Castiel was peering up at the sun, squinting, looking to what seemed to be the only familiar thing he would ever be allowed to keep.
He didn't know when he'd appeared in this place, or how. He couldn't properly remember when he'd been taken from the apocalyptic world. He just knew he was someplace different, and it felt like something new had its grip on him. But that wasn't odd for him anymore.
He was still dirty from the other world, his clothes ragged and stained. He had a bit of grime clinging to skin that still ran cooler than it had before... before.
The angel sighed as he looked down, eyes adjusting. There was definitely something different about this City, but he didn't know if his powers were still lessened or if it was just the world he was in now, wherever it was. He supposed it didn't matter.
He wondered what to do. There didn't seem to be a point in searching for friends who would or wouldn't be around, and could or might not be changed into unrecognizable creatures, but then what? This place was no less cryptic or unexpected than the last. There wasn't even a sign that the same entity had placed him here, or if it had been something new.
Cas seemed to have found a new passive acceptance of this in staring at the sun, though it didn't give him any ideas of what he should be doing next.
A smell he hadn't remembered in a while found his nostrils, and a moment later he was walking stiffly down the street towards the scent of hot cheese and baking meat. There wasn't much thought to it, but he felt a bit hungry and even if he didn't, coming from a world of survival meant the smell of food triggered a comforting and inviting feeling. It was probably safe there, there were probably people who weren't too hostile or in trouble. Castiel was tired of seeking out trouble, since most of it now actively chased him without invitation or relief.
That trend continued as he walked a few feet past an alley, and heard a loud crash that sounded like skin on a hollow metal container. Probably a dumpster. Cas hadn't heard that sort of thing since he'd run through Earth streets with Dean and Sam, before any of this had happened, and it brought sharp memories along with his full attention.
Then a young man stumbled out of alley, looking as confused and out of place as Castiel felt.
The angel watched the man turn and approach him, seeming to be searching for something. Cas' grim frown deepened a hair, and for a moment he didn't want to say anything. Maybe disappear to a rooftop and find something else to do. Or not do.
Then he reached out a hand partially into the other's path, before he was close enough to be surprised.
"Are you alright?" he asked clearly. Time with the survivors told him to reach out to others who seemed to be as out of place as himself, that they were more likely to help in the interest of helping themselves as well. And, deep down, the angel in him was concerned at the loudness of the crash, and the look of fear in the man's eye.