Chapter 4: Mountain and the Sea

Dean didn't mean to cause a rift between himself and everyone else he was traveling with. But the fact was, Sam was pissed and Cas was- well, he was Cas. Awkward and confused, oblivious to the world around him but yet in touch enough to know that he should keep his mouth shut. Truth be told, he had no good reason to be mad at Castiel. All he did was ask one simple question, but rational or not Dean was still mad. An intense fire turning over in the pit of his gut; reminding him of last nights towers of flames, destroying an innocent town. Washing over people who didn't deserve damnation.

The truth was, maybe he was just mad at himself.

The three boys had cleaned up their campsite by now, they were heading down an unbeaten path in the forest. It would take a few days to get to the port, so for now they were going to take it slow and enjoy the scenery. Since it was impossible to enjoy the lack of words being spoken between them. Though that didn't mean it was completely quiet, there was still the soft rustling of the trees. The humming of the wildlife around them that were preparing themselves for winter. The hustle and bustle of the natural world. Plus there was the quiet clopping of the horse's hooves against the hard ground. It was a steady rhythm, much like a heart beat.

Click clop, click clop, click clop.

So despite the hostile energies between Sam and Dean, Dean was still comfortable. Rhythm was funny that way, it kind of had a soothing effect on him. Like the waves washing up and down the shoreline smoothing off the rough edges of even the most jagged rocks, the horses steady pace was relaxing. Hell, he'd even go as far as saying it was tranquil.

Castiel and Sam were in the lead, with Dean following behind. This was another reason that he was able to relax; instead of being strong and forward much like the leader of the pack of wolves, he was content to hang back. In this moment there was no danger, no reason to be showing his brother and the clueless noble the way.

In this moment he was able to be himself in every sense of the word, rather then worrying about being a leader. Rather then being the hero. Today Dean Winchester was nothing but a man.

He could enjoy the beams of sunlight that were piercing the thick of the tree tops. Or the scent of autumn leaves that tickled his nose. The fresh breeze that rolled gently across his face, caressing each feature as it passed him by. It was hard to stay mad when it was a day as nice as this. The sky was so wonderfully blue this morning. A brilliant azul hanging just beyond the autumn leaves.

Bobby's phoenix perched on Castiel's shoulder as they rode on. Dean gazed at it questioningly. "Wherefore doth that bird like you so much?" he asked breaking the silence.

Castiel glanced over his shoulder, startling the bird. "I know not."

"It is a little weird." Sam observed without looking back.

"I guess animals just like me..." he replied. "Its been that way as far back as I can remember."

"Speaking of, Cas we don't know much about thee." Dean said as he encouraged his horse to go a little faster so that he would be up to speed with Cas and his brother. He wedged his horse between the two of them so he could travel in the middle. He turned his head, watching Castiel's profile. "Tell us about you."

Castiel frowned, his eyes fixed on a distant place. "There isn't much to say."

"So?" Dean replied. "All things considered, you know our darkest secret. We know nothing about thou. Even if there isn't much to say don't you think we deserve the same respect?"

"Let us try this, any question that we ask we will also answer. That way it is fair." Sam interjected.

"Fine." Cas agreed.

"Wherefore didst thou leave home?" Dean asked.

Castiel paused before answering, his expression thoughtful. It was the first time that Dean had seen Castiel looking contemplative. A long silence ensued, leaving Dean to question if Cas was even going to answer the question. "Freedom. For one thing, I wanted to be my own person independent from my family. I was also looking for some friends."

"Friends?" Dean asked.

"Yes." he said, refusing to elaborate.

"Well, kind of an unfair question. You know why we left home, so you ask us a question." Sam smiled. But that was just Sam, always the peace maker.

"Wherefore Robin Hood?" Castiel asked.

Dean looked over to Sam, wondering which of them should answer the question. It was fair for either of them to take it. Sam shrugged so Dean decided to take the initiative. "It wasn't really our decision, our father took the job. He wanted revenge against the people who took our mother away from us. She passed away from illness, no one would help her. He wanted to prevent that fate from happening to anyone else."

"Makes sense." Castiel replied. "Though, you should know revenge is never over."

The conversation came to a screeching halt. Sam frowned, looking irritated. But Dean smiled, he was glad that somebody else understood his sentiment. Though it was clear as day on the younger Winchester's face that he took offense to the comment. Sam wanted revenge, he wanted justice for the wrong doings of others. For what they did to his girlfriend Jessica. Dean was thankful that he had never experienced that kind of pain before. He was too young to remember his mother in great detail and he had never lost someone like Sam had. He was lucky.

