A/N: I may have placed some OOC stuff here but remember this is an AU and Castiel has only experienced being for the span of a few hours.
He is Naïve and does need to learn.
Giving out a huge Thank You! to Star Trek's Q's Girl Friend for the review as now I know at least Someone in taking a liking to this Story.
Hours had passed, Castiel slowly made his way through the dictionary, he voiced a few words to check the pronunciation, both Sam and Dean were ready to help. Little by little Castiel was becoming more confident in speaking.
Stopping to give himself a rest after asking "Good?" as he folded the corner of the page he was on, he had reached 'J'. Sam was proud.
Castiel breathing changed as he discovered something new about his body.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked
"A Feeling..."
"You can move your legs now?"
Castiel had subconsciously touched or squeezed his legs as time passed, Dean thought he was just reminding himself what had happened "No,"
Castiel was about to continue but his stomach growled in protest of being ignored
"Oh, you're hungry" Dean grabbed them some Diner food for lunch earlier but didn't think to grab Castiel anything as he hadn't mentioned needing food "Here, you can have my fries, they're a bit cold but it'll help. I'll get you a sandwich" Sam gave Castiel his leftovers and told them he'd come back in five minutes.
"Cas, you're meant to eat them"
Castiel missed Dean's abbreviation of his name as he was closely inspecting the chips, the oil and mild heat coming from the strange edible things was intriguing to the Youngling "This looks strange"
"Aesthetics isn't what they are going for, curly fries do it for kids by regular fries are just there to be eaten" Dean shrugged.
Castiel took a bit, taking half the chip, it's taste was funny but enjoyable "It is good"
"Glad to hear it"
Sam returned "He's like fries, Sammy"
"Great, but you do know I'll be giving him healthy stuff too, right?"
"I'm not an animal" Castiel commented
"We know," Sam defended "But you are sticking with us for a while and you'll be learning all about being Human so you shouldn't just the eat grease infested crap that Dean shovels down his throat"
"I understand"
"Speech is already getting better, Cas, you've only been reading about three hours and that's just a dictionary" Dean complimented
"Thank you, Dean. Who is Cas?"
Dean did a double-take "You"
"I am Castiel" The Youngling repeated.
Dean sighed, pushing his phone away that he had tried contacting Bobby with but was getting nowhere "I know but 'Castiel' isn't a name many people have heard of, Cas is slightly more Human. Get it now? It's just to help with blending in"
"OK. More Human" Cas quietly echoed to himself "I will respond to 'Cas' now"
"Good" Dean made a show of getting up, maybe the signal on his phone was funny in the room.
"Where are you going?" Cas asked
"Making a call to Bobby, can't get through to him. I'll be just outside"
Sam was on his laptop half paying attention eventually blurting "Dean's right"
"About?"
"You. You've already gotten a lot better at speaking, no doubt you're able to comprehend what Dean and I are talking about now"
Cas nodded "You are full of questions, Sam. If you wish to know anything, ask"
Sam smiled, almost in relief "I do want to know a lot but I didn't want to intrude"
Cas had to think about what 'Intrude' before shaking his head "What would you like to know?"
Sam closed his laptop and sat up, perky in attitude, he could feel Dean watching then rolling his eyes but Sam didn't care; he was excited.
"So, uh how old are you?" Way to go there, Sam. He chastised himself
"I am 124 years old, though for Humans I am unsure about comparison"
"124?"
"Yes, I am only a Youngling, my older Brother Gabriel is 310, one of my eldest Brothers, Michael is reaching 550 and Lucifer is not far behind him though I haven't seen or heard from Lucifer in a long time as he was banished by our Father years ago. I was only a Hatchling at this point being maybe 70 at best. Is there anything else?"
"Wow, uh... Yeah. Do you have any abilities or powers?"
"I can heal all to most wounds, Mermen have significant strength compared to Humans, I have small training aspects however I am not yet a solider, I am a month shy of turning 125, the accurate age to train Younglings so they become a solider for battle and eventual war"
"Do you think you'll turn back into a Merman?"
