Alright, part II! Sorry I couldn't get this up last night…X.X
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Over the next few days, everything slipped into a pretty comfortable pattern. Dean left him in the kitchen most mornings, and while the hours that Sam was home seemed to change all the time, he was there pretty frequently on and off. He was still avoiding Rufus, and though Ellen had clearly taken to him, Jo still kept her distance. She wasn't mean, but she wasn't friendly either. On the days Dean was home he followed him everywhere, playing with his shoelaces and pawing at the edge of his jeans until he gave in and picked him up, always particularly ready to settle Cas down into his lap when he was sitting on the couch.
All in all, everything was going really well. Except that one morning, his gums started to itch. It was just that at first, just an annoying itch that he couldn't seem to reach. Oh he tried, craning his neck and rolling his jaw and even pawing at his mouth but it didn't feel right and it didn't stop the itch. If anything, it just made him more frustrated. He made a couple circuits around the kitchen, whining, before he settled down beside one of the kitchen chairs. The wood smelled pretty inviting, and when he closed his mouth around it experimentally, he realized his teeth felt just a little better.
The more he chewed the better they felt and eventually he was gnawing away calmly, his tail slowly thumping against the floor. Eventually the wood started to really splinter and he spit the pieces out, curling his tongue distastefully and licking until his mouth was clean. That was going to be a little bit annoying. He yipped, rose up on his hind feet with his front paws on the seat to examine the rest of the chair. He wouldn't have been sure where to try next, exactly, except that there was something in the seat.
It smelled different(and vaguely like Sam), but it wasn't wood and it seemed worth it to give it a try. It took a few tugs to get it out of the seat, and when it did fall free he scrambled back, hiding pressed up against the cabinet to watch it hit the floor. It fell splayed, opening and laying flat, and when he was sure it wasn't going to move again he approached it, finally settling down next to one corner to chew. It was softer than the wood and it definitely tasted better. Not to mention, it didn't hurt nearly as much. He worked at it for a long time until he could feel the ache in his gums soothing. He settled his head down, licked his lips a couple times and kicked against the tile to settle in closer against his headrest before he dropped off to sleep.
He woke with a start sometime later, his pillow being jerked roughly away from him. "Cas…seriously? Shit." He could hear the annoyance in Sam's voice, and though he tried to back up quick, he wasn't fast enough. Sam caught him, tugged him from underneath his arms and held him level with his eyes. "Bad puppy, you understand? Bad dog." He sighed, frustrated, and Cas was relieved when he deposited him back on the floor, muttering to himself about having to talk to Dean when he got home.
Meanwhile, Cas was on the floor again and his teeth still hurt and Sam's boot was right there, and-
"Cas! Dammit, no, ok? No!"
He didn't hit him, barely even raised his voice but Cas cowered instinctively, lowering away from the sound and swishing the tip of his tail apologetically against the floor. He couldn't help it, really. If Sam could only understand that he wasn't feeling well, maybe he wouldn't be so angry. He whined softly, eased his head down until the tip of his nose brushed the tile.
Sam sighed, dropped into a crouch and rubbed his back gently with one big hand, soothing. "Hey, it's ok. It's ok. Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you, alright? I'm sorry. Just…we can't do this, ok? I've got some expensive crap around here, and me and Dean, we don't have the money to be replacing it all. You've gotta be a good dog, Cas, ok? You just have to."
Whatever else about it he didn't understand, at least Sam wasn't yelling anymore. He eased forward, licked Sam's hand until he smiled and his own tail started wagging again. He'd seen already that when Sam was upset, Dean was upset. He couldn't let that happen.
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Dean laughed a little, rubbed the back of his neck with one hand while keep the other wrapped around Cas in his lap. "Sam, I don't know what to tell you, man. Puppies chew, you know? He's probably teething, poor little guy." He pulled Cas just a little closer, rubbed his belly when he flopped over willingly onto his side.
"Yeah, I get it, and the chair doesn't really matter, but you have any idea how much law textbooks cost, Dean? This was one was $180, and compared to some of the others that's cheap! We don't have that kinda money to throw around, and you know it!"
