Fallen

Sue sighed, wallowing in her own turmoil up until Shaye came back, unaccompanied, wandering into their home. She lifted her head a moment, until she saw what Shaye was doing. She rolled her eyes, let out an irritated huff and fell back into laying on her pillow, listening to Shaye shut the door and wander off, closing her eyes and frowning. She sat up, clambering to a window to watch her as she wandered back down towards that cave. She had an urge to tell the rest of teh village about those angels, but she couldn't do that to Shaye. She sighed, and settled for taking a needle and thread, and fixing hole in her clothes she'd created from all her rock climbing and stumbling around today. She wondered quietly when Keith would get back, but honestly, she wasn't too concerned. Keith was an excellent hunter, he could look after himself, bring them back something nice, maybe fish, or cattle, or maybe something with more soft fur to line their beds.
---
Nehkai frowned as Castiel denied wanting to go to the village, giving him a fairly sturdy plan abut what they should do, and then.. quite suddenly, giving out completely. Nehk's eyes widened, his mouth parted in a sort of gasp-like motion, and he knelt down instantly and hugged his brother, sitting beside him and sighing softly. "I wouldn't make you do anything you didn't want to do Cas. You've been working so hard to protect me, even though you're hurt too...I'm sorry. I've been selfish haven't I?..." he looked sort of scared at admitting such a sin. "Do you...do you think we'll turn into demon's Cas?" He looked scared, because from what he saw it was an extremely long and disgusting process he did not want to go through. He watched his brother break down and look ready to cry, which, despite his efforts, Nehk picked up in a heartbeat.
"It'll be alright," he muttered softly. "I was foolish to assume such a thing. We won't be demons, we'll be angels, we'll prove to the lord that we still belong in heaven, and he'll take us back...you'll see. father and mother will be happy to see us again, I bet their really worried..." He tilted his head, trying to get a look at his twin, as his hid his face.
"Hey..." he muttered softly, "You know you were always my favorite brother right? Let me see you're wings, maybe I can help you too..." He smiled warmly and tried to take Cas's wing gently and look them over. The cuts were dirty, needing to be washed. He settled for picking rocks out of the wounds.

Shaye sighed, heading back towards the small cave, though it was hard with everything she was carrying, and fell numerous times, cutting herself open more times then she cared to count. Dragging herself up, she reached the crater and began to make her way across, careful to keep an eye out for anyone or thing, lest they follow her to the two injured angels. She finally made it up to the cave, sighing and exahusting herself, she glanced inside.
"Um, angels?" She called softly, poking her head inside. She winced at what she saw, the one angel, darkhaired, was bleeding, his wings specifically, and hsi brother was picking at them, which looked painful.
"I brought supplies" She said, setting them on the ground as close to the two angels as she would risk going. She stepped back quickly, "I have to get going, I can't be gone long. I'll bring more stuff tomorrow morning. Stay here" She said, turning and disappearing, she barely gave them a chance to respond, as she headed quickly back towards the village.

Cas sighed, tears spilling down his face, sliding down his skin. He sighed, shakig his head as he glanced up at Nehk, he didn't respond, since his brother seemed to answer all his questions for himself. He shuddered, "I know, we're twins, and I'm your only brother" He laughed softly, before hiccupling and resuming sobbing. He winced as Nehk handled his wings, though he trusted his brother and settled, whining softly under his breath. He glanced up, startled at the appearance of the girl. She dumped a load of supplies on the floor of the cave, stated she'd be back with more, and then took off.
"Thanks" He called, before wincing and reaching for the stuff.
"Here, wash them with this" Since Nehk's wings were already washed and bound, it was just his that needed the treatment. He sighed, pressing his face to his twin's shoulder, needing the comfort.
"Mom and Dad miss you, not me" He said softly, looking at his twin with mournful eyes. "Dad never really cared for me" He said, it had always hurt, knowing his own father wasn't fond of him, "And well mom, was oblivious" He murmured, it was true, she cared, but in a weird, non-showing sense. He frowned, picking up on something Nehk said, "They're not worried about us, we fell because of Dad, didn't you know that?" He looked seriously at Nehk, still wincing occasionally, "He broke the law, he sinned, and we were cast from heaven in order to punish him" He muttered, he knew he was contradicting what he had said earlier about their parents caring for them, but they did care, about Nehk. He sighed, hiding his face again.

