being cas is suffering || kyubey

[Castiel]

With the sound of rustling wings, Castiel appeared on a rooftop in Gotham City. He know much of the city, considering that many of his inhabitants were commonly brought up in Heaven before he went with Dean and Sam. Castiel was aware that the city, especially it's more villainous inhabitants, was a large part of the reason why the angels were disapproving of this world. Castiel, in his own examination of the city, saw something different. There was a man who lived in this city who devoted his whole life to stopping the same people the angels so detested. But, Castiel was not in Gotham to visit him. Instead, he had heard instances of a certain being in Gotham - a being known as Kyubey.

Castiel knew what Kyubey was and what he did. It seemed that most everything could be found in Heaven, including information. Castiel had found that Kyubey was a part of the "Incubator Hivemind", which was devoted to keeping the world alive... but at a certain cost. The reason why Castiel wished to speak with Kyubey was so he could speak with him about what he was doing to certain humans - particularly young humans. Apparently, Kyubey targeted people, particularly young people, and gave them abilities... at the cost of their soul energy. While Castiel was aware that Kyubey's methods were necessary, he also needed to speak with him about his doings.

Unfortunately, there was very little to track. It seemed as though Kyubey either left no major signal or had totally left the city altogether. Castiel waited, allowing his powers to expand throughout the city in hopes that he could find something if he searched harder. He began to search through the lesser signals, but it seemed that nothing could be found.

[Mecha Kyubey]

It was interesting, to be followed.

Well, not exactly followed. The presence classified as an angel had not been able to track him, but he had gone to every recent gathering of contractors. Not that there were many of those. Not that he had stayed there, but it was still indicative of an interest in the actions of the Incubators, and after some consideration, Kyubey had decided that a conversation would be far better than the angel going to someone else.

After all, it was easier to obtain information directly, wasn't it?

Appearing in an alleyway, he fluffed his tail out and then ran up the wall to the roof, leaping neatly from one window ledge to the next. Once he reached the roof, he took a few small steps forward and then sat down, flicking his tail.

"Hello! It seems you've been looking for me," he said without preamble. Was this about his actions with Pitch and Hazama? No, the more likely possibility was that this was somehow related to the contractors. But why would such a presence concern himself with the hunting of demons? He couldn't guess immediately, which was ultimately his reasoning for coming here. Merely observing the other's actions as he tracked him would not have answered this.

[Castiel]

The angel's search was possibly in vain. After all, the being he was after seemingly only appeared to people it would make contracts with. Castiel certainly was not going to make a contract with him, so he began to doubt that he would ever find him. Just as Castiel was about to return to Heaven to plan further, he sensed something approaching. It was, indeed, one of the Incubators.

Castiel was... not expecting what he saw when the Incubator revealed itself. It was much more... "cute" than he had expected it to be. However, Castiel knew to look beyond physical appearance. While he didn't understand why the Incubator took that form, especially since he was dealing with an angel. It was small and cat-like. It was definitely not what Castiel expected to be speaking to.

"Yes, I was." Castiel said, now considering how he would get to his point. The existence of the Incubators presented a moral dilemma for him. They sought to defend the universe from a threat, but they ruined lives while doing so - it sort of reminded Castiel of Heaven's plan to allow the Apocalypse to happen. "I would like to speak with you about your... current actions."

[Mecha Kyubey]

"My current actions?" Kyubey repeated, tilting his head. That was rather vague - by current, did he imply he was concerned about the alliance with Hazama? But no, while that was a recent event, surely it was not on a large enough scale to draw the attention of an angel.

"If you mean the contracts, then that is not exactly a current and recent action, but a process employed to protect the universe for millennia."

He curled his tail around his paws, considering the angel for a moment. It was rare to be confronted like this, but not entirely implausible. Other forces did know of the Incubators, though few had ever actually tried to interfere with his species' efforts. It was generally an exercise in futility, and not a possibility to concern himself with. It wasn't as if he could be hurt permanently, after all. Physical damage and threats of it meant very little to him, and the contractors were generally capable of defending themselves - not that many chose to attack them anyways.

