Fic: Uncharted Territories (2/14) (SPN, Gen)
Chapter Two: A Haven in the Darkness
Chapter Word Count: 1,347
Total Fic Word Count: 2,818/?
Chapter One ||
Dean couldn't help but stare at the sight stretching out before him. The cavern looked like it could fit a small town inside it, and indeed, there was one down on the cavern floor below. Though there were no paved roads running through the collection of buildings below, there was an organized feel to the whole area. Most of the buildings were made of natural materials, mainly stone and wood, though there was an elegant tower near the center that had metal accents spiraling around its outside. It was also the largest building out of all of them; while the others were two stories high on average, the central tower stood a grand five stories tall, nearly reaching the roof of the cavern. The other buildings were laid out around the tower in near-concentric circles that expanded the farther away from the tower they got.
When Dean's gaze continued to go upwards, he saw that the roof was not stone as he expected, but instead a starry night sky. After a moment of contemplation, Dean thought he could make out the Big Dipper amongst the faux-celestial bodies. The sight of the familiar constellation made Dean feel a sharp pang of melancholy and pain at the thought that he might not see those stars again for quite some time. Nor for that matter, would he be able to see Sam, which hurt even more. Castiel glanced up as well, a small smile briefly quirking the corners of his mouth up before he continued to follow Devonal and Meriel down the path. Dean walked alongside him, taking in everything around them as they walked.
There were at least six more tunnels and paths besides the one the returning group was on that Dean could see, something that he mentally noted in case this all went south. Of course, that assumed that the paths actually led somewhere better than here, but at the moment, he was willing to take the chance should anything happen. As they reached the cavern floor and made their way into the settlement, there were a few lights visible in the buildings around them. The streets were nearly deserted with only the occasional person passing by on late errands of their own.
As they went, members of the group peeled off until only Devonal and Meriel remained to escort Dean and Castiel through the streets. The four of them ended up at the central tower after five or so more minutes of walking. The tower had no entry doors; only simple archways led into the ground floor. The spacious atrium was nearly empty save for a broad staircase in the center of the room that led up to the second floor. A small desk stood to the right of the staircase, with an extremely bored-looking sparrow-brown-winged angel sitting behind it. He perked up when he heard the sound of the small group's footsteps on the darkly tiled floor, his wings flaring a little as he straightened up on his stool.
“Hello, Lacael,” Meriel said with a grin as she stopped in front of the desk. “They've got you on night duty again? What, that's the fourth time this week, isn't it?”
Lacael sighed, wings twitching gently in his annoyance before he got them back under control. “Yes,” he replied. “Terciael is starting to get annoyed with the situation, and he's not the only one.” He shook his head. “Anyways, what can I help you with?”
“We need to see the Director as soon as possible,” Devonal said. He tilted his head toward Dean and Castiel, who were standing quietly behind him. Lacael looked at the two newcomers, his bright green eyes widening when he focused on Dean.
“Huh. Yeah, uh, sure,” Lacael said with a nod. “He was up in the Observatory with Korai and Tesaviel the last I knew.”
“Thanks, Lacy. Have a good night.” Meriel grinned at her fellow angel's look of annoyance at the nickname and then headed up the stairs, the others following along behind her. They traveled in silence until Meriel stopped in front of a pair of dark oaken doors on the top floor. A five-pointed star and crescent moon were engraved in gold and silver on the left and right doors respectively. Meriel grabbed one of the elegantly curved brass handles and then pulled open the moon door before heading into the room beyond. As the door opened, a set of voices escaped through the widening gap.
“Sir, please, you need to rest,” a man's voice was saying. It was a deep, rich, and unctuous voice, one that seemed perfectly suited for reading audiobooks or providing voice-overs for movie trailers. “There's no need for you to wear yourself out trying to do everything. That's what delegation is for.”
There was a soft snort and then a woman spoke, her voice holding a wry tone. “That's what I've been trying to tell him for the past twenty-six years, Korai. He hasn't listened to me any of the times I've talked to him about it, and I'm his mate.”
