The warehouse was dimly lit, a flickering florescent bulb threatened to douse itself as the thunder rumbled outside. The rain echoed against the metal roof and Liora laughed despite her dire position. It was a bit cliche to be tied up in a warehouse during a thunderstorm being tortured by a demon, but as cliche as it was that was the current state of affairs. Her bright blue eyes darted around the room as deep red curled hair fell in her face. She shook it back to clear her vision. Biezle gave a wicked smile as he watched the blood drip from her lip.

" You have gotten in my way for the last time Liora" he snarled sliding the knife along her cheek, just slightly causing a line of pink to appear. She didn't give him the satisfaction of wincing, just continued to give him the loathsome stare she had been giving him for the past 15 minutes. A nasty bruise was already forming on her collar bone from being slammed into one of the steel beams.

"The angels may not have seen it fit to terminate you, but i have had enough of your interference, mutt," he spat the term as if her existence alone was filth on his lips. Liora was a rare creature which walked the a gray line between good and evil. Half angel, half human. She'd managed to hide well enough that the angels hadn't taken her out of fear for her of her power, however, living as a hunter she'd pissed off enough creatures to still fear for her life most days. Liora fought with the rune covered ropes that help her in place as she glared at Biezle. He gave a chuckle, 'Beg and perhaps i'll make it quick."He gave a sneer. She hocked back and spit a loogie in his face.

" Fuck off," she snapped back, eliciting an unearthly growl. It was a fine mess she'd gotten herself into this time for sure.

"You are not in the position to be impudent girl," Biezel growled, taking hold of her by her neck. " It will be a pleasure to kill you... you are far more trouble than you're worth.." He glared throwing her back against a large pillar in the warehouse. She struggled to push herself up from the ground, blood trickling down from her split lip.

" Do not hurt her. She may not be pure, but she is still an angel of the Lord" said a man who appeared in the room like a flash of thunder. His blue eyes illuminated in the light as he stared Biezle straight in the eyes. He looked at him as if ready to kill him with the snap of his fingers.\

Liora looked to the man, eyes wide with surprise. She'd never been defended by an angel before. All the angel's she ever met tried to kill her. She struggled to her feet, rune binding still holding her hands together. She tried to see this man through the dimly lit warehouse, but could only catch a glimpse of his face. Biezle faced with this new obstacle attempted to flee running from the imposing angel before him. The man did not pursue the fleeing demon, but instead turned to Liora, his icy blue eyes meet hers and they stood there silently for a moment.

" Hello Liora, I am Castiel, an angel of the lord. I have been commanded to kill you, but I will not. Your existence has peaked my interest. I may be full angel, but I know what it feels like to be human. I have come to protect you,"he said calmly, not at all fazed by her dazzled expression. Cas began to stare at her grace, it was a beautiful. The warm light of an angel's grace intertwined with a battered human soul.

While he stared at her, she stood there stunned for several minutes until she finally spoke," Hello Castiel", she bowed her head respectfully." Thank you for coming to my aid", she added as she looked at him still in awe of what had occurred. She stood as relaxed as she could manage with the pain and the bindings on her wrists.

Noticing her struggle, Cas flicked his wrist and broke the bindings holding her. Then he walked up and placed his hand on her forehead, healing her immediately. When he touched her he sensed her power. A shocked expression washed over his face, she was unbelievably powerful. At this point she could not utilize all the power she continued, but if she worked towards welding it, she may become more powerful than anything he'd ever seen before.

She exhaled, " Thank you." She rubbed her wrists, watching Cas with a perplexed face, tilting her head to the side. She wasn't quite sure what to make of him yet, though she was immensely grateful. " You won't be hearing any complaints from me. She shook her head walking over and picking up her old brown leather jacket from the warehouse floor. She dusted it off and pulled it back on.

"It's not safe here", Cas said. He wanted to reach out and touch her beautiful grace, but he knew it would be painful for her since she was part human. Instead he walked up and tapped her on the forehead, transporting them to an abandoned house somewhere in Georgia. When they arrived, she was very disoriented.

Cas looked at her and said, " You are very beautiful. Not as in looks, but as in your essence. You have outstanding potential." His blue eyes sparkled in the dim house lights. She stumbled around for a moment and tried to stabilize herself.

" I think that deserves a thank you?" she spoke, not sure what he meant. "Yea...we'll go with that...thank you." She looked up at him for the first time, getting a decent look at him for the first time. He was beautiful. He wore a loose tan trench coat and had dark short hair. He looked at her with watchful icy blue eyes. " Where are we?" she questioned softly as she gazed up at him.

" I will not tell you. My apologies, but if someone were to infiltrate your dreams, you may disclose the location. I can however tell you we are in the United States of America and are safe for the time being," Cas said moving to the kitchen. She nodded, that was enough information for her. Castiel began to make a sandwich, trying to remember exactly how to do it. When he was finally finished he presented her with the sloppy sandwich.

She smiled when she saw the sandwich and said," Thank you Castiel." Walking into the kitchen, she took a seat at one of the stools and began to eat the sloppy sandwich with a soft smile.

"I hope you realize that there is only so much protection I can provide. The demons and my brother will hunt you to the death. I am not nearly as powerful as the heavenly host of angels or the strongholds of heaven. I apologize in advance," Cas called to her.

