1- Squirrel and Moose

"I'm okay," Alces replied, while wiping the blood off his blades on a corpse.
Castiel just nodded, and quickly cleaned his own blade as well. He liked to use a bow and arrow more, but resolved to using a blade in close combat. He tried to do it the least possible, for he feared his fighting type would betray him as being a trained angel soldier.
Bobby grunted. "I don't want to disappoint you boys, but this has nothing to do with the werewolf issue we've been told about. I fear we might encounter more problems in that area."

Dean frowned, turning to Bobby. He mindlessly tried to clean his blood soaked knife on his already dirty clothes. "What do you mean?", he asked, sounding a bit wary. After all, they didn't have a single day off ever since they had left Carleen's town. "I'm not too psyched about going off against anything else any time soon."

Horknath grunted in agreement, trying hard to rub all the blood from his skin and weapon. His coat was perfectly clean still - he was so more careful with that than with his own body!

Bobby sighed. "I'm saying that there will be more work to do in here. But... we'll look into this tomorrow. We're all exhausted, and the full moon isn't until a few weeks anyway." He looked at all of them, as if he was taking in the amount of bruises they had. "Dibs on the bath," he then said with a flat voice, before he exited the abandoned house they were in.

Bobby could probably hear a whole chorus of "OH C'MON" coming from behind him as all the group unhappily followed him out of the building. "He always calls dibs on the bath", Dean protested lowly, mumbling it to Castiel. "Always using that old man excuse!"

Horknath shook his head, rumbling a protest. He was the one with the most stinky surfaces to clean up after all! No lie. But at least maybe he could have time to write that letter to Carleen...

Castiel squinted slightly, looking back at Dean in confusion. "He didn't use any excuse, Norway. He merely stated that he wanted the privilege of going first."

Sam sighed. "Maybe we should order ourselves three baths. I mean. Don't get me wrong, but I don't really want to bathe after Sus has taken all that blood off himself," he said, looking at Horknath. They had quickly found him an alias as well, and used it, since it was easier for them to pronounce.

Dean snorted, shaking his head. "Oh, he doesn't say it, not really. If you ask, though, he definitely will. Believe me, I know the man too well!" He stared at the cloth he used to hide his soulmate mark, and wrinkled his nose with disgust. "Well. This needs to be washed too."

Horknath lowered his head, embarrassed. "'s not my fault. I just have more, uh. Surface. It's easier for me to get bloody and dirty", he defended himself. "But it's fine. I'll go last."

Castiel observed Dean's forearm as well. He didn't say anything, just... stared. For a little while. And then looked expectantly at him, since he had to wait for him to get on his horse to climb behind him.

"No, don't worry," Sam replied with a smile. "We'll order a bath for you. I'll take Ursus' as soon as he's done with his. Our two dogs can share theirs," he said with a smile, while getting on his horse.

Dean raised an eyebrow when he noticed the other man staring insitently at his forearm. But well, in the end, after two weeks with Castiel, you got used to all the awkward staring and the batlant disrespect for personal space the guy had. To be honest, by now, he almost found it amusing. He hopped on his horse, then signaled for Castiel to get on as well, even offering a hand in case he needed help. "C'mon. I can't wait to be done with the day and get to sleep!"

Horknath let out a snort, then a small chuckle. "Our two dogs", he said again, shaking his head as he carefully climbed on his own horse. He seemed to reflect a bit, before speaking again. "I'm... glad, that uh, Alaskan is getting along with your brother. I still can't get over how lost he seemed back a month ago, when I fished him out of the forest."

Castiel did take Dean's hand as a means to support him while he climbed on the back of his horse. He quickly wrapped his arms around his waist, since it had proved to be the safer and most comfortable position for them both. Thankfully enough, Dean's saddle was large, and indeed meant to carry a passenger. He had probably chosen it a while ago thinking about the girls he could take for a ride.

Sam arched a brow, and threw a glance at Castiel. "You mean... he seems less lost than when you found him? But he looks so oblivious and closed to the world every time you look at him."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Hey. You be careful with those hands. Offer me a drink first." Yes, it was the same joke every time, but it fitted. So, sue him. It was true though, that Castiel was very... touchy, and didn't seem to understand any of his comments about it. Whatever.

Horknath rolled his eye. "You didn't see him the week he was at my place. That man over there forgot to eat. For two days straight. Hell, I had to remind him until he finally picked it up that you usually have three meals per day." He still didn't know how to feel about that. It had been sincerely weird. Almost too much. No, screw it, definitely too much. "And don't let me get started on bathroom times. It's like - he didn't remember what you are supposed to say out loud and what not."

"... I'm almost out of money, Norway," Castiel protested weakly. "I will need to make more, if I keep buying you drinks every night." Yes. Yes he did take him literally and bout him drinks everyday. It didn't prevent him from leaning against Dean's back, though. Like he always did.

Sam frowned. "Hold on. He - didn't eat? Wasn't he like, starving when you found him?" Now all of this sounded very, very weird...

And Dean did not protest when Castiel felt him leaning against him. Like he always did. He laughed, though. "Man, you know you don't have to buy me drinks every time just because I say it, right? Mine is just a joke. But, well. I'm never going to refuse a free beer mug", he said, turning around to throw him a smirk.

Horknath nodded. "He was. But..." He sighed, then briefly glanced at Castiel, behind him and sitting on Dean's horse. "If you want my opinion, between you and me, that poor man was definitely fried by some magic or something similar. What I mean with it is, he got attacked so hard that his brain just deleted all the important informations." He shook his head. "He barely remembered his name, back then. But he has never been unkind to me once."

