[ If Dean had really cared about Laura, he should have rated her higher than a 6 and Castiel wouldn't have interrupted. This cat is much higher than a 6 on the pussy-call scale that Castiel just invented. ]
Have you or Sam been followed by a cat before?
[ This is pertinent information Dean!!! You should've started with this. ]
[ What does her taste in movies even have to do with semi-anonymous sex? Just when Castiel thinks he understands you... You're so confusing, Dean Winchester. ]
I see.
[ Castiel crouches down and pets the cat, who arches into his touch and rubs its cheeks against his fingers. Dean's right, which means the cat must not want to return home. Perhaps it had a bad home life, and Castiel was foolish in believing that returning it there was in its best interests. Still, the problem remains. He can't keep fighting angels and demons and flying across the world with an innocent creature clinging to his coattails. Scratching the cat's cheeks, he addresses it, voice lilting up just slightly from its usual raspiness. ]
How would you like to stay with Dean and his brother Sam? He's very kind. ...Well, Dean is. Sam's morals are questionable, but I'm sure you would be safe with him, seeing as you're not a demon or an attractive female human.
[ he is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
And watching Cas talk to the cat, who clearly likes him, is probably one of the cutest damn things Dean's ever seen, and the shade he throws at Sam is admittedly 1) true and 2) frickin' hilarious.
Until Dean realizes Cas is suggesting the cat stay with them, to which Dean is shaking his head before Cas finishes the sentence. ]
Oh, no no. Sam and I can't haul a cat around the country, no way. [ Cooped up in a car with a cat? Dean would never stop sneezing, and Sam would lose his mind. ]
[ Castiel doesn't pause in petting the pussy, but he does look up at Dean with a frown. Of course Dean is resistant. He's infinitely kind; he wants to protect the cat as much as Castiel does. But Castiel knows the Winchesters, and the cat would be safer with them than anyone on Earth. ]
They need a home, Dean. You don't fly. You keep motel rooms with locks, and salt, and hex bags when you're out on hunts. Your vehicle has a spacious back seat.
[ He's still steadily stroking the cat as he frowns at Dean, but the cat has stopped paying attention to Castiel, because wait!!!! Is that someone in the room who's allergic to cats??? Who wants nothing to do with them????? Like blood in the water to a shark, the cat lifts its head away from Castiel's scratching fingers, and beelines right over to Dean with haughty high steps. It immediately begins arching against Dean's legs and meowing.
Castiel smiles to see it. Look, Dean. It likes you as much as he does. ]
[ Like. Dean likes cats, well enough - they're chill, they do their own things. Dogs kinda remind him of hell hounds, and they're too needy, so he sorta..keeps his distance, but cats are alright.
Until they rub all over him and get in his face and he starts to sneeze - which Dean is going to do, very soon, especially now said cat is getting hair all over his jeans and Dean's gonna have to like. Burn them.
[ That the cat obviously has taken to Dean cements that the decision is made to Castiel. This is the first sign of affection he's seen the cat display to anyone other than himself. He won't say it's destiny, since that's something of a sore subject these days, but it does seem like the cat has good taste. Though, his smile fades to confusion at Dean's remark. ]
Why would they defecate where they're sitting? Cats are very clean.
[ Now, if there happens to be sand in the backseat for some reason, it's fair game. Anyway, Castiel trusts the two of them to work out their differences. ]
They gotta go to the bathroom sometime, Cas, Sam and I drive nonstop. They're picky things. He'll want a litter box and there's no way I'm keepin' that in the car.
[ He gingerly takes a step baaaack from the cat, arms folding over his chest as he fights off what he knows is coming.
It's my understanding that you and Sam also have to "go to the bathroom sometime," so I don't understand why you can't—
[ That sneeze is sudden and interruptive, and Castiel stops mid-sentence, completely losing track of what he'd been saying. ]
God bless you.
[ Human nicety. Anyway, it's been settled. Dean will keep the cat safe. The cat likes Dean. In fact, as he steps backwards, the cat rushes to follow, tail held up, and it figure-eights through Dean's legs, seemingly unbothered by the attempt at distance, or the loud sneeze. Dean's resistance seems petty in the larger scheme of things. ]
This cat needs a home, and has come to me for aid. I can't safely provide one, but you can. What else would you have me do?
