[Rainbowfox Ari]

"You're not the only one." Evan grumbled. "I mean, I'm grateful for them saving us and all, but... I was dead-to-rights. There's no reason they shouldn't have just shot us and put us out of our misery. Instead, Sam gets the notion into his head that he can save our lives, carts us back to the hotel, and proceeds to try and play doctor on Dean's bed. Dean wasn't happy about the prospect, but..." He shrugged. "Obviously could be swayed, or else I wouldn't be here."

Aston chuckled. "Well, Sam's always had an influence on Dean. Every Hunter knows that. When it comes to getting in-between the brothers... you just don't. Not if you want to keep your life and limb." He closed his eyes, starting to relax. Pain, it seemed, was not an issue with this one. As a matter of fact, pain didn't seem to register at all. Probably a good thing, even if a bit odd. "You know, K... I think you may be right about Castiel. I haven't ever personally met him, but enough stories have been passed around. If you put it all into context, he sounds like a petulant child."

[Gallagher]

"Most of my brothers and sisters are." He moved his hand from Aston's shoulder and placed it at the center of the drawing. Each line that his own skin covered, he drew all over again on the back of his hand. "They speak as if they know of the world, of humanity and souls as if they've ever experienced such things for themselves. They glimpse at a single moment, at a single place and time, and they think they understand the whole of our Lord God's creation."

Unseen wings shifted restlessly against his back. They felt his aggrivation, he was sure, but it couldn't be helped. Not when his fellow angels were so, "Disgustingly blind, the lot of them. Thinking they can understand something they'll never posess." With one hand, he capped off his marker and shoved it back into his pocket. When he focused on the decorated back again, he let out a breath and pressed his energy, his grace, into his skin.

From that single spot where skin met skin, he guided the magic out, followed it along each drawn line, each curve, and urged it throughout the man's body from there. The curse was strong, but not particularly complicated. Not for the effects it caused. Like plucking each note from a song, the angel unwound it. Milliseconds like minutes, seconds like hours, he felt Aston's heart as it beat.

Once.

Twice.

By the third, the angel was already pulling away, finished with his work.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Aston sighed, and relaxed on the couch as the magic left - leaving in its wake a twenty-eight year old boy with black hair, white streaks. The leftovers from the possession. But he was no longer stooped, no longer 'frail' - very young, fresh, and immensely relieved. "Oh HEAVEN that feels so much better." He stretched out, sitting up, and scrubbing his hand through his hair. "Thank you, K. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I get a food-delivery service, and they'll be by later today. Perks of the entire town being indebted to me." He chuckled, and leaned against the couch. "Now... on to the problem of Evan."

The demon looked at K, then looked at the new Aston, then back at K. "How did you do that? I didn't even realize there was a curse on him at all. You're like... super-good at this."

[Gallagher]

K arched a brow and looked over at the demon, absently running his fingers over his hand to scrub away the dark lines. "I'm also much older than you. Amazingly enough, you can learn a lot of things when you bother trying. It's especially handy to learn how to feel out curses and traps before you end up walking right into them."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Evan looked a bit put-upon, and glanced to the side. He was clearly embarrassed, and attempting to make light of it, regardless of who was watching. Licking his lips self-consciously, although not arguing, he went back to his chocolate milk. Whether or not he was unable or unwilling to make a retort was beside the question. There was no anger, though - maybe light chagrin.

"Being older and more experienced is something you get to look forward to." Aston said, stretching out shoulders that had been held to an unnatural position for way too long. "You'll get used to it. Now then... if Castiel won't heal the human Evan for long enough for you to get out and run around for a day or two each month, I think I've got an idea."

Rising, he moved to a chest, ancient by the looks of it, opening it and digging around. He came out of it with a doll - black, covered in twine, with a cross necklace draped over it's entire frame, wrapped around the neck. "You might recognize it, K. This is a doppelganger I made from the shreds of a holy man's robes after he died. It can serve to take the place of a soul... It might not be a PERFECT solution, but it would at least keep the other Evan in the world of the living... Even if not conscious, and not able to be mobile."

[Gallagher]

"Staying away from dogs is always an option, too," K added as he returned to his chair and his drink. "If you've got some paper around here, I can write down that ritual for you, Aston. It's useful for several kinds of binding spells, as long as you only attempt it on creatures that have a soul. No—" He pointed up at the ceiling and gave his finger a little twirl. "—heavenly hands necessary. They just make it easier."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"I'd appreciate that." Aston said with a nod, retrieving a pad of paper and a pen from a nearby desk. "Go ahead and do that, and I'll let you peruse this doll. I got it from an angel... whose name I don't quite recall. I remember he had a penchant for pranks - which was why I ended up as a guinea-pig for a number of days. Literal guinea-pig. Squeaks and everything. Thankfully, Bruiser is a smart and resourceful dog." He chuckled, and crouched in front of Evan. "So... how do you feel right now?" he asked, taking one of his hands in his. "I'd like to examine you - just in case. I don't think there's any other cause, but you can never be too careful."

