1. Blessings of Hell

Castiel circled the devil’s trap, around and around, walking in a continuous loop with his eyes never leaving the creature in the middle. It was inhuman – naturally – the way he could walk with such grace and precision without looking at where his feet were going, his gaze unblinking and distrustful.

Dean hung back for a change, acting grim and angry because he was obviously nervous and confused, the skittish look in his eyes betraying him. Sam never thought he would see the day Dean would defer to anyone but their father, but things had changed in some rather awkward ways since Castiel showed up. This was hardly the thing that bothered Sam most, but it was surprising.

“Cas…” Sam sighed and crossed his arms. The creature on the floor looked up at him, letting out a pitiful mew. Dean shuddered, and Sam raised an eyebrow at him. “Really, dude. Really?”

“What? There’s a breeze.” Dean zipped his jacket up with a side serving of bravado.

“We cannot trust this demon.” Castiel finally stopped walking but continued staring down at the thing.

Dean shifted uncomfortably, and Sam rolled his eyes. “Oh, you’ve got to be joking.”

“You must kill it, Sam. You have the demon knife.” Castiel spoke with his usual formality, his arms hanging at his sides like he had not quite figured out what they were good for yet.

“Which I am not going to use. Not on that.” Sam pointed down, and the tiny kitten let out another mew.

“Dude, it’s possessed, end of story. Kill the damn cat and lets go.” Dean shuffled towards the door, his point of radius remaining on Castiel which made his angle somewhat crab-like.

“No! It’s a kitten!”

“We are not PETA! Kill the fluffy adorable cute baby monster and let’s go!”

Sam glared at Dean then turned to Castiel. “It’s possessed? So why can’t I do an exorcism?” Sam waved his hand high over the kitten, which was batting at the painted edge of the trap, trying to get to Sam.

Castiel’s expression narrowed, but he did not reply. Sam put his hands on his hips.

“It’s not possessed, is it? It’s something else.”

Dean frowned, and looked at the kitten, then back at the angel. “Cas?”

Looking for all the world like he wanted to gut Sam along with the baby cat, Castiel slowly turned his gaze to Dean. “You are familiar with hell hounds.” It was not a question but rather a statement of fact, and both brothers nodded in agreement, Dean paling a bit at the memory.

“There are other…creatures like them.” Castiel turned his disapproval back to the kitten.

Dean tensed up and made no effort to hide his reaction as he took three large steps backwards from the kitten, which was small enough to fit in Sam’s pocket.

“It’s a…hell kitty?” Sam asked, then lost it, laughing until he was bowed over, propping himself up on his knees. No one joined him, and he eventually wiped the snot from his nose and snickered at Dean. “Hell kitty!”

“Dude, so very not funny. If you don’t want to kill it…” Dean steeled himself. “Then I will.”

Castiel’s expression turned soft and adoring, which made Sam roll his eyes again.

“No one is killing the cat.” Sam lifted his hand to stop the outcry, glad that if nothing else Castiel’s default setting was ‘obedient.’

“No, not killing it. It belongs in Hell, we can send it back.” He turned expectantly to Castiel.

“I don’t think we can.” Castiel sounded genuinely confused as he studied the kitten, then crouched down to look at it more closely. Dean was visibly trying not to grab his angel and haul him away from the demonic hell kitty.

The kitten was so young it could barely walk, its dark red fur ragged looking and sticking out in tufts. It shifted itself away from Castiel and made another stumbling try for Sam, falling on its face as it bounced backwards from the edge of the trap. It mewed in frustration, and then hissed at Castiel, who stood up quickly.

“No, we cannot.”

Dean was outraged. “Why not? It doesn’t belong here!”

“I’m afraid it does. It was sent here; they are well hidden, but the markings on its soul are set.”

“What?!?” Dean damn near shrieked, and Sam tried not to laugh again.

“It’s soul has been sealed to its owner, who must accept or kill it.”

There was a long moment where the only noise in the room was from the kitten, who alternated hissing at Castiel with desperate mews aimed at Sam.

