Spread My Wings Part 1/2
Title: Spread My Wings, Watch Me Soar
Author: earth_heart
Rating: NC-17
Characters/Pairings: Dean/Castiel, Sam, Gabriel, others
Spoilers: None
Warning: AU, death, violence
Disclaimer: Supernatural does not belong to me. It belongs to Kripke and the CW/WB.
Summary: gift!fic for highermagic . Prompt was baby!Cas, collared!Cas, slave!Dean
Humanity decided that it would be a jolly good idea to use angels, demons, and Supernatural creatures as pets and slaves. For some reason, said creatures weren’t too pleased by this.
Or: in which Castiel is captured as a baby, Gabriel is his father, and Sam and Dean are a couple of skinwalkers who are decidedly unimpressed with this shit. At least until they get adopted by the same family who owns Castiel.
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Angels can appear between one blink and the next, and they can disappear just as quickly. They are much harder to catch then other Supernatural creatures because of this, which is why they cost so much. Any Hunter who can catch one is considered one of the best out there at his or her job.
Catch more then one, and you’re practically a god.
Samuel Campbell, age twenty, was about to become a god. Not only would he catch three angels, but one of them was only a baby; a fledgling. Adult angels are incredibly difficult to train, but if you could get a young one, you could raise the angel to be whatever you wanted them to be. They would practically be the perfect slaves! It had never been done before, so not only was Samuel about to become a god, he was about to make history.
Somehow, the angels didn’t quite see it the same way.
Gabriel touched down in the clearing, his honey-golden eyes wary. Once he was certain that no one was around, he sent out the mental All’s clear to his mate; telling him that everything was quiet and it was okay to come with their child.
Romiel appeared with a rustle of feathers, a squirming baby held in his arms. The fledgling looked around with wide, excited blue eyes. As soon as he saw Gabriel, he let out a happy gurgle and started struggling harder.
“Well, we know who he loves more.” Romiel chuckled, setting down the fledgling. As soon as his hands were off the immature angel, he shot in the opposite direction.
“Castiel!” Gabriel barked, causing his son to stop in his tracks. The fledgling looked over his shoulder guiltily; his tiny, dark wings drooping.
Castiel looked like a one-year-old human, even though he was barely a few days old. His wings were small, colored the same dark brown as his hair. At this age, they were little more then fluff and down, making him incapable of flight. Of course, he could still run fairly well, and quickly at that.
“Just stay close, baby.” the Archangel said, unable to say no to those large, sad eyes. With his permission given, Castiel took off like a shot, running through the flowers and petting them.
“He takes after you, all right.” Romiel hummed, coming up behind his mate and wrapping his large silver wings around the shorter angel. Gabriel leaned back against his Seraph mate, keeping his eyes on their child.
“He looks more like you.” Gabriel replied, pouting. “I wanted him to have wings like mine.” Gabriel’s wings were a mixture of tawny and gold, with the longest primary feathers looking as though they’d been dipped in chocolate.
“He’s just a baby, beloved.” the Seraph chastised gently. “Wait until the mature feathers grow in. Who knows what they’ll look like, then.”
“Castiel will be a sight to see, either way.” the Archangel announced. “Angels from all over the world will come to court him to be theirs.”
You see, there was no Heaven or Hell, really. No one knows how angels and demons were created, just like no one knows how any other Supernatural creature came to be. Like with every legend, there are books full of lore, but nothing that anyone can prove. Humanity only saw exotic creatures that the rich wanted as pets. Their demands led to the formation of the Hunters; specially trained humans who made a living out of catching these creatures.
Hunters would lay traps for Supernatural creatures to catch them, and then take them to training facilities. There, they would be fitted with collars to limit their power and trained rigorously. If a creature was deemed too dangerous or unmanageable, they were put down without mercy.
Romiel and Gabriel knew all about these places, and so they lived in secrecy. Their home was near the top of a snowy mountain, where they had found a series of hidden caves that they had inhabited. Here they had lived for decades, happy and in love with one another. It was this love and the strength of their mating bond that had made it possible for Castiel to form.
