The Enchantress Circe

Sam and Dean had gone to find Circe. I was left in charge of their things and to research about her and see if I could find anything. Sam said that he hadn't been able to find much about her, or anything specific on how to stop her. Castiel had come by and the three of them reached an agreement that most things could be stopped by running a stake through their hearts. But it seemed like there had to be more to it than just that. Circe was a demi-god, the daughter of Helios the sun god, according to Greek records. Sure running her through was great and all that but it didn't seem to be very practical.

When we'd returned yesterday, there wasn't much time for talk apparently. It was getting pretty bad with he men disappearing and animals turning up everywhere. Piglets seemed to be the majority, but there were puppies and rabbits too. I felt bad for the men if any of them had been killed as animals. We ate dinner and discussed what to do about Circe and how to find her. Castiel solved that problem this morning when he said he'd located her in a protected forest.

I was sitting in front of Sam's laptop, staring at the screen worriedly. It had taken me hours to find this one article. It said that Odysseus had been able to avoid being turned into an animal with the help of the messenger god Hermes who had given him an herb called moly. I'd never heard of this before. And the other sites had just told me that Odysseus had avoided being turned into an animal, not mentioning how. Some had specified Hermes having aided him but this was the first time I'd read something on this herb.

I'd tried to see what I could find out about this plant but most resources just said it was a mythical herb with white flowers and black roots. Or they told me about the onion. I wasn't entirely certain if what Hermes had given Odysseus was the same onion related moly as was the mythical moly he'd given him. I mean it was a god right, so it was entirely possible for it to be completely different and just a godly thing.

I wrapped my arms around my sides, trying to decide if I should phone either of the brothers. Neither of them had picked up the last time I called when I'd first encountered the name. Dean had gotten me a cell phone yesterday. A simple flip phone. Sam and he were my only contacts. I waited impatiently. If killing Circe didn't work then this herb was my best bet. If it could provide immunity it could probably also form the cure.

But if it wasn't the relation to onions that would work as a cure, how was I supposed to get a hold of the mythical one? If killing Circe didn't free the men and if she didn't do it willingly, this herb was the only cure. God forbid if either of the Winchesters got turned into an animal because I couldn't save them. A knock on my door broke my concentration and made me suspicious. I'd unpacked my throwing knives and secreted them in my clothing. One in each shoe and another around my neck. I didn't hide all six of them on me, because I wasn't going out to war. I tightened my grip on the one around my neck, the sheath tied to a simple rope.

I cautiously answered the door and saw Castiel standing there. Holding a piglet in his arms. I stepped aside to allow him in, afraid to ask who the pig was. "

"They drove a stake through her heart, but they had taken some of her food and drink. None of the missing men returned to their shape."

"Have you heard of an herb called moly?" he shook his head. I looked at the piglet, finding all too familiar green eyes staring at me. "Sorry Dean, but unless I find the moly herb you're going to be stuck like this."

He squealed in the suspicious trench coat wearer's arms and I looked to the angel questioningly. And then I noticed who was missing and I blanched. "Sam?" I asked tightly.

Castiel looked down at Dean-the-piglet. "I only found Dean."

"So my boyfriend is our wandering the streets… as a pig?"

"A puppy actually. I saw him just before he scampered off."

"And you couldn't catch him!"

"No," he replied coolly.

I sat down on one of the beds, and tapped my foot anxiously. I had no idea how I was supposed to find the mythical herb. That was beyond me. Maybe have a priest bless it or something… But that just meant that I had to go and find the moly onion relation. And Sam. I didn't him getting run over by a car before I could save him.

"Then just… stay here and look after Dean while I try to find moly." That just sounded awkward. Like I was trying to disguise that I was searching for money or something holy. But sadly that was the accursed thing's name.

"I cannot," he told me, extending the piglet towards me.

I shied away. "Why not?"

"There are currently eighteen men missing. It would be better if I helped find this moly plant, while you search for Sam."

I stared at him, briefly confused and he thrust the piglet into my arms. I winced. I hoped that he was clean because this was the new jacket that he'd just bought for me. "I'm gonna need at least one to free Sam from the spell."

"It might work that you merely feed one with moly and the spell crumbles."

"The mythology said that only Odysseus was-"

"Free from her grasp, yes. But he ate it beforehand. One from someone infected might alter everything." I nodded in reluctant agreement. He nodded back at me once. "What does this plant look like?"

"White flowers, black roots." He nodded once again and then disappeared with the graceful sound of butterfly wings following him. I looked down at Dean-the-piglet. "Looks like it's just you and me buddy," I told him. I wondered if he had any consciousness about this whole thing or if he had the mind of an animal. Would he even remember any of this when he woke up?

