a city of devils we live

[marsfireignite]

Characters: Hino Rei [marsfireignite] and YOU!
When: Sunday, September 11th to Saturday, September 17th.
Where: The Temple of Heaven, mostly. But anywhere!
Rating: PG at the most.
Summary: Rei is affected by the Animus' latest stunt -- which means she no longer remembers her home world.

Comments

[wingsandwill]

Castiel was lost.

It had taken awhile to figure out just how lost he was, as he... Really never got turned around, ever, that he could remember. But when he ended up in some part of the city he'd never been in before, he realized that must have been what happened.

Thankfully, his PCD's map and coordinates system were enough to get him pointed back on the right track, even if the fact that he'd gotten so hopelessly out of place was unsettling, and he was on his way back to the Temple when he heard a tiny noise.

He was immediately curious, the faint squeaking not something he would've expected to hear, and not something he could match back to anything else he remembered dealing with. It came again, and he followed it, crouching down next to a pile of rubble that had formed a little pocket. Whatever was making the noise was in there, and pulling some of the debris away, it was revealed to be... A kitten. A tiny, tiny grey kitten; he'd never seen a cat that small, and even without his angelic abilities he could tell it wasn't well.

The kitten fit easily in his hand and he carefully picked it up, the little thing offering another tiny squeak at him as he lifted it. It was cold, even to Castiel, who found almost all people or creatures warmer than him when he touched them. He wasn't sure why but every protective instinct he had, both angel and more human, was suddenly active and directed at, of all things, a kitten. He wrapped the animal in the ends of his shirt-jacket, cradling the fluffy ball of grey fur close to his chest. It mewed again, quieter but maybe more contentedly, before going silent again; he had to check to make sure it was still breathing, which it was, but he still had that feeling that it was very sick.

Pulling his PCD out again he checked the coordinates; he wasn't too far from the Temple, maybe what would normally be forty minutes more of walking. He made it in far less time, racing up the Temple steps into the building to find Rei. She'd know what to do.

[marsfireignite]

Rei was outside, on the steps of the Temple, eyeing the slowly appearing stars with interest. She was leaning back, resting her elbows on a higher step, relaxing for once -- or, really, waiting for Castiel to turn up. He was late and while Rei wasn't strictly concerned, she still wasn't content to go inside and go about getting ready to sleep until he was inside and out of harm's way. The idiot was a magnet for trouble. It was difficult to forget that.

The moons were beautiful tonight. Hm.

As the chill began to set in, Rei frowned to herself before sighing, pushing herself up to move to wait for the angel inside. She had just closed the doors when, a minute or so later, they blew open again to reveal Castiel. The girl looked somewhat startled before her expression set into a scowl.

"Where have you -- "

But how harried he looked made her pause with a frown, and she reached out a hand to signal that he take a moment to catch his breath.

"What's wrong?"

[wingsandwill]

He ignored her signal entirely, answering her question immediately by carefully unwrapping part of his jacket enough to reveal the kitten. "What do we do?" If he were still an angel, he could have healed it with barely a thought. What the significance of his species was was lost on him due to the event, but he remembered his abilities while here before what happened in July, even if what had prompted what occurred that night was now so unclear and hazy.

[marsfireignite]

She opened her mouth to berate him for ignoring her, until he offered the kitten. She blinked, startled, before she frowned, stepping closer to gently pet the tiny thing with a finger. It only took a moment or two before Rei gently slid her hand underneath the kitten to hold it herself, to bring it to eye-level. She contemplated asking where, exactly, he found the thing, but Castiel looked panicked and the kitten was freezing.

"We calm down," Rei said, her fingers gently massaging the kitten, her brow furrowing into a deeper frown, "and we keep it warm. It looks thin, too -- "

And Rei turned on her heel, still holding the kitten close to her, to move to the kitchen.

"Was it by itself?"

[wingsandwill]

He let her take the kitten, watching carefully; he's not certain why he feels such an attachment to the creature already, but he does. "Yes." He answered her question, following after her, intending to help however he can. He's figured out how to take care of mortal injuries, but not animals, and the kitten seemed sick rather than hurt. He had no idea what to do; it was so little.

[marsfireignite]

"It was probably abandoned," Rei murmured, turning towards Castiel to put the kitten back in his hands. "Keep massaging it. It keeps the blood moving and it'll help it get a little warmer. I'm going to find formula and a hot water bottle and then we'll set up a bed for it. And be gentle," Rei added as she disappeared into the pantry, to find the matches and the hot water bottle, before coming back out to set the kettle on to heat up water. It wasn't perfect, but it would help keep the poor thing warm.

