"I hope so. What's her name?" He asked, adjusting his grip on Nix.
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"Celeste." Celeste was known as the goddess of stars, guardian of souls. Halm smiled, carrying Cas out of the house.
Cas nodded. He recognized the name, of course. "How long will it take to get there?"
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"Couple minutes, at most," Halm said. He started down a path, one that wasn't lined with garden plots. It was gradually getting darker as they walked down it, but Halm wasn't bothered by it. There was nothing dangerous.
Cas stayed close to Halm's chest, looking around while he was carried. "Is Celeste nice?" He asked.
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"Yes, very," Halm said. It was nearly pitch black now, the only light coming from Halm himself, and the soul that hung between his horns.
"That's good…" Cas didn't like not being able to see anything, but he didn't mention it. He could tell they were getting close anyways.
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Halm nodded. Eventually, a light appeared in front of them. Halm was heading towards it, stopping a few feet away from the source. It was a doorway.
"We have to wait for her now," he said.
"Okay." Cas blinked in the light, and Nix's pupils tightened. "When do you think she'll be here?" He asked quietly.
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"Any moment now," Halm said. He seemed completely relaxed, and in a good mood. After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing a woman. She was a foot shorter than Halm, but she was still obviously a god, several souls floating around her. They looked like stars.
Cas looked up at the woman from Halm's arms, a little intimidated by her height, but still seeming to be relatively calm. "Hello, ma'am." He dipped his head politely, unable to bow from this position.
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Celeste looked at Cas when he spoke, a little surprised.
"Hello," she said, face falling into a kind smile. "Who are you?"
"My name is Cas. Halm claimed me or something." Cas explained simply as he pet Nix. "I think we're here to give you a soul?"
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Celeste raised an eyebrow, looking up at Halm.
"So, you finally cracked and Claimed someone."
"It was an emergency," Halm said as an explanation. Celeste just shrugged.
"No, you're not here to give me back my own Claimed," Celeste said with a light chuckle. "You're here to pick up many souls for Halm to process."
"Ohhh…" Cas thought for a couple seconds. "Why do you have souls?" He asked, confused. He thought he might be being a little rude, but he still wanted to understand.
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"Well, when someone dies their soul comes to me first. I make sure Halm isn't swamped completely with his workload." Celeste smiled sweetly, as if she were talking to a child. Or a pet. Halm didn't like how much she was talking down to Cas, but he said nothing.
"Makes sense." Cas hummed. He didn't like the condescending tone either, but he wasn't stupid enough to try and reprimand a goddess.
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Celeste, satisfied with Cas's response, reached into her pocket, pulling out a bag for Halm. She handed it over.
"Same amount?" He asked.
"As always," Celeste said.
Cas eyed the bag curiously, though it made him feel strange. It was almost as though his soul was tugging on him, trying to go towards the other souls. He put one hand on his chest, looking like he felt uneasy.
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"Thank you," Halm said. Celeste nodded, patting Cas's head once before leaving. Halm let out a breath.
"Sorry about tha- Cas, are you alright?" Halm looked down, noticing how uneasy Cas looked.
"I… um…" Cas kept staring at the bag. "I think my soul wants to be with the other souls… it's… it's tugging. It feels weird…"
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Halm's eyebrows went up a little, and he slid the bag of souls into one pocket.
"That's… not good," he mumbled quietly to himself.
Cas relaxed a bit when the bag was out of his sight, and Nix rubbed against him to calm him down. "What are we gonna do with the souls?"
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"We're gonna plant them later," Halm explained. He turned, heading back the way they had come.
"You doing better?" he asked. He was obviously concerned for Cas, after what he said about his soul.
"I think so, yeah…" Cas had closed his eyes by now. "Why would my soul do that, do you think?"
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"Well…" Halm wasn't sure if he should tell Cas why; Halm knew, of course, and that's what made him nervous.
Cas looked up at Halm curiously, awaiting his answer. "Well, what?"
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"That… usually only happens to those who are going to… perish soon." Halm remembered quite clearly his first encounter with this…
Cas's eyes widened and his heart started racing. Oh shit… wait… what does that mean for me? "Am I… am I gonna die?" He asked weakly. "Am I sick?"
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"I… I don't know," Halm said softly. "You're not sick, I can tell that, but…" He pulled Cas a little closer, protectively.