A Much Needed Evil (Ariel and Crowley)

Ariel knew that the Winchester boys had the rings of the horsemen - or rather, they had two of the rings. One of which was what she was seeking for right this second. She needed it in order to prevent the war that had been spreading through Heaven like a cancer, she didn't know how much longer she could take living in a place like that.

All of her brothers were killing each other simply because they had differing opinions on what would happen in the apocalypse - things they could have sorted out peacefully between themselves. Ariel needed to stop this fighting so that they could concentrate on killing the demons and placing Lucifer back into the cage he had sprung himself from.

When she had heard that it had been the fault of the angels that all of the seals were broken and he was walking free was the last straw for her. Bringing on the apocalypse was no way in which to end a fight! She felt like banging her brothers heads together until they started to see sense. Ariel would settle for stopping them in their tracks with the ring of war, preventing them fighting altogether was the best bet.

Now she was silently standing in the Winchesters motel room and she was making her way to the leather coat of Dean's which was slung over the sofa she was standing right besides. What was the point in drawing attention to herself by having to walk across the room from the door - it would only wake them and her plan would fail.

Drawing out War's ring, Ariel kept it firmly in her grip, and she disappeared from the room without a second glance at the Winchester boys.

Now she had what she wanted, all that she needed to do was find some demons, and ask them very nicely how this thing worked. It would take her some time to get a hang of it but then she would be able to accomplish what she had been dreaming of for quite some time - peace between her brothers and sisters.

Crowley had gotten quite the irate phonecall from Dean Winchester not too long ago in the form of Castiel appearing in front of him to demand to know why the ring of War had gone missing. Honestly Crowley was about ready to fucking end the Winchester boys for that alone. They had just lost one of the most powerful demonic artefacts in all of history. And to make matters worse they were beginning to think that they might need all of the rings in order to trap Lucifer again.

He didn't subscribe to that train of thought to be fair but he was willing to bet that the rings would at least help. Even if they had to use all four of them against Lucifer in the hopes that it would kill the slimy little bastard.

He sighed a little bit but perked up a little bit when he felt someone summoning him. Apparently this someone knew that he was rather high up on the food chain and had decided to try their luck summoning him. Well... it was less of a summoning and more of a burning need to have some demonic intervention. And he would be happy to assist for a price.

Appearing up out of the ground a few feet away from the being who was doing such hard wishing near a crossroad, Crowley grinned,

"Evening darling." he greeted with a small smirk, "I'm getting the sense you might be needing my help with something... am I right?"

It took him a second before his eyes widened upon realising that this was an angel. Well fuck if he wasn't jolly roggered,

"Well... maybe a mistake eh? I'm sure you don't want anything I'm selling."

Ariel had been standing at the crossroads waiting for a few minutes now for a demon, any demon at all to appear so she could smite the crap out of them until they squealed and told her what she needed to know. Of course she hadn't actually expected the King of the Crossroads to appear to her in person - this could make things a little bit more problematic - he could easily tell Sam and Dean that she was the one who stole the ring but she did need his help.

She would have to trust him for the time being, until she could take other methods to keep herself safe from his tricks.

He didn't seem to know that she was an angel, and Ariel took the time to look over the 'evil' demon. He wasn't evil per se, he just enjoyed power a little too much to be healthy - Ariel never normally indulged in fighting unless it was needed to put something dangerous down or if they posed a danger to someone she loved rather than on a large scale.

Waving her hand in the air, Ariel stepped forwards slightly and she continued to regard the King.

"I did not expect the King of the Crossroads to appear in person, this makes things...problematic." she stated with a frown "I need advice about something. I am not seeking any deals from you Crowley."

Slipping War's ring onto her finger, Ariel frowned softly; "How do I work this ring?"

Crowley knew enough about Angels to know that the most basic angel was more powerful than the most basic demon by a factor of three. Enough to smite with relative ease to be honest. But now there wasn't much to be done now was there? He was trapped here with an angel who might have only been above average... but that was still equal to the dizzying heights of the demon totem pole where he was.

He had always hated gambling because the odds were never in your favour but right now it looked like he was going to have to gamble to try and safe his charming self.

