theroadpaved | Open PSL

[ This forest isn't big enough for TWO loyal weirdo knights... but somehow the stupidity persists.

It's nice, you know. In spite of the everything, AKA the same way that anything nice is nice for this family. Weird pockets of fun or quiet that they can scrape out every once in a while. Grave dirt under his fingernails, cold beer in his hand, saying something stupid that Sam can roll his eyes about.

Or, in this case, that Cas can either roll his eyes about or take at total face-value. And there's no beer. And mostly they've got blood under their fingernails. What can he say, it's always a dice roll. It's still pretty quiet here right now, and that's still nice. ]

Not like we haven't worked with worse. [ Seems pretty clear. Flat ground. Dean walks a little circle anyway to scope the perimeter that he's invented in his mind. He doesn't catch any unusual movement yet, so that's good.

No fire. Goes without saying. That's fine. Gonna be hard enough keeping a low profile when they're dealing with actual targeting magic. Tempting fate would be stupid at this point. (Maybe they'll tempt it tomorrow.)

He fishes around in his jacket pockets for a few seconds when he finishes his circuit and pulls out... dare we believe... it is. A Fruit Roll-Up to offer. ]

Rations?

[ You're his world, bro... he has to offer just on principle even though you are An Angel.

Note to self, Dean. Think about carrying around some trail mix or something. ]

[Usually a brisk 'no' would be Castiel's response, but watching Dean search his pockets for anything to eat and offering up his only find makes something inside of him gentle. He can recall the warmth of Dean's palm against his ear, even now, as if it were still there. They're trapped in these woods, Dean's shoulder must hurt terribly, and they can't even go looking for shelter for the night but still Dean laughed at something he found amusing and is holding out his only food to an angel that doesn't eat.

It's probably too dark for Dean to see Castiel's expression. The sun's made a lot of progress towards the ground. Maybe it comes through in his voice anyway.] I'm alright.

[He takes it a step further, touching the back of Dean's proffered hand just barely to push it back towards his chest.] Keep your strength up. You'll need it to fend off Sam's worry once we're out of here.

Edited 2025-11-10 20:12 (UTC)

[ Bonus unlocked: one of Dean's favorite tones of voice, which he figures he's at least allowed to admit to himself. Manfully. As long as he's not like constantly out in the world trying really hard to earn it on purpose.

It's not exactly the same when you gotta hold your hand out and ask. It's just something that you turn into an obligation. And he doesn't have to examine his feelings or anything about it, alright. It's just--

Whatever. It's whatever. It doesn't matter. He's keeping his school lunch treat-tier snack and his tone-of-voice gold star and following the change in subject like a moth to a light bulb. ]

We're not fendin' that off by a long shot, pal. [ Man, imagine if they could. Imagine if Dean wasn't making his sick little brother probably get even sicker worrying about him not coming back from a hunt on time. Crazy. ] Best-case scenario, we make our peace and brace for impact.

[ That kid worries like it's both of his full-time jobs. ]

[The vibrancy of Dean's soul thrums, and Cas lets himself imagine it's because of something he did.

The inevitability of Sam's concern now before them, they both sober. Night falls properly and completely, and the forest comes alive with the sound of nocturnal creatures. There isn't much for Dean to do in the darkness but rest and recuperate, Cas on his feet a few yards away, keeping watch. The silence usually doesn't bother Castiel, and he and Dean have sometimes passed hours in the car with hardly a word spoken between them, but something...gnaws.]

Earlier, [Cas begins, voice low and soft,] when I...moved away from you. [The flinch.] It wasn't because of you.

I want you to know that.

[ Nothing like chilling in the deepening darkness to give a man time to think. Mostly about how screwed they are when they get back to Sam. It's a pretty standard-issue thought path. One of those things Dean can idly turn over in his head without having to get too serious.

It's not bad out here. Wounds and danger and cold, all-around shitty circumstances aside. Oh, Dean needs his fast food joints. The Impala needs driving. The work never ends. But it can be nice to be in nature once in a blue moon. It's that kind of quiet that turns up on long-haul drives at 2 AM.

If the canopy wasn't so thick, they could probably see a hell of a lot of stars.

His reply is slower to come, because- well, Dean's crappy at this stuff. Can't admit that that's a huge relief if true, or that maybe it made his blood curdle, can't figure out the right thing to say back. ]

It's not like I'd blame you if it was, Cas. I was about to yank a freakin' arrow out of your skull. [ There. Perfect. A little jokey, a little it's fine, seriously.

