Bonus Chapter: A Cold Winter's Night
Another little, fluffy case-fic one-shot.
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This area is beautiful. The night is quiet, and the trees are covered in glittery snow, shining with the silvery light from the full moon. It is a magnificent example of his father's creation, displaying how stunning the uninterrupted nature can be.
Well, almost uninterrupted.
Dean is huffing and puffing next to him, humanly affected by both the cold, the hilly terrain, and the heaviness from walking in the snow. They have been walking for almost two hours, and he is quickly becoming exhausted, but no less determined. He is driven by the weight of two humans still possibly alive, hopefully in the caves that they are slowly approaching.
They are of course not in Idaho Panhandle National Park just to admire the breath-taking Winter landscape. Two campers have gone missing. "Stupid survivor idiots, watching too much Discovery Channel," Dean had sighed. Normally, they would have ignored such a case, as too many people go missing on camping trips in the grand national parks, but the article just had to mention that similar unsolved disappearances had occurred exactly 23 years prior to that, and 23 years before that as well. A pattern that made the article interesting to normal readers but made the lives of the hunters difficult right now.
"Shouldn't this bitch be hibernating?" Dean growls. His mood expressing his physical distress.
"Agreed, it is highly irregular for a wendigo to be hunting at this time of year." Castiel answers. Lord, he misses his wings. Despite not being as affected as Dean by their environment, he too is finding it more difficult to walk in the snow compared to any other surface he can recall from their hunts.
Dean answers with an annoyed growl from deep in his throat.
They continue in silence. They are both very aware of their surroundings, listening for any indications that their target might be targeting them instead. It is far from ideal to be hunting a wendigo at night, but Dean had been adamant that they should go look for the survival campers as soon as possible. Castiel was not surprised by this, but the hunter's lack of self-preservation could be trying at times. Luckily, he is still enough Angel to see better in the dark than a human, and he hopes that will be enough to keep them safe.
Still, it is hard to ignore Dean's hard breathing next to him. Castiel even thinks that he can hear the hunter's teeth clattering at times. It's not like Dean is wearing appropriate Winter's clothes. Sure, he is wearing more layers and a warmer jacket than normally, but it is combined with only thin gloves in order to keep a firm grip on the flare gun in his hands and no hat as he wanted to keep his hearing clear.
After another fifteen minutes, Dean again needs to vent his frustrations, hissing; "Wendigos are normally hanging around Minnesota and Michigan... Why the hell is this one in Idaho?"
"Though they have their typical hunting grounds, I believe the most important circumstance to create a wendigo is the consumption of human flesh. That can occur in any remote area or-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thanks for the lecture, Monsters'R'Us." Dean cuts him off. He lets out another huff, sending a damp cloud into the air followed by the clattering of his teeth. He quickly clenches his jaw and shuts his mouth to keep the freezing air out of his body.
"You are cold." Castiel states.
"Yeah, 'cause it's freakin' cold, Cas!" Dean hisses, fighting to keep his voice low.
Castiel is about to answer when he finally sees the caves that they have been looking for. Instead of answering Dean, he points in the direction of the caves. Dean stops and follows the direction that he is pointing to, immediately brightening when he spots the caves in the darkness.
"Finally!" This time, Dean forgets to keep his voice down. They quickly look at each other, staying perfectly quiet. Dean didn't shout or yell, but in the silence of the forest with a perfect hunter possibly nearby, he might as well have been screaming from the top of his lungs.
The trees to their right rattle, and they turn their heads just in time to see snow dropping from the branches to the snow-covered ground.
"We've got company." Dean whispers, voice tight with both guilt and preparation for the oncoming fight.
As if on cue, they move to stand with their backs against each other. It is an old reflex from their time in Purgatory, and they easily fall back into the pattern.
Sounds keep rattling around them, first from one place and then from another. The wendigo is looking for a weak spot, unafraid to take on two more lonely travellers in its forest.
Maybe it recognises the flare gun in Dean's hands, maybe it chooses at random, but it finally settles on a victim and attacks Castiel. However, even if he looks like unarmed pray compared to the hunter, he is far from it. He sees the wendigo more clearly and follows its speed more easily than Dean can. More importantly, he can still almost match it in strength. The wendigo raises its claws, aiming for his chest to cause as much damage as possible, but Castiel catches its arms and keeps it at bay.