As I closed Sam's laptop and locked up their motel room, I remembered the signs I'd seen forbidding the presence of animals. I looked at the heavy pig in my arm and wondered if they would let it slide under the consideration that he was food. I doubted it. I smirked as I though of what Dean would do if he remembered any of this or was conscious for it. It was a rather amusing reaction to imagine.

I hadn't even made it down the stairs when Castiel reappeared holding out a plant with yellow leaves. "They told me this was moly."

"It has yellow flowers."

"It's the onion relation."

"Are you going to feed it to him?" I asked, holding the piglet away from me. It squealed indignantly.

"We have to see if it works," he reasoned shoving the plant at Dean-the-piglet. He bit into the plant and ate it, as though he knew that's what we were waiting for. No immediate change happened. "I will continue looking for the white flowers and black rooted form of moly," he told me before leaving again with his whispery butterflies.

I patted Dean-the-piglet soothingly on his back as I pulled him against me. "We'll get you back to your shape little guy." Sadly… I realized that I was going to miss him like this. So quiet. Well… quiet without his annoying comments. "And away we go," I murmured softly.

I went outside through a back door, blissfully avoiding the attention of any motel management. I looked down at my quiet piglet, which looked back up at me darkly. It was definitely Dean. "We made it lil' guy!" I cheered, knowing that if anything this had to be pissing him off.

And then, he savagely bit my finger. Which taught me my lesson for mocking him. I prayed that it wouldn't get infected, happy that the wound on my shoulder was nicely healing now that the infection had been cured. Cursing under my breath I tried to slow the blood flow and cradle Dean-the-piglet in my other arm. The metallic tang of blood in my mouth was revolting, but I was not going to get blood on this jacket. Not my own blood seeing as how it was preventable and everything.

So I walked around town like that. I had no idea where the Impala was. It'd serve Dean right to have his car stolen on him after biting me. But it was a pain to walk around with a piglet under my arm. Some people were giving me weird stares. A couple of times I had to actually look at Dean and make sure that I could still see those green eyes. I wasn't going crazy –this was Dean. And I was trying to find Sam. As a puppy there would have been people mentioning that an adorable pup had been seen downtown. There wasn't a word.

I made my way uptown again, hitting all the parks and hoping that Castiel would be able to find the mythical moly. I didn't want to have a puppy for a boyfriend! I loved animals, they were the most endearing creatures to me, but I wasn't going to date one. I had no idea how I would ever deal with something like that. It was too complex a thought so I stowed it away for later. My search for Sam in the parks resulted in nothing. No signs of an unclaimed puppy.

A moment of overwhelming panic hit me. What would I do I someone had adopted him? Or if he was trapped in the SPCA? I couldn't enter their building with a piglet. Well technically it was a human trapped in the form of an animal but I didn't think that would make anything better. I had to find Sam. He had to be here somewhere. But where was the million dollar question.

Dogs went to places like the park, or around food stands. I looked down at Dean-the-piglet. I really should've asked Castiel how he found Dean. Did he still possess any prior memories? In which case it might mean that Sam was waiting at the Impala, or that he'd returned to the motel. Already the sun was lowering itself from the zenith, getting closer to the nadir. I had a few hours left until nighttime. I jogged back towards the motel in the hopes that Sam would have returned there. I was panting by the time I was halfway there and I looked down at the piglet accusingly.

"You need to lose some weight –you're too heavy!"

Dean-the-piglet squealed shrilly, his cry loud enough to almost make me drop him. I held on tightly, and continued my pace. He was obviously still aware of what I was saying to him. Did that maybe fade after they'd been subjected to the spell's power? Could they actually become the animal forever? Cold fear washed through me and I hurried back up to the motel. I searched around but there was no sign of a puppy. Not a single one.

Where else could he be? Well assuming he still had some memories he could be on his way here. I looked down at Dean-the-piglet, sighing deeply. I was about to talk to the pig, and expect an answer back. I was about to look like a lunatic to the inhabitants of this world. "How well do you know where we are?" He squealed. It was an answer but I couldn't understand him. I set him done, his feet brushing the soft grass. "Please don't run away on me Dean," I muttered as I released him.

He stayed there looking up at me with his green eyes. He scratched against the ground with a hoof and I sighed. "I knew this wouldn't work," I admitted, sitting on the paved ground. What was I supposed to do know? There went my plan. Out the door, fare well, good bye, gone. Dean-the-piglet nudged me irritably and I looked over towards him. Shoddy writing was clear against the soft dirt. It read "motel" in a messy font.

"And where was it you fought Circe?" I asked eagerly, watching him eagerly as he wrote down his answer in the dirt. "First park" he wrote. First park? What first park -? Ah! The first park we'd been to! So then by that, that should mean that Sam had already made his way here. "Disoriented?" I quizzed him. He wrote down "yes." "But you know where you are…" He stomped at what he had just written down and I smiled at him.

