To Work For Zachariah (1/3)
Title: To Work For Zachariah
Series: Notes Tied to Balloons
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Castiel and Zachariah
Genre: Family
Summary: As a fledgling, Castiel had a very big, very interesting family. Each story will stand on its own and will consist of three chapters. Seventh story's up: Most would think that errands are simple to do, but to one angel that is a grave misunderstanding.
Click here for the other siblings: Balthazar, Joshua, Anna(el), Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael
AN: You guys have no idea just how much I've missed this story (even though I'm writing Zachariah).
A thousand apologies for the delay! College has been murdering me every week.
Golden soldiers born much older than they'll ever live to be.
Diving into a sea of hands in a long forgotten city.
Here the rain falls ever after, the strangled vines hang dead in rafters.
The blood rushed to your head induces a laughter, endlessly.
.
Original Fire - Audioslave
At that moment, Castiel believed he had never flown faster.
He would say that he was reveling in the feeling of pure exhilaration, if only his well-being was not at stake. It was getting harder to suppress his fear, which seemed to increase with every frantic wing-beat, but he kept trying to squash it down because the last thing he needed was his thinking being clouded by emotions.
Hundreds of trees whizzed by in the darkness as he madly hurtled through the claw-like boughs in an attempt to shake off his pursuers. Unfortunately, they were unrelenting and just as keen on getting what they want, which so happened to be him.
"Thief! Thief!" the two harpies screeched after him.
Castiel hated to be called that, hated it with all his being. He knew stealing was wrong but he was simply following orders, and disobedience was a far worse crime than theft. He kept telling himself that as he forced his wings to move more quickly and his grip on his burden to tighten.
The land stretched on and the harpies began ruthlessly attacking him, attacks which Castiel could barely defend himself against because he was too focused on flying, on getting out of the area full of spells and wards that prevented him from traveling to Heaven instantly and putting an end to this horror. And also because he did not have the strength to fight back, not right now.
If he were in his peak condition, there would be no problem in battling two harpies. However, the day had terribly worn him down; he had to go up against other dreadful creatures to obtain the ingredients he required. None of the tasks were easy, and Castiel found it a miracle that he still had the energy to stay ahead of the harpies.
In the distance, he could see the trees clearing up, and the rocks and crevices of a mountain wall steadily gaining more detail. He just had to make it to the other side of the mountain and he could finally transport to Heaven.
Suddenly, one of the harpies managed to tackle him and sent them both plummeting off a cliff, down into a huge, gaping chasm. Throughout their descent, she shrieked and raked at his form to snatch the object he had stolen from them.
"Thief! Give it back!" she yelled.
Castiel refused to look at her entirely. There was something about harpies that disturbed a small part inside him, perhaps it was that they appeared to be the perverted manifestation of angels: their wings ugly and stinking of decay, their bodies hardly any different from those they had mutilated, their beings rich in savage emotions and the mere thought of survival.
He shielded his load as much as he was able to while her talons slashed at him. Castiel was doing fine in not crying out in pain, until it came to the point where she struck awfully close to where his Grace was and he nearly dropped his cargo in the process. If this went on, he or his load or both will be reduced to shreds.
In an act of desperation, Castiel let go of his load, allowing it to enter into free-fall. The harpy attached to him watched in a mixture of disbelief and rage as his bundle escaped him. Her distraction granted Castiel the opportunity to unleash a small portion of his Grace, enough to simply stun and momentarily blind the harpy.
She howled in pain and her claws automatically released him; she descended in an inelegant spiral and landed on a ledge. Once Castiel was sure that she will not be bothering him for a while, he swiftly chased after his cargo, which was already several meters from him.
The whole attempt was a risky maneuver; there was a chance that he would lose his precious load to the abyss if he had been a second too late, and the reason he let it drop in the first place was to avoid the light of his Grace searing it, not to mention prevent the harpy from damaging it in her fury. Thankfully, he no longer had to worry about that as his hands wrapped around the wool blanket that securely covered his stolen object.