Ah so she had been expecting one of his little lackeys to arrive in his place. Well that sucked for her now didn't it? He chuckled a little bit,

"Well I suppose that would be problematic, I am a few pay grades above those you were trying to bring up here." he agreed with a small smirk before grinning, "Well I am something of a consultant so you're in luck! Unfortunately... I have a price."

He looked at the ring and couldn't help before spit at the floor,

"Of course. The feathered-butt-patrol decided that something powerful couldn't possibly be used by anyone other than themselves." he muttered before clapping his hands together, "I happen to know you stole that ring... and it won't work because of that. Not right now at least. And that... is your one freebie! Anything else needs payment."

Ariel smiled gently when Crowley stated that he was a little bit higher up the pole than she had been expecting and that was correct, she was hoping to capture and torture but that wouldn't work with him so she was going to have to try another tactic. It was strange but she didn't have a 'soul' in the traditional sense and she wondered what he would ask for? What could he get from a deal with herself?

It looked like she was going to have to find out if she wanted to know what this ring actually did. It made her frown very softly but besides that she didn't show much emotion about the situation at hand, if it was what it took to stop this fighting she would do it.

The way that he spat on the floor, made Ariel's green eyes flare with anger. Despite the fact that many angels would seek out these rings to keep them from others, she had a desire to use it for the betterment of both factions. It would stop the war and killing on both sides, and hopefully, they could work together then to put Lucifer back in his box.

"Well, what do you want?" she asked softly, her gaze returning to her normal inquisitive stare "What price for all information on this ring, and how I can use it?"

Ariel normally was more talkative than this, but she had a feeling that her anger might get the better of her when the demon would insult most of the things she said most likely. She didn't need to share her motives with him, she just needed his information.

Crowley was a firm believer in the idea that anything can become a good thing if you put enough effort into it. In this instance he was turning an 'oh shit' moment into something that could potentially give him a massive profit. He licked his lips a little bit as he thought about it. But what could he extract from her for this? She didn't have a soul and he wasn't stupid enough to honestly believe that she would give him some human souls.

Not that he wanted them.

Her eyes were glowing and combined with her rather bushy hair it gave the impression of a rather rough and ready character. Shaking his head a little bit, he clicked his tongue a little bit at her display of emotion. Angels were supposed to be the more subtle and careful of the races after all. He raised an eyebrow,

"Calm down girl... though from your hair I'd say calm isn't something you're used to." he chuckled before shaking his head and looking at her with a small smirk, "You have one of the weapons of Hell in your grasp there and no idea how to use it. It's honestly rather amusing. However..."

He smirked,

"I'll teach you how to use it. Even let you keep it after Luci-boy bites the big one." he agreed before tilting his head to the side slightly, "But I will call in a favour after that. You have one of ours... I will call in my favour for one of yours."

Ariel could tell that he was regarding her like she had been regarding him, and she couldn't fault him for that. It might be one of the only chances that they got to examine a member of the opposite species without them trying to rend and rip each others limbs off - it could prove quite educational in some matters she believed.

Now was not the time though. Now they had other things to talk about and she couldn't wait to see what this demon would think to ask of her.

The insult about her hair made Ariel reach up and touch her vessel's hair very lightly, she enjoyed the bright vividness and the way that it curled around her face so with its thick soft waves. It also smelt very nice from the shampoo that her vessel had used this morning. With a little mischievous smile on her lips Ariel quipped;

"At least I have hair, is that a bald spot I see?"

Her plight would be funny to demons and so she didn't make a point about that - but the deal made her eyes widen slightly and her lips parted in shock. Give him a weapon from Heaven? As she had one from Hell? That made logical sense but Heaven's weapons were more powerful than this one by far, especially in the hands of a demon rather than a human.

"It depends on which one. Many of the weapons in Heaven's grasp are more powerful than this measly ring, and are not to be trusted in the hands of people like yourself." she stated softly "So you will need to think of which one you want, if it is on par with the power of this ring, we can make an arrangement."

It was nice to see that he could have conversations with angels that didn't revolve around smiting and avoiding being smote. It really sucked when you had to fight to avoid having your ass handed to it, it really did. But it was also rather weird that there was anything even remotely like this happening. He was going to be making a deal with an angel.

This was definitely one for the history books.

