[Open to all]

[not_philistine]

Artificial night fell on the City, and Goliath and Bronx both awoke with their usual roars. The gargoyles bursting out of their stone skin were a familiar sound at sunset, and their roars carried over the darkening City

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[tetsuwan_atom]

Hey, neat! A castle. Atom had passed it once or twice, but had never come across it at night. In fact, it looked downright spooky now that it was dark.

He came in for a landing on one of the turrets, cutting off the rocket boosters in his boots as he set down on the cool stone. Then he started snooping around.

[not_philistine]

Fragments of broken stone littered the stone atop the turrets. What in the world could that be from? In the middle of the stone floor was an opening, and stairs leading down into the castle.

Down on the ground, Goliath heard something and turned to look. By the time he glanced at the turret again, he could see nothing. The high stone walls were obscuring Atom from his sight. Goliath started walking towards the castle, without any wind to glide back to the turret.

[tetsuwan_atom]

This place was pretty cool! Atom slipped down the stairs and into the castle, being careful to keep quiet.

[not_philistine]

The halls were full of interesting things, artful antiques and paintings in states of exquisite restoration. Everything looked very pricey.

A distant sound like stone being broken rang through the halls. Outside, Goliath finished climbing the turret and made his way downstairs, Bronx close behind him.

[newyorkbynight]

Elisa had no way of knowing if her body clock was still set for the night shift, since it was difficult to measure day and night on a ship were everything was controlled and artificial. Not that it mattered. She was used to operating on relatively little sleep - she'd often heard that crime didn't sleep, which meant that it was the job of the NYPD to do the same - and that was something that hadn't changed since she'd woken up Stacy.

She did try and make sure that she was awake at the same time as Goliath, though. There was a lot that she didn't know about what she'd missed during her long sleep in the pods, but she intended to make sure that they made the most of every moment now that she was awake. Just in case it didn't last.

She climbed up to the top of the turret after the false sunset, pausing momentarily to stare out at the skyline.

"It's not exactly New York," she noted to herself, before gazing around the parapets in search of her friend. "Goliath?"

[not_philistine]

He was down on the ground below, and Bronx was halfway down the turret to joining him. Goliath was considering the gate, lost in thought, but when Elisa called to him he looked over his shoulder and smiled as he saw her

[newyorkbynight]

Elisa had dropped to her knees to greet Bronx when he appeared over the edge of the turret, but she gave him one final pat before straightening up when Goliath joined them a moment later.

"Good," she answered, smiling up at him. Physical displays of affection were nothing new in their relationship, but this was a new level of intimacy that she hadn't adjusted to yet. Which wasn't to say that she didn't like it, of course. It felt warm and natural and, in such an alien location, it was a pleasant reminder of ... not normality, since their lives had never been normal, but of everything that was worth fighting for. "It's nice not to have to cross the city to be there when you wake up."

She gestured in the direction of the gate, where Goliath had been standing in contemplation before she'd emerged.

"Did I interrupt something?"

[not_philistine]

Goliath looked back towards the gate, considering it again.

"I am still considering opening the castle to the rest of the crew."

It was clear the idea still bothered him. Leaving his territory open for just anyone to waltz in bothered him on a deep, instinctive level, one that perhaps was not well suited to this place.

"I cannot think of a reason someone would enter for nefarious purposes. I do not care if Xanatos' things are taken, and you and Peter are well capable of protecting yourselves. Beside this, there are some who visit to maintain the grounds, or use the library, and with my sleep being what it is, I do not think it right to ask them to stay away only as it is convenient to me."

Especially not since these visitors are usually here to help him in some way, either by maintaining the grounds, or by researching a solution for the problem of his sleep.

[carrieswar]

Jr. wasn't exactly sneaking around per se. He just hadn't noticed Goliath in stone sleep up on the castle ledges there. He'd seen the castle enough in the city - especially since he lived in it now. But he never acted on his impulses until tonight, when he wandered close enough to it to really make out the castle. Jr., having a huge thing for the ancient, especially Earth ancient (though he wasn't sure this thing was from Earth) wanted to get a better look at the structure itself.

He had managed to slip in and gaze around in an awe. And he had begun exploring the specific rooms and nooks and crannies of the place. But he never finished. That was because Jr. came across the library, promptly went wide-eyed, and then went to town on checking out what it had stored.

[not_philistine]

There were several books open on tables, and a stack by the chair by the unlit fireplace that suggested the library was regularly used.

Since Goliath DID regularly use the library, he made his way there soon after awaking, and paused in the doorway as he saw someone had already gotten there. Someone he hadn't invited in. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy, trying to recall where he knew him from.

[carrieswar]

Jr. had about three books in his arms when he heard the shuffling behind him. He turned, and looked clearly surprised when he saw Goliath standing in the door way. So much so that he almost dropped the books on his arms. But his reflexes and love of keeping such ancient things preserved as well as possible, he put snatching one of them before it fell before anything. Once he was holding them comfortably in his arms again, he addressed the gargoyle.

"Oh! Um," he knew this guy from Security. Quiet, but sort of the only one who was that large and had wings and a tail. "Goliath. That was your name, right?" He hadn't seen him wandering around ... was this his place? It almost seemed to fit...

[not_philistine]

"Yes, it is."

Ah, he remembered. This boy was part of security. A curious occupation for so young a human, but this ship was a curious home for them all.

"How did you get in here?"

[i_sell_drugs]

Normally, Howard has a rule about salvaging in buildings he knows to be occupied. But a castle, and a castle this easy to sneak into (comparatively)? He can't resist. All it took was a little climbing and some lockpicking and a little bit of greasing some hinges with those shampoo bottles he stole from Galilee.

He hasn't taken anything yet, but he's eyed some of the nicer things in some of the rooms, and his empty backpack is open in case something really catches his eye. At the sound of footsteps, he slips behind a door, hoping not to have been caught.

[not_philistine]

Those are not light footsteps. And there are more than two of them.

Something on the other side of the door is sniffing the air very deeply.

[i_sell_drugs]

Howard stays very, very still. As still as one can while shaking like a leaf, that is.

But as the sniffing gets closer, Howard abandons his 'play dead' instinct and shrieks "please don't hurt me I didn't take anything please don't hurt me don't hurt me!"

[not_philistine]

[myboggartismoon]

With the gates open, not long passed before Lupin appeared in front of the gate, venturing on in with the look of one quite deep in thought.

These days he practically lived in the castle, delving into the depths of its library in search of some possible treatment for a gargoyle's condition that he could use or adapt.

[not_philistine]

Lupin being welcome in the library, Bronx greeted him with a curious sniff - and another curious sniff, and another, because familiar or not, something about the human's scent still confused the gargoyle beast.

Goliath arrives shortly after his clan pet, by now familiar with the sight of Lupin studying on his behalf. "Good evening, friend. How is your reading?"

[myboggartismoon]

"It makes me wish I had paid more attention in History of Magic, not that anyone could," he said with a chuckle, looking up from the book he'd selected from the shelves. "I have a few avenues of inquiry I'd like to pursue, though. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about the transformation?"

[not_philistine]

"I do not mind. I will explain what I can."

Perhaps later he'd ask what was so bad about History of Magic that nobody could pay attention. It sounds like an interesting enough topic.