“You told me to kill it.” Sam felt his anger welling up, and he knew his expression had turned to stone. It was Dean’s turn to snort in disbelief.

“What? Hell sent up a fluffy fur ball to keep Sam warm?”

Castiel kept his eyes locked on Sam. “Yes.”

Dean opened his mouth in surprise, but nothing came out. He looked at Sam instead.

“You told me to kill it.” Sam repeated.

“I knew its true nature immediately. I knew it was sent here. I knew you could kill it. I was not certain that it was specifically sent for you until I looked closer.” Castiel shrugged, unrepentant, which just pissed Sam off more.

“It’s a baby!”

“It’s Hell Spawn!” Castiel fired back.

“It’s MY Hell Spawn!”

Dean muscled in between them, but faced off with Sam. “Dude! Listen to yourself!”

“I am! It’s mine, and I’m not killing it!”

Dean and Castiel stepped backwards as one, which was the exact moment Sam got second thoughts. He decided maybe a bit more information was needed, and was surprised when Dean turned on Castiel before he could.

“What is a hell kitty, anyway? Do they grab souls, like Hell Hounds?”

Castiel shook his head slowly. “No. They are…keepers. Guardians. They protect the dreams of the demons they serve. Traditionally, they have only been granted to dukes and princes of Hell, as they are very powerful, and somewhat willful.” Castiel chewed his bottom lip, giving the kitten a wary, sidelong glance. “I have never actually seen one before.”

Sam and Dean exchanged confused looks. “So wait, Lucifer sent me a guardian attack kitty to guard my dreams?”

Castiel would have rolled his eyes, Sam was sure of it, if he only knew how. “Yes.”

Dean shook his head. “Why?”

Castiel stepped back up to the devil’s trap and looked down at the kitten, which flopped backwards and tried to lick itself in a false show of nonchalance in the face of the gigantic angel in front of it. Sam wondered if the kitten could actually see Castiel’s true form.

“I do not know. Perhaps he is…currying favor.”

“Wait, what? Like…courting?” Dean sounded as appalled as Sam felt.

“Yes.”

Dean turned on Sam, pointing accusingly. “He couldn’t just send you some chocolate?”

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, okay, stop. Castiel, what are the drawbacks here? Can Lucifer turn the kitten into a flesh-eating monster or something? Can the cat steal my soul, or whatever?”

Castiel looked affronted. “As I explained, the creature’s soul has been sealed to its owner. No one but him – you – may command it.”

“Right.” Sam pinched harder, and the kitten let up a long, thready howl. “Okay.” He leaned over and scraped the edge of the trap with his shoe, breaking the circle as he picked up the kitten.

“SAM!” Dean lunged for him. The kitten launched out of Sam’s gentle grip and landed on Dean’s chest, tiny nails digging into the leather jacket. Dean stopped short and let out a horrified sound as the kitten hung on, dangling, mewing and mewing.

“You scared him.” Sam slowly plucked the kitten off of his brother, and tucked him up to his chest. It’s fur was burgundy red, and promised to be a long, lush coat once it grew out of the awkward fuzzy stage.

Dean’s look of horror turned to outrage. “He scratched the leather! He ruined my jacket!” He pointed at the kitten while staring at Castiel. “Smite that unholy mother fucker.”

Castiel gazed at the kitten with a look of distrust. “As I explained, I cannot.”

The kitten snuggled around against his chest, trying to get close to Sam’s heartbeat and letting out a purr that was more like a power saw. Sam smiled and fussed as he tucked it into the inside pocket of his corduroy jacket, then buttoned up. He felt the kitten squirm in the pocket, and when he peeked inside his jacket two black, beady eyes gazed back in adoration.

“You need a name, little guy,” Sam said, stroking the outside of the jacket.

“Sam, do not name the hell kitty. We are NOT keeping the hell kitty…”

Mafdet

The name floated into Sam’s consciousness, not quite a voice but not a thought either. Sam nodded. “Okay, Maffy. We’re leaving now.” Sam headed for the door.

“You named it? You named it! What about my jacket? Sam? Sam!” Dean followed him anyway.

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