" bad company "
So, not only were angels real - something Aurora, just a couple of hours beforehand, wouldn't have thought to be possible - but, apparently, their one common trait seemed to be that they were all feathered douchebags. Except, of course, her new-found friend, Castiel. He, unlike most of his brothers and sisters, had a certain love for humanity, for all his father's creations, and he had gone through heaven and hell - quite literally - to assure the safety of his two favored humans, the Winchesters. Little did Aurora know, in a matter of no time, she too would gain a safe place under the rebellious angel's wing.
Growing up, the girl had always had a sliver of belief lingering in her heart; 'angels are watching over us', 'the angels will take care of you', 'angels will keep you safe' - that's what her mother would say whenever she needed to make Aurora feel safe. Too young and ingenuous to even consider the amount of bad things that were lurking in the dark, she took her mother's word for it, that is, at least, until her life started going in all the wrong directions. Her faith in the heavenly creatures started fading away, day by day, along with all the things that mattered to her - until she was left on her own, or so she thought.
Then, perhaps, her belief was never really gone; maybe, it had just developed into hope. Hope that something good, something better did exist, somewhere in this sad, forsaken world they were casted on, lacking any sort of instructions on how to cope with everything that would be thrown at them.
And then, she came upon Castiel. Just as the last lone shred of hope was on the verge of disintegrating, the angel appeared at her side, giving her, once again, something to believe in. However, he was entirely unlike she had imagined; she wasn't exactly sure what she had imagined - but he exceeded her expectations. He was incredibly...unearthly, and although that may seem obvious, it astonished her. She found comfort in his startlingly intense blue eyes, which seemed to pierce right through the protective shell she had built up and that coated her fragile soul, as well as his voice - it was sensuous, as if it demanded immediate notice, not allowing withholding.
In his presence, she couldn't feel anything but peace. It was a kind of peace she had never felt before, which engulfed her whole being; it was invigorating, compared to the constant ruckus she had grown accustomed to. She had no idea what it was; whether it was the effect angels had on people or some kind of mojo Castiel possessed. She didn't know, but the answer was one, and it was simple - she was at peace, because finally, she knew. Her mother had not been wrong; angels were, in fact, out there.
Considering all that, the girl struggled to understand how the angelic beings could be capable of causing any harm; the reason Castiel was asking for the Winchesters' help - something he rarely did, not wanting to burden them furthermore - was the violence that was occurring among his brothers and sisters, and the amount of casualties that it was leading to. The angel was determined to put an end to it.
A rather short argument preceded their departure, which had, on one side, Castiel disapproving of bringing Aurora along, since, unlike Sam and Dean, she had no familiarity with the matter of fighting angels, and, on the other, the girl herself, who insisted on going with them, and the two brothers, who stated, factually, that the girl could handle pretty much anything.
And so they were on their way, Dean effortlessly driving his baby down the empty streets, his brother seated next to him, in and out of sleep, and the newly acquainted two in the backseat.
Castiel wanted to know about her. She sparked his curiosity just as much as he sparked hers, but neither of them asked a thing; their silent amazement towards each other was enough, momentarily.
"Yes..?" Aurora's voice rang through the angel's ears; she wore a playful smirk on her lips, making him realize he had been looking directly at her, while in thought.
He slowly teared his gaze away, "I— apologize, I didn't mean to stare."
From the front seat, Dean devilishly smiled, "When we're all done here, we'll get you two a room." he said before giving Cas a wink through the rearview mirror.
The angel narrowed his eyes, not really understanding where his friend was getting at, "Why—"
"Dean—" Aurora, on the other hand, rolled her eyes, already used to the way Dean's mind worked, "Don't listen to him, Cas."
Before he could additionally question the matter, he heard the girl speak up again, "So, what do we know about this angel guy?"
Being the only one who held said information, Castiel began explaining everything.
"His name is Nathaniel. He raised his own army, and even if very few angels have followed him, they have already caused great damage." he paused for a second, sighing in disappointment, but continued shortly after, "He believes humanity is the cause of every wrong, ignoble thing that exists and that it is what stained earth with all that is unholy. For that reason, he and his followers are on the mission of...purifying the planet."
"So, basically, killing us off." Sam pointed out.
