"Whoa, dude, these are pretty awesome…"
A collection of photos of stars in space. There were so many of them, so many colors; reds, greens, blues, yellows, purples all swirling together to create something…amazing.
It was a long time since Dean had seen something truly beautiful.
"Hey, Cas, come check these out."
The angel wandered over with a mildly curious look on his face. He peered over Sam's shoulder to view the computer screen. His eyes widened slightly, and a soft smile settled over his face.
"Humans are truly remarkable. I had never thought that it would be possible for you to capture an image of one of us."
Sam's eyebrows knit together in confusion, "One of you?"
"Yes," Castiel nodded, "A partially physical manifestation of our true forms."
"So angels… look like stars?" Dean frowned.
"In a manner of speaking, I suppose," Castiel responded.
Sam pointed to the screen, "So who's this one?"
Cas smiled again, "That is Sameal. His true form is one of the brightest in all of heaven."
Dean pointed to the next one, "And that?"
"Orifiel. We were not close, but I have heard many tales of her grace…"
The two men and the angel spent the next hour huddled around Sam's computer screen, as the sky slowly darkened. They would take turns pointing at a picture, and Cas would tell them the name of the angel, sometimes a memory that he had of them.
It was late when Sam opened up the last one. For a minute, Dean was speechless.
Twisting and turning stars gravitated around each other with ethereal blues and purples. It was breath taking.
"Wow…" Dean breathed, "That must be one seriously badass angel. Cas…?"
Castiel was observing the photograph with a strange look on his face, head tilted slightly to the side. For a moment, there was silence.
Dean cleared his throat, "Cas, who is that?"
He looked up, and ancient eyes met his own. For a moment, Dean could see the cosmos spinning through space and time, rotating through galaxies bigger than he could ever comprehend. Then Cas spoke.
"That one…that one was once Castiel."