"I don't know. Gabriel has told me he has surfaced before but he never mentioned this transformation. I was certain I was going to die"
"Maybe this is a version of Death to Merfolk" Sam thought he'd never say that out loud but given their life anything goes.
"Perhaps. Our Father left some time ago, he was presumed dead but he could be walking among Humans"
"It may explain how you survived"
"I survived thanks to Dean" Cas stated without missing a beat "And with your help too"
"Great, thanks Bobby" Dean re-entered "Good news and bad news. Bobby should be able to help but we have to travel to South Dakota"
"Did you explain the situation?" Cas asked beating Sam to it
"Yeah but you turning Human means we don't have to worry about keeping you hydrated, you should be able to travel"
Cas nodded shuffling himself towards the edge of the single bed.
"Cas" "Wait-" Both Brothers jumped up talking over each other.
With an almighty and graceless thump Cas flopped onto the floor, pulling his own version of a Bitchface after his poor execution of a landing "I may need work on moving my new limbs"
"Legs, Cas. They're called legs" Dean corrected lifting Cas to sitting up on the bed again
"I still cannot feel them. You both make it look so easy"
"Years of practice" Dean patted Cas' shoulder "Humans learn when they are Babies how to move around; they start by crawling or sorta dragging themselves on their front, then on all fours then they move to two legs"
"How long can that take?"
"Depends, everyone is different, With you it would be a form of physical therapy" Sam piped up "I can look something up if push comes to shove"
"Thank you, Sam"
"OK. I'll prep Baby for our drive, Sam mind helping Cas?"
Cas watched with interest as Sam and Dean began their ritual of packing from top to bottom. Dean quickly passed the tan material - which Cas could now see was a jacket and put it on after watching Dean how to do it - the elder Winchester then left with two duffels and a bag full of food. Sam picked up Castiel, he addressed the receptionist that he would pay as soon as he placed Cas in the car.
Castiel found his lower half still unmoving once Sam had helped him in the backseat "Dean?"
Dean was getting comfortable on the left side of the car, there was a wheel in front of Dean that Castiel did not understand what it was for but did not question it "Yeah?"
"How far is it to South Dakota on land?"
"About five hours, four if I push it. Why?"
"No reason" Castiel was sure he could be there in less than half the time if circumstances was different.
"Hey, do Mer-people get car sick?" Dean's tone was dead serious
"I do not know. I have never been near a car before"
"Right" Dean felt like a moron as he remembered who he was talking to "You have to let us know if you feel strange. You're not throwing up all over my Baby"
"You have an Hatchling in here? I don't see it"
"No. Baby is his car, it's the Impala's name, Cas" Sam fixed Dean vague points.
"Oh. I shall let you know if I feel... strange" Castiel had no clue was would come under that definition. He could travel great distances under all types of water however travelling by land was something completely foreign.
"Good" Dean started the Impala. AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell' blasted through the speakers, never had either Winchester see such a negative reaction, even with the history of Sam's protests in the past; Cas bounced up from his seat, nearly causing him to repeat his actions from the Motel Room, he ears were covered while his face clearly showed the high amounts of pain and disgust.
"Dean!" Sam shouted
Radio silence entered the Impala minus Castiel's heavy breathing to recover "That was unpleasant, Dean"
"Should have warned you about House Rules" Dean muttered to himself "Sorry Cas. I'll keep it to a lower volume"
"I'm guessing Mer-people have sensitive hearing" Sam spoke over his shoulder.
Castiel nodded his ears ringing in a squeaking pitch despite still being covered up - sympathy rose for Dolphins in Castiel's head, having the best hearing could lead to such sensitivity.
Being so distracted by his own thoughts Castiel hadn't noticed the car moving nor Sam keeping a panicked eye on him before Castiel uncovered his ears. Taking in the blurring scenery that passed him Castiel's mind wandered to his siblings. He did not get car sickness however did need to take off his coat from the warmth it provided and did fall asleep for a portion of the journey.
"What do you mean 'He's missing'?!" Gabriel roared out to the soldiers relaying the news.