The other side of the mountain was just a few miles beyond him, and in Castiel's eagerness, he had forgotten about the remaining harpy until he was rammed against the rocky wall.
"Thief! Wretched thief!" she screamed.
Castiel struggled futilely against her hold, already feeling much more weakened after he had drained himself from revealing his Grace. He could not risk doing that again, or anything else that bordered along that degree.
"Give it back! Thief!" the harpy continued shrieking.
With his options running out, Castiel drew his blade and, with a whispered apology, stabbed the harpy's chest, just below where her heart should be, or at least he hoped that that was the correct spot. The wound ought to inconvenience her but not kill. Castiel turned away from the pained, mortified expression that would most likely be on the harpy's face as he felt her talons unclench from him and heard her fading screeches.
He wished he could have a moment to recover, albeit he knew that he cannot afford to waste time on something as silly as tending to possible trauma. Castiel trained his eyes above and headed for Zachariah's office.
O_x
"Welcome back." said Zachariah, although there was a hint in his voice that gave Castiel the idea that he was not pleased. "I trust that you've accomplished your task, given that you are eight seconds late," he cuttingly went on.
Castiel held his ground, which was a difficult accomplishment given that he was utterly exhausted and unnerved at the way his superior was analyzing him. "Yes, sir." he responded.
He glanced up and saw that Zachariah still had a somewhat bitter aura.
"My apologies for being late." Castiel added timidly.
That got a more positive effect out of Zachariah as his expression slackened. He took the object Castiel held in his hands - the object that Castiel had nearly died for multiple times - and unwrapped the protective blanket to reveal a lengthy, beautifully designed holy branch.
Zachariah began to inspect the branch, and Castiel was certain that he was checking for any mistakes and inaccuracies rather than admiring or appreciating the extremely hard work he had put into it. After all, the sole purpose of the branch was simply to be new the centerpiece in Zachariah's office because he was getting bored with the old one: a miniature sculpture of the seventh star in creation made out of amber-polished pterodactyl bones.
"Did this come from the twenty-seventh birch tree in the patch?" asked Zachariah.
"Yes, sir." Castiel replied.
"Was it cut at precisely nine and a half feet?"
"Yes, sir."
"Under the angle of the autumn moon on its third hour?"
"Yes, sir."
"Smoothened by the front teeth of a chimera?"
"Yes, sir."
"Heated by newborn salamanders?"
"Yes, sir."
"Tip dipped in raven's blood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Sprinkled with liquid diamond and crushed manticore bones?"
"Yes, sir."
With every affirmation he gave, Castiel could virtually feel himself returning to all the trouble he had been through. Fighting monsters to acquire their teeth and bones, going to the farthest and most hostile edges of the Earth to find the proper materials, meticulously ensuring that every measurement was exact…
"There's a scratch on it." Zachariah remarked.
If Castiel was in possession of a heart, it would have skipped a beat.
"There's only one place where a thing like this belongs to, and that's the trash." said Zachariah with as much resolution as their Father when He decided to Create.
If Castiel focused enough, he could hear the low snarls of his superior's lion face in the background before Zachariah incinerated the holy branch right in front of him, like it was nothing more than a common candle to burn and waste away.
Somehow, Castiel maintained an expressionless façade even though his Grace withered a tad.
Before he was even aware of it, Zachariah was deliberately circling him like a predator assessing its trapped prey. "Have you encountered… difficulties along the way?" he asked, and Castiel wished to believe that he was actually concerned about his welfare.
"Well - "
"Don't answer that. If there were problems - ones that are significant enough to concern me - then you wouldn't even be standing upright now, would you? Or you wouldn't have even shown up to my office in the first place." stated Zachariah derisively.
All Castiel could do was bow his head, in humility, in fear, in embarrassment, in anguish, he was not sure. The only thing he was certain of was that he wanted nothing more than to leave the office, and perhaps find rest and solace in his garrison. But he had to persevere, he needed to. This was a requirement for all fledglings, to work under someone who was older and several ranks higher than them to gain experience. Some called it special tutorials, while others called it training for absolute service. The rest, in hushed tones, defined it as doing tedious chores for their lazy, abusive superiors.