He turns his head in the general direction of Cas's voice. ]

Wanna let me know what it was about or are we stickin' to what it wasn't?

[ Open invite. Talk to me, but like not if you don't want to, but also I'm gonna sit here in the woods and wonder about why it's enough of a thing for you to want to bring up, but not to explain 100%. Very casual. ]

[He hadn't gotten that far, truthfully; he just recalled Dean's desperately defiant tone and trembling pointer finger as he said, I did not leave you, and it became clear that Dean would blame himself for near anything that made Castiel bleed if left alone with it. So he doesn't know what to say, doesn't know how to explain it, doesn't even know what to think of it beyond, It's not your fault.

With the question here now, though, Castiel thinks. What was it about?]

I...

[Cas?

Oh. Castiel abandons the thought and tilts his head, listening.] Sam is praying. ...he's figured out our phones aren't working.

[ "I...?" He nothing apparently. He changes the subject apparently.

And it's obviously his choice and if he doesn't wanna tell Dean about what's up, he doesn't have to or anything. Obviously. That's obvious. And for sure what's happening here.

Maybe Dean's just getting hangry. ]

Dammit. [ Sam's been so laid out, he was hoping they'd get more non-freaking-out time before he realized something's wrong. But not so.

Dean pushes himself back to his feet with a groan, like he's worried Sam will pierce the veil and see him on the ground and think he's hurt-hurt. Capital-H Hurt. Go off all half-cocked about it. Plus, well, he doesn't know if these angel-targeting measures ping onto stuff like "receiving a prayer over the soul antenna." Better if he stays close to Cas just in case. ]

Tell him I said to park his lanky ass back in bed pronto! [ Don't worry. It's a whisper-yell. Not even a real one yet.

This is a reasonable demand to make, right. On all fronts. ]

[Babygirl, how do you presume he do that]

I can't pray back to him, [Castiel points out, put out that Dean got up for no reason but still losing track of their conversation in favor of listening to Sam.

Sam, being the smart one of the group, already knew the exchange of information would only be going one way and is treating Cas to a feverish stream of consciousness about how much time he's willing to give it before he starts calling other hunters to see who might be nearby and able to mount a rescue, with or without him along. It's only because you're there Cas that I'm giving you guys until morning, Sam warns him, worry and malaise coloring the emotions of the prayer sickly yellows and purples. Keep my big brother safe. I'm begging you.

...Sam has always had so much more faith in him than he deserves.] He's going to start calling hunters to mount a rescue in the morning. He's...okay. Mostly coherent.

Edited 2025-11-11 22:01 (UTC)

-- shut up. [ Gottem (you did not). Take that (there was nothing to take because you were literally just wrong).

Dean needs to pace about this, still. He needs to be on guard and pacing about it. Quick hunt, he thought, little extra quality time with his best friend, Sammy'll just be put out about missing the action.

Mistake number one is always thinking something's gonna go easy. If he hadn't died from being stupid before in his life, he'd be amazed he's lived this long. That's just how the cookie crumbles, though. No time to wallow. ]

Oh yeah, as long as he's mostly coherent. Pain in my ass little... mount a rescue. [ Dean loves him. He loves him so much. He loves that he's a person who worries and cares and wants to look out for them. He loves that he's smart as hell and competent and still Sam, even after everything.

But a Sam who gets all fussy? For CLEARLY no good reason? Truly the most annoying bitch on God's green earth. ]

We got no exact location, we don't know where they've got any other traps laid out, and we don't even know how many of these sons of bitches we're dealin' with. We could be bait right now, Cas. I don't dig that.

[ They have targeting but all he got was tagged on the shoulder. All they could do was ground Cas and immobilize him-- okay, that's not exactly an "oh all we could do was this measly immobilizing and grounding an angel, which is nothing."

That must take some serious heft or some serious numbers or however these freaks do business, because Cas is-- y'know, he's Cas. Point is, live bait sells. ]

[Dean isn't wrong, either, and now that they know there's a countdown until Sam potentially puts himself in harm's way, there's no chance Dean will let himself sleep even a little.]

...okay. [Tucks his hands into his coat pockets. Waiting the druid out until morning is no longer an option. That he could try and argue the point or even angel-tap Dean to sleep does not even warrant consideration.] So. We use fire.

[ STOPS

MID-PACE

ON A DIME ]

I like fire.

