"You're not," Halm said, moving his head to lightly press it against Cas. "I've been around for a long time, Cas. I've seen so many things, so many memories. Cas, just because you can't read doesn't mean you aren't smart- I should know. I've seen it so much…" he nuzzled Cas lightly, trying to comfort him.
Cas huddled close to Halm, sighing again. "Could I read in past lives?" He asked. "I mean… when I was a human, that is."
Halm paused for a moment.
"I can check," he said softly. "If you want me to."
"Sure…" Cas let Halm hold him and closed his eyes, making himself relax.
Halm held Cas gently, eyes flickering as he looked into Cas's soul's memory again.
"Hm… yes," he said gently.
"Does that make it easier to learn now?" He asked hopefully.
"It could, yes." Halm's eyes flickered, and he wasn't examining Cas's soul anymore. He smiled softly, pulling Cas a little closer.
"It all depends on you."
Cas hugged Halm tightly. "I'm willing to try, I just… don't feel like I'm gonna be able to do it… and failing at something that's supposed to be really simple is discouraging."
"It's not really simple," Halm said quietly. "It's going to be harder for you to learn this now, instead of when you were younger. But it's gonna be okay." Halm hugged Cas back. "I'm gonna help you."
Cas sighed, burying his face in Halm's chest again. "…Can we start with something simple?" He asked weakly. "Maybe we could use the recipes… it might be easier since I've got a basic idea of what would be in food."
"Of course," Halm said. He kissed the top of Cas's head lightly, wrapping his arms around Cas and just engulfing him in a hug.
"Thanks, Halm… should we go downstairs now?" He asked, looking up at Halm.
Halm nodded.
"Sure," he said. He swung his legs off the bed, standing and still holding Cas. He carried Cas out, going to the kitchen.
Cas glanced up at Nix, who was perched calmly on his shoulder. He occasionally nuzzled against Cas's hair, but remained silent.
Halm stepped into the kitchen, going up to one of the cabinets. He opened it, pulling out one of the cook books. He brought it over to the table, sitting down with Cas in his lap.
"You ready?" He asked gently.
"Ready as I'll ever be…" Cas sighed, laying his head on Halm's chest. "Anything like… uh… cookies? I know what's generally in cookies."
"Sure," Halm said. "How does chocolate chip sound?" He opened the book up, holding it in their lap so Cas could see.
"Sounds good to me, love…" Cas sighed, looking down at the jumbled mess of letters strewn haphazardly across the page.
Halm looked down, shining over the recipe to have it fresh in his mind.
"How much came you make out?" He asked.
Cas looked over the page with a quiet sigh. "Well, I see a whole lot of letters, but not many words…"
Halm nodded, thinking for a moment.
"Do you know how to sound words out?" He asked.
"Um… not really." Cas admitted, starting to blush a bit in embarrassment again.
Halm nodded again.
"Want me to go over the sounds the letters make? It'll make this easier than trying to memorize individual words."
"W-Well, I know what the letters sound like, I just don't really know how to… uh… connect the sounds to make words, I guess…"
Halm listened quietly.
"Okay then," he said gently. He didn't want this to be an uncomfortable process for Cas. "We can work with this."