[ stalker community video + text; IC-ly dated at around 3am ]

[loyalbound]

[ the video feed starts, and although Castiel is clearly awake and in front of his phone, face furrowed in concentration, it's immediately obvious that the video isn't intentional. in fact, he has no idea the community's currently spying on him posting. wherever he is, the room is dark, marking it as the middle of the night; but as your eyes adjust, you might notice details: cheap-looking wallpaper, messed, unruly bedsheets, a yellow arc on the wall where the glow of a streetlight from outside is coming through a gap in the curtains. Cas himself is, perhaps unsettlingly, out of his trenchcoat for once, and even the suit has been discarded; instead, he's in a loose t-shirt. even more unsettlingly, he's clearly just woken up only minutes before, and he looks shattered.

oh, and there's a pair of small, feathery wings just visible coming out from his shoulder blades. if your eyesight's really good, you might be able to notice the ends of the feathers look singed.

there's nothing audible but the sound of keys being pressed; he pauses once to yawn slightly, then looks incredibly annoyed with himself and goes back to typing. ]

I don't have much else better to do right now, so I may as well update about the current situation here. The demon Crowley managed to track down Death not so long after I left the hospital. Dean met with him, as a matter of fact. Apparently he was treated to pizza and was able to convince the Horseman not to destroy Chicago. Regardless, he was somehow able to convince Death to part with his ring, which leaves us with all four Horsemen's rings and thus the key to Lucifer's cage. ... However, the only plan we have right now is Sam's and... frankly, it's crazy. I don't think any of us would choose it if time weren't so increasingly short. But at the same time, I think it's the best chance we have right now.

Though I maintain that doesn't mean I have to like it.

While I'm here. Do any of you have advice for ways to prevent sleep? I lost patience with it several nights ago.

[ feel free to call him out on the fact that he's conspicuously not mentioning the virus and looks like he should be asking for ways to up his hours of shut-eye, not reduce them. ]

Comments

[reloadfromsave]

You could drink coffee.

Are those your angel wings?

[loyalbound]

[ he doesn't flinch, but his wings twitch and he looks very disconcerted. he mutters "of course" before giving up and speaking more audibly, still keeping his voice quiet. ]

No. It's a virus.

[reloadfromsave]

I thought so. I have them too.

[loyalbound]

You do?

I'm still trying to figure out what the point of this one is.

permavid;

[omnomsgods]

[ yes, she notices both the wings and the tiredness (she had wings before it was cool!). but- no, she didn't bother reading the text. ] I think you need a cleaner nest before you get some sleep. [ nodnod. as a bird, cleanliness is important! ] ...Do you need help with that?

[loyalbound]

[ the feed's still going, luckily for her. his wings press against his back, out of sight. ]

... I just woke up. I'd rather not try sleeping again.

[ keeping his voice down, though, because he doesn't want to wake the boys. ]

[omnomsgods]

You sure need it. [ With her hands she makes circles around her eyes, apparently mimicking dark circles. ] Didn't anyone tell you how it's important to keep a clean house? [ beat ] And your wings, too. [ she's saying he needs a bird bath. ]

[loyalbound]

It's not our house, and we won't be here for long. [ almost absently, he rubs a hand over one eye. ugh, tiredness, go away. ] ... and those wings aren't dirty. They're scorch marks.

( text forever )

[ex_apocryphas39]

It is rather difficult to say, I am afraid; despite attempts, the body will eventually come to possess what sleep it happens to require.

[ a small pause, and: ]

However, it is not entirely impossible to remain awake quite a while longer through work or through movement. If the mind becomes occupied, the body will tend to follow.

[loyalbound]

[ the video feed still runs, but he opts to reply in text. ]

I see. That makes sense, thank you.

You know this from experience?

[ex_apocryphas39]

You need not thank me, truly.

Perhaps. I have often observed as much in others, as well.

[loyalbound]

I see no reason why not.

Hm. I suppose there's no shortage of things I could use to occupy my mind.

[perma-video/private/untacable]

[enma_ai]

[..Cas, you are just going to get this look.]

[loyalbound]

[ he shoots her an irritated glare and hisses: ] What?

[ the lack of sleep is making him even shorter than usual. because wow he is so not in the mood to be cryptically stared at. ]

[enma_ai]

[Snippy much?]

Good luck.

[then she cuts the video.]

[papshooshing]

WHY DO YOU NOT WANT TO SLEEP?

[loyalbound]

Hours of voluntarily doing nothing and being aware of nothing aren't appealing.

[papshooshing]

DUDE, JUST REST.
YOU ARE GOING TO NEED IT.

[loyalbound]

I've tried.

[descry]

i'm sorry.

[ perhaps as strange as his change in outfit - river is using text to reply for what may be the first time ever. ]

[loyalbound]

[ he notes the text. notes the fact that she's using it. comes to a conclusion. there was a reason he'd tried to opt for text before the community took that out of his hands. so it's not too difficult to join the dots here; she doesn't want to be seen either. probably for a similar reason. and so he frowns, but he doesn't comment on it. ]

For what?

[descry]

a lot of things. you're undeserving of torment.

[lockon2urheart]

Coffee's the easy way, but it'll make you pretty jittery as a trade-off. Eating's another, as long as it's not too heavy. Moving about helps, as long as you don't exercise too hard and just knock yourself out - anything that gets some adrenaline flowing is good. Things that get your brain working too, from conversations to something like video games.

I'll take a wild guess that here's probably not much point in me saying it kind of looks like you could do with it, though. It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate. To...put it mildly.

[loyalbound]

[ wow what an informative answer!! consider him slightly placated and impressed. ] Video games?

Things have become exceedingly hectic, yes. There doesn't seem much point in sleeping.

[lockon2urheart]

[ LOCKON UNDERSTANDS NOT REALLY WANTING TO SLEEP FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, OKAY... ] I know, I know, but you'd be surprised how ten minutes with something that requires reaction time and thinking can perk you up, short-lived though it may be. Careful though, they call them timesinks for a reason.

Hah, I know that feeling. The problem is at least some is kind of necessary to function the next day, right? You could try compromising and just grabbing a few hours. You want to be at your best before you, uh... okay, honestly, I've no idea what, but it sounds like a real undertaking. [ It sounds a little like someone's letting Lucifer out of a cage, tbh, but he's gonna give the benefit of the doubt that they're good guys since they apparently saved a town... ]