Timedancer: Fall of Rain by kiatrix [Reviews - 0] 
(Usual disclaimer, the character TimeDancer/Brooklyn is not owned by me, etc, etc. Original character however, is mine. All mine. Hands off.) by: J.Daniels Somewhere in Africa Lightning cracked overhead briefly, illuminating the wide opens plains, the occasional tree, and a winged form gliding in the vicious wind... or trying to. The errant winds caused the flying form to take an erratic course, the destination apparently a rocky overhang, with the brief pale flickering of light sheltered from the rain. A sudden downdraft caught the triangular shaped wings, and another flash of lightning caused a mane of white to seem to glow like magnesium for a moment. The wind slammed the form towards the earth, but with a preternatural seeming twist, the figure managed to land ... somewhat gracefully. The red gargoyle staggered forward a step, dropping to one knee and both hands as he tried to catch his breath, wings folding in tightly against his sides. Keeping low, he ran swiftly towards the dubious shelter of the overhang. As he finally ducked in out of the rain, he reported gruffly, "Nada, zip, zilch and zero. No people, no nothing." The other figure seated before the fire did not look or speak, but instead drew her legs in closer in the circle of her arms. The red gargoyle glanced sidelong at his silent companion and studied her while he shook his wings free of droplets of water and ran a hand through his wet mane of hair. Gargoyles were relatively weather resistant, but being wet and cold was still being wet and cold. The other gargoyle hunched by the fire was a pale pink in color, her folded wings fading towards a dusty rose. Her single wingspar was a darker red than the leathery membrane, and two somewhat mobile talons topped her wing, less flexible than his own three fingered winghand, but smaller and more dexterous than the more common single tip. Her jaw, the muscles clenched tightly as she seemed to stare sightlessly past him, was a little too angular and long for conventional human appearances, but didn't hold a candle to his own beak. Where he had smooth brow ridges with a pair of slender horns, she had a group of three small ridges, two upflaring towards the end of her eye, the last smaller one down-turned at the outer edge. It reminded him somewhat of the styles of old Egypt, where the humans would line their eyes with kohl. Her horns started at her temples, curving in a gentle wave towards the back of her head, the tips curving towards one another and forming a broken coronet around the back of her long hair, which just so happened to be the same vivid purple color that the sky tended to at sunset here in this dance. Brooklyn sighed and moved over towards the younger gargoyle. He crouched down next to her and started to reach for her shoulder, then hesitated and said, "You can talk to me. I know what you're going through." in a rough persuading voice. His unnamed companion just hugged her legs tighter, wings drawing in close around her. Her garb was typical for the time period that he had found her in, a tunic and the split skirt that most female gargoyles preferred, colored a darker blue than his own loincloth. Brooklyn stepped back and drew his own wings in around him, looking back out at the rain. Silence fell except for the crack of thunder, the rush of rain and the soft snapping of their pathetic little fire. A shiver drew his attention to his silent companion. Her wings had drawn in more tightly around her frame and her head was down in her folded arms. Brooklyn edged over to her and slowly edged his wing around her, a look of concern crossing his features. The rose female silently leaned against him, though she did not raise her head from her arms. Brooklyn put his arm around behind her and said quietly, "Hey, it'll be okay. I'm here." ***** Two Days Ago Somewhere in Europe It had been two journeys ago that he had left John, Mary and Gordon in Scotland, and Brooklyn hadn't eaten since then. How many days? He'd lost track exactly, though his stomach was insisting that it was at least a week. This time, Brooklyn wasn't so lucky with his entrance. He entered this dance about ten feet from the ground, and as he had previously been somewhat squashed into a very small tunnel trying to evade the mobs in the French Revolution... again... he was ill prepared to be suddenly ten feet off the ground. He landed in a somewhat ungainly heap and with a groan as cramped muscles suddenly had the freedom to stretch out. He lay