Sue had given up with trying to be useful around the house again, and she wasn't about to labour under the sun forging food for something to do to bury her frustration. No. Now she found herself outside, not working, but climbing up the mountain again with a boneless grace, twisting and swerving to make her way easily up the mountain barefoot. She stopped at her ledge again. It was day now, and where war had once raged, a temporary peace had fallen during the day. Still, the aftermath was given it's turn to shine. She watched her city smoke, watched the glow of fire consume the distant sky and the strange eerie glow that accompanied it, the residue of a demonic nuclear-like bomb from many weeks ago.
Sue sighed, sniffed a bit, and wondered quietly what had become of Shaye on her visit. At this point she wished she'd never agreed to accompany Shaye on her curiosity hike to that crater. She felt a strong urge to spill her guts to the Village Leader, but that'd only charge Shaye with betrayal, and cause her beloved angel friends to die. Sadly, she didn't have the heart to provoke either punishment.
---
Nahkai glanced at his brother as he finally snapped all together and started to cry. It was a rare occasion when he brother cried, the hardened warrior heart made it indeed something rarely seen be even his own brother. He smiled lightly as his brother responded to his comment of favorites. "I know, but you still are, even despite that." His smiled faded as he listened to Cas cry, his own eyes becoming sad at seeing his brother in such a state. But he stayed quiet, gently picking stones from the cuts, and making sure he wasn't to rough on his brother. Being what he was, he was extremely gentle, cautious, and caring. Whenever his brother gave any sign that Nehk was putting him in too much discomfort, he'd stop, rub Cas's wings gently, and carry on once he'd settled a bit, his hands cover in soot and ash at this point, tainted black as his wings.
He looked up as the girl came in, and smiled softly, nodding in agreement as cas thanked her and took the supplies. He blinked as cas hid his face in his shoulder, and gently took the supplied rag, damped it, and dabbed it gently over the most needing wounds, still as gentle as he could possibly be. He frowned as Cas went on about their parents.
"No Cas. They miss you just as much as they miss me. Dad yelled at you not because he didn't like you, but because he loved you. He was scared, like me and mum, that you'd get hurt, or killed on the job. I know Mom loved you, she's just a quiet angel, because dad does all the talking."
He stopped at Cas's question on his father. His eyes widened at the serious look in his eye, and slowly, his own eyes became ever sadder.
"I didn't know," he muttered softly to Cas. "I didn't get told, I was just working, and they pulled me off my job, tore off the majority of my clothes, and dumped me with you. I was too scared to ask anything. I didn't think I'd done anything wrong..." It was true, Nehk had had such a rushed experience it had been nearly impossible to question it. He'd been talking to a soul, charting out their next life in fact, and he'd been barged in on, roughly grabbed, and dragged off. He still had bruises where they'd grabbed at his arms.
Nehk looked ever sadder at recalling the experience, and softly he muttered, "I hope that soul got sorted out, it'll wander around in limbo if it's not dealt with."
Of course, of all things to worry about, he worried about the soul he'd been tending too. He'd finished washing the cuts, and had taken to disinfect, for the fact the medicine was there, and bandage the wound.

Shaye walked back to the village, tears spilling sadly down her face. Once she deemed she was close enough for safety, she sat down, pulling her knees to her chest and hiding her face, letting her anger, sadness and frusturation spill out in one big mess. She felt awful for what she had done to Sue, but she had done the right thing, hadn't she? Her green eyes misted over, and she cried some more, devestated by this turn of events. She'd keep her word, help the angels, but at what cost? She wondered if she should talk to Keith, if he'd help her, or go try and kill the angels? She hoped not, the one looked dangerous, with his sword and all, and despite how strong her brother was, he didn't have the strength to kill a being like that.

Cas whimpered as Nehk worked, though he tried to remain still, tried to control his emotions.
"Why didn't he ever say that to me? That he was worried, instead he yelled, and screamed and generally told me he wished I had never been born" He muttered, furiously wiping tears from his face, he hated showing weakness, but if he had to, he'd prefer to do it around his twin, as opposed to anyone else. He sighed, "Here, let me finish your wings now that we have supplies" He murmured, his voice hoarse from crying. His hand shook slightly, his emotions coursing through his body at a frightening speed. "I'm sorry" He muttered, not wanting to seem cowardly, not when Nehk needed him to be strong. His wings flexed painfully as he surveyed the supplies, looking them over and selecting what he needed. He sat down behind his twin, after scooching across the stone floor of the cave, gently taking Nehk's wings in his hands. He sighed, begining to undo the previous wrappings, wanting to use some disinfectant and proper bandages on the wound. He smiled lightly, looking at his twin affectionately, though his eyes still glistened with fresh tears. Cas sighed, "You would be worried about that soul" He muttered, looking at Nehk with a small sigh, though he was relieved to see that his brother was so concerned about that stuff, if it was him, well, he certainly wouldn't be as compassionat. He manipulated Nehk's wings, fixing them up as much as he could. He wished he could heal, because he knew that his limited ability at patching up injuries wouldn't be much help in this situation, and hell, Nehk's wings probably would heal crippled, though he'd still be able to fly.

Sue sighed, leaning up against the rocks. She'd calmed down now, after watching the clouds roll by and the distant city in it's peace once more. She suspected Keith was back, but she didn't know about Shaye, for all she knew Shaye was living with those angels now. She shuddered at the thought. She hoped not, but she supposed she'd better head back down soon and see Keith, or he might get worried. She'd do it in an hour or so, she was very comfortable up here at the moment.
---
Nehkai became ever sadder as he listened to Cas vent about her father. "You know dad was a cold man, Cas." He muttered softly, "To break down would be to show weakness, and dad's just incapable of that... I know he loved you, just like me and mom love you." He blinked as Cas suggested fixing his wings up again, he was hesitant, because they'd just stopped throbbing, but he supposed it was better getting the better help. So, reluctantly, he twisted round and let himself be victim to whatever Cas did to his wings. He could feel his brother's hands shaking through his feathers and it did unnerve him in this hostile place, where he depended on his brother to keep him safe.
"Please don't apologise to me," he muttered softly, smiling gently, "You haven't done anything, and crying should hold no punishment, not even for warriors as strong and brave as you." Not to say Nehk wasn't brave, that he could pick up a sword and defend himself, but he'd rather let Cas do it, because a sword killed, and he'd never be able to live with himself if he killed anything.
He stiffened as cas took a gentle hold on his wings and undid the previous wrappings, most bones had already been grabbed by surrounding flesh thanks to the tight binding, but some more grave injuries snapped back up once the bandage was removed, and he'd flinch. The sting of the disinfectant didn't help either.
He smiled softly at his brother as he mentioned Nehk's misplaced worry. "Yes, I would. The soul had done nothing to deserve being forgotten, and heavens low on tendents anyways because of this stupid war. Why can't hell just be happy with what they got? I bet this has something to do with Beelzebub or even Lucifer being greedy again.
He made a sour expression and crossed his arms, "stupid demons. I know I'm not supposed to hate things but if I had to pick something, it would be them, no doubt about it." He shuffled his wings, they felt a millions times better know that they were clean, though they still stung and throbbed from being handled and tampered with. He pressed them up against his back and sighed, "You're a warrior Cas, you must know who's responsible for this chaos."

