line up in my head. ...and I'm aware how crazy that makes me sound."

Dean thought this though, though it was a slightly garbled explanation, but still. "So... In your life there are certain people who you'd do anything for. Anything. And the rest of the world can just take care of themselves?" Dean suggested. "I don't see what's so crazy about that." It seemed kinda like how he saw the world. he had people in his life - friends, family, didn't matter what they were, but he knew who they were. And he'd do anything for them and, by association, anything for the people close to them. That was just What You Did. In his mind, anyway.

"Pretty much exactly that." Oz said with a nod. "Only better said. So...good on you." he added with a quirked smile. "But yeah. Just...there are those people, and they mean more to me than anyone and anything, and that's what matters most. To me. A lot of people just kind of view it as...strange. Or that I'm weird, because of the lengths I'll go, or anything like that, and like I said, I'm pretty sure Billy's still at least partially creeped out by the entire thing." He chuckled a little.

Dean considered that. "Well, I guess then that's his problem - I don't see what there is to be creeped out about, personally. I mean, it's just the idea that you'll do anything for your friends." Maybe it came back down to what Oz had been saying earlier - about the difference between people who acted and people who went and hid.

"Yeah." He paused, eyeing Dean. "You get this, don't you." Oz said, a little surprised. "You don't have any problem with this kind of idea." And he'd known before that he could see similarities between the two of them, and hey. There was a huge part right there. Screamingly huge part. Because Dean had proved last night that 'anything' part included suicidally stupid things too.

Dean gave him an 'And....?' look back. "Yes?" he suggested, not seeing what was causing surprise here. "It's a fairly obvious concept, that's just.... how things work. You don't need to be a werewolf to think like that. Obviously, because as far as I know, I don't have the ability to turn into a wolf." Pity - she gets all girlie when she talks about him as a wolf, she could run her hands in my... Stop. It. "But still! Yes, I... Guess I've always kinda thought like that."

"No, that's how things work for some people. Not everyone. And I think you'll probably find more in life that it's more often than not not how it works for everyone else. At least...I have. Maybe you'll have better luck with that. I hope you do. It's always a little lonely if you're the only one with that kind of mentality. But yeah. I know how you feel, it should just be logic, right? That should be just how the world is. It's just...sadly not." Oz said carefully. He was thinking mostly about the years he'd spent in between leaving his home town, and settling down in Marquette.

"Okay, but... That's how things work for me, I guess. I've kinda noticed already that that's not exactly across the board," Dean amended. "But, yeah - it should be logic. If it's not for everyone else, then they're just going to have to deal with it. Because I can't stop being like this - it wouldn't make any sense. I mean, why wouldn't you go out of your way for someone you cared about?" Which was mostly a rhetorical question, because he doubted Oz would be able to answer that any better than he could.

"No idea. I never got it either, but especially in dire type situations? People are fucked in the head." Oz said. "...at least, I think so." He gave a little half smirk. "But then they say the same thing about me. So...yeah. Can't talk, I guess." He paused for a long moment. "You're doing a good job, Dean." he said finally. "With everything."

Dean needed to hear that. He couldn't express how much it meant to him to hear someone say that. But he'd never been much good at taking praise, so he just shrugged a shoulder. "Just doing what needs to be done," he muttered, brushing it off. He almost added 'anyone would do it', but, apparently, no they wouldn't. Apparently that was just a him thing. And an Oz thing. So he should probably stop extrapolating that out to the rest of the population, shouldn't he.

"Still. You're doing it well. So...just shut the fuck up and take it. You're doing good. End of discussion." Oz said. He pushed himself to his feet then as well. "One day you should learn to take a little credit where it's due." he added, sounding a touch amused. He finally raised his own gun, aimed it at the target, and squeezed off a few rounds. He hit close to the center, not a bad shot himself when he had to be, it had just been a while since he'd even picked one up, let alone had to think about shooting anything.

"I don't need credit for something that I think isn't all that over and above, it's no big deal. But thanks," he said, giving a little on that, though it wasn't much. he looked over to the target. "You're not bad yourself," he added.

"Thanks, I made a point to learn after...well, pretty much after the last time this shit happened. I like the shotgun better. You don't actually have to aim. But then again if you're shooting at anything with a shotgun, you're aiming to kill it." Oz looked at Dean again. "Also, I have to take far too long now to actually sight this...one eye." he said, making a vague gesture at his face. "Kind of makes a lot of things difficult."

"Well, hopefully we won't need to use either of them," Dean told him, standing. "We're looking pretty damn prepared right now, so come nightfall, we can keep safe and inside and that'll be that," he added in what he hoped was a reassuring tone as he holstered the gun.

"That's the theory." Oz said. He sighed, stretched, rubbed his eyes beneath the lenses of his shades, then started to turn back to the house. "Well, at least I can tell your cousin that you're a good shot, and she can stop fretting about that. And by the way if you ever need anyone to talk to--I'm around." he added in there. As an official little thing, just in case. It might mean more now that they'd actually had Very Important Discussions. "And anything you want to ask isn't out of line. If you want to know, I'll be straight with you on things."

"Thanks, I'll... bear that in mind," Dean agreed, unsure whether that was just a 'for future reference' or whether he was meant to start asking questions like right now this minute. If he was, then it wasn't going to happen because, naturally, his mind blanked. "And, er, thanks - for... trusting me," he added, awkwardly, because even with his issues, he really felt like that was an honour. he only hoped he could live up to it.

Oz glanced back at Dean and flashed a grin. "Thanks for being trustworthy." he said genuinely. There was definitely an air of 'you're a good guy' coming from Oz there, because he did genuinely think so. Dean was a very good kid. And he kept proving more and more that he was, as far as Oz was concerned. So that deserved respect and trust. So til he broke it, it was his, and he didn't think he'd be disappointed.

Dean gave him a smile and nodded. "I should get on - there'll be more stuff that needs doing back at the house. If we're done here?" he asked, figuring they were. He couldn't see that they'd have an endless supply of ammunition for him to keep practising all afternoon, and they needed to get other things done before nightfall.

"We're done." Oz said. "The rest is just preparation, and hoping we don't actually need it." And god, c'mon, they had to be cut a break sometime in their lives, didn't they? Couldn't they just not be attacked by vampires and have done a bunch of preparing for nothing? The worst of their troubles would be a girl who was hurt? And actually...after the dust settled, Oz had a different idea. They could carefully take her back into the cave and see about the healing spring...but yeah. Caves...not the best place to be going when there were vampires around. They liked them. But afterwards, it would probably work. All they had to do was make it til that dust settling part.