Interlude: Laham and Yahub
By
The Sword Maker
The_sword_maker_lives@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: Gargoyles is © Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these rights is intended and I seek no monetary gain through this story. This story line picks up after the Goliath Chronicles episode "…For It May Come True." "Genesis Undone" (where the clones die) never happened.
This story is a continuation of my previous fic, "The Turning Point."
Goliath stirred on his perch, absently brushing away the last few flecks of stone from his mane. Below him the clan was already drifting together, ready for their patrol assignments, although no one looked really anxious to go out patrolling. Keen weather senses let them know that it would rain tonight, and quite heavily. Goliath was aware of all this, yet his mind was focused on something quite different.
Hudson turned his eye up to where Goliath was still perched. It had been a month since the night that Goliath had returned to the castle, a spring in his step and a gleam in his eye unlike anything the elder gargoyle had seen in his leader's eye since before the massacre of the clan. Hudson knew that Goliath had gone to Elisa's apartment that night, and he was certain he knew what had happened. But this introspective look that now graced Goliath's face was rather similar to the expression he'd been sporting in the week after the Quarrymen raid.
Goliath suddenly glanced down to where his clanmates were waiting patiently his verdict. Shaking his head slightly, he composed his thoughts. "We will stay in tonight. The weather is turning foul."
With muted cheers the younger members of the clan darted inside, intent on making the most of their unexpected evening off. Hudson, too, was about to head in when Goliath's voice drifted down once more.
"Could I speak with you, old friend?"
Hudson looked up, and nodded, then followed Goliath inside to the rooms that Xanatos had recently announced were for the clan's use. The elder was a little worried, but not overly so. After all, whatever had been disturbing his leader had been taken care of somehow. But still…
Once alone in one of the rooms, Goliath took a seat and motioned Hudson to do the same. Comfortably seated, silence stretched between the creatures torn from their own time. Finally, Goliath's deep rumble began their little conversation. Hudson was, to say the least, very surprised at the topic of conversation.
"Hudson, do you remember teaching us the legend of Laham and Yahub?"
The old gargoyle eased back slightly in his chair as his mind raced over what had been a favorite story for the young females of the clan. He nodded once, and spoke quietly. "Aye, lad, I do remember that tale. Is it what is bothering you this night?"
His question earned him a narrow eyed glare from his leader, but Hudson forced himself to stay calm. "Indeed," growled Goliath in a voice that softened even as he continued. "I believe that Elisa is Yahub-ok."
Hudson went still as though he'd been turned to stone. The implications of what Goliath was saying were incredible! His mind flashed back to the time he had last heard that word with that possessive suffix. After several minutes of turbulent thoughts, one surfaced to bubble from his lips: "Have you told Elisa this?"
Goliath shook his head. "She does not even know the legend. I would have to explain it all to her, and that would include telling her Demona's part in this."
Hudson nodded once, then stood slowly. "As clan Elder, all I can recommend is that you tell Elisa the legend, and tell her what it means to be your Yahub."
In the hallway, Angela stood riveted to the ground. The strange words that Hudson had just used struck a chord in her mind, but she could not understand why. Hearing the elder's footsteps approach, she quickly darted away down the hall, stealthy as only a gargoyle can be. The words continued to pulse through her mind, demanding to be understood. She rounded a corner, then another, her near frantic pace drawing her ever nearer to the TV room where the Trio had adjourned.
Arriving there, she found the three gargoyles in a rousing verbal battle on what they were going to watch. Brooklyn was, of course, trying to get the channel to ESPN to watch the motorcycle X-Games. Lex was eager to watch a show on robotics. And Broadway was trying to get them all to watch a Dirty Harry movie on the Superstation.
Angela smiled faintly and gave shrill whistle that pierced the sensitive hearing of her friends. After the moans of pain and shock had died down, she sauntered over to Broadway and wrapped one arm around his shoulder.
"I've got a question for you guys," she said as she took a seat, pulling her chosen mate down to her side. "Do you know what Yahub-ok means?"
Three jaws dropped and three pairs of eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. Brooklyn was the first to recover, if only a little.
"You don't know? How can you not know?" The red gargoyle's voice was becoming slightly shrill with confusion and dismay.
Lex smacked himself on the forehead, and pointed to Angela. He spoke firmly, and somehow avoided insulting Angela and those who had raised her. "She was raised by humans on a magic island. There were no grown gargoyles to teach her the legend and she would never have learned the language since we never teach it to any but the hatchlings."