"And every angel who has ever sympathized with you. Two of us have already been murdered. And the people— I have underestimated how much blood he has on his hands."
"So, does that mean they're after you too?" Sam questioned, slightly worried.
"Are you kidding? This guy's full-on best friends with humans. I bet he's number one on their list." the other Winchester claimed, matter-of-factly.
Cas sighed, once again, "I suspect they are, yes."
Still, Aurora was quick to interfere and articulate her next words, sure of herself, "Well, we'll get to them first."
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The small town they were driving into was no different from the one they had just left, or the one before that. They were all the same, really; the streets, the motels, the diners - and, of course, the people, who hadn't the slightest clue as to what was really happening around them. It was something Aurora often wondered - what course her life would take if she didn't know everything she did know.
They pulled up near a sidewalk, as people walked right past them - children giggling at seemingly nothing holding their parents' hand, couples embracing each other and the occasional suited man who was late for work - not knowing who they were or what they did and the things they battled every single day. But it didn't matter - because, no matter how many thank you's they got each time, no matter the amount of gratitude they received at the end of the day, they were, nevertheless, what people tend to call heroes.
"Alright, first things first," Dean started, opening the trunk of the Impala and retrieving a few essentials, "Angel blade - you know how it works."
"Stab 'em with the pointy end." the girl confirmed, taking the shiny weapon and masterly whirling it between her fingers, "Fancy."
Protection was required at all times; they could never know what to expect behind closed doors. The angel murders had been attributed to an unknown serial killer who burned his victims' eyes, in an unknown manner, before stabbing them in the heart. Which, of course, was not the case - but the fake story was much more conventional.
Treating it as any other job, they split up; Sam and Aurora (as FBI agents Nicks and McVie) were to retrieve any misplaced information from the officers and inspect the bodies whilst the other two examined the scene where it had all gone down. Any minor little clue could've been useful.
"Didn't think the feds would ever take an interest in this," the sheriff told them as soon as they introduced themselves and informed her of what they were there for, "but finally someone's seriously looking into it. Those poor fellas."
"Are there any...important details you can think of? Something that maybe didn't make the reports?"
"Apart from the burnt out eyes? No, not much. They were normal people, with normal lives - one day, they got stabbed in the heart. What caused it...no clue. I don't know what to tell you, agents."
The two shared a knowing glance, "We have a few ideas."
When they were directly in front of the bodies, Aurora had to restrain herself from shrieking in horror. She had witnessed much worse during all her years as a hunter, the whole situation, however, felt brutal, vile, and just not right. Where once stood the two radiant, lively orbs that gifted the faculty of sight to the human life, all there was to see were tenebrous black holes, dark as she imagined infinite emptiness would be.
Angels had done this.
"You okay?" Sam asked fondly, knowing exactly what was going through the girl's mind.
She shrugged it off as if it was nothing and nodded; after all, it was nothing more than sheer disappointment hitting her in the gut over and over again - and the realization of how thin the possibility that this something better she'd always hoped was real was getting by the second.
She moved closer to the lifeless body, her eyes scanning its every inch attentively, looking for that one mistake that must've been made, which should've sufficed to move the case forward.
"Anything?"
"...Nothing."
It was a clean, straightforward, done with willingness murder; a theory that was verified by what the crime scene where Dean and Cas were provided - not a thing. And although this left them empty-handed, one thing was clear: Nathaniel and his followers knew damn well what they were doing, and they had no intention of abandoning their mission whatsoever.
This made matters a lot more pressing to Castiel's eyes, who knew no time should have been wasted: the angels had to be found and dealt with, at once. And, after checking into a motel nearby, they went straight back to work - going over local papers, searching for any attainable witnesses, reviewing the reports again and again - and did everything in their power to find the damned things; but Castiel knew it was all rather futile - the angels were being far too discrete to appear on their radar, just like that. So he did the one thing he thought would make him useful in the hunt, and left to look for them himself, without giving his friends the mere chance to object.
"Friggin' angels." Dean groaned in annoyance. Whilst the two Winchesters were used to their friend's sudden disappearances, the girl had yet to familiarize with the fact that he could vanish into thin air in a matter of moments; she only sighed, knowing overly well that being alone, in situations like these, was not a good idea.
So they waited, being left with no other option.