[ Babe please don't say sike. He needs this. ]

We need to be strategic with it. [Somewhere back in town Sam is taken with full body shivers that he thinks are due to the fever breaking.] Druids are also fiercely protective of nature. If we threaten it enough, the druid may reveal itself and attack us.

[ Sam needs to understand that this is for the greater good. And also for enrichment, but nobody needs to know that. Since they're going to be strategic with it.

Semi-suicidal plans? In this relationship? It's more likely than you think. Dean is itching to channel some aggression through destruction. All sympathies and respect to the squirrels out here, that is. ]

Lucky for us, a little strategic arson is in every hunter's playbook. [ Page one of the playbook, in fact. ] So what, set a few going, lure Treebeard out into the open, gank 'em? Without, [ he must emphasize, ] another round of angel arrows to the face.

[ In an ideal world, it would be that simple. Luckily Dean has already remembered that there's no such thing as simple. He's blue-skying right now is all. Remembering the best-case scenario he's aiming for. ]

We follow this creek to a larger source first, [Cas argues, because if they're going to start a forest fire, they're going to have a lake nearby for Dean to get into so he doesn't burn to death if the flames escape their control.]

Edited 2025-11-12 00:23 (UTC)

[ If Dean was already crouching down to scrape some leaves and twigs together and scope out the burnability around here, that's between him and...... Cas, technically.

He can finally get this old receipt and a couple crumpled-up napkins out of his life forever by using them to save the forest. By... saving the rest of the forest rangers who might be on the sacrifice target list. Who are then gonna help save the forest from whatever damage they're about to do. Not much, hopefully. ]

What, you want more open ground for this guy?

[ Not an argument in the strictest sense. More like "I mean, I guess I can do that as long as we're still doing this, but water's water." ]

[Maybe they were just made to argue with each other even when they agree.] And if this entire clearing goes up in flames? You think that little trickle will keep you alive? [Keep my big brother safe.] We find a pond first. [I'm begging you.]

Ohh, c'mon with that crap, Cas. Smoke inhalation'll get me way before I have to worry about catching on fire.

[ Dean then forges on like the stubborn bulldog he is, because he realized towards the end of that sentence that it probably doesn't help. If he doesn't continue he's just setting up karma to fall in a pungee pit or something. ]

Look, we're gonna kick this thing in the ass before any of it's even a factor!

[Pissed off that Dean's ignoring him and pissed off that Dean's probably right because Cas had forgotten that humans can't breathe in smoke for too long, Cas contemplates kicking wet dirt onto Dean's little tinder pile to be petty.] You're just being reckless because you're impatient. We can walk half a mile upstream.

I'm always impatient, it's part of my goddamn charm! [ He lies, like a lying liar. What even is this! Now his arson placement judgement isn't good enough??? And other such dramatic bitchy thoughts with no long-term heat to them.

Dean abandons his dumb tinder pile momentarily to point. J'accuse. ] Sammy preemptively outvoted me on everything, didn't he?

Sam only asked me to keep you safe, after I've already failed. [Throws a hand in the direction of Dean's wounded shoulder, pure frustration rolling off of him like water on a raincoat.] If I have to be incapable of healing your wounds, you could at least let me try to prevent them.

Alright-- [ There's probably some stuff to unpack here. But Dean's been living out of a suitcase since he was four, so there's no guarantee he'll manage it. ]

Let's get this cleared up right now. 'cause I know you feel bad about your angel mojo situation, but this is not the hill to die on, Cas.

[ Look, see, he's walking over properly and everything. ]

One, you didn't fail anything. My head wasn't in the game, I should've known better, I got myself shot. And you know what? Still here. Crap happens, buddy. [ He gestures to their general surroundings. This is just some of the crap. The crap that's happened. ] Two, it's nobody's job to keep me safe. Not yours. Not Sam's. You watch my back, I'll watch yours, that's plenty to go around.

[ And the same is not true for him because it actually is his job to keep the last little scraps of people he cares about safe, and he's the one that keeps fucking up at it. Goes without saying. Thank you. ]

Three-- [ VERY important, three- ] If we don't find a pond when we get a half-mile out, I'm lighting it up anyway.

[ Cas can have one concession because Dean loves him and is so generous and mature. Wow. ]

[Dean swaggers up to him and Castiel digs within the well of affection he has for the man, ever present as it is, to keep himself from automatically ignoring everything coming out of his mouth out of spite.

