"We should go out to celebrate," Dean said, pointing his chopsticks at Sam. "After all, it's not everyday that we become Bonded."
Sam scoffed a laugh from his seat on the couch, his own carton of Chinese takeout in his hand. "Where would we go?" he asked.
"A bar, duh," Dean said. Cas chuckled and leaned back in his chair. He and Dean were sitting at the kitchen table and Sam was on the sofa in the next room. Gabriel had taken the Novak's car (Dean didn't let anyone drive the Impala) and gone to the store for some reason.
"Which bar?" Sam asked.
"Exactly," Dean replied with his mouth full of noodles.
"What? No, I meant which bar are we going to?"
"The witch bar, Sam," Dean said, giving Sam an exasperated sigh. "Ya know, the Wicked Witch?"
"But won't Lucifer be there?" Cas asked, feeling a small flash of fear at the thought of the powerful witch. Dean sent a relaxing touch through his mind, calming the familiar.
"He only goes after Unbonded familiars," Dean reassured. "You'll be completely safe with us."
"Alright then," Cas agreed. "After all, my week's not complete unless I go to a bar everyday."
He was being sarcastic but Dean winked at him anyway. "Exactly."
Cars laughed and finished the last of his fried rice. "Hey, Sam, could you ask Gabe when he's getting back?"
"Sure," Sam said. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch, sighing happily. After a while, he spoke without opening his eyes. "He said he's almost done and wants to know if you guys want anything."
"No, thanks," Dean said, speaking for himself and Castiel. After they cleaned up they were all lounging around the living room, waiting for Gabriel to get home so that they could go out and do something.
Not ten minutes later, Gabriel walked through the front door with five grocery bags in his hand. He ignored the three people on the couch and headed straight for the kitchen. Cars got up and followed interestedly, well aware that Gabriel alway came back from the store with something sugary.
Sure enough, when Castiel looked in the first bag, he wasn't that surprised to find it filled with huge bags of candy. The witches came in and the three of them watched with raised eyebrows as Gabriel found a few large glass containers and emptied the bags into them.
When he was done, there were four huge jars lining the counter, each with an assortment of candy inside. Gabriel reached into one and pulled out a mini chocolate bar, turning back to the others with a "Ta-da!"
"What the hell, dude?" Dean asked. "Are you trying to get diabetes?"
Gabriel scoffed. "Please," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "You guys only have beer and salad, I needed something to ensure I didn't die of sugar withdrawal. This should last me at least a month."
"A month?" Sam raised his eyebrows. "How much candy do you eat?"
"A lot," Cas said, used to his brother's sugar obsession.
Has he always eaten this much candy?
Yup, ever since I can remember.
How has he not died or gotten fat yet?
He eats pretty healthy, actually. He just eats a shit ton of candy, too.
Dean snorted and Cas smiled.
"So, are we gonna go?" Sam asked, gesturing to the front door.
"Go where?" Gabriel asked, lollipop in mouth.
"We're gonna go the the Wicked Witch," Dean said, grabbing his wallet and keys off the counter.
"The place where we met that crazy ass witch who stabbed me?"
"Yup."
"Cool."
The four of them piled into the Impala and they were off, making it to the bar in less than half the time that it had taken Gabriel and Castiel to walk there the previous night. They walked down the stairs and were once more patted down by the hulk of a guard and entered the lounge.
Cas kept casting nervous glances around the room, keeping an eye out for Lucifer. Dean's presence in his mind and the constant reassurances he sent the familiar helped, but it wasn't enough to completely destroy the feeling Cas had that something bad was going to happen.
He sat on the barstool in between Dean and Gabriel, accepting the beer Dean had ordered for him. He looked around again, making sure that everything was fine. Gabriel was flirting with a pretty familiar while Sam looked on sullenly.
None of the witches lounging around the room were Lucifer and no one seemed to notice or care about the familiars, so he finally let himself relax and enjoy his night out.
"Hello again, Castiel," a familiar voice said and Cas turned around to find Raphael standing there with an empty shot glass in his hand.
"Hello, Raphael," Cas said, smiling slightly.
"I see you have not heeded my warning about Lucifer." Raphael flicked his gaze to Gabriel and Sam, then Dean, who was listening in on the conversation with interest, and back to Castiel.
"Oh no, we did," Cas said quickly. "We left as soon as you told us about Lucifer. But we had a little run-in with him outside the bar and he almost killed my brother. But luckily, Sam and Dean here saved us."
