3 - On the run again

Raphael eyed the food suspiciously, but he ate in the end, saying nothing through the whole meal. Eventually, he pushed the plate away without a word, and stood up, with the intent of going to his room and crashing on his bed to sleep.

Castiel looked a bit awkward all of a sudden. "I- I'm alright, don't worry. I felt- sick, but it's over now."
Bobby was still frowning. "Mh. Well. Seems like the knocking is over now as well. Pica's friend - the dwarf - said he went to check with the cave's guardians if we could safely get out tonight. We might go in a few."

"Excuse me." Selena snapped coldly, trying to stop him on the spot. Yes, she knew she had to let a lot of things get by. Raphael was still an Archangel. But this really didn't give him the permission of being a dick. "I don't think I've heard the magic word."

"Yeah", Pica piped in from her corner of the room. "Apparently the demons decided to shift a bit to the South. This means we will be able to sneak out and maybe not have to fight anybody. It's good news, I guess."
Dean frowned a bit. "But it could still be a trap, right? What if they are trying to lure us out by making us think they went away?" He paused. "What I am trying to ask is - are we sure they aren't around the mountain anymore?"

Raphael frowned, and stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to look at Selena, tilting his head slightly. "What sort of spell were you expecting from me?" Yeah, no. He had probably never thanked anyone in his life.

"They aren't," Valdyr confirmed them as soon as he entered the room again. "Apparently, they fought with the archangel Raphael over something, and all of them went separate ways. We should take advantage of their feud and disappear as well."

Selena merely raised her eyebrow at him. Thinking that he was probably just finding excuses, because he couldn't be that ignorant, right? "Alright. I will humor you", she said in the end. "Have you ever heard of this amazing spell called 'say thank you, you ungrateful brat'?"

"Raphael was here?" Dean sounded worried, and frowned deeply as he turned to look at Bobby. "He was there at that village too. Remember?"
Horknath seemed worried. "How did he manage to track us down so quick?" On one side, he was pretty worried about being the cause of them being easily found. I mean, just ask about a group with an half orc, right?

Raphael's frown got deeper. "I provided you a shelter, brought in wood to warm you, and meat at your table. Should I really be grateful of you cooking it for me aver what I've done?" Yes. Yes, he was being a prick.

And yet again, no one had supposedly seen them disappear in the mountain! "I think it shouldn't be difficult to recognize a group as ours," Bobby thought out loud.
"I'm sorry, but-" Valdyr started "I think we'd better worry about it once we'll be further away from this place. Better seize this opportunity while we still can."

"... as I have said thank you as well, yes." Selena quickly smothered down her surprise. She should have guessed it on her own. "Nothing is a given. If someone does something nice for you in this sorry excuse of a world you rule, you thank them. That's one of the few things that keeps society from crumbling." She paused. "Especially if it's me doing something out of pure kindness for the same person who enslaved me." She looked at Raphael coldly, narrowing her eyes.

"I agree", Dean said, getting up from his seat. "We should go get out belongings and get the hell out of here." He looked at Valdyr. "I've heard from Pica that you have a secondary entrance on the other side of the mountain, right? We could use that", he added.

Raphael remained silent for a little while still, holding Selena's gaze. Then, after a while, he took a deep breath. "Thank you. For the meal." And he said nothing else. If anything, he stood there a bit awkwardly in the middle of the room. Angels weren't known for their 'people skills', after all.

Valdyr nodded. He made sure everyone was ready to go, and guided them there, with their horses. "Pica, I'll need to ride with you, if that's alright," he told her friend, before hesitating a bit. "I've never ridden a horse in my life though, so- Please don't do anything crazy."

"You're welcome", Selena answered curtly, sitting rigidly. She stared at him for a long time, finally raising a brow when she felt that an awkward amount of time had passed. "Is there something on my face, or are you just unaware of how a normal person behaves?", she asked, honestly finding that a bit funny.

"My horse, my rules", Pica simply said, getting on her horse with a surprisingly graceful motion. She had passed a lot of time on its back, so she was feeling at home on there. She begrudgingly extended a hand to him, still clearly upset at the notion of him coming with them.

Raphael hesitated on how to answer her. "I don't know. Are you expecting anything else from me, or may I go?" He frowned slightly. Oddly enough, he seemed less cold, and more... confused, now.

Valdyr sighed. "Alright, just give me a second." He took a flask that was hanging from his belt and drank a bit from it. Actually, Valdyr had been wearing oversized clothes for their trip. No one had dared to question him over it, but now that he had drunk his potion, there was no more wonder as to why. Dwarves and elves had remained a legend for a good reason. Whenever they went out, they took on a more human-like appearance.
So it's as a taller man that he climbed behind Pica, and laid his hands on her sides.

Selena just couldn't not let a snicker escape from her lips at that. Raphael really looked like a confused kid right now - and what made her laugh was also that it was kind of terrifyingly endearing. "Oh, my. You really are a sheltered child", she chuckled, turning away. "You may go."

Sera had already taken hers - but in her case, it merely hid her ears making them seem human and cancelled some of her elvish traits. She glanced at Valdyr, gritting her teeth when she found out that yes, he was still looking that kinda brand of handsome she liked. But she was still mad at him, so she shooed it away. "Careful with those hands. They better stay there", she said, looking forward as she waited for everyone to be ready as well.

Raphael seemed a bit confused still, but he finally turned away, to lie down in his room that was upstairs. He only intended to rest, but in fact collapsed on his bed and slept for quite a long time. What would Selena do in the meantime?

Valdyr sighed. "Pica, please, I wanted to come. Can you stop acting like you hate me for it already?"

