Day 60: Patient Library (Third Shift)

[poorexample]

After handling two conversations that had been difficult for completely different reasons, Castiel had to admit that he felt weary. It was not a sensation that was new to him; between Izaya showing far too much interest in his kind and Ruby simply being who she was, some peace and quiet was what he craved

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[spandexorgtfo]

A "free range shift". It sounded so pleasant, but really, it was nothing more than what happened at a later point in the day, except now with brown bag lunches

[poorexample]

Castiel was still only halfway through his account when someone walked up to him. He glanced up at the sound of footsteps echoing through the mainly empty room, though he could also hear voices from near the entrance. It was still quiet enough for him to work without much distraction, particularly because the one who had come to join him was Kratos

[spandexorgtfo]

He was in the middle of reading the first few lines (--What was this forest savage, rough, and stern, Which in the very thought renews the fear...) when Castiel made some comment about the whole thing being a work of fiction. Kratos looked up just in time to see the other look back down and continue writing, daily dose of literary enlightenment delivered

[poorexample]

The response was clipped, but that was what Castiel had expected. He left Kratos to absorb Dante's words while he wrote down his own. His were not meant to be anything but straightforward, however. There was no art in them. Angels weren't meant to be creative in the first place; they were simply supposed to carry out tasks. While he had moved past that in many ways, he wasn't at the point where he was making poetry out of the things he'd witnessed.

A few more minutes passed in silence while he finished off the report. Once it was done, he set his pen down and read it through, searching for any spots that might be unclear or inaccurate. There were none.

"When you're done, I have something to share with you," he said, nodding down to the note. "My hope is to pass this information on to as many people as I can. I saw something of importance last night." With any luck, Kratos would be able to copy the words down rather than taking the whole note with him. Castiel would rather hold onto the original for the ease of being able to pass

[spandexorgtfo]

So far, this Inferno was proving to be nothing more than an unfortunate walk through someone's menagerie, although he had only made it through the first few lines, and it was difficult to imagine that an entire epic poem would be devoted to that sort of topic while still aspiring to such a lofty title. There was probably something symbolic about this opening scene, but unfortunately, he had never been very good at analyzing literature or anything that wasn't a military report of some kind. Call it a preference for reality

[poorexample]

As Kratos repeated two of the words from the note, Castiel frowned even as he nodded in response. That didn't offer them much detail, and it could be such a large variety of things that it was difficult to even know where to start guessing. More than that, everyone would likely have a different idea of what it might be. His first thought had been Michael and Lucifer laying waste to the land, but Kratos wasn't likely to think of that

[spandexorgtfo]

"I doubt it," Kratos said without looking up as he continued to write. "The man I spoke to said that he met Harrington and his friend on the patio outside as they were making their escape." He did wonder who those two others were, but it hardly mattered now that he'd been informed.

He finished the note off and handed the pen back with a quiet "Thank you" before carefully ripping the appropriate piece off of the bag and folding it away in his pants pocket. "It's the least I can do, since the responsibility of its dissemination is now partly mine to bear." And it was an easy task to do, passing a note around.

Kratos looked askance at Inferno and realized that he would not be getting much farther on it today. There were too many other questions that he wanted to ask, and a lunch to eat now that he had mangled its container--and he would rather not get crumbs all throughout the pages. He picked up the sandwich with a sigh and began to unwrap it

[poorexample]

While Castiel wasn't aware of the exact location of the patio, it hardly seemed relevant. It was clear that the two rebels had run into more patients on their way out, which meant that there was another piece to the puzzle. It was very possible that they had given them the same information, and yet Castiel realized that it might be worth looking into further if he found the opportunity. "What is the name of the man you spoke to?" He felt that he deserved to know that much after sharing his information with Kratos

[spandexorgtfo]

"Daemon." The man hadn't seemed reluctant at all to give out his name, and so Kratos had no qualms about saying it baldly. After all, it would probably be beneficial for the two to meet and compile their respective accounts, for the sake of continuity.

He listened carefully as Castiel gave his brief summary of the rest of his night. Unfortunately, it was about as sparse and disappointing as his own had been, but it didn't sound as if he'd been so thoroughly distracted by hordes of monsters appearing with nearly every step he took.

..."Hordes" was probably a gross exaggeration, but after having to battle his way down a mere hallway, it had certainly felt accurate.

"The barrier's perimeter was that large? Surprising." It must have taken a ridiculous amount of power, too, although perhaps this world had more efficient generators than his. "I would have assumed that Aguilar would have sought to confine us to as manageable an area as possible."

[poorexample]

Daemon. It was far too similar to "demon" for his tastes, and Castiel almost flinched in response. It wouldn't have affected him so much if he hadn't just had a very unpleasant conversation with Ruby. It made him wary to track this Daemon down, but he realized that some humans named their children foolish things without realizing the meaning behind it. Either way, he nodded in thanks

[spandexorgtfo]

No good answer: the universal response to almost any question regarding the mechanics of this place. To be honest, it was frustrating to always conclude that he was only speculating, or that there was the possibility of something. Kratos preferred his facts to be as they were: facts, unassailable and concrete. But, it was no fault of Castiel's that he lacked a definite answer; it was just the nature of this place to restrict information.

"Perhaps the strangest was the inordinate amount of monsters I encountered that seemed more intent than usual on disemboweling me," he replied dryly, his expression betraying just a hint of his frustration. "I didn't see as many others being similarly assailed, so I assumed it was because of the return of my usual level of power."

He shrugged. "They were annoying, so I survived the night unscathed, but persistent enough to frustrate my progress."

[poorexample]

Despite the fact that Castiel had spent at least some amount of times in the halls, he hadn't been attacked himself. Kratos' theory was that the creatures had been drawn to his power, but if that was the case then Castiel should have been swarmed. He didn't know what manner of strength Kratos had, but he could easily conclude that it didn't compare to his own.

In fact, maybe his Grace had actually managed to repel the creatures. In that case, at least he had managed to keep the two females patients with him safe by his very presence.

That was all assumption, though, and more than that, it was a moot point now that the night had ended and they had been reduced to their previous states. Either way, it seemed clear that Kratos hadn't encountered much of interest.

"I'm glad I was able to provide something of use, then," he said as he pulled the journal back and shut it.

[spandexorgtfo]

To be honest, he was unsure as to how the monsters had managed to track him down specifically, but it was possible, always possible that the mana had been simply leaking out and coloring that sixth sense through which that sort of thing could be noted. He had far more power than any human should or could ever rightly have; in the twin worlds, it would not have been as noticeable since his surroundings would have swallowed the excess up, even in the declining world. Here, though, it might have been pooling invisibly at his feet for all he knew, rolling off of him in waves as he walked down the halls, and yet he would not have cared because he had powerKratos tore his thoughts away from something that was no longer there. "Indeed," he said mildly. "It would have been unfortunate to have remained in the dark." Almost like salt in an open wound