Dean turned his head to watch Castiel, who realized too late that he had offended Sam. His eyes dropped, his expression darkening. He looked helpless, floundering like a fish out of water. It was clear that he wanted to say something, but there was nothing to say. No way to follow up without offending Sam more then he already had. Sadly, Cas didn't even know about Jessica. After a few moments, Sam pressed forward encouraging his horse to run instead of walk.

Castiel looked up for that, watching as the younger Winchester scurried away. His blue eyes widening with guilt for saying something careless. He was like a lost puppy who had chewed through his master's shoes. Now that he was being lectured for his mistakes, he felt utterly guilty. Dean smiled a little, imagining Cas with puppy ears. "The fault is not thine."

Cas' blue eyes, widened looking the tiniest bit relieved. The hint of a smile danced at Castiel's lips but he quietly pushed it away. Dean offered up a faint smile in return, he wanted to be more reassuring but he didn't think that he could. It was hard for him to reassure Cas, when Sam probably rode ahead because he was mad at both Cas and Dean.

"Really, I think he's just mad at the world." Dean offered. "Me, thou, really anyone who might say something wrong. Sam's girlfriend was killed, that's the real reason that he took up the cape."

"What about thee? Thy brother hath his own reasons, so?" Castiel asked carefully. Dean noticed that his tone was different, quieter and more timid. Cas didn't want to offend Dean, since he had already offended Sam. Or maybe he didn't want to offend Dean again after what happened last night.

"Nah, no special reason. I just do it because my dad raised me into it-"

"That's a lie." Cas observed, his eyes locking into a stare down with Dean's. "If thou only didst this because of thy father then one would hath abandoned the life after he was gone."

Dean felt his eyes stuck on Castiel's as if some force was pulling him there. A magnetized and hypnotic stare that couldn't be broken by just anything or by just anyone. There was heat on Dean's end, a fierce stare. He was a hawk watching his prey, waiting for him to slip up and make a mistake so he could swoop in and take him out. But Cas, his eyes were timid and curious. There was something gentle about his look, like a rabbit assessing the danger in a situation.

If Dean's stare was white hot, like the heat of the desert after having no water for days then Castiel was the gentle sun peaking out from behind the clouds. Despite his intensity and determination not to lose to Cas he turned his head away. Conceding the silent argument. But Dean could still feel Castiel's eyes watching him, the warmth of spring sun on his back. A rosiness creeping into his cheeks, despite his dark frown. He pulled his hood up over his face, hoping to create a barrier between himself and Cas' wandering eyes.

The boys came out of the woods, the sunlight hitting them full force causing them momentary blindness as their eyes adjusted. Dean tugged his hood father down, hoping to remedy the situation. Once the boys eyes were adjusted they noticed the breath taking view.

They were atop a large cliff, that trailed down to the blue ocean. In the light of the day, it was almost impossible to separate the horizon line from the skyline. It seemed the ocean and the skies were content to be as one. Forever dancing together as a spectrum of blues.

Sam had stopped to take in the view, he was standing at the foot of the cliff watching the waves bobbed close to the shore. Dean pulled his horse alongside Sam, inhaling the scent of the ocean breeze. "Beautiful ain't it?"

Dean stepped off of his horse, feeling the grass squish under his feet. From here, it was too steep to get down but there was a path off to his left that would let him get down to the shore. He started to his left, heading down the path. If this path could even be called 'a path' it was treacherous and steep. He led his horse carefully, taking caution with each step. Sam followed behind, careful to step exactly where his brother had stepped since he knew it was safe.

However, Castiel decided to go about things a bit differently. He went barreling off the side of the cliff, his horse gliding down and landing on the sand below. "Show off." Dean called. Castiel gave a small embarrassed smile.

The trio reunited on the beaches, walking along the shoreline. At the rate they were going they would have another days journey (at least) before they got to the port. If they followed the shoreline, they would reach their destination without having to worry about getting lost. Though they would have to make sure they stayed far enough away from the waters that high tide wouldn't reach them. "Are we staying along the shore?" Castiel asked.

"It would be best." Dean answered. Castiel stopped, falling behind Dean's vision. The brothers stopped to turn back and look at Cas who was know fidgeting with his shoes.

"What, pray tell are thee doing?" Sam asked, his expression quizzical.

Castiel looked up, a pink in his cheeks. "Taking my shoes off. Haven't thee ever walked without them on the beach?"

