Previously: While still avoiding Dean, Cas discovers there is another human in Purgatory, one who had been possessed by a demon when Cas and Crowley threw her into a test-gate two years ago, and he sets out to find her in an effort to earn some redemption for his past mistakes. He finds her living alone in the wild. She is a bit strange and he tries to convince her to find Dean but she refuses, not wanting to be around another human since they are magnets for monsters in Purgatory. He tells her she can't stay with him either because of the Leviathan threat but to pray to him if she needs him.
Author's Note: I normally never include actual scenes from the show in my stories because I assume you have all seen the episode and don't want it to be boring or unoriginal, but there is a small scene in this chapter taken almost directly from the show. I have added Cas's perspective and it's not long so hopefully it won't seem repetitive.
~X~X~X~X~
Chapter 3 – And Then There Were Four
It was mid-afternoon that same day when Castiel received his first prayer from Nia, nothing more than a soft, hesitant whisper in his head.
"Castiel?"
He fixed on it immediately and winged to her side before she had even finished his name. She was sitting in the shelter of an upturned tree root, munching on a yellow piece of fruit he knew to be one of the few edible kinds of vegetation in Purgatory. She started when he appeared next to her, dropping the fruit and reaching to her side for a weapon. He looked around sharply, assuming she was being attacked but saw no signs of danger.
"Are you in peril?" he demanded, looking down at her.
Recognition hit her amber eyes and white teeth flashed amid her dirt-streaked face as she grinned and rose to stand, moving a careful step backwards to put a little more space between them.
"You came!" At barely five feet tall, she had to tilt her head up to look him in the eye.
"You prayed," he said with a nod. "Are you in danger?"
"I shot you," she blurted, ignoring his question and studying him curiously. "With an arrow. But you're not hurt."
He glanced down at his chest, at the new hole in his worn and tattered trench coat. "I heal," he informed her simply. "Why did you call me?"
"Your eyes are kind."
"Thank-you, but they belong to my vessel."
"No his are pretty; yours are kind."
He understood the difference and what she was saying but refused to be distracted and got right to the point. "It is not safe for you to be near me. If you are not in immediate danger, I must go."
"Can I come?"
"That would defeat the purpose of me leaving," he explained without sarcasm. "If you seek protection, I can take you to Dean. As I told you before, he is…"
"Human," she cut in, rolling her eyes and sounding an exasperated groan.
"And I am an angel. It is far more dangerous to be in my company than that of another human."
She didn't say anything further but just stood there with her eyes locked on his so he decided she was not in any danger and that he should take his leave. "I will go now." With that, he disappeared back to the same spot he had left a moment earlier.
Two hours later, another prayer came in.
"Castiel?"
He rushed to her once more only find her still free of danger. She asked to come with him again and again he refused, explaining patiently that it would not be in her best interest. He promptly left only to receive another prayer from her at dusk, shortly after Dean had finished his unanswered nightly plea for an appearance by the angel.
"Castiel?"
He hesitated in answering it.
"Castiel?... Uh, danger here?"
He pursed his lips, her calm tone not convincing him, but sought her out anyway. This time he noticed her arm was bleeding around a fresh bandage and for a moment he thought the summons was legitimate. "Do you need help?" he asked quickly.
She shook her head, pointing to a dead body twenty feet away. Cas thought it looked like an Okami but with no head in sight, he couldn't be sure. The congealed blood indicated it had been dead for at least an hour. "Why did you not call me sooner?" he frowned.
She shrugged. "You're here now. Can you stay?"
Cas let out a long sigh, not understanding why Nia refused to accept what he was telling her. He began to think the girl was what Meg would have referred to as 'cuckoo for cocoa puffs' during their time together at the psychiatric facility. Although he had never understood what a lack of sanity had to do with the breakfast cereal the hospital served on Wednesdays, her meaning had been understood. "I cannot put you in that kind of danger," Cas explained for the umpteenth time. "I must keep you safe."
She tilted her head. "Why? What's it to you?"
"Because you are the only measure of redemption I have available to me," he said truthfully, noting her confused look but not bothering to explain further. "You can pray to me and I will hear you," he continued, "but I cannot come unless you are in danger."
