freewill | [Entranceway] IC Contact

[ Oh, hey, he was right. Hi, Cas.

Blake is hesitant to say he's been by Winchester's, but nods anyway. He'd gone to make sure, to pick the lock if need be, only to instantly gain entry to that emptiness without so much as a faltering second. It had taken his breath away, and now... now he isn't certain he's managed to get his breath back yet. ]

Just your stuff, right?

[ He hadn't snooped or anything, it's just an assumption since Blake knows how close Dean and Castiel are. ]

Gonna keep it there? Prob'ly be comfortin' knowin' you're here when he comes back.

[Castiel doesn't particularly mind the snooping, though that is the assumption he makes. He nods.]

I don't have anywhere else to put it. [In other words, the room may as well be his now. Not that he plans to use it for anything other than the storage of random items he picks up along the way.]

But even if he does come back, he won't remember. [Castiel doesn't see how that's comforting. Dean won't recall where his room was, or what he'd kept there. He won't recall any of it.

It stings, there's no doubt about that, but he can't blame Dean. It's this place, and its insistence on keeping them at odds.]

[ The angel's words cause Blake to focus even more pointedly, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. ]

You don't know that.

[ Blake runs a hand down his face and then turns his attention elsewhere. He's not being difficult, really, even if the whole idea of Dean forgetting everything scares him more than it should. ]

He could come back. He could remember. It's happened before...

[Castiel doesn't see it as Blake being difficult. He does see it as denial, though, and he narrows his eyes for a second before shaking his head.]

After a week, the chances of it lower drastically. The fact that his room has been emptied out is also a clue.

[Castiel's never been one to shy away from the truth, even if it's a truth he doesn't like very much. There's no point in burying his head in the sand when the facts are laid out right in front of him.

It's not as if they've ever been given reason to expect mercy from this place.

He takes a step forward, glancing out over the cold landscape. Wherever Dean's gone, it's not within their reach.]

[ John follows the angel's distant gaze, as if expecting he does see Dean — or at least the direction he's gone — somewhere in another world, maybe another dimension. It's not out of the question, right? Blake's honestly has no idea what skills and abilities Castiel maintains, but since he's already employing wishful thinking, he might as well. ]

Yeah, but low changes aren't no chances. He's— There's still some possibility; odds aren't entirely against us.

[ Words of a desperate man. If Blake takes the time to really think about it, he'll realize this is the same kind of thinking that got his father in trouble. Honestly, betting on a long shots rarely works out. ]

Need you to be with me on this, Cas...

[ And again, more desperation. John doesn't normally reach out, and he doesn't normally ask for things that are clearly counterproductive, but this is his family he's losing one piece at a time — a family only just gained, a family only just believed in — and Castiel has to understand what that's like already. ]

[Castiel definitely understands what it is to lose family. First his siblings, who he had to turn on and sometimes kill. Others got themselves killed, for being too good or not good enough. The heavenly host is in shambles and mainly, it's his fault.

He can't imagine he'll ever be welcomed into Heaven again.

And then there's Dean and Sam, who he's been pulled apart and separated from so many times that the ache in his chest is far too familiar. He should have known this would happen.]

What does that mean? [He turns back toward Blake, head cocked to the side.] Being with you.

What I mean is— [ He sighs. It's not the typical put-upon sigh that a person might employ when dealing with an angel, but instead the sigh that comes out of a person that just doesn't know how to say what he wants to say. ]

Can't be— [ He falters, distraught and concerned and entirely off-kilter. ] I-I can't be the only one here still believin' he's comin' back.

[ What he's trying to say (without really saying it) is that Castiel needs to have faith. Which is laughable coming from a man who doesn't really believe in much of anything. But see, he still believes in something, most notably family. And that's new — new again, at least — which means that he doesn't want to let go, not after he just learned what it was like to rely on a real family once more. ]

Cas. [ Said almost desperately. ] You know if he can, he will come back, right? You know that.

[Castiel's heard this kind of desperation many times before. The way that Blake's voice is hitching, the emphasis on certain words. Dean's spoken to him like this, and that memory alone is enough to deepen the frown on his face.