No one could select who they will work under, every pairing was randomly chosen and it was just Castiel's luck that he had gotten Zachariah. And the law mentioned that a fledgling must continue to work until his or her superior was satisfied, which in Zachariah's case was not likely to happen any decade soon.
Castiel then felt a hand land on his head in a deceptive act of compassion as Zachariah led them to one of the largest windows he had in his office. The view overlooked one of the rarities in Heaven: an ocean. The shade of blue was so magnificent that angels were often left awestruck by it. Even the waves were to behold as they were hypnotically calming, yet the way they undulated showed that they have the potential of instantly causing massive destruction.
"Heaven is perfect, Castiel. Everything within it is precise and must function without fault." began Zachariah. "I work hard to keep it that way, which is why I expect nothing less than perfection from any results. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir." said Castiel.
"Remember, I'm doing this for your own good. You need to learn that reality's a tough place, and if you can't do a job right, don't bother doing it at all." said Zachariah, a threatening tone lining his voice. He grabbed hold of Castiel's form and turned him around so they faced each other. "If someone asks you if you're hurt, you say…?"
"I'm fine." Castiel dutifully responded.
"If they ask for your opinion on a topic," continued Zachariah.
"My opinion is not important."
"If they question your actions,"
"I'm a soldier of Heaven. I carry out God's word and His will is just."
"And?"
Castiel tried to find the right words. "I am following the orders of my superior and he is never wrong. I am honored to be in his service." he concluded.
"Good. Now I want you to fly along to the Learning Halls and prepare the lecture theater I had reserved for my sermons. I'm expecting a big audience and I need everything to go accordingly." said Zachariah in the most cheerful manner someone like him could muster. He went to the opposite end of his office and gathered up three very big sacks.
"Here, you'll need these for setting up the room." he said, practically dumping them at Castiel.
For a moment, Castiel merely stared at the sacks that were pretty much blocking his view of Zachariah; that was probably because the sacks were taller than him. He tested the weight of one and discovered that, if he were a human child, he supposed he would then have to carry three huge sacks filled with boulders. And in his currently fatigued condition, he wondered if he would even be able to haul just one of them.
"Get going. Go on." said Zachariah.
Reluctantly, Castiel obeyed.
O_x
The sacks contained a tremendous quantity of herbs, chalk and charcoal, and gems and minerals. Herbs to provide a 'stimulating' atmosphere; chalk and charcoal for putting up sigils all over the theater that promoted wisdom, guidance and prosperity; and lastly, gems and minerals to be strategically placed in the room to add a bit of splendor.
The lecture theater Zachariah had reserved was one of the largest in all of Heaven, and Castiel was on the brink of collapsing.
He decided to venture out of the theater for a moment; he had to clear his system of the pungent herbs that were starting to become noxious to his senses. Without any concern if someone might see him, Castiel let himself slump to the floor and lean sloppily on the wall by the door. He still had to set up the finishing touches, he knew that, but first he absolutely needed to recuperate. His Grace was burning up his final energy reserves and he simply cannot keep going right now.
Just as he was about to enter into meditation, he felt a presence approach him, and then the happiest voice Castiel had ever heard in his existence.
"Oh, who do we have here?"
Castiel opened his eyes to find a cherub joyfully staring down at him. That was all he got to register before he was picked up and hugged intensely.
"Does baby brother need a hug? Does he? Yes he does! Yes he does! Aren't you just the most precious thing in all of creation!" the cherub coddled, talking to him and rocking him around like some sort of human infant.
"Please put me down." Castiel managed to say as he was practically being crushed.
The cherub giggled. "Not until you get the biggest hug ever!" he declared.
So Castiel was subjected to 'the biggest hug ever,' and it was both one of the most comforting and one of the most horrible things he had experienced. He did not understand the sudden appearance of a rainbow above them though.