He left again, finding a good-sized rock in a secluded area to sit on for the night. It was but twenty minutes later he heard her voice in his head.
"Castiel?"
He closed his eyes but didn't move, choosing just to listen like he did with Dean. But she didn't talk, or say anything really. She simply repeated his name every few minutes until she was singing it in an almost teasing tone.
"Castiel."
"Castiel."
"Castie-e-ell."
"Castie-e-e-e-e-e-ellll."
The 'prayers' continued for the remainder of the night, sometimes five minutes apart and sometimes twenty. Never more than his name but never said with any measure of panic. To the angel's relief, they stopped at dawn but after a day wrought with Leviathan attacks, he settled himself down, glad for the reprieve darkness brought him for Leviathan rarely attacked at night. He was looking forward to hearing Dean's comforting, indirect words of affection but it was Nia's voice that reached him first.
"Castiel."
"Castiel."
He groaned audibly, both frustrated and grudgingly impressed by her tenacity.
"Hey buddy, you out there?" His eyes snapped open. That was Dean.
"Castie-e-ell." That was Nia.
"Had a rough day today, man." Dean sounded tired… and hurt. Cas frowned, regretting that his limited power would not allow him to heal or transport anyone but his own vessel. He could not heal Dean.
"Castie-e-ell."
"This pack of Pelkin got the jump on us. Tore up my arm pretty good. Benny… he's gonna be limping for a while. I wish you were here, Cas. I really could have used you today. This place… it just never stops, ya know?"
"Castie-e-ell."
"Well, I'm gonna keep it short coz I need some serious shut-eye and it's Benny's watch right now. Answer me soon, Cas. If you can. But if you can't…"
"Castie-e-ell."
"…just know that I'm not gonna stop looking for you, 'kay? Hang in there, buddy."
The connection to Dean severed but Nia's intermittent chanting of his name continued again until sun-up. The calls were almost playful for a little while before gradually turning meek and tired-sounding. As before, they stopped come morning and Cas didn't hear from her for the rest of the day.
Three nights later she was still at it. He had received no panicked calls of help from her so he kept his distance but in the middle of the third night, his patience ran out and he appeared standing next to where she was huddled beneath an overgrown branch.
"Nia." His voice was stern.
She jumped at the sound and Cas recalled the many times Dean had scolded him for not giving any warning before 'popping in'.
"My apologies," he said almost instinctively. "But you must stop summoning me when there is no danger."
She was on her feet at this point, keeping the usual yard-wide buffer between them and staring up at him, her pupils wide in the moonless dark. "There's always danger," she said evenly.
He looked around but saw or heard nothing in the vicinity with any of his angel senses. "You are safe for the moment," he declared.
"For the moment," she repeated. "But if I fall asleep…" She shrugged, the motion barely perceptible through the oversized, ripped, brown jacket she was wearing.
His brow creased in thought but he didn't answer.
"You haven't tried to kill me or eat me so… stay?" She looked at him imploringly and he was suddenly aware of the heavy fatigue reflected in her eyes.
He sighed. "I have explained the reasons I can't."
"Just at night," she bargained, not taking no for an answer. "The nights are the worst. Can't sleep and keep watch at the same time and... and I'm tired. So tired. If I sleep they get close and… the Rugaru and that dog-thing…"
"Gogmagog," Cas supplied promptly, remembering her attackers when he had first found her pinned down in that small rock crevice.
"I feel asleep," she admitted with a shrug.
Though not overly descriptive, her meaning was clear to the angel. She had fallen asleep and given the opportunity for the two Rugaru and their pet to smell her out and get close enough to attack with the advantage of surprise. With her small size and limited strength, her only hope of survival in this place was to see the enemy coming before it saw her, to flee whenever possible. Living alone, she could not keep watch while she slept and humans needed sleep. He considered renewing his argument for her to seek out Dean but her next comment stopped him.
"Your human is stupid," she said bluntly. "Going on a rampage, letting everything know he's here. This was a quiet part of the forest but not now. So many monsters now. Coming here. Looking for him. Looking for a human."
Cas gave her a sheepish look. "He is searching for me."
"Your stupid human is going to get me killed."