Castiel squinted a bit while looking at Dean over his shoulder. Then sighed. "How do you make money when you're on the road?" Well, he needed advice. Especially if he was buying him drinks. Because that's a hint he did get.

Sam relaxed a bit. Of course. Being tortured by angels, or another magical being could explain Castiel's state as well. "Poor guy," he commented. "Did he ever talk about what happened? I mean... he seems to be recovering some memory over time. I'm surprised he still hasn't had a breakdown or something."

"I pickpocket old ladies", Dean answered right away, with his most serious voice. He waited for a few seconds, t let that sink in, and then he glanced back at the other man with a shit eating grin, to see if he had believed him!

Horknath simply shook his head no. Every time he had tried to have that talk with Castiel, he had shut himself up and refused to talk any further, closing himself up completely like a clam. "I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to talk about it either, if that happened to me. Not even if I remembered." He scratched his eyepatch.

Castiel was looking at Dean with a dumbfounded expression. In fact, he remained silent for a few more seconds before he tilted his head, frowning slightly. "Why. I mean- why would you rob old ladies. They're a demographic in need."

Sam made a face, looking at Horknath's instinctive gesture. "I guess we all have our crosses to bear." He sighed. "By the way, I've never asked you. Do you intend on staying at Ellen's place as well?"

Dean couldn't take that stare, nor that slightly reproaching tone Castiel had used to answer him. He bursted into a genuine laugh, managing to say, "I was joking, Alaskan! Oh God - I was joking!" His laughter finally wore down, and he wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. "Aah, it's all too easy to fool you. It almost makes me feel bad." He smiled to him. "We play poker, actually. Yes, we still scam people, but it's mostly stupid assholes that are looking to lose their money."

Horknath blinked, a bit taken aback by that question. "... I don't know", he answered, honestly. "First of all there is a person I... promised I'd meet up with, once we put an end to this story. The first thing I'll do when Alaskan will be safe, I'll gather supplies and get back to where we started from." He paused. "Then, maybe I'll come back. After all, I am not as stupid as to think I still have a house back there." He sighed.

Castiel blinked. "Oh. I see. So this is why Ursus and you spend a lot of time playing card games." He pondered over the thought for a moment. "Would you teach me?"

Sam looked at him with surprise. "But- Don't get me wrong, it'll be a long way back. Are you sure you could make it on your own? Don't you want us to come with you?" ... then, something nagged him. "Why did you leave that person behind?"

Dean raised a brow. "Aren't you too... you know. Nice, to learn to scam people?" He shrugged, though. If Castiel wanted to learn, who was him to refuse? It could prove to be fun. "Sure, why not. I'll play some mock games with you at the bar. Or in the room. Yeah, the room", he added, after hiding a yawn behind his hand. "I'm way too tired to get to the bar. What about you, eh? You tired?"

"Well. You did leave some new outfits back in that town, if I have understood well. You others could accompany me, if you wish." Horknath barely glanced at Sam, before averting his gaze quickly, feigning a sudden interest for his horse's head. "I... they couldn't come", he explained, awkwardly. "It was a last-minute agreement."

"Not really," Castiel replied earnestly, before he remembered he was pretending to be human. "You already know I am a bit of an insomniac," he added then, a bit awkwardly. That was the best excuse he came up with and, honestly, it felt as if it were real. He needed to get a good sleep once a week, so forcing himself to sleep every night only allowed him to sleep one to two hours maximum.

Sam squinted a bit, but nodded, with a smile. "You're right. We'll have to go back anyway. I think Norway definitely wouldn't be against it," he said with a chuckle.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He still remembered how much it had freaked him out when he had first woken up very early in the morning and had seen Castiel staring at him. He was a bit more used now, though. "Well, then we will stay at the bar a bit. But not too long!"

Horknath tilted his head. "He liked that place?", he asked, a bit naively. After all he didn't have a single clue about Dean and Carleen hooking up.

"We can play in the room if you're tired. I won't mind," Castiel kindly protested. "I just wish to learn poker a bit. I'll let you and Alces sleep, afterwards." After all, Dean probably still shared a room with his brother.

"Oh, not the place. He quite liked Lady Carleen," Sam snorted, then shook his head. "He's such a womanizer. I've never gotten him."

"Nah. We can stay a bit down at the bar after we take that bath", Dean shrugged. "Maybe we'll find a couple of idiots willing to bet away some money!"

Horknath stiffened a bit at that. "You mean he... he and her had a..." He paused, thinking of the right way to say it. "A fling?"

Castiel remained thoughtful. "So that means I'll be able to watch you compete for real, against rightful opponents. It would indeed be better for my learning process."

Sam sighed. "Ursus and I think so. We also think he exited her home like a coward on the next morning, because she kept on insisting that she held a small grudge against him."

"Fine. Let's do that then", Dean answered, throwing a glance to Castiel still. "Did anyone ever told you that you talk like a book?", he told him with a small smile. "Rightful opponents... learning process..."

"... oh." Horknath said nothing else - he just stared down with a frowny, but also kind of resigned, expression. Now Carleen asking Dean to talk with her alone. He didn't know how to feel about that, honestly... after all, what right did he have to get angry, or feel wounded? He barely knew her...

"As a matter of fact, no," Castiel replied, tilting his head. "IS it... too peculiar to your taste?"

Sam did notice Horknath's sudden change of attitude. In fact, it made him frown with concern. "Hey. Are you alright, Sus?"