[ Gabriel had been scared, yes. And Daryl was a little bit scared now; that was why he clung to his anger so fiercely. The thing was, Castiel knew the type. Dean was exactly the same. Just as Daryl wore wings over his scars, Dean hid his under laughter.

But hearing about the church was one thing - terrible enough in itself. It was no wonder that Daryl distrusted him, with faith alone to blame for that suspicion. If one man of God could do that... He dropped his eyes, watching his own feet, the forest floor, carefully avoiding making a sound on any broken sticks.

The verse he chose, too. He could see why verse like that would come to mean something so poignant, so powerfully dreadful.

Castiel paused in his step for a moment - just a moment - and then stepped ahead again, catching up with Daryl's cautious stride. ]

I'm no preacher, [ He said, softly. ] I'm not even welcome in Heaven any more. As for prophecies, you shouldn't take them at face value. Prophets aren't always aware of all the subtleties, and some of them...embellish.

[ But none of that is going to get Daryl on his side, especially, or make him rush to believe in him. ]

The bible also says that the sins of the fathers should be visited on their sons, and their sons, and their son's sons. [ The slightest glance. It's a little confrontational, and he's afraid of addressing it. ] But it simply isn't true. Each man is weighed by his own iniquity, no one else's.