spread eagled on the grass, the color of what sky he could see through the trees telling him it was not far past sunset. The air was clean and with the number of stars evident, Brooklyn figured he was somewhere in the pre-industrial age, before big cities and pollution. "What I wouldn't give for a hot dog..." Brooklyn sighed, "Or a pretzel. Or a taco. Or..." His stomach answered his musings with a loud growl and Brooklyn put one hand on it, "Yeah yeah, don't complain to me though. Take it up with the management." he grumbled as he agilely jumped to his feet in a swift movement, bracing his weight with one hand as he gathered his feet under him and then dusting his hands off as he stood up. "Okay, first things first... find food. I'll even settle for raw rabbit right about now." Brooklyn ordered his mane with the simple action of running his talons through it, suppressing the pang of sadness as he could almost hear Sata teasing him for his inability or truthfully, lack of desire to keep his ragged white mane as anything but a ragged white mane. He looked around and said, "Well, forests are good." as he started out of the small clearing he had landed in. "At least I missed the trees this time." Brooklyn walked along for a short while, before finding a likely tree he could use to take off from. His talons sank easily into the bark and he climbed the tall old oak. Edging out onto one of its branches, the tree groaning alarmingly at his weight, Brooklyn braced himself and then leapt from the tree. Catching a current to loft up over the forest, Brooklyn finally got a chance to look around. In the short distance to the East, he was greeted with the not so welcome site of the smoldering remains of a castle. Not Castle Wyvern, he identified immediately. He shook his head and started to glide in that direction, "What is this, the new routine? Drop me in at the site of a castle being raided? Real fun. A laugh a minute." he growled, one hand unconsciously going to grip his belt pouch, clenching once before releasing. There didn't seem to be much activity at the smoldering ruins and indeed, most of the fire seemed to have been dying down, the air over the castle dark with the smoke of the dying fires. He had the faint hope that maybe not all the food in the castle had been taken. All that changed as the angry feral feline scream of a female gargoyle split the air. Curving his wings back, Brooklyn quickly altered his coarse towards where the scream had originated. As he got closer to the castle, visibility through the smoke became better. His eyes began to glow as the moonlight showed all too familiar piles of rubble, the occasional feature of wing or talon visible in some of the larger pieces. He landed, casting around and trying to find some movement, some sign of where the female may be. Suddenly across the courtyard, the scream sounded again and a man was thrown through the remains of a door. A pale gargoyle, her color hard to distinguish in the smokey air, backed out of the door, one wing held protectively folded against her side. Once clear of the doorway, she crouched and leapt straight up, talons sinking into the stone as she pulled herself up. The man she had thrown through the door did not move, but a sword swipe coming from the doorway barely missed the fleeing gargoyle's tail. Four men ran out of the door, looking up at the climbing gargoyle. One of them pointed, "There, follow her up!" Brooklyn snarled and leapt free of the building, wings snapping open as he winged across the courtyard. The female had reached the top of the building, leaping over the side and landing in a crouch. Three men came out of doors near her. "We have you now, monster!" one of the men sneered, brandishing a sword and shield. Brooklyn folded his wings and landed next to the female, his weight causing the stones beneath his feet to crunch under the force. He flared his wings back out as he snarled, "Then come and get us." The female spared him a single startled glance before she fell into position near him, nearly back to back. She crouched down and again screamed the angry hunting cat scream that was the hallmark scream of females everywhere, so different than the deep bellowing roars of the males. Nevertheless, Brooklyn added his own roar to her scream as the first man lunged towards him. The man rushed forward and Brooklyn simply sidestepped the man and with his tail, flipped him over the side of the wall. "Who's next?" he taunted, stepping back to guard the flank of the female. The remaining