#( dyn: firstsoncain 🐝 no foes. real friends. we ain't even got to pretend )

[qapsiel]

@firstsoncain in response to Miracle

                              USUALLY, Miracle is decently mannered around Castiel, but his excitement upon seeing Cain makes him forget everything the angel patiently taught him. "Hello, Cain." Castiel frowns at the dog, who glances at him and then stops trying to paw at Cain's work boots. The not-so-subtle snout-in-palm to ask for more pets can't be avoided, though. "Yes, Dean's already on the roof."

                               Castiel is not allowed up there, which is silly. A) he used to fly, so he's not afraid of heights, and b) he isn't the one who fell off a ladder and broke his arm half a year ago. He can help. But Dean adamantly put him on dog and food duty, so Castiel picked a Thermomix recipe with a ton of vegetables today in retaliation. Well, and Cain likes vegetables. "He told me to show you the way. Do you want something to drink?"

[qapsiel]

-> [ CASTIEL ] - Someone looking exhausted here. x

[text: Cain] Well, on many crops, bumblebees are two to four times more effective pollinators than honeybees or solitary bees because they have an up to 200 % faster flower working rate and an average of 50 or more % longer hours worked each day [text: Cain] It DESERVES a break. [text: Cain] look at that cute little hairy butt 🥺

[qapsiel]

@firstsoncain in response to Thanksgiving

                           DEAN IS TALKING A MILE A MINUTE IN THE KITCHEN. Something about perfect temperature and crispy skin and whatnot. Castiel is tuning him out because he doesn't particularly care about the gigantic turkey Dean has gotten from their neighbor (a farmer), and he has already prepared whatever he and his Thermomix are supposed to cook (mostly vegetables). Sitting cross-legged on the couch, he watches the little bubble on his phone that tells him Cain is answering.

[text: Cain] No, Dean is doing the turkey, I'm doing the vegetables. Eileen and Sam bring margaritas and some dessert that involves whiskey? [text: Cain] You know Dean will always welcome more pie [text: Cain] Maybe a bottle of wine. I think they drink wine in the movies for Thanksgiving? I don't know. This is my first

[qapsiel]

@firstsoncain ;; Brooklyn99 starters (still accepting) Cain said: "Your head is so small. It is so small. Where do you keep your brains?" //guess sb is drunk

                               CASTIEL DOESN'T WHY, but somehow, he expected Cain to talk less nonsense when drunk than, say, Sam or Dean. Guess he's been mistaken. "My head is of average size," he points out as he automatically runs his fingers through his hair. Yes, it's his head — this body stopped being a vessel a couple of years ago. Probably around the time he turned human because Metatron stole his grace. "Your head isn't bigger. It only looks like it because there's so much hair. What did you drink?"

[qapsiel]

                             CASTIEL DOES NOT CARE ABOUT CAIN'S DEMANDS. Quite the contrary, his pleading face hardens when the father of murder refuses to listen to reason, when he keeps on insisting he has to return to Lucifer even though Castiel just gave him excellent points as to why he should not. Anger starts to seep into his panic and despair of losing his most precious friend. 

                              "I will not," he spits back. "I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but you're not listening! You show up here and tell me you'll be with Lucifer again, and expect me to just nod and accept it? No, Cain! He does something to you. I don't know how, but he makes you all…" Castiel lifts his arms and then flaps his hands because he cannot find the right word. "... in the head! You're not you when he's around! And I will not let you sacrifice yourself. Not for my sake and anybody else's. I'm done with this bullshit!" There you go. Now you made him swear.

Thanks to returned clarity, Cain understands Castiel's concerns and won't diminish them. Nonetheless, while the angel speaks with agitation, he dips his head as negation shakes it slowly. Both hands atop his knees, gaze on the ground, he mulls over possible ways to convey his point sans revealing a fact guaranteed to enrage his friend. Maybe enough to ditch all remaining reason. " Logic alone isn't going to cut it, Castiel ", he sighs. Lifts his attention once more and lastly rises from that bench. " Yes, I am aware of his weakness. And exactly that is why I must play the part I've chosen. " Distraction. Or how Castiel put it; bait.

" I won't suffer. And even if I would... " Languid steps meant to close the distance made, Cain involuntarily halts when a by now unseen barrier stops blocks the path. In lieu of finishing his sentence, he catches himself grimacing upon realising what's stopping him from moving. A trap. This... is not good. Lucifer set a time limit for this conversation and if Cain isn't returning within said frame? Someone here will suffer. The angel he now shoots a sharp glare for leading him into this circle. Opening his arms a tad, he damn near growls:

" Seriously now? " And he lets his hands drop again, snarling. " That's ridiculous and you know it. Release me at once! " It isn't going to hold him for long anyway, yet long enough to provoke the devil. And by extension? Enough to trigger Cain's readiness to hurt a friend should said friend play stubborn.

[qapsiel]

                            WHILE IT'S TRUE THAT THEY'LL NEED TIME TO COME UP WITH A PLAN, Castiel refuses to believe that someone — and especially Cain — needs to be the bait to distract Lucifer. He doesn't hesitate to tell his friend as much: "It's not your duty to steer his attention away, Cain! Haven't you suffered enough? Longer than any human!" Castiel would know; he watched God create first Adam and then Eve, and he observed Cain's birth from far away. He is the one human (slash demon) who lived and suffered the longest in all of mankind, and he deserves peace.