"Thank you." said Castiel once he was put back down, albeit he referred to being released… not the hug.
The cherub - Castiel wished he was taught on how to identify their names - lovingly kissed his head before letting him go entirely. "What's a sweet little fledgling like you doing here?" he inquired worriedly.
At that, Castiel stood up straighter. "I'm under my superior's orders. I am to make sure his lecture theater is ready." he answered as professionally as he could.
"All by yourself?" the cherub asked, shocked.
"Yes."
The cherub looked like he was about to go into a fit of tears at Castiel's misery, but then he brightened up almost instantly.
"We'd love to help you!" he merrily proclaimed.
Castiel tilted his head at one of the words "We?" he repeated.
"The rest of the cherubs are in the next room. We're having our annual hugging seminar!" the cherub announced, and he was jumping and spinning around in sheer enthusiasm.
Castiel was almost too afraid to allow him to clarify on that. "…Hugging seminar?"
"Yes! Hugs, cuddles, snuggles, nuzzles, embraces and even pats on the back if there's enough time!" he happily explained. "Anyone is welcome to join us! Heaven needs to rejoice in the power of love!" And for emphasis, he giddily kissed Castiel on both cheeks.
"Perhaps when I am not occupied with my duties," said Castiel as he walked over to Zachariah's nearly empty sacks as his work suddenly became ten times more appealing to him.
"Of course, of course. But if you ever need to be cheered up, or if you know someone who needs to be reminded that they are loved, you know where to find us." said the cherub.
"I appreciate the offer." said Castiel politely.
The cherub sighed and smiled fondly at him. "Come here!" Castiel had not even done anything yet and he was already being hugged again.
"I love you!" exclaimed the cherub.
"And… I, you." said Castiel rather uncertainly.
For a long time, the cherub just stood there, hugging him. Only when Castiel shifted on purpose did the cherub finally return him to the floor and go to the other lecture theater. Castiel chose to pretend the past few minutes never happened and went back to work.
Eventually, the corridors were starting to fill up with angels, and the strange part was that most of them were actually going to the cherubs' lecture theater. As the doors closed and opened to their room, Castiel caught the sounds of laughter and rejoicing inside, although he was unsure if the cherubs were the only ones who were celebrating. So much for Zachariah's big audience.
"Ah, Castiel. Is my room ready?" asked Zachariah, clapping him from behind.
Castiel was so startled at his superior's arrival that he was at a loss for words for a while. "Y-Yes - "
Apparently, that was all the reply Zachariah needed for him to stride over to the lecture theater. Unfortunately, he was heading for the cherubs' lecture theater, and now that Castiel considered it, both entrances appeared the same and anyone could mistake one for the other.
"Sir, you're going the wrong way." said Castiel.
Zachariah whipped around and scrutinized him with his lion-face. "Excuse me?" he said ominously.
"You're… going the wrong way… sir." said Castiel nervously.
"Castiel, I've been lecturing in this place for millennia, long before a cognitive thought entered your mind. So I think I know which chamber I'm supposed to be speaking in." snapped Zachariah. He turned toward the cherubs' room again and smiled conceitedly. "And that is obviously the one where I can hear a massive crowd murmuring in anticipation, hardly able to contain their excitement." he stated.
There was nothing more Castiel can do to change his mind once his goals were set. As Zachariah walked in, Castiel followed and waited anxiously at the doors. He heard the muffled sounds of a hundred cherubs applauding, Zachariah yelping, a lot of scuffling, silence, and then finally contented humming from the cherubs.
Castiel hesitantly pushed the door a sliver of the way in and was greeted by the sight of Zachariah, totally fuming, in the midst of a cherub group hug.
Zachariah caught Castiel's gaze and, if it were possible, his face became even sulkier. "Not a word to anyone." he muttered.
TBC
Lion-face reference: 5x16
Thanks for sticking with this story for so long! Reviews are very much appreciated.