Oh and she was even going to exchange quips was she? He smirked a little bit at that thought. It would mean that this was the first angel he'd ever met with a sense of humour. Lucifer had one but he'd been around demons so long that it was probably just rubbed off of them. He chuckled a little bit and raised a hand,

"I might have deserved that one." he admitted with a small smirk before touching his head, "Besides, we're just renting aren't we? I looked for someone like my old body but they just don't make them like they used to."

He could see the cogs turning in her mind and he knew that she didn't much like the prospect of making such a deal with him. But that was just tough luck in this case. She had one of their weapons so, when the time was right, he wanted one of the holy weapons. He smirked a little bit,

"Oh I'll let that be a surprise for another day." he told her before humming slightly, "You honestly don't know how powerful that is do you? Put enough juice in there you stop all conflict and war throughout all of creation. But if you mess up... even a tiny bit... everything becomes a war-zone until Death is the only thing left standing."

He paused before grinning,

"Call me a traditionalist, and a film lover, but I want the Staff of Moses."

Ariel smiled wider when she heard that Crowley had taken the little quip well, she didn't want him to be offended by what she had said and leave so that the deal would have to be ignored for the time being. It was definitely something that she enjoyed, being able to joke with someone, many angels were too bound up in doing their duties or being here on earth that she had been without that pleasure in Heaven for a while now.

Unable to stop a little laugh Ariel shook her head and her thick curls bounced slightly as she did so;

"I was merely kidding, you don't have a bald patch." she stated, sticking her tongue out "My vessel looks a lot like myself, or rather, what I would have liked myself to look like should I have been human."

The fact that Crowley confirmed that if she did this right she could stop all war throughout creation, Ariel knew that she had to have this ring in order to do good. She could stop all the fighting between her brothers, and then between the humans - make everyone peaceful and unite together to fight the demonic threat from below.

Crowley's weapon of choice, the Staff of Moses, was one that Ariel would be willing to concede however she would have to ensure that she read the contract fully before agreeing to it.

"If you will teach me how to prevent conflicts with this ring, and leave no information that you know secret to me about it...I will concede to you the Staff of Moses when, and only when, I have been trained to my satisfaction and have tested the ring to see you haven't been talking a load of crap." Ariel stated with a small smile on her lips.

Tilting her head to one side she stepped forwards slightly closer to Crowley and the moonlight glistened in her eyes.

"I think we could help each other, but if that is all the terms you wish on the contract, I'd like to read it over before I agree." Ariel stated, a little grin on her lips, she bet that nobody asked to read the contract - she wouldn't be caught out by any trick wordings or small print she would read it all!

Crowley grinned a little bit.

This angel was a lot more reasonable than others he had to admit. He hadn't been attacked or too majorly insulted yet and they'd been talking for literally minutes now! Normally by now angels were trying to carve out his throat and he was distracting them by putting innocents in danger, throwing weaker demons into their path.

The usual evasion techniques.

"So basically what you would look like if your actual form didn't burn the eyes out of anyone stupid enough to look at your for too long right? Well..." he hummed as he looked her up and down slowly, "I'd definitely give you an eight."

He hummed a little bit as she laid out the rules of the contract. She was a smart one he would give her that but he wasn't going to just let this one go,

"Mmm... I will teach you all that I know about the ring and I will be forbidden to lie to you about how much I know about it." he countered with a smirk, "And the deal is done when I say I've got nothing more to teach you and mean it as I cannot lie. Otherwise you might get cute and not end your side so I won't ever get the staff."

So she wanted to read the wording of the contract huh? He paused before waving a hand, a long scroll appeared to be hovering in mid air. He gestured to it,

"Just as I laid it out to you there." he grinned a little bit, "And a little clause that says you won't get mad and try to smite me during our deal at any stage."

Ariel nodded when she heard what Crowley had said, she knew that the real form of herself would cause humans massive pain to look upon and she hated that. She wanted to be able to walk around as herself and have them be able to comprehend exactly what she was and how she was going to help but she had to stick herself into one of these fleshy forms and endure the trials of being inside a vessel. The limits were maddening!

Blinking in confusion when Crowley looked her up and down, Ariel's eyes looked him up and down in case they were surveying each other for something in particular; "An eight? On...a scale of what?" she asked, her eyes wider than normal.

