Odessa always insisted she was incapable of expressing gratitude, especially to those who've pursued their actions merely by compassion. The black-haired Guardian mentality was if she couldn't aid herself when required, how could she possibly support those in need? The slogan was engraved as teenager when mastering the techniques of using stealth in accomplishing mandatory assignments. The lecture she was obligated to attend was notably problematic, considering Odessa insisted she perform every task assigned in the heels she once adored. Odessa wasn't one to remain reticent when having an argumentative conversation, particularly with her teachers who assumed their opinion was above all.

           Odessa soon had a heart-to-heart conversation with her mother about altering her behavior, maturing for the sake of their name. Her childish antics were inadmissible and needed to come to a stop, or so her mother stated. Odessa remembered her father once said children cannot assist those who cannot protect themselves. His words had an effect on the young warrior. That's all she desired; to earn her rightful position in the Elite and defend the unaware, and the Organization of The Elite didn't engage with those who behaved foolishly. 

            The adolescent Guardian came to the conclusion she needed to accept her responsibilities and remain silent with the Elders and Connoisseurs who'd taken the time to prepare her for the future. And that was the beginning of Odessa's evolution into transforming to one of the best students listed. 

            So, when Dean and Sam called Odessa two weeks later after their first encounter, Odessa was somewhat obligated to feel indebted to them both for retrieving her from sleeping another motel room alone. She accepted their offer to travel with them, with hesitancy, of course. She wasn't entirely sure why they had decided another person would be an acceptable idea, but Odessa was desperate and was weary with stealing another vehicle she'd come across. The raven-haired warrior was apprehensive with agreeing to join them in what they called a 'case'. 

            Odessa settled her shoulder against the doorframe of her motel room, relishing the wave of fresh air soaring through her hair. She glanced between Sam and Dean, a bewildered expression plastered on her face as she fiddled with her bracelet. Chuckling, which resembled a huff of air more than a chuckle, Odessa quirked an eyebrow. "So, I saved your life once," She commenced, glimpsing at the oldest brother. "And you want me to join you both?" As she stated her thoughts, it sounded even more ridiculous aloud. Dean shrugged, sparing a glance at his brother. Returning his gaze to her, Dean attempted to fix his words. 

            "You didn't even know me, and you snuck into a police station to break me out. You didn't even know Sam and you didn't hesitate to help me save him," Folding her arms across her chest, she motioned him to continue. "And I wouldn't mind a beautiful woman saving people by my side." Odessa appeared unimpressed with his attempts to charm her. Tilting her head, a sly smirk formed on her maroon-stained lips. She raised a brow, unfolding her arms as she stepped back from the doorway, allowing access for them to enter her eerie motel room. "Has that line ever worked? Even once?" She teasingly questioned.

            Ignoring Dean's suggestive expression, Odessa ambled from one side of the room to the other, gathering the heaps of clothing. She furrowed her eyebrows as she glanced around the room with a perplexed demeanor. Overlooking both boy's befuddled looks, she dashed to the bed, lifting the pillow that reeked of cigarettes and hair spray. Odessa grinned in satisfaction as her grasp tightened against the grip, she ejected the magazine of the semiautomatic handgun, examining the silver bullets inside. Pushing the magazine upwards back into place, she then pulled the slide back, successfully loading it. She tucked the weapon securely in her waistband before returning her attention to searching for loose clothing.

            Examining the room, she hadn't failed to notice their lingering gazes. Sam appeared appalled by how panic-stricken Odessa was. He'd only seen three people who sleep with guns situated under their pillows; his father, Dean, and himself. He assumed Odessa was merely feeling heroic when saving their lives, he hadn't thought of her as a hunter. 

           Dean was awestruck by the onyx-haired woman as she handled the semiautomatic with ease. His mouth was agape as he admired Odessa with eagerness and wonder, somewhat apprehensive with her capable of ending their lives, yet he managed to be considerably aroused. Odessa chuckled at their contrasting expressions. "You're not the only ones who know about things that go bump in the night." She said teasingly as she gripped the handles of her now-filled duffle bag. Shutting the motel room's lights off as they exited the room, she peered at Sam questioningly as he swiftly dashed to the passenger door with an incomprehensible annoyance. Glancing up at Dean, she then noticed sweat beads forming on his hairline. He motioned with his hand to explain his brother's antics later.