Their fledgling had been created by the two angels mixing their Grace and abilities into a whole new Grace, and then sheltering the tiny ball of light and power until it could form itself a body that it would grow and meld with for its entire life.
Castiel had finished incubating four days ago, and now his parents were showing their fledgling the beauty in the world. He loved nature and flowers, and had nearly given Gabriel a heart attack when he’d flown straight through a thunderstorm on his second day of life.
There were no thunderstorms now, though. The day was warm and beautiful, filled with the sounds of the forest and Castiel’s tiny, bell-like laugh. The sweet tinkling sound attracted many sorts of animals, who all came to see the new angel and welcome him into the world.
When the net fell over Castiel, he let out a wail that sent the animals running. The fledgling fought against the invisible restraints, carefully concealed with Enochian and carved with runes to Trap and Restrain.
Gabriel felt the shift at once and flew to his child, trying to rip apart invisible netting that burned him with every touch. Romiel attempted to cut the ropes, but they didn’t know exactly where they were and didn’t want to hurt Castiel.
Castiel babbled incomprehensibly at them, his tiny wings struggling where they were pinned to his back.
The next net fell over the adult angels, and Gabriel let out a scream with his true voice that leveled every tree within a mile of them and set off an avalanche higher on the mountain.
Runes flared and the nets materialized. Gabriel felt the next shift in the air and screamed again, his fury making the very air tremble. The air drew close, as if compressing in on them; Power flared, and with a loud snap the clearing was empty. The avalanche rolled over the flowers.
As soon as they appeared in the building, Gabriel roared. His true voice shattered the windows, but the walls stayed standing and the humans smirked at him. They hadn’t been affected.
One, a younger man, stepped forward and picked up Castiel, untangling him from his net. Gabriel and Romiel lunged forward, but their nets kept them held far enough back that they couldn’t attack the human who held their child.
Castiel whimpered, distressed by his parents’ rolling emotions. He tried to reach for them with his Grace, but the symbols on the netting that held them flared and he couldn’t get through to them.
“You know what we are.” the man holding Castiel said calmly.
“Humans.” Romiel snarled. His intense blue eyes were fixed on Castiel. Beside him, Gabriel was talking quickly to the fledgling in Enochian, telling their baby that it was okay; don’t struggle, your daddies will get you out of here soon.
“Very good. My name is Samuel Campbell. There are two ways this can go, now. Either you cooperate and we send you off to be collared and trained, or you fight this and I kill one of you. Like this little guy here.” He held up Castiel, whose tiny wings were fluffed up from fear.
“Don’t hurt him.” Gabriel said immediately. “He’s just a baby. Please, don’t hurt him. We’ll do the first. Just...” Gabriel’s voice shook even while his Grace burned with fury. If it was between slavery or watching his baby be killed, there was no contest. “We will cooperate. Give him back, please. He’s scared and he doesn’t understand.”
“You will come without a fight?” Samuel asked with suspicion. He’d tucked Castiel close to his chest, trying to soothe the fledgling’s trembling.
“We will.” Romiel promised. “You know angels cannot lie. We will come peacefully, and without any struggling.”
“What ranks are you?” the man asked suddenly.
“I am a Seraph, and my mate is an Archangel.”
“Which Archangel?” Now Samuel looked curious and excited. Archangels fetched a high, high price.
“Gabriel. They call me Gabriel. You are holding our son. His name is Castiel.” Gabriel said. His wings trembled with the force of his fury, but there was nothing he could do to this man. “Please, give him to us. You won’t be able to calm him like that, and if he takes his true form he will blind you all. I don’t know what you did to protect your hearing from my true voice, but nothing will save your eyes.”
The humans behind Samuel muttered nervously to themselves, but Samuel himself seemed unconcerned. He tucked Castiel closer to his body, letting the scared fledgling hide his face in the human’s neck. After a moment he released the angels from the nets that bound them and handed the child over.