The little additions by the demon made her suspicious, was he trying to work something in there that would lead to her failure? Eventually she decided to let it go because she didn't want to presume that he was going to be backstabbing her - Crowley had been quite civil so far and she was going to pay him the same curtosey.

Pouting softly Ariel gave her puppy dog eyes to the demon; "I'll have you know I'm always cute."

Taking the contract, her hand gently brushing against his, the accidental touch made her start a little bit and Ariel withdrew her hand and the contract swiftly before beginning to read it over slipping large circular framed glasses onto her face so that she could read the smallest print down at the bottom. It took a while but eventually she was happy with all of the clauses and that there were no tricks.

"Well, everything appears to be in order." Ariel smiled shyly "I agree to our proposal."

Crowley knew that most angels were glad that humans were not able to look upon them without harm because a lot of angels thought that human beings were beneath them and beneath their caring nature. It was rather ironic and had he thought better of humans himself he might have been angered even. But he hated human beings as much as anyone else so that was fine by him. Smirking a little bit when she didn't get the reference he hummed,

"An eight on a scale of ten of course." he teased her with a wink, "If you don't know maybe you should ask someone who's been down here longer than you? That Castiel boy has been hovering around here long enough."

And there it was!

The look in the eye that meant she didn't think he was going to backstab her. It was the look he had been looking for too. He wasn't planning on stabbing her in the back but... well... situations could change very rapidly. He smirked at the puppy dog eyes,

"I bet you are."

Ah so she wasn't used to all this... human experience eh? Well that was information to file away for later.

He might have been a little bit more offended by such a long time in examining the contract if she wouldn't normally be absolutely right to do so. Smirking a little bit, he nodded,

"Once you've sealed it with me, yes it's all agreed." he smirked, "You do know how that happens don't you?"

Ariel blinked when Crowley said that he knew about Castiel, she was going to see him as soon as possible she knew that he would help her put an end to all of this fighting. It was what he wanted she was sure of it - besides he had already rebelled against Heaven and would be helping her to restore everything back to normal. Ariel was sure that it was what God would want, peace between his children.

"You know where Castiel is?" she asked, her heart pounding a little faster in her chest "Is he alright, last time you saw him where was he?"

The way that he smirked at her puppy dog eyes made Ariel want to pout even more, but she sucked it back in. Now wasn't the time to be playful they were doing a deal and she was supposed to be business like - not like a child who had their toy taken away from them.

Now they were going to seal the contract. She didn't know how it happened per se, she thought that she would just sign a contract with a pen or with some blood or something but that didn't seem to be the case as she saw no pen and no knife. Tilting her head to one side, Ariel shook her head at Crowley's question.

"No I'm afraid I don't. I never thought I'd make a deal with a demon so I didn't look into it too much. Whatever it is though, I'll be happy to complete it." she stated with a soft smile on her lips, her usual inquisitive gaze falling onto Crowley's eyes. Just how did he seal his deals, she wondered?

Crowley smirked a little bit.

She might be a little angel rebel but she was predictable just like the rest of them. All you had to do was dangle one of their ranks under their nose and they would drop everything to either help or hinder said other. He smirked a little bit and nodded his head a little bit,

"Yes I know where Castiel is." he assured her before humming, "Well I can tell you how to get ahold of him at least. I'm working with Sam and Dean Winchester and you and I both know he spends a whole lot of time around those boys. Perhaps more than is strictly friendly and not... something more? You understand?"

He could see her pout quiver a little bit. She had wanted to play with him a little bit more and he was sure that they would be playing around with each other a lot more in the future. He would make sure of it because he definitely wanted to.

So she didn't even know how to seal the deal? Oh the innocence on this one was going to taste delicious and there was nothing that could convince him not to take a taste of her right now and right here. He smirked a little bit,

"Well it's fairly simply really. You seal the deal with me and I'll pop us over to Sammy-boy and Dean-y." he grinned a little bit, "All you have to do... is kiss me. And not a little peck... has to be a kiss, on the lips, with a lot of passion. Understand?"

Ariel opened her mouth in shock when she heard what Crowley was implying about Castiel, she didn't think that he would be doing anything of the sort with either of the brothers! That wasn't why he was around with them and leaving them in Heaven, he just needed to be here on Earth sometimes in order to stop the apocalypse from on foot instead of in the skies. Lots of things did happen here on Earth after all.

