The room goes silent. 'Uh oh...'

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean speaks, his hands up. "What do you mean by a human soul?"

Sam eyes me and I try to stay naive like I don't know what he's talking about. "Cas, we already tested her for being a Skinwalker-"

"Which she isn't," Dean cuts his brother off fiercely, defending me. However, what Castiel said is true. I mean, I didn't know I still had a human soul but it still makes sense.

Castiel still stands there, eyes still locked onto me like I'm a lobster platter. "Just because she has a human soul doesn't mean she's automatically a Skinwalker, Dean."

Bobby crosses his arms and frowns. "So then what does it mean?"

Everyone looks at me as Cas replies.

"It means that this 'dog' was once a human and still retains her human brain and conscience."

Silence. It's so quiet in Bobby's study that you could hear a pin drop from outside. 

And then the room explodes. Dean starts yelling at Castiel, demanding answers, and flinging his arms wildly. Sam, while also wanting answers, albeit calmer, also demands Cas to explain, all the while trying to settle Dean down.

Bobby looks between me and the bickering boys, confusion, sadness and even a little betrayal can be seen in his eyes.

'How could this happen?!' I whimper, trying to make myself small. The boys are fighting because of me and now they're going to hate me! 'I should leave... It was a mistake to try and wiggle my way into the Winchester family.'

Quietly, with all the elegance of an injured Weimaraner, I stalk my way out of the house and down the wrecker yard. Hopefully they won't notice me gone until I get a big enough head start. As I walk down the dirt roads, I ponder.

'The Winchesters are good at finding people who don't want to be found. People... But I am a dog... I should be able to blend in well enough.' I look down and inwardly sigh, 'I need to get this collar off.'

However, with this stupid cast, I'll be even easier to find than normal. I try to gnaw at it for a good ten minutes before I give up, jaw sore from the tugging. It's not coming off without human help, that's for sure.

~~Time Skip brought to you by: Months without uploading! Thank the quarantine for making me write!~~

I finally make it to the first town. I'm thirsty, tired, and hungry. A nice park practically begs me to come by and lie down. So I do, ignoring the 'No dogs without leashes' sign and picking the largest, lushest tree to lie under. 

"Hey! Dog!" My head shoots up, ears pricking in the direction of the sound. A very angry, very large looking man heads my way.

With a very large net in hand.

It's Animal Control.

I book it, as fast as my injured leg can take me. 'If I get caught now!... I haven't gotten my collar off yet...they'll call Sam and Dean!'

I'm winded, my thigh's on fire and I'm headed straight for a fence. A fence...I could get my collar stuck and snap it off! 'Oh thank Dean for wanting the safe break-away collar!'

I try with all my might to squeeze through a too small hole, purposely getting my collar stuck and snapping it off as soon as I get through. I pant heavily as I watch the man catch up. Smirking, he goes for my collar. When I realize this, I quickly snatch it up and take off with it hanging in my mouth.

I don't look back as the man's angry threats linger in my ears

~~Time Skip brought to you by: Adrenaline, it makes you forget about your injuries!~~

"Ah! Ugh! Come on!" I limp down the street, my thigh and leg on fire and not letting up. I might have pulled something in there. Jaw getting tired again, I toss my collar around my neck so it'll hang loosely, but secure enough so I won't lose it.

I lost the man back at the park, but that also doesn't mean I won't run into anyone else who'll try to catch me. Suddenly, a delectable smell passes by my nostrils. I instantly start to salivate like the dog I am and follow the imaginary steam trail.

"Pizza!" I bark, now excited. My tummy rumbles as I reach a family eating outdoors. Now I would never normally beg, 'but that was because I had Dean feeding me anything I wanted. Now... I don't have him...or Sam...Bobby...'

I look down sadly before a slice suddenly splatters the ground in front of me. 

"Honey! Don't feed the dog!" A mom reprimands her daughter who laughs at the sight of me hungrily gorging the thing in one bite. I bark happily, tummy stuffed for the time being before leaving with a wagging tail.

You wouldn't imagine the little things that make me happy since being a dog.

~Sam's POV at the time Arya left~

"Dean! Calm down! Let him breathe!" I grab my brother by the shoulder as he tries to grab Cas by the shoulders.

"He's a friggin angel! He doesn't breathe anyways!" Dean bites back.

"Would all of you shut up! Si'down would'ya!" Bobby angrily cuts all of us off. Even Castiel sits down like a child who did something wrong. "Now Dean, you shut up, Sam...also shut up and let Cas speak."

We do as told, though Dean more begrudgingly. "Go on, Cas," Dean urges.

"Look," the angel starts stiffly, "All I could tell from the slight glance I got from her, and hearing her, was that she had a human soul and conscience. There could be different reasons for a human soul to be trapped in a body of animal."

"Witchcraft?" I suggest. "It seems most likely, right?"

"Don't you think she woulda told us then, Sam?" Dean glares.

"I don't know, Dean," I reply, grinding my teeth at his attitude, "Maybe she doesn't know what happened to her."

