Desolation Comes Upon the Sky

A Little Slice of Kevin

November 15, 2013

Whitefish, Montana

Sunlight danced across the lake, its surface broken only by the waves built up by the gusts of wind. They lapped at the rocky shoreline in a soothing and constant rhythm. Birds sang from the pine trees all around, and the air was sweet with the scent of tree sap. The sounds of nature were interrupted only by the laughter of a young child as he hurried along the shore, feet scattering the pebbles every which way. "More!" he exclaimed, pointing down at the rocks.

"Slow down, Ash!" Alex hurried after the fledgling, carefully eyeing the distance between him and the dark water. "Don't get too close to the lake."

"Wada." Ashiel pointed towards the lake. Before Alex could respond, he bent down, picked up a handful of pebbles, and hurled them into the gentle waves.

"Don't throw rocks," his mother chastised gently, herding him away from the lake with her wings. "That's not very nice." She guided him back towards the pine trees, ignoring his whines of protest, and once they had enough distance she drew her wings back to her side. "Hey, Ash," she asked, turning her eyes down to her son. "Do you want to play a game?"

The fledgling looked up at her voice, blue eyes wide at the word 'game.' "Yea!" he exclaimed, wings beating in excitement. "Play!"

"Okay." Alex reached down and ran a hand across his blonde hair, trying to smooth down the messy locks. She pulled out a small pine twig and tossed it aside, shaking her head in teasing dismay. "The game is that we need to get back to Sam and Dean, okay? Do you remember where the cabin is?"

Ashiel looked up at her, confusion flickering through his eyes, but after a second he turned and started off down the path. "Mama! Come!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Alex strolled after him, hands shoved in her jacket pockets as she looked around the woods. It was nearing the end of October, one of the first of many cold days of fall, and the air was beginning to show it. "Keep your jacket on, buddy," she called to the fledgling as he managed to get one of his arms up and out of the sleeve of his coat, and the fledgling paused with a frown. "It's too cold outside," Alex continued, leaning down to help him put it back on. "We'll take it off when we get inside." She nudged Ashiel back off down the path, and the fledgling continued his journey.

Alex let him take the lead, being careful not to let him lead them too far in the wrong direction. They had returned to Rufus' old cabin in Whitefish a few days ago, and last she had seen, Dean had gone into town for food, and Sam was stuck on his laptop trying to track down something of a case.

The purr of a familiar engine sounded from their left, and Ashiel let out a shriek of recognition and took off through the woods. Alex followed, breaking into a slight jog to catch up with the eager toddler. They reached the dirt road at the same time, and Alex extended a wing to keep him off to the side as the Impala rolled to a stop in front of them. The window rolled down, and green eyes sparkled down at them. "Going my way?"

Alex snorted at Dean's joke. "You want a ride?" she asked the fledgling, who was already leaning up against the driver's side door, hands extending up towards the handle. "I think that's a yes."

"Okay, step back." Dean carefully opened the door so he could help Ashiel into the car. "You get shotgun, okay, Ace?" he added, shifting the fledgling into the passenger seat.

Alex rolled her eyes. "I'll meet you guys back at the cabin," she told them, moving forward to peer through the window. "Ash, behave yourself."

The fledgling didn't respond, too busy exploring the cabin of the car, but Dean let out a laugh. "We'll be fine," he promised, turning the engine over. "See you there." He threw the Impala into drive and started off down the road, leaving Alex standing in the forest alone.