The Tangle he was hiding in the chill of a mountain

Cas didn't really expect his howl to garner attention; he hadn't meant it that way. when the breath left him, the boy snapped at the bristles a second time, without any true fight behind it. "gone," he gritted to himself, and tasted the salt of blood on his lips. the boy found the strength gone out of his body and slumped down against the grass, sighing heavily as he rolled onto his back and faced heavenward.

there was a failure here; he had failed to honor the memory of Saena and of Milo. he had let the one man his cousin had feared find and take her children; he had not persuaded Laurel that the Creek was better than her father. he was so fucking weak. self-hatred boiled within Casmir, and he bit the edge of his lip savagely.