Bobby smacks Dean's head, "Enough bickerin' boys," and then turns to the angel, "Solutions?"

"Unfortunately, I've never encountered a situation like this before," he says while narrowing his eyes. My brother sighs loudly.

"Great, of course. So now what? We interrogate our dog-human hybrid?"

I sigh and go to tell him off for being rude, "Dean she's not a-"

"Wait!" he cuts me off, eyes wide. "Does that mean we've changed in front of, not just a highly intelligent dog, but a female one with a human brain??"

Bobby face palms as I do one internally and Cas just stares blankly. "Do humans normally change in front of their pets regardless of their gender or soul?"

"Yes, Cas! Because they're animals who don't comprehend naked humans!" Dean runs a hand down his face. "Let's just go talk to Arya, maybe somehow she'll tell us something about what's going on."

"Where'd she go?" Castiel asks as we see the room empty of any dog.

"She probably got upset with all the yelling and ran off somewhere in the house, I'll go find her." I answer starting to walk off as Dean proceeds to follow. "Alone," I say firmly, making him back down guiltily.

Before I could turn the corner, however, Castiel tells us something we didn't want to hear. "Sam, I don't sense her anywhere on this property."

~~Time Skip brought to you by: Runaways! That's it, I couldn't think of anything else to say...~~

We tear the house into metaphorical shambles to Dean's persistence that, 'She's gotta be somewhere!' demands and when we turn up with no human dog, Dean curses.

"Sonuvabitch!" he cries, chugging his second beer.

"I don't think alcohol will find her faster, Dean." I roll my eyes at the angel's naivety. 

"She couldn't get far, she's got a cast on her leg." I try to come up with more reasons but can't as this dog is too smart and will easily try her hardest to avoid us if possible.

"Doesn't make her easier to find! She's smart, knows how we do things! She'll avoid us like we avoid each other!" Dean says bitterly.

"Can't you do something to find her? You're an angel for cryin' out loud," Bobby asks said angel who's still staring down at Dean's beer like it's a sin.

"Her soul is unique and would be hard to pinpoint. Unless maybe we were in the same town, I might be able to."

I perk up, turning to Bobby. "So what towns are nearby, Bobby? She couldn't have gotten farther than thirty miles with her leg."

"Closest from my yard would be Dell Rapids."

"Then we're going to Dell Rapids, let's go Sammy." Dean grabs his beer and his bag, running out the door. "You too, Cas!" he yells.

"I could have just flown us there..." Cas looks down at the ground. I grab my bag and put a hand on his shoulder with a lop-sided smile. 

"Dean probably just wants to drive his Baby, Cas. Come on." I get in the passenger seat next to Dean as he starts his car. Cas joins us in the back.

Staring ahead, Dean says, "Let's go find our friend," as he blasts his songs.

~~Time Skip brought to you by: "Uh Dean...open container."  "Shut up, Cas!" (Beer bottle flies out the window) "Dean, that's litt-" "SHUT UP!"~~

~Arya's POV~

Taking a nap by a river was not how I expected my day to go. I mean, just today I woke up and learned that I got stabbed by a tree branch and was going to stay with Bobby. And now the sun's setting and here I am, a newly stray dog napping at a rushing river.

I miss the boys... But they'd never let me back in. They'd be appalled at me being a human and even more so that I knew them prior. This is for the best. I'll live my life as a dog. Maybe find a nice family to take me in.

*Snap*

I lift my head up quickly, my ears pricking and twisting towards the sound. "Hello?" I softly whine. 

*Crack*

At this, I cautiously stand up and glance around. Nothing but forest foliage and the rushing river. 'What if it's something supernatural? What if it's a Wendigo!?'

I relax as a big, brown, furry bear pops out of the bushes.

'Wait, a BEAR?!'

 I yipe and go to turn and book it when I trip on a boulder, tumbling right into the roaring rapids. "Gah!" I bark, struggling to keep my head above water. The bear roars and tries swiping at me but I'm too far down the river by now for him to get any lunch outta me.

I bark and scream for help but it's no use, I'm alone in the woods and no one knows where I am. Now I'm gonna drown in the Supernatural universe and the boys are gonna wonder where I am. I''ll never be able to tell them I'm sorry.

Being in the middle of the river, the land is too far out of my reach as the current is too strong to counter. My only chance is snagging onto something in the middle like a rock. Mind spinning, I duck down to get a good look of my underwater surroundings.

Bubbles cloud my view, but what might look like a rock is coming up and coming up quick!

 Going up for one more deep breath, I duck back down and extend all four of my legs, hoping to catch onto that rock.

"Oomf!" I choke as I hit the big boulder. I huff and puff the cold air greedily. 'How am I going to get back to land?' I think groggily, my leg wound starting to flare up.

'Should have never left Sam and Dean' was my last thought before passing out.

~Sam's POV~

We finally make it into town and Dean immediately parks the Impala on the side of the road. We all get out simultaneously and Dean rubs his chin. "Alright, where to Cas?" he asks.