He sighed. He had hoped Dean would have given up by now, stopped going on the offensive and attacking every manner of creature only to demand what they knew of the angel's whereabouts. Dean was putting himself in more danger than he was already in and now it seemed, he was unknowingly putting Nia in more danger also. He could only hope the hunter would give up soon and start focusing on getting out of Purgatory instead.
The Leviathan didn't attack at night, he reasoned, returning his thoughts to the problem at hand. Keeping watch while Nia slept was a feasible option as long as he was gone before morning. He looked down at her thoughtfully. The harder it was to keep her safe, the greater value he could place upon his selfless efforts to protect her, right? Was that not how redemption and penance worked?
"Very well," he said. "I will stay and keep you safe while you sleep but I must depart before dawn."
She nodded furiously but didn't move from where she stood facing him. Cas stood awkwardly for a long moment before raising an eyebrow. "Go ahead. You may sleep now."
She glanced down at the sheltered spot beneath the overgrown branch she had been huddled in upon his arrival. When she looked back up at him, she seemed nervous. "You won't leave?"
"Not without waking you," he assured her.
"You won't fall asleep?"
"I am an angel. I do not require sleep."
She fidgeted for another minute, glancing back and forth between the makeshift bed next to her and Cas, clearly unsure of something. "You just gonna stand there?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"Right there?"
The memory of Dean griping about 'personal space' came to him and he took a few long steps backwards. "Is this better?"
She nodded but stood nervously for a few more seconds before finally sinking down and squeezing herself back under the branch. She wrapped her arms around her knees and curled up but remained upright, her eyes open and watching the angel. Cas realized he couldn't expect her to fully trust him right away even if she had asked for this. After all, he was no doubt the first creature she had come across in two years that had not immediately tried to eat her, kill her, or make her suffer.
It was still six hours from dawn and for the next two she remained awake, blinking at him through the gaps in the branches. He could tell she was exhausted but her paranoia and fear from the life of pure survival she had been leading were clearly not letting her relax enough to let her guard down and she was still fighting sleep. He remained silent, standing stoically fifteen feet away and refraining from pointing out that she was the one who had asked him to stay. Finally, he decided to simply take matters into his own hands and strode over to where she was huddled, reaching down towards her. She tensed as he approached then panicked and moved to scramble away when he bent down but when his fingers touched her forehead, she went limp and was instantly asleep. He moved back over to where he had been previously standing and resumed his watch.
~X~X~X~X~
He killed a vampire and a wraith while Nia slept. Her humanity was indeed attracting all kinds of monsters. As dawn broke, he touched her forehead again, straightening up and taking a step back when her eyes sprang open. She pushed away from him, one fist wrapping around her bow and the other already pulling a knife from somewhere in her coat. He stood still and waited for recognition to reach her.
"It is almost morning," he said when she calmed. "I have to leave."
"W-will you come back?" she asked as she crawled out from beneath the branches and rose to her feet.
He nodded. "I will return after dark." With that, he winged out.
~X~X~X~X~
Cas did as he had promised, showing up shortly after dark the next night. He did not attempt to help Nia sleep this time for she had scolded him scathingly upon his arrival, warning him with narrowed eyes never to touch her again. Despite her opening rebuke, however, she seemed far more relaxed around him, even smiling at him as she hunkered down in a hollowed out tree root. She didn't sleep for a while but she wasn't constantly eyeing him with suspicion like the evening before.
Not long after she did drift off, Cas heard a Wendigo approaching. He moved to intercepted it but Nia was at his side with her scimitar drawn before he managed to kill it. It fell screaming to its death at his feet and he looked down at her standing next to him. "You should have stayed back," he reprimanded. "These creatures move swiftly."
"Faster than me," she agreed, holding up her weapon.
Cas saw her point, that she had to fight it because she couldn't outrun it, but assured her that even in Purgatory an angel was more than capable of handling a Wendigo. She nodded and returned to her sheltered spot without another word.
