A/N: Hi hi, haven't addressed you yet in this story and I thought I'd take just a second to explain a little bit. Firstly, big thanks to anyone who has reviewed this story, it is of course much appreciated and I love hearing from readers. Next, if you're having trouble imagining what Cas looks like, the "true form Castiel" tag on Tumblr is at least a good start, although not completely true to what I've written. Also if anyone's curious about where Sam's dog's name came from, when Sam drives his own car in Season 6, it's a Dodge Charger. One last thing, I know that the chapters are a little short, and I think it's going to be something I work on from here on out, I've just been bogged down with midterms (because starting a fic in the middle of midterm season is always a good idea...) and I was trying to push myself to keep the story moving even if it was just a little bit at a time. From here though, since most of my midterms are over, I'm going to try and pound out some longer chapters for you guys, but by "longer" I don't mean that much longer because I just don't have time to pound out 5,000 word chapters every other day, Sorry!. Anyways, hope you're enjoying the story, and I'm done rambling... Allons-y!

The sun rose, set and rose again before Dean stirred from his place in the grass He had sat silent and unmoving, staring off into the distance for the last day and a half, lost in his grief. He would have sat there longer, but Impala whined, head in his lap and lifted up to look at him. He realized with a start that his stomach was growling. He immediately felt guilty about forgetting to feed Impala. He sighed loudly and reluctantly got up from the ground, his joints creaking in protest. He stretched his stiff body, rotating his spine and wincing as his vertebrae popped and shifted beneath his skin. As he turned around, finally ready to face the creature and go in search of food, he realized with a start that the creature hadn't moved from its place behind him.

The creature stood, impossibly still, in the exact place he estimated it had been two nights ago. Dean furrowed his brow, crossing his arms defensively. For the moment he ignored the appearance of the thing. Having come in contact with many strange beings in his time, Dean could compartmentalize an almost unhealthy amount of information to be examined (or not examined) later. Once he had his head on straight, he promised himself, he would analyze the thing and determine what exactly it was. For now it was just weirdly translucent, kind of glowing and glittery because of how it's glass-like body caught and refracted sunlight. Dean snorted. What kind of self respecting creature let itself sparkle?

"You know that your ... uh ... staring, is kinda creepy dude."

Dean used the term staring very loosely, as the face that was actually watching him intently didn't exactly have eyes per se but Dean couldn't shake the feeling like it was looking not just at him but through him. The creature tilted its blank face to the side, studying Dean intently.

"Your soul is unusually bright human"

Dean hated to admit it but the power in the thing's voice rocked him to the core and made him intensely uncomfortable. It was an old kind of power, full of emotion and experience and time. Dean suddenly felt cold, despite the sun blazing overhead. He shifted from foot to foot, his hand finding his dog's head. He glanced down at Impala who was being unusually quiet. She seemed more at peace and more relaxed around the creature than any stranger she had ever encountered. Dean found it incredibly suspicious that the only stranger she would like would be something that wasn't even human. He narrowed his eyes and filed the information away for now.

"Uh, thanks I guess. But you seriously need to work on your people skills there guy. or girl, or whatever the hell you are. "

The creature's wings shifted a bit like they were going to extend to their full width, but the creature stopped them from unfolding.

"You are not the first human to remark that my people skills are rusty, I believe the term was."

Dean barely stifled a chuckle at the strange term coming out of the even stranger creature. He rolled his shoulders and aimed for nonchalance.

"Yeah great, so you're not one for social interaction, perfect, me either. Before I get out of your hair and move to the most secluded part of this cave I can find, where exactly would I go about finding food in this place?"

The creature turned and sent a cursory glance over the land. The monkey head of the creature let out a shrill peal of laughter and bared its teeth in Dean's direction. Dean tightened his fingers in Impalas fur and flinched back involuntarily. The cat head let loose a volley of hisses and growls in return and the monkey shrieked. Dean's fear flared in his stomach. Beside him Impala didn't even flinch. Dean looked at her incredulously and then looked back to the creature, eyes narrowed and body tense.

"And hey Buddy, while we are doing twenty questions here, what the hell did you do to my dog?"

Dean's voice was hard and suspicious. The creature didn't even turn around. The zebra brayed loudly, silencing the other two animals.

"I communicated with her on an instinctual level and showed her she had nothing to fear. Your companion is perfectly fine."

Dean's head reeled and he looked down at his dog and back up to the creature.

"What does that even mean?"

The creature turned back to Dean, transparent wings relaxed against its back.

"I touched her soul with my grace and conveyed to her safety and peace. Your beast knows that I mean her no ill will."

Dean shepherded Impala behind him and drew himself up to his full height, which considering the creature in front of him was rather less than intimidating.

"And yeah speaking of beasts, what the hell are you supposed to be huh?"

The creatures wings flared out on either side of it, with the sound of wind-chimes in a storm. The overlapping feathers cast strange patterns on the grass. The creatures wings must have spanned thirty feet or more, dwarfing Dean in its unearthly half shadow. The glow in the things chest flared brighter for a moment before settling back to its previous state. Dean took a few involuntary steps back, his veins full of ice. Even Impala moved backwards warily. If Dean thought the creatures voice was loud before, its voice now was practically deafening, vibrating with barely contained rage

"I am not a beast"

Dean quickly realized the defensive position his body had gone into instinctually and fought to straighten himself up. Intending to at least pretend that he was as confident as his words. His voice betrayed him though, trembling just slightly.

"Then what are you?"

The creature stretched itself to its full length vertically and horizontally, drawing its body out in a display of pride and aggressive confidence.

"I am Castiel. I am an angel of the lord."

Once Dean's heart had quieted its thundering in his chest, he was able to smooth his ragged breathing at the aggressive display. A small part of him just wanted to collapse into a little ball in the grass and protect himself. The angels power was so strong in the air that it was almost a taste the wind. He felt a brief flare of shame at the completely raw and involuntary way that he was reacting to the creature. Damn it, he wasn't usually a nervous guy! He was almost glad for a second that Sammy wasn't around to see how weak his older brother was acting. That flare of relief was immediately followed by a wave of regret and grief so potent that he had to press a hand firmly against his own chest to hold himself together and stop himself from throwing up. When he quelled his nausea, he was able to piece his thoughts together enough to respond to the creature- angel's? - statement. His brow scrunched in confusion. Impala nosed at his palm, licking him once comfortingly.

"An angel? Really dude? You expect me to believe you're an angel? I didn't think they even existed, and if they did I thought they were supposed to be all soft and fluffy with halos and shit. Which no offense but you definitely are not."

The creature growled. It sounded like plates of the earth shifting against each other and it made the hair on the back of Dean's neck rise. The angel practically spat his next words at Dean.

"This is my true form tiny one. Humans should never even see an angel like this, they are not worthy of such an honor. To be on earth I should require a vessel, which would be soft and fluffy as you described."

"I am an... exception."

Dean scoffed.

"An exception huh? Yeah tell me about it. Exception is always just code for outcast or freak."

The angels wings drooped. Dean blinked and all of a sudden the angel was gone, leaving only a faint smell of burnt air and a tinkling of glass to prove it had been there at all. Dean felt oddly guilty, but was easily distracted by his rumbling stomach. He took a deep breath before nudging Impala and heading towards the forest, expecting that with all his experience that he would probably be able to rustle up something at least edible.