Hey guys! So this story came to me in the middle of writing a different AU, Devil's Trap, and I somehow finished this one while in the middle of that. But anyway, this is an AU as well, and my Beta, ArtfullyCriminal, thought it was brilliant when I told her what I wanted to do with it. And when I let her read this chapter, she pointed out that no one will ever be immune to Cas popping up out of nowhere, which was hilarious because I hadn't even realized I had done it. xD On to other things, please enjoy and tell me what you think!
Wisty
"Cath! Cath ith here, Mel! Yaay, Cath ith here! Hey, Cath, can we make cookieth thith time, but not thothe groth nut oneth like Grandma Joy maketh? Oh and look! I lotht my front teeth tho that'th why I'm talking funny but I can feel the new oneth growing in and it'th really weird and-" 'Ah, little Faith. Always a bundle of energy.' Castiel thought with a smile, kneeling down to pick up his charge as he walked to greet his Lady and her family.
His Lady saw him after her daughter had squealed that he was there, giving him a smile which he gladly returned.
"Lady Anna. I suppose your vacation went well?" She rolled her eyes at the 'Lady Anna' part. She had tried to get him to stop calling her that ever since he had first arrived almost five years ago.
He had been the Angel of an elderly widow then, and when the woman had decided that her estate was too much for her and her two Angels to keep up with, she had given Castiel and his older brother, Gabriel, to families who needed them. It had been painful to say goodbye to her, since she had bought him as a fledgling and he had grown in her home. But that was fifty years ago, and the couple had aged, the husband dying at sixty-five due to an aneurism. Castiel still received letters from her, and whenever his current family didn't need him, they allowed him to go visit her in the nursing home she resided in. He was happy that Anna and Jackson understood his wish to visit, and he always did his best to return his gratitude.
"Yes, Castiel, our vacation was excellent. I know the girls had tons of fun, didn't you?" And with that, Faith started talking a mile a minute again, telling him about their vacation and all the things they did and the characters they saw. She kept this up until he was tucking her into bed, mumbling about how Mickey Mouse had given her a special balloon for the third time.
"Goodnight, Faith. Have sweet dreams. I'll see you in the morning." He kissed her temple, and exited the room, slowly closing the door behind him. He turned and walked towards the kitchen, seeing the light was still on. Inside he found Anna sitting at the table, a form in front of her. Since Castiel is an Angel and his senses are more heightened than a human's, he could see what was on the document, and what Anna had written.
Orange River Elementary School
Angel Visitation Form
Dear parent/guardian,
We are pleased to announce that Tuesday, November 16this our annual Bring Your Angel to School Day. Students from grades 1-5 will be allowed to bring their family Angel with them to school on this day. The Angel will be allowed to stay in the classroom of their assigned child, and may be allowed to visit teachers for an update on their child's ability in class.
For the safety of the children, staff, and the Angels themselves, we ask that you fill out this form completely. We will be separating the Dominant and Submissive Angels for lunches, regardless of Mating status, for everyone's safety and well-being.
Please have your child return this form to their teacher by Tuesday, November 2nd.Angels may bring a pre-prepared lunch with them that follows with our Food Allergy Policy.
Sincerely,
Ken Osland
Principal
Name: Castiel
Category: Submissive
Mating Status: Unmated
Wing Color: Black
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Assigned Child: Faith Madison Tronten
PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM BY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND
"Does Faith know this is coming up?" Anna jumped, whirling her head around to find Castiel in the doorway.
"Cas! Oh, you scared me. But no, she doesn't know yet. This form was sent out the Friday that we left for our vacation, so I didn't know about it until I looked in her backpack for any late homework. It's due this Tuesday, so I'm sending it with her tomorrow. You don't mind going, do you? I know Faith will beg and plead until you agree." Anna always asked for Castiel's opinion, no matter what it was, and he appreciated that kindness, knowing that there were other Angels out there with Masters that weren't so kind.
Castiel shook his head. "No, I don't mind going. It will be the first time I've been to the school, so Faith will be able to tell me about it, which I'm sure she will enjoy to no end." He chuckled, imagining how the little girl would pull him along by his arm, point out every detail of the building and tell him which room was which, and who was who.
