As I write this down [OPEN]

[ofthursday]

Who: Castiel, OPEN
What: Arriving in Tokyodisa~
When: July 20th, around noon
Where: The hotel lobby
Rating: Probably PG at most


Once the sky had gone dark once again Castiel had picked a random direction and re-entered the forest, unsure of where he was and which way to go... And then suddenly he was somewhere completely different. He looked around rapidly, confused, turning in place a few times; the room was completely unfamiliar and his first thought was that Metatron had transported him somewhere, but he was alone.

The room was quiet, clean and inviting but at the same time cold and impartial, and oddly he could see daylight through the window; it had been the middle of the night last he was aware. He took a minute or two to explore the room, all nerves on edge and just waiting for someone or something to appear and break the supposed tranquility, but it never came.

Once he'd figured out that he was truly alone and there was nothing overtly dangerous in the room, his next concern was whether he could get out; when he tried the door and it opened without issue it was something of a surprise, as he'd expected to be locked in. It was, at least, a welcome surprise that he wasn't. Stepping out into the hallway, he glanced back at the door to take note of which one it was, and the sight of his name on the door was also unexpected and slightly disconcerting. He obviously hadn't ended up there on accident, and he needed to figure out how and why he had, and he set off cautiously down the hall.

It became apparent quickly enough that he was in a hotel, and that set him a little more at ease, because at least hotels were something familiar to him. Still, it was surreal in a way--the entire day had been--and he wasn't quite processing everything yet, moving on autopilot, nothing having quite sunk in just yet. As Castiel wandered into the lobby his steps slowed, cautious and on edge once again while he looked for someone who might be able to tell him something about where he was.

Figuring that out was the first step to getting somewhere else.

Comments

[ofthursday]

That lightened his mood just slightly, and his next answer was quicker.

I remember everything.

[putuporshutup]

Meg smiled. She didn't want to push too far since he'd clearly been through quite an ordeal, but she got the sense he was enjoying himself and that a little flirtation wouldn't be unwelcome.

"Everything, huh?" She asked, with a come-hither face that she'd bet even an angel couldn't say no to.

[ofthursday]

Castiel gave another firm nod, remembering the conversation he and Meg had less than a day before she had died, and though that thought caused him to go a little more somber again just briefly this was also a second chance, all at once.

But it was all still a little surreal and though he could read her expression and what it meant, he shied away from actually acting on it just yet. He did, however, rest his forehead gently against hers for a moment in a gesture of affection, before straightening again like it had never happened.

[putuporshutup]

Meg never quite knew what to make of Castiel, but she supposed that was intrigued her so much. She could tell that at the moment, the small gesture of affection was a great effort for him, and appreciated it accordingly. She even felt her meatsuit blush a tiny bit.

She laced her fingers through his and resumed their silent stroll, lightly resting her head against his shoulder, letting him set the pace.

[ofthursday]

He set off again but it was pretty aimless, just enjoying the company and wandering through the city for a little while, until he began to feel drained. It was difficult to recognize but he realized he didn't know exactly how long it had been since he became mortal, and he hadn't eaten anything in a long time before that, because he was an angel.

Had been an angel.

He slowed to a stop again outside an outdoor sushi place, staring up at the menu quizzically for a moment and then glancing at Meg for her opinion.

[putuporshutup]

"You just about read my mind, Clarence. I can't pass up on fresh sushi in Japan, and you actually need to eat now. Come on," she tugged at his hand and walked towards an empty table on the patio.

Through a series of hand gestures and pointing at pictures on the menu, Meg managed to order a spread of different sushi as well as some teriyaki beef and rice in case the raw fish was a bit much for Cas' new palette.

It had been quite a while since Meg had indulged in a meal, or really done anything quite so nice. Present company certainly didn't hurt either. She sighed contentedly and leaned in, catching Castiel's far off gaze.

"I got us a little bit of everything so you can test out different flavors. Not a bad choice for your first meal as a human... but promise me we can get pizza next time? Can't put my finger on why, but I'm just dying for a slice."

[ofthursday]

Castiel let Meg take care of ordering, trying not to be frustrated that he could've ordered with no problem--he knew all languages--if only his voice had been functioning. There were worse things he could've lost, but this was still incredibly inconvenient.

He nodded a little at the comment about selection, but it was her mention of pizza that actually drew his attention, and he gave the faintest hint of a smile as he nodded once. He could agree to that.

He turned his focus to his water then, taking a sip; he'd had water before, but it was odd how much stronger the sensation of it was now, and even the flavor. Being human, truly human, was so much more intense than experiencing through his vessel.

[putuporshutup]

Meg watched Cas carefully. She never really cared about anything, but she was starting to - worry? Yeah. Probably that - about him. Being human wasn't the worst thing imaginable, but the adjustment was going to be rough. Couldn't this guy catch a break? She kept her ear to the ground pretty regularly and was always at least vaguely aware of big cosmic events, and he had certainly had a bad run of luck getting caught right in the middle of them.