Dean sighed, nodding as he looked down at Cas. "Yeah, I hear ya. Look, I'm sorry, ok? We'll…we'll figure something out. We'll just have to keep important stuff out of the kitchen for the time being, I guess. Hell, you know I wanna take him into the garage with me eventually but it's just not safe with him this small. Can't do that until I can trust him to stay with me and not do something stupid like chew on a gas can. In the meantime…" Dean rolled Cas over all the way, rubbed his belly harder and Cas growled happily, wriggling and kicking playfully at Dean's hand. "Let's go get him some toys, huh?"
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"Right. So, Cas…" Dean sat Cas down in his lap, ran a hand over his head to get his attention. "This is the impala."
"Dean, you're pathetic, you know that, right? He can't understand you."
"Pay no attention to jackass over there, listen to me, ok? You have got to be good in the car. I mean it. No chewin' on the seats, no drooling, nothing that messes up the interior alright? And you can look out the window if you want when you bigger, but please don't be stupid enough to jump out, cause then I have to drive back and save your ass. Alright?"
"Seriously? You're pathetic."
Cas ignored him, kept his eyes on Dean's and danced a little on his front feet when Dean kept looking right back. With the cats it was scary when they stared him down, but somehow with Dean it never was. His deep green eyes were calm, steady, and Cas knew that this(whatever it was) was important to Dean. Not for the first time, he wished he could've picked up their strange language just a little faster. Still, almost everything seemed to be made better to some degree by sticking close to Dean's side, so he'd follow that rule this time and hope he did something right.
Dean plopped him down gently into the seat between him and Sam. He wasted no time easing over to nose his head onto Dean's thigh, and he thumped his tail against the seat when he heard Sam laugh.
"You know, I have license to mock you for the rest of your life over this. You're actually spoiling him."
"Shut up."
"I mean really honestly spoiling him! Dean, that's not healthy, from what I've read, you get him used to that he's gonna have serious separation anxiety when you-"
"Well since I'm gonna be takin' him to work with me eventually, that's not a problem is it, Sam?" He reached down with one hand, trailed his fingers across Cas' ribs. "You're just jealous cause he imprinted on me or whatever the fuck they call it in dogs."
"No, I just find it funny that Mr. Masculinity over here has a dog that's gonna grow up looking pretty frilly falling all over him and he doesn't mind."
"He is not gonna be a sissy, I don't care what his fur looks like. Bitch."
"Jerk."
They both laughed, and Cas sighed happily, nuzzled just a little closer against Dean's leg. He could feel it when Dean was happy, and that was better than anything else. For the first time all day the deep seated itch in his gums wasn't bothering him quite so bad, and he let his eyes drift shut.
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The trip to the store was exciting, and though he came home with lots of interesting things to chew he also came home wearing something around his neck. It was heavy and frustrating and it reminded him of the thing that had poked him when Dean had first pulled him out of the cold. Sam and Dean had both agreed it matched his eyes, and they seemed pretty pleased with the thing and with the bits of metal they hung from it. Altogether it was noisy and frustrating, and though he scratched it and whined Dean wouldn't take it off. After a few days, he was almost used to it.
He was laying on the couch by Dean one night gnawing on his bone happily and ignoring the way Jo glared at him from her perch on the back of the recliner when Sam came in, carrying a bag that he could smell from across the room.
" 'm back. Had to go to all the way over to the damn diner to get your pie, the place on the corner was closed."
"You're such an awesome brother."
"I must be." He sat down heavily on the couch, bag in his lap, and Cas dropped his bone to bound across the cushion, following his nose. Whatever was the bag smelled fantastic, and he almost had his head in it before Sam caught the collar around his neck and jerked him back. "No, Cas. Stay out of it." Undeterred, he waited until Sam's hands were full handing something from the bag to Dean before he tried again, this time actually getting his nose over the edge of the plastic before Sam hauled him out again. "I said no." Sam shuffled the contents around, had just gathered some of it up on a fork before he stopped, smiling. "Well, guess it wouldn't hurt. Here you go, bud. Knock yourself out." He scraped the bit on the fork off on his fingers, ignored Dean's protests and held his hand out for Cas to lick.