Shaye finally stood, begining to wander home, she had to see her brother, hopefully he'd help her, or be very, very mad at her.
Shuddering, she began to trek her way down the mountain, trying not to fall and cut herself open more then she had to. Sue was better at scrambling around and stff, she was horrible at this sort of thing, climbing. She sighed, brushing a few tears from her face, finally seeing the village in the distance, it was sort of relieving. She managed to get into her home, collapsing on her bed and pulling her knees to her chest, ignoring the blood as it stained her bedsheets, as she cried softly to herself.

Cas sighed, letting his hands drop from his twin's wings, arms wrapping around his shoulders as he settled his twin against him protectively, it was a comfort thing, being closer to his twin was reassuring, and it helped him feel more calm. He listened to Nekh talk about his father, life, the soul, and finally ask him the one question he was dreading, the one he didn't want to answer. He sighed, looking away from his twin for a moment.
"Yes I know Nehk, I'm one of the few who actually knows we're in this damn war" He finally muttered.
"It's not greed, well no, there is greed, just that's not the main reason" He finally muttered, looking downcast. He sighed, shifting and making sure he couldn't look at his twin, not just yet.
"An angel, someone we knew, well, we as in the soilders. Stole secrets from heaven" He sighed, "Lots of secrets, particularly military secrets, and sold them to Lucifer" He shuddered, "He fell obviously, and now is one of the main general's in the army of hell, using our secrets against us" He sighed, looking at Nehk finally, eyes shining.
"He took stuff that could, potentially, destroy heaven, earth and anything that gets in Lucifer's way" He felt disgusted, he blamed himself, all of them did, back home, for what had happened. He glanced at his twin, "He also took secrets pertaining to how souls are cared for" He murmured, knowing that Nehk would be devestated by that news. He tightened his arms on his twin, hugging him tightly. He was worried about Nekh, he hadn't wanted to tell him any of this, but he had asked, and he would never deny his twin something, he had never been able to. He flexed his wings, wrapping his wings around the two of them, using them to shield his twin, it was a comfort thing, all angels did it. He sighed softly, letting his head fall back against the cave wall, waiting for Nehk to respond.

Sue had nodded off, and when she woke up, it wasn't more then 30 minutes since she'd fallen asleep, so the sun told her anyways. She slowly made he way down the mountainside, and into the village. She stopped as she entered the house and saw Shaye laying on the bed, bleeding. "You clumsy oaf," she grumbled, wandering into the cupboard, and pulling out bandages fixing her up as she slept. At least she'd come home. Sue sighed, briefly looking Shaye over for more wounds, and to her silent fear, tracking devises or other means of angelic temperament. She was clean, they hadn't touched her, good.
She took notice of the teary eyes and rolled her own, but didn't say anything, she flopped on the bed beside her adopted sister, though really if she thought about it, she was the adopted sister, and wrapped her arms around her.
She wasn't mad, not anymore, she'd gotten over it. She forgave Shaye, though she was still against helping the angels, she wouldn't yell at her best friend for having a kind heart.
"I forgive you," she grumbled softly to the sleeping figure, "Just try not to get yourself killed..."
---
Nehkai smiled softly as Castiel finished with his wings and pulled him into his lap, normally if they were still in heaven, he would not be sitting here, but here on earth, it was where he felt the safest. He lay his head on Castiel's shoulder as he listened to him explain the answer to his question, like a story. He smiled softly and closed his eyes, listening to his brother's voice. Though they didn't stay shut for long as he learned that an angel was responsible for the war.
He stared at Castiel with concerned eyes, "Why?" he asked when Cas had finished. "Why would he do that? What has heaven ever done to him to make him so hurt?" He looked disturbed, because he was. If demons had gotten a hold of heaven's soul information, that meant that should could be snatched during their wandering state, finding their new bodies, or leaving their old ones. That was heavens business for good reasons. Though it did explain why humans had been slaughtered and escorted by angels themselves to heaven. For their own being, angels were still pure at heart, and so was he, even if he had fallen.
"You look like you're going to cry again Cas," he reached up and wiped, his brother's eyes and sighed, he was toughing it out, still to deeply rooted in his state of shock for being abandoned on earth, to really react to anything else. Had he heard this new any other time, it would have destroyed him, he probably would have cried, hesitated to chart out soul's next lives, heck he'd have probably fallen anyways for quiting his job out of stress of the soul's outcomes to leaving heaven.
Now however, it only disturbed him, but his souls were gone, they were still in heaven, they were looked after, heaven was keeping them safe, and all he could do know was frown upon the war and hide under his twin's wings.
"I want to go home," he muttered softly.

Shaye winced as she felt her body being moved for a moment, but stayed asleep. Instinctively, as Sue laid down, she shifted closer to her. The room was small, and her and Sue shared a bed, and Keith had a pallet on the floor just across the room. She shivered, jerking the animal skin blanket around her tighter. She was emotionally exahusted, which was why she wasn't waking up.
Keith stepped inside the small cabin, seeing Sue and Shaye.
"Hey" He said, his voice a bit hoarse, 'Have a good day?' He asked, dropping some food on the counter. They had been lucky enough to get a deer, so he had taken his portion home, since they hadn't had good food in awhile.