[ He blinks, rubbing briefly at his nose before backing up another step, frowning down at the cat, because yeah - this happens sometimes when he's around kitties. It really is a shame, because cats are cool. Bela's cat had been cool, what he briefly saw of it, anyway. ]
I dunno, take it to a shelter? [ He geeeeently nudges the cat away from his leg, though cats do what they want and it just comes right back.
[ There's something Castiel doesn't like about this interaction between Dean and the cat, but he can't quite place what it is that has his feathers raising, fluffing out in defense of the cat as it's nudged away, only to return immediately into Dean's personal space. ]
Abandon it.
[ Castiel surmises with growing irritation because DEAN WINCHESTER HOW COULD YOU even suggest such a thing. ]
Ugh, no. I mean a no kill shelter, obviously. They can check if it's chipped. It might belong to someone.
[ Don't you get mad at him :( It's just slowly killing him, that's all.
He gropes behind him to the shitty dresser the cheap tv is sitting on, fumbling for the box of cheap motel tissue that's there so he can blow his nose, snuffling in irritation. ]
[ What kind of shelter kills the animals they're sheltering? Castiel isn't convinced at all; now he's just more concerned.
But Dean is sneezing an awful lot, suddenly, and his welfare comes before an animal that Castiel has only just met, even if that animal is good-natured and very cute. His brow creases with concern. ]
[ If just being around the cat is going to have Dean reacting like this, then living with him is out of the question. It's a shame. They seemed like such a good fit. The cat is clearly enamored with Dean. It wasn't nearly so aggressive when it rubs itself against Castiel's legs. ]
Then, the only option left for us seems to be assisting the nearest shelter in finding this cat a good home.
[ Castiel was planning to just leave the cat with Dean and go back to his own business, but now that Dean can't keep the animal and its life is clearly at risk elsewhere, he'll need to see this through. ]
[ That Dean agrees to help is a weight lifted from Castiel's shoulders, and he smiles, just slightly, with gratitude. ]
Thank you.
[ He crosses the room in a few steps, sits on the bed, and crosses his hands in his lap. Dean meant now, right? Castiel certainly seems to think so. He looks up at Dean expectantly to start making those calls. The cat's shark-like instincts go off again at the proximity of a lap in the area, and it pads silently across the room from Dean, hops up gracefully onto the bed, and pushes itself under Castiel's hands. He begins petting it instantly, scratching its cheeks absently while his attention remains on Dean. ]
Dean digs his phone out of his pocket, sneezes again in the process, and goes to sit at the little table by the window. He reaches for the phone book, keeping ample distance between himself and the cat.
He'll just...start making calls. :| Because he has nothing better to do, apparently. ]
[ There, Castiel knew Dean's kindness would win out. His smile brightens as he continues petting the cat, who rolls onto its back and swats at his fingers in an adorably sassy way. A moment later, there's a black feather with a rainbow sheen in Castiel's hand, and he's keeping the cat entertained (and his fingers unbitten) with it, oblivious to the phone calls Dean is making, content that he's working hard to find their wayward companion a suitable temporary living space. ]
[ Yes, Cas, go on and play with the kitty while Dean makes all these phone calls to shelters and vets and tries to figure out the safest place to take this friggin' allergy factory that you've brought home.
Dean sneezes a few times while he's on the phone, building an impressive little pile of tissues up next to the phone book as he listens to an automated recording, eyes landing on the feather in Cas' hand. He's never seen anything but the shadow of Cas' wings, but wow - he can see the sheen from here.
He's distracted enough that he misses the tech actually answering the phone, and he startles, clearing his throat and dragging himself back to the task at hand, explaining the issue for the tenth time, there's a cat here, where the hell can they take it. ]
Uh huh, [ he's saying, writing something down on the notepad, another damn phone number. ] And you said it's a what now? A foster program? So what's that mean?
[ Dean listens a while longer, makes another few notes, and drags his hand over his face as he muffles another sneeze. ]
[ Unfortunately, it's beyond Castiel's current abilities, cut off from Heaven as he is, to heal Dean of his allergy to adorable animals like the one in Castiel's lap. He could remove the hair from the cat, but that might make finding it a home more difficult. From the sound of it, though, Dean is well on his way to placing the cat with a new family. A "foster program" certainly sounds promising.