And they waited - beers were opened, books and papers sprawled in front of them as nothing unfolded.
And they waited some more, while worry started to settle in - some mere research wasn't supposed to last this long.
Not unless the angel had encountered a few difficulties along his way - which, was exactly what had happened; nothing he couldn't overcome, however, leaving him with only a few scratches here and there.
Moments later, he stumbled his way back into the motel room, shirt bloody, breath heavy, immediately catching the three hunters' attention.
"I found them." he grumbled, propping himself up on his arm, as a sharp pain crawled up his side, making him flinch in pain.
"You don't say." Aurora scoffed, earning a glare from the angel, who hastily looked around him and, drawing some of his own blood out from the fresh wounds, ran his red tinted fingers over the wall beside him, shaping some sort of symbol, inducing nothing but confusion, "Cas— what are you doing?"
He was brisk, agitated and jittery enough for the rest to acknowledge that something was awaiting them, "We need to—" but before he could finish his sentence and forewarn them, company made itself known in the cramped up motel room.
"Hello, Castiel."
The foreign voice prompted uneasiness among the four, who immediately turned their heads to face the unwanted intruder. Castiel sucked in a breath and cursed himself for not being faster, smarter - safety was no longer a recourse, and the sigil he had failed to finalize was of no use. It was just them; the four of them and whatever strength they had left.
"Nathaniel."
"As soon as I heard you were within reach, I knew I had to pay you a visit." the enemy declared, poised.
He stood in front of them with superiority, as if he was the crowned ruler condemning the subjugated, a flat hat shielding his accusatory eyes, hands gripping a lavishly decorated cane, which held his own angel killing weapon - something the others were not yet aware of, "You, and, well, these humans you so kindly handed over to us. The Winchesters," he looked at the two brothers satisfied, as if they were some priceless trophy, "and...her."
The way his eyes knowingly stood on Aurora for way longer than needed made her uncomfortably shift in her place, a creeping malaise submerging her whole. It was as if he knew her, and not in the same way she knew him - he knew something more.
"Well, I'm sorry you came all the way, but our schedules are a bit busy. Mind if we take a raincheck?" Dean cheekily addressed the angel, not losing his attitude, even in life threatening situations.
Nathaniel smirked, not irritated, but rather in distaste, "You," he started, walking towards the Winchester, stopping right in front of him, eye level, "do not speak to me."
"And why's that?" Dean inquired, looking him straight in the eye.
The angel hummed, seemingly taking pleasure in his retorts, "You think you're so important. So...indispensable. But believe me when I tell you, you are not. You are one, small, unimportant pawn that won't even last 5 seconds into the game."
"But you are?" Sam interfered, suddenly, "What makes you so important?"
"Several things. My intentions, for one." he smiled.
"As in, your pathetic excuse of a mission? Enlighten me, who gave you the right to play God and decide who gets to live and who dies?" Aurora spoke up through gritted teeth once she'd gathered up the courage. She was getting angrier by the second and was instants away from pulling out her angel blade and placing it right through Nathaniel's eye - which, though, wouldn't have been too clever.
He chuckled, "Open your eyes, sunshine. You think God's around? I make my own rules." and before anyone could act upon it, with a swift movement of his hand, he dashed Sam and Dean right across the room; Aurora was quick to try and make for Nathaniel, but he promptly stopped her.
"You think you can stop me?" he calmly asked, a disturbing smile plastered to his face. He was inching closer to the girl, his intent unclear, but Castiel intervened.
"Nathaniel, you need to stop this madness."
"Madness? You call this madness, brother? After all you've seen, all you've witnessed, how can you still stand up for this filthy insects?!"
"They are not—"
Angry and frustrated, Nathaniel wasn't going to listen to whatever comeback Castiel had; so he kept talking, "All of you, calling me mad, and rebellious— but what have I done, if not...freeing you from your sins? You should show me some respect," he raised his voice, "at least, before you die."
"Cas!" Aurora shouted alarmed as she saw three more figures appear inside the room, obviously Nathaniel's soldiers; one of them was right behind Castiel, ready to stab him in the back, but he managed to react quickly enough and fight back - killing the angel before she could even have the chance to wound him.
