"What is the sun like?" It is a simple question. One asked by small children who stare upon their fathers as if they are the heavenly father himself, the world on his back. Deceivingly simple, when uttered by a 1000 year old being. One with eyes full of dark wisdom and sparkling knowledge. One who fought with strength of monsters yet held his loved ones as if made of clouds. Below, the streets were rippling with life. Waves of lights brushing past, daring someone to hinder their travels.
"What?"
"I have read about it, heard of it and seen it on Hudson's shows."
"Well that about all you need to know, there isn't much else to it." His companion answer, bumping a slender shoulder against his own. Horns chimed in their consent. When you live in a city that never sleeps, the sun loses some of it's luster. When neon lights shine so bright night is the day, you forget the solar presence.
"Yet your kind devotes entire works to the subject. Lifetimes spent creating testaments to it's majesty. There must be something that my kind is missing. I am missing." It was almost a pained tone to the powerful baritone. This being, at least 7 feet tall, somehow managed to sound like a chastised dog. The combination with his deep voice made the small hairs on his companions tan arms stand up, even under the protection of red leather. Brushing the swirling hair from her face, Elisa turned to her companion. Small lashes reddened her face, caused by hair displeased with their rearrangement behind her ear.
"The sun is a star, our solar system is centered around it. Nothing but a big flaming ball of gas..."
"Sun derived from the word Sunne, It is a 109 times the size of earth. Yes, I know the science, but what is it like?" Leave it to the massive male to know the science, he had a better grasp of the subject than herself. Rudimentary physics was so rarely needed while on the force.
"Goliath, what do you want me to tell you?"
"I read of a story. A young boy and his father made a pair of wings. When they flew, the boy became so enchanted with the sun that he headed straight for it. The heat melted the glue that made up his artificial wings and the boy plummeted to his death. What possessed him to chase the sun?" She really shouldn't been that surprised. Even with all the modern toys she brought them, Elisa always watched their leader leafing through old texts. How do you describe a species obsession with something like the sun? An interest that spanned time and space. The young cop felt like she was at a loss for words. Words rarely came easy anyway, finding that the body converses everything without really trying.
"Many traditions across the world see the sun as a life giver, a mother, or lover. My mom says the sun had a twin, the moon, and together their love created the universe. My father says that the sun also created the earth and for that reason young mothers always go to her looking for good fortune for their children. Many traditions across the world see the sun as a loving entity."
"And what do you say, Elisa Maza?"
"I say... the sun is like... The stories are true, in a way. The sun is like a great mother, one who looks upon you and every smile warms your skin. The warmth, it permeates, more than a blanket or a heater could ever do. Her warmth it buries deep into you, creates a little den in your chest and lays claim. She is addicting, people become ill when cut off from the sun for too long. We become depressed, moody and start to miss-behave, like a child begging for attention." She paused, trying to find a footing in her thoughts. The gargoyle waited, head turned ready to coax the next details from her scattered brain. " The sun feels like comfort, closeness. It is home, like the clock." Excited with her own enlightenment ELisa stood up from the ledge,open her arms up to the glowing face. The massive face stared back, glowing from an inner light that painted the pair in a yellowy warmth.
"I thought home was not the geological place but the people you are with."
"Oh, so now you decide to listen to me." The accusation only lessened by the upturn of Elisa's lips. See no acceptable answer to be had, the gargoyle turned back to the lights below. Lazy eyes, giving away that his mind was beyond the roar of the cars below. The look was worrying. Such a defined masculine face should rarely look so lost.
Leaving her companion on the ledge, Elisa made her way into the tower. Hudson and Bronx had taken their respectable thrones before the tv as the trio was off on their own adventure. A substantial bonus and a keen eye for thrifting had allowed for an upgraded television and a set of miss match couches and chairs, each one very plush and well worn. Tossed across the loved back of the 80's modge podge of flora and fauna cover couch was a blanket. A composition of jagged red, cream and black symmetrical lines, with touches of teal triangles sprinkled across. The wool, once itchy, was now reduced to a feather down texture from years of comfort. Each thread was soaked in the scent of an old home, a combination of sage and snickerdoodles. Almond extract was her grandmothers favorite ingredient, no meal was complete without they nutty addition. Lucky for the family no one was allergic. It was a scent that peeked out in the quiet of night, just in time to cover your dreams in sweet memories. Bundling up said memories Elisa returned out into the ledge.
Either the sudden breeze or the gargoyle's look put her off balance, which didn't seem to matter. Once reclaiming her place, she began to unfold her bundle, tightly re-wrapping it around the mammoth shoulder. Wings made the task less gracefully than intended but was righted once they tied to form the man's signature cape. Three inch claws gently picked that the threads, carefully to not move a single strand. For being a giant frame of muscle and rock, the patriarch was easily maneuverable. A twist here, press there and the scaled face found purchase on coarse denim. Warmth scraped his cheeks as the world tilted. Cars started traveling down hill as Goliath's skin tried to recognize the foreign body.
Shifting her position Elisa brought her legs up, bumping Goliath's head closed to her belly. Seeing this as an adequate explanation to the cosmos, Elisa began brushing at the dark hair in her lap. Containment, Goliath tipped his head back. A rhythm took place; brush, brush, move, rub, brush, rub repeat. Purring began adding to the rhythmic tempo being set. Muscles dropped as the the blue scaled brow drooped. Like a content cat, the gargoyle curled himself around his companion. Strong thighs provided a cushion for the base of her spine upon. Time passed unchecked by the broken clock town.
When the pleasure of darkness lost its luster Goliath upon his eyes, taking in the twinkling of light on red leather. A heavy hand began the arduous task of ascending up the red glad arm. Gently a mammoth blue hand intertwined fingers in black hair. Goliath pulled the tresses over the red shoulders, pulling them close, to burrow into. Blue skin smashed in with red leather, black hair and cream threads, completing the swaddled kitten appearance. Some simple petting could reduce such a ferocious creature into a house cat, Elisa would need to remember this. Finger pads caressed the splintered ends of her hair, treating it as if it was spun gold. The scent of Almond mixed with an earth base, wrapping around the pair. Lingering long enough before the smog breeze made it's passes. Two scents colliding together, creating a new family, new home.
Elisa felt the warmth in her belly, the little den that only seemed to light in the noon sun of central park, was blazing. The sun was wrapped around her back and side, attacking from all angles. The shared warmth was burying under her skin, ready to carve out its own chunk of a den that would surely never be covered over again. The sun was in her palms and had no conceivable way of understanding his very existence. Arms tighten around her, as if the answer was found in closer contact.
"This, is what the sun is like, understand?" imploring him to see his own existence.
"The sun is home." He answered, staring at his own sun.