Disclaimer: I do not own the places and characters mentioned from Doctor Who or Supernatural.

A.N: Okay, so keeping up with the angels is really difficult. First off there's how Supernatural presents them, and since this is a Supernatural fanfiction I want to stick as close to that as I can. Then there's me blindly using random angel names from one site and then looking on another and finding out that angel is completely different to what I thought it was. Anyway, I'm going to try to stick with what the Supernatural canon has stuck to, only adding a few references from other sources. (listed at the bottom)

Two

A Leap of Blind Faith

Castiel's favourite place in Heaven was on a great and tall mountain, called the Pinnacle, which overlooked a vast landscape of stars. It was on this mountain that he first perceived the wonder that was the universe. And Castiel worshipped it. This was not uncommon. Angels never stopped praising the Creator and his creations, but what Castiel did went beyond mere praise – it was emotion, commitment, wonder. The likes of which had never been seen before. It was almost unnatural, as if God had made a mistake. But God never makes mistakes, right?

Right?

Despite his differences, Castiel managed to get on well with his brothers and sisters. Often any cause of disagreement was over trivial matters, as it usually is between siblings, and was soon broken up by the older angels, resolved in a matter of minutes and forgotten all the more quickly. Pain and disagreements were avoided because there was a connection between the host that was unbreakable; causing pain to another inflicts pain on oneself. They were connected through their Father's love and their love for each other. You could say that, on the surface, they were the perfect family – a template for the rest of the universe to follow.

Castiel wasn't good at making friends. He darted between angels but never felt welcome with any of them - but that changed during one of his classes.

The students were told to pair up with another Fledging – a young angel, still in training, with their role in Heaven yet to be determined. After everyone had been partnered up, the last Fledgings remaining were Castiel and the mysterious Uriel. To Castiel, he was a mountain; calm, strong, never bowing to anything. A little intimidating. Castiel approached him carefully, unsure whether to smile but he still did, and introduced himself to the calm, silent one. Uriel returned the introduction stonily.

"Remember this is about the fluidity of your movements." The instructor informed them. Castiel stood tall, desperate to impress. "Find your opponent's weakness and use it to your advantage. Harness the power of your Grace. Let the energy flow – but remember to keep control of your actions."

Castiel twitched nervously, repeating the words in his head as he duelled with Uriel. His movements were desperate and clumsy, while Uriel's were blunt and stiff. When Castiel went to deliver a blow to Uriel's side, the larger Fledging dodged and Castiel detected amusement in the other angel. It distracted him and he didn't notice the swing aimed for his legs. Pain rattled through him. He lost balance and slumped to the ground. Before he could recover, the instructor stopped them for another lecture. Castiel writhed in embarrassment, picking himself up.

Afterwards, he was shocked when Uriel approached him.

"That was a good fight." was all he said, but it made something inside Castiel spark, burning away all the humiliation he felt. Castiel had gained the respect of a mountain. That made him very proud indeed. The older angels didn't understand of course. To them, Uriel was just a shiny-looking stone in a river. Castiel wasn't noticed enough to even be a stone.

Castiel's other friend was Balthazar. Well, I suppose they were friends. You could never tell with Balthazar.

They met purely by accident, on the very same mountain were Castiel first saw the stars. Castiel went there often to think, wonder, or to sometimes rest, whenever Uriel wasn't around. Castiel and Uriel had grown close after their dual in class and they spent a lot of time together. Castiel even showed Uriel the stars, but Uriel didn't see them the way Castiel did. Uriel loved them - yet it was somehow different to how Castiel loved them. It was at this point that Castiel became painfully aware of how others saw him, which was why, when Uriel was resting, he went to the Pinnacle to meditate. He wanted to fix whatever flaw he - wait. No. He couldn't call it a flaw. He was an angel; his Father's child. He wasn't flawed.

But then what was it? Why did his brothers and sisters see him differently? Castiel was so twisted up with these thoughts that he didn't notice he wasn't alone until someone slumped up against him. He barely had time to think who it was or what he wanted, when the stranger leaned over and whispered hotly into his ear.

"When I say duck, you duck. Got it?"

Castiel went rigid, "What are you –"

"Now!"