            As they neared closer to their car, Odessa glorified the vehicle, which was now washed from debris that veiled that black paint from Constance's home, and allowed her fingertips to gently graze the coated paint. "I didn't have the time to admire the car last time," Odessa said, resulting with both brother's coming to a halt. "But, damn, a '67 Impala?" She shook her head as if the vehicle was something she couldn't process. Pulling the handle, she grinned as the hinges squeaked and closed the door with a bang. 

            Dean rested his forearm on the roof of the car, a delicate smile forming on his lips as he gazed off into the distance with an unreadable expression. Sam scrunched his brows together at the unfamiliar sight of his brother with a dazed glimmer. Chuckling, he shook his head before entering the passenger seat. 

<<>> 

            Odessa scrunched her nose in distaste as she fiddled with the unappetizing meal she was handed minutes prior. The fork in hand, she tossed the uncooked fries off to the side of the plate. She placed the fork on the rim of the plate, pushing the meal in the direction of Dean, knowing he'd enjoy the bland favor of the brunch. With her sudden lost of appetite, Odessa grabbed one of the few newspaper Dean collected. Her eyes scanned the circled articles in interest, reading the passages in silence. 

            "Can I get you anything else?" A blonde woman politely asked, placing both her palms on the edge of the table, evidently to expose her cleavage to Dean. Odessa inclined her head, glimpsing upwards through her lashes, chuckling at the woman's attempts to capture Dean's attention. The eldest brother smiled flirtatiously, the edge of the blue pen still propped between his teeth. Sam plopped down besides Odessa, scoffing silently as he watched Dean's attention leave the necessary items. 

           "Just the check, please." He said.

            The blonde, who's name tag read 'Wendy', smiled brightly, backing away from the table as she obliged to Sam's request. As she entered the kitchen, Dean groaned softly as he ducked his head in displeasure. Craning his neck, Dean informed Sam. "You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while," He said, resting his elbow on the tabletop. He pointed to the waitress as she sashayed from them. "That's fun."

            Noticing his alteration in behavior, Odessa grinned sympathetically as she extended her arm in his direction, offering the newspaper Dean was circling. "Here, I think Dean found something," She twisted the paper to allow them both to read. "Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week, Sophie Carlton. She was eighteen. She goes into the lake, and doesn't come out." She stated, reaching for her glassed water, sipping through the straw. "Authorities checked the water, nothing."

            "Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year," Dean explains, "None of the other bodies were found, either. They had a funeral two days ago."

            "A funeral?" Sam asks, clearly bewildered with the idea of burying an empty casket.

            Shrugging nonchalantly, Odessa sipped her drink once more before answering. "Yeah, people bury empty caskets when the bodies can't be found. I guess it's for closure, or something." 

             Furrowing his brows, Sam appears to be befuddled with the outrageous act. "Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Odessa. Other people just stop looking for them." Odessa rolled her eyes at Sam's inability to conceal his true motives of speaking. 

            Dean's eyebrows drew together as she re-positioned himself to sit taller. "Something you want to say to me?"

            Smacking his tongue against his teeth, Sam sighed heavily, shutting his eyes for a few moments before re-opening them, only to see the rising exasperation on Odessa's face, and the irritation on Dean's. "The trail for dad," He said, "It's getting colder everyday."

            "Exactly, what are we supposed to do?"

            "I don't know. Something. Anything." 

            "You know what, I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I want to find dad as much as you do?"

            "Yeah, I know you do," Sam said. Odessa was suddenly regretting her choice of seating. She felt as if she were restricted from moving because the tension was so thick, almost unbearable. "I've been the one with him every single day for two years. While you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find dad, but until then, we're going to kill everything bad between here and there, okay?" 

            Odessa blew out a huff of air from her cheeks, "Would it be strange if I announced my arousal right now?" She questioned aloud, pushing a bundle of hair behind her shoulder. She glanced at Dean from her peripheral vision, chuckling as she noticed his alteration in his demeanor as the words re-played through his mind. Sam laughed, knowing her words held a certain effect on Dean. 

