A/N: Companion to "Baby" (Ch 4). Nyx belongs to teaandchess (on tumblr) and her brilliant story, In the Lethe (Parts 1&2). If you haven't read them, you are truly missing out.
"What have you learned today, Castiel?"
Castiel pondered Joshua's question as they walked through the meadow; a garden they'd found, tucked in a river valley. The sounds of nature surrounded them during their journey, as they followed a path next to a trickle of water that some might consider a small stream.
"Nyx is learning to tie her shoes," he finally answered.
Joshua looked perplexed. "And this is teaching you what, exactly?"
Castiel looked to the sky. "I had thought patience, but I see now it's pride."
"Pride is a sin, Castiel," the older angel reminded him.
"It can be," Castiel quietly replied.
"But you do not always agree?"
"It's not that I don't agree, Joshua," came the response. "It's that I believe there's more to it."
"The scripture is clear, my brother."
"Is it?" Castiel was well aware he was treading a fine line towards blasphemy, but he wasn't afraid. It was Joshua's job now to help him define his inner thoughts. Since his latest return to Heaven, Joshua had been chosen for the role of the wayward angel's Mentor, given the older angel's own relationship with God. "As I watched her," Castiel mused, "the pride she takes in mastering the skill…the pride I feel for her…I cannot believe these are bad things."
"'Pride precedes destruction; an arrogant spirit appears before a fall,'" quoted his friend.
"Yes." Castiel remembered Purgatory, when he became a God and lost so much. "But it's the arrogance, isn't it? The vanity?"
"What do you mean?"
"It was my arrogance - my vanity - that lead to my downfall. The belief I could do it alone. That I alone was the only one capable of saving us."
"Pride has brought down many of our brothers and sisters. Even Michael and Lucifer were not immune."
"I understand. I watched that with Nyx. As she struggled with the laces, it became clear to me she wasn't understanding the loops, yet still she stubbornly refused my help. Her determination to do it herself. I take pride in that self-sufficiency. Yet - " he paused, "I told her pride can be a wonderous thing, but when it interferes with your mission, when it becomes too much, it turns destructive." Castiel glanced over at his older friend. "Was I wrong?"
Joshua remained silent for a long time, considering the question. Finally, he quoted, "'When pride comes, then comes shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.' You have learned much wisdom from your shame, Castiel. I understand what you are saying. It's about moderation and balance. I do have one question: Did she learn?"
A smile graced the father's features. "We learned together."