Something splashed in his face and turned hard. He choked, scrambling to get it off him. It made his Grace burn like holy fire. He heard the other angel making a sound of alarm and then whatever was on his face was ripped off. "I said duck!" the other angel accused while Castiel rubbed his burning eyes.

"No, you said 'now.'" Castiel said. He blinked when the angel just stared at him, a look of surprise, like he'd found something he only just remembered he knew he was looking for. "...What?"

The angel smirked, "What was your name?"

"Castiel. And you?"

"Balthazar."

Balthazar was like a ribbon. He was thin and agile, unlike any other angel Castiel had never seen, and could weave through or past any obstacle with a series of cunning choices and direction. He would make a fine warrior. Or a thief. Even his voice, smooth and lustrous, could charm anyone.

Castiel looked at the small flask in Balthazar's hand, as the angel returned the substance back into it. It was strange: when held, it became sticky and gnawed at the grace, but as soon as it touched the lips of the flask, it transformed into liquid and slipped inside. "What is that?" Castiel asked, both fascinated and frightened by it.

"Oh this?" Balthazar said like he'd forgotten he'd had it. He was a very dismissive fellow. Not a care in the universe. "I don't know. I found it."

"Why did you throw it at me?"

"Because you looked busy." Balthazar tipped his head back and laughed at Castiel's scowl.

"You there!"

Castiel and Balthazar leapt. Two very powerful Seraphim were approaching them. Castiel recognised the leader as Raguel and his follower, Ezekiel. Raguel often took the form of a griffin with duck feathers on his wings and neck. Like all Seraphim, he had six wings and wasn't afraid to show them off. On the other hand, Ezekiel had three heads; a man, a dog, and a bull. His grace was gold and bronze and he carried an air of kindness and smelt oddly like petrichor. Angels took on these powerful forms depending on their status. Fledglings could only manifest basic humanoid forms, often wingless because of how difficult it was to sustain them. Most Fledgings could only support two wings at once.

Balthazar hissed, hiding the vile behind him. Castiel swallowed.

Raguel and his garrison were the ones who kept order in Heaven. Like most Seraphim, they took no notice of the Fledgings. Unless they had broken the rules, of course.

Raguel looked at Balthazar. He held out his hand. "Stealing is not permitted."

Balthazar scowled and stubbornly pulled the flask from behind his back.

"He didn't steal it." Castiel said, feeling compelled to protect Balthazar despite the fact he hurt him. That was always Castiel's biggest problem. "He found it."

Both Balthazar and Raguel looked at Castiel with disbelief, before Balthazar cooled his features. Raguel looked suspiciously at Castiel, and glanced at Balthazar. "Is that true?"

Balthazar nodded curtly, and blurted, "Yes sir!" a little too quickly.

This made Ezekiel chuckle, "I'm sure." he said, voice gentle and deep. He turned to Raguel. "Leave them be, Raguel. They are young. They do not yet understand."

Raguel took the flask off Balthazar and carefully gave it to Ezekiel.

Curious, Castiel asked, "What is that, anyway?"

"Never mind you." Ezekiel said. "And if you 'find' anything else that shouldn't belong, return it to our garrison."

"Yes sir." Castiel and Balthazar said at the same time and the two Seraphim turned away and left. When they disappeared off the mountain, Balthazar turned to Castiel a large grin, "Thanks, Cas." He said, "I owe you, big-time."

Since then, Balthazar stole moments from Castiel's life. In all those moments, Castiel knew Balthazar was waiting for the opportune moment to return the favour. And so, Castiel never brought it up, thinking that he'd lose his friend if he did. Generations passed, and that feeling was forgotten. Then came the day when Castiel went to his brother and begged him for his help. The day Castiel committed the biggest crime of all time.

But long before that, there was the rite of passage.

Rays of light darted through Heaven's sky, like droplets of paint flowing down to meet each other and become one, in dazzling shades of vermilion, indigo, gold and many more that in their variety cannot, and have not, been named. The skies of Heaven were rarely empty. The host dashed and played and pranced and wrestled in the skies until they grew tired. But today was different; all the angels, all the lights, were going the same way. As they glided over the soaring spires of the city, were more angels lifted up into the sky to join the group. The angels were gathering to watch an event that only occurred every millennia.