Castiel buried into the comfort of Gabriel’s arms at once, his tiny fingers tangling in the Archangel’s wings. Romiel wrapped one wing around his family and turned his burning blue eyes to the humans.
“Take us, then.”
Castiel didn’t understand what was going on. He tried to ask his parents, but he was too young to be able to speak Enochian properly. The best he could do was let them feel his confusion and fear, which they were quick to soothe.
He couldn’t speak, but he could understand them.
“It’ll be okay, baby.” Gabriel hummed gently, stroking the fledgling’s dark hair. “We’ll get out of here soon, and then we’ll go back home.”
It wasn’t a lie, since angels couldn’t lie, but Gabriel didn’t know the future, either. He didn’t know that he and Romiel would be taken away from their fledgling as soon as they arrived at the training facility and were let out of the back of the large cage welded into the back of a semi. That seemed to be the best way of transporting angels and demons, since the bars of the cage had Enochian and Demonic symbols carved into the steel.
As soon as they arrived at the training facility, that’s exactly what happened. Samuel took Castiel before Gabriel or Romiel could react and left with the fledgling. Gabriel was so furious and desperate to reach his child that he attacked the handlers who had come to take him and his mate to be examined.
Romiel attacked just as savagely, fueled by his own rage and the rage that poured from his mate. Together they killed seven handlers before a well-placed sword took down the Seraph. The feeling of his mate’s Grace snuffing out forever sent Gabriel into horrified shock. His howls of anguish shook the whole building; several nearby houses fully collapsed.
A collar being locked around his throat was the only thing that silenced his Power-fueled screams. Once the runes on the collar flared into life, they locked down most of the Archangel’s abilities and cut out his true voice. As far as anyone could tell, it was just a man screaming until handlers sedated the angel and hauled him to his cell.
Down the hallway, Castiel felt Romiel’s Grace extinguish and had his own reaction. The child let out a heart-breaking wail and started to sob. Samuel had no idea what had happened until Gabriel’s screams sent him to his knees. Even with the specially-made wax in his ears, the angel’s true voice still sent him reeling. When it finally ended, he found himself with a massive headache and a screaming baby.
“What happened?!” he shouted into his radio, cradling Castiel in one arm and hurrying down the hall.
“Someone killed the Seraph, sir.” a shaky voice replied. “The Archangel went ballistic until we got the collar on him.”
“You morons!” Samuel yelled. “What did you think would happen if you killed one of them? I hope you realize that whoever killed him is out an entire year’s pay. Those were prime specimens! Archangel’s alone would cost the wealthiest of you to be out of pay for the rest of your lives!”
“It wasn’t meant to happen, sir! Someone got his sword away from him and stabbed him through the throat with it. It was an accident!”
Castiel was still screaming and crying, so Samuel shut off his radio and made his way back towards the examination room he’d been headed to originally. As soon as he walked in, he breathed a sigh of relief. His wife, Deanna, was on duty. Either that or she’d heard already that he’d bagged some angels.
“Got one for you.” he grunted, handing the fledgling over. Deanna took the baby as if he was handing her a precious jewel. “It’s the fledgling of the two I just brought in. Some dumbass killed the Seraph by accident.”
Deanna’s face twisted into a scowl. “Go deal with them. I’ve got this one.” she ordered, shooing him out. Samuel was glad to go, swinging around and heading out of the door almost as quickly as he’d come in.
Castiel felt the difference in the arms holding him and looked up. There was a woman holding him, her eyes tender as she ran a soft finger down his cheek. He sniffled in misery and babbled sadly at her.
“I know, sweetie. I know.” she said gently, sitting down in a chair and cradling him to her chest. “You know what happened, don’t you? One of your parents is gone. You can tell.”
Nodding, the fledgling started crying anew. She didn’t yell at him or scold him, simply held onto Castiel until his tears had finally run out. He felt much safer with her then he had with any of the humans; safe in a way only his daddies had made him feel. Thinking of them, he tried to reach out for Gabriel, only to find their link blocked. He could still feel his Archangel papa, but he couldn’t reach him.