Selena simply explored the house, and prepared a hiding spell. Her mother had thaught her some voodoo, and she could still make good use of that to protect herself. Usually, when creatures felt that kind of enchantment, thay thought a witch was nearby and they avoided to meet her path.
Afterwards, she made herself some tea, to try and make herself feel as if she had a home, for a bit.

Pica snorted. "I don't hate you", she said pointedly. "Hope I never do, that gets dangerous. I am just mad. And worried. Blame me for that, I dare you!"

It took Raphael some hours to finally get back downstairs. His hair was a bit ruffled but aside from that, he looked just the same. "Panthera Leo," he called her, looking for where she was into that house.

Valdyr held back a smile. "Oh, come on. I've been dying to hunt with you one day, and you knew it was bound to happen."

"The kitchen", Selena answeredmindlessly as she put fire to a bowl, pulverizing the ingredients of the hiding spell. There, she was done. She looked satisfied at the last things - some bird feathers - burning while she sipped on her tea.

"Yeah, yeah, just... not like this, while we are on an emergency run with demons tailing us", Pica murmured, finally proceeding onwards with her horse. "I would have rather brought you out on a quiet hunt. A vampire or something."

Raphael eyed quickly what she was doing, but didn't comment on it. Instead, he looked at her. "I have a favour to ask you before I go."

Valdyr sighed. "A vampire still kills people, Pica. Just because you've become good at neutralizing them doesn't mean it's necessarily less dangerous."

Selena barely turned towards him. She raised a brow. "A favour? Which means I could refuse?" Well he hadn't said 'order', so. "Do tell. I'm listening."

"A vampire is more predictable than a demon. Or a high ranking one like that stupid Sobek", Pica quipped back. "It would be like hunting an animal, just a more clever one. Demons are nasty sons of bitches, all of them."

Raphael sighed, rolling his eyes. But he seemed resolute. "I want you to keep working for me without my mark," he told her after a little while.

"I know," Valdyr grunted. And they probably bickered like that for a while, he insisting that he was very capable, thank you very much, and her repeating that it was a bad idea.

"Well I'm glad our relationship has passed that phase," Bobby grunted to Ellen, a bit moodily.

Selena froze in the gesture of bringing the cup to her lips, and stared at him, looking honestly incredulous. "... without your mark?", she repeated, confused. "How would you be sure I could obey you like that? You know perfectly well what I think about working for you." She didn't know why she was even protesting - that could have only benefitted her!

Ellen laughed. "If I remember well, it was you insisting it was too dangerous for me to be out there, and me telling you to worry about your own ass instead", she reminded out loud, looking fondly at him. "I don't think those two are a thing, though. Yet."

"I'm your only chance to see your father again." Raphael pointed out, before he wet his lips. "And you would be more useful to me if you could act freely, without catching anyone's attention. What I need right now is a person I can rely on, not a slave."

Bobby held back a smirk. "Yeah, probably not. But still. I recognize I've been a damn stubborn idjit back there. Sorry 'bout that."

Selena grimaced. That much was true - and for as much as she hated to admit that, she was not a saint. If she could be free to see her father again, even only for another hour, she didn't care if she had to work for an Archangel, for God or for satan himself. She still hated that she was being put in the condition of having to say yes to that. "Fine. Do your thing." How stupid to think, for a brief second, that Raphael could be doing that out of kindness.

"It's fine. You got whackd, you learnt your lesson, and you meant to be nice back then", Ellen replied. "I knew it, but by now you know I don't like to be babied. I still really appreciate someone worrying about me." She smiled at him. "So, thank you."

Raphael took her hand in his, and caressed the mark with his thumb, making it disappear. "I'll ask you this only. You are no longer subjected to me, but you're free to come into this house whenever you wish, if you do not reveal its exact location. I need you to track the rogue angel - Castiel - again. But this time, we won't try to corner him. I need his help."

Bobby held back a smile. "Eh. You're welcome, Ellen," he told her with a fond gaze, before he sighed a bit, focusing on the road instead.

Selena raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why this sudden change of heart?", she asked suspiciously. "What do you need his help for?"

Ellen hid a smile, keeping it for herself - as she kept for herself the fact she would have wanted to hold his hand. It could wait, until they were in a safe place again.

Raphael hesitated, but... He felt he could trust Selena, in a way. "Castiel was granted with a human soulmate. Who happens to be the bearer of Michael's true vessel. If the allegations regarding my brother are true, I need to provide him and his soulmate protection, to ensure Michael never finds his vessel." He seemed pretty salty about it.

"We should find some quiet place to ourselves later on," Bobby said, after clearing his throat a bit. "You know, some place with a double bed-"
"Oh, Norway and Alaskan had a double bed," Sam said, bringing his horse next to them. But the "WHAT" Bobby almost snarled at him gave him second thoughts about that decision.

Selena seemed a bit struck, by that answer. She opened her mouth, as if to suggest him 'What about you speak to your brother before believing rumors  spread by a demon', but she thought better. After all, if she could help ensure the safety of someone, why complain? "Alright. How will I keep in contact with you, though?"

Ellen turned towards Sam, her eyes widening. "You mean we broke our backs on the single beds for no reason?" She did sound a bit pissed off as well, but she minded herself. She even smile, on an after thought. "Those two are really hitting it off, aren't they." She reached out to pat Ursus' arm a bit.

"Pray to me." Raphael actually smirked at that thought. "No one ever prays to me anyway. I'll hear you right away." He looked around. "I'll be going. Try not to die on your mission. I won't find another hunter like you for centuries."

Bobby was about to protest some more, but paused. "Hold on - What?"
Sam held back a chuckle. "I guess, yeah. With anyone else, Norway would've protested about the king-sized bed right away. I guess things are going pretty smoothly for them."