He isn't interested in eye contact right now. Maybe because it isn't Dean, and he's always been the easiest one to look into. Maybe because betraying emotion doesn't seem possible right now.]

If he can. But none of us have had any control over what happens to us here. [Dean's back home now, trapped in time until the rest of them return. That's what it feels like to Castiel, at least.

Assuming Dean would fight his way back here, memories intact, to save them all? No, believing in that would only be setting himself up for disappointment, and Castiel has always been a realist.]

[ Blake has always been a realist himself, always taken everything presented and pulled it apart down to its most basic forms, but this is different. Wonderland changes everything. Wonderland changes everyone.

He sighs and runs his hands down his face, trying to reel himself in, trying to return to his senses before someone accuses him of losing it all together. Unfortunately, it's easier said than done. ]

No, no we don't. But that— [ Blake grumbles a little. ] It's not controllin' him there. We don't know what's gonna happen, but we oughta be prepared, right? Can't hurt to think that way.

[ Which is to say, Blake just can't let go of that hope, not yet. ]

Edited 2014-03-09 22:27 (UTC)

[On the very, very off chance that Dean somehow retained his memories upon returning home, then it can be said without a doubt that he's researching right at this very moment how to get back here.

But that sounds like wishful thinking more than anything. Blake is clinging to an impossibility, but Castiel's already made that clear and there's no reason to add pressure to the wound now.]

Only time will tell. But you should prepare for every possibility.

[That's the sign of a good soldier, after all. The problem is that emotional preparation has never been as simple.]

[ Blake stares for what could definitely be considered too long, but eventually he lets out a breath and nods. If nothing else, he knows he can trust Cas, even if Cas doesn't necessarily trust him. ]

Yeah, right. Every possibility.

[ He needs that reminder. He needs to get a grip. But maybe more importantly, he needs Dean back, and he doesn't think he's alone in that. ]

So, the pieces we gotta pick up in the meantime. Thinkin' we get James and Daryl involved. There's still— [ Blake rubs at his forehead. ] Um, there's still a lot to do. Lot to prepare for.

[The resistance is something that shouldn't falter simply because Dean is gone, and Castiel imagines that's one point they can all agree on.]

We should speak with Jo, too. [She's always been an important part of the effort, and working on organizing this kind of thing could take her mind off of everything that's happened with Tom.]

We have the bunker in the woods. We could organize some sort of meeting to see that everyone's coordinated.

[Sharing information, putting together a plan for the future and what it might hold -- all of that has to be done, and Castiel needs distractions himself.]

[ Getting together and sharing information, as well as leftover duties, seems like a good idea, though Blake isn't so certain how he feels about getting Jo involved so soon after everything with Tom.

Making a note to himself to check on her later (when he's had the time to calm down and pull his shit together), he reaches out (finally) and places a hand on the angel's shoulder, likely gaining more benefit from it than Castiel. ]

Good plan. In the meantime, ah— just... gimme a call of you need anything. Okay? Any time.

[Castiel's gaze flicks down as Blake's hand reaches his shoulder. It's an action he often shared with Dean, and that alone gives it significance. Beyond acknowledging it, though, Castiel doesn't react much, trapped in that awkward space where he doesn't know what to do.

He can't imagine what he would need from Blake that he would have to call him, but Castiel suspects that it's meant in an emotional sense. Dean was a friend to both of them, which means that they're going through something similar at the moment.

Castiel's never been good at voicing his feelings, though, and so while he nods, the chances he'll actually take Blake up on that offer? Not good.]

Let me know what you hear from the others. We should regroup the resistance sooner rather than later.

Right, right, sooner rather'n later. [ A nod. Except, the odds are pretty good that Blake will actually take his sweet old time in making that happen. It's not for lack of want, really, he's just having a harder than normal time of it (it being everything, in the case of Wonderland how it stands). ]

Give you a call when that's set up, then.

[ Some time later, definitely. ]

Take care, Cas...

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