This is the problem with the two of them. Dean is, without a doubt, the greatest and most loyal friend Castiel has ever had in his entire life, and one of the most loving people to ever exist besides, but they are fundamentally different species. It makes everything from communication to discerning intent a fucking nightmare, to put it plainly, and now is one of those times because Dean looks as if he's explaining extremely simple concepts to a small child and Castiel is trying to derail the train of thought that chugs along to the tune of Why don't you get it, why don't you get it?

"I know you feel bad about your angel mojo situation," like Castiel didn't bring this upon himself by destroying his family and his home and then fleeing from it like a coward. "You didn't fail anything," like Castiel isn't a creature capable of spreading out his senses like water, half-occupying an area with a radius of five hundred feet to pinpoint every movement, hear every breath, catch every scent. Dean's head wasn't in the game? Castiel's entire being had checked out. "It's nobody's job to keep me safe," like Dean isn't all of the best things about humanity that God commanded the angels to love. Four hundred million years of watching and waiting, for these few scant years spent in the bubble of warmth given off by one Dean Winchester, and he thinks that it's not Castiel's job to look after him.

Even more than that, he chose this job, against Heaven's will. Like he's not going to take that gunshot wound personally.

-but Dean caves. Or at least, that's how Castiel's going to choose to see it. He'll walk with Cas to look for a better spot, possibly because between the two of them, despite all outward appearances, Dean is actually the more reasonable person here and Castiel is the fucking insane lunatic creature who will go to truly unhinged lengths to get what he wants. Which, given what he wants is Dean alive and well, he doesn't find to be too unreasonable after all.]

Fine.

[All of that, summed up to 'fine.' Don't worry, there's a chaser.] But if you die in this forest fire, I will kill the Reaper that comes for you and will pour out my Grace into the ground to raise you back up. [So be prepared for THAT, bucko.

And since that's not up for debate, Cas will whirl dramatically and start stalking his way upstream.]

Edited 2025-11-12 04:41 (UTC)

[ Dean reminds himself, not for the first time or for the last, that there's only so long and so many times you can say "you have no idea how much I missed this" once you get someone back. Like, before it's just weird to say anything. Every morning he wakes up and puts the sentiment in a professional sleeper hold, because that's what he does with most of his sentiments. It's part of the gig.

Damn, he did, though. He missed this. He lets himself have this surge of weirdly-timed affection about it while no one's actively trying to murder them again. Before his brain can sour it somehow. ]

Well if it's that easy, [ he says to basically nothing because Cas is already whirling off like a drama queen and Dean has to very coolly stumble into following him. (If a man tries to clap back in a forest and no one hears it, does it really make a sound?)

And look, Dean will maintain it's no one's job to keep him safe or take care of him for the rest of his life probably. Them's the breaks. As close as he gets to making peace with anything, he did that a long while back.

But it's not like it's not nice to hear it from Sam or from Cas or-- anyone. Once in a while. It's nice to hear. It's nice that they... try or whatever. That sentiment just has to get escalated from a sleeper hold to a bare-handed crushing for the purposes of living in reality, is all. ]

You're one stubborn sonofabitch, you know that?

[ Normal things to sound all fond and like you're gonna write about in your diary with glitter gel pens later. Girl..... get UP. ]

I've been told. [Tone flatter than the flattest object on Earth. The irritatingly obvious affection in Dean's voice does not go unnoticed and it makes him feel conflicting things. One emotion at a time is confusing enough.

Dean stumbles again and Cas turns, holds out a palm towards the ground and- yes. Uses his grace like a flashlight. Like Dean probably doesn't have one in his pocket like usual. Shut up, leave him alone, let him be helpful.]

[ Even when he's in a snit he turns to help Dean out. You get up too Cas. But don't actually. Dean doesn't deserve it, but he's selfish enough to keep on enjoying that special Castiel quality while it lasts.

And if it might help Cas out with that all-too-familiar "if I can't do anything that feels useful I will die" feeling... fine, that's a bonus. Because getting the usefulness thing outta Cas's thick-ass angelic skull is gonna take a lot more time and work than they have right now.

Grace lights it up a little sharper anyway. Dean's starting to wonder if he even is the weirdo loyal knight right now. Dammit. ]

What can I say, I call 'em like I see 'em. [ Anger issues mcgee. ] I should probably shuffle "Backdraft" down the movie night list after this, huh?

[ Even though it's awesome. Like really awesome. ]

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