Day 56: Bus 2

[razing_phoenix]

It was hard for Guy to believe that a farfetched idea of his might actually work out in the end, seeing how rare that was in this place. Still, he had found the leather and had been allowed to buy it, which meant that the toughest part at this point would be finding tools to work with and also blocking out enough time to work on making the sheath.

Comments

[quarter_english]

L felt a flicker of annoyance. He was reminded of Edgar's behavior at lunch: neglecting to elaborate in a way that was close to deflecting the question, then changing the topic, so that the focus shifted to L's productivity. Because most people liked to talk about themselves, if given the opportunity, it was the kind of tactic that would have a good chance of success under most circumstances. However, L was an exception to that particular rule. His response would be almost the same now as it had been a few hours earlier: noncommittal.

From a more objective point of view, though, he couldn't fault this particular acquaintance for not being forthcoming. Even if the man hadn't indicated that he'd needed his conversation with his friend to be as private as possible, he might also be someone who was secretive by nature, something L could understand. That didn't mean that it would be impossible to get him talking; it meant that tactics that were less direct, more subtle, might be required. In their previous meeting, he'd readily admitted a dietary preference, which suggested that he wasn't a closed book in the absolute sense.

"Slightly more so than a day at the Institute, but not by much. Did you find it useful, Mr...? If I had seen you earlier, I would have given you my burger coupon."

This was not entirely true. He would have insisted on keeping the dessert.

[poorexample]

It seemed that they hadn't had the chance to exchange names during their last conversation. Castiel's name hadn't once been treated as familiar by anyone he'd met here, even if he'd taken care to not share it freely over the bulletin when possible. Still, there was no reason to keep it to himself. "Castiel," he replied, not much for the title, though it was possible the other man would drop the "mister" now that he had a name.

The offer of the coupon, hypothetical as it was, took him by surprise. He hadn't often been awarded such generosity from someone who he barely knew, and it was difficult to know how to respond. He glanced away for a moment before meeting the man's gaze once more.

"I would have appreciated that," he admitted, seeing no reason to hide such a thing. "Perhaps next time." He didn't want to believe that he would still be in this place a week from now, but he was also realistic by nature. He didn't have enough leads to assume he would escape so soon.

"It was not as useful as I'd hoped," he continued, hoping to get information in this way. "I went to the sheriff's office and attempted to speak with the officers there, but they either knew nothing or were not willing to share their information with me. I also did not find something to use my spendings on." If Dean had heard such a thing -- the Dean of his time, that is -- he would have no doubt made some comment about how he didn't know how to have a good time. And perhaps he didn't. He should have given his card to Gabriel, but it was too late for that now.

[quarter_english]

"That's an interesting name." L kept his tone neutral, as if this were a throwaway line. "Where are you from?"

L's first guess would have been that it was French, but he'd never heard of the name in use in France; prior to the early 1990s, any unusual name would have required bureaucratic approval that was difficult to get. There was also a possibility that 'Castiel' was ultimately of Hebrew origin, like a number of other names with the same suffix... but those were common in many parts of the world. It didn't tell him much, except to suggest eccentricity on the part of Castiel's parents, or, if it was something he had chosen for himself, on Castiel's own.

"Yes, maybe next time. What precisely did you say in the Sheriff's Office?" Given Castiel's general behavior, L suspected that there probably hadn't been too much finesse to his question. Even if it hadn't been blunt, though, it still seemed unlikely that anyone in Doyleton would have told him much.

[poorexample]

This was the first time that someone had asked about his name in such a direct way. If anything, people remained silent or simply gave off the impression that they found it odd, and that had been acceptable to him. At this point, though, it was difficult to know what to say. This man did not seem the sort to believe something vague, and yet Castiel had no other options.

"Far away," he said after a pause, realizing that it would only make the man more suspicious. However, even then the man wouldn't know what to suspect, so that was the best that he could hope for.

While he wasn't much more interested in speaking about his failure at questioning, he would rather discuss that than the origin of his name, and so Castiel quickly proceeded. "I first asked about this place's location, but all the man was willing to reveal was that we're in the United States.

"After that, I tried to determine how much he understands of what is being done to us in the institute, but he hardly seemed interested."

As for his questioning about omens and the Apocalypse, that was something he could keep to himself.