…and Happy Valentines Day! Watch out for naked cupids XD
Series: Notes Tied to Balloons
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Castiel and Zachariah
Genre: Family
Summary: As a fledgling, Castiel had a very big, very interesting family. Each story will stand on its own and will consist of three chapters. Seventh story's up: Most would think that errands are simple to do, but to one angel that is a grave misunderstanding.
Click here for the other siblings: Balthazar, Joshua, Anna(el), Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael
AN: You guys have no idea just how much I've missed this story (even though I'm writing Zachariah).
A thousand apologies for the delay! College has been murdering me every week.
Golden soldiers born much older than they'll ever live to be.
Diving into a sea of hands in a long forgotten city.
Here the rain falls ever after, the strangled vines hang dead in rafters.
The blood rushed to your head induces a laughter, endlessly.
.
Original Fire - Audioslave
At that moment, Castiel believed he had never flown faster.
He would say that he was reveling in the feeling of pure exhilaration, if only his well-being was not at stake. It was getting harder to suppress his fear, which seemed to increase with every frantic wing-beat, but he kept trying to squash it down because the last thing he needed was his thinking being clouded by emotions.
Hundreds of trees whizzed by in the darkness as he madly hurtled through the claw-like boughs in an attempt to shake off his pursuers. Unfortunately, they were unrelenting and just as keen on getting what they want, which so happened to be him.
"Thief! Thief!" the two harpies screeched after him.
Castiel hated to be called that, hated it with all his being. He knew stealing was wrong but he was simply following orders, and disobedience was a far worse crime than theft. He kept telling himself that as he forced his wings to move more quickly and his grip on his burden to tighten.
The land stretched on and the harpies began ruthlessly attacking him, attacks which Castiel could barely defend himself against because he was too focused on flying, on getting out of the area full of spells and wards that prevented him from traveling to Heaven instantly and putting an end to this horror. And also because he did not have the strength to fight back, not right now.
If he were in his peak condition, there would be no problem in battling two harpies. However, the day had terribly worn him down; he had to go up against other dreadful creatures to obtain the ingredients he required. None of the tasks were easy, and Castiel found it a miracle that he still had the energy to stay ahead of the harpies.
In the distance, he could see the trees clearing up, and the rocks and crevices of a mountain wall steadily gaining more detail. He just had to make it to the other side of the mountain and he could finally transport to Heaven.
Suddenly, one of the harpies managed to tackle him and sent them both plummeting off a cliff, down into a huge, gaping chasm. Throughout their descent, she shrieked and raked at his form to snatch the object he had stolen from them.
"Thief! Give it back!" she yelled.
Castiel refused to look at her entirely. There was something about harpies that disturbed a small part inside him, perhaps it was that they appeared to be the perverted manifestation of angels: their wings ugly and stinking of decay, their bodies hardly any different from those they had mutilated, their beings rich in savage emotions and the mere thought of survival.
He shielded his load as much as he was able to while her talons slashed at him. Castiel was doing fine in not crying out in pain, until it came to the point where she struck awfully close to where his Grace was and he nearly dropped his cargo in the process. If this went on, he or his load or both will be reduced to shreds.
In an act of desperation, Castiel let go of his load, allowing it to enter into free-fall. The harpy attached to him watched in a mixture of disbelief and rage as his bundle escaped him. Her distraction granted Castiel the opportunity to unleash a small portion of his Grace, enough to simply stun and momentarily blind the harpy.
She howled in pain and her claws automatically released him; she descended in an inelegant spiral and landed on a ledge. Once Castiel was sure that she will not be bothering him for a while, he swiftly chased after his cargo, which was already several meters from him.
The whole attempt was a risky maneuver; there was a chance that he would lose his precious load to the abyss if he had been a second too late, and the reason he let it drop in the first place was to avoid the light of his Grace searing it, not to mention prevent the harpy from damaging it in her fury. Thankfully, he no longer had to worry about that as his hands wrapped around the wool blanket that securely covered his stolen object.
