flameandpassion | 59 [Video]

59 [Video]

[For a moment, all you can see is the rainbow fuzzy face of a lamb -- until Rei pushes it out of the way with a scowl. She looks harried, tired, and is holding half of what appears to be a set of bed sheets. The other half seems to have been eaten.]

Is this week over yet? Because I really want it to be over. And if one more sheep tries to eat my sheets drying outside, we're having mutton tonight.

[She pauses, though, and looks -- slightly more serious.]

And -- I know this is Shura's thing, but anyone who went to the Inner City -- do you mind telling me what everyone found? Is everyone okay? Any new information? I know all of us who went in first would appreciate getting all of the facts to see if any headway was made -- or if the scientists were found. So... let Toushirou or I know so we can cross-check our facts.

And I'll definitely give anything I found over, too -- fair's fair.

[And then the public feed cuts off.]

[Filtered to Anna // Private // Unhackable]

Are you and Castiel okay? What happened to him?

[Filtered to Castiel // Private // Unhackable]

You're an idiot. Where are you?

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[You are using voice, which means you're an idiot. >:|]

You're an idiot. And good. Stay there.

[She's on her way to go yell at you in person.]

[ARE NOT. 8|]

I can just come to you.

[But despite the protest, he'll just be waiting for her to arrive.]

[ARE SO.]

No.

[Irritably.]

Fine.

[WAITING gosh you humans are so slow with your walking.]

[SHUT UP. NOT EVERYONE IS AN ANGEL AND CAN JUST FLY PLACES AND SHOW UP WITHOUT WARNING LIKE AN UTTER CREEP.

But give her about twenty minutes or so, she'll turn up -- in one piece, without much fuss --

And with a rainbow lamb in her arms.

With this face.]

I brought you a present.

[He opens the door like a normal person and doesn't appear to be physically injured any longer, just apparently in need of a stupidly long nap. He stares at Rei, then at the lamb, then back at Rei.]

You carried that this far?

[Yes, this is what he's focusing on.]

[... sigh, Castiel, you do not appreciate humor.]

It's just a baby, it's not heavy.

[He does when he gets it, but. You know.]

Be that as it may, what am I supposed to do with it? Perhaps Anna wants it.

[Also, he finally realizes he should let her in instead of talking to her in the doorway.]

[...]

It's a joke. Because you dropped fifty of them in my backyard.

[She's trying not to sound flat, because she really is concerned with whatever Lucifer did to him, but honestly, Cas.

The lamb bleats.]

[This face.]

Did they procreate?

Also, it was forty-five.

[He may be getting the joke now, because as toneless and tired as he sounds, that last comment was distinctly amused.]

It was fifty. I counted. You snuck more in when you thought I wasn't looking.

[Or maybe more sheep just joined their friends. But Rei likes to think it was Castiel being a jerk.

She extends her arms to push the baby lamb into Castiel's arms before she brushes past him to go inside.]

So what happened?

[Well, Castiel hadn't kept all that much track, true. A few additional ones might have been his doing, but not all.

He takes the lamb as it's offered, just giving it a look of 'wtf do I do with this' before following Rei inside, telekinetically closing the door and setting the lamb carefully on a pile of wool before disregarding it's presence entirely.]

Lucifer and I fought. Lucifer won.

[Rei pauses before she sits on the couch, arching her eyebrows at the -- well, large amount of rainbow wool everywhere. He had clearly taken the job of sheep whisperer extraordinarily seriously.

But she glances over at him, after her brief contemplation, before frowning.]

Why?

[He'd thought Anna might want the wool, and hadn't been sure she'd return before the event was over. Hence he'd collected piles of the stuff; it'd given him something to do besides drink and mope around, anyway.

He drifts over to not-quite sit on the couch, choosing the armrest instead, half-sitting and half-standing and leaning on the back of the couch.]

He said something that angered me, so I did the same in return. However Lucifer reacted considerably more violently than I did.

Edited 2011-06-12 04:59 (UTC)

[So it hadn't had to do with Castiel telling Rei what Lucifer was planning. It made her feel slightly better, but not by much -- because the actual reason was somewhat more... irritating.