"I'm glad that you are alright, but why are you still here? Luifer never leaves survivors, ever. If you aren't his familiar, he'll be after you, and your brother, too."
Cas chilled at his words and Dean wrapped his arm around Cas' shoulders, sending a defiant glare to Raphael.
"Lucifer won't get anywhere near them," Dean said confidently. "No one touches my familiar."
Raphael raised a single eyebrow and looked at Cas. "You have Bonded." It wasn't a question. He looked over to where Sam and Gabriel were sitting, laughing their asses off at something Gabriel had said. "And so have they. This is why you stayed."
Castiel nodded and took a long swig of his beer. Raphael looked at them thoughtfully for a moment before speaking again.
"Lucifer will not stop until you are dead. While you are alive, you can go to the ruling coven and have him exiled or killed."
Cas exchanged a look with Dean.
We should have him executed. He's a threat to every familiar who comes through the city.
Dean, we can't just accuse one of the oldest witches in the city of attempted murder.
Why not? We're witnesses, we saw it happen. He attacked you!
Yes, but do you think the ruling coven will believe two familiars who just came to town yesterday over an old and respected witch who will most likely have a lie ready for such an occasion?
Dean scowled and finished the last of his beer. Cas sighed and looked over at Gabriel. The familiar hadn't heard a word of his conversation with Raphael, and Cas wanted to keep it that way. His older brother deserved to be stress-free for however long his ignorance towards the Lucifer situation would last.
Apparently, it wasn't meant to last more than a few seconds because Lucifer chose that moment to walk into the bar. Gabriel stiffened almost imperceptibly and shot a glance at Castiel. The two witches and their familiars watched as Lucifer walked over to one of the booths and sat down. The bartender grabbed a bottle and a shot glass and left them on the table; obviously Lucifer came here often and the bartender already knew what he would want.
Cas sipped at his beer and tried to ignore Lucifer, choosing instead to watch the other people in the bar. He could see many witches and a few familiars milling around, talking and laughing happily. Gabriel scooted his chair closer to Cas' and sipped at his drink.
"Is it just me or is he staring at us?" he whispered. Cas whipped his head around and saw that Gabriel was right. Lucifer wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was glaring at them with hate in his eyes. He got up and started walking towards them and Cas felt Gabriel tense beside him. "Here comes trouble with a capital 't'."
Dean and Sam moved closer to the familiars and watched with narrowed eyes as Lucifer finally came to a stop in front of them. He gave them a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I see you survived," he said to Gabriel. If looks could kill then Lucifer would be dead on the floor from the glare Gabe was sending him. "It seems I had underestimated your strength. I am still in need of a familiar, Gabriel." He stretched the name out with a small smile on his face.
"He's already Bonded," Sam said angrily, drawing Lucifer's attention to him for the first time. Lucifer's eyes grew stormy with rage and he looked at Cas and Dean.
"And I suppose you two have Bonded as well," he sneered. Dean wrapped an arm protectively around Castiel and narrowed his eyes in challenge at Lucifer. The witch's expression remained neutral but Cas and Gabe could smell the rage coming off of him in waves. "Well, congratulations. I guess you weren't to be my familiar after all."
He turned to leave and Cas relaxed slightly. He watched Lucifer sit back down at his booth and lean back in the seat, eyes still on the four at the bar. He said something, but Cas was too far away to make it out. And then suddenly there was pain, terrible burning pain everywhere.
He gasped and clutched tight to his middle, barely aware that the same thing was happening to Gabriel. He felt something in him shift and the pain stopped, but something was wrong. He frowned, or at least he would have if he had still been human. Because for some reason, he was in his animal form and he couldn't change back.
His feathers ruffled in distress and he glared over at Lucifer. The witch was smirking as he poured himself a drink. With his enhanced hearing, Cas could make out the words "This is nothing compared to what I have in store for you."
Cas, what the hell, man?
Lucifer is keeping us trapped in our animal forms. I'm pretty sure he's planning some type of revenge.
So you can't change back?
No.
Awesome.
Cars fluttered up and perched on Dean's shoulder. The witch was watching Gabe and Sam. Gabriel was in his eagle form and sitting on Sam's arm. they were obviously talking telepathically. Sam looked up after a few moments.
"Lucifer's keeping them trapped like this," he said.
