Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own anything related to the wonderful Supernatural series. Only the box set of the first eight seasons J Alas, I only my own characters and plot line.

An: This is my first published fanfic ever, so please be nice! And feel free to review and tell me if I'm doing anything horrendously taboo etc. This is first set prior to Season One, but then progresses to somewhere during Season One and then Two.

Feelings:

Chapter One:

– 8 Years Ago –

The king of the crossroads popped into existence somewhere off the Sunshine Coast of Australia. The T-junction was one of the nicer ones he'd seen, as the humid weather allowed all sorts of jungle-dwelling plants to grow freely and beautifully. If he looked to the East, he could see the famed Barrier Reef, and if it had been light, he fancied he would almost be able to make out some of the areas covered in coral. That being said, the bright blue water glistened black in the night, and a warm breeze stirred the waves into gentle lolling motions across the sandy beach.

But that wasn't what Crowley was looking at.

The demon was looking at the waif of a girl that stood before him, shivering despite the warm climate, looking as though she might fall over if the wind blew the wrong way.

'Sorry, love. I don't do kids.' Crowley said and turned to leave when the girl's voice spoke out, louder and stronger than he expected.

'You'll do me.' She said bravely, no fear in her voice.

Crowley stopped mid-turn and spun to face her. 'And why would I do that?'

'Because a storm's coming. And not the kind that you're going to like.'

Crowley had the distinct feeling she wasn't talking about the weather, but he feigned ignorance.

'It's a beautiful night. I don't see any clouds, do you?' He gestured towards the sky with one hand, but the girl didn't even look up.

'As storm is coming, and you're a demon. I thought you'd like to know. Demons are in the self-preservation business, are they not?' The girl's question seemed genuinely curious and Crowley started shaking his head slightly. He looked down at freshly dug hole in the middle of the road and sighed.

'Who taught you how to do that?' He said, trying to change the topic.

'I did.'

'How?' No human would just know how to summon a crossroads demon. It wasn't in their nature.

'It just…felt right.' The girl said with a small shrug and Crowley frowned. That didn't seem right to him.

'And I'm the king of hell, pleasure to meet you.' He said sarcastically. 'Now, how did you figure that out?' he pointed once again to the mound on the ground and the girl looked at him stoically.

'I just told you. It felt right. But that doesn't matter.'

'Why doesn't it matter?'

'Because I'm going to make a deal with you. That's all you care about, right?'

'Listen, darling, you've got the wrong demon. I don't do children.'

'I'm sixteen. And like I keep saying: you'll make a deal with me.'

Crowley started to wonder why he had stuck around for so long. It seemed like a never-ending loop with this girl.

'Whatever. What's your name?'

'Athaya.'

'Pretty name.'

'Thanks. But I'm not here to talk pleasantries, and neither are you.'

'Oh?' Crowley said, surprised at the girl's pluck. 'Am I not?'

'No. Because that would be a waste of your time.'

'You seem to know a lot about me.' Crowley said suspiciously. 'Is this some kind of trap?' He glanced around at the surrounding foliage and grimaced. Anything could be hiding in there.

'No. Why would I make a trap? You're just a demon.' Athaya said crisply and Crowley bristled.

'I happen to be king of the crossroads, love.'

The girl looked slightly taken aback. 'You're the king of the crossroads? As in king of the demons who make deals?'

'Sounds about right.'

'Oh. Well then that's even more intriguing.'

'Intriguing? I'm sorry. I thought I was here to make a deal. Now I'm intriguing?' He said sceptically.

'Of course you are. You're a demon,' Athaya said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 'It's utterly fascinating.' She gazed at him intently and Crowley found himself slightly uncomfortable under the girl's scrutiny.

'You know, for and Australian, you're a lot less…' Crowley searched for a word to describe what he generally thought Australians were like and came up with nothing.

'Bogan?' Athaya offered and Crowley chuckled.

'Yes. You're a lot less bogan.'

'Well that's because we actually don't spend most of our time riding kangaroos in flip-flops and wearing cork hats.' Athaya said with a grin.

Again, Crowley laughed. 'No. I can't really picture you doing any of those things. You're much too…fragile looking.'

Athaya glared at him momentarily. 'Thanks. I happen to be slightly unwell at the moment.'

'How so?' Perhaps that's what she wanted from him? Maybe she was sick.

'I haven't been sleeping well. Nightmares mostly. I lost my appetite a couple of days ago.'

No wonder the girl looked like a twig. Lack of sleep could do that to a person. 'You really should eat something.'

'Probably. But I just didn't have time. Between not feeling hungry and trying to figure out how to summon a demon from scratch, I was a bit hard pressed for it.'

'Why was there a time limit?'

Athaya tilted her head to the side. 'Is. There still is one. I need to make a deal before sunrise. And I can guarantee you I will have made one before this conversation ends.'