there's something tense and sticky strung through the air. it sticks to the roof of her mouth like something to spit out, but she doesn't. she could, if she wanted— all sickly sweet and does-your-hair-always-look-like-that, slapped with a smile that bites more than it barks, but if she did then she's sure she'd be graced with that patented disappointment castiel knows how to wedge into her heart just the right way. whatever. for now, she figures hesitance is the best medium. peering a half-glared gaze around the corner of cas' shoulder, fist clenched around the fabric of his sleeve, jaw set like she's already decided dean is someone she can't stand ... and maybe she can't. maybe there's something solid in him that's as wrong as she feels, maybe there's something shaky in him that she can break apart, maybe there's some sort of clockwork mechanism that'll peel right out of his jawline for her to break. or maybe she just doesn't like change, and dean's a little too different in her routine to bear.
again: whatever. that's a thought for a different day, when castiel's less attentive and mari's more alone and the only thing she's focused on is the reload of her gun and shotgun shells filled with salt. today, she'll bite it all back. swallow it down. manage to lessen her glare by twenty percent, and say: "hi."