Claire Novak (theclearpath) wrote in spn_nextgen, @ 2011-04-02 16:17:00 |
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Entry tags: | !deleted and extended scenes, 1x05 - greatest hits |
Deleted Scene #5: Red on Black
Having their own resident magician certainly came with its advantages, but Claire had made her discomfort with the notion of just getting everything out of thin air very clear. Her issue wasn’t that it didn’t seem natural (which it didn’t), or the implied moral dilemma that came with getting everything from nothing. Claire wasn’t thrilled with the uncertainty that it provided. It’s not that she didn’t trust Jesse’s powers--she just didn’t trust their stability. Call it an instinctive hunch.
Which is why, when she started his crash coarse in Hunting 101 (as he put it) three days ago, she strictly forbade him from using his nifty tricks in order to advance. He had to learn the hard way, which--by the last three days of painful progress had shown--Jesse wasn’t used to, but at least the knowledge would stay with him forever. Claire was confident, and more comfortable with that.
“Okay, one more time...” she warned while tightening her pony tail. The hotel gym was tiny, but deserted, and the vinyl mats on the floor and walls did well for keeping Jesse from bruising to bad. “Strength doesn’t matter if you grab in the right place,” a lesson she’d shown him several times over as she taught him how to defend himself from the speedy attacks common with most supernatural creatures. He had yet to come out on top.
“Yeah, yeah, you just like making me breathless and sweaty,” he said, definitely both by that point. Apparently a nest of vampires was cake compared to the compact blond. He was having more fun than he would ever admit to, though. Claire was quick and fought back against his verbal jabs as easily as his physical ones. She’d been a bit harder when they got started. After being pinned a few times, he’d harmlessly grinded up against her and gotten a right hook for his efforts.
He kept his flirting to talking after that, mostly, and she seemed to have warmed up, or at least gotten used to it.
He watched her, gauging when the attack would come. She swayed a little on her feet, and casually stepped around him in the likes of one very common and possible assault: one from behind. Claire imagined her reality slowed, her motions smooth and calculated, as if through water--an invisible tether connected their eyes as he tracked her over his shoulder. When the action came, it was quick as a snake; her hand slammed the back of his shoulder while her leg hooked around his with intent of putting him flat on his face, her knee lodged in the small of his back, unless he could counter like instructed.
Jesse tried to react quick, grabbing at her hand, but he was too slow. All he managed to do was twist on his way down so he landed on his side, not that that was an improvement. He didn’t stop though, grabbing for her knee to try to bring her down. She caught the wrist that grabbed for her knee and twisted it sharply behind his back--her other hand caught the back of his hair and pressed his cheek to the mat.
“Good try,” she breathed through a slight huff, a show of exertion that came with needing to think on the fly. She was also smiling. “Almost got me.”
“Yeah, right,” he said, his voice a bit muffled. “Sure you were right worried my flailing as I fell might poke your eye out.”
Claire chortled lightly and gave the back of his head a friendly pat. “Exactly, I’m sure they’re deadly weapons.” There was no lie in her words, however sweetly sarcastic they may’ve been. That tiny piece of something deep inside Claire that was always a little nervous around Jesse knew he had the potential to be deadly when he put those mind-powers to it. It had occurred to her more than once that he was humoring her in all this, but she hoped not. If he was, he was doing a fantastic job faking.
“Let’s try it again,” she said, helping him up. He had the right move down, just had to perfect the timing.
His shoulders sagged a bit as he settled on his feet. He wasn’t used to things being difficult for him to do, but then Claire had him on a short chain. The human part of him was pretty useless.
“Alright,” he said, bouncing on his toes. “Hit me.” Claire was still as he hopped like a loose ring fighter, only tipping her head deeply toward one shoulder, like she was wont to do. Humoring her or not, she had to admit, she liked his enthusiasm. Plus, he was definitely learning.
The attack came quick as the first, but on the opposite side; Claire’s movements sharp and choreographed, just as they had before.