It tasted absolutely incredible. It was cold and creamy and crumbly on the bottom and he was immediately sure he'd never tasted anything so good before and he never would again. "See? Told you he could be bought." He barely registered the sound of Sam's voice, was far too focused on his hands and the hope that maybe, that next bite would be his too. He pranced forward until he pressed against Sam's thigh, almost quivering with anticipation.
"Cas." That was all it took to cut through the jumble of more please more going on in his head. He jerked around to look over his shoulder with a speed that surprised even him, instinct leaving him no choice but to respond to Dean's voice just because it was Dean speaking. Dean's eyes flicked up to Sam, something like pride gleaming in them. "You told me what now?" His eyes were back on Cas quick, his hand stretched out. "C'mere. You'll like this better, trust me. I know you've got good taste."
He hopped back over to Dean, stretched his neck out to take the crumbling, gooey bite from his fingers. His tail wagged so furiously he could feel his hind legs loosing balance, and he stumbled a little before staggering forward, still licking desperately at Dean's fingers. It was hot and warm and spicy and it was Dean's and even if hadn't been better anyway, that would have made all the difference.
Dean chuckled warmly, let him finish cleaning his fingers incredibly thoroughly before he stroked him. "Good boy, Cas. Good dog." He wiped his hand off on his jeans, smirked over at Sam as he picked his fork up again. "See? Good taste. Told you. And he still likes me best. Face it, he's my dog."
"He's your trained monkey. Seriously creepy."
"Yeah, whatever."
Cas lay his head down in Dean's lap, whining pitifully. It worked like a charm. Every other bite of the warm tasty stuff just 'happened' to fall, and he was careful to clean every crumb off Dean's jeans(as well as those that dropped onto the couch). He could hear Sam try to coax him back a couple times but he was busy, and he hardly noticed.
When he was finished Dean rubbed his ears, stretched carefully before settling back into the couch. "Pie can't be good for dogs, buddy. We can't do that much, ok?"
Warm, full, and sleepy, Cas licked the last bit of crust from his whiskers before he fell asleep.
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"I can't believe he's grown so fast! What was it you said you thought he was, Sam?" Someone Dean had called Bobby was in the house, currently on the floor and rolling his ball from the living room down the hallway for him. He chased off after it, only slightly losing his traction on the slick hardwood as he turned the corner.
"He looks almost exactly like a purebred English Setter to me, but those eyes are what keeps throwing me off."
"Yeah, thought they looked awful…bright. Hey, good boy!" He handed the ball over easily, bowed down on his front legs and wiggled until Bobby tossed it again, the sound of it bouncing off the hall wall sending him scrabbling into a quick turn.
"Yeah, see, puppies are all born with blue eyes, but in most breeds they change really quick. When Dean brought him in, I was pretty sure he was a purebred and his eyes would change, but they haven't and he's well past the age now where they should have."
"So, I think maybe he's got a little husky thrown in somewhere, and Sam thinks that'd do it. In any case, he's mostly setter."
"Either way, he sure is turnin' into a nice lookin' dog, Dean. Hey, Cas, good boy!" He pawed at Bobby's leg stubbornly, rubber ball held lightly between his teeth. He loved chasing it, but really, holding it and waiting was almost as much fun. He'd figured out over the past couple of weeks that he liked holding things…there was just something so inexplicably nice about having something in his mouth. Honestly, it had gotten him into trouble more than a few times already when he'd gotten caught holding the wrong things(so many of Sam's things were off limits, it really was impossible to keep track).
Bobby took the ball from him, bounced it away in Dean's direction this time. Dean caught it, and Cas bounded over to him happily, dropping into an easy bow and tugging on the end of Dean's jeans with a soft growl.
"Oh, do you want this back? Do you, huh? Well I'm sorry, it's mine now. You lost it."
He pranced, dancing uncertainly just outside Dean's reach, throwing in a low whine for good measure.
"Oh, you really want it? Sorry, my mistake. Go get it, bud." He tossed it off down the hall, harder than Bobby had, and Cas could hear it hit the door to their room. He tucked his legs under him, sprinting off down the hall.