"But that is merely correcting your terminology. What do you want to speak to me about regarding the contracts?"

[Castiel]

Immediately, Castiel was slightly suspicious. What other actions had this Hivemind taken besides making contracts? His thoughts were soon corrected when Kyubey said that he was just correcting him. Castiel frowned slightly, though it was barely noticeable. He was still getting the hang of facial expressions. He would probably never actually have facial expressions, considering it felt so strange to move his shell's face.

"...Yes. I do mean the contracts." Castiel said, unsure of how to respond. He was used to being corrected, since he was often wrong about certain things about human society, which one of the Winchester brothers would usually correct him about. However, he did not expect to be corrected by Kyubey. In fact, Kyubey had totally gone beyond his expectations. He hadn't expected Kyubey to be small and... "cute", nor had he expected him to act like he did.

No matter what, he had to talk to him about the contracts. "Your contracts are..." He paused. He honestly had no idea how to address this issue, considering who he was talking to and what the problem was. "Dangerous.... for lack of a better word." There was very little he could say about the problem. Clearly, he wasn't exactly the best at communication, even when dealing with angel business.

[Mecha Kyubey]

Dangerous? Kyubey tilted his head, doing his best to express a confusion he didn't feel. It seemed angels dealt in moral absolutes - the contract system was, of course, dangerous if it only considered the contractors, but given the inherent danger of the demons, it was hardly unacceptable or particularly risky.

"I would not consider it any more dangerous than the task of hiring to a security force, or recruiting soldiers for an army, as humans do." he pointed out now. "Contractors are the only ones capable of dealing with the demons formed as by-products of entropy. The risks are properly explained to anyone who seeks out a contract - since you know about them, I assume you know the process itself. It really is no danger at all - they all give informed and willing consent to it."

With that said, he began to groom himself, knowing that the gestures made him look even more vulnerable and innocent. He had observed how it disarmed most people he spoke with - perhaps it would work even on a being such as this one?

It was worth it merely to gauge the angel's reactions. "Oh, I don't actually know who you are, though you seem to know a great deal about me. I'm Kyubey. What's your name?" he asked now - knowing the topic would return to contracts, but wanting the information anyways. This angel's actions would be remembered perfectly, in case he became an obstacle to contracting.

[Castiel]

Kyubey's explanation of the contracts only served to make Castiel more confused. Not about what the contracts were, certainly, but about whether he should stand for them or against them. Certainly, they served the purpose of keeping the world going well, but yet... they frequently ruined the lives of young humans. Standing with them seemed to be something more reminiscent of Heaven before Castiel had become a Seraph - doing something for the "greater good" as opposed to for humanity, as the angels were originally supposed to. This would be a very difficult choice to make.

"They are dangerous to individual people, however." Castiel stated, trying to come up with a way he could both help people and keep the universe alive. "I understand that making contracts allows you to save the universe. However, it is my goal to... protect people." Saying that felt somewhat strange. Sure, he had been protecting people with Sam and Dean for quite a while, but yet... his goal as an angel had never been to protect people. It had always been to just do what his superiors wanted him to do and nothing more.

Free will was clearly a powerful thing. Soon enough, Kyubey spoke again, this time asking his name... while grooming himself, like any other sort of animal. Why would he do that? For one thing, he likely had no reason to do it. He certainly wasn't like any other animal, nor did he seem to have a reason for doing it. What a strange creature Kyubey was. "I am Castiel." He replied, now looking somewhat confused. They were in the middle of something very important.... so why was Kyubey doing this, if not out of necessity?

[Mecha Kyubey]

What purpose could that possibly serve, protecting individual lives? It was clear that Castiel was looking at this from an incredibly biased perspective. Despite his standing as an angel, he showed the same patterns of thought and action as other individual beings. That meant this conversation would always be at a stalemate - he simply couldn't comprehend the issue the same way Kyubey did.

Well, this was hardly the first time he had encountered such a situation. Finishing his grooming and stretching out, he fluffed out his tail before swishing it in a fluid movement. All unnecessary actions for physical comfort, because that was hardly an obstacle to him - but with the purpose of drawing Castiel's attention. It only made sense to test the angel's reactions.

