The Stars Align: epilogue (Gabriel/Castiel/Crowley)
**
Epilogue
**
Castiel counts down a thousand years from the day he was resurrected. As far as he can find, he was the last thing purgatory remade and if legend is correct, it will be a thousand years before all those within become something else.
First, he calls Crowley who has stood by his side for every one of those years and Heaven and Hell have never known such a long period of peace and rest.
Together, they go to a desert in the dead of night, where there is no light but for the stars which blanket the sky. There’s a ritual. Circles of fire, charred feathers, snakes venom. Words from Valhalla that feel strange even on Castiel’s tongue which speaks all languages. In the distance a course starts up from the coyotes. Yips that echo across the land and come slowly closer.
The firelight catches the eyes of one and Castiel stands as it circles them, always just outside the fall of light, always startling away when the sparks crackle against the burning wood.
“Stop playing,” Castiel says.
The coyote stops, ears pricked forward and head cocked to the side. Mouth wide in a grin, it moves in and out of the shadows as a breeze blows along the flames, and in the dark the shape transforms and a man steps forward.
Castiel smiles. “Hello, Gabriel.” And the Trickster laughs.
**