"Well I certainly don't think Castiel would be doing anything like that, he has a duty to do while he is down here he wouldn't have time for such things in any event." Ariel stated, reassuring herself more than anything that her friend wouldn't have been leaving her and his brothers in Heaven to come down here and get amorous with some human.

The smirk that Crowley was giving her didn't leave her with a good feeling about what was going to be happening.

And there was the reason WHY she didn't have a good feeling about whatever it was going to take to seal this deal - kissing! Kissing Crowley! A demon! Well...now that she thought about it there were worse things in this world she supposed. It would be quite exhilarating she was certain, to kiss Crowley.

"W-well...alright then." she stated with a small frown "If this is some perverted trick though I won't be pleased."

Ariel stepped forwards, so that she was standing a few centimeters away from Crowley, and leant forwards from the waist, her eyes closed to gently place her lips against his own in a soft kiss. The sensation was amazingly pleasant and she found herself continuing the gentle kiss without much prompting - but was it passionate enough to seal the deal? She supposed Crowley would let her know if it hadn't been what he was looking for, by changing it himself.

Crowley would have howled with laughter if he didn't think that it would be taken in a very inappropriate manner by Ariel... namely that she would be right in assuming he was laughing his ass of. People (especially angels) tended to get offended when you laughed that hard in their presence, even if you explained that it wasn't about them. He smirked a little bit,

"Well I'll leave you to be the judge of that one Ariel, we demons are all about freedom to love whatever and whoever you want after all, I ain't got no problem with it." he teased her a little bit before frowning a little bit, "Yeah he has his duty... he still goes on about that I think but he's getting more and more flaky since he was cut off from the source."

He smirked wider as it dawned on her.

"Oh I'm sure that you'll be pleased with how I seal the deal don't you worry there Ariel." he teased her slightly, winking at her, "Now get to kissing angel lips."

Wrapping his arms around her rather tightly when she began to kiss him, he held her possessively against him as he kissed her back with as much passion as he could. This was one of the perks of the deal making process after all. He purred as he broke the kiss only when they both needed to breathe, smirking, he licked his lips,

"Satisfying."

With a click of his finger they were both standing in Bobby's living room, scaring the crap out of said cripple and the two Winchesters. He smirked a little bit and gestured around,

"Welcome to the Scooby gang." he told her before patting Dean on the shoulder, "Another for our merry band of friends!"

Dean frowned,

"Hey no offence here... I'm digging the red head look." he told her with a grin before adding, "But who the hell are you?"

Ariel was a little shocked that Crowley knew her name without asking her, however she knew his name without having to ask him so perhaps it was just one of those fame things throughout both Heaven and Hell that they knew each other? It seemed likely. Overall she had to admit that the experience of kissing Crowley was going quite well so far.

Even the little jibe of him calling her 'angel lips'. He was teasing her...most likely.

As the kiss broke away, Ariel couldn't help but blush and touch the heat on her cheeks. Crowley was a lovely kisser, but she hoped that it was a little bit more than just satisfying, it had been her first kiss after all and she'd thought that it was an amazing experience.

"Well I would like to think of it as a little bit more than satisfying..." she stated with a small pout "That was my first kiss you got Crowley."

Now they were in a completely different area and she was staring at three humans, running her hand through her hair she felt a little nervous at the fact that they were all staring at her. It was something that she didn't really like. The compliment about her hair however, she enjoyed very much and smirked at Crowley;

"See, my hair is attractive." she teased.

Looking around she didn't see Castiel's vessel here and she frowned, if he wasn't in heaven and he wasn't here then where the hells was he?

"My name is Ariel, I am an Angel of the Lord. I have been brought here because I wish to see Castiel, if he is not in Heaven and not with you, then where is he?" she asked her brow furrowing at Dean and Sam, before casting a look to Bobby with a small smile.

Crowley only knew her name because it was part of the magic within the contract that it would automatically know the names of both parties. And since he was the one who controlled the contract he was able to see who she was in seconds. And what he saw wasn't bad but it wasn't as bad as he had feared it would be. She didn't appear to be one of those fucking annoying powerful arch angels after all and that was a win.

And what nice lips they were.