"Dean, that dog has you whipped."
"Shut up, Bobby."
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The bigger he got, the more boring the kitchen seemed. He'd paced every inch of it, chewed a good bit of it while his mouth had been hurting, and his toys were only so fun to play with on his own. Even gnawing on his bone lost its appeal after awhile, and Sam wasn't usually very much fun in the afternoons. He stayed out of the kitchen, and whenever Cas barked to call him down to play, if Sam appeared at all it was only to give him a treat and say that he was busy studying.
Whatever studying was, it was certainly annoying. He'd figured out, at least, that it had to do with the school Sam went to everyday, and that Dean said Sam was smart, and he should be proud of him. He was, because Dean said so, but still, he'd have rather Sam been able to play a little more and study a little less. Being stuck in one room that wasn't even his own while his Dean was somewhere else was really frustrating.
He had just flopped down onto his belly on the tile with a loud sigh when Jo jumped the gait, slinking easily across the floor and flipping her tail as she crossed in front of him.
"Bored, puppy?"
"A little. Yes." He sighed, kicked his hind paws against the tail as his tail wagged a little even at the thought. "I wish Dean would come home."
"You know…that garage where he goes, it's not far from here. I know how to get there. I've been before, when I got out."
His head rose up off the floor at that, ears pricking forward. "You can get out?"
She arched, purring, before flopping over onto her side to blink lazily at him. "Well it's not hard. Yeah, I know how to do it. If you'd like, I could show you. Let you out, and you can go to Dean."
He all but quivered at the thought, and he raised up high on his elbows, head cocked. "You'd…you'd help me? But I thought-"
"Yeah, well it seems I'm stuck with you. So we might as well get to like each other, right?" She sprang to her feet again, the tip of her tail twitching as she sauntered over to the door that led to the back porch. "I usually go out through the window, but if you push one of those chairs over here, I know how to work this latch. Then, all you'll need to do is push it to the side a little…you are tall enough to reach now, aren't you?"
There was an edge to her voice that made him bristle a little and he leapt up, shook himself and stood to his full height. "Yes. I can reach it." Honestly, he had been growing at a pretty alarming rate. When he stretched out beside Dean in bed now he was longer, and just the other night Dean had complained very good naturedly that sooner or later he'd be taking up too much room.
"Alright, then." He shoved the chair lightly with his shoulder, putting enough pressure to scoot it but not enough to topple it over. He'd had some practice with that, having knocked a couple of the kitchen chairs over on accident more than once while he was playing. "Once you get through this door there's screens outside, but they're not staple well at the top and a few beats of those monstrous paws of yours should get you out, alright?"
He was past responding, though he was still soaking in the words. He watched her hop up into the chair and bat the latch to the side, reared up on his own back feet to put pressure against the latch like he'd seen Sam and Dean do before. It was pretty easy, and once he was outside , the screen didn't take as long as he'd thought. He stood there looking at the hole, panting a little with exertion, and he turned back over his shoulder to grin at Jo.
"Thank you. I wasn't sure you'd ever stop hating me."
She settled down, tail curling around her front feet. "I'll see you later, then."
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Finding his way to the garage wasn't as easy as she'd made it sound. He'd wandered mostly through other dogs yards, gotten turned around twice, and though he'd thought he'd caught the motor oil-gasoline-paint smell of the garage once, it had been gone almost as soon as he'd turned around. He'd been walking pavement now for a little while, and not being used to it his feet were starting to hurt. Still, he couldn't turn back…mostly because he wasn't exactly sure which direction back was. Oh, he could've followed his own trail easily enough, but he was smart enough to know that was winding and out of the way, and he wished he knew a more direct route.
Still, he kept searching, and in the end he finally did stumble on the scent again. He woofed a little in surprise, scampering off down the sidewalk in its direction. It was clear on the breeze, now, and the certainty of getting closer made everything else fade out. The pavement wasn't as annoying, or the thirst, and his tail was actually waving a little as he ran when he first noticed the scent.