The speakers were hidden from view until Meriel and the others entered the Observatory proper, heading through a short hall before coming out into the main room. It was an open room the entire width of the tower, with a high domed roof arching overhead. In the exact center of the room, a massive metal globe spun ponderously in mid-air, held up by unseen supports. Three angels stood near the window on the far side of the room, all with their backs turned to the door, so the only thing that the four newcomers could see were their wings. The tallest of the trio had a pair of dusty green colored wings, while the shortest had ones that closely resembled those of a barn owl's. The feathers were all caramel browns and golds, interspersed with black ticking along the lower thirds of the wings; occasionally a flash of white could be seen as they moved with the angel's breathing.
The last angel had the most impressive wings, and not just in color. Contrary to all of the other angels Dean had seen in this place, this one had not just two, but four of them, and they were some of the largest he had seen. The hunter could just make out the back of the angel's head through the gap in between the lazily tucked-in wings, and saw that they had hair that nearly matched the wheat-and-honey-golds of the feathers that brushed their back. The angel's wings were tipped in white, and the longest feathers just barely brushed the plushly carpeted floor.
“Pardon the intrusion,” Devonal said, coming to a halt a respectable distance away from the group and sinking down on one knee as he spoke, “but we have important news to tell you, Director.”
Meriel copied Devonal's actions, motioning for Dean and Castiel to do the same. Dean was hesitant about making himself vulnerable to a group of unknowns, angels though they may be-- and even then, with everything he'd been through, he only truly trusted one angel, and that was Cas --but he knew that they needed all the allies they could get in order to get out of here, so down he went. The three angels at the window turned around at the sound of Devonal's voice, stopping their quiet conversation immediately.
The Director's eyes widened a bit at the sight of Dean and Castiel kneeling on the floor, one eyebrow quirking slightly before he bestowed upon them a large grin. In his bemusement, Dean noticed that the Director was barefoot, and barely held back a huff of disbelieving laughter at the sight.
“Well, well, well,” the Director said, stepping forward until he was directly in front of Dean and Castiel and entirely ignoring Devonal and Meriel. “I wasn't expecting to see you two knuckleheads any time soon.”
Castiel looked up at his brother, a tired smile briefly flitting across his face before disappearing into the æther.
“Hello, Gabriel.”
Chapter Word Count: 1,347
Total Fic Word Count: 2,818/?
Chapter One ||
Dean couldn't help but stare at the sight stretching out before him. The cavern looked like it could fit a small town inside it, and indeed, there was one down on the cavern floor below. Though there were no paved roads running through the collection of buildings below, there was an organized feel to the whole area. Most of the buildings were made of natural materials, mainly stone and wood, though there was an elegant tower near the center that had metal accents spiraling around its outside. It was also the largest building out of all of them; while the others were two stories high on average, the central tower stood a grand five stories tall, nearly reaching the roof of the cavern. The other buildings were laid out around the tower in near-concentric circles that expanded the farther away from the tower they got.
When Dean's gaze continued to go upwards, he saw that the roof was not stone as he expected, but instead a starry night sky. After a moment of contemplation, Dean thought he could make out the Big Dipper amongst the faux-celestial bodies. The sight of the familiar constellation made Dean feel a sharp pang of melancholy and pain at the thought that he might not see those stars again for quite some time. Nor for that matter, would he be able to see Sam, which hurt even more. Castiel glanced up as well, a small smile briefly quirking the corners of his mouth up before he continued to follow Devonal and Meriel down the path. Dean walked alongside him, taking in everything around them as they walked.
There were at least six more tunnels and paths besides the one the returning group was on that Dean could see, something that he mentally noted in case this all went south. Of course, that assumed that the paths actually led somewhere better than here, but at the moment, he was willing to take the chance should anything happen. As they reached the cavern floor and made their way into the settlement, there were a few lights visible in the buildings around them. The streets were nearly deserted with only the occasional person passing by on late errands of their own.
As they went, members of the group peeled off until only Devonal and Meriel remained to escort Dean and Castiel through the streets. The four of them ended up at the central tower after five or so more minutes of walking. The tower had no entry doors; only simple archways led into the ground floor. The spacious atrium was nearly empty save for a broad staircase in the center of the room that led up to the second floor. A small desk stood to the right of the staircase, with an extremely bored-looking sparrow-brown-winged angel sitting behind it. He perked up when he heard the sound of the small group's footsteps on the darkly tiled floor, his wings flaring a little as he straightened up on his stool.