The other side of the mountain was just a few miles beyond him, and in Castiel's eagerness, he had forgotten about the remaining harpy until he was rammed against the rocky wall.
"Thief! Wretched thief!" she screamed.
Castiel struggled futilely against her hold, already feeling much more weakened after he had drained himself from revealing his Grace. He could not risk doing that again, or anything else that bordered along that degree.
"Give it back! Thief!" the harpy continued shrieking.
With his options running out, Castiel drew his blade and, with a whispered apology, stabbed the harpy's chest, just below where her heart should be, or at least he hoped that that was the correct spot. The wound ought to inconvenience her but not kill. Castiel turned away from the pained, mortified expression that would most likely be on the harpy's face as he felt her talons unclench from him and heard her fading screeches.
He wished he could have a moment to recover, albeit he knew that he cannot afford to waste time on something as silly as tending to possible trauma. Castiel trained his eyes above and headed for Zachariah's office.
O_x
"Welcome back." said Zachariah, although there was a hint in his voice that gave Castiel the idea that he was not pleased. "I trust that you've accomplished your task, given that you are eight seconds late," he cuttingly went on.
Castiel held his ground, which was a difficult accomplishment given that he was utterly exhausted and unnerved at the way his superior was analyzing him. "Yes, sir." he responded.
He glanced up and saw that Zachariah still had a somewhat bitter aura.
"My apologies for being late." Castiel added timidly.
That got a more positive effect out of Zachariah as his expression slackened. He took the object Castiel held in his hands - the object that Castiel had nearly died for multiple times - and unwrapped the protective blanket to reveal a lengthy, beautifully designed holy branch.
Zachariah began to inspect the branch, and Castiel was certain that he was checking for any mistakes and inaccuracies rather than admiring or appreciating the extremely hard work he had put into it. After all, the sole purpose of the branch was simply to be new the centerpiece in Zachariah's office because he was getting bored with the old one: a miniature sculpture of the seventh star in creation made out of amber-polished pterodactyl bones.
"Did this come from the twenty-seventh birch tree in the patch?" asked Zachariah.
"Yes, sir." Castiel replied.
"Was it cut at precisely nine and a half feet?"
"Yes, sir."
"Under the angle of the autumn moon on its third hour?"
"Yes, sir."
"Smoothened by the front teeth of a chimera?"
"Yes, sir."
"Heated by newborn salamanders?"
"Yes, sir."
"Tip dipped in raven's blood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Sprinkled with liquid diamond and crushed manticore bones?"
"Yes, sir."
With every affirmation he gave, Castiel could virtually feel himself returning to all the trouble he had been through. Fighting monsters to acquire their teeth and bones, going to the farthest and most hostile edges of the Earth to find the proper materials, meticulously ensuring that every measurement was exact…
"There's a scratch on it." Zachariah remarked.
If Castiel was in possession of a heart, it would have skipped a beat.
"There's only one place where a thing like this belongs to, and that's the trash." said Zachariah with as much resolution as their Father when He decided to Create.
If Castiel focused enough, he could hear the low snarls of his superior's lion face in the background before Zachariah incinerated the holy branch right in front of him, like it was nothing more than a common candle to burn and waste away.
Somehow, Castiel maintained an expressionless façade even though his Grace withered a tad.
Before he was even aware of it, Zachariah was deliberately circling him like a predator assessing its trapped prey. "Have you encountered… difficulties along the way?" he asked, and Castiel wished to believe that he was actually concerned about his welfare.
"Well - "
"Don't answer that. If there were problems - ones that are significant enough to concern me - then you wouldn't even be standing upright now, would you? Or you wouldn't have even shown up to my office in the first place." stated Zachariah derisively.
All Castiel could do was bow his head, in humility, in fear, in embarrassment, in anguish, he was not sure. The only thing he was certain of was that he wanted nothing more than to leave the office, and perhaps find rest and solace in his garrison. But he had to persevere, he needed to. This was a requirement for all fledglings, to work under someone who was older and several ranks higher than them to gain experience. Some called it special tutorials, while others called it training for absolute service. The rest, in hushed tones, defined it as doing tedious chores for their lazy, abusive superiors.