That would mean that even though Sam was disoriented too, he would know where he was. If he was coming back from the first park that I had checked… That's where he would have to be! Happily I shot to my feet, picking Dean up with me and I kissed him on the snout. He snorted. "Thank you!" I proclaimed eagerly.

And then I paused and looked down at the piglet. I took a deep breath and looked away. Technically… Technically mind you, I had just kissed Dean. The thought was too disturbing to comprehend and I pushed it away, a last minute thought following it. Hopefully he wouldn't remember this. I set off to go to the first park that I had gone to. If I was lucky… I would meet him along the way. From the park to the motel, taking another direction back than the one I had just taken, and I should encounter Sam along that route. That was my plan.

The flapping of light wings was all that warned me that Castiel was going to appear. The suspicious soul peerer in a trench coat regarded me. We were just about to leave the motel. In his hand I saw the moly. White flowers, black roots. It had to be the herb we needed.

"No changes from the onion relation?" he asked the piglet. Dean looked at Cas and the two made direct eye contact and the angel nodded thoughtfully, breaking off the moly and feeding it to Dean.

I prayed that this would work. I was done with the piglet. I set him down as he continued to munch on his herb. He finished chewing and that was when I noticed that he was writing something in the dirt. I watched cautiously as he finished it and then stretched comfortably and lay down. I looked over at the angel. "Did you just kill him?"

"I-I don't think so. They told me it would break the spell though."

"Hopefully by not killing them," I muttered. "Where did you get it?"

He glanced at me –at least the angel was of a normal height. Five foot eleven, only a couple inches difference. "A favor from… a friend."

I eyed him curiously and then looked back towards the piglet. Who was no longer a pig. Castiel calmly stepped in front of Dean and I heard him shifting and standing up. The angel pulled off his trench coat and handed it to Dean, who could see past him and was offering me a lewd gleam. "You're missin' out on this, babe."

"Keep it up and Sam will be having a nice sized ham when he gets home!" I called to him laughing, before I turned my back to them. I was pretty sure that there were ways in which I could revert him to a pig.

Castiel returned to my side, and I looked back at Dean wearing just a trench coat. With nothing underneath. Maybe the true purpose of a trench coat was to hide flashers or something. But oh god I did not want to see Dean do that. Just no way. I knew however, that he was just a sick, perverted man.

I looked back and noticed that he was jogging back to the motel, completely comfortable. I glanced over at Castiel, "How are you ever going to be able to wear that coat again?"

"With lots of soap," he replied straight faced. I couldn't help but laugh. He looked back at me, "If the moly worked, then that means that the entire spell could be crumbling. Sam will be reverted…"

I got what he meant and nodded. I was about to dart out of the motel parking lot when someone shouted my name. "Catch!" I stepped aside as a duffle bag was tossed out a nearby window. The bag hit the ground with a thump. "You were supposed to catch!" Dean yelled.

I looked up at him angrily, "And be crushed to death? Gee thanks!"

I lifted the duffle bag up and swung it over my shoulder, setting off at a jog to that first park that I'd been to. Somewhere along a route back from the park to this motel, I would find Sam. And hopefully before he was turned back into a human. I hoped that Castiel was right about the spell crumbling. If that one piece of moly could save the eighteen men who were stuck as animals….

I didn't actually think about what was in the duffle bag that Dean had tossed for me as I made my way to find Sam. My back was aching by the time I got to the first park. Duffle bags this big, were not meant to be hauled around on someone's back. But I had to find Sam. That was the priority here. It would be unpleasant if the spell was breaking and he found himself naked in a public place. I wanted to spare him from that.

I left from there, taking another route that I hadn't when I first came. According to the park map, it would lead me back to my motel. This way at least I wouldn't get lost and have to be found by some creeper. As I followed down the forest lined road, which was rather nice to see that the urbanization hadn't ruined it all. I thought I saw a small and dark form bolt through the undergrowth and I watched to see if anything emerged, hesitant to investigate further.

"Sam?" I called quietly, feeling like an idiot once again as I called out to no one. First I was talking to pigs, and now I was talking to myself. I continued wandering through the forest lined path, hoping that he would be here. He had to be here somewhere. "Sam?" I asked hopefully.

A small chocolate lab puppy crossed with border collie came bounding up from the brush behind me. The lab was apparent in the size, and the collie in the mannerisms it had. His tail was wagging happily and with a yelp he plopped down at my feet. I crouched down, looking into his eyes and seeing the familiar brown flecked with green.