two charged together, one going towards Brooklyn and the other at the female. Brooklyn ducked under a sword swing, then sprang forward, catching the man around the middle and slamming him to the ground. Any further fight was taken out of the human when Brooklyn slammed his fist down, bouncing the man's head against the ground. Brooklyn spun around to assess his battle companion. She seemed to have it well in hand, he noted. Though she was younger than Brooklyn, in fact, much the age he had been before they awoke in Manhattan, she appeared to be a fierce warrior. Her red eyes blazed as she kept a grip on the wrists of her attacker, who was trying to free his two-handed mace, a snarl revealing her sharp fangs. Finally, with a twist and a scream, she wrested the weapon away, dropping low as she did so, twisting and lashing her tail around her to drop the man to the ground. He fell back heavily and Brooklyn spared a moment to look towards the stairwell, where the sounds of more men were coming rapidly closer. "We should go," Brooklyn said, turning back to see the female rear back with her weapon, starting to bring it down on the prone man before her. "No!" Brooklyn gasped, leaping forward and grabbing her descending swing. Brooklyn was able to easily overpower the smaller gargoyle, pulling the weapon away from her, "We can't kill a defeated enemy!" Her red eyes narrowed at him, her mouth opening to retort when suddenly her gaze shifted to over his shoulder and she shoved Brooklyn to the the right, throwing herself to the other side. A sword whistled down between where the two gargoyles had just been, crashing with a clang into the ground. The female landed awkwardly, though Brooklyn managed a more balanced landing. He glanced over his shoulder at the leading human, who was pulling his weapon back up again. A snarl ripped from Brooklyn and he lashed his tail around, catching the man by his foot and dropping him. Three more humans came out of the stairway, and the one the female had tripped earlier was starting to get back to his feet. "Damn," Brooklyn grunted, glancing at the female. She was still crumpled against the wall. Brooklyn crouched next to her and lifted her easily into his arms, "Time to split." A quick leap and he was on the wall, legs curled under him before he pushed out strongly, wings snapping open. Another sword hit the stones behind him. "Yeah yeah, I get the hint. No need to be rude. Now here's to hoping they don't have arrows... jalapena!" An arrow whistled just under one of his wings. Brooklyn folded his wings in tighter, turning his glide into a fast dive towards the other section of castle, he'd be unable to dodge while burdened with the seemingly semi-conscious gargoyle. He landed, flexing his knees to take the force of the landing, cradling the female carefully. He glanced over his shoulder and ducked into the nearest turret. A quick inspection showed it to be deserted and he deposited the female gently by the window slit. He pressed a talon to her throat, "Good pulse," and then rolled her eyelid back. Her eyes were no longer glowing and she flinched slightly, a grunt escaping from her. She reached up one hand, aiming poorly for his wrist to push his hand away. "Bad aim. Okay kid, you just stay here." Brooklyn stepped away from her and turned to the exit, "I'll get rid of the unwelcome house guests." He burst through the doorway, just in time to tackle the leading human running up the stair nearest to the turret. Brooklyn snapped his wings open, lifting the man off his feet and gliding just a short distance, then dropped him, aiming for the two humans following him up the stairs, "Going down! First floor, womens lingerie and housewares!" The tumble down the stone stairs was a brutal one for men wearing unyielding pieces of metal, and the three did not move from their positions. Brooklyns' sharp vision identified four more men in the courtyard, one of them supporting an injured comrade. Once again he folded his wings and dove at the cluster of humans, "Incoming!" he yelled. Brooklyn spread his arms out, clothes lining the nearest two to the ground. The double thump against his arms registered briefly, before Brooklyn pulled up and twisted in midair, landing in a crouch before the remaining three fighters. The three men exchanged glances. The injured man pushed off of his fellow and drew his weapon. Brooklyn flexed his shoulders, "Bring it." he growled, making a come hither motion with both sets of talons. With a scream from all three throats, the