Castiel looks up as his attention is caught, though the cat seems happy enough to chew on the feather even when it isn't being bounced against its paws. ]
[ He tosses the phone on the table, looking pleased with himself despite his red, raw nose and the mountain of kleenex on the table. ]
It's a foster to adopt program. The animals get placed with a foster family, fed and taken care of until they find another family to adopt.
[ Snuffle. ]
Sometimes the foster family keeps them. And with as friendly as Unsinkable Sam here is-- [ he gestures, because he's obviously named the cat, because...yeah ] I don't think it'll be too difficult. Either way, he'll be in good hands.
[ That rough charm of Dean's should be ruined by his very red nose, but Castiel finds that it only makes Dean more charming. He smiles serenely, absently playing with one of the cat's back paws while it chews aggressively on the feather caught in its front ones. ]
That sounds wonderful.
[ He's so proud of Dean. Even if it doesn't work out, this solution is better than anything Castiel could have imagined. Taking the cat to Dean was the right thing to do, just as he'd hoped, even if the Winchesters can't keep the cat themselves and Castiel will be sad to lose its company. It's for the best. The feather vanishes from Castiel's hand and the cat's head swivels this way and that as it looks for where it's gone. It rolls onto its belly and Castiel uses the opportunity to scoop it back into his arms and stand up from the bed. ]
"Unsinkable Sam?"
[ That's undoubtedly another reference to human media with which he has yet to be acquainted, but Castiel's curiosity gets the better of him this time, and he has to ask. ]
[ It's one trusting cat- but Cas is an angel, so of course small, cute, furry animals trust him.
Dean wipes his nose and takes another tissue. It's really regrettable he's allergic - the image of Cas holding the cat is pretty damn cute. He briefly toys with the idea of a daily allergy pill, but pushes it away. Sam would murder him. ]
Yeah. Unsinkable Sam was a ships cat and survived the sinking of something like three ships in World War II.
[ The cat is very friendly, though it doesn't seem to want to be held at the moment, and as soon as Castiel is standing, it digs its claws into his coat and climbs up his arm. Castiel hunches a bit as the cat finds a perch on his shoulders with its tail lashing excitedly against his neck. He pays Dean more attention. The story's an interesting one, because unlike many of Dean's references, this one is true. World War II was a terrible event for anyone, even a cat, to live through. ]
That's an incredible feat of endurance.
[ Castiel lifts his face towards the cat. Unsinkable Sam, now. ]
Is Dean your third ship? It's past time to find you a home on dry land.
[ The cat blinks wide green eyes at him, then apparently deciding it isn't getting the attention it wants, hops deftly to the floor, prances over to Dean and begins arching against Dean's legs again in another attempt for pets.
Castiel smiles. He's spent much of his life admiring God's oceans and gardens and skies, and observing the many creatures crawling the Earth with the same sort of distant casual interest. He's since come to appreciate humanity on a more intimate level, but this cat has reminded him that it's not only humans that are worth his closer attention. Its honest affection and tenacity to survive are just as exceptional, in their way. ]
I take it we're driving there?
[ Castiel isn't eager to say goodbye to Sam the cat, but he is eager to find him a safe place to stay. Flying would be faster. However far away this foster is, they could be there instantaneously. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Have you or Sam been followed by a cat before?
[ This is pertinent information Dean!!! You should've started with this. ]
How did you convince them to stop?
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You're lucky he likes you, Cas. ]
Probably once or twice. But I don't think you can convince a cat to do anything it doesn't want to do.
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I see.
[ Castiel crouches down and pets the cat, who arches into his touch and rubs its cheeks against his fingers. Dean's right, which means the cat must not want to return home. Perhaps it had a bad home life, and Castiel was foolish in believing that returning it there was in its best interests. Still, the problem remains. He can't keep fighting angels and demons and flying across the world with an innocent creature clinging to his coattails. Scratching the cat's cheeks, he addresses it, voice lilting up just slightly from its usual raspiness. ]
How would you like to stay with Dean and his brother Sam? He's very kind. ...Well, Dean is. Sam's morals are questionable, but I'm sure you would be safe with him, seeing as you're not a demon or an attractive female human.