That sent him into fresh hysterics and the woman began to rock him, singing softly. Her voice was warm and sweet, her own eyes full of sadness. She dried his tears and placed a kiss against his forehead.
“It’s not my choice, baby. If it was, I would just let you go right now. Don’t you worry, though. We’ll find you a wonderful home, where you’ll be loved and cared for.” she promised. “My name is Deanna, sweetheart. Can you tell me your name?”
Now, he may not have been able to say much, but he knew how to say his own name. “Castiel.” the fledgling told her somberly, his big blue eyes serious. She smiled and told him that he had a lovely name before setting him on a table. It was covered in warm blankets and Castiel snuggled into them at once.
Gentle fingers ran through the fluff and down that were his wings and Castiel made a noise of protest, trying to move away. She held him in place, though, and kept checking on them. Once she was satisfied, she moved onto the rest of him.
Castiel didn’t know what she was looking for, but she wasn’t mean or rough about anything she was doing, and she even gave him a fluffy sheep to cling to. Castiel liked that sheep a lot and hung on stubbornly. When she tried to take it from him, he started to cry.
“Okay, okay. You can keep Mr. Sheep. I just need to put your collar on, Castiel. Will you be a good boy for me while I do that?”
The fledgling cocked his head and observed her, then nodded. She left him alone in the room for a short time, and when she returned she was holding a strip of thin blue leather.
“This is your collar, Castiel. Isn’t it pretty?” Deanna cooed, holding it up so he could look at it. She turned it so he could see the inside, and Castiel made a curious noise as he touched the soft fleece that lined the part of the collar that would rest against his neck. He didn’t know the point of the collar, but she was being so nice, so it must be a good thing.
“That’s cria fibers, Castiel. It was taken from baby alpacas. Very soft, isn’t it?”
Castiel nodded before his attention was caught by the little silver bell that hung from the collar. He moved it with one finger, his eyes lighting up when it let out a sweet tinkling sound. The fledgling giggled, his own laugh just as high and sweet as the bell.
Deanna fit the collar around his neck and picked him up to look at him. “Look at you, baby. You’re so adorable!” She smiled and bounced him gently. Castiel let out another squealing giggle and wiggled in her arms. The woman hugged him then, and feeling bashful Castiel buried his face into the soft fur of his sheep. He closed his eyes, so he didn’t notice when runes flared over the collar. He didn’t even feel his abilities being locked away.
“We’re going to put you somewhere special, now. Just you watch. In a few days, you’ll have a brand new home.” Deanna told him. “They’ll take special care of you.”
That news gave Castiel paused, and he frowned. He wanted his daddies, even though he recognized that Romiel was dead. He began to struggle against her hold, trying to get free so he could go and find Gabriel.
“No, Castiel.” Deanna said gently. Castiel glared at her and let out an angry keen. “I said no!”
Her raised voice caused something to happen. His collar heated up suddenly, sending a spike of agony through the fledgling. Castiel shrieked in pain and went very still. Then he burst into tears again.
It took longer for Deanna to calm him this time, and when he finally stopped crying Castiel refused to even open his eyes, hugging his sheep tightly to himself and hiding his face in the soft wool. No matter what she said to him, he gave no type of response.
When he was put down, he kept his eyes tightly shut until he knew she was gone. When he opened them again, he found himself in a small room. There was a bed in one corner, piled with blankets, and that was pretty much it.
Castiel crawled onto the bed, made himself a nest, and buried himself in it with his sheep. He couldn’t feel his papa, his other daddy was dead, and the woman who had been so nice made him hurt somewhere inside. Feeling very miserable, the fledgling hugged his sheep tighter.
His sheep was all he had now.
Deanna hadn’t lied. Two days after the angels were caught, a man and his wife showed up. They introduced themselves as Jonathan and Cadence Novak and said they were looking for a slave. When asked what their interests were, they said they were expressly interested in an angel, though did they have anything young and sweet-tempered?