[wingsandwill]

Castiel took the kitten back, sitting up on a countertop and holding the kitten close to his chest again, doing as Rei had instructed. It mewed at him again, for the first time since he'd initially picked it up, and he took that as a good sign.

"Will it recover?" He asked, as if she would know and could just tell him, carefully rubbing the kitten's grey fur.

[marsfireignite]

She paused in what she was doing -- which was lining a basket with thick and heavy cloths and rags -- before she turned to take the kettle off of the stove, filing the water bottle with a careful precision.

"I don't know yet," Rei said finally, wrapping the hot water bottle with a heavy towel, in order to keep it from being completely scalding. "They need their moms for awhile after they're born and that one doesn't even have its eyes open... it was probably born a couple days ago."

She paused before reaching out to lift the kitten up slightly, sliding the warm bottle into Castiel's arms, so the kitten could rest on top of it comfortably.

"There."

[wingsandwill]

It was only a few days old? How long had it been all alone? Why was it left behind?

He let Rei adjust the kitten and the water bottle in his arms, shifting his grip to hold the kitten and the bottle steady and close to him, enjoying the warmth himself as well. "This will help it's temperature, but what about feeding it?"

[marsfireignite]

"I'll worry about that. You make sure it's warm and breathing."

She ducked back into the pantry, to try to find the formula she had leftover from when Youma was a kitten. The bottle would be a problem, but she was sure she had an eyedropper around somewhere.

[wingsandwill]

"It is." He affirmed, still gently petting the kitten which mewed again plaintively. Why did it hurt him that the animal seemed so sick and helpless? It was strange. He rarely felt empathy for humans or angels or other such creatures, let alone for animals.

[marsfireignite]

"Good," Rei said distractedly, pulling down a tin to open it, a soft 'ha!' escaping as she found what she was looking for, "keep doing whatever you're doing."

She moved out of the pantry to the oven, pouring more of the hot water into a bowl, tipping some white powder into it, careful not to use too much. Some more rooting around in a drawer provided a wooden spoon, which Rei used to quickly mix together the formula, her free hand rifling around for an eyedropper. A quick rinse and a shaking out later, she filled it with formula, waving it back and forth quickly to cool the formula to tepid rather than scalding hot, dropping some on her wrist to see whether or not it was too hot. Satisfied, Rei turned to Castiel and the kitten, extending her hand.

"Let me see if we can get it to eat something."

That would be the true test of whether or not the animal would survive, after all.

[wingsandwill]

Castiel did as he was told, though he was watching Rei's actions carefully at the same time so he could replicate them in the future if necessary. The kitten mewed and wiggled around a little bit under his hand suddenly, and he looked down at it, pleased; it hadn't tried to move before. Surely that meant it was already feeling better.

"It moved." He said, looking up at Rei as she approached with the eyedropper; when she held out her hand he carefully picked up the kitten and set it in her palm gently. He was sure Rei could get it to eat. She was good at forcing him to, after all, and surely the kitten was less stubborn.

[marsfireignite]

"Good," Rei said appreciatively, taking the kitten gently in her hand. It took some shifting, but Rei managed to gently hold the kitten upright and ease the eyedropper into the kitten's mouth, squeezing gently to help it swallow the formula. She was quiet for a few seconds, quiet in concentration, before she smiles faintly.

"There we go -- see?"

She leaned against the counter, elbow on his leg, to let Castiel see the kitten eating.

"All she needed was food and someone to pet her."

[wingsandwill]

It was eating. If it was sick, it wouldn't be, as far as he knew; he remembered that, about animals, and it even applied to humans often times. Sick or dying beings rarely ate on their own.

But the kitten was taking the formula, if only a little bit, and he watched it do so carefully. At Rei's words, he felt a bit more reassured. "You believe she might survive?" He didn't know why but he felt like she had to. Did he always bond with others this fast? He only remembered having two close friends, Rei and Raven, and both he'd become attached to very quickly. Maybe that was just what was happening here.

[marsfireignite]

She was reluctant to tell Castiel yes, because he would believe her without hesitation, and if the kitten died, he would be twice as heartbroken. Instead, Rei shrugged a shoulder, letting the kitten eat as much as she wanted to eat without forcing it.

"The odds are a lot better now than they were an hour ago when you found her outside," Rei said, figuring that was an easy way of dodging the question while still allowing him the chance to hope. "She looks a lot more lively," she added, removing the eyedropper when it was finished, using her sleeve to clean away whatever formula the kitten hadn't been able to eat. "I'd say if she survives the night, she has a pretty good shot."

She turned to hand the kitten back to Castiel, carefully placing her back on the hot water bottle.

"I'd keep petting her. It'll make her feel better."