They fell into a routine over the next few weeks. Cas would show up sometime after dark to be greeted with a smile, which he curiously found quite endearing. Nia would curl up in whatever hole she had chosen for the night and they would remain silent until she fell asleep. At first, he would leave shortly after she woke up, usually quite some time before dawn but he began to linger longer each morning, sticking around until the first pale rays of sun were peeking through the treetops, pushing the limits of his Leviathan-free window. She had taken to crawling out of her hole and moving to sit next to him for their last couple of hours together, a time he also found surprisingly pleasant. She still avoided any physical contact, always keeping a foot or two of space between them, but her comfort level with him was definitely growing. In fact, she seemed to relish his company even though they didn't speak much. The lack of conversation suited Cas fine; he had always been content with comfortable silence.
He began to look forward to his nightly visit with Nia, much like he looked forward to Dean's prayer. He got into the habit of bringing food for her when he came, as much because he enjoyed her smiled appreciation and her sitting next to him to eat it as to save her the risk and hassle of hunting. As manifestations of souls, most creatures here didn't need to eat but merely hunted, killed and devoured for pleasure, sport, or out of basic monster instinct. Dean and Nia, however, were flesh and blood humans and still required sustenance.
He sat one night with his elbows resting on his knees which were bent up before him. It had been an uneventful night so far, with no attacks from the creatures of Purgatory and he was glad for the peace. He glanced down at Nia, who had taken to curling up on the ground next to him as she slept, forsaking the protection of her shelter for that of the angel she was clearly growing to trust. He found himself getting strangely attached to her, protective for more reason than earning a shred of redemption. Perhaps he had been among humans too long. As an angel in Heaven's service, he had spent years on end in solitude on many occasions without a second thought but now he found himself missing Dean terribly and enjoying the company of the strange new human friend he had made.
As they often did since arriving in Purgatory, his thoughts drifted to Dean. The hunter kept praying every night. It had been well over two months yet he still refused to let Cas go, refused to give up on finding him. The hunter's loyalty to him was undeserved but it warmed Castiel's heart to have it bestowed upon him in such great measure. The angel still doubted the way out that this vampire was promising was real and he didn't like the thought of Dean alone with the Godless soul even though blood lust wasn't a factor in Purgatory. But surely this Benny was far less threat to Dean than an angel by his side in the homeland of the Leviathan. Dean was stubborn and persistent but at least he was still alive.
He was pulled from his thoughts by Nia stirring in her sleep. He glanced downwards again, this time moving a hand to hover over her, respecting her wishes to not touch her. It was a cooler night than usual, the weather being completely random and unpredictable here, and he could feel she was cold even before she shivered. Her baggy coat had been ripped one too many times in combat to keep the frigid air out completely but she hadn't appropriated another one from a slain enemy yet, the general method of shopping in Purgatory. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked at him sleepily a few times before shimmying herself closer until her shoulder was actually pressing against his hip. She curled up tighter and closed her eyes again, going right back to sleep. Cas hesitated but finally lowered his hand to rest gingerly on her shoulder and he remained still until she woke up
~X~X~X~X~
It was two and a half months to the day when Dean found him. The weary angel had been plagued with Leviathan attacks all morning and was taking advantage of a small respite to wash his hands and face in a creek when he heard the familiar voice.
"Cas!"
He blinked slowly, chastising himself inwardly for letting his guard down. He should have sensed his friend approaching and been gone before he was spotted. "Dean," he said with resignation as he rose slowly to his feet.
He was struck with an unexpected rush of emotion as he turned and took in the sight of the hunter striding towards him, a broad grin brightening his bloody face.
Cas was a little stunned at both his reaction and Dean's. It was clear his friend had forgiven him, if undeservedly so, for the many ways Cas had wronged him. He knew this the instant Dean pulled him into that hug, a rare show of emotion from the guarded hunter, and by the fond brush of Cas's cheek when he commented on the facial growth the angel had not wasted his limited energy on stunting.
"Ho, it's good to see you. Nice peach fuzz."
"Thank-you," was all he could come up with in response.
Dean then took the opportunity to introduce him to the vampire he was traveling with, the grin still plastered on his face. Benny had been keeping a wary distance but Cas paid him no heed.
"How did you find me?" the angel blurted.
Dean's face tightened slightly. "The bloody way. You feeling okay?"
Cas guessed Dean was referring to his mental state. Looking tensely around for any sign of Leviathan, he rambled on about sanity until Benny interrupted.