All the Fledglings gathered at the Great Divide, on the very edge of Heaven, looking down into the emptiness below. Castiel stood with his classmates, his friends Uriel and Balthazar beside him. Above them was the huge stretch of light of millions of angels. Castiel watched his brothers and sisters streak over his head and join the others. The space above him was filled with chatter.

Castiel was twitching with nerves.

Uriel smiled reassuringly at Castiel, "You will perform well, Castiel. I have trained with you enough times to know that. Besides, hardly any angels fail the rite of passage."

"What happens to the angels who fail?"

"You about to find out." Balthazar pointed out a large six-winged angel with four heads and quickly averted his gaze before the Seraphim saw him. "Good ol' Zach about to start us off."

The rite of passage came at the end of a Fledging's classes, where they were assessed by the hierarchy and their role amongst their brothers and sisters finally decided. Tension was build up for decades. Especially for Castiel. This day was what he'd been waiting for longer than he could remember; for as long as his brothers had looked upon him, and saw something they disliked. It was concealed in a look; Castiel was different. He would never make a warrior.

Today he was going to prove them wrong.

Zachariah marched along, looking down at the Fledgings. His six wings were raised high behind him like the feathers of a peacock, and his four heads, one of which was a lion, growled hungrily. Everyone knew he took on this form to frighten people. And it worked. Zachariah paused momentarily at Castiel, and the Fledging twitched. That look again! Castiel couldn't stand it anymore!

It took a sharp nudge from Balthazar into his side before Castiel realised that Zachariah was glaring at him, his lion's head looking about ready to eat him. Castiel quickly looked away. Zachariah moved on. When the Seraphim had traced the line of angels, he stopped and turned. No one dared move out of place.

Then came the Archangels.

They came like comets, blazing and beautiful with flakes of light peeling off them in long tails. The first four children of God: Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel and Raphael. They came in a line, head-to-head, like jets, then moved apart. Suddenly they were comets no more – they sprouted their wings, their heads, brandishing their true forms in all their glory, and when they began to sing, their harmonious sounds seemed to make the entire universe stop and listen.

Michael lifted his sword; a long gleaming blade, and pointed it up. The archangels circled around him for a moment and then aligned themselves behind him. Michael, in throws of cerulean, guided his brothers behind him. Following his two older brothers, Gabriel stretched his many wings, which were the purest white, his feathers lined with a colour that changed from silver to red depending on the angle. Raphael was behind him in emerald, like fresh earth grass, and even though he was the youngest of the four, he flew with elegance. Finally, the most beautiful; Lucifer, soaring between Michael and Gabriel, was golden with flares of blue and green, large wings and large sword-like feathers.

Not a moment into the song, Gabriel purposefully flew out of formation, speeding up so he was head-to-head with Lucifer. He batted Lucifer with a playful wing, but Lucifer gracefully dodged. Michael looked back sternly at them, until Lucifer overtook him, swirling through the air – gold flecks peeling off him and falling like snowflakes – then Michael, rising to the taunt, smirked and soared after him. Raphael rolled his eyes fondly and rushed to catch up to his older brothers. They danced like that for a while, tickling each other, and yet still coordinated and beautiful, their colours and shapes making a show, until they settled above all the other angels, their wings spread outwards, their voices loud and beautiful until they slowly settled into silence.

The first Fledging was called forwards by Zachariah.

She was called Anael. Castiel knew her from his class, and couldn't help the tiny stab of jealousy inside him. Anael was favoured by everyone. Strong. Agile. Beautiful. The very best. She encouraged and inspired everyone. The perfect leader, she was. It was only natural that she was chosen first. Something about her stood out. Something that made Castiel squirm.

Anael strode towards the edge. She turned her back to it. Reached up her arms. Dived backwards. It wasn't surprising that her performance glowed. Her graceful movements were beautiful against the blackness of the Divide. She could curl and flex her wings accurately, and when her time was up, she bowed and soared up to the stadium to join her brothers and sisters.