"I am not sure."

My brother throws his arms up, frustrated. "Dammit Cas, you said you'd be able to pinpoint her!" 

The angel just stares almost annoyed. "I said I might be able to if we were in the same town. Might. Now give me a second."

Castiel closes his eyes and does nothing more. I share a pointed look with Dean and go to say something when his eyes open back up. "Well?" I inquire.

"That way," he points towards a dog park, "I sense she went through there."

Before we can even move, Dean's already making his way in the direction of Castiel's finger. As I enter, I start to look around, scanning each and every dog. My eyes land upon a bench with a large man on it. However, what caught my eye was his shirt and hat.

Animal Control.

I jog over. "Excuse me," I start, "have you seen a Weimaraner? Silver coat, about yay high?" I show him a rough estimate of Arya's height with my hand.

The worker scoffs, putting his equipment down. "Yeah I've seen that mutt, took off past that fence through the hole. Got the collar stuck but went back and grabbed it. Never seen a dog do that in all my years working here. S'like it knew or somethin'."

'Yup, that's our girl.' "Thank you," I smile and walk away, finding Castiel standing above a dog looking up at him.

He's narrowing his eyes at it but the dog's just wagging its tail and smiling. "Made a friend, Cas?" I laugh.

"No. I don't know what it wants."

"Probably for you to throw that ball right in front of him." I point to a green tennis ball.

"What is the point for me to throw the ball away from the dog?"

I shake my head. This angel sometimes, I swear. "So the dog can fetch it and bring it back. Dogs love it."

"I see." 

Dean walks up to us as Cas picks up the ball and shoots it out of the park. I wince. "You can't throw the ball that far Cas, the dog can't get it."

"Oh."

Dean ignores the angel and asks, "Did you find her?" The sound of air being pushed startles us before I can answer and we see that Cas has left. "The hell?" Dean raises his hand in a 'What the heck' manner.

"I don't know," I roll my eyes, "But that animal control guy said he chased her through that hole in the fence over there." I point to the only breach in the whole park.

Dean growls, "Great, she could be anywhere by now!"

Castiel suddenly appears right in front of us, successfully making Dean jump back with one leg up and yipe in alarm. I snort but Dean glares.

"I told you not to friggin do that anymore, Cas! Where'd you go?"

"I brought a bag full of tennis balls."  He holds up a bag of lime green balls for emphasis. There's gotta be at least twenty in there.

I rub my face and groan, "Why?"

"I felt bad about the one I threw away."

My brother and I both groan and start walking in the direction of the hole Arya escaped through.

Behind us, Castiel starts lobbing balls all over the park, causing all the dogs around to bark and howl in delight as they chase after them.

~~Time Slip brought to you by: Castiel! He's so cute lmao~~

"We've been searching for, like, a million hours!" Dean whines as we walk the edge of the woods near the town.

"Three hours, forty-two minutes and twelve seconds to be exact."

"Thank you, Cas," Dean says sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

I snort but continue on. "We've looked all around town by now. Cas, do you sense her nearby at all?"

Said angel narrows his eyes again in concentration. "Mm, yes, in the forest to our right."

"The woods? The hell she doin' in there? She better not have hurt herself again," my brother mumbles as he trudges into the trees. We venture through for a bit before hearing a river rushing ahead.

"Think she might have gone for water?" I ask.

"Dunno, I'll check really quick..." Dean volunteers and goes on ahead as I peer down into a fallen and hollowed out tree. "OH SHIT!" Dean yells. I rush over to him and see it. Arya is in the river struggling to keep her head above water.

"Arya!" I cry and almost run into Dean. The dog doesn't seem to notice or hear us as she stays afloat. "Cas!" I yell back, seeing him run up.

As we watch helplessly she suddenly stops and is being propped up by a boulder in the middle of the river. "Arya?" Dean calls out through cupped hands.

"She's unconscious," Cas informs.

"Well, go in and help her!"

"Of course." Cas flies away and in a flash, Arya's gone and back in front of us in Castiel's arms. "She's below safe body temperatures and her wound is opened."

"Dammit," Dean whispers, looking her over as the angel continues to hold her. "Will she be okay?"

"Yes, I'm heating her up as we speak. I've also closed her wound. She should be able to walk normally now."

I smile gratefully. "Thanks, Cas."

At that, Castiel flies us back to Bobby's.

I was going to end the story here to put an end to the waiting. However, I felt as I couldn't end it as abruptly as there's still more to Arya's story that I couldn't just throw into one chapter. 

I am SO sorry that I haven't updated in a year. I hope you can forgive me and enjoy this chapter as much as I did. I can't promise the next chapter will be up in a timely manner but never forget that I don't think about my stories every day. 

Having the motivation to write anymore is slim to none most days. I'm going to try my hardest to update faster as I got a wake up call last night when I read one of your comments on the last chapter.

 I love you all!

P.S If you would like to see what I do most days now, I stream Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays on Twitch! Twitch.tv/howtoloveadragon I'd appreciate it if you checked me out! <3