"So this is it? You're leaving now?"

In the morning, Charlie was upset to see Cas leave. She had gone and found nice fruits for him to eat as breakfast and brought him fresh water.

"I'm afraid yes," said Cas, eating his meal with gratitude. "But I hope this isn't our last goodbye. Where is the pack these days?"

"West of here," Meg told him, "But we're going to the big city after this. It's southeast, like I said. I'm not sure how long we'll stay there. We need to finish the potion then head back to the west to help Cain."

"Then I'll go to the west after I find Dean. We will meet again."

The three were quiet as they ate. The uncertainty of their futures made a grim cloak to hide under, but Cas carried the courage of his convictions and it was apparent to the others. When they were ready to part ways, Cas decided he would leave them with more than just a farewell.

"Here, Meg," he said, taking something small from his supply bag. She watched curiously as he handed her one of the gold lumps.

"What! Cas, are you kidding? This is—this really valuable!"

"Charlie's people gave it to me, along with several others. I don't need all of them."

"You're an idiot!" Meg gasped. "You could use them someday!"

"I still have some, and that's enough. You need it, too. Go to the city and buy everything you could ever want. Bring great gifts for the other hunters, in case we don't return…I want them to know that they are important to me. And…"

Cas paused here. He watched Meg hesitate as she put the gold away in a safe place and smiled.

"And it doesn't matter," he finished. "Goodbye, Meg. Goodbye, Charlie."

Careful with his egg, he got up on his horse and waved farewell once more before he began to trot away.

"WAIT!"

Charlie flew up into the air and pursued Cas, holding something in her arms.

"Take this! Please…"

There sat a folded piece of clothing, glittering oddly in the morning light. Cas recognized it as once as her moonlight dress.

"What could I use this for?" Cas asked honestly.

"It's fairy magic, you know," Charlie explained, once more heaving the cloth towards him. "It keeps you warm when you're cold, and cool when you're hot. It's perfect! That's why we don't need to wear anything else with it."

"But don't you need it?"

"I'll make more."

"Will it fit me?"

"Um, not exactly," Charlie hesitated. "But you can wrap it around you, or ball it up or something…"

"Or put it over my egg," Cas said. He smiled. "It is perfect, isn't it?"

Charlie said nothing but nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you."

As sad as it may have been, it was now time for Cas to finally say goodbye. He had faith, though, that they would meet again, and with Dean, too. His horse strode through the forest and he looked over his shoulder at Meg and Charlie. He hadn't told them about what he overheard, but it was clear to him that they were going to be happy together.

When he made it out of the forest, Cas suddenly realized how tired he had been of it. Raw daylight was welcome on his skin. There were no more lump and bumps and logs for his horse to tread over, but instead he could see a far, vast landscape sweeping before him. To the east, the mountains continued. He had been following the ring that protected the Valley this entire time, but by now he was likely close to the opposite side that he had started.

As he looked across the plains, he could see the silhouette of what might have been the great city Meg talked about. Few details were discernable aside from its incredible size. Cas wondered what life was like there. Never in all his days would he have guessed that city life was an attainable prospect. But he had greater things to focus on. The meteors had gone to the east, not the southeast, thus leaving the city for another and hopefully more relaxed time.

It was obvious to Cas that he had to go into the mountains now. Interestingly enough, the range wasn't solely a ring that surrounded the Valley. When he observed them better and took the directions into account, the mountains he headed towards now had also formed a line leaving the Valley, evidently making the whole group more like a Q or a P shape. He could wonder about that later since none of it mattered. Chuck had told him to go into the mountains and that was what he had to do.

Cas with his horse and small cart crossed the great plains and headed back into the mountains. While he was halfway to his current destination, he saw a group of people, also on horseback, approaching from the distance. He braced himself. As they drew closer, he noticed they were clad in great suits of armor. Fear held him tightly.

"Hail, traveler!" One of them called out in a deep, commanding voice.

Cas didn't answer. He was too afraid. The men who wore armor, according the folklore, were also the kind who waged war and killed other men!

"Are you well?"

Still, the beta remained silent. He stopped his horse and stared at the armor-clad people. The man who addressed him was stately and dark skinned with small eyes. Cas saw they were well equipped with large blades and shields.

"Can you speak?"

"Yes," Cas told him timidly. He touched the bundle on his chest and made nervous eye contact.

"Ah!" the man gasped. He looked to the others around him. "This is a beta, surely, and with eggs!"

Without Cas being able to stop, two people strode out of horses and flanked him. They dismounted and came to his side.

"Would you step down please?" one asked.

"Be cautious, please," said the other, this one was female. They sounded kind and Cas obeyed.

Once he was off of his horse, the female offered him a container of water and a handful of strange nuts he had never seen before. He took some water but refused the food. The other person was looking him over carefully.

"Are you eggs all right?" he asked.

"There's only one," Cas said. His voice was very low and small since he didn't know how these people interpreted one egg.

"Hmm."

A loud hum came from the black man who seemed to be the leader of this group. His palomino stallion, also sporting handsome armor, took a few heavy steps closer to Cas.

"One egg? Has something happened to the others, or…"

Cas gulped down a heavy lump in his throat.

"No, um, I only had one."

"Interesting," said the leader.

He glanced at the two helpers, who were touching and checking Cas rapidly. When they finished, the female looked to the leader and announced, "He's well."

"I'm glad," he answered. "Tell me then, please, why you are out here in the Great Plains."

"Well, um, I'm actually heading towards the mountains."

"Alone?"

The two who checked Cas got back on their horses and practically disappeared into the group.