Another Fledging was chosen at random. Daniel. Castiel didn't know him personally, but he was in Balthazar's class. They had a rivalry of sorts. Constantly arguing and duelling with one another. Balthazar once said that he didn't respect anyone easily, but Castiel imagined that his relationship with Daniel was close enough.

After Daniel was finished, another Fledging went. And another. And another. Hurling themselves off the edge. This was the ultimate test of skill, courage, and strength. Each one of them were doing their best to pass it. When Uriel was called, he went bravely, without question. His movements were sudden shifts, hard and swooping fighting techniques. Uriel wasn't flexible at all, but he made up for it with his strength and when his turn was over, he was welcomed amongst the other angels with open arms.

The next Fledging chosen was also from Castiel's class. He was a show-off, but highly skilled, and when he leapt off the edge, Castiel watched carefully, hoping to gain inspiration. The angel spend out his Grace, forming wings, and lifted upward. The angel swooped up. Then he twisted in the air. His wings curled. He lost his balance. He fell. A gasp echoed throughout the angels - the light mass rippling. Castiel wanted to rush forwards to see what had happened but Balthazar pulled him back in line, giving him a warning look. Then the crowd of angels fell silent and the Fledging stirred uncomfortably.

"What happened?" whispered Castiel, carefully pulling away from Balthazar's grip. His friend was reluctant to let him go. "Where did he go? Is he all right?"

"He fell." Balthazar said. "Past the Divide. Into the Void."

Castiel furrowed his brow, "I don't understand."

Balthazar looked at him. "He's dead."

"Next!" Zachariah called, pointing directly at Castiel. Castiel was paralysed. He felt Balthazar's hand grip his shoulder tightly. He waited for his brother to fly back up, thinking it was a fluke, but he did not.

"Next!" Zachariah called again, glaring at him.

The hand on his shoulder gave him a gentle squeeze before letting go. Castiel shuffled to the edge. Looking down into that vast pit and imagining his poor brother trapped there for all eternity made his head swim and he closed his eyes. He glanced back at Balthazar, who winked and smiled at him. Castiel straightened his back, turned and looked straight ahead. He pushed his brother's death out of his mind, pushed away all the millions of eyes he could feel watching him, pushed back his insecurities. This was it. He couldn't turn back now no matter how scared he was. This was his only chance to prove himself.

He jumped.

For a daunting moment, he was being pulled into the void, too frightened to do anything to stop it. He closed his eyes and felt with a rush a thousand memories and thoughts explode in his mind. He saw how each and every angel gave him that same look. Not one of them didn't. He remembered the shushed words; he was 'peculiar' and 'would likely never amount to anything.' With these thoughts filling his mind, Castiel shook himself into action. He stretched out his Grace as far as he could, transforming them into two dazzling wings. The feathers, like blades, expanded and threw him into flight. Castiel laughed with relief. But it wasn't over. He had to show off what he had learned from his training.

Castiel spun round in the air, briefly melting his wings back into his body and transforming into a ray of light. After a moment of free-falling, he formed his wings again and burst back up into heaven. He flew up to the stadium, where the over angels watched him in silence. Castiel prayed that was good news. He flexed his wings, and plummeted back downwards again.

Something went wrong.

His wing bent up his back. Both wings melted back into him. Castiel tumbled down into the abyss. He tried to right himself again, but he'd completely left heaven and was heading straight for the void. But Castiel refused to give up! He stretched out his wings, beating them as hard as he could to lift up again. Feathers surrounded him, blinding him, and, terrified, he flailed in the air.

No. He told himself. He had to be clam. Soldiers always had to be calm. He may not be a soldier yet, but he would be one day. With that in mind, Castiel tried to regain control of his body. He closed his eyes and imagined himself back in Heaven, with Uriel by his side, and sometimes Balthazar when their classes joined, and what the instructors said.

"This is about the fluidity of your movements."

"Grace is a powerful energy that makes up every angel."

"You can use your Grace to manifest and control your form."

"Learn control."

Castiel swallowed the rising panic in his throat. He focused on each beat of his wings, each feather rising to flick and then curling up again. He felt himself moving, but didn't dare open his eyes until he was sure he was calm. He knew seeing that horrifying blackness would cause him to panic. And what if he fell? What if he ended up in that howling wilderness, the Void? Would he die? He didn't want to die. Not like this. He couldn't -

Oh. He was panicking again.