She was blushing! Wasn't that just adorable! Smirking a little bit about the whole thing, he smirked a little bit as she pouted about him being her first kiss,

"Well now then you hit gold didn't you?" he teased with a wink, "Would you rather have had some inexperienced pretty boy as your first time kiss? If so we should have waited and gotten Castiel to kiss you instead."

Crowley rolled his eyes a little bit,

"It was playful banter darl!"

Dean raised an eyebrow,

"I'm getting the impression that I should probably not wonder about that and just shut my cake hole." he told the room in general before frowning, "Great another angel... you going to try and shout at us until we accept to being angel condoms?"

He blinked a little bit,

"Cas is... well Cas is a little far from home at the moment."

Sam frowned,

"Last we saw he got banished but he says he's looking for God. We could... um... pray for him if you'd like?"

Ariel rolled her eyes and she poked her tongue out at Crowley, the fact that he thought that he was such a big catch was rather irritating on one side, but also...kind of attractive with his level of confidence. Perhaps she had gotten lucky with the demon who appeared at the crossroads that night, at least she wasn't wrist deep in someone's rib cage right now, instead engaging in light banter with a potential friend.

"You are no Michael, Crowley." she stated with a little cheeky grin "Maybe that is who I wanted to give my first kiss to, who knows." Ariel grinned wider, it was actually true, she and Cass had been close once but he had never shown any interest so, she hadn't done anything that might make things awkward.

Unable to stop a little flush that came to her cheeks when Dean called attention to their light flirting with each other Ariel felt a little chastised for indulging in something like that with Crowley and resolved herself to keep things professional from this moment on. Or...at least try harder to keep things professional.

"Uhm...no." Ariel blinked, her wide green eyes very surprised and upset at what Dean was suggesting "I merely came here with an aim to help in the way Castiel has been. I wish to end the fighting and avoid the apocalypse. You have made your choices, and Dean you are a very stubborn human, you're not going to change your mind." she laughed softly, with a bright smile.

Frowning softly, Ariel shook her head;

"No need, I will search for him when I am finished here." she stated with a small nod "Our business is private in any event."

With a little sigh, Ariel wondered where Castiel had gone to search for their absent father, it might take longer than she had hoped to find him if he had travelled far. There were things she too needed to complete with the help of Crowley, but she couldn't just abandon him - she had to look. Clasping her hands in front of her hips Ariel asked, in a soft tone;

"Now is there anything you require assistance with or shall I begin my search?"

Crowley smirked a little bit when she tried to keep up with the playful banter that they had been enjoying. Unfortunately she wasn't too good at being the tease and he was all too good at it. He had spent years perfecting it after all. It was his job as King of the Crossroads to be able to read people and his little jab about her kissing Castiel seemed to have touched a small nerve. Past history? Either way, it would be fun to watch later.

Dean nodded his head a little bit,

"Well... sorry about the rough welcome but your big brothers tend to be persistent little ass-hats." he admitted with a little sigh as he picked up his beer and offered one to her, "We're currently trying to figure out a way to defeat Lucifer and so far all we have is Sammy's crazy scheme to let him in long enough to jump into the cage or something."

Sam raised an eyebrow,

"Well you might be visiting a lot of hospitals." he explained with a small sigh, "Last we saw Cas was outnumbered five to one and had just carved a banishing ward into his chest... not sure what that'll mean but it can't be good."

Dean shrugged a little,

"Got any other plans to kill the devil?" he asked with a small smirk, "Other than that go find Cas."

Ariel was worried when she heard that Castiel had done something like that to himself, just another way in which her close friend would be getting himself in trouble with his brothers. She needed to stop this fighting now before he got himself killed, again. It had been hard enough to first time but how many times would she have to see him brought back?

Biting her lip softly her worry about her friend was rather all consuming and she thought that she had better go and see him before she did anything else.

"Sorry but I uhm...I think I should go and locate Castiel." she stated with a frown "There is no telling what situation he might be in if he hasn't come back to you for that amount of time. I will be in touch I promise and ever thinking of ideas to incapacitate or kill my complete asshole of a brother." Ariel swore, giving the three gentlemen a thumbs up.

As she turned to walk out the door she gave Crowley a look, one that was quite stern that spoke of their meeting that would come at a later date - this further cemented her desire to learn how to master War's ring.

"Call me if you need me." she hummed, before walking out of the living room, and promptly dissappearing to begin her search for Castiel.