three men rushed at him. Brooklyn leapt straight up into the air, causing the leading two men to overextend and stumble past him. He dropped back down with a kick to the chest of the last man, sending him careening backwards. Brooklyn spun back around to face the last two humans, "One down, two to go." he taunted, eyes burning. One of the remaining men took a step backwards, then threw down his weapon and turned to run. His fellow spat in the dirt and said to Brooklyn, "Before long, your filthy kind will be no more than a bad story, demon." before he too turned and ran. A long low snarl ripped from Brooklyn as he watched them flee with narrowed eyes. He then straightened and said gruffly, "I really wish people would stop calling me that." He looked back up at the turret where he had left his semi-conscious battle companion and started back in that direction. He ducked into the turret just as the female was regaining consciousness. She pushed herself up on one hand and said softly, "Oh...ungh." one of her hands going to her temple. Brooklyn hurried to her side, crouching down and slipping a hand under her arm, steadying her as she got to her feet, "Take it easy. The attackers are gone. We're safe, for now." She looked up at him and Brooklyn took note of the shallow cut across her cheek, and the rising bruises showing as dark blemishes against her pale skin. Brooklyn slipped his arm around her back, as she started to stagger out of the shelter. "What happened?" Brooklyn asked. The young female gave him a sideways look as venemous as any Demona had ever given him. She pushed away from him and straightened up, one of her hands pushing in against her right side as she took a step away. Her left wing was folded in tightly, a small rivulet of blood dripping from the folds. Brooklyn followed quietly, watching her with concerned eyes. He reached out twice when she nearly fell down the stairs, but restrained himself as she gave him a low snarl. "Hey, I'm just the guy that saved your life, no need to get so touchy." The two were silent for what seemed like forever to Brooklyn, when he asked cautiously, "Are there any others?" and in remembrance of his own survival, "Anyone who would have been in the rookery?" At his mention of the rookery, her eyes flew open wide and she spun around, her wings opening to abruptly that she nearly shoved Brooklyn off the stairs, blood splattering from her left wing. She leapt off the stairs, screaming as a rent in her wing tore further. Brooklyn cursed under his breath and followed her, "Was I ever that young?" he muttered, racing after the female as she ran through the courtyard. She stopped abruptly and fell to her knees, wings slumping behind her. Brooklyn stopped next to her, solemnly taking in the large set of wooden doors that were crashed open, inwards. Brooklyn drew his wings in around him and said to the female, "Stay here, I'll .. go look." She didn't respond, but instead slumped to the ground, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Swallowing heavily, Brooklyn grabbed a piece of wood and shoved it into the remains of a hay bale, the dry wood catching fire quickly from the smolders. Glancing briefly back at the silent female, Brooklyn heavily strode to the door. He turned back after surveying the damage, dropping his makeshift torch to the ground as he knelt next to the young survivor. "We need to get out of here. It won't be safe." She looked up at him, eyes dull. She glanced behind him to the broken doors, then back at his face. Whatever she saw reflecting on his face was apparently all the answer she needed. She screamed again, a howl of pain and anguish. Brooklyn bowed his head and sighed. He himself had had Goliath and the others. Etolie had her clans eggs. This female had no one. She started to get to her feet, Brooklyn swiftly standing to help the unsteady youth gain her balance. She cast around and her eyes started to glow red. Brooklyn followed her gaze to one of the unconscious humans in the courtyard. She took one unsteady step in his direction, before Brooklyn caught her arm, "No," he said to her, his voice intent, "Don't walk down that path. It doesn't lead to anything but more death." He was in fact, so intent on the young gargoyle that he completely missed the tell-tale buzzing that heralded the activation of the Phoenix Gate. She turned back to him and snarled, "How would you know?" her voice came out, soft and broken. And then fire engulfed them both. ***** One Day Ago Brooklyn woke from his sleep with a roar