"What legend?" asked Angela in a bewildered voice. "What language?"
"The gargoyle tongue, Angela," answered Broadway. "And the legend is that of Laham and Yahub."
Angela growled slightly under her breath. "Ok, then, spill it!" The lavender female was most definitely angry that no one had thought of this oversight before, and the three friends quickly acted to alleviate her displeasure. They knew quite well that Angela had inherited the tempers of both her parents.
In the clan's rooms, Goliath watched Hudson as the elder quietly left, shutting the door behind him. The large gargoyle's thoughts raced wildly, with no coherent pattern. Rubbing his head to stay off the growing headache, he resolved to go to Elisa and tell her what had happened. She did need to know; after all, she was involved up to her eyeballs.
Elisa hummed along with the radio as she folded her laundry. Neat piles were forming on her bed. After several minutes, she stopped and peered closer at her wardrobe. A sardonic laugh tried to bubble out of her mouth. Desperate to hold it in, her laugh degenerated to a giggle fit. Two dozen tight black T-shirts and a like number of form-fitting blue jeans were in four neat piles, beside the same amount (only in pairs) of socks. Still giggling, the detective looked over at her closet, where three identical red bomber jackets hung, still in their dry-cleaning bags. Three pairs of high-tops in the bottom of the closet completed the ensemble. Over to one side were the few dresses and blouses that she owned.
She shook her head, and quickly stuffed her laundry away. She'd need to get some more clothes. Elisa had found recently that she wanted to look more feminine. In her deepest thoughts, she admitted to herself that it was because of her changing relationship with Goliath. Thinking his name brought back to her the first night they had shared themselves. Her eyes slowly closed as she recalled the tender love they had discovered within each other. She drifted over to her bed, her eyes slightly unfocused from the memories. She was sitting down on her bed when out of the corner of her eye she saw a bag on the nightstand.
Her eyes snapped open and she looked at the bag. A wicked look replaced the languor that had previously marked her expression. She couldn't wait to see Goliath's expression when he saw her in that! A trip to Victoria's Secret could work wonders in a relationship, Elisa thought wickedly as she pulled out the silky white baby doll she had bought earlier that day. She hung it with great care inside of her closet, a little sad that Goliath hadn't called to let her know if he was coming over that night.
Juggling work and guarding the city with time to be together took almost as effort as guarding the city itself. They'd managed to get at least one night a week to themselves, and they'd gotten to be together three times last week, so Elisa mentally berated herself for feeling greedy. A faint thump and a scratching sound from her skylight in the living room brought her out of her reverie.
Moving to the living room, she looked up and saw with surprise and pleasure that it was Goliath. Genuinely smiling, she eagerly motioned him to come in, and once he had touched floor, the clan's leader was nearly knocked off his feet as Elisa hurled herself into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. His gasp of surprise was smothered moments later as she kissed him deeply.
Time slowed around them, and Elisa gradually became aware that Goliath had sunk down to recline on her couch, his knees evidently having given way to the rush of emotion that always seemed to surge through them when they kissed. They parted slightly, and left lingering kisses for several eternal minutes before she snuggled down and rested against his broad chest, her arms around his waist.
"Oh, Elisa," he whispered, his voice reverent, as though her name were a sacred prayer to be uttered in great secret. The way he said her voice always sent a surge rushing through her limbs, and Elisa silently thanked Coyote or whoever was supposed to watch over her that she was already reclining on the couch, or her legs would have collapsed at the reaction she was having.
A taloned hand brushed against her cheek, combing long strands of silky midnight from her face. Elisa smiled and looked up to Goliath's eyes. Love glowed there, so fiercely she was sure that she would be incinerated from the light his eyes held only for her. Then his gaze shifted, and some seriousness crept in. Concern flitted across her mind. What was this about?
His voice, so gentle and deep, came to her then. "Elisa, there is something I must tell you. In order to understand it, however, you need to hear a legend that was taught to all the gargoyles in the clans long ago." He fell silent, and Elisa realized that he was awaiting her response. At her nod, he continued. His voice took her back to a time forgotten by all, a place that survived only in stories.
