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“You’re an Otter,” Dean said, blinking at Cas as he fumbled forward, sniffing around and then scampered up into Dean’s bed and stared at him with his big brown eyes. “Why are you an Otter? Where’s Jimmy?”
Otters are blessed creatures of the Lord. Why do you think they are so full of Joy? Jimmy is with his family. He has done God’s Work. Cas blinked and then got distracted by Dean’s comforter so he lifted it and began investigating.
“You’re telling me you could have appeared as an Otter at any time?”
No, Otters do not like war. They allow Angels to use their bodies for short periods of Joy and exploration. Cas poked his head out from under the blanket and Dean rubbed his eyes.
“So now we’ve saved the world and you decided to be a water weasel. That’s threatening. Aren’t Angel’s heaven’s warriors? That doesn’t look real warrior-like to me.” It was really too early for this shit. Dean wanted to bury his head under his pillow and pretend it was a dream, but Otter Cas didn’t seem inclined to let him.
The Best warriors know how to put down their swords and celebrate peace—otherwise why would one fight? Cas clambered up to Dean neck and sniffed his hair. Dean threw up his hands and lifted the Angelic Otter off his head.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… what’s with you? Before you were all Mr. Holy Mission and now you’re…sniffing me.”
I had duties to perform before. Now I do not, and as I said the Otters are blessed creatures of the Lord who allow Angels to use them as vessels to experience the joy of exploring and playing.
Dean stared at the fuzzy Otter of the Lord. “Playing?”
He nodded sagely then twitched his giant black nose and looked over to Sam, who popped his head over from under the blankets “Whazzat?”
“Cas.”
“S’nOtter.”
“He’s an Otter.”
“Why?”
Hello Samuel. Do you want to play?
Sam blinked, then quietly burrowed back under his blankets. Cas turned back to Dean and kicked his webbed feet against Dean’s belly.
Do you want to play? There is a pool outside. Or we could go to that lake in your dreams. I’m a fresh water Otter.
"Why does that matter?' Dean asked.
I am fresh water otter, Dean, otherwise I would be a Sea Otter, and while the Sea Otters are blessed, they lack back legs. And are mean. They are mean, Dean. Unlike River Otters. Who wish to be your friends. I wish to be your friend. Lets be friends. And now you can be my slide. I have a ball. Do you want my ball? Friends share things. And I have a ball. If you want it.
Cas pulled out a large beachball from sort of mystical otter pocket and held it up.
“You can still do all your Angel mojo?” Dena picked up the ball and Cas pounced on it.
Yes.
“So you’re a Holy Water Rat with Wings?”
Yes.
Dean fell back into his bed and covered his face with a pillow as Cas rolled on his beach ball.
Can we play hide and seek? I never get the be the one who hides.
---
After Sam had sufficiently woken up and gone through the same confusion of Cas being an Otter who played with his shoelaces, but stared with the same imploring intensity he ever had in a human vessel (only made worse that he was furry and had eyes the size of Kansas—not that Dean thought Otters were cute. Hell no. Especially not Cas-Otter, who bumbled around with a strange mix of Otter-playfulness and Angelic determination. He waddled-marched), he did let Cas guide him to the pool because…well... “He’s had as rough a time as we did, he deserves to play.”
“He’s an Otter.”
I wonder if they have shellfish. My vessel very much likes shellfish. Do you have any shellfish Dean?
“I don’t have any goddamn shellfish.”
Shellfish are a wonderful gift Our Father has given to Otters. And Angels. Also they make an amusing pun due to how much they sound like the word "selfish". I do not believe shellfish are selfish, though. They just like eating. Cas the Otter admonished, which was ridiculous as he was riding on Sam’s shoe and holding onto his pant leg like a toddler. If you could go faster Samuel?
Sam went faster, because he was Cas the Otter’s little bitch, apparently, and Dean went to go get some coffee, because he’d defeated the Devil (what would the Devil be? A Beaver? a Platypus?) and now his favorite Angel had turned himself into an aquatic mammal who was riding on his brother’s shoe. Coffee was needed, so much coffee was needed. And pie—pastries. Baked goods of some sort. If he was eating he would not be tempted to give in to Cas’s earnest Otter wiles.
---
Dean, you should come into the water. It is quite comfortable Cas was flipping around in the deep end of the pool, and apparently Angel Otters had powers or some shit that stopped swanky hotels from caring that there was a Otter in the middle of Kentucky (yes the final showdown between the Goodies in the Baddies happened in Kentucky, where else would it have been? Canada?) kicking around in their swimming pool and eating shellfish it had pulled from somewhere. Cas The Otter was currently totally abusing his Angelic powers to open the shellfish bare-handed.
“I’m not going in the water.”
Sam had been cajoled into the water and Cas was also abusing his powers to BAMF on top of his head and slither back into the water and Dean could have sworn he’d heard tiny little “wheee!” from the back of his mind that had not been him and had totally been the Angel. Sam smiled up at Dean and Dean decided it had not coffee he’d needed, but booze, because he could not handle Sam being Cas’ Very Special Otter Slide.
“Dude, come on, how on earth are you still grumpy? He’s an Otter. You have to laugh at that.”