"Yeah, she'll be so excited that you may have to hold her down to get her to go to sleep." She laughed because it was true. Whenever Faith gets excited about something, she almost refuses to sleep, and it usually ends with Castiel holding her in her bed and calming her with nonsensical trills and purrs in his True Voice, loud enough to be heard by the girl, but not loud enough to cause any damage.
Most humans will have their Angel's vocal chords clipped while they are still fledglings, but Castiel's family had never seen the need since he was a quiet child, never making any unnecessary noise unless he and Gabriel started playing. They never told him to ignore his instincts, either, and after Castiel had sensed that something was wrong one night, they trusted his judgment. He had told them that something felt off, that they weren't safe, so they had locked and bolted every window and door that night, even putting up the warded steel plates in the windowsills. The next morning, they went outside to find deep gouges in the doors, blood from chicken and sheep carcasses from the neighbor's farm on the walls, the smell of death hanging heavy in the air. It had been a werewolf, mad from disease and anger. They never ignored him when he said he had a feeling after that day.
"Yes, that may be. Or, she'll try to be clever and see if she can sneak into my nest again." Castiel laughed, remembering the first time she had tried and gotten caught by her father.
Anna shook her head. "Yeah. Well, go on and head out to bed, Cas. Those girls are going to be a handful tomorrow." Castiel nodded, heading towards the patio door at the other end of the room.
"Goodnight, Lady Anna."
"Goodnight, Cas."
2 weeks and 1 day time skip
"Come on, Faith. Hold still so I can fix your hair." The seven year old was squirming like a fish out of water in Castiel's lap. He was trying to pull her hair into pigtails like she wanted, but she was talking nonstop, trying to tell him what was going to happen in class today.
It's Angel Visitation Day at Faith's school, and Castiel was going along with Faith on the school bus, since both cars had been taken by both Jackson and Anna, having to be at work at five-thirty and having an early meeting at six, respectively. Faith had also insisted, of course. Jackson had taken Melody to the daycare already, so all Castiel had to do was get Faith dressed and be outside with her in twenty minutes. And he still had to fix their lunches!
"Faith, if you don't hold still, I won't be able to fix our lunches and we'll be late for the bus, which means that I won't be able to go to school with you and you won't be able to show me everything." The audible click of her small teeth told him he had said the right thing. He smiled to himself, running the brush through her copper hair, pulling half to the side and securing it with a hair tie. "All right, now go brush your teeth and be quick about it! Go on!" He patted her back as she ran out of her door and across the hallway to the bathroom. As she was there, Castiel went downstairs and into the kitchen, and he quickly put together some sandwiches, some fruit, and a few vegetables.
A few minutes later, Faith came running into the kitchen. "Come on, Cas! Maybe Gabe is gonna be there with Stella! I want you guys to do that funny game for the teacher!" She began to tug at his slacks, eager to leave. Castiel laughed as he put their lunches in a messenger bag and put it over his shoulder, carefully avoiding pulling any feathers.
"All right, all right, let's go then!" He grabbed her hand and they both ran to the front door, his wings flaring slightly in excitement. They only stopped long enough outside for Castiel to lock the door after he set the alarm, and then they were sprinting down the drive to the street, laughing and racing each other to the end. Castiel was obviously outrun by the girl, and when they reached the street, the yellow school bus was just pulling up. The doors opened and Castiel ushered Faith up the steps, smiling to the driver as he got on.
"Accompanying a child for Visitation Day?" The man was obviously aged, given the way he sounded irritated by asking the question. Castiel first glanced to the other occupants of the bus, mostly children of varying ages, but there were also a few Angels scattered about, then to the nametag pinned to his shirt. 'Rufus'. He looked back to the man, Rufus, and smiled.
"Yes, sir." The man reached forward and pulled out a clipboard from a small compartment. Castiel could read names and streets on the paper. It seemed that Rufus had to keep a record of the children that boarded with Angels, and the Angels themselves.
"Wha's your name and your kid's name?" He asked as he wrote down their address, pausing to wait for Castiel to tell him their names.
"My name is Castiel, and my charge is Miss Faith Tronten." Rufus scratched the pencil against the paper.