Cas sighed, shaking his head and hugging Nehk as his brother curled against him. He sighed, getting as comfortable as he could, knowing he'd be in that postion for awhile.
"I do to Nehk, I do to" He said, "And I don't know why this happened, why any of this happened" He muttered, knowing he had made the right decision to not tell Nehk what had happened when he had first found out. He knew his brother cared deeply for his souls, and he knew better then to let Nehk worry himself sick over something he couldn't control. He tightened his arms around his twin, shaking his head and closing his eyes.
"If it's the last thing I do, I'll make sure you get home" He said, closing his eyes and resting lightly for the moment. They couldn't go to sleep at the same time, they had to sleep in shifts until they were in a safer place.
"Nehk, I promise" He said again, shaking his head and forcing his eyes open.

Sue sighed as Shaye curled up closer to her, she felt a bit bad for getting mad at her friend. Regardless of what happened, Shaye was still Shaye, and she was a full 1/2 of the only family Sue had left. So no matter what, Sue couldn't stay mad for long, because in these tough times, you never knew how long you'd be with someone, and living down the fact they'd died after an argument was horrifying for her.
So she curled up closer, wrapping he arms around her adopted sister, and sighing sadly, looking up as Keith came in, plopping a delicious looking slab of meat on the table, and judging from the colour, it wasn't another stinking demon. Those things tasted disgusting, but there usually wasn't much choice when all demons ate meat, and preferred to eat earth's meat instead of their own. Deer were almost extinct because of it.
"Hey," she muttered softly to Keith, he looked so tired, poor guy. "Our day was...tough. But it looks like things will be fine... you found something yummy I see.. What is it? Rabbit? Fox?" She lifted her head curiously, "You better have saved me some of the fur if it's fox..."
---
Nehkai sighed, and relaxed against his brother quietly listening to him talk about wanting to go home as well, then he made that statement, if it's the last thing I do. Nehk shuddered and looked up at his brother with wide almost disturbed eyes. "But it won't be, right? You'll come home with me, and we'll live in heaven together just like before, and you can fight glorious battles and I'll make sure you have the souls to cheer you on. I won't go without you, so don't say that. Okay?"
He shifted a bit in Cas' lap, frowning a minute, before sighing and gripping Cas's wings and pulling them tighter around himself, letting his wings slip under his to wrap around and protect his brother's back.
He lay still after that, then slowly looked up at his brother and muttered softly, "I'm hungry Cas. Can we get a hamburger or something? A soul told me that's what he ate when he was here, he had a hamburger..." He smiled softly, cluelessly.

Keith glanced at Sue, "Deer" He muttered, smiling lightly, "Mike got a fox, said he'd give you the fur, since you're the only one who seems to be able to do anything with them" He muttered, "He has to clean it though" He glanced at Shaye, seeing the blood, "I'll prepare this, then we can eat, save some for her, if she doesn't wake up" He said, going to the counter and pulling out a large knife. Meat didn't last long, and you ate what you got when you got it. So the meat for Shaye would only, really last, until tomorrow morning. Though, knowing his sister, she'd be awake in a few hours. He glanced at the two of them, Shaye looked drained, even asleep, and Sue looked stressed, he frowned, but didn't ask what was going on, he doubted he'd get an answer.

Cas sighed, letting Nehk manipulate his wings, he didn't mind, his twin had been doing that for years. He sighed, nodding his head, "No, it wont be" He said, though it was half-hearted. He couldn't promise Nehk much anymore, but he'd get his twin back to heaven, no matter what. He opened his eyes wider, "What, in the hell, is a hamburger?" He asked, shaking his head. He wasn't at all hungry, but if Nehk was, it meant he had to get him some food, somehow.
"Can you wait a bit? Or are you really that hungry?" He asked, he could look for something, though, he really did doubt he'd find a hamburger, whatever that was.
He shook his head, what could he find Nehk to eat. In heaven, one didn't need to eat, but they had, mainly just for the pleasure of it. He shook his head, chuckling, and leaning his had back, exahusted.

Sue's fur hopes died when Keith mentioned it was deer. The meat itself was delicious, but the fur was short and rough, and it could do little more than made nice couch fabric or carpeting. Her pout instantly faded as Keith mentioned that someone else had caught a fox, and intended to give her the fur.
"Yay!" she clapped her hands a bit and sat up, nodding. "All right, sounds good. Do you need any help at all?" She tucked the furry blanket over Shaye and stood up on aching feet, smiling expectantly, trying to lighten the mood. Shaye would come to her senses soon, she guessed, Shaye'd find out that those angel fell for a reason, and that they probably weren't the best people to hang around with.
Mentally, she was still debating telling or not telling Keith about the fallen angels. She knew if she did, Shaye would never forgive her, but she really wanted a third opinion, a tie breaker, and Keith was a sensible man. She sighed, wandering up to Keith, maybe she didn't have to tell him to get his input.
"Keith?" she asked, "Out of curiosity...what would you do, if you met an angel? If you just went out today, and met an angel? I mean, angels aren't bad...right? So like...would you kill it, or run away, or befriend it...I dunno I'm just curious."
---
Nehkai smiled at Cas' reassurance, "Good," he muttered back with a soft smile. He wouldn't let his brother go, he much rather just stay here, and be with him. Though at the comment on the hamburger, Nehk blushed.
"It's a sandwich," he muttered, where you get some stuff, lettuce, tomatoes, and beef, and you stick it between two slices of puffy-looking bread. The man said it tasted really good. I want to try one." He paused a moment, frowning, then put a hand over Cas' mouth. "I know you;re a soldier and all, but we probably shouldn't be saying the H word. We're not angels anymore Cas, saying that is basically calling out their name, and I don't want to be a demon..."
He sighed at Cas's question and shrugged, "I can wait, I guess." It was strange, in heaven, he'd never been hungry, but now, on earth, he felt a gnawing in his gut he'd never felt before. It actually sort of scared him, as out of the greater beings, only demons felt the need to eat. He watched blackened feathers shed from his broken wings and looked up at Cas, at his wings. He touched them lightly, and some feathers did shed, but not like his wings. He whimpered a bit and hid his face against Cas' chest, unaware of any other possibility than the one he'd been taught in his premature years, that he probably was turning into a demon, as unlikely as that was.