No one could select who they will work under, every pairing was randomly chosen and it was just Castiel's luck that he had gotten Zachariah. And the law mentioned that a fledgling must continue to work until his or her superior was satisfied, which in Zachariah's case was not likely to happen any decade soon.
Castiel then felt a hand land on his head in a deceptive act of compassion as Zachariah led them to one of the largest windows he had in his office. The view overlooked one of the rarities in Heaven: an ocean. The shade of blue was so magnificent that angels were often left awestruck by it. Even the waves were to behold as they were hypnotically calming, yet the way they undulated showed that they have the potential of instantly causing massive destruction.
"Heaven is perfect, Castiel. Everything within it is precise and must function without fault." began Zachariah. "I work hard to keep it that way, which is why I expect nothing less than perfection from any results. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir." said Castiel.
"Remember, I'm doing this for your own good. You need to learn that reality's a tough place, and if you can't do a job right, don't bother doing it at all." said Zachariah, a threatening tone lining his voice. He grabbed hold of Castiel's form and turned him around so they faced each other. "If someone asks you if you're hurt, you say…?"
"I'm fine." Castiel dutifully responded.
"If they ask for your opinion on a topic," continued Zachariah.
"My opinion is not important."
"If they question your actions,"
"I'm a soldier of Heaven. I carry out God's word and His will is just."
"And?"
Castiel tried to find the right words. "I am following the orders of my superior and he is never wrong. I am honored to be in his service." he concluded.
"Good. Now I want you to fly along to the Learning Halls and prepare the lecture theater I had reserved for my sermons. I'm expecting a big audience and I need everything to go accordingly." said Zachariah in the most cheerful manner someone like him could muster. He went to the opposite end of his office and gathered up three very big sacks.
"Here, you'll need these for setting up the room." he said, practically dumping them at Castiel.
For a moment, Castiel merely stared at the sacks that were pretty much blocking his view of Zachariah; that was probably because the sacks were taller than him. He tested the weight of one and discovered that, if he were a human child, he supposed he would then have to carry three huge sacks filled with boulders. And in his currently fatigued condition, he wondered if he would even be able to haul just one of them.
"Get going. Go on." said Zachariah.
Reluctantly, Castiel obeyed.
O_x
The sacks contained a tremendous quantity of herbs, chalk and charcoal, and gems and minerals. Herbs to provide a 'stimulating' atmosphere; chalk and charcoal for putting up sigils all over the theater that promoted wisdom, guidance and prosperity; and lastly, gems and minerals to be strategically placed in the room to add a bit of splendor.
The lecture theater Zachariah had reserved was one of the largest in all of Heaven, and Castiel was on the brink of collapsing.
He decided to venture out of the theater for a moment; he had to clear his system of the pungent herbs that were starting to become noxious to his senses. Without any concern if someone might see him, Castiel let himself slump to the floor and lean sloppily on the wall by the door. He still had to set up the finishing touches, he knew that, but first he absolutely needed to recuperate. His Grace was burning up his final energy reserves and he simply cannot keep going right now.
Just as he was about to enter into meditation, he felt a presence approach him, and then the happiest voice Castiel had ever heard in his existence.
"Oh, who do we have here?"
Castiel opened his eyes to find a cherub joyfully staring down at him. That was all he got to register before he was picked up and hugged intensely.
"Does baby brother need a hug? Does he? Yes he does! Yes he does! Aren't you just the most precious thing in all of creation!" the cherub coddled, talking to him and rocking him around like some sort of human infant.
"Please put me down." Castiel managed to say as he was practically being crushed.
The cherub giggled. "Not until you get the biggest hug ever!" he declared.
So Castiel was subjected to 'the biggest hug ever,' and it was both one of the most comforting and one of the most horrible things he had experienced. He did not understand the sudden appearance of a rainbow above them though.