"Those individuals enter dangerous situations by their own informed choice. They are all given weaponry and abilities to keep them from dying - that is all I can do for them. They are as protected as possible, and are free to work together to increase their safety," he continued, tilting his head to lean into the flow of the breeze that was blowing. "If you still have concerns, you may, of course, intervene in the battles themselves, but I do not think the contractors would like an intruder taking their chances to obtain grief cubes."

Would the angel demand something more drastic, though? That remained to be seen - and of course, if he did, this conversation would quite quickly come to an end. He had no interest in discussing anything with a radical obstacle.

[Castiel]

Castiel decided to ignore Kyubey's movements. He was most likely doing them for no reason, besides his own idleness. Humans did the same thing, as did other animals. Angels, on the other hand, didn't. So, it was difficult to understand why people did them... it was just best to ignore them and move on with the conversation. The conversation was particularly important, anyway.

Kyubey was being.... well, not stubborn. Certainly set in his ways, however. It was getting very difficult to explain his predicament to him, especially considering that Kyubey seemed to accept nothing but his own views. Castiel thought that he understood what he meant well enough, but he could still see flaws. There was clearly much wrong with what Kyubey was doing... but Castiel had no idea how to counter what Kyubey was saying. Everything he said was correct...

Castiel realized that, perhaps, we was not the best one to do this. He needed someone much more emotional and willing to fight for the individuals despite the whole world being at stake. Castiel was certainly not that person. He knew what the dangers of Kyubey stopping were, and he certainly wasn't willing to allow the entire universe to be destroyed for the sake of a few people. And yet... Castiel still felt the need to defend the humans being harmed by Kyubey.

"...I see." He replied, trying to think up an argument. He couldn't think of anything that made sense. Then, he thought of a question. "Do you make it known to your contractors that they will have to spend the rest of their lives doing nothing but fighting these demons?"

[Mecha Kyubey]

What a strange question. Kyubey paused in his movements - practise for appearing more natural, for the most part - and tilted his head as he looked up at Castiel. "Of course, I give them all the information they ask for or require. I describe the process, the wish, tell them how their souls will be moved and the consequences of their use of magic." Wishes were often made at the height of emotion, but he did his best to accurately explain everything - though occasionally contractors tried to rush through it. At other times, they deliberated for an extended period of time, trying to work out how the system worked, if there were any tricks.

There had never been any point in lying. Incubators did not see the rationale behind deception. It was Kyubey's task to answer any question he was asked - but often, they just didn't ask the right questions.

That was not his fault, either. They simply were too emotional and biased, too caught up in their attachments to realize what they were doing. It wasn't his duty to correct them, either - he just had to make contracts and harvest energy. He didn't act outside of that, except to observe.

"But to say they do nothing but fight is incorrect - many of them find time in between fights to do whatever they wish. When working together in groups, they can optimize their time and enjoy themselves. It is not constant strife."

[Castiel]

The more Castiel spoke to Kyubey, the more he began to realize that he wouldn't be able to convince him... and that he had very little to convince him of. It was difficult to convey a point when you couldn't think of a point to convey, after all. Castiel needed to think more on the issue before speaking to Kyubey again. It was a very delicate process Kyubey seemed to have set up and, when looked at from the point of view Castiel could look at it from, not very flawed at all.

Fortunately, Castiel didn't look at things from that viewpoint anymore. Still, it was impossible to ask Kyubey to forsake the universe for the purpose of a few lives - not only because it would destroy everyone, but because he doubted Kyubey wouldn't simply leave if he asked something like that. There was no chance of fixing this process, not only because of what the process resulted in but because Kyubey seemed to be stubborn about it. Of course, he was stubborn for good reason, but stubborn nonetheless.

So, Castiel decided he would have to leave for now. He needed much more time to think on this. The angel simply nodded slightly to Kyubey before speaking. "I see." He began. "I believe I need more time to think about this. We will speak again later." With that, Castiel disappeared and went back to Heaven.