Dancing in Time part 1
I spread my wings and leaped from the castle ramparts, easily catching the air currents with my wings. I rolled once, gracefully, marveling as I often did at how easy this had all become. Once upon I time, I had been so afraid of gliding, afraid of my own body, afraid that I would fall and splatter myself on the sidewalk below. Now, I was easily as good a glider as any natural born Gargoyle. Any fear had been replaced by the joy of almost-flight, the joy of knowing something that so many people never would or could.
I tucked my wings, going into a dive before leveling out at the rooftop level of some of the shorter buildings. As I continued to glide, I made minute adjustments to help keep me airborne. I looked over at my partner for the evening’s patrol. “Now, what was that about ‘keeping up if you can?’”
Brooklyn had the good sense to look chagrinned. He ran a hand through his hair. “Ah, yes, ma’am. Taking it back, ma’am.”
I smiled slightly at that. I’d been worried, originally, when we returned from Avalon that Brooklyn would be resentful of being bumped down in the hierarchy again. While Goliath, Bronx, and I had been traveling with Angela, he’d lead the Clan and done a good job of it by all accounts. I’m extremely glad I started prepping him for that possibility immediately after I got the second-in-command job. I’d actually gone as far as to offer to let him have the job, offered to step down, but he’d refused, saying he’d had enough responsibility to last him a lifetime.
The job honestly should have been his in the first place. If not for me, it would have been. And though Goliath said, and I believed him, that his feelings for me had nothing to do with me getting the job, I still think there was an ulterior motive behind the decision. Yes, I was capable, but more importantly, the job gave me responsibilities I couldn’t ignore. It was something I could concentrate on, something I could focus on, instead of just wallowing in my depression. It helped me start the climb out of the hole I’d been in.
Anyway, with Lex and Hudson still in London, we were a little short-handed, but managing. Two teams of two each night, with the fifth person having the night off. I was with Brooklyn that night, and Goliath was with Broadway. Broadway had been growing closer and closer to Angela, and I believe Goliath intended to have a “what are your intentions” talk with him during the course of their patrol. I hoped Goliath would go easy on him.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, had been increasingly broody of late. I strongly suspected I knew the reason, but it would be better for him if I could get him to admit it. Brooding wasn’t doing him any good and I could easily see it leading to a destructive outburst later.
“So,” I began, “you want to tell me what’s been on your mind lately?”
He scowled, in as much as his face allowed it. “Baseball,” he said after a moment.
Of all the answers I was prepared to hear, that wasn’t one of them. I mean, sure, I was worried about the upcoming Mets’ season, but that was neither here nor there. “What?”
“Baseball’s the one with the strikes, right?”
‘Yeah. Well, that and bowling.”
“Well, baseball’s the one where three strikes means you’re out, right?”
“Yeah,” I replied. And then I got it. “Oh.”
“Maggie, Angela, and Delilah,” he went on. “Strikes one, two, and three.”
On the one hand, that was a compelling argument. On the other hand, it was sexist and objectifying. “That’s bullshit,” I said. “And you know it.”
That caught him by surprise. “What?”
“Brooklyn, did you have any feelings for any of those girls beyond physical attraction? Maggie, maybe. But you were interested in them because they were women with wings. That’s it.”
He looked like he was about to protest, his beak opening and closing, but he instead just looked sheepish. “I didn’t hit on you,” he said, weakly.
“What a gentleman,” I said back. I let the thoughts linger between us for a little while. The cold of early January had guaranteed us a few quiet nights, as only the dumbest crooks ventured out into it. “Seriously, Brooklyn,” I went on, “you’re a good guy, and there’s lots of other girls out there, between Avalon, London, Ishimura, and maybe even New Olympus, and probably places we haven’t even been to yet.”
Or hell, maybe even right here in the city. I couldn’t possibly have been the only human who found a Gargoyle attractive. However, I opted, for the sake of my sanity, not to pursue that particular train of thought. Play the “what might have been” game and you always lose.
“Yeah, well, maybe,” he said. “Can’t exactly see me as the long distance relationship-type. Not really how we do things.”
“Yeah, well, the world’s changing, Brooklyn. A thousand years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to call you that. A little more than a year ago, we thought we were the last Gargoyles on Earth. Now we know there’s at least five other clans out there, not counting the Labyrinth, and of those, two have huge populations and aren’t hard to get to. You could find yourself a London or Ishimura sweetheart easy enough.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
I rolled my eyes and thought teenagers. “Look,” I said. “Since Lex and Hudson got to check in with the London Clan, Goliath and I have been talking about some of us taking a trip to Ishimura anyway. You should come.”
“Yeah, all right,” Brooklyn said, possibly only agreeing to get out of the conversation.
A sudden noise made us silent, a fiery crackling like a gigantic bondfire. Behind Brooklyn and coming up fast I saw a gigantic bird made of flame, its talons reaching out for him. “Brooklyn!”
He cried out in surprise and tried to get away, but my warning had come too late. The bird-a Phoenix, I realized, spotting some kind of metal object in its head-caught him in its burning embrace and both vanished in a flurry of flickering flames. I glided in tight circles to stay airborne, searching for any sign of either. It was no use. He was gone.