Or you could pet me. I am quite fuzzy. I am to understand humans enjoy petting fuzzy things
“I’m going for a drive.” Dean said, got up, and left.
Would tickling me help? Sam says you are a tickle fiend Cas protested.
"I did not."
I am an Otter of the Lord, Sam. I would not lie. Cas scolded.
"Don't you mean Angel?"
...Yes
---
Cas the Otter still had the Passenger Seat Magic Appearing Powers Of Potential Car Crash And Dean yelped as an Otter was Suddenly There and looking inquisitively at his car radio. Thankfully the rat was dry, at least.
You are upset, Dean..
“I’m fine.”
You do not appear fine. You appear to be as angry as you were before we rid the world of Lucifer. Do you feel that Heaven will turn it’s back on your now that you think you are no longer needed?
“I don’t care what Heaven does, Cas. I didn’t before, and I didn’t when they were jerking me around, and I don’t now that they’ve decided that everything is fine because we put Lucifer in a can again. Fine, okay, you guys can do whatever you want.”
Cas the Otter looked down at his paws and slapped them unhappily on the seat. But this is a time of Joy. God has returned to Heaven. You are one of his blessed creatures. You are free to be happy now.
“Thanks for the permission.” He turned a harsh left and took a deep breath and stroked over the wheel. “Cas, really, I’m fine. You go back with Sammy.”
I thought this form would bring you some level of Joy. It is one of the most playful of God’s creations. Should I have tried a dog? Cas crawled up to the back of Dean’s seat and rubbed a fluffy, fuzzy cheek against Dean’s, and Dean jerked away, but then he could see Cas’s wide, pleading eyes and he pulled over to the side of the road and rested his head on the wheel of his car.
“No I don’t…Jesus.”
Cas blinked at him and slithered down into his lap, resting on his back legs and staring up at him. You deserve happiness, Dean. You have had a difficult life. Good times do happen.
“Sorry, I can’t just switch forms and want to play around in a pool; I’m stuck in this body.”
I still grieve for my brothers and the comrades I have lost. I have not forgotten the good people who fell for a cause they believed in. All is forgiven, but not forgotten. That doesn’t change the fact that the sun is shining, the pool is warm, and there will be strawberry-dark chocolate pie in your room when you return.
Dean stared at Cas who nuzzled under his chin and, yeah, if he’d tried that in Jimmy’s body Dean would have had some Strong Words on the subject, but the dude was a freaking Otter, and he was fuzzy, and Dean had saved the world, he could do what he wanted for a bit.
“Pie? Really?”
Yes, Dean.
Dean sighed and grabbed Cas by the scruff and dropped him on the passenger side, but Cas just kicked the air contentedly. Dean turned back into the road and did a very illegal U-turn to go back to the hotel.
Dean?
“Yeah?”
Cas held up a cassette Can you play this one louder than is advisable? But preferably not so loud as to cause aural distress or interrupt other peoples' days.
Dean slipped it into the player and snorted when the first guitar rifts of “Living On A Prayer” came on and Otter Cas began to jive slightly in the passenger seat doing a little otter hip dance.
“You are the most stereotypical Angelic Otter in the world.”
I am also delightfully furry. Cas said and Dean could have sworn he heard the Angel singing along in the back of his head, but, you know, nerdy dude had saved the world too, he could rock out in an Otter body to Bon Jovi if he wanted.
But he wasn’t going to pet the guy, there were lines. Lines that should not be crossed.
Cas had a twinkle in his eyes that might mean he had a Mission, and that Mission would be to get Dean to enjoy his fuzziness, but Dean was a Man and Men didn’t fall for that shit, Angel or no.
When they got back Dean stayed in his beach chair and occasionally threw the beach ball back at Cas, then went to his room, and sure enough there was a cool strawberry-dark chocolate pie all for him, which he ate out of the pan and watched junk TV as Cas made Sam give him ride around the room and Dean laughed at him, because he looked ridiculous. And he took pictures, so many pictures for later where he could go “And here’s where Sam was made a Holy Rat’s pony, and here’s where Sam tripped over the couch, and here’s where said Holy Rat levitated him off the ground…”
And Dean did not go to sleep and have a warm fuzzy body curl up next to his neck and if he did he did not pet it, shut up, he could still beat you up and Cas sighed happily into “Angels don’t sleep, save for the part where we are sometimes Otters and do.”
The night might have been more restful if, you know, they hadn’t gone to the lake in his dreams and Otter Cas hadn’t gone right back to frolicking, but that was a different story.
A/N
The best part of waking up, is a Cas Otter in your comically large cup!
Dean I do not believe this was intended to be an actual drinking vessel, or if it was, it was designed by someone with some sort of body dysmorphic order. Cas said as he patted his paws around the rim of the gallon mug that Sam had gotten Dean as a joke and Dean was so not taking as a joke. Cas had crawled in and read the words "#2 Savior of the World" and Dean had asked who the best one was and Sam had pulled his own mug out that said #1 and they had fought until Cas had gotten involved, and then it was just too ridiculous to be taken seriously anymore. Like Sam. And his hair.
"I don't care, I want it full of coffee and I want it now." Dean said.
You will have a heart attack and die. Cas said very sincerely, You should fill it with milk. I worry over the calcium content of your bones.