At least she had gotten a little smile out of him. She had a feeling those were going to be few and far between for a while, but she liked the idea of sticking around to help with that.

A few moments later the waitress re-emerged with a large tray, and Meg smirked as she watched Cas seemingly marvel over the taste of water. If he thought that was good, he sure was in for a treat.

[ofthursday]

Castiel's gaze shifted to the waitress and the tray, immediately curious; he knew how to eat, of course, and had done so before, but it wasn't something he took part in often at all. It was something he'd have to get used to, but the prospect was both fascinating and daunting all at once.

He looked over at Meg once the waitress had left, then down at the assortment of food, then back up at the demon. He'd let her pick what she wanted first, and then try what she did. He was trusting she wouldn't steer him wrong.

She, surprisingly, never had.

[putuporshutup]

Cas looked slightly bewildered at all the choices in front of him, so Meg explained each dish, warned him to go easy on the wasabi, and served up plates for both of them. She couldn't help laughing as she tried to teach him how to use chopsticks.

The first bite of tempura was crunchy, delicious goodness. Meg closed her eyes and made a satisfied little noise, thinking she really ought to do this more often.

[ofthursday]

He listened carefully to her explanations, both because he was interested in the topic and because he was enjoying the time spent with Meg. This aren't getting any less surreal, though; they were getting more and more so, as he was sitting at a table eating sushi with someone he cared so much for but who was very much dead.

Nothing about the last day--had it been a day, or more, or even less?--had been 'normal' even by the standards of their world, and he half-wondered if maybe he wasn't as sane as he'd thought, and this was all some elaborate hallucination.

But there was no point in dwelling on that possibility at the moment, and Castiel tried to distract himself with food and how pleased Meg looked. He chose some tempura, as she had, and took a bite; the flavor was entirely unexpected and difficult to describe, but entirely enjoyable. He decided right then that he liked it.

[putuporshutup]

Meg could all but see the wheels turning in Cas' head. His inquisitive blue eyes kept flicking back to meet hers as they ate in silence, and she'd be lying if she said it wasn't doing things for her, but the hint of sadness when he looked at her was... unsettling. He seemed to be enjoying himself, but it was noticeable. She wanted to chalk it up to the considerable loss he'd just sustained, but the tiniest sensation of self-consciousness gave her the gut feeling that it had something to do with her.

She stared at him, took another bite of sashimi, then licked a drop of soy sauce from her thumb. Resisting curiosity had never been a personal strength of hers.

"Why so blue, Clarence? Besides the obvious. What's up with you?"

[ofthursday]

Having no voice was irritating and frustrating, but it was already beginning to present Castiel with some minor advantages as well. One of those was less of an obligation to answer anything he didn't want to--which he used to avoid by just disappearing, but that unfortunately wasn't an option any longer--and he decided to exercise that use at her question.

He stared down at his food instead of bothering to try to answer in writing, a clear indicator that he didn't want to share any of it. He wouldn't know where to start, for once, and for two he had absolutely no intention of telling Meg about what had happened to her.

[putuporshutup]

Meg could take a hint. She couldn't help pushing, and most of the time she frankly didn't care if she was pushing someone out of their precious little comfort zone, but Castiel was an entirely different matter.

She nudged his leg with her foot under the table to get his attention back.

"Hey, forget it. I can tell you wouldn't want to talk about it even if you could."

Truthfully it stung a little, but she could respect privacy and had certainly learned to pick her battles by now.

[ofthursday]

He looked up at the nudge, glad for her dropping the subject for now; he knew he probably couldn't keep this secret forever, but it certainly didn't need to come out the first day.

He chose to change the subject, writing a brief note and passing it to her.

Are you alright?

Meg had seemed okay despite what she'd been through when he'd see her last, but he should still ask her, and he probably should have earlier. He still wasn't the best at this sensitivity thing.

[putuporshutup]

Meg took the notebook from his hand and gave him a look when she saw that he had turned the tables. The concept of someone looking out for her was so far-fetched that her knee-jerk reaction was always to deflect his concern - he was really the only one who cared, and she wasn't even sure why. She glowered at him for a moment, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms... then sighed and rolled her eyes. What was wrong with her?

"I've been better, but to be fair I've also been a lot worse. This place gives me the creeps if I think about it for too long, but it's better than Crowley's idea of fun." She paused momentarily and swallowed, a wave of residual fear washing over her as she recalls a few of the more gruesome horrors of her past year downstairs. "I'm fine, now, I guess, but I've now had more polite conversations than I can count on one hand today and I'm sitting here talking about-" she wrinkled her nose "-feelings... so I guess I'd say I'm in somewhat of a state of shock. But... I'm glad you're here, if anything. Tell me something... why're you so sweet on me, Clarence?" She managed a small, but genuine smile.