"A'right, go sit down, we'll be at the school in fift'en minutes. Once you enter the school, there's gon' be a table off to the side. Go ov' there and sign in wit' the people, then they gon' give you some papers. You got that?" He looked at Castiel with a frown, probably irritated at having to say it so many times.
Castiel nodded. "I understand, Sir. Thank you." He turned to walk down the aisle between the seats, tucking his wings close so not to hit any of the children accidentally, spotting Faith near a familiar set of golden brown wings.
"Cassie! How have you been, little bro?! It seems that Stella and Faith have the same class, so we'll be seeing each other all day!" Gabriel did his signature smirk, whispering something to the girl at his side, Stella, his own charge. She got up and sat with Faith in the seat in front of Gabriel, who was sitting near the back, which is where most of the Angels were. Once she was safely seated, Gabriel pat the seat next to him in invitation for Castiel to sit with him.
He sat down gingerly, adjusting his wings so they weren't being crushed by the seatback. Gabriel leaned over to him, brushing his wing against Castiel's in greeting.
"Cas, these guys across from us look out for Ben Singer, that little boy the girls are always talking about whenever they're together." He nodded his head to two Angels in the seat across from them. They were both dominant Angels, that was obvious.
The one closest to them had long brown hair, yet he somehow made it seem masculine, with large, blackish green wings and he just looked tall. He was well muscled, as all dominants are, and he had strong features, but he just seemed…peaceful, somehow. When he heard Gabriel say Ben's name, he looked over at them, and Castiel saw that he had warm brown eyes. The dominant next to him, though, seemed like his polar opposite.
He was leaning his head against the window pane, perfectly still. His great, cobalt blue wings were still as well, a hard feat to do on a moving vehicle. His hair was a light brown, and short, unlike his counterpart's, and he had strong features, too, but his were just…sharper, he supposed. He was also a little more muscled than the other one, as well, but he seemed shorter. But something about him was intriguing to Castiel, and he couldn't figure out why.
When Castiel glanced to the green winged Angel, he smirked and shook his head. Castiel looked back to the other Angel. 'So, not asleep, then. What are you doing, pretending to sleep, when there's nothing wrong…aaahh, so that's it. You feel it, too.'
"So you feel it, too? That something's wrong?" Castiel whispered, not wanting any of the children to overhear, yet he knew all of the other Angels could hear him just as well. He felt Gabriel tense beside him. He knew that when Castiel had a bad feeling, you better do as he says.
The one he was talking to lifted his head, turning his face towards Castiel and opening his eyes. His eyes were like emeralds in sunlight, and when that brilliant green met cerulean blue, he stared for a moment before nodding.
"I've told Ben to stay close to us. Last time I felt it, his… Nevermind." His voice was deep, and Castiel felt a thrill from it rush down his spine. 'Stop it.' The other Angels around them stopped talking, listening. Not many listen to their instincts, or just didn't get a feeling at all, and walked oblivious into danger, so when they hear another speak of danger from a feeling, they listen to the Angel.
Castiel nodded his agreement. "I'm going to tell Faith the same. I saved my family from being slaughtered in their sleep by a werewolf when I had the feeling last. Gabriel can vouch for me on it." When Castiel looked to his brother, Gabriel gave a sad smile and bowed his head in acknowledgment. "And I suggest you all do the same. Tell your charges to stay close, and always be on alert." A murmur of understanding happened around them.
Castiel turned back to the two dominants. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I ever introduced myself. My name is Castiel, and you've already met my older brother, Gabriel. May I ask your names?"
The green feathered one spoke, kindly tucking his wings to him in a gesture of peace. "My name is Sam, and moody over here is my older brother, Dean. It's nice to meet you." He elbowed Dean after that, earning a grumbled 'Bitch' from behind.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm Dean, I watch Ben, yadda yadda, nice to meet'cha." Dean settled back into the seat, but not without one last subtle glance at Castiel.
'Or a subtle glance to my wings?' He sighed. 'Why do all dominant Angels seem to obsess over black wings? I know it's rare for pure black, but is it really necessary?' Gabriel chuckled beside him, and Castiel prayed to whatever god was listening that his brother didn't pick up on his embarrassment.
So? What do you guys think? Leave me a message, or better yet, a review!
All the best,
Wisty