Paperwork was filled out, and then Deanna led them right to Castiel. The fledgling hadn’t moved much since he’d crawled into his nest, but at least he watched who came in and out of his enclosure.
As soon as the Novaks saw him, Cadence let out a very girlish squeal.
“He’s absolutely adorable!” she cried, pressing her face against the glass of the door so she could look in at him. “Look at those eyes. Aww, he’s got a little sheep! How did you manage to catch a baby?”
“My husband caught him with his parents, a Seraph and the Archangel Gabriel.”
Jonathan made a surprised noise. “He caught a fledgling, and an Archangel?”
Deanna nodded. “Unfortunately, there was an accident when they arrived and the Seraph was unfortunately killed. Gabriel has been unresponsive other then outright violence since then, so we’ve got him locked down tight. Castiel, however, is actually very sweet and gentle. He’s just a bit afraid right now.”
“May we interact?” Mr. Novak asked.
The door was opened and Deanna entered with the couple. Cadence went right up to Castiel, kneeling on the soft floor and cooing to the fledgling. He watched her with wide eyes for a few moments before giving a tiny smile. Every time he moved, his bell tinkled.
“You’re so cute; yes you are.” Mrs. Novak cooed. “Such a cutie! Would you like to come home with us? You can bring your sheepie, too.”
Castiel cocked his head to the side as if contemplating this, even though he had no choice in who adopted him. It was adorable to watch, though, as he lifted his sheep and looked at it. The sheep stared back at him with large brown eyes. After several precious moments, Castiel turned to Cadence Novak and nodded his head.
She giggled and scooped him right up, his bell chiming sweetly. Castiel tensed, as if fearing pain, but once nothing happened he relaxed and smiled shyly up at her.
“What’s your name, baby?” she asked. “You can talk, right? You can talk to Cadence.”
“Castiel.” he told her with all the seriousness that a child could possess. It was adorable.
Their hearts sold, Cadence and Jonathan Novak signed the legal custody and buyer papers for Castiel. He was registered in the Archives as Castiel Novak, and they had his right wing chipped in case he ever got separated from them. His purchase price was no small thing, but they parted with the money eagerly.
All in all, the entire legal process took less then two hours, and when the Novaks left Deanna watched them carry Castiel to the car. Handlers had offered a carrier to put the fledgling in, but Cadence had vehemently refused. That right there told Deanna that Castiel was going to a good home. It made something in her heart lighten.
Cadence Novak opened the door to her son’s room, smiling at the sight that greeted her. Jimmy was deeply asleep in his bed, his dark hair messy from rolling during the night.
Perched on the balls of his feet on the headboard was Castiel. The little angel looked almost exactly like their son, except for his wings. Those wouldn’t mature until he did, so right now they were still little more than fluff and down. They were still ridiculously adorable, and added overall to their angel pet’s charm.
“Did he have good dreams, Castiel?” she asked, opening the door further. She knew better than to think Castiel hadn’t heard her the second she’d gotten out of bed. He’d probably even heard the minute change in her breathing that meant she was waking up.
“He did.” the angel replied solemnly. “I’ve watched him all night.” Suddenly the fledgling looked nervous. “Was that wrong of me?”
Cadence rushed to assure the family pet that he was in the right. “No, Castiel, that was perfect. I always know that Jimmy will be safe when you’re watching him. You won’t ever let anything happen.”
“I won’t.” Castiel promised, hopping down from the headboard. He landed silently but for his bell tinkling, his wings twitching behind him. The fledgling looked down at Jimmy, and for the first time Cadence noticed that Castiel’s beloved sheep, Baa, was tucked under one of Jimmy’s arms. Her five-year-old son was hugging the stuffed animal tightly.
“Did you give that to him?” she asked. In the six years they had owned Castiel, he had never once parted with Baa. She and her husband hadn’t the heart to take it from him, either.