She twists slightly to face him a little better, looking almost incredulous.]

For big bad god-like beings, you guys act like five year olds.

[No, not at all, thankfully. It had been a simple fight between siblings over a subject they were both worked up about. Of course, then it had gone more than little too far. He's ruffled a little by the dismissive comment, as well as the general insult even if it was accurate and for the most part he agrees, responding a little snappishly.]

Five year olds don't torture each other for saying something they don't like. Lucifer's simply a self-centered bastard.

[Castiel usually reserves cursing for special occasions, and underneath the apparent calm he's actually furious.]

[Rei arches her eyebrows, at the curse, before she leans forward slightly.]

You'd be surprised. Five year olds are capable of really cruel things if they're left up to their own devices. I beat up a bunch of boys with a baseball bat once for destroying an artifact in my temple.

[She pauses, though, before she rests her chin in her hands. She, too, looks pretty calm, but the word 'torture' unsettles her, and if that's what Lucifer actually did -- ]

What did he do to you?

[Castiel just sort of looks at her at that admission, honestly not too surprised. He could see that occurring.]

I suppose I should confess I know little of human children. However, they should have had the sense not to damage something of yours.

[He pauses, deciding how to explain, before responding in a controlled but coldly angry tone.]

Other than the expected physical violence, he forced his hand into my chest and attacked my vessel's soul.

[Which was both excruciatingly painful and offensive, but mostly Castiel was so incredibly angry because Lucifer had gone after Jimmy's soul instead of Castiel himself. The angel's grace would have been just as easy a target, but Lucifer had picked the innocent third party.]

[She starts, involuntarily, at the information, looking briefly horrified.]

Are you -- is he -- okay?

[But then something else nasty occurs to her, and her horrified expression morphs into something slightly sadder, and Rei drops her hands into her lap.]

Is that what you can do, with the souls you wanted to take?

['Have taken', Rei amends silently.]

[He's about to respond to her first question, when she asks the second. His eyes narrow and his jaw clenches briefly, and he's up and storming a few paces away, all tension and anger wound up, arms crossed hard over his chest.]

No. I don't damage the souls I use, especially not intentionally. And I don't deal with ones still in a living creature unless absolutely necessary.

[He certainly didn't go corrupting the souls of innocent people just to get back at someone else, either. He fails to see any connection at all between what he does and what Lucifer did.]

[She remains seated, perfectly still, watching him move. She's silent, for a long moment, to digest his defense, before Rei decides to say what's hanging between them:]

You still use them. And to use them, you have to take them out.

[But before Castiel can get angry with her properly, Rei holds up her hands and shakes her head slightly, to drop the thought and potential argument. It's not worth the fight.]

But more importantly -- are you okay?

[He has an argument ready for that--that he never had to at home because they were the souls of already dead beings and that here it would be a last resort and he didn't like it either--but he does heed her gestures and with great effort drops the subject. Aside from getting back at Lucifer, he doesn't want to fight with anyone at the moment, especially not Rei.]

I'm fine. I don't know about the soul of my vessel, Jimmy; I don't know how to repair damage done to a soul.

And Lucifer will come to regret this.

[Rei purses her lips slightly -- it's something of a tell to show she's thinking. Who in Adstringendum could repair a soul? The first name that pops into her head is Kurotsuchi Mayuri -- and Rei would rather die than send Castiel to him.

But then, Castiel's next comment jars her line of thought, and she looks up sharply.]

What's that going to accomplish, Castiel?

[Her tone is unusually sharp and harsh.]

[Castiel actually knows about Kurotsuchi, actually; Raven told him, and warned him of the potential risk. But if it comes to it, he may seek out the shinigami anyway and attempt to finagle a suitable agreement.

Despite the tone of Rei's question, Castiel is calming down from his anger now that they've moved off the topic of the souls, and onto a less moral and more logical one.]

It isn't simply for revenge. I have to gain an advantage here, or I will have absolutely no standing; as it is he's violated our agreement and there's nothing I can do about it as I have no leverage at all. I can't allow him to do whatever he likes with no opposition or he'll simply continue to do so.

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