Note: Another roleplay session in which I rolled badly.

Once they finally got out into the countryside, Castiel focused on the surroundings around him as he walked beside Hannah, the loud human lumbering up ahead of them. Castiel had really hoped they would have managed to leave Roddy behind, but the man was bent on tracking this drow. His behavior seemed almost deranged.

"Took me ear off, he did!" Roddy had lamented when the angels had protested the man's coming with them. "And killed me dog! If ye are planning on hunting him, there's no way ye are leaving me behind!"

It occurred to Castiel that the human seemed to be more interested in personal redemption than trying to save the village he insisted needed saving. But there had been no way to shake him, so they reluctantly followed him out.

Castiel found himself eager for this outing. He wanted to know more about Hannah's life here. Her knowledge of this world had impressed him, although she had only been here for four years. She seemed more adapted to this world than Castiel had been in the over ten years that Castiel had been working alongside the Winchesters on Earth.

"The elves are so much different from anything on Earth," Hannah said softly as she and Castiel walked together through the scrublands. "It makes me wonder why angels didn't choose to watch over them instead of Earth."

"I am beginning to wonder that myself," Castiel confided in her as he thought about recent events in his life. A moment of pensive silence passed between them, and Castiel felt the other angel's eyes on him. He shrugged reluctantly, debating whether to tell Hannah about everything he had been through, about his losses and sorrows. He hadn't come to terms with any of it, but then, had he ever?

Castiel wondered if there had even been a time in the past ten years that he had ever felt like he was on the right path. He had gotten so lost, so buried under the guilt of good intentions gone bad, that he didn't remember ever feeling as though he belonged. Either to heaven or to Earth.

"It's so good to see you again, Hannah," he blurted out impulsively as he made a quick glance at her, as the two of them headed up a rock face. He didn't realize how sincere he felt about that statement until then. Hannah had been the one angel in all of heaven that seemed to understand him, though it took some time and their friendship had its rocky parts. But she had always seemed receptive to the things he had wanted to teach. The idea of freedom and free thought, he had realized long ago that most angels were simply incapable of understanding the concept.

But Hannah was different. At least he wanted to believe she was. He had seen her change before his eyes, from being a rigid, law-abiding angel who struggled to see past the principles heaven had laid out for her, to embracing emotions and feelings. He knew she didn't quite understand her own feelings, but she was open to them. And if only she had more time to explore them. But she hadn't, because, just like everyone else Castiel cared about, she was killed. Because of him. It was his fault.

It was all his fault. Every death in heaven and on earth, his mind had automatically placed blame on himself, whether or not it was true. Guilt had been his constant companion for over a decade.

"Castiel," Hannah began, her tone serious as she gazed ahead of her. "It's good to see you, too. And I don't know how or why you came to be here. But I know you want to return. I should tell you right now, if you find a way home, I can't go with you."

Castiel frowned, glancing at her, seeing the resolve on her face. "There are things happening there, Hannah," he argued. "Heaven needs every single angel."

"I'm not an angel anymore," she informed him. "At least… not in my heart. And I haven't been for a long time. My place is here."

Castiel wanted to argue. He wanted to insist. But he wondered if his reasons weren't selfish. He was being truthful. Naomi had made it clear that the angels were going extinct, and he felt it. His powers were slowly slipping away, even before his arrival here. Heaven was dying and although one more angel probably made little difference, he told herself that she was needed.

But maybe it wasn't heaven that needed her. Castiel was alone. He'd lost everything. He'd lost Jack, the only bright spot in his life. And he thought he had lost his friendship with the Winchesters. He remembered Dean's words. Why does that something wrong always happen to be you? And you're dead to me. It wounded Castiel more than he realized.

Because maybe there was some truth to it. Maybe everything that went wrong with everything around them was all Castiel's fault. He was the rebel, after all, the angel who defied heaven.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he offered after a moment of contemplation. He wanted Hannah to come with him because he wanted a friend. He needed someone who believed in him, even if he didn't believe in himself. He still clung to the need for acceptance. Acceptance from heaven, acceptance from the Winchesters. Would he ever get it when he valued himself so little?

