Castiel's Mission

Castiel flapped his wings, soaring higher and higher until he made it to the first branch of an old maple tree. The black winged angel was in Samandriel's backyard. It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was beating down on the angel, making his black wings and dark hair hot to the touch. Sweat dribbled down Castiel's forehead and Castiel wiped at it, wishing that a cool breeze or something would come through. Sadly, the wind seemed to have other things on its mind than keeping angels cool.

Shrugging his trenchcoat off a little, Castiel let some air in. He let out a content sigh and stretched out his wings. A dull ache ran through the feather covered appendages and spiraled all the way to his shoulders and back. Castiel flinched. It had been a while since he flew so high up and his wing muscles protested painfully as Castiel strained them. Normally, Castiel would stop flying and go stretch his wings and rest to keep from pulling something. However, Castiel was on a mission. Achy wings or not, he had to complete it.

He flapped his wings, once and then twice. His wings protested, but Castiel ignored them and leaped upward. With aching wings, he flapped hard, pushing himself up to one branch and then the next. It was difficult and Castiel knew that his body would make him pay for overworking himself later, but he was so close now. He couldn't stop, not yet.

"Yeah, Cas!"

Castiel flapped harder.

"Almost there!"

Blue eyes zeroed in on a bright yellow beach ball.

"There! There!"

Castiel reached out, arms snaking around the brightly colored ball. He yanked it from the maple tree's clawed branches, only getting a few scratches here and there.

A cheer bellowed from down below and Castiel perched onto a thick branch to look down.

Samandriel was sitting at the base of the tree. He was covered in a thick layer of sunscreen and dressed in a pair of hot pink shorts. His wings were folded upward and over his head, shading him from the hot sun beating down upon him.

Castiel held up the beach ball, grinning widely at his brother before dropping it. The ball fell, dropping lower and lower until it hit the dark green grass right in front of a patiently waiting Samandriel. It bounced a few times and Samandriel quickly reached out for it, catching it before it could launch itself back into the tree or somewhere else.

A grin eased itself over Castiel's lips as he watched his brother's face split into a wide, toothy grin. He leaned his head back against the trunk of the big maple he was still in, closing his eyes and taking a breather. He'd have to get down eventually. He didn't need the adults or his big brothers seeing him. They would probably freak and try coming after him even though such reactions were completely unneeded. He was fine. Well, he was a little tired, but a half an hour or so floating on one of the blow-up chairs in the backyard pool would help take care of that at least a little.

"Hey, Alfie?" Castiel called and the little angel looked up at him with big, happy eyes. "If you lose the ball again, please refrain from getting it into another tree."

"Okey-dokey, Cassie," Samandriel agreed. He tossed the ball into the air, but not as far as he had before. Samandriel may be tiny, but he had a pretty powerful throw. "Will you play catch with me now?"

Castiel paled. He opened his mouth and (as if sensing his answer) his muscles twinged and pulled. Castiel flinched and pressed a hand against his right shoulder.

"Uh...not right now, Alfie," Castiel started. His heart twinged as his brother's face fell. "I'm a little wiped out, but I bet Balthazar and Gabby would be happy to play."

"But I want to play with you," Alfie whimpered, staring up at his brother with wide blue eyes.

Castiel swallowed hard. Puppy eyes were something he was a master at doing. By flashing them at Dean he could usually sway the hunter into anything. Same went for the others, even Sam. Though, Sam was skilled in resisting puppy eyes and could sometimes break free before falling completely under the angel's spell. Samandriel had mastered the puppy eyes attack too and Castiel slowly found himself falling victim to the big blue eyes and dark lashes.

"Fine," Castiel sighed. He jumped from his perch in the tree and allowed his wings to act as a parachute. They guided him slowly and carefully through the air until his feet finally touched down on soft green grass. "One game only, though."

Samandriel cheered and dived at his brother, hugging him tight. "Thank you, Cassie!"

Castiel gently pushed Samandriel aside and took the yellow beach ball from his brother. He plopped down onto the grass and Samandriel copied him. With the both of them situated, Castiel threw the ball into the air and smacked it towards his little brother. Samandriel caught it, giggling to himself happily. Castiel smiled and cheered for his baby brother's great catch and held his arms open to catch the next throw. Samandriel tossed the ball at Cas, throwing it a little higher than needed. It soared high, making to fly right over Castiel's head. Cas was fast, though.

Ignoring his aching muscles, Castiel arched his wings up high above his head. He blocked the ball and it fell down into his arms.

"Woah!" Samandriel gaped. "How'd you do that?"

"You want to try?" Castiel asked. "All you have to do it arch your wings wherever the ball is headed."

Samandriel bobbed his head and Castiel tossed the ball at him. Samandriel's wings flared out, swinging out at a force Castiel wouldn't expect from such a tiny angel. The tiny wings, instead of blocking the ball, hit it as if they were a bat.

Castiel stretched out his wings, but the ball was flying too high. It traveled farther and farther upward until it fell into the branches of the tree Castiel had just pulled it out of with a loud rattle.

"Oops," Samandriel said, eyes looking back and forth between his brother and the stuck beach ball. "Uh...Cas? Can you...?"

Castiel fell back against the grass, throwing an arm over his face. His wings were going to hate him.

Hey, guys. I'm really sorry about this, but I have some bad news. I'm putting Wee Angels on hiatus for a while. It isn't going to be permanent. I'm planning on posting again late July or early August. I've been having trouble keeping up with WA and I haven't really had a chance to work on other fics or my own works. I'm hoping that by putting WA on hiatus I won't be stressed out about posting and will be able to focus on getting my other stuff done with. If you have any questions just send me a PM and I'll answer as best I can. Thanks for your patience, guys, and sorry again.