I had seen the effect before. It could only have been the Phoenix Gate, an Avalon-forged artifact capable of piercing space and time. When we had last seen it, Goliath had sent the Gate spiraling through time without any kind of guidance. And now it had returned and stolen Brooklyn.
I beat my wings furiously for speed, racing back to the castle.
I tucked my wings, going into a dive before leveling out at the rooftop level of some of the shorter buildings. As I continued to glide, I made minute adjustments to help keep me airborne. I looked over at my partner for the evening’s patrol. “Now, what was that about ‘keeping up if you can?’”
Brooklyn had the good sense to look chagrinned. He ran a hand through his hair. “Ah, yes, ma’am. Taking it back, ma’am.”
I smiled slightly at that. I’d been worried, originally, when we returned from Avalon that Brooklyn would be resentful of being bumped down in the hierarchy again. While Goliath, Bronx, and I had been traveling with Angela, he’d lead the Clan and done a good job of it by all accounts. I’m extremely glad I started prepping him for that possibility immediately after I got the second-in-command job. I’d actually gone as far as to offer to let him have the job, offered to step down, but he’d refused, saying he’d had enough responsibility to last him a lifetime.
The job honestly should have been his in the first place. If not for me, it would have been. And though Goliath said, and I believed him, that his feelings for me had nothing to do with me getting the job, I still think there was an ulterior motive behind the decision. Yes, I was capable, but more importantly, the job gave me responsibilities I couldn’t ignore. It was something I could concentrate on, something I could focus on, instead of just wallowing in my depression. It helped me start the climb out of the hole I’d been in.
Anyway, with Lex and Hudson still in London, we were a little short-handed, but managing. Two teams of two each night, with the fifth person having the night off. I was with Brooklyn that night, and Goliath was with Broadway. Broadway had been growing closer and closer to Angela, and I believe Goliath intended to have a “what are your intentions” talk with him during the course of their patrol. I hoped Goliath would go easy on him.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, had been increasingly broody of late. I strongly suspected I knew the reason, but it would be better for him if I could get him to admit it. Brooding wasn’t doing him any good and I could easily see it leading to a destructive outburst later.
“So,” I began, “you want to tell me what’s been on your mind lately?”
He scowled, in as much as his face allowed it. “Baseball,” he said after a moment.
Of all the answers I was prepared to hear, that wasn’t one of them. I mean, sure, I was worried about the upcoming Mets’ season, but that was neither here nor there. “What?”
“Baseball’s the one with the strikes, right?”
‘Yeah. Well, that and bowling.”
“Well, baseball’s the one where three strikes means you’re out, right?”
“Yeah,” I replied. And then I got it. “Oh.”
“Maggie, Angela, and Delilah,” he went on. “Strikes one, two, and three.”
On the one hand, that was a compelling argument. On the other hand, it was sexist and objectifying. “That’s bullshit,” I said. “And you know it.”
That caught him by surprise. “What?”
“Brooklyn, did you have any feelings for any of those girls beyond physical attraction? Maggie, maybe. But you were interested in them because they were women with wings. That’s it.”
He looked like he was about to protest, his beak opening and closing, but he instead just looked sheepish. “I didn’t hit on you,” he said, weakly.
“What a gentleman,” I said back. I let the thoughts linger between us for a little while. The cold of early January had guaranteed us a few quiet nights, as only the dumbest crooks ventured out into it. “Seriously, Brooklyn,” I went on, “you’re a good guy, and there’s lots of other girls out there, between Avalon, London, Ishimura, and maybe even New Olympus, and probably places we haven’t even been to yet.”
Or hell, maybe even right here in the city. I couldn’t possibly have been the only human who found a Gargoyle attractive. However, I opted, for the sake of my sanity, not to pursue that particular train of thought. Play the “what might have been” game and you always lose.
“Yeah, well, maybe,” he said. “Can’t exactly see me as the long distance relationship-type. Not really how we do things.”
“Yeah, well, the world’s changing, Brooklyn. A thousand years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to call you that. A little more than a year ago, we thought we were the last Gargoyles on Earth. Now we know there’s at least five other clans out there, not counting the Labyrinth, and of those, two have huge populations and aren’t hard to get to. You could find yourself a London or Ishimura sweetheart easy enough.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
I rolled my eyes and thought teenagers. “Look,” I said. “Since Lex and Hudson got to check in with the London Clan, Goliath and I have been talking about some of us taking a trip to Ishimura anyway. You should come.”
“Yeah, all right,” Brooklyn said, possibly only agreeing to get out of the conversation.
A sudden noise made us silent, a fiery crackling like a gigantic bondfire. Behind Brooklyn and coming up fast I saw a gigantic bird made of flame, its talons reaching out for him. “Brooklyn!”
He cried out in surprise and tried to get away, but my warning had come too late. The bird-a Phoenix, I realized, spotting some kind of metal object in its head-caught him in its burning embrace and both vanished in a flurry of flickering flames. I glided in tight circles to stay airborne, searching for any sign of either. It was no use. He was gone.
I had seen the effect before. It could only have been the Phoenix Gate, an Avalon-forged artifact capable of piercing space and time. When we had last seen it, Goliath had sent the Gate spiraling through time without any kind of guidance. And now it had returned and stolen Brooklyn.
I beat my wings furiously for speed, racing back to the castle.