Dean chuckled under his breath, what a weirdo.

"Nay." Sam replied.

Castiel finished and slung his shoes onto his horses back. He shoved his feet into the white sand, looking satisfied. Dean shrugged and decided to follow Castiel's example. He bent down, pulling his shoes off and slinging them back onto his horse. Sam raised an eyebrow, looking at Dean.

"What?" Dean asked. "It feels good."

Sam shrugged, shaking his head at his companions. Dean laughed heartily, Sam was the youngest of the three but he was pretending to be to mature for this. How was taking your shoes off on a beach immature? Dean walked over to the ocean, bending down and splashing Sam with the water. He frowned, pulling his shoes off and chasing his brother into the waters. Sam might have pretended to be the adult here, but he was still a kid just like Dean. He swallowed the bait that was on the hook.

Dean let out a yelp, hoisting himself up onto some rocks. He kicked the water at his little brother who put up his arms in defense. "Look what you started!" Dean yelled over the sound of splashes.

Castiel shrugged, leaning down and picking up a sea shell. "Don't you just sit there thumbing your shell! Help me you bloody twit!" Dean half yelled, half laughed. Sam shot forward an arm, grabbing one of Dean's legs sending him tottering over into the sea. Both boys sat up looking like drowned rats. Cas put one hand over his mouth, bitting back a laugh. Dean pulled his now soaked hood off his head so that he could see.

But the older Winchester was only up for a moment before Sam shoved him back over into the cold water. Dean pulled himself up a second time, this time going all the way up to his feet instead of sitting. He pulled off his soaked shirt wringing it out over his brother's head. Sam swatted Dean's leg but that wasn't enough to stop him, so he sloshed out of the way pulling himself back up.

Dean made his way out of the ocean, wringing out the clothes that he could remove. "This is your fault Cas." he joked.

His company only smiled in response, but Dean Winchester was not about to let Cas get the best of him. In this case, revenge was totally worth it. He walked over to Castiel, hoisting him up into his arms. Castiel instantly began flailing like a small child, trying to break free from his captor. Sam pulled himself out of the water to help Dean, grabbing Castiel's arms. Dean let his grip fall so he was holding Castiel's feet, the two boys climbed onto the rocks. They swung Castiel back and forth three beats before letting him go into the water.

Castiel bolted up, then shook his head back and forth trying to get the water off of him. Dean leaned forward, laughing loudly. Sam clutched his sides, as Cas shook off like a dog. Now they were all soaked. "What did I do?!" Cas cried, walking back to his horse.

"I told thee." Dean answered, "You started it by taking off thy shoes."

Castiel made a strange inhuman screech sounding noise, trying to wring out his clothes. He pulled his cape off and tossed it at Dean's face, knocking Dean off balance and back into the water. "Perhaps we should find a cave to stay in tonight and get a fire started." Sam offered. Now shivering from the cold, wet clothes that were plastered against him.

"Sounds good." Dean replied, sloshing back to shore. He felt tempted to mess up Cas one last time, since he wanted to have the last word but he decided to wait until later when Cas wouldn't be expecting it.

It didn't take them long to find a cave. The brothers had been trained by their father to make the most of nature. It was easy Sam to estimate where the tide would be at its highest point and it was easy for Dean to seek out a cave. They both had strengths in finding things in nature, Sam's was knowing facts about nature. Knowing what type of things to eat, facts about animals, things like that. Dean was more skilled in hunting down the animals, making fires, the actual application. They made a good team. Cas was just along for the ride, but on the upside if Dean asked him to do something he was pretty good about doing it right. He was good at following Dean's instructions.

Once they had searched out a cave that wasn't inhabited by animals and wouldn't be caught in high tide, Sam went off to find some wood for a fire. Cas worked on making beds out of whatever he could find, which left Dean to try and get some food. Since they were by the ocean he decided to do some fishing, he stripped himself down to just his pants diving into the water.

It took him a little while to get far enough away from the shore to find some fish. Plus opening your eyes under water was never pleasant. But, Dean had done it before and he wasn't a sissy when it came to pain. He needed to see to catch fish, who was he to complain?

Dean glided through the water with ease, he had been fishing like this a lot of times. He held his breath pretty well, so he only had to come up for air every once and a while. He found his way to a reef, observing the fish as they darted about in their schools. He popped up inhaling the fresh air then went in attempting to catch a few.

He failed miserably.

Not that it was uncommon to fail in a situation like this one, it was a lot harder then it looked. He bobbed upward, taking some deep breaths and readying himself to go back under.