"Why'd you bail on Dean?" the vampire demanded, his animosity plain to all.
Dean tried to keep the peace. "Dude," he placated.
But Benny wasn't going to back down. "Way I hear it, you two hit monsterland and hot-wings here took off. I figure he owes you some backstory," he said to Dean.
Cas cringed as he listened to Dean blindly defending him and found himself countering the easy excuse he was being handed.
"No," he interrupted.
He would have to have been blind to miss the hurt that flared behind Dean's stony gaze.
"What?" the hunter choked.
"I ran away."
"You ran away?"
"I had to."
"That's your excuse for leaving me with those gorilla wolves?"
"Dean..."
"You bailed out and what? Went camping? I prayed to you, Cas, every night."
"I know."
"You know and you didn't... what the Hell's wrong with you?"
Cas immediately regretted the admission, the depth of hurt reflected in Dean's face hitting him like a physical blow. Dean already doubted his self worth, didn't see the brave, selfless, admirable and even inspirational man that he was. Cas hated the thought that his friend would believe for one second that he had abandoned him for lack of caring so he quickly explained.
"I am an angel in a land of abomination. There have been things hunting me from the moment we arrived."
"Join the club!"
"These are not just monsters, Dean, they're Leviathan! I have a price on my head. I've been trying to stay one step ahead of them to... to keep them away from you." That was the honest truth. He only hoped his friend would believe him after all that had transpired between them the year before. "That's why I ran," he justified. There was a brief but tense silence. "Just leave me please," he finished wearily.
Benny was more than happy to oblige. "Sounds like a plan; let's roll."
But Dean had never given up on anything so easily and Cas should not have been surprised by his refusal to leave. "Hold on, hold on. Cas, we're getting out of here. We're going home."
"Dean, I can't." The words barely made it out of his mouth. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to have a friend at his side. To roam this place alone was his penance, his punishment, his right.
"You can. Benny, tell him."
"Purgatory has an escape hatch but I got no idea if it's angel friendly," the vampire said grudgingly.
"We'll figure it out." Dean looked back at him and his next words clawed at Cas's emotions, wrenching him in two very different directions. "Cas, buddy... I need you."
He shook his head. "Dean..."
"If Leviathan want to take a shot at us, let 'em! We ganked those bitches once before, we can do it again."
There was that infamous bravado. Cas was pleased to see Purgatory hadn't broken the resilient hunter... yet. He didn't miss the desperation or the lack of conviction behind the rallying words.
"It's too dangerous."
"Let me bottom line it for you," Dean fired back. Cas's heart sank for he knew that tone. "I'm not leaving here without you. Understand?"
It was evident Dean would never leave him. Just like he would never have abandoned Sam, or Bobby, or his father. It just wasn't in Dean to let anybody down even though those around him kept failing to return the favor. Dean would keep searching for Cas until he got killed for his efforts. It became clear Cas would have to rethink his strategy but for now, it seemed he would be traveling with Dean.
"I understand."
Of course now he was faced with a new problem... bringing Nia into the fold.
"I too have someone to introduce you to."
~X~X~X~X~
As expected, Nia was not amenable to the angel's proposal. He had asked Dean to remain by the creek bed, promising to meet him back there tonight and had immediately winged to Nia. Because his limited powers in Purgatory would not allow him to carry anyone with him when he traveled angel-style, Nia would have to travel by foot and they would already be hard-pressed to make it to Dean by night fall.
Upon voicing his intention to take her to the hunter, she immediately shook her head, repeating some rather unflattering comments about Dean's intelligence and attraction to the monsters of Purgatory. Even promising that he would stay with them during the days also did not convince her and it wasn't until he told her sternly he would no longer be able to come to her at nights that her arguments ceased and she reluctantly agreed.
She traveled faster than he had expected, not needing to stop and rest for the entire six hour trek and even eating as she walked. They reached the pebbled beach around dusk to find Dean and Benny sitting side by side tossing small stones into the water in some sort of 'skipping' contest. They both jumped up at the sound of Cas's feet crunching on the pebbles, weapons already drawn.
Nia gasped and immediately ducked in behind Cas, her small stature granting her near full cover behind the folds of his tattered trench coat. He could hear the distinct sound of her bowstring going taut as she loaded an arrow and pointed it over his shoulder.