"Long ago, there was a clan of gargoyles that lived in a forest. The forest was called
"Nanahat," meaning "home." The leader of that clan was a great warrior, who, oddly enough, found no glory in fighting, but was content to protect his clan, and to preserve them against all that would seek to do them harm. He was not alone in this, for with him he had his mate, a beautiful female who supported him in all that he did."After many years had passed, he named her, an unknown thing among his clan. The name he chose meant "love" in the gargoyle tongue, and so she was forever after known as
"Laham" to the other gargoyles. But when he would speak to her, he would call her "Laham-ok," which means "my love.""One night many years later, the clan was attacked by some humans, and Laham was killed. The leader grieved, and swore never to love again, for his Love was dead.
"Years passed, and the clan grew larger. Then came the year when the clan decided to move to another place, as their forest was fast being overrun by the human of the area. They traveled for many nights, eventually coming to a great valley. They discovered to their surprise that this valley held a small clan, also seeking a new home. Among them was a female who, the moment she saw the clan's leader decided that he was the one who would be her mate.
"The leaders of the two clans decided to join, making one clan. As the one clan was smaller, its leader became the second, and the leader retained his position as leader of a clan that now numbered nearly seven eights of warriors. With such a strong clan, they decided that they would make the valley their home.
"Some few months after they had joined clans, the second went to the leader and told him that there was a female who had set her wings to snare him for her mate. The leader contained his anger, and told his second that he would not take another mate. It was later that month before the second learned what had happened to Laham. Once he knew, he told the female that the leader's heart was broken over the death of his mate, and that the leader was not interested in another mate.
"Being wiser that the males in such matters, the female took it upon herself to show the leader that love was possible again, and went to work. It took several years, but she eventually brought him around to realize that he was falling in love again. The night that they flew the mating flight, she taught him that the heart does heal.
"They were mates for many years, and were always happy. Then came the awful day when she was killed in a hunt. When he learned of her death, the leader spoke to his clan one last time, telling them that long ago, he had lost his Love, but then he had been shown that Love could be born once more. With grief marking the faces of all, he told them that this time, it was different, for this time, he had lost his Life. And so he named her
"Yahub-ok," meaning "my life," and he greeted his last sunrise by going to a high point and leaning forward so that when he was frozen in sleep, his form fell and shattered upon the ground."For time since, gargoyles have referred to their mates as "
Laham," in honor of the leader's first mate. Few are the mates who find that their mates are "Yahub.""Elisa was still for several minutes, letting the impact of what Goliath had said slowly sink in. "So how do you know if your mate is your Laham or your Yahub?"
Goliath seemed to shrug slightly, then spoke in a quiet voice. "Somehow, a gargoyle is said to simply know when his or her mate has become Yahub to them." He was silent for several minutes, then spoke again, very hesitantly. "Long ago, when Demona and I were mates, I found myself wishing that we would be more than Laham; that we could be Yahub." Elisa stiffened slightly at this, and Goliath hurried on. "After awakening in this time, I realized that it would never be. Like the leader of old, I found myself swearing never to love again."
His eyes sought out hers, and staring straight into those chocolate pools, he continued in a softer voice. "You didn't set out to teach me that I could love again, it happened over time. When we shared ourselves a month ago, I realized that you were Laham-ok. But just before I was frozen in stone last night, I found myself thinking that it would be good to see Yahub-ok when I awoke that night." A tear formed at Elisa's eye as the sincerity and love in his voice came through.
As more tears flowed, she moved her arms to his neck once more and pulled him in to kiss him. "Yahub-ok!" she whispered fiercely, before surrendering to her emotions.
Back in the castle, Angela pulled Broadway close to her as Lex finished the legend. A secretive smile graced her face, so much so the Brooklyn got a very suspicious look on his face.
"Ok, Angela," growled the beaked second in command. Lex and Broadway looked at Brooklyn, somewhat surprised at his tone of voice. "Spill it. What's the secret?"
Angela merely laughed, and smiled sweetly at the three males. "Can't tell you!" Angela struggled hard to keep from shouting with joy. She'd been aware of the attraction between her father and the detective since a few days after leaving on the skiff. That they'd finally come to terms with their emotions was a certainty, and based on what little she'd overheard of Hudson and Goliath's conversation, she felt it was guaranteed that they were mates.
Unable to keep it in, she burst from Broadway's embrace and darted out into the castle, intent on finding Fox and sharing the news. Angela knew that only another woman would fully understand what she had to share, and that although the human inhabitants of the castle were still only slowly gaining the trust of the clan, this was something that went past such things.
Angela crowed with laughter, sheer happiness igniting her face with a glow that would light up the darkest night.
And the night passed on…