"I am not completely incapable, I managed to protect myself for many years," she spoke softly. " I have killed angels before..." she said, looking ashamed, " I did not want to..." she shook her head looking to Castiel. " I am thankful for your help." She gave a nod.

"I am aware, of course. I have been studying you for quite some time before I disregarded my superiors to come help you. The whole heavenly host thinks you are an evil abomination, but I Can't help but disagree. I can emphasize with your angel/human plight... This wouldn't be the first time I disregarded heaven for a mortal," he said, staring into her eyes. He moved closer to her, closer than most would find comfortable. " I've been waiting to meet you for a while," he said softly.

She looked up at Castiel studying his face as he spoke. She'd never met anyone quite like him, but then again, she'd never formally met an angel. " Well I hope I do not disappoint", she spoke softly a sparkle in her bright blue eyes.

" You are much more beautiful in person," He said while putting a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the face he had watched for so long. It was so much better than he had imagined. Remembering that he should not form attachments with mortals, he backed away. " I forgot, you humans tend to like personal space," he said, composing himself again.

'You humans' stung in a way that it shouldn't have. In a way that no words had ever stung her before. She looked down at her hands and gave a quick nod, " Yea..." After a pause she lifted her head. " Thank you for the sandwich..." she spoke softly, leaving half of it untouched, losing her appetite. She moved away from the kitchen and began to explore the house. Finding a picture window, she took a seat on the bench gazing out into the misty moonlit night with too many thoughts.

Cas approached her at the window and sat down next to her. The bench was just small enough where their legs were touching. " I will leave you alone after this, but there is nothing in this house. You may be cold. Here." he said, thrusting his tan trench coat into her arms. Cas felt very strange without his trench coat on but he ignored it.

Liora looked at the angel who had seen it fit to save her from certain death. She blushed as she looked at Castiel's shining blue eyes and felt the warmth of his leg against hers. " Thank you... Castiel... really... Thank you, " she said with a smile, trying to hide her blush. She moved away from the window and into the living room. She curled up on the over sized armchair and settled in under Castiel's coat. It smelled of him... a mix of man and something else... something beyond identification. This was the scent that filled her nose as she awoke. Daylight filled the room and she stretched.

Seeing that she was awake, Castiel entered the room. " Good morning. I hope you were not cold," he said with a small smile.

She looked up at him. " Good morning," she replied, running her fingers through her hair. " I wasn't cold either... Your coat kept me warm, Thank you." She offered him an appreciative smile.

" Don't worry, I didn't go through your mind while you were sleeping. I've heard that's prying. Humans and their secrets confuse me," he said while picking up his trench coat and putting it back on.

" You don't have secrets?" she asked curiously.

" I do, I suppose. One is that I'm attracted to you. Is that weird?" he said with longing in his eyes.

She looked to him. " If you are willing to share those thoughts, then you don't have secrets... that's not a bad thing...secrets can be bad sometimes." She turned to face him. " Do you think it's weird?" she questioned.

" Well I am an angel. I am not allowed to have emotions, but I'm glad I do," he said while running his fingers through her hair. " My apologies, I'm getting carried away," he said, but instead of backing away, he moved even closer.

" Why aren't you allowed to have emotions?" she questioned, looking up at him with fascination. Surprisingly, he didn't make her uncomfortable.

" Because then this happens and then we can't follow orders. They think that love slows you down and dulls your senses. I tend to disagree with heaven on most things." He moved closer until they were almost touching. " Does this make you uncomfortable?" he asked in a low voice.

" No..." she spoke softly, looking up at him. " It seems odd to me that a God of a religion based on love and acceptance would view love as a bad thing." She wondered aloud with a perplexed look on her face.

"A powerful creature such as myself has no room for such trivial emotion," he said, backing away as if he had finally came to his senses, his voice was cold as if chastising himself for such behavior. He straightened his tie and said, " My apologies, it won't happen again."

She blinked and made an expression as if she'd just been slapped. She shrank away. " How long will we be staying here?" She questioned, composing herself and standing a little straighter.

" Not much longer," he said and quickly rushed out of the room, collapsing on the coach in the other room. He couldn't believe himself. He promised himself he would keep his composure. He promised himself he wouldn't fall in love. Yet here he is again, he knows how this story ends, He can't bear to go through this again. He felt a tear rush down his angelic face, How lowly of an angel to cry over humanity. How could he ever return home. He was filthy, a blemish of a celestial being. He didn't know what to do so he cried.

She looked after him with a concerned look on her face. She battled between going after him and giving him space. Ultimately she chose to give him space. If he was having trouble it would be hard enough for him to deal with, let alone the bruise to his pride of her seeing him that way. He may have claimed that emotions were trivial, but she knew all too well that was a lie. She went to an upstairs room and found an old desk. She sat down at it and put her head down on the old wood surface. She didn't know what to feel about all of this. She was being hunted by everything but those worries seemed to be far away. Instead she thought about Castiel. She couldn't ignore the way he made her feel. The way her heart leaped when he smiled and how badly she wanted him to hold her tightly. She sighed, she didn't understand anything right now.

Downstairs, Castiel had finally gained his composure and wiped the tears from his eyes. He got up and turned around. His eyes widened. There was a man standing in the doorway.

" Well, well, Castiel. Running away with a human are we," the man said with a mocking smile.

Castiel looked astonished and only managed to say one word. " Gabriel."