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And watching Cas talk to the cat, who clearly likes him, is probably one of the cutest damn things Dean's ever seen, and the shade he throws at Sam is admittedly 1) true and 2) frickin' hilarious.
Until Dean realizes Cas is suggesting the cat stay with them, to which Dean is shaking his head before Cas finishes the sentence. ]
Oh, no no. Sam and I can't haul a cat around the country, no way. [ Cooped up in a car with a cat? Dean would never stop sneezing, and Sam would lose his mind. ]
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They need a home, Dean. You don't fly. You keep motel rooms with locks, and salt, and hex bags when you're out on hunts. Your vehicle has a spacious back seat.
[ He's still steadily stroking the cat as he frowns at Dean, but the cat has stopped paying attention to Castiel, because wait!!!! Is that someone in the room who's allergic to cats??? Who wants nothing to do with them????? Like blood in the water to a shark, the cat lifts its head away from Castiel's scratching fingers, and beelines right over to Dean with haughty high steps. It immediately begins arching against Dean's legs and meowing.
Castiel smiles to see it. Look, Dean. It likes you as much as he does. ]
no subject
Until they rub all over him and get in his face and he starts to sneeze - which Dean is going to do, very soon, especially now said cat is getting hair all over his jeans and Dean's gonna have to like. Burn them.
His nose twitches a little. ]
That cat is not pooping in Baby's backseat.
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Why would they defecate where they're sitting? Cats are very clean.
[ Now, if there happens to be sand in the backseat for some reason, it's fair game. Anyway, Castiel trusts the two of them to work out their differences. ]
lol cas' face in that icon
[ He gingerly takes a step baaaack from the cat, arms folding over his chest as he fights off what he knows is coming.
Don't do it, don't do it--
sneeze. ]
king of sass
[ That sneeze is sudden and interruptive, and Castiel stops mid-sentence, completely losing track of what he'd been saying. ]
God bless you.
[ Human nicety. Anyway, it's been settled. Dean will keep the cat safe. The cat likes Dean. In fact, as he steps backwards, the cat rushes to follow, tail held up, and it figure-eights through Dean's legs, seemingly unbothered by the attempt at distance, or the loud sneeze. Dean's resistance seems petty in the larger scheme of things. ]
This cat needs a home, and has come to me for aid. I can't safely provide one, but you can. What else would you have me do?
no subject
[ He blinks, rubbing briefly at his nose before backing up another step, frowning down at the cat, because yeah - this happens sometimes when he's around kitties. It really is a shame, because cats are cool. Bela's cat had been cool, what he briefly saw of it, anyway. ]
I dunno, take it to a shelter? [ He geeeeently nudges the cat away from his leg, though cats do what they want and it just comes right back.
sneeze. ]
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Abandon it.
[ Castiel surmises with growing irritation because DEAN WINCHESTER HOW COULD YOU even suggest such a thing. ]
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[ Don't you get mad at him :( It's just slowly killing him, that's all.
He gropes behind him to the shitty dresser the cheap tv is sitting on, fumbling for the box of cheap motel tissue that's there so he can blow his nose, snuffling in irritation. ]
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But Dean is sneezing an awful lot, suddenly, and his welfare comes before an animal that Castiel has only just met, even if that animal is good-natured and very cute. His brow creases with concern. ]
Are you alright?
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Um. [ He wipes his nose and grabs another tissue. ]
I think I'm allergic to your new friend, here.
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[ If just being around the cat is going to have Dean reacting like this, then living with him is out of the question. It's a shame. They seemed like such a good fit. The cat is clearly enamored with Dean. It wasn't nearly so aggressive when it rubs itself against Castiel's legs. ]
Then, the only option left for us seems to be assisting the nearest shelter in finding this cat a good home.
[ Castiel was planning to just leave the cat with Dean and go back to his own business, but now that Dean can't keep the animal and its life is clearly at risk elsewhere, he'll need to see this through. ]
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Dean looks down at the it warily, because of course it's gravitated to him, making him feel nice and extra guilty. ]
Yeah. I can call around, see about safe shelters and stuff. [ God he's already congested. ]
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Thank you.