"Need any help?" Castiel shouted from the shore.

Dean shrugged, then realized that Cas couldn't seem him shrug from there. "If you're a good swimmer." Dean yelled. Castiel started stripping into just his pants and paddled out to where Dean was.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Get adjusted first." Dean said, taking a deep breath and plunging back into the water. Cas followed behind though he seemed to have a harder time seeing in the water. Dean chased a fish, the returned to the surface. Cas followed suit. "Yah good?"

"Aye." Cas replied, taking a deep breath and going down into the water. Dean hesitated for a moment, Cas bobbed back up to the surface. "Coming?" he asked in a curious voice. Dean smiled, something about Castiel's attitude was- dare he say, cute. The water reflected off of his blue eyes, it almost made them glow.

"Yeah. Follow my lead okay?" Dean said, dunking back under. Castiel followed behind him, watching his every move. Dean saw a school of fish, he turned back to Cas. First he pointed at himself, then pointed at one side of the reef. Next he pointed at Cas and pointed at the other side, that way they could trap who was in the middle. Cas gave an exaggerated nod to signify that he understood and the two separated.

The two of them came paddling around the reef at the same time, Dean reached forward grabbing a fish and clutching it in his arms. Cas also managed to grab one, they both surfaced the fish flailing to get free in their arms. Dean used his legs to push himself back to shore.

"Alright!" Dean smiled victoriously. The two of them made their way to the shore in pretty good time, Dean tossed the fish up onto the ground. Heaving deep breaths, using only your legs to get back to shore was quite the work out. "Let's get these cleaned up."

"Okay." Cas replied breathlessly flopping onto his back as he tossed the fish up above him. Hopefully they wouldn't be able to get back to the water before they died, but Dean didn't really care at the moment. He laid still, watching Castiel's chest heave up and down. His eyes wandered all across the noble's body, looking at the intricacies of his skin. The curves of the different parts of his chest, his ribs poking out when he breathed deeply. Cas needed to eat more.

But he looked good, laying next to Dean in the sand. Shirtless, wet, breathless, Dean felt his throat close at the thought. His cheeks flushed pink but Castiel was staring up at the sky, he didn't seem to notice Dean's wandering eyes. Dean chewed his bottom lip quietly, watching Cas.

Until Castiel rolled his head to the side looking at Dean, his childish blue eyes brimming with happiness. "I've never fished like that before."

"I take it you haven't done a lot of things before." Dean replied, rolling his head to the side too. A soft silence found the boys, as they laid still on the shore. Dean's eyes fell to Castiel's thin, chapped lips that were curled up in a small smile.

"That's true." he admitted after a moment, not catching Dean's implied innuendo. Their eyes met, electricity in the space between. Dean felt his breath hitch, escaping him. Butterflies fluttering on the inside of his gut. Sunlight dancing across Castiel's face, in the moment there was him, Cas, and the sound of a loud heart beat in his ears.

A wary hand extended, but Castiel sat up pulling himself away. Dean sat up to, noticing that Cas had some sand on his cheek. He brushed it away with his fingertips, electricity surging through his body. But Castiel stood up, gathering the now dead fish up in his arms. All things considered, Dean was kind of glad Cas interrupted the moment.

Who has a moment when dead fish are just a few feet away? The rationalization made sense in his head, he scooped up their clothes heading back to the cave. Hopefully Sam was back by now so they could get these fish cooking before they started to smell. Dean was pleased to find that he was correct, Sam was back. He started cooking the fish as Sam and Cas talked about something. For the life of him Dean couldn't remember.

His thoughts were on Castiel. He wasn't sure what had happened earlier and it was bothering him. Dean was never allowed a moment of peace. The image of a soaked young man burned into the back of his eyelids every time he closed them.

But Venus' son replied: "Your bow may pierce everything else,

Phoebus, but mine will pierce you: and as all animals are

inferior to the gods,your glory is to that extent less then mine."

Dean had a hard time getting to sleep that night, in fact sleep seemed pretty much impossible. He stared at the jagged top of the cave, listening to his brother snoring quietly. His thoughts raced with the events of the day, his mind refusing to quiet itself.

The hunter rolled to his feet, deciding to take a beat alone. He walked up and down the shore. His feet were bare and when the tide rolled in the cold water brushed against his ankles. Castiel was right, walking bare foot on the beach did feel good. The air was cool, but not cold. The perfect temperature for an evening stroll, though it was the dead of night not the evening. Details were never that important to Dean.

