In the middle of the journey of our life
I found myself within a dark woods
Where the straight way was lost.
-Dante's Inferno, New Verse Translation (Separate from previous quotes)
SPN-
The drive towards the outskirts of town and the region of forest where the attacks occur was met with Dean humming along his favourite Led Zeppelin track whilst Cas simply sat in silence, looking ahead yet also satisfied with keeping a steady single hand on Dean's right.
The drive itself wasn't all that long, the sun was setting out in the distance, but getting by some pesky interlopers took a bit working out. They had to park a bit off to escape them, but they managed to shake them off, they will have to be careful when coming back out, witnesses weren't happy with seeing blood on clothing or shotguns or swords. Dean admitted that he or rather they could have avoided all these troubles and messes and taking Impala in the first place, by zapping about via angel express, but he really wanted an honest-to-goodness hunt, that meant Impala. Plus he didn't think leaving his baby behind would be healthy for her or for himself anyway.
Most of the area of attacks had been cordoned off from "normal" civilians. They weren't normal by a long shot, and could reasonably argue civilian wasn't a proper descriptor either. They were, after all, an angel with Angel of Heaven – defunct in his CV, a hunter with crap to his name, starting the freaking Apocalypse and breaking the first seal and more, and of course fate's bitch. Not they weren't normal, at all.
Parking the Impala further in, within the thick evergreen trees, ancient and towering , that hid the Impala from any would be onlookers on the street. Dean jumped out with practiced ease, a fish within water, and a hunter within his natural environment. He popped open the trunk and grabbed some left over flares from past hunts, handing one to Cas.
"Do we need…these…items?" Cas asked, perplexed and with a head tilt gestured to an Angel Blade hidden within his coat.
"Well, we could use your fancy blade, but flares are what ya supposed to use, at least do me this one, Cas?" Dean spoke, closing the trunk and grabbing his shotgun, a silent plead that betrayed his willingness to give if Castiel pushed it.
"As long as you remain safe, and the beings vanquished." Cas relinquished, following Dean into the woods, and towards the cordoned off areas.
Three hours, several old logging outposts one decked with a church and the comforts of a town later, they were deep into the woods, night had finally fallen and only their flashlights and the gaze of the full moon to guide them onto the tracks they had been following, looking for men-wolf creatures, with a harking for human flesh.
Dean's happier mood earlier had turned sour after tromping about in the underbrush of the forest for consecutive hours, with no results to be found.
"Seriously, what wendigo goes so far off their area of attacks?" Dean grumbled, he honestly had been expecting a rather easier hunt both in terms of time and effort.
Suddenly the tracks stopped. Dean released a moan of complaint "Great, smart wendigos. Man, I hope that they -"
Dean was cut off when; there was a ruffle of noise and the rather sudden appearance in his peripheral vision of a fracking BEAST, taller than he remembered wendigos being.
His moment of stilling amazement was almost fatal, for in the beast's lunge, a shiny blade glistening in the moon's light, appeared within the monster's chest. The blade was removed, the beast dropped, revealing a standing Castiel.
"I coulda done it Cas!" Bemoaned Dean.
"I was not about to let it, touch you." Cas announced, deadly threat lingering in his voice. Dean jumped, when he came from behind to grasp Dean's shoulder possessively. His face yielding no quarter on that argument.
"Well, that wraps up today's festivities." Dean said, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck. "Wendigos are a pack of one, after all."
After salting and burning the body of the huge and now non-threatening wendigo, they began the long trek back to the Impala. Dean still insisting on no angelic mojo, after all: This is going to be a regular hunt and nothing more!
They walked silently, with casual interruptions of Dean's random comments, stepping on a twig or two along the way, basking in each other's presence and for Dean satisfaction in a job well done.
The crickets loudly pronounced their calls, having become a regular background noise to the stark night. The same of which, Dean didn't notice when it silenced.
"Dean, get behind me." Cas uttered, urgency shining well and clear.
"Cas, Wha—" Dean began, and for the second time that night was aggressively interrupted.
A series of growls and yellow eyes shone all around them, they were trapped in a circle. Him gun out and flare ready, backed by Cas pointing his blade, in a much more threating manner, aligning with his stance of readiness. A tiger ready to pounce to protect her cubs.
Four silent beats, coinciding with his heart passed, as the number of wendigos grew from manageable to oh fracking shit! Four heartbeats, before either party, the hunters or the prey moved aggressively, until then, they circled. Growling, howling, as wolves circling their prey.
As one, they attacked, hurling to the group.
Shots fired, blade keening, howls and groans echoed in that one moment, and for eternity. The number of wendigos climbed downwards, as one-by-one they were dispatched, despite the seemingly endless number of them.
Dean could see out of the corner of his eye, Cas dispatching each wendigo swiftly and with flow as he though he was simply dancing. It was mesmerizing, but the hungry sounds at his side, ripped him back into reality, shooting at them in response.
He couldn't do as much damage as Cas could. So he went for a stalling technique, keeping them off while Cas would come around, plunging his blade into his next target.
He really couldn't believe it. So many wendigos. Since when did they join up in these kinds of numbers?
There were so many, surrounding them, sure of their meal. One lunged for Cas's unprotected back.
"No!" Dean shouted, placing himself in front, catching the attack instead of Cas.
Dean felt it catch him by the side, taking the leverage, heaving upwards with its giant claws, ripping into Dean's chest, as knife through butter. Dean gurgled a cry of pain, his world tilting, ground rushing to meet him and black spots appearing in his eyes, as he called to his lover. "Cas!"
Whipping around, Cas didn't think twice when he shouted, "Close your eyes!"
With knowledgeable foresight, Dean slammed his eyes shut, hitting the ground, still reeling from the wendigo's attack. Churching into a fetal position, gasping in pain.
There seemed a thousand screams of pain, and then an eerie silence fell, as many thumps could be heard, of wendigos dropping like flies.
A lone thud, he saw Cas lidding to his knees by his side, fear and worry written across his face. He didn't like that, no Cas should be happy and safe. He wanted to reach up and grasp his cheek, to kiss him, but he found he couldn't, things were starting to dim, as his mind was deciding time to check out.
Seconds or moments later, he stirred, climbing through the fog and faintly he could tell of movement off his side, he realized Cas. Cas's pair of warm hands grasped his shoulders, pulling him up into a warm chest, murmuring words of assurances and comfort, that he couldn't understand.
He felt as though he was underwater, his head pounding and his chest felt on fire, his sides slick with something wet, he struggled to breathe, to reassure Cas, the presence he felt, to say he was fine, when he clearly was not.
He noticed Cas move around, hands briefly leaving his shoulders, and suddenly a tan trench coat covered him, only now he began noticing the biting cold, he realize the coat was being used as a blanket and a way to stench the probable flow of blood from his chest.
Then, he was being hauled upwards, his stomach lurching in reaction to this awkward treatment, he briefly realized he was being held bridal style, clutched tightly, he opened his mouth to crack a comment of complaint when everything rolled and the void claimed him.
SPN-
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