July 23rd excerpt:
“Anything?” Celeste hummed, thinking it over. “You would give up… anything… for your baby brother.”
“Yes, please!”
“No! ” Sam grit out, renewed determination in his eyes. He slammed a boot into the wall. “I won’t let you!”
Tag: celeste
Sam will still feel Jacob when he looks at him (and boy is that a weird feeling to get from a guy smaller than him, but Jacob remains uncursed), but since Jacob is both nonthreatening and means no harm, it’ll be very light, almost like a tickle. Even Dean will make a more solid impression on Sam when he glances over.
Brothers Saved 2
(( Back by popular demand! If you want to catch up on the storyline of these two brothers, check out the link!)
AU: Brothers Saved
Timeline: Sam is 10, Dean is 14
“Tell me everything.”
Dean sat close to the edge of the bed, far enough away to avoid the vertigo looking down had caused him moments ago but close enough to stare expectantly up at Sam.
Nothing in Dean’s voice gave away the fact that Sam towered over him while sitting.
Instead of sitting on the bed like his older brother, Sam leaned against it, putting his eyes only slightly above Dean’s head. There was nothing but concern in those hazel pools, and that alone told Dean how serious things were.
Normally there’d be teasing. Banter. Good-natured jibes between the brothers that came as naturally as the sun rose. Instead, the tension in the air between them was so thick it could be cut with a butter knife.
Sam took a deep breath to steel himself, the humid breeze washing over where Dean sat. Dean refused to let any of his trepidation show. He was the oldest, therefore it was his job to reassure Sam, not the other way around. There was nothing else to it. Dean had spent his entire life looking out for the kid; that wasn’t about to change just because he’d lost a few inches.
Okay, maybe more than a few, Dean admitted to himself like he would admit to no one else, watching Sam fidget in place. The kid could star in Godzilla vs Mothra if he wanted to. Still doesn’t change a thing.
“You… you jumped in front of her attack,” Sam said, softening his voice when he saw Dean flinch. “The room turned white, and when it stopped… you were gone.”
Dean frowned at that. His own recollection from before waking up on the pillow at a fraction of his height was sketchy at best, but that light– an all-encompassing illumination– had haunted his dreams until it became his entire world.
“Dad broke the door down, and everything got real crazy,” Sam went on, looking down. “Everything was loud, she was trying to stop him… and I saw you. Just lying on the floor, barely a scrap of cloth. I… I almost didn’t grab you. I didn’t know it was you until I saw your hair.”
“That’s over now,” Dean said sternly, drawing Sam’s eyes back up to himself. Those huge hazels locked on him, making him stiffen in place.
Dean did what he could to suppress that instinct. This was Sam. They were still brothers. From the look on Sam’s face, the last thing he had to worry about was being in any danger in that gaze.“Yeah,” Sam whispered. He took a deep, steadying breath and his voice was more solid as he continued. “When Dad hit her, her hold snapped, and I fell. I grabbed you, then Dad hauled me up and out of the room.”
Dean didn’t say a word, and he worked to keep any emotion from crossing his face, but he turned slightly ashen to hear how close it had come. Giants fighting, John tossing himself into the fray in his somewhat reckless manner– especially when it was Sam in danger.
“We didn’t think you’d wake,” Sam trailed off. His fidgeting resulted in a hand reaching for Dean, then jerking back like he’d been burned. Remembering Dean’s first reactions to him after waking.
Dean hauled himself to his feet, gesturing for Sam’s hand. Sam hesitated, then put it down next to him. Instead of just touching it with a hand, Dean decided to lean on the hand like it was an offered seat.
“I’m awake now,” Dean said, his tone kind for Sam. “You did what you had to do, and got me out of there. That’s what matters.”
A smile edged its way onto Sam’s face, and Dean knew he was getting through to him.
“Whatever happens, it happens to both of us,” Dean said firmly. A finger beneath him rose up, briefly nudging him off balance, but instead of falling over, Dean found himself sitting further on the back of Sam’s hand. He snorted, then laughed out loud at how ridiculous it was. Dean Winchester, sitting on a hand.
Sam joined in, his laugh deeper and more rumbling than it was before, but just as warm and kind.
As they tapered off, a different sound came, and Sam blinked in surprise.
Dean reddened, holding his stomach. “Do you have any food?” he asked weakly.
