Day 1
The thrashing snow swirled around in endless spirals, seeming to freeze over the very earth. Gusts of wind battered the tent fabric and caused a loud blowing similar to the sound of wind hitting a sail. Right now, there was no other sound than the solitude of the arctic, and the sounds of Mother Nature expressing her dominion over man. Dean sat, curled up with five coats on and under his sleeping bag in the tent, trying to get warm in the freezing cold. Across from him sat Cas, looking comfortable as ever in his suit and trench coat. Dean looked at him enviously.
"And you aren't freezing your ass off at all?" he stammered, trying to stop his teeth from chattering.
"No. If you don't remember, my natural form isn't made of skin and bone," Cas said with a shrug.
"Do-doesn't your va-vessel freeze to death?" Dean asked, now looking into the sleeping bag and breathing on his glove-covered hands. Cas shook his head.
"I can't feel any cold. I'm not sure if Jimmy's body does though," Cas said, not intrigued at the possibility of his vessel freezing to death. Dean laughed.
"May-maybe you should put on a ca-coat," he said, smiling. Cas shrugged.
"If you say so," he said. Cas reached into their silver trunk of provisions and dug around for a while until he found a large, brown winter coat. He put it on over his trench coat and Dean smiled.
"It suits you."
"Thanks," said Cas, his face brightening up a bit.
"So, how long are we going to have to stay in this freakin' place?" asked Dean, now gaining control of his stammering a bit.
"Well, we're waiting for Sam to clear your name, which could take a while. My guess is a few weeks, maybe," said Cas.
Dean nodded. Then his face took on a puzzled expression. "Why here though? Couldn't the angels find me here anyway?" Dean asked. Cas shook his head.
"No. First of all, you aren't on the radar as much now, since I carved the sigil into your rib."
"Thanks for that, by the way," Dean said, interrupting Cas.
"It's my job to protect you… and Sam," Cas said quietly, looking into Dean's eyes. They sat still, staring at each other for several minutes before Cas remembered what he was saying.
"Oh, and secondly, there's a ring of holy fire around the tent. I can't get out, and they can't get in," Cas said. Dean wasn't quite sure why Cas added the fact that he couldn't leave.
Probably trying to make me feel guilty that he has to look after my sorry ass all of the time, Dean said, pushing away any other thoughts.
"Well, do you know how to play poker?" Dean asked, trying to think of how they would spend their time here. Cas shook his head.
"No. I've never had the occasion."
"Well, thankfully, I have a set. Would you grab it? It's in the chest." Cas nodded. Meanwhile, Dean turned to the right and tried to get the heater as warm as possible. After fiddling around with it for several minutes, he managed to get it to a comfortable temperature and position in the tent. At least they had power.
"This it?" Cas said as soon as Dean turned back to him. In his hands he was holding a worn out wood box that looked like a briefcase.
"Yep. That was my dad's. He taught me when I was really young," Dean said. He sighed a little. At least now he didn't want to cry every time he thought of his dad. It had been a few years… He was over it in his mind.
"How do we set it up?" Cas asked. Dean gestured for him to hand it over.
"Here," he said, unlatching the box.
"All right, now the first thing you do is get out your chips…"