Keith pursed his lips, "Um, if you wanna season about half of that, we can save it that way" He said, expertly cutting the meat up. He paused, the knife poised above the reddened meat, looking thoughtful.
"Angels?" He sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "Personally, I think that, no matter what, angels are inherently good" He said, "I doubt they mean us, humans, any harm, we're just stuck in the middle of this war, and despite everything, the angels are good" He sighed, "If I met one? I dunno, I might befriend it, depending on the circumstances, I'd never kill one, not unless it tired to kill me first" He murmured, "To kill an angel would be like killing a pure being, beyond pure, the essence of innocence, and to do that would gaurentee you a one way ticket to hell" He shuddered, "But that's just my opinion, I'm sure others have very different ones"

Cas sighed, shaking his head as he looked down at Nehk, "You're not going to turn into a demon Nehk, those were just stories. An angel has to make a concious decision to become a demon" He said, he knew his innocent brother was terrified, but while in training, he'd been told how one became a demon, because it was important. He listened to his twin prattle on about hamburgers, and shush him about saying hell. It was sort of like back home, Nehk telling him stuff he learned from the souls, and him not understanding at all.
"Sounds weird" He finally muttered, "And, I sort of doubt we'll ever get to try one, the war has basically destroyed earth, humans wouldn't be eating food like that anymore" He said, shrugging pale shoulders, wincing as his back scraped against the cave wall.

"Alright," Sue replied with a slight smile waiting for him as he cut the meat before taking her selection and beginning to season it with herbs and spices. She watched Keith quietly as he pondered her question, wondering for a moment, if he were suspicious of her. But he answered her regularly and without and judgment, so she calmed down.
"Good huh?" she muttered softly, "Even though they've been known to be just as bad as demons when it comes to killing people?" Actually, if she looked at the two sides, angels were far more dangerous in the war. Their behavior was unexplainable, they sought out humans, and with a swipe of their sword ended them cleanly. There was no conversation, no bargaining, no pain, and Sue still didn't have a clue what that was all about, which was why she felt so strongly against angels. They were supposed to be the good guys.
Sue just sighed and continued to wash, nodding as Keith finished.
"So what if you met a fallen angel? You know, not yet a demon, but certainly not an angel anymore? Would you show it the same trust?...This is still all out of curiosity by the way." She sighed and looked back at Shaye a moment, before continuing with her job.
---
Nehkai looked up at Castiel as he spoke about being a demon being a conscious choice. "But the presentation said-" he stopped, falling silent. He trusted Cas over heaven at the moment, and if Cas said it was so, and he believed it...that meant his home had lied to him. He frowned and leaned against his brother, still holding Cas' charred wings, taking to making them beat gently at open air out of boredom.
"It's not weird," he muttered, "The soul told me it was an American staple food, that it was everywhere." He paused, maybe the soul had lied to him too. He looked up at Cas as he made a face of pain and sighed sadly. "I wish I could help you," he muttered. Then he blinked, smiled, and stood after gently tucking away Cas' wings. "Wait here, okay? I bet that girl can help us some more if I could just find her." He smiled, broken wings pressed tightly to his back before he run off sharply. He wouldn't be useless, he refused to be. His brother had been doing everything for him since they'd landed, and he was beginning to feel selfish. He'd find that girl and get her to come back and help again so his brother wouldn't be in anymore pain, and though Nehk was also in pain, he would let that from stopping him. So he ran skinny, charcoaled and barefoot across the forested land, stopping when he came to the mountain, following his senses and ability to seek out his desired soul. It had been a part of his job in heaven after all, seeing as how sometimes souls weren't to happy in heaven, and wanted to run off back to their earth families.
His eyes sparkled as he ran with purpose, ignoring whatever sounds he heard, probably for a lack of judgment, though he made sure his wings were invisible to the public eye.

Keith arched an eyebrow at her, "Fallen angel?" He pursed his lips, once again looking thoughtful.
"A fallen angel?" He murmured again, shaking his head and frowning. "I've never really thought about it. I mean, for an angel to fall, they'd have to do something to piss off God, but that doesn't really mean that they're a bad being" He murmured, "Its like, when you were a kid, and your parents grounded you, you weren't a bad person, you just misbehaved" He said, smirking and shrugging.
"I guess it all comes down to personal opinon" He said, begining to slice some more meat, making sure they'd have enough to last them the next few days.
"Though, I think, even fallen angels are a lot less evil then demons"

Cas listened to Nehk, his eyes drooping, though he sat straight up as Nehk suddenly took off. "Nehk" He cried, trying to struggle to his feet, though it seemed he was unable to. Crying out in fear and pain, the tall angel crashed back against the cave wall, new cuts being ripped in his skin as he desperately tried to go after his twin.
"Dont leave me" He cried, terrified. He had no idea what would happen if the humans caught Nehk, but he didn't want to lose his brother. Struggling, he tried, again and again to rise to his feet, but his weary, aching body wouldn't have it, and again and again he was driven to the ground, beating himself senseless in his attempt to catch up with his twin.