“Hello, Lacael,” Meriel said with a grin as she stopped in front of the desk. “They've got you on night duty again? What, that's the fourth time this week, isn't it?”
Lacael sighed, wings twitching gently in his annoyance before he got them back under control. “Yes,” he replied. “Terciael is starting to get annoyed with the situation, and he's not the only one.” He shook his head. “Anyways, what can I help you with?”
“We need to see the Director as soon as possible,” Devonal said. He tilted his head toward Dean and Castiel, who were standing quietly behind him. Lacael looked at the two newcomers, his bright green eyes widening when he focused on Dean.
“Huh. Yeah, uh, sure,” Lacael said with a nod. “He was up in the Observatory with Korai and Tesaviel the last I knew.”
“Thanks, Lacy. Have a good night.” Meriel grinned at her fellow angel's look of annoyance at the nickname and then headed up the stairs, the others following along behind her. They traveled in silence until Meriel stopped in front of a pair of dark oaken doors on the top floor. A five-pointed star and crescent moon were engraved in gold and silver on the left and right doors respectively. Meriel grabbed one of the elegantly curved brass handles and then pulled open the moon door before heading into the room beyond. As the door opened, a set of voices escaped through the widening gap.
“Sir, please, you need to rest,” a man's voice was saying. It was a deep, rich, and unctuous voice, one that seemed perfectly suited for reading audiobooks or providing voice-overs for movie trailers. “There's no need for you to wear yourself out trying to do everything. That's what delegation is for.”
There was a soft snort and then a woman spoke, her voice holding a wry tone. “That's what I've been trying to tell him for the past twenty-six years, Korai. He hasn't listened to me any of the times I've talked to him about it, and I'm his mate.”
The speakers were hidden from view until Meriel and the others entered the Observatory proper, heading through a short hall before coming out into the main room. It was an open room the entire width of the tower, with a high domed roof arching overhead. In the exact center of the room, a massive metal globe spun ponderously in mid-air, held up by unseen supports. Three angels stood near the window on the far side of the room, all with their backs turned to the door, so the only thing that the four newcomers could see were their wings. The tallest of the trio had a pair of dusty green colored wings, while the shortest had ones that closely resembled those of a barn owl's. The feathers were all caramel browns and golds, interspersed with black ticking along the lower thirds of the wings; occasionally a flash of white could be seen as they moved with the angel's breathing.
The last angel had the most impressive wings, and not just in color. Contrary to all of the other angels Dean had seen in this place, this one had not just two, but four of them, and they were some of the largest he had seen. The hunter could just make out the back of the angel's head through the gap in between the lazily tucked-in wings, and saw that they had hair that nearly matched the wheat-and-honey-golds of the feathers that brushed their back. The angel's wings were tipped in white, and the longest feathers just barely brushed the plushly carpeted floor.
“Pardon the intrusion,” Devonal said, coming to a halt a respectable distance away from the group and sinking down on one knee as he spoke, “but we have important news to tell you, Director.”
Meriel copied Devonal's actions, motioning for Dean and Castiel to do the same. Dean was hesitant about making himself vulnerable to a group of unknowns, angels though they may be-- and even then, with everything he'd been through, he only truly trusted one angel, and that was Cas --but he knew that they needed all the allies they could get in order to get out of here, so down he went. The three angels at the window turned around at the sound of Devonal's voice, stopping their quiet conversation immediately.
The Director's eyes widened a bit at the sight of Dean and Castiel kneeling on the floor, one eyebrow quirking slightly before he bestowed upon them a large grin. In his bemusement, Dean noticed that the Director was barefoot, and barely held back a huff of disbelieving laughter at the sight.
“Well, well, well,” the Director said, stepping forward until he was directly in front of Dean and Castiel and entirely ignoring Devonal and Meriel. “I wasn't expecting to see you two knuckleheads any time soon.”
Castiel looked up at his brother, a tired smile briefly flitting across his face before disappearing into the æther.
“Hello, Gabriel.”