Chapter Text
When Castiel Novak had headed into the small frontier town of Perdition, he'd only intended to get the mail and some fresh supplies. He hadn't intended to get involved in a bar-fight. But when he'd seen the fight spilling from the saloon and the lone man being pummelled by five others, Cas had felt compelled to step in. The young man was holding up surprisingly well against his assailants. Throwing hard punches and kicks. But he was clearly starting to tier against so many opponents and the fight was getting more dangerous. Cas grabbed the back of the mans shirt and pulled him back just as one of he others had gotten a hold of a broken bottle and swung it. Cas's intervention had spurred some other bystanders to act as well and the fight was steadily dispersed.
Cas pulled the young man away from the fray, making their escape down the alley and into the next street. When they were far enough away, Cas paused to actually look at him. The man was Cas's height and near his build. Clear green eyes met his and despite his bruised, dishevelled state, the man stood proud. "Thanks for that." His voice was deep but slightly soft, "But I had it handled."
Cas's lips twitched in a smile at the man's bravado, "Well you weren't doing bad. Not sure the man with the broken bottle agreed."
Dean tried to brush the dust out of his dark blonde hair, "Clearly couldn't handle a fair fight."
"Five against one is a fair fight?" Cas asked incredulously.
The man shrugged, "Is for me."
Cas did huff a laugh at that. "What's your name, anyway"
"Dean Winchester. You?"
"Cas Novak"
Deans face fell, "Novak? Trail Boss?"
"Yes."
Dean's bravado deflated in an instant, "Great." he grumbled, "Heard you're team was around. I was gonna come ask you for a job. Guess I blew that, huh? Bar-fighter's not a good hiring point."
"Maybe, maybe not. What was the fight about?"
"They said I was cheating at poker."
"Were you?"
Dean's eyes flared, "Damn well wasn't. They just didn't like that I was a better player than them."
Cas studied his face for a moment. He wondered how good of a poker face Dean had because right now, every emotion Dean had seemed to radiate from his eyes. "You worked a trail herd before."
Dean nodded, "Since I was sixteen."
"So that's what, four, five years?"
"I'm twenty six!" Deans defensive tone suggested he'd had this argument before.
It was difficult to get a read on Dean. He looked young but he had the bearing of someone who had seen a lot in life. His indignation at being called a cheat spike volumes about both his honour and his hotheadedness.
"You got a horse?" Cas asked, his expression blank as he watched Dean.
Dean didn't flinch under Cas's scrutiny. "Yes. Best horse you could have. And my own gun."
"I noticed." Cas had seen he pearl handled Colt Dean had holstered to his hip. He was impressed that Dean hadn't gone for it during the fight. He may be a bit of a hothead but he had some restraint.
A lot of others would have turned Dean down flat, but Cas had taken calculated risk when hiring people before. People weren't always how they appeared. One of his best drovers had stated out as a completely green tenderfoot. Cas nodded his head once, "Alright. I'll give you a chance. Camp's two miles west. Be there first thing."
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Dean arrived at the camp just after sun up. Cas introduced him to the other drovers and Dean accepted a plate of food and cup of coffee from the camp cook, Benny. He ate quickly and soon Cas gave the order for the team to saddle up. Cas usually put new hires on Drag, but he wanted to see what Dean was really capable of so assigned him to Swing.
Cas kept an eye on Dean throughout the day. He definitely knew what he was doing and he rode like he was born in the saddle. His horse, a jet black mare with white socks and blaze was fast, strong and worked in perfect tandem with her rider. Cas also watched how Dean worked with the drovers. When they'd stopped to eat, Dean fell into easy banter with the people around him. Back on the trail, there had been a small breakaway that could have lead to a potential stampede. Dean reacted fast, calling out to two others and leading them to turn the runaway cattle back into the herd. Cas liked what he was seeing. Dean was smart and skilled, he worked well with the others quickly and he had leadership potential. That in itself was enough to make Cas's mind up. But on top of that, Cas liked Dean. He liked the mans' spirit and the way he would switch from wide eyed earnestness to self-absurdness in a blink. And he liked talking to him. Cas got the feeling he and Dean could be good friends.
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As night fell, Dean and Cas were unsaddling their horses at the remuda when Dean asked, "So do I have a job?"
Cas paused from undoing his Palomino's bridle. He'd been thinking over this decision for most of the day. Maybe it was a big decision to make so quickly but he was gonna go with his gut here. "Well, I already have a team of good drovers. What I really need is a Ramrod. You interested?"
Dean looked stunned, "Me? Ramrod?"
Cas nodded, "Yeah. I've watched you work. Both with the cattle and the drovers. I think you'd do well. Do you want it or not?"
Dean snapped out of his daze, "Yes. Definitely yes. Thank you." He reached out his had to Cas to shake, "I promise you won't regret it."
Cas shook his hand and smiled, "Good. Now let's finish here and go eat. We head out at sun-up."
Dean skritched his horse's blaze, "Whatdya think of that, Baby. I'm Ramrod." Baby huffed and nudged Dean's shoulder in response, making Dean laugh.
Cas watched this exchange with a fond smile. Yeah, he definitely had a good feeling about this.