Sue fell silent at Keith's answer, sighing softly. It made sense, more sense that she cared to admit. So maybe it was just her being the hypocrite, maybe Shaye was right after all.
Then she remembered something that made her mind change again. "But Lucifer is a fallen angel, and look at him. God wouldn't kick out angels unless they were seriously tainted, right? That makes them bad, doesn't it?"
That was it, fallen angels were awful, if they had the right muse, they could end up making their own alternate dimension on evil just like the great angel. Granted they'd need a lot of status and power, and Lucifer would probably end them before they got anywhere near such a thing for fear of being overthrown, but still...evil. They were evil. So she should not be letting Shaye near them.
"I'm done prepping the meat Keith," she muttered, "You want me to light a fire to cook it?"
---
Nehk tried to ignore the connection he held to his brother, the fear in his voice he'd caught when he'd run out. Cas seemed so frightened, but he was the one with the sword. He was the warrior. Honestly, it scared him to hear his brother panicking and being so frightened. So much so that he'd barely gotten to the mountain foot before he couldn't walk any farther. He glanced back, feeling Cas' new pains. Was something hurting him? Yeah, he was. He whimpered, feeling torn. If he went back, there was no doubt his brother would cling and hold him down, and his plan would be toast. But if he went, Cas would just continue to make noise and hurt himself until something found him. Despite how much he wanted to run off, he couldn't let that possibility happen. So defeatedly, he wandered back to the cave poked his head in and winced at the sight of his panicked brother.
"Oh Castiel, " he muttered sadly. "I just wanna help you..." He wandered over to his brother and sat down in front of him. "I can do it, I want too, and you're a warrior, you're better at defending yourself than I could ever be. I'd just get in your way in a fight... Please let me go?" He smiled weakly, looking at his brothers fresh cuts, his smile quickly faded. His brother had been hurting himself in his absence. He looked up at Castiel again with a frown, and just scooched over to his brother and lay his head on Cas' shoulder. "I'm sorry," he muttered, "I made you panic, and now you're even more hurt them before." He looked ready to cry again, trying so hard to be useful, and swerving on his emotional roller-coaster as his attempts only seemed to make things worse.

Keith sighed, "You really need to study the bible" He grumbled, "Fallen angels aren't bad, Lucifer is horrible, and yes, he's a fallen angel, but he's just one. One person doesn't make an entire species bad" He murmured, "Lots of angels have fallen, and almost all of them end up back in heaven. Basically, when god lets an angel fall, its to teach them a lesson. Lucifer is a whole different story. Don't assume they're all like him, because if you do, you'll end up doing something you'll regret" He said, shaking his head. Where were all these questions coming from? He sighed, "Yea, sure, go ahead and start the meat" He said, frowning and returning his attention to the task at hand, his mind buzzing.

Cas was more then relieved when Nehk reappeared, "I know you want to help" He said, shaking his head, and scrubbing the tears from his face.
"Just, don't leave, I can't stand the idea of you getting hurt, or the humans killing you, and my being stuck here without you" He said, burying his face against Nehk, shaking lightly.
"I'll be fine" He said gruffly, though he clung to his brother for fear he'd run off again, and he couldn't stand that.
"The girl said she'd be back tomorrow, and she will be" He said, "She'll help us more then, we can't pressure her, or else she might just abandon us" He shuddered at the thought, losing their new friend would be awful.

Sue became quite at Keith's words, and silently she lit a fire and started on cooking the meat. She felt very guilty at the moment. Keith had seemed to become mad with her, and his words had been harsh, but true. She should not judge everybody because of some bad seed. It was no longer a just matter of fallen angels being dangerous, it was a matter of which side they were on, why they'd fallen. There was an equal chance they'd be good, as they'd be bad. Like everything else, she realized with a sigh.
"You're right," she muttered gently. "I shouldn't have gone there. Lucifer is entirely different." She also realised at this point that there conversation had taken a turn off of just being curious, and that made her nervous. Her mind hummed with the stress of finding a way to take off Keith's suspicions. If she could help it, she'd like to keep Keith out of the matter, simply because Shaye'd never forgive her otherwise.
She settled for taking the topic completely off angels.
"So what if you met a demon, that was seeming to be good?" she asked curiously, this time truly out of curiosity alone.
---
Nehk listened to Cas cry and closed his eyes, hearing how upset his brother was, how frightened at his actions, and his fear of being alone, only made him feel all the more guilty.
But more than that, Nehk felt his full amount of guilt for his own inner reaction to Cas holding onto him. It didn't make him feel safe, it made him feel pinned down, and he felt horrible about that. This was his brother, no, even closer, his twin. His twin that was younger then he by one minute. They'd came into the world together, listened to father yell together, fallen to earth together, why now, of all times, would he want to not be with Cas?
He frowned and shook his head, looking at his brother and running his finger's through his blond hair. "How do you know?" he muttered softly, "How do you know she'll come back, Cas?" He fell silent again and sighed, "I won't leave you again. I promise... but...can we at least sit in the sunlight? I'm tired of sitting in the dark."
Nehk figured he'd have to put up with it for now, sitting in a cave with his brother. At least until Cas could stand. But Nehk was no longer afraid, no longer cowering behind the trained warrior. He was becoming more like his old self, and he was wriggly, he wanted to work, to be around souls again. It was a selfish instinct that clawed at his being. It was the reason he had not evolved to a warrior like his brother, or looked for love like his mother and father. He wanted his brother, his family, and he wanted souls. He knew, as well as anybody that listened to him, how dangerous a need that was on earth.