The blade went right through the angel's chest, a sharp scream invading the air as well as an excessive bright light that left the body spent and cold - two black holes replaced the eyes, dark and empty. At the sight, Aurora froze; her vision became foggy, shaky breaths replacing regular ones as she began feeling wobbly and unsteady. She could've stayed there for hours, stuck in her own mind, trying to make sense of what she had just seen - had it not been for the faint voice that called her name.
Back to reality, her focus shifted to Sam, who was pinned down on the ground by one of the angels who were mindlessly fighting for Nathaniel. Aurora hurried by his side, and, without giving it a thought, grabbed the angel by the shoulders and flung him away from her friend. She couldn't control what happened next, as anger clouded her mind and made it go blank; clasping her fist tightly, she hit the angel one time, two times, again and again, until her knuckles were red and bruised, "You're supposed..." she resentfully voiced in between, before reaching for her blade and stabbing the angel, "to be the good guys."
Meanwhile, while more angels joined the fight, behind her, Nathaniel was watching her every move; when she turned around and locked eyes with him, uneasiness hit her yet again.
"Aurora, is it?"
The girl didn't answer; instead, she unhesitatingly moved forward, angel blade in her hand, ready to cast it right at him - but, just as before, Nathaniel was faster than her. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he violently threw her against the wall, causing the girl to recoil in pain as she struggled to get back on her feet.
"You know, they claimed you'd be tough." he kneeled down in front of her, "A threat, even. Standing in need of being feared, but, even so, worthy of our protection." he echoed, as the words appeared to be imprinted in his mind. Everything he was saying was, however, complete and utter nonsense to Aurora.
"What are you talking about?"
"But you know what I see?" he continued, not taking her words in consideration, "I see your weakness. And your pain and your impotence." his hands were soon wrapped firmly around her neck as he restrained her up against the wall, cutting off her only source of oxygen. "And it makes me sick to my stomach. So, forgive me, if I can't see one single reason I should let you live." he hissed, his breath hitting Aurora's face. She wanted to cry for help, even though nothing but pitiful whimpers came out of her mouth; her hands latched onto his, but her strength was no match - she was certain she would be done in no time.
Despite that, immense relief washed over her as his tight grip was released and she fell to the ground, fatigued. Someone had managed to pull the angel away from her, possibly saving her life. She knew she wouldn't have much time, though, as a loud crash broke her out of her daze.
Finally, she stood up, only to find Nathaniel approaching her again. She gathered all her energy, in hopes that maybe, she could stand her ground; she couldn't lie, everything he had said cut her deep - but she wasn't going to give him what he wanted.
"You...can go screw yourself." she spat out, hatefully.
"You think you're the first ones who've fought for their lives?" he inquired, gripping the girl's jacket tightly between his hands, attacking her again as she fell to the ground, "You think you'll be the last?" he laughed, humored by the debilitated human in front of him.
Before she could get the chance to fight back, he stroke her, again, and again, his steely fist colliding with her marked features, showing no hesitation whatsoever as blood overflowed from her newly open cuts, "You are nothing." he viciously whispered in the girl's ear.
She felt helpless and abashed as he had her immobilized under his hard grasp - that being so, the following events brought her as much surprise as it did her adversary; she didn't know how she'd managed it, and her movements seemed to precede her own consciousness - but one thing moved her forward.
This wasn't going to be a win for Nathaniel.
With only one unexpected motion, she had control over the ruthless angel; he stumbled backwards as the girl lashed out at him, allowing her to finally free herself and give him a taste of his own medicine. Still, she knew simply throwing punches was not going to cut it - she was unquestionably overpowered. But this didn't mean she didn't have a couple of tricks up her sleeve; she was, after all, a very skillful hunter.
While the angel was still down, she took the opportunity to retrieve an angel blade that was tossed on the ground and, without delay, tore a deep gash on his leg, which caused him to fall right back onto his knees. This called attention to the scene; Aurora stood tall in front of Nathaniel as she harshly grabbed him by the collar of his once neat shirt, "Maybe so," she said, referring to his earlier statement, "but remember," she ended up whispering her last words, as she watched Castiel drawing near from behind them, ready to bring his brother to an end, "we're the ones who kicked your ass."