The creature seems surprised and screeches. However, it still struggles, and in the heat of the battle, they accidently push Dean, who lands face down in the snow behind Castiel. Castiel tries to keep them away from the hunter, so they do not accidentally step on him.
Luckily, Dean is quickly back on his feet and raises the flare gun at the fighting pair.
"Cas! Get back!" Dean takes aim, and just when Castiel can sense him ready to pull the trigger, he lets go of the struggling enemy and steps back to allow the flare gun to hit its target.
True to form, Dean does not miss, and the creature goes up in flame with an ear-piercing scream.
They both take a deep breath of relief.
"You alright?" Dean asks.
"Yes, I'm fine." Castiel looks over Dean, knowing that he should be unharmed since he was spared of the physical fighting. The only impact this battle has had on him, is a light layer of snow on his jacket, face and in his hair, making it look like he is covered in powdery glitter. Yet, he asks, just to be sure; "And you?"
"All good." Dean answers, but with a hesitant glare. He narrows his eyes at the Angel and asks; "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Castiel realises that he is smiling, just a small upturn of his lips, but still enough to make the hunter suspicious. "It's just… You are covered in snow. You're… sparkling, for the lack of a better word."
"Sparkling?!" Dean exclaims before looking down his jacket. He desperately starts hitting and swiping at his jacket to remove the snow, as if offended by Castiel's choice of words. He shakes his head and runs his hands through his hair. Once satisfied, he shoots Castiel a dirty look. "Hunters don't 'sparkle'! Now, come on."
Dean starts moving towards the caves and Castiel doesn't mention the patches of snow that he missed. It will be melting soon enough, so he will just enjoy the sight for now.
They luckily find the victims alive. They are of course scared and shocked by what has happened, and most of all eager to go home. The wendigo must have been saving them for later, because they are both in fairly good condition. They greedily accept the protein bars that Dean had packed, and with their arms around each other, they start the more than two hour walk back towards the car. It is a rental car, as Dean refused to take Baby into the snow. Afterall, she is not an off-roader, no matter how many tight spots she has helped them out of.
Dean and Castiel walk a bit behind the campers, talking in lowered voices about the case, so the victims don't hear any more traumatising facts about the supernatural than what they have already experienced.
Soon, Dean starts shivering lightly. The rush of the hunt is wearing off and the snow that covered him has left a light, cold layer on his jacket and face. He clenches his jaw and tries to hide it, but Castiel is so used to Dean's mannerisms that he can easily see his discomfort.
Castiel glances at the campers in front of them, but they are too wrapped up in each other and in going home that they are not taking any notice of their rescuers. He therefore quickly grabs Dean's shoulder to make him stop.
"Wha-?" Before Dean can ask, Castiel sends a little grace through their connection. Dean's question is immediately replaced with a relieved sigh and his eyes flutters closed when the heat enters his body. It dries his wet hair, brings feeling back to his toes and increases his skin temperature to normal. When Castiel lets go, it takes a second before Dean opens his eyes. For a moment, they just stare at each other, Castiel with a small smile and Dean a little bit baffled.
After a couple of heartbeats, Dean is about to break the silence when one of the campers call out. "Oh my God! Look!"
Both hunter and Angel are immediately ready for a new attack, but instead of a new monster, they are met with the most beautiful light in the darkness.
Across the sky, green lights with splashes of purple are dancing. It reflects in the snow, giving everything a magically green glow.
"Whoa…" Dean lets out a breath.
"It's beautiful." Castiel elaborates a bit more eloquently. He looks over at Dean, seeing the hunter completely enthralled by the light. It is clearly the first time he sees Northern Lights. Castiel has seen it many times before, both from Earth and from Heaven, but this is the first time that he has seen a human's reaction to it. To see the wonder in Dean's eyes as green dances in green is even more beautiful than all the other times that he has watched the natural phenomenon. Not only are the colours beautiful, but Dean's face is relaxed in awe, making him look younger and almost childish in his wonder.
For once, Castiel has no idea how much time passes, but Dean's instincts finally reboot, and he notices the Angel staring at him. Dean quickly schools his features, putting his defences back up. He clears his throat and then commands; "Alright, let's get moving, people. Still a long way to go." He quickly starts walking away from Castiel, urging the campers to move.
Despite determinately walking towards the car, Castiel still sees the hunter steeling glances at the sky.
-.-.-.-
My only reason for choosing Idaho Panhandle National Park is that I googled that there is a chance for seeing Northern Lights.