Keith smiled at Sue, though looked once again confused at her statement.
"A seemingly nice demon?" He sighed, "That's a hard one" He chuckled, "While angels are the embodiment of purity and innocence, demons are the opposite. They're the embodiment of darkness, evil" He said, "So, I suppose if I met a seemingly nice demon, I'd assume they were only being nice to me in order to achieve something" He said, "But I honestly don't know, I suppose it would depend on the situation" He responded, shaking his dark hair and glancing at the meat Sue was cooking.
"Should I make a salad or something, we still have some greens, or maybe potatoes?" He asked, figuring they could actually eat a decent meal tonight or something.

Cas sighed, "You're the one who saw her soul Nehk, you said she was good, nice, if she's good and nice, she'll come back" He said, his voice filled with reassurance as he released his brother. He glanced at him, noticing the pained expression on his face.
"Sure, we can go sit in the sun" He smiled softly, before carefully scrambling to his feet and swaying dramatically, before he managed to limp his way out of the cave, and sat down in the soft grass. He glanced up as Nehk came to join him, "You miss them, your souls" He muttered, it was a statement, not a question. He felt bad, realizing he hadn't even tried to help Nehk deal with the loss of something so dear to him.
"I'm sorry" He said gently to his twin.

Sue nodded at his response, "I agree," she muttered softly, "I'd probably be all suspicious of them. Ask lots of questions and stuff..." She paused at Keith's question and smiled, "A salad would be nice, Shaye collected a bunch of fresh spice and veg today, and I still have some vegetable oil. I could make a dressing pretty quick." She thought about he potatoes a minute before smiling and nodding, we could mash them or boil them as a side. It'd work." She flipped he meat on the fire, her stomach growling at her irritably at the smells as the steak cooked in it's own juices and the spices Sue'd been adding. This would be the first time in a long while they'd get a hearty meal. cover almost all the categories... This meal reminded her of something she'd eat back home when she'd had her true family around. A flicker of sadness crossed her features before he pulled it back together and continued working on dinner.
---
"Yeah I guess," Nehk muttered softly, though he wasn't convinced. Just because something was pure didn't mean it would come back. There was an equal chance she'd get figured out by her families and stopped for her own protection. Sue, for instance, that girl that had been with her, she'd seemed ready to cry back to her family. Her soul was almost as bright as Shaye's, though it flickered with the sorrows of loosing everything it had loved in one blow. One didn't need to be smart to know she was just protecting what she had left if she did speak up.
He watched quietly as Cas stood, standing up quickly and taking his brother's shoulders a moment to steady him, then take his hand and wander outside with him, keeping close watch in case he lost balance. Then quietly, he sat down and sighed as a beam of evening sun washed over his body. It felt so nice, being an angel, he could tolerate the dark, but he really felt best in the sun, the gentle warmth.
He flinched at Cas's comment and looked over quietly as he finished. His eyes flickered over Cas's expression, and he swallowed lightly, feeling another selfish wave crawl over him and make his spine shudder. He didn't want to make Cas worry about his own selfish needs. He knew his souls were being looked after, they weren't his anymore though. His eyes grew sad at that thought and taking in a soft breath, he nodded. "Yeah," he whispered, then looked over at Cas, "Don't worry about it though, they'll be looked after just fine." He smiled weakly, though the pain of his lose gleamed in his eyes, and quietly he shifted over to Castiel. "Feels nice, doesn't it?" he whispered softly, changing the subject, "To sit in the sun."

Keith smiled, "Talk about a fancy meal" He said, beginning to peel the potatos. He sighed, catching the look on Sue's face before she managed to hide it. Placing the knife and potato down, he reached over, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her in for a hug. He didnt really know what to say, he and Shaye had lost their parents, grandparents, older brother, everyone that day, but they still had eachother, Sue had lost everyone and everything that had mattered to her, and he doubted anything he could do would make those hurts go away. He smiled, still hugging her loosely, it had been that that had driven him to agreeing to be Sue's caretaker when they had first discovered her, the town had been unwilling, she was young, another mouth to feed, but Keith didn't see her that way, he saw this as a chance to give her a new family, maybe not a great one, but they were still a family.

Cas groaned, glancing at Nehk and sighing.
"It's okay to miss them" He said, reaching out and rubbing Nehk's hand. "Those souls were your life, you loved them, just because they have more caretakers doesn't mean you can't be sad" He sighed, "You lost something important to you, its reasonable to be hurt over it. I miss my job" He said, shrugging sadly.
"I miss my friends, mom, work, and that's alright" He said, glancing up as the last rays of light washed over them.
"It is nice' He agreed, "Unfortunately, we can't stay out here for very long. Night time is when demons are rampant, and I'm sure news of us falling has reached them" He shuddered, not looking forward to being harassed by a swarm of demons. He glanced around, the demons still wouldn't be able to come out for at least an hour or two, because, even with the sun set, the light would linger for a bit.

