#wizard sam

"Hello, Sir Castiel," the boy greets, beaming up at Cas.

"I’ve told you, Sam, my name is Cas," he chides, hopping down off his horse. Sam smiles shyly, ducking forward to accept the reins and stroke the horse’s neck.

"Of course. And hello to you, Pimp," he says fondly, smiling up at the flax-colored animal. Pimp - properly called Pimpernel, but the stable boy seems wholly unable to remember that - was clearly once a magnificent creature, flashy and bold, but the years have worn him down to something creaky and far humbler. Still, he’s a faithful steed, and Cas would have no other.

"How are your studies coming along?" he asks Sam curiously, grabbing a towel to wipe the dust off his face.

Sam flushes and ducks his head. “Y-you remembered about that?”

"Well it’s not every day someone become apprentice to a wizard," Cas teases, and Sam smiles abashedly.

"Actually, if you take into account the number of wizards not just in our country, but every other known land, and average how often each of them will take an apprentice, it’s actually a fairly common-"

Cas has to laugh. “You know what I meant, Sam. It’s impressive, what you did, getting apprenticed at so young an age.”

Sam is blushing again. The trough of water behind him is steaming and bubbling. “Ah, Sam…?”

"What? Oh, shit!"

Sam throws his head back, breathing deeply and clenching and unclenching his fists for a few moments. “Ugh. Sorry. We’ve kind of been digging at my natural abilities lately and everything’s just closer to the surface and it’s really hard to control, you know, and-“

"Sam, it’s fine," Cas says with an easy smile. "Thank you for looking after Pimpernel. Now, I’ve been on the road for three days and every muscle is aching. I think I’m due for a long, hot bath and an even longer sleep. I’ll see you around."