Everybody Hates Dung
"Watch over this tower, Castiel." Raphael stated, raising his voice in an attempt to speak over the rising voices on the Angel Radio. Castiel wasn't even tuned in, and he could hear the panicked voices of his siblings. "I must deal with something in Heaven."
"What is it?" The fledging asked.
"Gabriel has gone missing. I must find him. Be sure to keep this tower safe, Castiel. Do you understand?" Raphael debating shutting off the Radio if the other Angels didn't quiet down quickly.
"Yes. Did they check the temple?" Raphael didn't reply. In a flutter of wings he was gone.
So Castiel did what any fledging would do, he sat down, leaning against the Tower of Bebel and watched the people run back and forth, going about their daily business. Some were still carrying the piles of dry dung to the tower. Others were bringing water to the workers. Others were working on other buildings, or tended to livestock. None of them took notice of the fledging in a very small vessel, who watched over the tower.
And Castiel was happy about that. It made it easier to watch them. He might even make Raphael proud this time!
He had to admit, the job was partially boring. There seemed to be no one who was interested in destroying the building. No human attempted to do anything that wasn't completely dull. All they did was stack dried dung. Then some more dried dung. Then even more.
Though, he wouldn't lie and say that the building, a 37 foot tall tower, wasn't a marvel to look at. Sure, in Heaven there was a church that, no matter how high he flew, he could never see the ceiling of. This was different. This was made by humans. He didn't even know humans knew how to build towers, let alone ones this tall. To Castiel, it was the most amazing thing possible.
He wondered how Lucifer could hate creatures like these. Creatures that, even with such short lifespans, could create towers like that. To Castiel that rivaled those in Heaven for the sheer work it took for the humans
While Heavenly places of worship could be made with a snap of an Angel's fingers, humans used effort. Hundreds of them would work on it. People had to farm the livestock. They had to collect the dung. Then, they'd give it to the workers. The workers would bring it to other workers, who in turn would put it on the tower.
It took so much effort that it amazed the young Angel. He only put that much work into anything when he was training. He couldn't keep that up forever, and the humans did. It amazed him.
He would have thought on that subject for a longer time, if he hadn't noticed something on the very top of the tower. One of the edges of it was in danger of collapsing. A small thing, but it would be dangerous for anyone who happened to walking underneath it when it finally hit the ground. It might even make a chain reaction and hinder the building even further. Castiel didn't want any of those workers to be harmed. He didn't want anyone to be harmed, worker or not. He didn't want the tower to be destroyed.
So he did what any Angel (or so he thought) would do. He left his vessel, and he went to the edge that was collapsing.
He stretched his wings out, intending to catch the structure if it fell. Though, he had to ensure that it didn't in the first place. That was the best way to keep the tower safe, as Raphael had instructed.
He lit a small fire in his hand, intended to weld the dung together. Then a worker screamed for some reason (he wouldn't know it for 25,000 years but his fire was visible), and his concentration slipped.
The fire caught. It spread.
Within seconds, an entire portion of the tower was alight. Castiel struggled to summon water (which, for a fledging, was hard enough) to put out the flame. It was too late.
He flew to the edge of the blaze, and summoned the liquid. Smoke filled the sky as he fought, single handedly against the fire. When the sky became black, and Castiel began to lose the war with the blaze, he sensed the presence of one of his brothers by his side.
"Castiel!" His brother, Nathaniel, screamed. "What happened?"
Castiel was too tired to respond, and he just kept summoning the useless spray of water. It was pointless. The entire building was on fire.
It was a miracle no other Angels had seen the burning tower. Maybe they were too preoccupied with Gabriel, but had none of them gotten curious? Even through Castiel's struggles, the ocean of red and orange could, and did, light up the entire sky. It illuminated the black that the Heavens had taken as the smoke rose. It had licked at Castiel even as he worked, earning him severe burns everywhere on his Grace.
"This is burning me," Nathaniel muttered, as he helped to fight it. It was then that the realization hit him. Holy fire. "Castiel, what have you done?"
No wonder only Castiel had been there. The Angels would have feared being caught by the flames.
"Come, Castiel, we must go!" Nathaniel said, to the still-working fledging.
"We have to stop this!" Castiel finally stated. He didn't stop spraying the water that didn't seem to have such a steady flow anymore.
"It's too late!" The Angel yelled, wrapping an arm around the fledging.
His brother struggled, but it was too late. In a second, they were safely in Heaven. In an hour, that amazing tower was a pile of charcoal.