and the knowledge that something bad had just happened. A female scream caught his ears before his eyes focused on his companion, "Sata!" he cried, but it wasn't Sata. The female from the castle jumped back from him, her balance once again steady. Stone sleep was a wonderful thing, Brooklyn noted absently. "What happened?" she cried, twisting about to look at the flat sea of yellow grass that seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon. Brooklyn closed his eyes, wings drawing in tightly as he released a long breath. He looked back at the female, who was gazing at him with wide eyed alarm. He said apologetically, sheepishly, "It's a long story." She took a step away from him, "Where are we?" "That's a good question. I don't know." Brooklyn admitted with a grimace, glancing down at his belt pouch, "We should stick together." The female took another step away from him, "I don't know you." Brooklyn frowned and said, "Hey, I'm the guy who saved your life, remember?" Her eyes began to flare, "You're the one who kept me from killing the humans that destroyed my clan!" she shouted, stepping aggressively towards him, tail lashing behind her. She slashed at him with her talons. Brooklyn easily evaded her attack, dancing out of the way and throwing his hands out to the side. "Hey! What are you doing?" he protested, eyeing the female cautiously as she advanced another step. She didn't answer him with anything but another scream and attack. Brooklyn grimaced, this was really not the way he intended on spending the evening. He sidestepped her lunge, grabbing her wrists and pulling her around in front of him, crushing her wings between his chest and her back. He spread his wings behind him for balance as the female screamed in fury, twisting in his arms. He held both her wrists in one of his hands, wrapping his other arm around her. Getting his beak as close to her ear as he could manage, given all the thrashing, Brooklyn said roughly, "Hey, hey. Calm down, please? I'm not your enemy." Another fury filled scream was his answer. Her tail curled around his foot, but the leverage was wrong for her to jerk the heavier male off his feet. "Killing those humans wouldn't bring back your clan. You're a gargoyle. You protect, not kill." "You don't know!" her scream reverberated in his head. "Yes, I do. My clan was massacred too. I know. It isn't the answer." The fight seemed to drop out of her suddenly, as she went limp in his grasp. Brooklyn held her for a moment longer, suspecting a trick, but then slowly lowered her to the ground. "My family, my clan... my home. It's all gone." she said quietly, looking at the waving strands of yellow grass, one of her hands reaching out to run through the strange plants. Brooklyn crouched next to her, "I'm here though. I'll stay with you." She gave him a look from under her forelock of purple hair. Brooklyn gave her a winning grin and spread his arms to the sides, "It's better than being alone, right?" The female sighed and looked away. Brooklyn stood back up and offered her a hand, mentally acknowledging that his tact with females was just never very good. "Come on, we need to figure out where we are." She looked back and after a long moment, reached out and took his hand. Brooklyn pulled her easily to her feet and asked, "Have a favorite direction?" The young female was quiet a minute, then pointed away from the last glimmers of sunlight. East. "East it is." Brooklyn said easily, falling into step besides the female. "Look, we didn't exactly get introduced earlier. My name is Brooklyn." She gave him a startled look, one hand reaching up to flip hair from her eyes, "You have a name?" she queried. Brooklyn nodded his head, "Yeah, comes in handy. Ever try to call to one of your sibs and have four or five of them respond?" She flinched. Brooklyn winced and muttered, "Yeah, tactful Brook. Real tactful." The female fell into silence and Brooklyn found himself trying to pull her out of that silence with his explanation. Of the Phoenix Gate. Of himself. She gave him several startled looks from time to time, but did not reply. Finally, they found a rocky outcrop. Without anything to climb up on, they had been forced to walk on foot all night. Footsore and worried about the female who maintained a dry-eyed overly composed expression, Brooklyn pointed out the cavelet, "We can take some shelter there. From the look of that horizon, the sun will be up soon." She gave the cave an uninterested look and trudged towards it, leaning against the wall and sliding