[ofthursday]

Castiel watched her, food forgotten for the moment, listening carefully when she finally began to talk. He could see that flash of fear in her eyes, both because he was better at recognizing such things in general and because, on some level, he was attuned very closely with her. He knew getting over something like what had happened to her wasn't easy or quick, but she seemed to be coping at the moment, which he was glad for. He hoped that the composure she was showing was more genuine from her than it was from him.

Even if he could've spoken he would've been silent for a time at her question, though he could certainly empathize with the feeling of being in shock. At least he wasn't alone in that either, and after a moment he began to write slowly, picking his words carefully.

I'm glad you're here as well.

Because you cared for me when no one else would.

He passed the notepad across the table to her and turned his attention to dissecting a sushi roll, providing himself a distraction so he didn't have to watch her reaction.

[putuporshutup]

Meg took the notepad and read it, surprised to find an actual answer this time. She was genuinely touched that a seemingly very sane, if quite traumatized, Cas still remembered and appreciated that she had watched over him at the mental hospital. At the time, she had told herself that it was simply a smart strategic move, but deep down she knew it had always been about her fascination with him. Something about Cas got under her skin and warmed her from the inside out, whether she liked it or not. The whole thing had truthfully softened Meg, almost as though she'd regained just a sliver of her humanity. She felt her host body blushing a bit and didn't bother to stop it from happening.

When she looked up, he was nervously shifting the previous contents of a roll around his plate. Just then, the waitress came back and cleared the empty plates. Meg froze, realizing that surely neither of them had means of payment and that they were probably going to have to make a run for it, but it became apparent when she wished them good night that there would not be a bill.

When she was able to catch Cas' eye again, she smiled and nodded her head in the direction they had come from. "You want to head back and see what this place is about?"

[ofthursday]

Castiel glanced up when the waitress came to their table, briefly realizing the same thing as Meg, but fortunately they were in luck and didn't need to worry about paying. Castiel had money, but it was all American and probably wouldn't be particularly useful here.

He turned his attention back to Meg once they were free to go, and he nodded once in agreement and scooped up his notepad. They should figure out their rooms and try to get some more information if possible, and he stepped around the table to start leading the way back. He felt a little better, physically, after the food, and so seemed a bit brighter and more like himself even if he was still mentally very much in shock.

[putuporshutup]

Meg noticed that Cas seemed to have a little more pep in his step as they walked back. He still seemed serious as ever, but he was moving with a bit more purpose and looking a tiny bit less like a lost puppy. Her mind turned to their destination, this mysterious hotel-that-was-really-an-evil-castle, from what she had heard so far, and wondered what lay in store.

"I guess we all get rooms, from what I can tell. Good thing for you, since you'll actually need to sleep at some point. I'll have to find other uses for mine..." she quipped.

[ofthursday]

Castiel was not at all looking forward to sleeping; he'd done it before, during the Apocalypse, but he'd been so completely dead tired and had napped more than actually slept. He'd also had far less horrible memories to come to the surface back, which he was sure was what would happen the moment he closed his eyes here.

But that wasn't an issue he was at all intent on discussion, and instead he cast her a sideways look for her last comment, making it clear he understood that innuendo but not necessarily his opinion on it.

[putuporshutup]

Meg hardly noticed his ambiguous response, she was used to it and got a little thrill out of any kind of response from him anyway, so naturally she planned on doing it as often as possible. It was completely self indulgent and so very entertaining. He deserved it anyway for all the batshit crazy stuff he had said to her when she was angel-sitting, and now that he was himself again, she could actually push his buttons. Plus, she mused, especially now that he's human, he'll probably go for it eventually, She grinned to herself, but decided he'd probably gotten enough crap from her, for now.

"In all seriousness, I probably will keep the bed anyway. As long as I'm not on the run or being held captive, I might as well settle in with a cozy spot to lay low and watch movies when I'm not looking for trouble."

[ofthursday]

Hey, it might've been literally crazy at the time, but he really did still think she was a thorny beauty.

Her mention of having a place to just hang out because she wasn't in any danger or an otherwise pressing situation stood out to Castiel a moment, and he realized it was for two reasons. One, because those times were so incredibly rare, and two because he and Meg has spent so much of their time the same way.

It would be really odd to be able to just stay out of trouble and watch movies, or whatever else they might end up doing.

He went to reach for his notebook to ask her a question, and then thought of something. He hesitated a moment before just lifting his hands and trying sign language.

What floor is your room?

[putuporshutup]

Meg raised an eyebrow. "Third floor, I think. What about yours?"

[ofthursday]

That she understood him was a relief, because this was so much easier than passing notes back and forth, and he lit up just a little as he held up seven fingers.