Jesse was moving almost before she was, and his hand snatched hers easily. He gave a “Ha!” of elation - and completely forgot to follow through. Claire took quick advantage, and he hit the mat so hard it knocked the air out of his lungs. Claire had her hand on his throat, pressing firm, but not threateningly; one knee buried, careful enough not to injure, but definitely with intent, under his diaphragm. She grinned a little wildly at him.
“Forget something?” Her fingers gave his throat a little squeeze to remind him before she curled back up to her feet.
Feeling heady and irritated, Jesse pushed himself to his feet, giving his body a loose shake though his jaw stayed clenched. “You always pull away just when you got me on my back. Tease,” he said with a forced smile. His mind was already on the game, testing the air. She raised both brows at him, but said nothing.
This time he could feel the attack coming. He got her arm and twisted to throw her momentum to the side, then his knee jabbed up behind hers to knock her feet from under her. He followed her down to pin her. The move wasn’t exactly graceful, but he was on top for once, and he beamed.
Being dropped pushed a hard breath out of Claire when she landed, but she stilled, smiling a little when she noticed Jesse’s million dollar grin.
“Very good,” she coughed out with the last of her slightly jarred breath, with one eyebrow lifted. Ignored was the physical pang she felt twist in her abs, thanks to that smile. Instead, she concentrated on the weight he put into holding her forearms down, which pressed them into the mat more than the rest of his body on her thighs. Obviously he was keeping himself on a leash--good in some ways, but a bit counterproductive to what she was trying to teach him. “But did you think this through?”
Jesse’s brows knit. He thought back over his movements. “Wasn’t the cleanest move, no, but I got you pinned. That’s the important part, right?” Claire’s lips tugged into one cheek in a cross between her playful grin and studious smirk. Then bucked her knees beneath him to throw off his center of balance. A second later, she was on top him, her forearm pressed under his chin, and one knee lodged as a reminder between his legs.
“Only if I stay pinned.” In spite of herself, a ribbon of humor softened her words. The triumphant grin didn’t help, either.
Color rushed to Jesse’s face from anger, embarrassment, and maybe just a little from the placement of her leg. He wriggled just a little under her, his own leg coming to rest over hers. “Y’know, I’m kind of okay with this,” he said, quirking an eyebrow. He held back on grinding again, though; he’d learned his lesson there at least.
Claire scoffed, but didn’t move just yet. “You’re not used to taking anything seriously,” she breathed, and put a tiny bit more pressure put behind the bone of her knee to emphasize certain words. “Are you.”
Jesse hissed in a breath through his teeth, his pulse fluttering at his neck. For a tiny blond, Claire could be pretty badass. It was unbelievably hot.
“Well, I’m not exactly in danger here, am I?” he said, trying to keep the languid tone of his voice. “If you were a real bad guy, I could’ve made it so you never got loose.”
A good part of Claire believed him on that one, if only because of what she’d seen him do through what looked like pure instinct. It was the same part that was never quite at ease around Jesse--something deep she couldn’t name. But at the same time, the ‘mentor’ part of her brain switched on in curiosity. Her head dipped to the side, dropping slightly tangled lengths of pale hair over her shoulder and onto his.
“Alright,” she said finally, rising to her feet and helping him up with her. She turned for the worn duffel bag at the door of the hotel gym and crouched by it, searching for something. “Let’s see what you can do against a real bad guy...” There was a little effort to keep a small knot of nerves suppressed in her gut that tightened her voice.
“If you think you’re up for it,” she looked over her shoulder at him, a brow raised.
Pinpricks crawled up his spine and his eyes flickered uncertainly towards the duffel bag, but there was only one answer to a challenge like that. “I’m up for anything you can throw at me.”
Claire didn’t expect anything else. She squeezed her lips together and nodded once, then turned back to the bag. When she stood back up and faced Jesse, one hand held a long, skinny cloth; a blindfold. The other held an open butterfly knife. She held them out at her hips, spokes model style.
“Pick one.”
She was being awfully cagey. He looked between the two, trying to read her intent, but the choice was pretty obvious. “Usually I’d go for the blindfold, but in this particular scenario, I’ll take the knife,” he said, reaching for it. Claire’s smile reflected a cold concentration in her eyes as she handed the weapon over, then ran the strip of cloth through her other hand, and snapped it tight. Just making sure.
