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Started January 06, 2020 by @Fraust

tune

"Really? There's more closets like yours?" Cas asked, clearly intrigued. "That's wild…"

Marcos and Halm nodded.
"Halm, isn't you're wardrobe one magic too?" Marcos asked.
"Um… oh yeah!" Halm chuckled as he was reminded. He lowered his head and rested it on Cas's lightly, comfortable like this. All cozy with Cas.

"How many magical things are in your house that I didn't know about?" Cas looked up at Halm questioningly from where he was.

"Um… a lot?" Halm admitted with a soft little chuckle. "At least three, including the wardrobe."

"Really?" Cas seemed bewildered. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

Halm shrugged a little.
"It never came up. It wasn't important. And… I may have forgotten about them."

"What do they do?" He asked, his eyes sparkling and wide with curiosity.

"Well… the wardrobe can take someone's soul out completely without killing them, and the other two things… well, one's the bathroom tub. It'll show you the gods' histories. The other is the pipe in the living room. It can turn into a weapon."

"Oh… sounds a little bit dangerous." At the mention of souls being torn out of their hosts' bodies, Cas's soul started tugging again and he winced, shifting uncomfortably.

"The only really dangerous thing is the pipe. Everything else is pretty benign." Halm lifted his head a little, looking down at Cas with clear worry.
"What's wrong?" Marcos asked. He had been listening quietly, taking in this rather new information on Halm.

Cas didn't respond to Marcos, just looking up at Halm to see if they should. He had moved one hand to over his chest and still seemed uneasy.

Halm nodded a little. He didn't say anything, though. He just lifted his hand up and placed it lightly on top of Cas's, wanting to help calm his soul as best he could.

"…My soul keeps tugging…" Cas eventually replied to Marcos, though his voice was quiet.

Marcos immediately grew concerned, lips pursing.
"I see," he said, looking up at Halm. Halm just shrugged helplessly. He didn't know how to fix this.

Cas closed his eyes when his soul finally settled down and lay weakly against Halm's chest. Nix meowed quietly and pawed at his cheek, seeming worried.

Marcos looked at Halm again, a question in his eyes. Halm shook his head, holding Cas close and rubbing his back softly.
"Perhaps we should leave," Halm said quietly.

Cas whined quietly, his face growing slowly paler. "I feel weird…" He whispered, using the little bit of strength he had to hold Nix.

Halm didn't hesitate- he bolted up, carrying Cas out. He didn't even bother to say goodbye to Marcos- he just opened the door back to the Underworld, holding onto Cas tightly and running back to the house. He went in, going towards the bedroom.

Cas waved goodbye to Marcos weakly as Halm rushed him out, his breathing growing a little more strained. "Am I gonna die…?" He asked quietly, weakening bit by bit in Halm's arms.

"I…" Halm couldn't answer Cas. He really, really couldn't. He held Cas closer. They were in the bedroom now, and Halm set Cas down in the wardrobe gently. He reached down, gently taking Nix from Cas's arms.
"I'll take care of you, okay?" he said gently.

"Halm?" Cas got uneasy being put in the wardrobe. He knew that Halm was going to close the door and leave him in there without his only coping mechanism. Tears stung his eyes and fear penetrated his weakness. "W-What's going on?"

"That's what we're going to figure out, okay? You'll only be in here a second." Halm didn't want to do this, but he needed to examine Cas's soul, and he couldn't risk Cas's and Nix's souls getting mixed up. He cupped his hand against Cas's cheek a moment, then pulled away. He closed the door, waiting until he knew Cas's soul was out of his body. It would slip out slowly, a silvery cord tying it to Cas's body.

Tears rolled down Cas's pale cheeks as he was left in the dark, slowly and painfully losing consciousness. After a couple of minutes, he was cold and limp and his soul was fluttering about anxiously, tugging on the cord.

Finally, Halm opened the wardrobe door again, making sure to block Cas's soul from leaving the area. If he left the wardrobe, he'd die right then. He raised his hands, gently cupping them around Cas's soul. He stayed painfully quiet, examining him closely. Trying to see what was wrong. Cas would still be able to talk and see, of course.

Cas's soul looked distressed, and Nix was yowling worriedly from behind Halm. The soul was bright, alert, and active, but most of that energy was being spent towards paranoia and fear. For whatever reason, even beyond Cas's own knowledge, his soul was terrified of being killed.