Up. Flick. Down. Curl. Up. Flick. Down. Curl. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Stay level. Stay alert.

Finally, Castiel pried open his eyes. He swallowed. Where was he? It wasn't Heaven, that's for certain. It was too dark - but not dark enough for him to be simply hanging in the Divide. He prayed it wasn't the Void!

Breathlessly, Castiel kept on beating his wings, trying to stay still while he looked round. He didn't recognise this place. He'd never left Heaven before. When Castiel glanced around he saw stars, like the kind he watched from the mountain, twinkling little clusters, and they surrounded him. Yet, they still looked far away. What did that mean? Was he close to Heaven? Or where the stars everywhere?

Everything looked the same. Castiel shook himself, feeling dizzy. He picked a random direction and soared towards it.

Up. Flick. Down. Curl. Up. Flick. Down. Curl. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Keep flying. Don't stop.

It wasn't long before Castiel's wings went numb with exhaustion. He'd gone a long way. No idea where. He'd been concentrating the whole time so when he finally looked up and round he was surprised to see the orb in the distance. It was beautiful. A golden orange pearl suspended in the blackness. From the distance Castiel was at, it was the same size as himself. It looked like he could land on it, but he couldn't be sure.

But Castiel's wings were burning and his eyes drooping. He had to risk it. No other choice.

Trying not to think about what would happen if he didn't get to safety soon, he pushed on.

...Then he was falling again. Air smacked him in the face. Heat and light stabbed him. He tumbled and was met with a quick fierce impact with the ground.

When Castiel's head stopped spinning, the first things he noticed was the red grass tickling his nose. He curled away from it, his Grace trembling from the impact, and struggled to stand. His form had averted back into the humanoid shape sometime before he landed, but he still had his wings. Typical. He climbed to his feet, tucking his wings against his back, where they promptly melted into him.

The place he was in was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. To him, it was more beautiful than the stars, than heaven. Two burning suns. An orange sky. Mountains capped with snow. And where he stood, a mirror-still lake beside a cluster of silver trees. Below the slope, in the far distance, he could see a town of some kind. Castiel looked back at where he crashed. The grass had grown tall and small flowers were blooming. He looked up at the sky to re-think his flight pattern. It was certainly embarrassing, but Castiel was relieved he hadn't fallen into the void.

He was preparing to take off again, when suddenly;

"Wait for me!"

Without thinking, Castiel flung himself into the forest, diving behind a tree and peeking out. He saw two boys coming from the direction of the town, up to the lake, one of them lopping behind the other. They wore black robes with a grey band across the chest and a black cloak that trailed through the wet grass behind them. When the taller boy saw his friend falling behind, he picked up his cloak, pulled it over one shoulder and then picked up his friend and carried him on his back to the lake.

The smaller boy tried to protest, "I'm fine. Really, it's nothing."

The taller didn't appear to be listening, however, "I'll kill him for this." He was saying, brushing his dark fringe from his face with a bruised hand. "He had no right to do those things to you. Those stupid grown-ups. They never do anything." He lowered the smaller boy by the lake, in the place where Castiel had landed, and began to wash the smaller boy's wounds. The skin along his leg was torn up and bleeding, and the taller boy had bruises over his arms and face. Castiel felt the sudden urge to go and help them, and had to restrain himself.

"I won't let him hurt you again, you hear me?" the taller boy said, scrubbing furiously. "Never again."

"Ow! Ow, Koschei! That's hurts!"

Koschei stopped. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

There was a pause. Koschei went back to cleaning his friend's leg, more slowly and gently this time.

"I miss home." The boy said eventually, "I wish things didn't have to change."

Koschei was silent.

"They'll know we ran away." The boy continued, "They'll see our cloaks."

Koschei's mouth moved and Castiel crept forwards to hear what was being said. A twig snapped under his weight. The boys turned sharply to him. Castiel scrambled back, making even more noise. The boys were on their feet.

"Is that you, Torvic?" Koschei snarled. He bent down and picked up a stone off the ground, "You coward! If you want to fight me come on out and–" he lifted the stone to throw it, but the other boy grabbed his arm.