"Oh Sam, you're still a puppy," I told him, half relieved. He jumped up, his tongue leaving a trail of slobber from my jaw to eye. I wiped it off looking at him, "Puppy slobber," I said, reaching down to pet him. He whined lightly. "I'm sorry," I told him, continuing to pet him. His fur was so soft. I wondered if that was what his hair would be like to stroke…

I pulled off the duffle bag from my shoulder to remove my leather jacket and spread it over him. If he didn't turn back, I was going to be carrying him back. He curled up then against me, his heavy breathing an indication that he was asleep. I could hear the branches rubbing against each other and I looked towards them to make sure that it really was what I had heard.

"Uh, Carissa?"

Startled I looked down at my lap where Sam's head now rested. A flush spread across my features as I realized that he was naked save for my favorite jacket, now covering him. If it had been any other jacket, I probably would have burned it. As things stood… I was going to have to wash it. Multiple times.

He reached over to the bag that Dean had given me, and he unzipped it and sighed in relief. "Could I have some privacy? I kind of need to get dressed…"

He leaned the duffle bag to the side and I saw denim fabric. Thank god for Dean. And did I really just think that? "Okay, I'll uh, go over there…" I pointed towards a large redwood and I all but ran at full speed towards it. I leaned against it, the back of the trunk towards Sam. Barriers were wonderful things. I looked up at the clear sky, taking deep breaths as I tried to calm myself. Naked men seemed to be everywhere today. I realized then that there would be eighteen other men to wake up naked yet. I shuddered. I viewed nudity as being a very private thing. Not for public display.

"I'm done." I jumped when I heard his voice and I opened my eyes to see him standing there. "How did I get here anyways? And why do I have all this muck in my hair?" He held out a muddy lock to me.

I reached out and pulled a leaf from it, the green contrasting nicely with his eyes. "You got turned into a puppy. You ate or drank something of Circe's."

"You saved everyone?" there was no trace of incredulity in his voice.

I shook my head sadly, "I found that moly was the only thing that could break the curse. Castiel retrieved the herb while I was out looking for you," I admitted. "And after Dean got restored, it kind of became a little panicked. I didn't think you'd appreciate uh, waking up, without…" I looked away knowing perfectly well that he knew what I meant.

He chuckled, and shifted the duffle bag on his shoulder. "You're right about that."

I looked back at him, slowly, meeting his eyes. It was nice to see them in a human face again. "I… I thought that I might… I might not get to see you again," I muttered. "I didn't know if…"

"If the curse would break?" he finished for me. I nodded. "I would've found you and you would have seen me again. I was on my way back," he told me softly, leaning towards me.

"I wanted my Sam," I admitted. I reached out to touch his face but stopped short. He was so close to me, again. I let my hand drop back to my side. This was the face I'd been worried about. "I wanted my human Sam."

"I'll always be yours," he whispered.

If he had been about to say anything else, I cut him off when I crossed the distance between us, pressing my lips against his. He returned the kiss eagerly –

"Way to go Sammy!" I pulled back, groaning at the familiar hoot. I set my head against his chest.

He patted my back, and then he went to put my jacket around my shoulders. I glared at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was –"

"Sweet," I sneered. "But not happening. You're going to wash it first. Until you're bleeding if necessary."

He stifled a chuckle, "Fair enough. I did get dirt and mud on it."

"Are two coming or not?" Dean shouted from his precious Impala.

I grabbed his hand and towed him over to where Dean was idling. Sam got the door for me and I slid into the backseat, thanking him. He got into the passenger seat. Dean looked over to his brother. "Carissa's gonna be wearin' the pants in this relationship, isn't she?"

I snorted, "You just wish you could wear them as I good as I can."

"Not denying it Samantha."

"Can't deny she wears them when she's got such a great throwing arm."

"I wish I had something to throw right now," I growled, glaring at him through the seat. He would be washing that jacket and I would stand over him and watch him wash his dirt off of it.

"I'm sorry," he said genuinely, turning to look back at me with big eyes. They reminded me of when he was a puppy.

I looked out the window. Hopefully neither of these two would put me through this whole fiasco again. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes, resting my head against the seat behind me. I felt stressed and overworked.


I wonder if the saying holy moly had anything to do with that plant and how it still manages to exist now.

I kept writing about the moly or the moly plant and then I realized that to find out the true grammatical wording of it, I just switched it with parsnip. The parsnip or the parsnip plant. Made it a lot easier to figure out how to write about moly. I almost despaired of finding a way corresponding with Greek Myth to turn them back, but a small heading under one picture said that Hermes gave the hero moly. And then looked it up in the dictionary, and it told me it was either a relation of onions or a mythical plant with white leaves and black roots.

Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm currently writing only one chapter ahead now, well sort of. I've been writing scenes out of order, actually.

Have a great day!