down to sit. She curled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, gazing out at the night. Brooklyn studied her and then looked back out at the night, "I think we're in Africa. Ever hear of it?" No movement. No response. Brooklyn settled down on his haunches and said, "It's another continent. A big one too. The largest animals live here." Brooklyn rubbed his chin, "I mean large too. Imagine the largest bull you've ever seen... it would probably be one third as big as an elephant." A flick of a glance towards him. "And there are these things called giraffe's," Brooklyn stretched his neck up, miming stretching it out with his hands, "They've got a neck that's longer than I am tall." She looked over towards him with a frown, "You jest." Brooklyn shook his head and assumed a world wise mien, shrugging his shoulders, "Not a chance." Her head swung away again and she asked, "Will we see them? Are they dangerous?" Brooklyn gave a dismissive wave of his hand, "Not to us. Well, just as long as we don't get too close. They're still pretty big." Her voice was soft, "The sun is rising." He glanced over and said simply, "Yeah. It always does." ***** The rain started sometime the next day. The two gargoyles had awoken to a torrential downpour that made flying difficult, even though they now had a place to climb for altitude. A brief hunt had turned up ... well nothing. Brooklyn had rubbed at his empty, grumbling stomach. "Wish I had spent more time watching the Discovery Channel instead of MTV." he lamented. His companion had given him a curious look. Checking the Gate showed it seemed dormant, and when he asked if she would accompany him to see if he could spot any signs of habitation from the air, the winds providing enough lift to get some altitude, she had not answered, but simply sat by the fire he had produced. She had exhibited a momentary startlement with the matches, and after a brief explanation from Brooklyn, "Well, there's some stuff at the end here that when you rub it on something hard, catches on fire..." to her confused look Brooklyn had shrugged, "Yeah, I don't understand it all that well myself. I just know it works." So now Brooklyn found himself somewhere in Africa, he thought anyway, in the company of a young gargess who seemed caught up in the worst sorts of emotions. He hoped he wasn't sitting next to the next Demona. They sat for a long while, Brooklyn silently watching the rain, while the female rested against him. Finally she sighed and pushed her forelock back from her forehead again and spoke quietly, "If Teacher were here, he'd tell me to buck up, get up and do something." Brooklyn glanced down sidelong at her, and said with a grin, "Sounds like Hudson." "Your Teacher?" "Sorta." "You speak so strangely." she sighed. "So I've been told." Brooklyn responded with a shrug, "I gave you a whole bunch of explanations yesterday... you haven't asked any questions though." He felt her shrug slightly and she responded with a simple, "You gave a thorough explanation. You're trapped by magic, and took me along with you. We stay in one place until the magic takes you away again." "Us." She glanced up at him with a frown and Brooklyn gave her shoulders a squeeze, "Hey kid, I'm not about to leave you alone in the middle of nowhere." A brief smile flickered across her face before she pushed gently against his chest. Brooklyn withdrew his wing and arm as she gracefully stood. She walked to the entrance of the cavelet, looking out and up at the skies. "How long will the rain last?" Brooklyn shrugged, "No idea, really." "I thought you had been to this Africa before?" "Well, not this part of Africa..." Brooklyn hedged, "Like I said, Africa is a ... pretty big place." She dropped to her knees, wings folding around her as she commented, "At least we won't want for water." one of her hands reaching out to cup a palmful of water. "Food though," Brooklyn grimaced, "May be a bit harder to find." ***** Three Days Later Water only went so far to blunt the pangs of hunger. Brooklyn was used to privation, but even this was starting to get excessive for him. His young companion, less used to not eating on a regular basis than he was, was becoming grumpier with every passing hour. The rain continued to come in violent bursts of abrupt downpours. Brooklyn and the rose female were out, catching what little they could of what little they could find. The first insect his companion ate went down poorly, but in the past few days, even those went down without any discussion. They