Hannah was about to respond when suddenly she straightened up, looking up ahead. Roddy was noticeably gone. They were walking up a narrow ledge with rocky cliffs on either side of them. Small copses of oak and elm dotted the path, their branches leaning overhead.

And then came the smell, an all too familiar smell of death. Hannah approached cautiously, her bow drawn as Castiel silently moved in behind her, rounding the bend and bracing himself before peering at the scene before them.

Roddy stood there, his hand pinching his nose as he stood staring at the scene. Laying against the rock face were three bodies. The stench was powerful, and Castiel coughed as Hannah inspected the scene. The bodies were mutilated beyond recognition, their flesh slashed open. The remains of a campfire and the contents of packs were strewn about everywhere.

"See what this drow does!" Roddy exclaimed incredulously. "These are the adventurers sent out to track him days ago! We cannot let him get away with this carnage."

"This doesn't seem like a drow kill," Hannah pointed out as she examined the bodies closer. Castiel didn't know how a drow attacked, so he trusted Hannah's assessment in this. "I think these wounds were caused by a spear, perhaps by bites. And by the looks of it, they died perhaps only a day or so ago. Their killers may still be near."

"It's the drow, I tell ye!" Castiel had just about had it with Roddy's rants but as he surveyed the scene, he spotted tracks.

"Hannah," he said, pointing them out. Hannah nodded and began following them.

"I'm going to find someone who will do the job better!" Roddy exclaimed, as he turned the other way. The angels did not stop him, too focused on tracking down the killers.

They didn't have to go far. As they moved further along the rocky trail, coming to a wider pass opening up onto a small meadow outcrop peppered with trees, they were immediately confronted with the beast.

A giant, hideous creature, towering over 7 feet, it looked like some sort of hyena mutant, its snarling maw of teeth drooling as it clutched a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. It was outfitted with simple armor as it moved in on the angels.

"A gnoll," Hannah explained, having no time to prepare before the creature launched its dirty spear.

Castiel moved to dodge out of the way of the missile, but it nicked him in the arm. He felt the sharp pain as he rolled to the ground, blood spilling down his arm. Wincing, he pulled the spear out and whirled as the gnoll creature turned its attention towards Hannah.

Hannah crouched and launched herself up into the air, meaning to land on the branch of an elm tree which reached from the side and take out her bow. But even with her slight weight, the branch buckled and cracked and the angel came falling back down, landing hard on her knees just as the gnoll jumped her and bit into her flesh with its gaping maw.

Castiel pulled out his sword and dove at the creature, slashing at it with his sword. He felt his blade sink into the thick flesh through a hole in its armor.

The gnoll shrieked in pain and whirled on the angel. As he moved back, letting the gnoll follow him, Hannah quickly got to her feet and held out her hand. As Castiel looked on astonishingly, it was as if Hannah's arm became a giant flame; the heat leaping out at the gnoll.

Castiel watched grimly as the pitiful creature shrieked as the flames spread, consuming him and eventually silencing him before going out, leaving a pile of charred flesh. The angel stared at Hannah incredulously and she only shrugged.

"I thought our angelic powers were gone," he stammered, putting a hand over his wounded shoulder as it dripped with blood.

"I've embraced new magic," Hannah explained as she brushed herself off. "My elven family are well versed in druid magic, and I've become a member of their secretive order. In this world, there is little need for enochian magic. You might learn this power yourself."

Castiel was just about to reply when he heard a commotion ahead, signs of a struggle.

"There are more," Hannah commented as she hurried toward the commotion. Castiel hurried after her and as they burst through the clearing of trees, they found the source of the noise.

The dark elf whirled at their approach, blood still wet on his scimitar as the dead gnoll lay at his feet. The human beside him turned to face the angels as well, and Hannah glanced at Castiel.

"We have found our drow," she commented as the four of them regarded one another, dead bodies all around them.