Sam’s eyebrows went up as he held in a grin. “Sure thing. Bobby’s got hot dogs in the kitchen,” then snickered.
Some things never changed.
Since the witch has never disclosed her full power, it’s impossible to know the real scope of the curse. All I can say is it’s been proven to affect people up to 16 years of age, and the older you are when you’re cursed, the less you’ll see… other benefits.
Cas will be in the stories for sure, it’s just that he’s twisted up in Main Plot things, and so must wait for his time. But he will appear, and a lot of explanations for what has happened to Sam (both brothers in BL and BC) will be given at long last.
Celeste has a plan, and no one will stop her.
(Try not to send in duplicate asks! We will get to them, but unfortunately with full time jobs it’s difficult to answer things as they come in, which is why we schedule the asks to post. A flood of the same question will not make us post it faster.)
Well, like I said in a previous ask, she does have a backstory and I’ve written out the first time she came into play. As I said before, the only person who will find out what’s going on with her before Sam and Dean do in the storylines will be the Grand Prize winner from the coming contest. Reading that short story will be one of the prizes given out. All the rest, her age, how and why she’s a witch, everything, is a spoiler for the various AUs.
I can’t say too much without giving storyline away, but Sam of Wellwood is its own standalone (ish) AU– as much as any of the BA multiverse is standalone– and Celeste has her own plans for these brothers that she sometimes lets me in on. This is one of the first stories where she started acting out on her own. She’s a little fed up with Sam and Dean.
One of the prizes this year will actually be a special sneak peek at the background of Celeste, and where she came from, so be sure to participate in the contest!
artwork by @lamthetwickster
Cas will be in the stories for sure, it’s just that he’s twisted up in Main Plot things, and so must wait for his time. But he will appear, and a lot of explanations for what has happened to Sam (both brothers in BL and BC) will be given at long last.
Celeste has a plan, and no one will stop her.
It is, the poor brothers!
For anyone that missed it, during the original guessing game for the AU and a few of the excerpts, in Brothers Consulted, Sam and Dean did not escape from Celeste. John never found her, Walt never rescued them. The brothers woke up together in a hexbag a week later.
Taking the first chance he gets, Dean cuts them free and they scale down the nightstand she left the bag on, getting away. Problem is, they’re still thinking like humans, so they go looking for help. And the people they find don’t help them find their father like they’d hoped.
Captured just like the others littles in Taken, Sam and Dean are shipped off to England (Much like Mina Chandler would have done with Bree, Mikael and Christian if given the chance). Once there, Dean contrives an escape using a paperclip left near their cage, getting himself and his little brother out of there. They aren’t about to make the same mistake twice, and are found huddled together by an older couple, standing the same size as Sam and Dean. They take the two children in, sheltering them until the brothers decide to move out.
And of course, they pick 221B Baker Street to move into.
Character Profile: Celeste
Name: Celeste
Age: Unknown
Species: Witch/Archangel
Eye Color: Ice blue
Hair Color: Blonde/Brown depending on form
Gender: Currently female
Known Abilities: Hexes, curses. Able to manipulate her form if she needs a disguise. Feared by other witches for her willingness to go through with her threats, and her lack of morals. Telekinesis, as seen when she pins Dean effortlessly to the wall. Demons are often found in her vicinity.
Background: Very little is known of Celeste or her origins. Though John Winchester was able to track her victims over the course of the last few decades, before that there is no sign of her existence. She has plans for Sam and his older brother, and continues to haunt their footsteps, going so far as to summon fire sprites from the realm of Aeternum to bring the cursed brother to her, and working with Mina Chandler to outright buy Sam from the Mangas’ household.
Celeste is the primary antagonist of Brothers Apart and its respective AUs, but prefers to use puppets to do her dirty work, keeping the Winchesters in the dark. She is feared by the covens after having made examples of several members during her ‘experiments’ (as seen in Witchcraft).
One thing is certain: With her flair for the dramatic and the love of making a scene, she won’t remain in the background forever.
Quote: Do you know how many times this same story has played out? Sometimes John saves you, sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes that little thorn, Walt, interferes. Sometimes he doesn’t. But you know my favorite part? The fact that you two little dears just never figure me out. Bumbling around, saving people, hunting things. You can’t see past what’s right in front of your faces. You’re mine. And you always will be.
Inspiration music: Painted Black by Ciara (Cover)
Celeste © @nightmares06
Artwork by @lamthetwickster
Brothers Apart 