            "All right, Lake Manitoc," Sam declared, changing the subject and pointing to the article on the newspaper. "Hey," He said, attempting to gather the attention of his distraught brother. "How far?"

<<>>

            The three trudged to the Carlton's porch in silence, knocking on the wooden door. Odessa observed her surroundings as she waited patiently for someone to answer the door. Their household resembled a cabin, which was constructed with wood as brown as the soil Odessa's heels dug into seconds prior. A majority of the lumber was coated in deep olive shade, mirroring the leaves that loosely hung from the trees. Heavy footsteps could be deciphered from the other side of the door, and Odessa returned her attention to the man who approached them. He pulled the door open, fixating his stare between the three. "Will Carlton?"

            "Yeah, that's right."

            Dean introduced themselves, "I'm Agent Ford. This is Agent Hamill, and this is Agent Witfall. We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service." He said, lifting his faux badge.

            As Dean and Sam conversed with Will about the disappearance, Odessa perceived the broad lake, the ripples of minuscule waves that clashed against each other, creating ripples of white. The breathtaking inland body of water must have stretched for miles, and was surrounded with soaring pine trees that appeared to fade into the lowered clouds. Her mocha eyes blazed with an intense fascination as she surveyed the lagoon. Odessa was never offered the opportunity to learn how to swim, something her father claimed was insignificant in Guardianship, but the warrior was still transfixed on those who could swim.

            As she drew near where the dry sand came into contact with the water, she observed the victim's father with sympathy blooming in her chest. Odessa had come to terms with the loss of her family months ago, and this man is just feeling the sensation of true loss. However, there were days where the longing for her brother's chatter was needed, or the affectionate embrace of her mother. Although she'd grown accustomed to the absence of their presence, she would never become acquainted with frightening realization she was alone. 

            "Odessa," She flinched as Sam shouted for her, motioning her to follow them to the Impala. She nodded, trudging along the patches of dirt and grass. She spared one more glance to the victim's father, then to the serene lake, before returning her gaze to the boys who stood their patiently for Odessa.

<<>>

            Dean's incapability to subtly flirt could be considered comical, however, Odessa was feeling the second-hand embarrassment from the evidently amused Andrea Bar. The three trailed Andrea as she directed them to the nearest motel with a reasonable price. Odessa refrained from laughing aloud as Dean attempted to charm Andrea with his comments. "So, cute kid." Dean complimented, chuckling as he did so. Andrea merely smiled widely and thanked him. 

           Apparently, Dean hadn't caught the drift that Andrea wasn't interested in communicating with him in a flirtatious manner. "Kids are the best, huh?" Odessa couldn't conceal the snort that erupted from the base of her throat. Bringing her hand to mask her lips, she continued to follow Andrea. However, it was becoming difficult to harbor her laughter when Andrea peered over her shoulder with a bewildered expression. 

            They all came to a halt in front of a motel titled 'Lakefront Motel'. "There it is. Like I said, two blocks."

            "Thanks." Odessa and Sam said. The Guardian pursed her lips as Andrea hadn't bother to look at either of them, or speak in response. Her gaze remained on Dean. "Must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pick-up line." Odessa's eyes widened as she guffawed loudly at Dean's reaction. "Enjoy your stay." Andrea waved her farewells and jogged across the street. 

            Sam scoffed, "Kids are the best? You don't even like kids."

            "I love kids."

            "Name three children that you even know."

            Dean accepted the challenge, licking his lips as he brought his hand from his pocket, attempting to count the nonexistent children. Sam scrunched his brows together, waving his hand to dismiss the conversation. Dean sighed, scratching the top of his head. "I'm thinking." Odessa chortled, trailing after Sam to buy a room.

            "At least you're pretty, Dean."

(A/N: I was going to continue with the whole episode but I thought it was going too much for one chapter. The next chapter should be published in a couple hours, or the latest is tomorrow. 

All right, do you guys like Odessa so far? Any suggestions for her character? Like her plotline? I really want to hear your opinions. Thanks for reading! :))

P.S If there are any mistakes with grammar, spelling, punctuation, or anything, please comment. I'll always appreciate that.