“Nine times out of ten, whatever you’re fighting isn’t out for a straight kill,” she started, taking her place in front of him. The long piece of cotton hung limp at her side. “They’ll want you for other reasons--God only knows what, in some cases.” Claire rolled her shoulders, a crack of old tension popped in the space between the blades. Then she wiggled her fingertips at him in beckoning, for the first time, inviting Jesse to lead the attack. “So come at me like I’ve got the worst possible intentions... and that’s not always Death.”
She had a point there, and it settled like a lead weight in his stomach. There was still one problem, though. “I don’t want to hurt you. I mean, I don’t know much, but I know how to hold a knife. I could accidentally slice you.”
She wanted to smile at him; she wanted to assure that she knew he didn’t want to hurt her, but the risk involved was more real than their rough wrestling would ever be. She wanted him prepared, in case something ever rendered his magical crutches useless. So Claire kept her eyes hard and didn’t answer his concern. If she had to push him to defend himself, she would. Claire sprung at him with a sharp elbow set toward his ribs, careful to avoid the blade.
Jesse jerked away though her elbow still caught his side. He scuttled back with a hiss, knife out but not swinging. He knew Claire was trying to creep him out with how serious she was being, trying to get him to act like this was real. It was also kind of working, though he stuck on the defensive for now, trying to keep far enough away that he could think this through.
Claire circled him slow, noting the posture change, the rigidity set in his solid shoulders. His eyes sharpened, too, which she remembered as being more than a little unnerving. They’ll come faster than this she tried to convey without words, meeting his gaze in one hard line of eye contact before the next assault came. The cloth stretched between both her fists, crossed around the wrist that held her knife and tightened, then spun on a toe and attempted to bring his hand with her around his back. He twisted with her, though, jerking out of the bind and away from her as quick as he could
There was no smiling or exchanged banter as it went on; Jesse didn’t have the breath for it. He spent most of his time running from her, looking for a weakness that never surfaced. Eventually he tossed aside the knife, realizing it was keeping him from attacking. Her intensity doubled after that. He engaged her a couple times, getting a hand on her, thinking he might get her that time. But she always managed to turn it right around and he’d be scrambling to get away.
Eventually she ducked under him when his footing landed awkward on the edge of the mat; a quick fury of limbs and the snap of fabric ended the spar--both Jesse’s wrists tangled in a triple loop of blindfold, with the middle wrapped around his throat. Claire held him tight from behind, her final blow--her foot to the back of one knee--put him down in a kneel directly in front of her.
“Why’d you lose the knife?” she panted, and let some slack up on his neck. She didn’t want him passing out.
Sucking in air gratefully, Jesse took a moment to try to catch his breath enough to answer. “Couldn’t use it. Was holding me back,” he gasped out. That made Claire’s brow push down, but the expression evaporated when she caught the eye of two passersby wandering by the gym’s hallway window. The binding went slack, first at his throat, then both wrists. She let him go completely, circling around.
“Then why’d you chose it?” Claire bent down to a crouch in front of him, two gentle fingers pressed under his jaw so she could get a quick look. Good, no damage done. There were a few times she thought she might’ve gone too far.
Jesse swallowed hard. The fight had been weird. Being tied in five seconds had been weird. Having her gentle hands on him, her face close enough to kiss, that was just unnerving. “I was picking what I would’ve picked had it been a real fight. But it wasn’t a real fight. Kind of only realized that once it was started.”
“Good enough answer,” Claire commented with a small smile on her lips. There was only so much one could do to pretend--obviously she’d never intentionally hurt him, and she’d do her best to make sure she didn’t accidentally break something either. Claire also knew the same went with him.
“Let’s get some lunch.” She patted his cheek in good humor, and rolled her shoulders back to stand.
He gave a breath of a laugh, getting to his feet. “Yes, Mistress.”
“Hey, I’m a sweet, gentle, picture of demure femininity,” she retorted in the same tone he used. Hopefully the little flood of pink that crossed her cheek and nose was hidden when she gathered their things.