It was strange…odd and familiar and thick. It reminded him a little of a mixture of the pie Dean loved so much and the medicine Sam had taken once when he was sick, and the two didn't go well together at all. He sneezed, cocked his head and tried to find the garage smell underneath it. The new strange smell was more widely covering, though, and he didn't have much luck. He shook his head, frustrated, tried to sift through a jumbled mass of blue to remember where he knew it from.
Just then he heard a sharp whisper and something burned across his heels, startling and painful enough that he yelped, leaping out off of the sidewalk and landing bewildered on rougher pavement. The back of his legs hurt just a little, and under the other scent he could smell singed hair. He cocked his head, tried to crane his neck back around to see behind himself to see if-
"Cas!" His head jerked up, blood pumping quick in response to the panic in Dean's voice. He bounded forward, drawn toward it, and he felt the rush of air as something huge slipped past behind him. He whirled around, saw the car tear off down the road. His hackles rose then and he skidded to a stop in fear, once leg drawn up against his chest and quivering slightly. He wasn't sure what direction it had come from so suddenly, and though he could now remember seeing these streets from the windows of the Impala, he'd never been on them on foot.
"No, don't stop, c'mere, ok? Hurry, Cas, c'mere!" He was terrified, now, and though for a minute he remained stiff legged, the pull toward Dean's voice won out. He leapt toward it in startled little jerks, half expecting another car to go barreling past him. It didn't, and he'd just reached the sidewalk and started scanning for Dean when he felt familiar arms warp around him, scooping him up with a little difficulty. "Son of a bitch, what the hell were you thinkin', Cas, huh? How the hell'd you even get out? Jesus…" He felt Dean's breath against his fur and he whined, wriggled in his arms until he could nuzzle into his neck, licking his cheek once for reassurance. "Yeah. Yeah, I got you. I got you, Cas. S'ok buddy. Just don't scare me like that again, huh? Gotta teach you to stay outta the damn road…"
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When they got home, Dean was furious. He yelled at Sam first, and when Sam convinced him he'd had nothing to do with it, he'd apologized to Sam and settled for yelling about the 'goddamn fucked up door'. He'd calmed down a bit then and looked Cas over good enough to find the burns on his hocks, which he treated with something that smelled funny and made Cas' skin burn. Dean had been upset, though, so he hadn't struggled, just licked his hands when he finished. In any case, even if it didn't feel right then, Dean had never hurt him. He never would.
When that was finished he settled down on the couch, watching sleepily while Dean and Sam took turns fiddling with the latch on the door. Ellen came in the room first, Jo slinking low behind her, her whiskers twitching.
"Go on. Get it over with it." Ellen was stern, stiff, and the look in her eyes told Cas she wasn't in the mood to be messed with.
Jo inched forward, hopped up on the couch and hesitantly hovered somewhere near Cas' nose. "I…" She twitched her whiskers again, mewed in a soft, sad way. "I only wanted to get you in trouble. But Dean says you nearly got killed and…" She ducked her head, her ears twitching. "Well, I'm sorry. And that's not what I wanted. And I won't…I won't lie to you again."
Cas licked his lips, flopped his tail a couple times against the seat. "It's alright."
"Really, it isn't. I just…" She hesitated, seemed to make her mind suddenly and settled down, curled against Cas outstretched right leg. "I just wanted Dean to pick me, you know? But I don't think he's ever noticed me, much. But you…you he wants. And that's hard, you know. But Sam, he took me and mom in when he had nowhere else to go after my dad got caught…we were alone and pretty much starving and we're lucky he loves us, really so…I guess it doesn't matter if Dean likes me, right?"
Cas whine softly in sympathy, went to nuzzle into the fur on her back but stopped when he noticed her tensing. It was so hard to remember that cats didn't like that. Dean never seemed to mind him touching him. "He likes you. Really, he does. Dean likes everyone."
"I know that's not true."
Cas cocked his head, curious. "Who doesn't he like?"
"Lots of people. He talks to Sam about them. Still, I guess you're right. He likes me. He just doesn't love me the way he does you."
He wanted to say he was sorry, really, but he felt too good and proud hearing her say it, and he just couldn't manage to be sorry over that. Instead, he nosed against her, gentle. "Thank you."
"What, for nearly getting you killed? Today hasn't exactly been the highlight on my 'good deeds' list."