"Thank you." said Castiel once he was put back down, albeit he referred to being released… not the hug.
The cherub - Castiel wished he was taught on how to identify their names - lovingly kissed his head before letting him go entirely. "What's a sweet little fledgling like you doing here?" he inquired worriedly.
At that, Castiel stood up straighter. "I'm under my superior's orders. I am to make sure his lecture theater is ready." he answered as professionally as he could.
"All by yourself?" the cherub asked, shocked.
"Yes."
The cherub looked like he was about to go into a fit of tears at Castiel's misery, but then he brightened up almost instantly.
"We'd love to help you!" he merrily proclaimed.
Castiel tilted his head at one of the words "We?" he repeated.
"The rest of the cherubs are in the next room. We're having our annual hugging seminar!" the cherub announced, and he was jumping and spinning around in sheer enthusiasm.
Castiel was almost too afraid to allow him to clarify on that. "…Hugging seminar?"
"Yes! Hugs, cuddles, snuggles, nuzzles, embraces and even pats on the back if there's enough time!" he happily explained. "Anyone is welcome to join us! Heaven needs to rejoice in the power of love!" And for emphasis, he giddily kissed Castiel on both cheeks.
"Perhaps when I am not occupied with my duties," said Castiel as he walked over to Zachariah's nearly empty sacks as his work suddenly became ten times more appealing to him.
"Of course, of course. But if you ever need to be cheered up, or if you know someone who needs to be reminded that they are loved, you know where to find us." said the cherub.
"I appreciate the offer." said Castiel politely.
The cherub sighed and smiled fondly at him. "Come here!" Castiel had not even done anything yet and he was already being hugged again.
"I love you!" exclaimed the cherub.
"And… I, you." said Castiel rather uncertainly.
For a long time, the cherub just stood there, hugging him. Only when Castiel shifted on purpose did the cherub finally return him to the floor and go to the other lecture theater. Castiel chose to pretend the past few minutes never happened and went back to work.
Eventually, the corridors were starting to fill up with angels, and the strange part was that most of them were actually going to the cherubs' lecture theater. As the doors closed and opened to their room, Castiel caught the sounds of laughter and rejoicing inside, although he was unsure if the cherubs were the only ones who were celebrating. So much for Zachariah's big audience.
"Ah, Castiel. Is my room ready?" asked Zachariah, clapping him from behind.
Castiel was so startled at his superior's arrival that he was at a loss for words for a while. "Y-Yes - "
Apparently, that was all the reply Zachariah needed for him to stride over to the lecture theater. Unfortunately, he was heading for the cherubs' lecture theater, and now that Castiel considered it, both entrances appeared the same and anyone could mistake one for the other.
"Sir, you're going the wrong way." said Castiel.
Zachariah whipped around and scrutinized him with his lion-face. "Excuse me?" he said ominously.
"You're… going the wrong way… sir." said Castiel nervously.
"Castiel, I've been lecturing in this place for millennia, long before a cognitive thought entered your mind. So I think I know which chamber I'm supposed to be speaking in." snapped Zachariah. He turned toward the cherubs' room again and smiled conceitedly. "And that is obviously the one where I can hear a massive crowd murmuring in anticipation, hardly able to contain their excitement." he stated.
There was nothing more Castiel can do to change his mind once his goals were set. As Zachariah walked in, Castiel followed and waited anxiously at the doors. He heard the muffled sounds of a hundred cherubs applauding, Zachariah yelping, a lot of scuffling, silence, and then finally contented humming from the cherubs.
Castiel hesitantly pushed the door a sliver of the way in and was greeted by the sight of Zachariah, totally fuming, in the midst of a cherub group hug.
Zachariah caught Castiel's gaze and, if it were possible, his face became even sulkier. "Not a word to anyone." he muttered.
TBC
Lion-face reference: 5x16
Thanks for sticking with this story for so long! Reviews are very much appreciated.
…and Happy Valentines Day! Watch out for naked cupids XD