Day 60: Cafeteria
Anise had been lying snug in bed, only vaguely aware that she was awake, when her rest was disturbed by the one sound in the world she'd never wanted to hear again.
"Good morning, everyone!"
The girl's eyes shot open and she immediately sat up straight. There was no doubt about it. That was the Head Doctor, that bastard, and he was back! Now that ( Read more... )
"Good morning, everyone!"
The girl's eyes shot open and she immediately sat up straight. There was no doubt about it. That was the Head Doctor, that bastard, and he was back! Now that ( Read more... )
Instinctively, Castiel pulled his journal closer to him. His goal had been to spread his information, which meant that he should extend that to Orihara as well. In fact, part of their deal had been that he would give Orihara any useful information that he came across in exchange for learning about lockpicking from him, which meant that now he had the perfect payment.
However, he couldn't help but recall the talk they'd had when he had thought he was Michael. It was hard to remember the exact details now, but he'd revealed that he was an angel during that discussion, and Orihara's reaction had been... strange, to say the least.
He could understand someone being excited by the idea of angels existing. Sam Winchester himself had been strangely thrilled by their first meeting. But Orihara's behavior had been above that level.
It wasn't something Castiel would identify as a threat, but it had also showed him a side of Orihara that he had been completely unaware of. Humans were very complex and layered, so perhaps he could explain it that way, but his first instinct was to keep a safe distance for the moment.
Orihara didn't give him much to work with in terms of his greeting, and so Castiel picked out his response carefully. "It seems it was only designed to last twenty-four hours." He could have apologized for the trouble, but as far as Castiel could tell, Orihara had enjoyed that conversation.
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Still, Castiel had (wittingly or not) provided a bit of information Izaya hadn't been sure of: namely, how long he'd believed himself to be Michael. If their last conversation had been within that twenty-four hour window, then... Perhaps it had something to do with the events of the night prior to it? That had been when the drug trials were announced, so maybe...
Izaya really had been fortunate, hadn't he? If it had been a drug trial result, he'd gotten to see it first-hand.
"I see... Then it was a complete recovery? You no longer have any doubts that you're Castiel rather than Michael?" he probed calmly as he cut into one of his waffles. He paused after separating the cut piece from the main body, looking directly at Castiel. "You have no doubts that you are an angel?"
That was the question he most wanted to hear answered-not so much to learn about Castiel's potential doubts, but to hear if he would try to deny any of the words that had come from his lips as Michael. With his mind restored, what would he think? What would he say; how would he act? The man in front of him may not have been human in anything but form, yet Izaya could not help but find his very existence fascinating.
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Nonetheless, Castiel was not a liar. He was not about to go back on what he said, even if he hadn't been himself when he'd said so. It hadn't been his intention to lose his mind for a day, but he was going to have to deal with the aftermath, even when it was something like this.
"No doubts at all," he said with a shake of his head as he lifted a piece of waffle to his mouth. He realized that he had been pushing his food around on his plate without entirely realizing why. It was something that humans did; he'd observed it himself, when he'd gone to those diners with the Winchesters. But why was he doing so? It served no purpose.
Castiel pursed his lips and set his fork down, chewing over the piece of waffle as he considered whether there was anything else to say. "The memories of that life were rather detailed, but now that I am back to my senses, it's not difficult to realize that they were a fabrication."
More than that, they seemed to be fading more with each passing hour, which Castiel had to admit he was grateful for. There had been too many, in too much detail, for him to even sort through. Though now he wondered if the way he'd been playing with his food was a remnant of memories he'd never actually experienced. That in itself was almost enough to ruin his appetite.
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"Detailed?" Izaya questioned, probing for more. "Familiar details, no doubt; details that sprung up from your own imagination..."
He trailed off, but then spoke again suddenly as if a thought had just occurred to him. "Ah! But do 'angels of the Lord' have imaginations? I'm afraid I'm not so well acquainted with them as I'd like." And well-acquainted he would like to be; for the matter regarding Celty's head he already learned a thing or two about dullahans over the years, but that dullahan and this angel were different kinds of beings. Their existences were different, straight down to the core-for one, Castiel possessed a head that was meant to be attached to his shoulders (probably). He'd read about angels in the past, too, but even if Izaya now recalled everything he could, how could that speculative information compare to that which came straight from the lips of the subject in question? Besides curiosity on the behavior and capabilities of angels, he might even be able to ask 'is there an afterlife?' and receive a definitive answer!
...Better, though, not to. He was already convinced by Castiel's existence alone, and what if the answer was 'no', or worse yet 'not for someone like you'? He wasn't about to change his ways, in this world or the next.