[ He crosses the room in a few steps, sits on the bed, and crosses his hands in his lap. Dean meant now, right? Castiel certainly seems to think so. He looks up at Dean expectantly to start making those calls. The cat's shark-like instincts go off again at the proximity of a lap in the area, and it pads silently across the room from Dean, hops up gracefully onto the bed, and pushes itself under Castiel's hands. He begins petting it instantly, scratching its cheeks absently while his attention remains on Dean. ]
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[ Apparently. Alrighty then.
Dean digs his phone out of his pocket, sneezes again in the process, and goes to sit at the little table by the window. He reaches for the phone book, keeping ample distance between himself and the cat.
He'll just...start making calls. :| Because he has nothing better to do, apparently. ]
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Dean sneezes a few times while he's on the phone, building an impressive little pile of tissues up next to the phone book as he listens to an automated recording, eyes landing on the feather in Cas' hand. He's never seen anything but the shadow of Cas' wings, but wow - he can see the sheen from here.
He's distracted enough that he misses the tech actually answering the phone, and he startles, clearing his throat and dragging himself back to the task at hand, explaining the issue for the tenth time, there's a cat here, where the hell can they take it. ]
Uh huh, [ he's saying, writing something down on the notepad, another damn phone number. ] And you said it's a what now? A foster program? So what's that mean?
[ Dean listens a while longer, makes another few notes, and drags his hand over his face as he muffles another sneeze. ]
Okay, thanks. I'll give them a ring.
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Castiel looks up as his attention is caught, though the cat seems happy enough to chew on the feather even when it isn't being bounced against its paws. ]
Have you found someone?
no subject
[ He tosses the phone on the table, looking pleased with himself despite his red, raw nose and the mountain of kleenex on the table. ]
It's a foster to adopt program. The animals get placed with a foster family, fed and taken care of until they find another family to adopt.
[ Snuffle. ]
Sometimes the foster family keeps them. And with as friendly as Unsinkable Sam here is-- [ he gestures, because he's obviously named the cat, because...yeah ] I don't think it'll be too difficult. Either way, he'll be in good hands.
no subject
That sounds wonderful.
[ He's so proud of Dean. Even if it doesn't work out, this solution is better than anything Castiel could have imagined. Taking the cat to Dean was the right thing to do, just as he'd hoped, even if the Winchesters can't keep the cat themselves and Castiel will be sad to lose its company. It's for the best. The feather vanishes from Castiel's hand and the cat's head swivels this way and that as it looks for where it's gone. It rolls onto its belly and Castiel uses the opportunity to scoop it back into his arms and stand up from the bed. ]
"Unsinkable Sam?"
[ That's undoubtedly another reference to human media with which he has yet to be acquainted, but Castiel's curiosity gets the better of him this time, and he has to ask. ]
monday B(
Dean wipes his nose and takes another tissue. It's really regrettable he's allergic - the image of Cas holding the cat is pretty damn cute. He briefly toys with the idea of a daily allergy pill, but pushes it away. Sam would murder him. ]
Yeah. Unsinkable Sam was a ships cat and survived the sinking of something like three ships in World War II.
:( sad times
That's an incredible feat of endurance.
[ Castiel lifts his face towards the cat. Unsinkable Sam, now. ]
Is Dean your third ship? It's past time to find you a home on dry land.
[ The cat blinks wide green eyes at him, then apparently deciding it isn't getting the attention it wants, hops deftly to the floor, prances over to Dean and begins arching against Dean's legs again in another attempt for pets.
Castiel smiles. He's spent much of his life admiring God's oceans and gardens and skies, and observing the many creatures crawling the Earth with the same sort of distant casual interest. He's since come to appreciate humanity on a more intimate level, but this cat has reminded him that it's not only humans that are worth his closer attention. Its honest affection and tenacity to survive are just as exceptional, in their way. ]
I take it we're driving there?
[ Castiel isn't eager to say goodbye to Sam the cat, but he is eager to find him a safe place to stay. Flying would be faster. However far away this foster is, they could be there instantaneously. ]
i hates it
it's almost over!!!! then it'll be tuesday, pig-in-a-poke
groundhog day x9000
but at least not on a monday
LMAO good point