“I did.” Now their pet looked embarrassed, his down fluffing as he gripped the hem of his too-big shirt. He never seemed comfortable in things that were his size, so Jonathan had always bought Castiel adult-size shirts. The first time they’d caught Castiel in one of his Master’s shirts, it had been too adorable to get angry over. Jonathan had simply asked Castiel to return his shirt, and when he came home from work that day he had a shopping bag full of new shirts for their pet.
“That was very kind of you, Castiel.” Cadence praised, petting his head. The fledgling hummed happily and leaned into the petting. “We should wake him up now, though. He has school soon.”
Castiel pouted, his large eyes filling with sadness. “Does he have to go? I’ll miss him.” the angel whispered sadly.
“He’ll be back.” his Master promised, her gentle eyes promising him of this.
“Cas.”
Castiel jolted, the memory broken. For a minute, the angel panicked and looked around. Had he forgotten something? Had his Master been calling his name?
When he turned around, Jimmy Novak was grinning at him. The man ruffled his hair gently and Castiel leaned into the attention. He always loved it when his Master was pleased.
“Lost in memories again, Cas?” Jimmy teased.
“I was remembering your first day of Kindergarten.” Castiel admitted, grinning sheepishly. “Master Cadence had been so surprised when she saw that I had given you Baa.”
Jimmy laughed. It had been nearly thirty years since that day, and now James Novak was a grown man. His parents had transferred Castiel’s ownership to him on his twentieth birthday, so now Jimmy was Castiel’s Master and friend.
“You loved that sheep.” he said with a grin. “Enough reminiscing, though. I’ve got to get to work. You need to put on your suit. Do you need help?”
Castiel’s wings drooped slightly. The feathers had grown in when he was sixteen; the same dark brown as his hair, though the primary feathers were silver. He hated suits, even though Jimmy bought him one that was at least three sizes too big. It was a specially-made suit so that the angel’s wings would still be free to move, but it was too many layers for Castiel.
If not for the wings, and the dark blue collar around his throat, everyone would think that Jimmy and Castiel were twins. They looked nearly the same, though Castiel’s eyes were larger, his facial structure slightly sharper. He was shorter then his Master as well, but they had the same build, the same blue eyes, and the same messy hair. Jimmy just usually spiked his.
“I will require assistance.” the angel murmured, biting his lip.
“I know you hate the suit, Cas, but once we’re home you can go back to your normal stuff. Amelia even bought you some nice new pajama pants. Claire helped her pick them out, though, so I think they’ve got little angels on them.”
The mental image he got with that statement made Castiel smile widely. Amelia was Jimmy’s wife, and Claire was their twelve-year-old daughter. Many nights Amelia would come in to check on Claire, only to find Castiel perched on her headboard.
One thing people had found out about angels was that most of their weight came from their wings. Their bones, both human and in the wings, were completely hollow. Despite that, angels were practically indestructible. They healed almost instantly, and it was very hard for a human to injure them unless they demanded they let the angel do so.
“Very well then, Master.”
Jimmy was quick to get into his suit, and then he helped Castiel into his. He put on the dark slacks first and belted them before Jimmy helped him into the shirt. It was a white Oxford button-down, but it needed to be fastened around his wings. After that came the jacket, and then finally the trench coat Castiel was so fond of.
“Have a good day at work, you two!” Amelia said, sticking her head into the bedroom and smiling at them. “Don’t get into too much trouble.”
She accepted Jimmy’s kiss and gave Castiel’s head a pet before the two left for Jimmy’s work. On the way, Castiel kept his head lowered and his wings folded tightly against his back.
He wasn’t stupid enough to think that every family was like the Novaks. He had been truly blessed when Masters Cadence and Jonathan had adopted him. Sometimes Castiel would see a Supernatural creature out in public. In Pontiac, Illinois, it wasn’t common, but there were others out there. Usually, they looked happy and healthy, but there were some whose bitterness was clear to all, and others who bore the marks of the Master’s beatings.
Yes, Castiel had been very lucky.
“Hey, Jim!” someone called when they arrived at the office where Jimmy worked. Castiel heard Jimmy’s hello before his Master laid a hand on his shoulder. Castiel looked up curiously.