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He supposed they were accurate enough approximations for how they would have related to each other had they been human, but it was still a pointless thought process. It had been fake, and therefore deserved no further consideration.
"We can imagine things, yes," he said after a pause as he took a bite of food. It was inconvenient that Orihara had been the one to approach him first today. He wanted the chance to get his thoughts out on paper while the memories of the previous night were still fresh in his mind, but he felt too guarded around this human now to risk working on it while in his presence.
Angels could imagine, though most of them imagined battle plans or constructed ideas of what their Heaven would be like, if they were permitted to have their own personal one. Castiel had learned to imagine much more than that, such as a life where he was not bound by orders from an absent Father. He still had no idea where that path would take him, but he was not willing to stray from it yet.
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"I see; I see..." he said, smiling faintly. It was disappointing that he hadn't said more about the details, but he'd answered Izaya's question, at least, so he wouldn't complain. While the details may have been insightful as to what sorts of things an angel might imagine (or be deluded into thinking), the memories of a false life were far less important than the memories of the real one. Unfortunately, he would have to be far more careful about seeking information about those memories, lest Castiel shut him out entirely.
He started speaking again suddenly, "Speaking of acquaintance, angels would know all about the existence of beings other than humans, wouldn't they? I mean monsters and fairies and gods-those kinds of beings, not the so-called 'monsters' that roam this place at night."
The change in topic might seem sudden, he knew, but shifting the topic somewhat away from Castiel himself would be more useful. Perhaps Castiel had connections.
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Castiel had no obligation to answer him or to reveal any more about himself than he already had, and yet he realized that there was little point in being guarded about something like this. He wasn't as inclined to talk freely about his siblings and his own role as an angel, but Orihara wasn't asking about that.
Maybe the human knew better. That would be a first.
"Yes, I have a familiarity with them," he replied after a pause. "With some more than others, but I am well-versed in their origins and characteristics." In many cases he knew how to summon them and to kill them, as well. Still, if Orihara was truly interested in this sort of thing, he might be better off speaking with Sam and Dean. They had more experience hunting than Castiel did. On the other hand, he doubted that either of them would want to speak with Orihara, though both of them had already met him -- if a sudden encounter counted as a meeting, anyway.
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"Have you ever encountered a creature called a 'dullahan'?" he asked, his tone dripping with curiosity. It was perhaps too specific a question to pass as idle chitchat, but it was too soon after changing the topic to change it again just yet... And he wanted to know. It wouldn't do if Castiel thought he was asking what it was, though, so he added, "It's said to be an fairie, riding a black horse and carrying its own head."
Perhaps there was nothing to be gained by asking, but he also didn't think the question could be taken as anything but harmless. He could indulge in a bit more curiosity before moving on to other matters...
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While he had no idea what Orihara's motives were for asking about such a thing, there didn't seem to be any reason to withhold the information. "A headless horseman, yes. I can't say I've heard of one showing itself in recent times." There didn't seem to be any point in hiding his age, seeing how Orihara already knew what he was.
"They were more prevalent a few centuries back," he went on to explain. "Why do you ask?"
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He turned his gaze down to his waffles, cutting a neat, square piece off. Not wanting to miss anything Castiel might show him, however, he looked at the angel again before continuing, "I merely wondered whether angels have anything to do with those sorts of other creatures-if they exist at all-and what kind of relationship exists between you. Whether they would be considered allies or enemies, or whether you even associate closely enough to consider them either."
A thought struck him then: that woman, Ruby. Castiel had called her an enemy, but what sort of person did it take for an angel to consider them as such? Was it a personal grudge, or the resentment of heaven?
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As he watched Orihara eat, Castiel realized that he still needed to do the same. The tenseness of the conversation hadn't done much for his appetite, but he still forced himself to pick up a piece of waffle with his fork. It felt oddly revealing to be eating around a human -- especially one who was showing such interest in what he was -- but Castiel couldn't let that stop him. He took a bite.
The question was a reasonable one to have, based off of the information that Orihara possessed. Castiel's feelings on monsters were rather muted; usually they stayed out of his way, and so he did the same. They were abominations, but they usually weren't worth his notice. "Generally, angels don't bother with Earthly creatures. We have larger problems on our hands the majority of the time. It isn't our duty to deal with them unless we're told it's so."
That was the case for most angels. For Castiel, he only worried about it if Sam and Dean were involved. And right now, the Apocalypse trumped anything else. If a monster was somehow a part of that, then yes, he would deal with it.
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