did seem bigger than what Brooklyn was expecting, but then again, he mused, Africa grew things big. She had opened up a little bit more in the last few days. Her conversation was as sporadic and as overflowing as the weather. Long periods of silence followed by long discussions. Her rage was the hardest subject for them to discuss. Having decided to continue walking after that first rainstorm spent sheltered in the cavelet, they still hadn't found any signs of habitation, by human or gargoyle. However, they were approaching what seemed to be a small oasis. Suddenly the rose female stopped and pulled at Brooklyn's arm. She pointed off to the south side of the oasis and asked him quietly, "Is that one of your elephants? Or is it a giraffe?" Brooklyn looked over. "Jalapena." he said quietly, pulling at the rose females arm, stepping back quietly, "Neither..." Grazing unconcernedly at the edge of the oasis was a dinosaur. Brooklyn pulled the female slowly backwards, his eyes very wide. "What is it?" she hissed at him, though she also moved carefully away. "A dinosaur." he answered shortly. The rose gargoyle turned to look at the creature, "It eats like a cow." she observed, shrugging off Brooklyn's hand as she turned back to look at him, "If it eats like a cow, it can't be dangerous." "I don't mean to burst your bubble, but it's a bit bigger than a cow." "Burst my what? Oh, nevermind. If there are dinosaur cows, then maybe there are dinosaur chickens." the female said determinedly, "I say we go find out." Brooklyn ran a talon through his mane, "I'd hate to see the dinosaur farmer." he grunted, but quickly caught up with the young female. "Hey, let's be a bit careful, 'kay?" She shot a glance over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "Yes sir." Brooklyn frowned at her back and muttered, "How did Goliath ever put up with us?" The two edged carefully around the large herbivore and pushed into the denser foliage of the oasis. Immediately they were inundated with the calls of insects. Something raced through the underbrush away from them. The rose gargoyle glanced swiftly at Brooklyn, who shrugged and said, "Let's catch lunch, shall we?" A fierce grin lit her features and she turned and leapt into the brush after ... whatever it was. Brooklyn stayed close behind. Now he really wished he spent more time watching the Discovery Channel. ***** Another small fire decorated their temporary shelter, and the remains of something that was vaguely dog-like was in the process of being charred. Brooklyn wrinkled his nose and held up his spit of wood, poking at the meat on the end, "Think it's done?" The female shrugged and said with a grin, "Even if it isn't, it's food." as she tore a piece off. The outside was burnt, and the inside still looked raw. She also wrinkled her nose and said, "Well, I've eaten worse on excursions with Teacher." before she bit into the meat hungrily. Brooklyn also gave a shrug and said, "Yeah, me too." ***** They spent four days in the oasis, filling their bellies and resting. The female had questioned why they were no longer looking for settlements, and Brooklyn's response of, "I don't think any of our kind, or humans, exist yet..." made her fall into a contemplative silence. Finally, she spoke up, "Brooklyn," She paused until the red male was looking at her, "If we're that far back in time, what if we're eating someones ancestor?" Brooklyn hrmed and shrugged, "I doubt it." "But what if we are?" Brooklyn ran a talon through his mane and was quiet a moment, then he said, "From what I can tell... we can't change anything." "What do you mean? You changed things when you saved me." Brooklyn shook his head and said with a grunt, "No, if you weren't meant to be saved, I wouldn't have saved you." A frown crossed her features and she asked harshly, "So you'd have let me die?" "No!" Brooklyn said swiftly, throwing one hand out in a sideways swipe. "No, never. I meant more, I'd have tried, but it wouldn't have worked." The rose gargoyle looked mollified and then mused, "So everything is predetermined? If that is the case, why do you try? Will it not just happen because it should?" Brooklyn rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I don't know." he finally admitted, "I try because, well... what else can I do?" "Nothing." A shake of the shaggy head, "We can't just do nothing." "Why not?" came the challenging reply. "It isn't our way..." Brooklyn said lamely. "Maybe it should be." she said, crossing her arms across her chest and giving him a