The sun had beat down on them mercilessly for two days despite the leaves of the trees that struggled to envelop them in shade. Every prisoner was beginning to feel the effects of hunger and dehydration, even the hardiest of soldiers stumbling along and struggling to maintain the rhythm that guards had set at a punishing pace for their tired bodies. Castiel had seemed to be the only one unaffected by the dehydration, as clumsy as usual, but managing far better than the others. Dean was beginning to wonder if the man had some sort of secret power he wasn't telling him.

Still, the guards were as resilient as ever - though they were the ones who actually got more than a drink of water and a bite of bread for each day - and struck at the ones that were falling behind, using their feet and kicking the back of their legs to stir them, not hard enough to knock them down, but strong enough to be taken as a clear warning. So, when a soldier collapsed, taking down a third of the back with them, the guards growled in obvious annoyance, halting their progress and giving the rest of the soldiers a momentary relief.

"How are you holding up?" Dean asked as the guards began picking up the soldiers, jabbing them harshly when they managed to get their feet in under them for falling in the first place. Castiel looked over in his general area, his face red, but he wasn't breathing heavily like Dean was as his mouth twitched on his otherwise emotionless features, not that Dean could see most of his face to begin with.

"I'm okay. You don't sound too good though," Castiel mumbled, a hint of concern in his voice as he moved his hand up to touch the hand Dean guides him with, his fingers cooler compared to the burning heat of Dean's skin. Dean clenched his jaw, shaking his head and taking in a deep breath.

"I'm fine," He said, casting his gaze back as the guards were picking up the last to soldiers, only to stop when one of them hung limply in the guard's arms. They mumbled to each other before detaching him from the main chain and pulling him off to the side, dropping him to the ground and moving back to where they had been.

"Bastards," Dean muttered as they passed, but if they heard them, they gave him no comment or glance before the group was moving again, and Castiel's hand tightened around Dean's in comfort at the tenseness in his fingers.

"What happened?" Castiel asked softly, obviously trying to keep the peace by talking to the man. Dean let out a huff, only to take another deep breath followed by a sigh when he realized that it was too much on his tired body to make angry noises.

"The soldier that collapsed is dead and they just dumped him to the side," He mumbled, a growl in his voice as he glared down at the ground, tapping Castiel's arm when a root trailed over their path and watching the man's feet as they walked.

"There's nothing we can do, Dean," Castiel muttered soothingly, turning his head to the front, towards the thinning treeline with a frown creasing his lips, "It's getting hotter. Are we losing shade?" He asked, and Dean stared at him for a moment, impressed by how in tune with the world Castiel was, even without his sight.

"Yeah, the trees are disappearing," Dean replied after a moment, squinting his eyes as the light began to hit him in the face as the trees gave away to a riverbank, the river stretching for at least half-a-mile across the land with trees poking out on the other side. On the river side was five boats, with a guard already in each one, clearly waiting for a while from the annoyance on their faces.

"Split into five," One of the guards muttered and they stopped the group, unchaining the prisoners from the main chain and leading five prisoners each to the boats, pushing them into the first ones and getting them settled before two guards hopped in, keeping their guns carefully trained at the men and watching them with unwavering suspicion.

The first boat started to pull forwards, and soon, it was becoming small on the river as it moved along its path, and then the second boat was being filled the same way, then the third, until finally, the fourth was pulled up, and Dean and Castiel were unchained and pushed onto the boat.

Dean managed to squeeze himself near the far corner of the boat, staring at the guards with wariness as Castiel struggled to find his way onto the small vessel. One of the guards scowled, clearly losing patience in the heat and shoving the man onto it, knocking him forwards where Dean barely caught him before he hit the edge and sent himself into the river. The boat rocked, and the other prisoners gripped on for dear life as the boat nearly tipped itself over, barely righting itself and leaving all onboard with pounding hearts.

One of the guards scowled and drew closer to Castiel, drawing up his gun to strike, and Dean moved quickly, pushing himself in the way and hovering over Castiel, keeping his back to the guard as he braced himself against the edge of the boat, hands on either side of Castiel, the chain pressing against the man's chest, to protect him from the hits.

The first hit didn't land, not until he heard the laugh from the guard, "Protecting your toy?" The man gloated, his voice familiar and ringing in Dean's ears before the first sting of the hit ricocheted through his shoulder blade, bringing out a hiss from him. Castiel flinched, his mouth parting slightly in shock, and Dean could see the bandage crease as the soldier's eyebrows attempted to furrow, his hand reaching up and touching Dean's chest before sliding up to his neck.

"Dean..." Castiel whispered, the pain in his voice bringing out a protectiveness in Dean as he felt another strong blow across his back, wincing, but refusing to make a noise as he let out a breathy laugh. Castiel momentarily reminded him of Sam until another strike was given and the thought was gone.

"It's okay, Cas. It's okay," Dean whispered, closing his eyes as he took the pain, the blows continuing until his back spasmed with every moment and his legs were beginning to feel weak. It wasn't until the guard spat an insult at him that he let his arms cave just a little, his head finding Castiel's shoulder where he took a moment to compose himself before rolling to his side, falling onto the small space beside Castiel gratefully, ignoring the strange looks from the other prisoner's as Castiel mouthed thank you to the air, his hands quivering as Dean took one of them in a comforting gesture.