Dean quirked an eyebrow, trying to see past Cas to the figure behind him but raised his hands when he caught sight of the arrow aimed at him.
"Whoa, what the Hell, dude?" he demanded of Cas.
Cas sighed and wrapped a hand around the arrowhead by his ear, pushing it down to face the ground. "This is Dean," he explained over his shoulder. "He will not hurt you."
"Yeah," Dean said gruffly, lowering his arms though retaining a ready grip on his weapon. "We're on the same side here."
Cas nodded, giving Dean the okay to approach. He was thankful Benny remained quiet and stayed back. He had intentionally neglected to mention the vampire having barely convinced the girl to meet Dean.
Dean walked over slowly, his head tilted in obvious curiosity of Cas's new acquaintance. Nia had her hood up and remained where she was, tucked behind Cas. She did withdraw the arrow from her bow, sliding it back into the quiver on her back but the angel knew she still had a tight grip on her scimitar and he halted Dean with a subtle hand gesture a few feet away.
The hunter frowned as his eyes fell on the small figure. "A kid?" he questioned. "You found a human kid in Purgatory?"
"I'm not a kid, asshole." Nia glared at him around Cas's shoulder.
Dean's eyes widened further in obvious surprise. "A chick?" A wide grin spread across his face. "Cas, you of all people managed to pick up a chick… in Purgatory?" He chuckled, casting Benny a sheepish sideways glance exactly like he would have given Sam had he been here, clearly knowing he would be chastised for his next remark. "Maybe I am rubbing off on you after all," he smirked.
Cas huffed and stepped sideways, opening a more clear line of sight between the two humans. "Dean, this is Nia. Nia, this is Dean, my friend."
The two stared at each other for a moment, during which Cas was prepared to snatch the weapon from Nia's hand if she made a wrong move. He knew Dean would not hurt her but she had been here a lot longer than the hunter and as a result, was more distrustful and far more unpredictable.
"You should hide your stink," she told him flatly.
"My stink?" Dean balked incredulously, sniffing the air and wrinkling his nose. "I'll admit, baths have been a little tricky to negotiate the past couple of months but that's the pot calling the kettle… no that's more like the freaking piece of charcoal calling the driven snow bla..."
"Dean," Cas chastised impatiently.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Speaking of baths," he mumbled, too quietly for Nia's ears to pick it up, though Cas heard him loud and clear. "How old are you?" Dean demanded, his tone softening as he studied Nia. "Seventeen? Eighteen?"
She pulled her hood off her head and scowled up at him. "I said I wasn't a kid."
"Nineteen?"
She glanced at Cas, her expression suddenly sheepish, maybe even a little shameful. "I'm not sure," she stammered.
Dean's expression instantly morphed into one of pity and Cas knew the hunter was wondering how long she had been here that she didn't even know her age.
"Twenty," she offered hesitantly. "And one with demon. A half, maybe, with Walker. One with Luthor. A half just me."
"Come again?"
"She believes she is twenty-three," Cas offered, easily following her estimated accounting of the time that had passed since she was possessed as a twenty-year-old.
Dean gave Cas a skeptical look. "You got that?"
Cas nodded. "We should leave this place," he suggested looking to Dean. "You have been here half the day. Creatures will know you are here."
"One of the perks of being a vamp," Benny spoke up for the first time, taking a few steps forward to join the group. "I can smell them coming just as good as they can smell u…"
He didn't get to finish before Nia was swinging her scimitar at his neck, catching even Cas off guard. Fortunately for Benny, she was intercepted by Dean, who knocked the weapon out of her hand and tried to grab her wrist.
"Don't touch me!" She spun and kicked him hard in the groin before bolting into the woods back the way she and Cas had come in.
Cas slumped his shoulders in exasperation and winged out to fetch her. In the distance he could hear Benny's soft Louisiana drawl chuckling between Dean's muffled groans of pain.
"Well, this is going to be interesting, brother. Quite the motley band of misfits."
~X~X~X~X~
A/N: Ok so far? Different? Interesting? Are Nia and Cas bonding? Lots of development to come, and plenty of action too. Please review :-)