challenging look. Any reply Brooklyn would have made was silenced as a heavy, stentorian roar sounded across the oasis. Both gargoyles looked in alarm in the direction the sound came from, as all the various sounds of the oasis ground to a standstill. Unconsciously, the rose gargoyle took a step nearer to Brooklyn, arms falling to her sides as she fell into a battle ready stance, mirroring his own. Brooklyn said after a minute, "That doesn't sound good." "Maybe it isn't as big as it sounds?" came the hesitant suggestion from the female. "Yeah, and maybe it's just looking for King Kong." "King who? I thought you said there were no humans..." Brooklyn took a sudden step to her side and clamped a hand over her mouth, pulling her down into the shadows of a nearby tree. A muffled 'Mrph!' was her response, but she did not struggle. Brooklyn dropped his hand after a moment, both gargoyles crouched and breathing silently. A heavy tread made the ground quiver. Trees cracked and a very large form appeared briefly through the trees. Brooklyn whispered in her ear, "Don't move." A minute shake of her head was his answer. The massive creature stayed still for a moment, a loud snorting sound breaking the silence. Finally it moved on. After a very long moment, Brooklyn let out a heavy sigh, "I never thought I'd say this, but I really wish I had a bazooka." The female gave him a concerned look and whispered, "Is it gone?" Brooklyn straightened up and said, "I think so. It probably makes a patrol of the water holes." "What was it?" "I didn't get a good look at it, but I'd say a cast member of Jurassic Park." "You are so strange." Brooklyn shrugged and said with a grin at the still crouching adolescent, "But funny. If only you knew the jokes. I don't think I want to stay here, do you?" The rose gargoyle shook her head and straightened up, "When will your Phoenix Gate take us away from here? I suddenly am not that amused by the thought of giant cows anymore." Brooklyn shrugged and said heavily, "Me neither. C'mon, let's find some shelter while Rex is wandering about." "Rex? Is that the King Kong you were talking about?" Brooklyn laughed softly and said, "No..." **** The predator didn't make a reappearance that night, but Brooklyn made sure to find shelter that wouldn't get stepped on, knocked over, or trampled. Which meant that the two gargoyles were wedged into a small crevice in what passed for a hillside in the relatively level area of the oasis. Brooklyn muttered, "I can't imagine Sata would approve of this..." as he hugged the female against his chest, his back pressed against the rock behind him as the two waited for dawn. "You miss her?" came the soft question from the female. Brooklyn sighed and responded, "Yeah." "She must be wonderful." Another sigh, "Yeah." "Beautiful?" "Yeah." Silence, and then just before the sun crested the horizon, the rose gargoyle asked, "Can you say anything besides 'Yeah'?" Brooklyn smirked, "Yeah." **** Brooklyn hastily released the rose gargoyle when the sun set. Pain hit him in all his sensitive spots. Awakening with a female in his arms. The delicate scream counterpoint to his deeper roaring yawn. The feel of warm muscles under his hands. He hunched down, putting his head down and arching his wings over his back. A concerned, "Brooklyn?" and a gentle touch on his shoulder caused him to lurch away from the other gargoyle, "Just give me a minute." he ordered harshly. The rose gargoyle backed away, sadness and understanding crossing her features before she turned her back on the male and fell silent. Finally, Brooklyn stepped to her side and said quietly, roughly, "Sorry. I..." She shook her head, pushing her forelock of purple hair from her face, "You don't need to apologize, Brooklyn. I didn't have a mate, but ..." she swallowed and said, "I can imagine. And I can understand." Brooklyn gave her a careful look, but she exhibited none of Gwen's coquettish mannerisms as she spoke, her gaze distant before she looked back at him and gave him a brief smile, "She's alive though, somewhere." "Somewhere, some time." Brooklyn acknowledged, briefly putting a hand on his companion's shoulder. Just then, the annoying tingle started and Brooklyn glanced down at his belt, then back to his companion. He drew her in close, one wing wrapping around her as he explained in a rough voice, "We're going now." "Do you know where?" she asked, putting one arm around him as he had instructed her. "Hopefully some place with electricity." Brooklyn said hopefully, "And hot dogs." |