Evan sighed, and let his hand be held. He wasn't in the mood to argue. "I don't feel great. But I don't feel bad. So whatever. I guess you can examine me. You're like... a real doctor, right?"

Aston nodded. "Yes. And I'd like K..." he turned to the angel. "To help. To be my assistant for a while. Since my other one ran off."

[Gallagher]

The angel didn't so much as look up from his paper and pen when the suggestion was made, too busy scribbling away. "I need to catch up to those boys and make sure they're not ruining my hunt. Just because they like to think they can only deal in lives, that doesn't mean the rest of us are so limited. But there's hardly any point in it if they kill my witch before then. If you can wait for me to settle that business, I'll be more inclined to help."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Aston nodded. "I can wait. I'll set Evan up here with some monitoring equipment, and I don't need you for that... However. I think we should let the demon-part go with you. I'd like to try this doll out, or the ritual, and get Evan some well-deserved rest." Casting his glance toward K, he motioned out into the world. "I don't know where they've gone - but if they talk to people, they're probably going to be led to the old school. The headmaster there is kind of... odd. And folks have noticed."

[Gallagher]

His pen stilled at the suggestion, mismatched eyes narrowing at his own writing. Needless to say, his plans hadn't involved keeping tabs on the demon, regardless of the body it inhabited. Still, it was only a second or two before his expression evened once more, and once he'd finished with the last of the instructions, he set them and the pen aside for Aston to gather when he wanted to. "As long as it doesn't start trouble."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"I honestly don't think he will." Aston said, rubbing Evan's back. "He's young, inexperienced. Doesn't know much about the world. It would do him some good to get out and about. Since he's the kind of demon that doesn't kill it's victim, I think I'll let him borrow Bruiser's body. Let's see if this ritual of yours works in the interim. What do we need?"

Evan, for his part, wasn't saying much of anything. Just sort of looking down at his hands, and not particularly feeling very well. He licked his lips again. "I want to know how it works, too. Yanno... 'cause it's my essence."

[Gallagher]

Letting out a soft sigh, K pressed a single finger to the pad of paper and slid it to the edge of the table beside his seat. "It takes a while to perform when you're unused to the process. More or less, this circle draws on the energy supplied to it... In my case, my grace, but for you, it'll be the basic ritual setup. The proper candle, an incantation, and plenty of strong intent. It allows the caster to see the energies inside a body like a weave and adjust them as they need to. It has a lot of different uses, but only if you can supply the time to perform it. Breaking contact while trying to manipulate things... generally ends poorly. But the warding here is sufficient enough that I doubt you'd have that sort of trouble."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Aston laughed. "Yes, well. Since I installed the stronger wards, interruptions are mercifully few. Now, let's see..."

The young man spent the better part of two-ish hours setting up the circle with several black and white candles, some incense to help the process along, and the all the accouterments needed. The young Hunter was actually very good at incantations, and got very few words even remotely wrong. One might guess he'd done this before. Which... he had. Quite a few times. He finished up with loading the unconscious body into a bed, and hooking up monitors, while he brought Bruiser out of the room, and let him stand near the circle.

Immediately, Evan's essence zipped into Bruiser, and the dog went still for a moment, before the black fuzzy tail started wagging hard, and the tongue started lolling. Pure-black eyes gazed up from a canine face wearing a very goofy expression. However... when the dog went to approach K, he fell head over paws, forgetting which of his feet to move, and sort of ending up sprawled on the ground. Aston, despite his best attempt not to, burst out laughing.

[Gallagher]

Leaned against the wall as he was, there wasn't anywhere he could go when the big demon-dog came padding towards him. Or, tried to go towards him. His momentary concerns quickly turned out to be entirely unfounded as the beast just ended up on the floor. K pointedly ignored the laughter elsewhere in his mind. His own snickering was a little harder to pretend never happened. "Great," he said, no real hints of irritation in his voice, "the doofy little asshole forgot how to walk."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Evan gave a very unimpressed look up at K. ~I didn't forget! I just... erm... need some practice.~ he thought toward the angel, getting up on all fours again, albeit in a wobbly fashion. Just when he thought he was actually in somewhat of a balanced state... he decided to move forward, and his entire body decided to follow in that direction, leading to a sort of four-legged grapevine to the left, until he crashed into the wall.

At this point, Aston had to lay down on the couch, on his back, arm over his eyes and laughing his ass off. It was hard not to follow suit. This was actually pretty damn hilarious. Like a drunk dog.

[Gallagher]

Between the demon's antics, the hunter completely losing his shit, and the voice at the back of his head practically doing the same, the angel's already poor poker face was quickly losing ground. That fact alone was enough to bother him. "Aston, please, you're making me very uncomfortable right now!"