"Dean?" a quiet voice asked.

"Cas." Dean answered without looking.

"Pray tell, what are you doing?"

"Thinking."

Castiel walked up alongside Dean, matching his stride. His intentions were unclear to Dean, did he want to be near him? Dean wondered silently. "About?"

"Eh, nothing that important. What might you be doing out in this eve?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep." Castiel replied honestly, his eyes focused on the ground.

"Wherefore?"

"I was also thinking." the noble answered vaguely.

"About?" Dean mimicked, causing a small smile to play at the corners of Castiel's mouth. He even let out a gentle chuckle.

"My family." he answered, stopping to stare at the moon. "The way that Sam and thee act reminds me of my brothers. Or I guess, how they used to act. I suppose I might be feeling a little lonely."

Dean watched as Castiel stared absently at the moon. His eyes were glazed over, he was thinking about his family. It hadn't really occurred to Dean that Cas even had a family till now. Yet, now that he was here watching Cas he could see his sadness. The way that his shoulders were slumped, his eyes misted over, his expression vacant- Castiel was lost in thought. The noble looked that he was miles away, somewhere far beyond. Carefully, Dean laid a hand on Castiel's shoulder drawing him back from the atmosphere.

"You're not alone." Dean offered sympathetically.

"You remind me of my brother." Cas said quietly.

"Really?" Dean asked. The words felt like a punch to the gut, but he pretended not to notice. It was a compliment, he should take it as such. "What's something that he would do?"

"He used to take me and my other brother out at night, telling us stories and letting us chase the lightning bugs. He was always very kind, but also sort of gruff. He just cared about us a lot, so sometimes when we made stupid mistakes he would be angry. The real reason that he was angry was that he just wanted the best for us. When we didn't seek it ourselves, he could get frustrated. But he was always warm and encouraging." Castiel answered. Dean broke from Castiel's side, walking up to the grass and flopping back in it. "What are you doing?"

Dean patted the ground next to him. "He told thee stories right?"

Cas laughed quietly, giving a smile that showed teeth. He made his way over and laid down next to Dean, who had his hands back behind his head. Castiel laid his head on Dean's chest, making himself comfortable. "You do this with your brother?" he asked.

"All three of us would lay on one another, yes."

With his free hand, Dean gestured to a group of stars, "That's the constellation Orion. Orion was a hunter..."

With these words he swiftly winged his way through the air,

till he alighted on the shady summit of Parnassus. From his quiver,

full of arrows, he drew two darts, with different properties. The

one puts love to flight, the other kindles it. That which kindles

love is golden, and shinning, sharp-tipped; but that which puts it to flight

is blunt, its shaft tipped with lead. With this arrow the god pierced the

nymph, Peneus' daughter, but Apollo he wounded with the other,

shooting it into the marrow of his bones. Immediately the one

fell in love; the other, fleeing the very word "lover" took her delight in

woodland haunts and in the spoils of captured beasts,

emulating Diana, the maiden goddess.

Enjoy the fluff. You're welcome. No seriously, I really enjoyed this chapter. Actually, I just really enjoy this story. And I love the fact that I got to write the beach scene with Sam, Dean, and Cas. That was way to much fun to write. For those of you who are waiting for an update on 'Silhouette' I apologize, I'm working on it but it's not flowing very easily. I have major writers block on it and since this story is really just starting its a lot easier to write. Plus its just so lax at the moment, 'Silhouette' has such an impending doom feeling to it since its basically an exploration of the human psyche.

Any who, I've seen a lot of stories where Castiel is in love with Dean. Castiel struggles with how to tell Dean about his feelings. Castiel has an issue. Castiel can't seem to get his point across.

I wanted to change it up with this story, having Dean hone in on Cas rather then having Cas hone in on Dean. Now let me say, Cas still has issues (we just haven't gotten there yet) but I think its important to change things up. So rather then have Cas chasing after Dean, I decided to have Dean chasing after Cas. And I regret nothing. Also I think this is the first time that Cas mentions his siblings. A big part of this story is going to be the exploration of the number three, as in my concept there is almost always three. Dean, Sam, Cas in the present. Dean, Sam, John in Dean and Sam's past. Dean, Sam, Bobby. Cas, Lucifer, Michael in Cas' past. Cas, Balthazar, Gabriel in Cas' past. This story is basically going to be centered around parties of three and the way that there is always two opposing forces and a mediator. The concept of balance amongst peers. Don't want to spoil too much for you so I'll leave it at that.

In other news, they hugged.

That is all.

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