"For not wanting me gone anymore."
She shifted, curled her tail a little tighter over her nose but didn't move away from his paw. She didn't say anything else, and she didn't need to. When Ellen jumped up beside him and started licking his burns, he let himself fall asleep.
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"Castiel?"
The sound pulled him from a good dream, his head still just a little fuzzy as he shook it.
"Castiel, that's you, isn't it?"
He shook his head again, puzzled. It was a familiar voice, but at the same time, it wasn't exactly a voice at all. It was somewhere between the way he spoke with the cats and the way Dean spoke to him, something inside his head, and though he recognized it he couldn't place it.
"It is, it has to be, I can see it in your mind! Castiel, it's Anna, can you remember me?"
That did the trick. Part of it, at least. It brought back a whole host of jumbled memories he couldn't make sense of, of blue and white light and almost forgotten friendships and a place in the skies and a trial and…
"Anna? Anna! I'd forgotten! I still…" Still, it was muddy. Like seeing through dirty glass, but the more he focused the clearer it was. The blue thoughts that shifted and usually faded like smoke when he grasped at them, they were memories after all. He'd been sentenced and he'd been cast here on a mission, and somewhere….somewhere there was a Zoi he needed to find. A weapon of some sort, but that was all he could remember. And sometime far back, he and Anna had been friends.
"Yes, Castiel, that's all right, you're getting it now." The sunbeam he slept in seemed to warm a little and he turned, felt the blaze of it against his back. A few more thoughts clicked into place and he shook his head again, turning fully toward the sun.
"This is…this is your world. So it's here the Zoi fell?" If he was looking for this thing, really he couldn't have been luckier. At least it was with a friend.
"Yes, it's here, but I can't really help you…I'm afraid I don't know where it is myself. And besides that, helping you at all will be…difficult. Uriel's trying to get them to strengthen your sentence. Make it exile entirely, one lifespan with no chance of return even if you do find the Zoi."
That, he didn't even want to consider. Not yet. His mind was already full of too much new information to start processing the fact that it might not help him at all. "The Zoi…I've remembered I need to find it and that they think I killed someone with it and I didn't, but I can't remember exactly what it is…just that…I think I would know it, if I smelled it."
"Well, that won't be much use unless we can get you near it…and it'll take some time for me to try to pinpoint it." She eased up a little on the intensity, light dancing in shadows across the kitchen tile. "I knew you were innocent, Castiel. You were always too gentle for murder."
Another switch flipped, another hurried jumble stirring in the back of his mind. "Ruby, is she-"
"She's fine, as far as I know, but we aren't acquainted." The light shifted again, and when Cas squinted into the sun he was almost sure he caught a glimpse of her true form, all shimmering yellow gold. "Listen, I have to go for now, but I was hoping you were old enough now to remember. You know I'm backing you on this, Castiel, and I'll be doing all I can to keep Uriel at bay. It's too early to start really searching since we don't have any leads, but I'll do what I can, and I'll be in touch. Soon."
He must have said something for goodbye, but he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to realize exactly what it was. It was as if whole new sections of his brain had been opened up, closets stuffed so full the insides were spilling out of them now and cluttering up everything else. It didn't all make sense and some of it he wasn't even sure he wanted to remember. The trial, for instance. Uriel. They'd never liked each other, and this was just one more chance for Uriel to prove Castiel needed to be demoted. Or, apparently, done away with all together.
Just as he was sinking into the mass of new thoughts to try and get a handle on what exactly the Zoi was, he heard the front door opening.
"Cas! I'm home, buddy!"
He was on his feet in a split second, dancing happily near the door by the time Dean came into the kitchen. The minute Dean reached down to take his face in his hands, nothing else mattered.
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So…looking back at it I'm afraid the luminary conversation wasn't as clear as it should have been for people who don't have as good a background with the book, and if it wasn't, I'm really sorry…my brain is just tending to focus on the relationship between doggy!Cas and Dean and making that the focus of the fic so the rest(like the main plot, lol)isn't getting as much attention. X.X Sorry, and I'll try to make sure everything's a little more clear in the next part…