Sue shrugged and smiled softly at Keith's reply. "It's been to long since we've had a meal like this. A real meal. I'm excited." As her expression changed, she flinched a bit as Keith caught her and pulled her in for a hug. The emotions she hid burst from her like a cracked dam and she started to sob softly. Delicate feminine hands gripped her adopted brother as she pushed her face in his shoulder. She missed them, her parents, her brothers, her pets, she missed them all so much.
She didn't want to live like this, were a normal meal, one that could be dubbed boring in the past, became a very special feast. Were work and sweat was not for money, but to make sure you didn't starve the next day. She just wanted to go home, curl up on her bed with her dog and fall asleep, but she'd never get that again, animals had been hunted to near extinction thanks to the demons.
"We need-" she choked, "I need to flip the meat before I burn it." She pushed away from Keith quietly and went back to cooking.
She felt bad, Keith and Shaye, they'd lost their family too, were was their sympathy from her? Saying they had each other seemed fairly selfish on her part. "Are you okay...Keith?" she sniffled finally, looking over at him with watery eyes.
---
Nehk was silent for a long time, before he finally muttered in a whisper of a voice, "I guess." He shifted, taking Castiel's hand and looking up at his brother as he spoke. "I miss my family and friends too. I bet Mom's really worried, watching us. He looked up expectantly, as if he thought she'd come falling after them. He hoped not.
Nehkai instantly tensed at the mention of demon's, his eyes widening. He looked at the sun, which was going down fast, then to Castiel.
"R-really? You think so? But...but were so close to our crash site, if they look for us, they could find us Cas...and you're hurt, you can't fight them off. We need to go, somewhere safer. farther away from the crash site. It isn't safe." He looked panicky and jittery naturally, instantly up on his feet, bloody wings starting to drip through the bandages. He instantly took Cas's hand, "We'll follow that girl, I bet she knows a safe place..." Once again, his own deep psychological need to be around souls clawed at him to make the decision so fast. He never knew of souls being violent, only having looked after the ones in heaven. Nehk was blissfully unaware of the human flaws that made them so dangerous.

Keith hugged Sue tightly, letting her cry, he knew she needed it, Shaye often did, and he did too, though he never allowed himself to. He sighed, smiling as she finally broke away, going to tend to the meat.
"Me? Honestly Sue, not at all" He admitted, though his voice remained, steady, even.
"I want more then anything to go home, to be with my family, take my damn dog for a walk, but I can't. I know that, and I have to hold it together, for Shaye. I'm all she has, and if I start to fall apart.." He shrugged, "But that's life now, and at the end of the day, I'd rather survive and live another day, trying to put things right again, then just give in and die" He frowned, glancing at Shaye, "Wanna wake her up, it's almost dinner time"

Cas groaned, "Nehk" He could feel his brother panicking, knew he was terrified.
"Nehk, we can't just go running into a human village, not like this" He sighed, "I'm good enough to defend us, believe me" He growled, he wished he could make his brother understand, understand the humans, what they were, what they did.
"Nehk, remember, not all souls go to heaven" He finally hissed, dragging his aching body to his feet.
"Some of these people are bad, indulging in sin, and we can't, can't go and see them, we have to be prepared" He took his brother my the shoulder, semi-leaning on him for support.
"But we'll survive Nehk, and we'll find people to stay with, and I promise, nothing will ever happen to us" He growled, blood dripping down his face, making him look almost ominious.
"Come on, I can set up some defence around the cave, tomorrow the girl will come back, and we'll get her to help us, take us to her village, disgusied as humans"

"That's true," Sue muttered gently, rubbing water off on her sleeve. "I'm not about to give up either." She smiled in weak determination before wandering over to Shaye, kneeling down beside her and shaking her shoulder gently.
"Shaye? Shaye dinner's coming. You need to wake up now." She grinned teasingly, "Dead beat." It was funny because it wasn't anywhere near true, Sue was the one that did next to nothing. She made clothes, she cooked, but that was the full extent of it. She jumped to her feet and skipped to get three carved stone plates. Setting them on the counter she stuffed a forking the meat, then pulled it out and felt the fork tip. Hot. The meat had been thoroughly cooked. She started to place equal portions on each plate and looked to Keith, "How's the potatoes and veg coming? Meat's done."
---
Nehkai was not convinced when his brother said he was enough to protect them both. Not when the angel had a hard time even standing. But then Castiel said something that crushed Nehkai's perfect world. Not all souls went to heaven.
That's right. Souls go to hell too....Souls can be dangerous, wicked, sometimes even worse than demons when given the right power.
This information stopped his tongue, his shoulders slouched, and his eagerness to go to the village was temporally ceased. He looked at Cas quietly and nodded, wiping the blood of his brother's face quietly, wondering if he'd acquired a new wound from when Nehk had tried to leave earlier. The sun was down now, and Nehk could hear things in the forest, he became scared, having actually never witnessed real dark before. It dulled in heaven, but you could always see where you were going. This, this was absolute, he could barely see, and he was scared of what might be behind the trees. He nodded to his brother eagerly and took his hand, instantly wanting to go back to the cave, happy they hadn't tried to reach the village in the dark, with demons around. "What are we going to do?" he whispered softly, "About tonight I mean? What defenses?"

Shaye groaned, rubbing a hand over her face, her green eyes slowly flickering open.
"Hmm?" She muttered, her stomach growled, reminding her of the scent of fresh meat in the house.
"Something smells good" She muttered, sitting up and slowly stretching. She glanced between her brother and Sue, looking momentarily anxious, before getting up and splashing some cold water, from the basin she had collected that morning, onto her face.
"All ready" Keith said, putting even portions on each plate. He sighed, "Water?" He asked, Shaye nodded, sitting down at the makeshift table.

Cas sighed, feeling awful that he had to be the one to tell his twin all of this.
"I'm sorry" He said, literally watching Nehk fall apart for a moment, before they began to head back to the Cave.
"I'll figure this out" He said, meaning the defenses. He glanced around the cave, nodding for his brother to sit down. Carefully, he stretched his arms out, letting a white glow flow from his fingers, carefully coating the cave in it.
"Shield" He rasped, "Should protect us from anything with evil intent. Learned it during camp" He said, meaning when he was in training to be a soilder. Any angel could do it, but it took energy, more energy then he really had to spare right now, but, he had forced his body to do it. Sighing, he collapsed against the cave wall, his eyes flickering for a moment, before he looked at his twin.
"We're safe, for now" He nodded at the thin covering in front of the cave.