Then, the piercing light shone once again, preceding the fall of Nathaniel's deceased body; he was gone. Aurora had to shut her eyes, in order to not remain blinded - once it was safe to open them, however, the only thing in sight were her three friends - beaten up and out of breath, they silently looked at each other.
They'd done it.
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Rain descended from the heavy skies, light, delicate, tiny droplets rested on the girl's red locks, resembling grains of crystal white sugar. The corduroy jacket that covered her shoulders was barely enough to make her comfortably warm - though she hardly noticed. The thoughts that swarmed through her mind were keeping her occupied enough, salty tears brimming at her eyes, which she didn't dare to let fall.
The hushed outsides of the cheap motel were definitely not the kind of solace she was in need of, but it granted her some alone time.
For a little while, at least.
"Are you alright?"
He wasn't disturbing her, not at all; in fact he was of more comfort than solitude could have been at that moment, even if she wouldn't admit it to him.
She inaudibly sniffled, "Of course, why— why wouldn't I be?"
The blue-eyed angel sighed, taking a seat on the ragged wooden bench; he kept his distance, though, not wanting to be intrusive, "You seem...troubled."
A breath hitched in her throat - had she become this tangible?
Silence followed. She couldn't - no, she wouldn't - talk, so all she did was wait for the angel to perhaps grow tired of the pointless waiting and just walk away, forget he was ever there.
But he didn't move.
And neither did she. She sat there, feeling like a dumb statue, as she was slowly reminded of how much tranquility Castiel brought along with him. And, for a moment, she could've sworn everything she was feeling lost all of the power it had on her.
"Have you ever...believed in something, so much, only to be let down by it all? And it all comes tumbling down right at your feet, and all you're left with are these...small pieces, that you can't put back together."
"You're talking about the angels."
Aurora nodded sadly, "My mom...she was a big believer. She would constantly remind me that we were going to be safe, that nothing bad was going to happen - because angels were watching over us. That's pretty much the only memory I have of her."
The expression on Castiel's face contorted into one of empathy, and perhaps sorrow. He couldn't begin to explain the kind of regret that he was feeling, even though he had nothing to do with what had happened, even though Aurora didn't blame him for any of this.
"And then..." she let out an airy laugh, her heart aching at was she was about to say out loud, making it all the more real, "the night I went home only to find it in flames...there were two people outside," she shifted nervously in her seat, "and I could've sworn my mom was one of them. I only really remembered her from pictures, but it still...it looked so much like her. And...they started fighting, until— well, before I saw her die, there was this...bright light, just— just like what I saw today."
Castiel slightly opened his mouth in shock, realization hitting him like a wild ocean wave, leaving him underwater, desperately reaching for air. He knew exactly what she was talking about. That night was all too familiar to him. But he didn't speak.
"I thought nothing of it. Hell— I thought I was hallucinating. I thought it was demons, being the usual bloodthirsty dicks they are, so that's where I was supposed to look for revenge. But— I was far from being right. She believed in you, trusted you...and that's what got her killed."
A moment passed, "I am really sorry this had to happen, Aurora." the angel told her, sincerely, "I wish there was something I could do."
"I didn't mean— this has got nothing to do with you, Cas. You don't need to apologize."
He looked at her, his brows furrowed, acknowledging her pain, and wanting nothing more than to be able to restore all the hope she had lost. Her eyes were glazed, fixed on her hands, which were folded on her lap. Cuts and red marks still covered her soft features as well as, most likely, her whole body. He wanted to alleviate at least some of her pain.
"Will you let me heal you?"
Aurora paid no attention to her injuries, as it was an overly familiar outcome of hunting - she had learnt how to ignore the pain, as it never was one of her main worries. Looking up at him, she faintly nodded, grateful for what the angel was offering; she watched him as he soothingly placed two fingers on her forehead, allowing her, for just two short seconds, to fall into the embrace of absolute serenity.
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— a/n
I apologize for the long ass chapter - but I felt like the fight with Nathaniel and the talk between Rory and Cas belonged together - I sincerely hope it wasn't too much or too boring to read! The fighting scene took me ages to finish and I'm still not sure I entirely like it, but well. I really hope you guys are liking this because boyyy am I excited to continue it!! Hope you're all safe and have smiled at least once today - if not, do it, just because, for me :) love you all!