Esme
After the plan and teams were decided, Esme walked over to the back of Duke's truck, grabbed her duffle bag, unzipped it, and began to pull out the items she needed, wincing as she heard Anna’s words. Her first pick was her favorite pistol, which she tucked into her right jacket pocket. Then she took out flasks of salt and holy water, a couple of knives, and extra ammo, all of which she shoved into the pockets of her jacket and jeans. The last item Esme pulled from her duffle was a foot-and-a-half-long steel rod with an intricate inlaid design in iron. She didn't use it often, as it held some painful memories for her and was a gift from a family member. She zipped up her duffle and stepped away from Duke's truck. As she walked away, she ran her thumb over the small engraved letters on its surface:
To my fav cuz, from your fav cuz. Love Ari.
When Duke spoke, Esme looked at him and softly laughed at his mischievous smirk. “Can you ever be truly ready to play with demons?” she asked, giving him a mischievous smirk in return, hiding how uncomfortable she felt. With a quick flick of her wrist, it expanded into a five-foot-long bo staff, the ends made of iron. Esme twirled it in front of herself, over her head, then back in front. “Yeah, the sooner we get it over with, the better.” she replied as she stopped spinning the bo staff and planted one end on the ground. Being this close to so many demons made her skin crawl and feel incredibly uneasy. She hoped to keep herself in check and not lose control of her powers. She knew at some point, she was going to have to find a solution that would help her stay in control of them. Esme felt lucky knowing she wouldn't have to go it alone. She knew Duke would be there to help her in any way he could.
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Before everyone started to group up, Esme took that moment to clear her mind and focus on the task and what needed to be done, not what could happen. The longer she focused, the more her white-knuckled grip on her staff loosened. Sarah had come up, sitting next to her, leaning gently against her during this. Esme was determined to maintain control of her powers so that this whole thing didn’t go sideways for everyone. Esme had finally found her happy place by the time everyone had begun to group up. Taking a deep cleansing breath, she lifted her staff off the ground and walked over to the group as Dean started to bark orders. A small smile came to her lips when Duke interrupted Dean on what they could do before Dean could finish his sentence. “Yes, just like the old days.” she breathed, a small smile still on her lips. As the groups went their ways, Esme found a spot that gave her a clear view of everything.
Sarah came over and sat close to Esme while she watched the others move into their positions. Soon, her gaze focused on Natalia, watching as the woman took up her bow, nocked an arrow, loosed it, and hit her demon target. “Seo sinn a-nis.” she breathed as the demons noticed one of their members down. Esme gripped her staff, readying herself to jump in if either group needed help. As she stood there, she felt a knot growing in the pit of her stomach. No matter how hard Esme tried to ignore it, she couldn’t. Bad feelings and thoughts weren't needed at a time like this, not with how many demons were involved and how she had the tendency to lose control of herself. “Fòcas, Esme, fòcas.” she breathed to herself. “Gheibh thu tro seo gun dad uamhasach a’ tachairt.”