"I know, Cas told me," Dean replied. "I just don't get how he could do this."
"A spell, maybe?"
"Yeah, but what kind of spell is powerful enough to prevent a familiar from changing?"
Dean, can we go? There's a dog over there staring at me like I'm food.
Dean looked around and noticed for the first time that lots of the witches and familiars in the bar were staring at them curiously. They hadn't realized how much attention they had gotten after being confronted by Lucifer and then transforming for seemingly no reason.
"Sam, let's get out of here," he said. Sam looked around and noticed the same thing that Dean had. He nodded and they left, practically running on their haste to get out. It was a little tricky when they finally got to the car. Cas and Gabe's animal instincts wouldn't let them get into the small enclosed space. Eventually Sam and Dean got in and drove off and the two familiars flew home.
Cars looked over at his brother. Gabriel was scanning the ground intently as he flew, looking out for any danger. Cas knew that he wasn't eager to repeat the experience with the kids and the BB gun. But he couldn't help but compare himself to his brother.
Castiel would never admit it, but he had always been jealous of his brother's form. Castiel always felt so plain next to his brother while birds. He was just a raven, something extremely common and simple. Gabriel was a golden eagle, a very beautiful bird.
He was a kaleidoscope of gold, brown and white. He had huge wings and sharp gold eyes, and Cas couldn't help but feel like the ugly duckling of the two of them. He was struck with another thought. He put a shield up in his mind (he didn't want Dean hearing these thoughts) and flew closer to his brother.
"Gabriel?" he cawed. "Can I ask you something?"
"You just did," Gabriel screeched back.
"Gabe, this is serious."
Gabriel looked down and saw how agitated his brother was. He tilted his wing and banked over to a streetlight. Cars followed and landed next to him.
"What's up, Cassie?" Gabriel asked.
"You have to promise not to tell Sam."
Gabriel tilted his head in confusion but nodded.
"You know how our animal forms are a reflection of our souls?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I was wondering...what does it mean about my soul that my animal form is so plain?"
Gabriel scooted closer and unwrapped one wing, letting it fall around Cas.
"Oh, Cassie," he cooed softly. "That's what you're worried about? Your animal form is anything but plain."
"But your eagle is so beautiful, and I'm just a raven." Cas let his head drop towards his chest (or was it breast since he was a bird?).
"Castiel, follow me," Gabriel commanded, unfurling his huge wings and lifting off of the pole. Cas followed, unsure of where Gabriel was taking him.
Are you okay, Cas? You should have been home by now and you've been blocking your emotions and thoughts.
Castiel was careful to keep the shield in place as he responded.
I'm fine, Dean. We'll be back in a bit, we just have some stuff to talk about.
Alright, just be careful.
Cas felt Dean's concern and affection wash over him and were he human, he would have smiled. He and Gabriel had only known the Winchesters for two days, and already he felt a very large amount of affection for the witch. He assumed it was because their souls melded together. He was almost certain it was love, platonic of course as familiars weren't supposed to be romantically involved with their masters.
"Cas, come here." Gabriel voice cut through his thoughts and he flapped his wings to bring him to where Gabriel was perched in a tree in front of a small shop. "Look at your reflection. What do you see?"
Cas looked at his reflection and thought. What did he see?
"I see black feathers, black eyes and a black beak. I see a raven."
"You want to know what I see?" Gabriel nudged him so that he was forced to hop back a little and something in his reflection caught his eye. "I see a graceful bird the color of the night sky who holds the colors of the universe in his feathers."
Cas flapped his wings without letting go of the branch and his breath caught. Gabriel was right. His black feathers were so glossy that when he moved while in the light, you could see different shades of green and blue rippling across them.
"I see," Gabriel continued, "a soul with hidden potential, who just needed a little nudge in the right direction to realise it. There's nothing wrong with your animal form or your soul, Castiel. Your raven is a reflection of you and it's perfect exactly the way it is."
Castiel took one last look at his reflection before taking off from the branch, Gabriel following not far behind. Gabe was right. Even if Cas' animal form wasn't as powerful or regal as Gabriel's, it was perfect for him.
Cas let out a happy caw as he flew, letting the barrier in his mind drop. He knew that Dean was probably wondering what had made him so happy, but if the witch wanted to find out, he'd have to look through Cas' memories. Right now, Cas wanted to enjoy his flight with his brother.