                             "And wouldn't it be more helpful if you stayed to develop a plan? If you know how to distract him, you might have crucial knowledge of his weaknesses, too. It would be more logical to stay and figure this out with us." Castiel is trying to bring logic into this because that's how he usually works and argues — something that gets Dean's hackles up immediately when they're having a fight — but it's obvious that he's struggling because emotions threaten to get the better of him. He's clearly agitated, moving his hands more than ever, touching his face, his hair, or pointing at nothing. His voice is trembling, too. No, this is clearly nothing he can face with logic.

That Castiel opts against accompanying him on the bench and instead stands afore him... It ensures at least that Cain can't miss the disappointment in the angel's entire body language, although hearing it in his voice should suffice. He meets his gaze with his own. But there's no vestige of contempt in it— he knows as well as everyone else that Lucifer must be neutralized. What the archangel's plans for him are, Cain can only assume. Keeps it to himself and cracks a lukewarm simper when Castiel begs him to stay away from Lucifer. " I can't stay. " Only for an hour, otherwise the devil's wrath will come for them.

" Whichever of the two plans you intend to execute, you the preparations require time. We both know that. Sam and Dean know that. " In no moment does the calm tone of his voice waver, raise into one of anger or vexation. Which may or may not change should he find out that he's in the middle of a trap. His hands loosely folded in his lap, Cain shrugs. " I shall distract him for as long as you need me to. " And that's when he blinks to avert his eyes from Castiel, glance past him.

" I've never disclosed the details of my history with Lucifer to either of you. Trust me, as my friend ", he deliberately repeats the angel's reference to their bond ere looking back up at him again. " That I possess the means to steer his attention far, far away from you. "

[qapsiel]

                             WHEN CAIN SITS ON THE BENCH, Castiel visibly relaxes. Unbeknownst to Cain, he just sat down in the middle of a Devil's trap that they carved into the dark wood. There are a bunch of those hidden around the roadhouse and the backyard because even if they're not hunting anymore, you'll never know when a demon might come over for a little unwanted visit. Usually, Castiel ensures Cain steers clear of them, but not this time. No, he needs to know Cain won't just disappear all of a sudden to do something idiotic like run back to Lucifer. The trap won't hold him forever, but it could be the breather Castiel needs to call Sam and Dean for help. He just hopes he won't have to; that Cain will see reason and abandon this foolish plan.

                              Standing in front of his friend, Castiel helplessly raises his hands. "Yes, they are, Cain. So why do you return to him? Even if he won't use you as his personal assassin, what good could this bring? No, the devil needs to either return to his cage or die. I refuse to accept anything else. And what do you think he'd order you to do to us when we come for him? Cain, you need to stay away from his forked tongue. Please! I'm begging you as your friend. Stay here, and let me ask Sam and Dean for help."

IT APPEARS THAT THE MORE HE DISCLOSES TO CASTIEL, THE HIGHER MOUNTS THE LATTER'S CONFUSION. Blinking, Cain shoots his friend a pointed look in response to his question. Shouldn't he get it? That Lucifer needs to be distracted from terrorizing Sam again? Side by side, they amble toward the bench, although Cain makes an effort to pull away from Castiel's grip. " Like I said, we don't have much time ", drops his reminder flat. Attention drifting from the angel in thought. He truly feels akin to waking up from a haze. Strange. Frightening, almost.

" I entered my house and he was there. To ask him how that is possible... didn't cross my mind. " The admission sounds defeated, muttered while a frown creases his brows. " I thought he came to take retribution for my straying from the path he mapped out for me long ago. "

A contemplative pout accompanies an idle shrug. " But I was wrong. Nonetheless ", trails into a sigh, ere he sinks onto that bench. " I made abundantly clear to him that I won't kill for him again. To which he said he has other plans for me. " Cain fails to stifle the bitter chuckle crawling up his throat, his gaze finding Castiel's once more before his mien softens. " You know I'm no longer under the mark's influence. My days as Lucifer's attack dog are over. "

[qapsiel]

                         "I HOPE NOT." That had been a stressful day for Castiel, mainly because he felt bad for having been in a fight with Dean, then not being there when he fell off the ladder, and especially for being unable to heal him. He still struggles with humanity sometimes. And he misses his wings. "Please ensure he doesn't fall off the roof. This time, he might break his neck."

                          They walk up to the roadhouse; while Miracle is usually free to roam the property, Castiel keeps him on a leash this time because there are old tiles and bits of wood falling off the roof now and then, and Castiel doesn't want the dog to get injured. "Yes, I'm on dog and catering duty," he agrees mulishly, "even though I could help. Out of the three of us, I am the one used to heights." He makes a face. "There will be a lot of vegetables for lunch today. And no meat whatsoever." 

Miracle keeps nudging his snout into Cain's palm, leans sideways against his left leg and soon earns casual ear scritches. But the demon's attention sways past Castiel as the latter confirms what he already suspected. Not that Cain can see much of the house from here; call it an impulse. It results in a slow shake of his head in tandem with a scoff. " Why am I not surprised ", he mutters, then dips his head a tad to glance down at the dog. One final, gentle pat to its head is offered before he withdraws his hand—

" Yes, let us go. Otherwise we don't arrive in time to see the tragedy unfold, should he break another bone in his body. " A comment on Dean's bullheadedness had to be made. However rich, coming from Cain, who'd have done the same and already started, were he in the boy's place. As he approaches Castiel to join him back, Miracle follows suit. The leash hangs lax again. " So I take it you are tasked with the catering? "

Someone has to provide Dean with pie and ensure he won't down whiskey or beer while he's working up there, after all. Makes sense.