"Yes…"

"That's very dangerous," the leader said. "You must have a reason. What is it?"

"I'm pursuing a notion that my lost mate may be in the mountains."

"I see."

Cas waited for the man to say something else but he didn't. Clearing his throat, Cas asked, "Who exactly are you?"

"Why, we are the royal guard of Lawrence, out on patrol. Tell me, beta mother, where do you hail from?"

"The Valley."

"Which?"

Cas wrinkled his nose.

"The valley within the mountains here."

The man suddenly gave a loud, deep laugh. His group chuckled, too, but Cas couldn't tell if they were being polite or genuinely amused by his words.

"Do you mean to tell me that there is life within the old volcano?"

Cas gasped.

"Old volcano?!"

"Indeed."

Now, this group's leader was acting suspicious of Cas, but Cas was so confounded that he couldn't ask better questions or say better words!

"I'm a gatherer, from a herd…we live, well, we lived in the forest within the mountains, we called it the Valley. But a storm came and we were mostly killed."

"Ah, yes. That great storm. It was recent, was it not?"

"Yes…"

"I'm deeply saddened to hear that your people were harmed. But, but intrigued has been roused. Of all my years living in the great city of Lawrence, I have never once heard of life within the volcano."

"When you say volcano," Cas began, trying to push down another lump, "Do you mean an active crater that bubbles with lava? I thought that was a legend, nothing more."

"It hasn't done so in a long, long, long time. We've declared it to be dead. But no, volcanos are certainly real. There is an active one within the realm of Azazel."

"The what?"

"The realm of Azazel. A land far to the west and north. You…you aren't very educated, are you?"

Cas frowned.

"I've been living in a volcano. I guess not."

But the man laughed again.

"What odd luck in finding you! Tell me, beta, what is your name?"

"Cas."

"Very well, Cas, I am Uriel and I am the lead knight of the guards. If you need assistance in your journey, may we offer it?"

"I don't think there's much you can do. I'm going into the mountains and I will, hopefully, find my mate."

"There's a difficult path before you," Uriel warned. "I wouldn't advise a young mother such as yourself take it. The mountains have nomads."

"Nomads?"

"Mm, strange folk who live alone."

"Are they friendly at all?"

Uriel glanced at the men on either side of him.

"We wouldn't know, as we have never met any. But my warning continues—it is dangerous. We would prefer if you didn't go."

"I understand," Cas said with a nod. "I appreciate your concern as well, but I'm going to."

"Very well." Uriel looked back to the other guards. "Then we will be on our way. If you find yourself in need of supplies or a place to rest, you are welcome to visit the city of Lawrence. I admit that we aren't much without the king, but…we have maintained for almost three decades and we will continue."

Uriel's statement left Cas with too many questions to fathom. So, kings and queens were real…but what happened to theirs? Three decades was thirty years, (Cas was educated enough to know that), and that was older than he was! What a pity! He told himself that after he found Dean, they would visit the city of Lawrence. It sounded friendly, if nothing more.

Cas shook off the questions and got back on his horse. He watched the guards turn around and continue on their patrol, wishing that he could follow them. If only Dean were there already…

He pressed onward. The mountains were close and he could feel hope growing within his heart. As he reached the foot of the ranges, he first had to cross a river. It came running down from the peaks and rushed onward, probably to the city of Lawrence. This gave Cas additional joy, because maybe it was the same river that ran through the Valley. That would mean that Dean could have survived and come down this way. Were the meteors right? Was he going to find Dean?

After crossing the river, which proved to be easy since the level was low, he made it to the rocky mountains and looked up. He had already gone through this same range, just on a different side. He remembered that it wasn't as terrifying as it had seemed from the comfort of the Valley.

Cas started up the mountains on his horse, but soon found that the terrain was considerably more rocky than his first hike with his old herd. There were no paths already there and he worried about his horse.

"I don't think this is safe for you," he said to the animal. "I'm going to leave you here, with my things, but it won't take me long and I will be back with Dean."

Perhaps Cas had begun to lose his sanity at this moment. He had the idea that he would go up the mountain, find Dean and come right back down again. Perhaps it was the thrill of being close at last that made him jump to dangerous conclusions.

He hiked through the rocks endlessly. It wasn't difficult at first, only time consuming and tedious. He kept his egg close all the while and spoke to it as if it could hear.

"Maybe we'll find nomads," he whispered. "Maybe they're nice and maybe they'll have food and shelter. Maybe they have Dean! Ah, Dean…"

What Cas did not foresee was how much colder these mountains were. A few hours into his ascent, it began to snow. He didn't know what it was at first, but recalled how Dean spoke of the strange frozen particles. This was also dangerous, since Cas didn't realize how deadly the snow could be.

As he continued, his feet began to go numb. He lost the feeling in his face. Snow kept falling and it was collecting in his cold hair. The fairy dress was wrapped around his egg and keeping it alive, but Cas had to wonder if it was smarter for him to wear it.

"No," he said, shivering. "I'm close, I'm sure of it. My egg will live."

Night was falling already and the snow kept building on the rocks. He was impossibly cold and impossibly mental.

"Just a few more steps, I know it…"

Up ahead, through the bitter flakes, Cas could make out a figure. It was a woman with dark hair. She was wearing hardly anything and waving with more energy than Cas could muster in his state.

"H-Hello?"

Cas' voice was too damaged by the cold to speak very loud. The woman motioned her hands for Cas to come closer.

"A nomad?" he gasped.

The cold overtook him and he collapsed.

"…no…"

He had to keep that egg safe. He had to find Dean. If he could only get a little closer and ask that woman what she wanted…