"Kos! Don't!" he said, "There's no point."

"Of course there's a point." Castiel heard the one called 'Koschei' whisper, "If I beat him in a fight, he'll leave us alone, Theta."

Theta winced.

Castiel felt it was appropriate to speak to ward off an attack. "I'm not who you think I am." He tried to say, in Enochian, and his words fell on deaf ears.

"What was that sound?" Theta whispered. "It was a like whistling!"

Koschei's fist tightened around the rock.

They couldn't understand him, Castiel realised. He tried again. This time, he used his telepathy to inch into the boys minds. It gave him a horrific headache, but the boys understood. They weren't fazed by the fact that Castiel had entered their minds and that could only mean they had telepathic abilities of their own. But they weren't angels. At least, Castiel didn't think so.

"Where are you?" Kos asked, speaking aloud rather than in his head.

Castiel shifted nervously behind the trees. "Hiding."

"Why?" Theta asked. He took the rock from his friend and put it down on the ground. "See? We won't hurt you."

What fascinating creatures they were! Castiel was awed by them. It was the first of his Father's creations, outside of angels and stars, he had ever seen. And they spoke too! Curiosity was swelling in his chest, and Castiel inched a little way forwards.

Koschei gently eased his friend behind him. "Look! A light! Is that you?"

"It's my Grace." He replied, stopping again. He'd heard that some of the creations were sensitive to the Grace, but if these boys were like himself, then maybe they were unaffected? Or maybe they were special?

"Grace?" Theta said, peeking out from behind his friend, "You're not from this world are you? What's your species?"

"I'm an angel of the lord."

"Never heard of it." Koschei said, and then added, with a proud smile, "We're Time Lords."

Castiel hummed with amusement. "I've never heard of you either."

"Well, technically we're not Time Lords." Theta said and Koschei nudged him, "It's true! Not until the Initiation, tomorrow."

Castiel had no idea what this 'Initiation' was, but he imagined that it was much like the rite of passage - Oh! Castiel flinched. He'd failed the rite of passage! His brothers probably thought he was gone for good. Balthazar. Uriel. Did they think him a failure? He had to get back and prove to them that he wasn't. He had to prove he was a good and powerful angel.

"Hello?" Koschei called. "Where'd you go?"

"I..." Castiel shrunk back into the forest, "I-I have to leave."

Theta's eyes widened. "But...who are you? Are you coming back?"

"I'm…" Castiel hesitated, inching away. "…Castiel."

Then he was gone, stretching his wings and beating them as hard and fast as he could to lift into the air. All the boys saw was a ray of light shooting upwards, like a star returning to sky, and as Castiel lifted higher and higher, entering space, he couldn't help but look back at the curious red planet and wonder.

References:

Raguel – From the Judaic traditions, known as the angel of justice, fairness, harmony, and vengeance. In the Book of Enoch, Raguel is one of the seven archangels whose function is to take vengeance on the world of the luminaries who have transgressed God's laws. In this story, he's not an archangel.

Anael – the angel form of Anna Milton in this story, but this name also has multiple origins depending on where you look.

Torvic – childhood bully to the Doctor and Master. (Audio: "Master")

Initiation – a process young Time Lords, or Time Tots, go through before joining the Academy (Doctor Who, new-series 3, "The Sound Of Drums.")

The Void - "...a howling wilderness." (Doctor Who, new-series 2+)

Castiel favourite place, the Mountain/Pinnacle – "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City…" (Revelation 21: 10-27)

"In Heaven, I have six wings and four faces, one of which is a lion." ... "I would walk these halls and people would avert their eyes - I had respect!" – Zachariah to Dean and Sam (Season 5, episode 16 'Dark Side Of The Moon.')

"What a peculiar thing you are." - Lucifer to Castiel (Season 5, episode 10, 'Abandon All Hope.')

There's no description for the other angels, so I had to make them up. The animals I chose were inspired by their Celtic meanings:

Ezekiel: Dog – loyal, companionship, highly regarded. Bull – strong will, uncompromising, stubborn

Raguel: Griffin – balance of good and bad, justice and nobility, vengeance and violence. Duck – honesty, resourcefulness.