#estdevium

raised you from perdition | raised from perdition

                   fire.

Yes, Dr. Castiel Novak thought rolling his eyes in amusement, Kleisthenes invented fire. Perhaps he should have been watching where he was walking---the humanities building at the mid-western university had small hallways and accommodated far more faculty than it realistically should---perhaps he should not have been mumbling about the origins of democracy in the middle of the hallway. Perhaps a lot of things. 

It was not his intention to walk headlong into a rather firm man who was barreling down the hall in the opposite direction. It was even less his intention for the collision to cause the man to spill his coffee.   And yet---here he was, staring in mild shock, at mess of coffee and strewn quizzes on the carpet and at a pair of impossibly green eyes staring back at him. 

“ Excuse me! I am terribly sorry. This... ”   he sputters into some sort of an apology---an attempt to hide the furious pounding in his chest and the slight flush on his cheeks.   “ Please allow me to help or cover dry-cleaning for your clothes. I should not have been so careless. ”

Kleisthenes may not have invented fire, but Castiel is more than willing to believe that, perhaps, this man had. 

"Oh, you. I recognize you."

hanako floats around the man a few times as if to double check that he does recognize him, and it's from that other place, but not for very long. hanako's good at memorizing faces. when he stops in front of him, he knows that he didn't really even get a word in, but he remembers the scene. hanako made the mix, after all.

Rui’s – admittedly, gotten a little lucky with familiar faces. Hanako being his Hanako had been luck only, Rui thinks, and he’d pushed it by assuming Nene was the same one he knew (even if she was). Rui had... Rui had been forgotten before, so even though he recognizes Dean, he makes no attempt to insinuate that he does.

It’s easier that way, admittedly, in case Rui has been forgotten about again. While he hadn't been particularly attached, it's less than... ideal, to know someone else doesn't know who he is anymore. He knew how badly it had hurt him once upon a time when Hanako didn't know who he was.

So as he gazes out at the fog, one hand flexing out at his side to resist the instinctive want to play with his threads even if there's no threat at hand, Rui doesn't admit that he knows the face nearby.

"Are you meaning to take care of some of the statues yourself?"

Rui glances over his shoulder; the attempt to repress his threads doesn't work very well, because after only a few more seconds his hands have both raised, and he stretches a web idly out in front of him.

Welcome to Eversanctum, Dean.

You awaken in the Grove with a key to cabin 02 clutched in your hand.

You have retained the ability to regenerate.

Upon checking out your room, you’ll find The First Blade inside.

You are safe here, Saved One.

Dean will be placed on a semi-hiatus for you!

This was decidedly not how Rui had imagined his night would go. Granted, of everyone who could have ended up in the same safe zone as him only to wrangle him into agreeing to quest with them, Rui supposed he had at least ended up with one of the better options here. Didn’t mean he was particularly fond of what they were having to do, but. At least it was an annoying task with someone who was. Fine.

Rui probably looked less than impressed, though.

“So.”

“... pixies?”

Rui absolutely looks less than impressed. This little test the city was being put through had already a nuisance and a half (he still remembers the task Hanako had dragged him along on, and Rui has considerably more Hanako Tolerance than he has Tolerance For Anyone Else), so he isn’t exactly big on. A maze?

“If you wanted to look into them you could just have come by here at any other time, you know. Or are you just looking for reasons to spend time with me any time this place is a hellscape now?”

... the implied teasing gets lost with the deadpan of Rui’s voice, but it’s not like it matters. Dean usually dishes something back out in return anyway. Still – Rui shifts his weight a little bit. “Well. We’re here now anyway, I guess.” Not that they’d had much of a choice. They’d agreed to the quest and just – poof. Here they were.