I just want to thank the creators of DARK AGES for creating such a great background and Storyseeker for correcting my fics and helping me with great ideas and for the characters of his ficverse.

5.More things to tell

07.08.98; 2:12; Demona's Mansion:

Demona sat in her working chamber and studied a magic book that she had just recently purchased in Germany, but hadn't had the time to really read. Meanwhile, Shade sat by her master's feet-claws and daydreamed, satisfied that her friend had been out with her tonight already.

Demona was satisfied also, since over the last few nights she had had time to rest and to come along with herself. Mainly because Darlene and Jarred had been away over most of the last nights, Darlene had even managed to take Lana with them, even when she had nearly had to drag her by her tail.

Even though a part of her had somehow relished to having them around her, they even so could be stressing sometimes, especially since Jarred seemed eager to show his whole family what he had learned during his lessons with the other hatchlings.

This had taught her to relieve in the silence when she was alone... Well, Lana was still there, up in her room and watching over Gem, but since she preferred to listen to music or surf the Internet, she didn't really count.

Time to get used to this again Demona thought soon I will have even more silence.

The greatest part of her soul stayed unmoved by this thought, just a little part shuddered by this, but Demona controlled this part and concentrated on the magic book again.

But Demona didn't get enough time to really concentrate on the book again, since some minutes later; Shade rose from the ground, looking in the direction of the main-living room. One minute later, Demona's keen ears registered how the balcony-door opened.

"Darlene?" she asked. "Jarred?"

She knew it was pointless to ask since no one of the clan, not even Angela, had come in the last week to visit her... well, with one exception.

"We are here." her daughter's voice informed her while Demona closed the book, standing up from her chair.

Just at the moment, when his grandmother come out from behind the desk, Jarred stormed in, holding a wooden sword in front of him.

"Ha!" he told her laughing, playfully threatening Demona by making a parade in front of her.

Demona crossed her arms. She had faced many opponents and this one was definitely at the weak end of the scale.

"And what is this?" she asked in a tone, which made clear that she didn't share her grandson's enthusiasm.

"Deborah gave me this to practice." Jarred explained to his granny with a mischievous smile on his face. "She said I'm making great progress."

Demona raised a brow. She had training-swords too and knew her old teacher had guessed this, but before she could say anything to this, Darlene entered and a look in her daughter's eyes showed her that maybe it was better to simply let it be.

"This is..." Demona began in a neutral voice, unsure what to say, "…nice."

"Yeah, it's cool." Jarred explained grinning. "I'll go up and show it to Lana."

Demona looked after Jarred, how the hyperactive hatchling jumped up the stairs and Shade, who was bored of doing nothing, decided to follow him slowly.

"He really likes training and being with the other hatchlings." Darlene told her mother. "And I never saw him so willing to actually learn something... except for magic by you."

Demona nodded, leaning against the desk.

"Yes, Deborah is a good teacher..." noticing the surprised looks of her daughter and cursing herself for this, she added. "Is there anything new there?"

Darlene, who did not look upon the change in the topic as completely unfavorable, crossed her arms.

"Well, you would know if you came with me just once in the last week." Darlene noticed. "But yes, there are some of the clan who miss your presence, Angela for one, not to speak of Connor and your other 'rookery children'... What should I tell them the next time when they ask me why you didn't come? That you're sick?"

Demona crossed her arms.

"I doubt that you are waylaid by masses that demand my presence there, daughter." she told her daughter calmly. "You know what the mass of the clan thinks of me."

"Then change this by visiting them!" Darlene demanded. "This is the best way to better your reputation."

"I am not interested in what the Manhattan clan thinks of me." Demona replied and was going to continue when her daughter made something near a snarl.

"It is your clan mother!" Darlene told her mother angrily, having to control her voice so that her children didn't hear them. "The clan you hatched in and the clan you led once, mother."

Demona countered her daughter's attack with an icy glare.

"Yes, once Darlene, not now." she reminded her. "We don't get along, Darlene, not for a long time."

"Well, you have to if you plan to stay in New York." Darlene reminded her, crossing her arms like her mother, to make her point clear

"I don't plan to do so." her mother revealed.

Baff

Darlene's arms dropped, along with her jaw, she felt as if she had been beaten.

"You can't be serious!" she noticed unbelieving.

Demona's face stayed hard.

"I am," she replied calmly. "In two weeks, I will go back to Berlin... It was just a business-trip like I told you."

Darlene's blue eyes studied her mother, still searching for any sign that she was making a joke.

"I don't want to go away!" she told her mother angrily. "Neither does Jarred and… neither does Lana."

Demona simply shrugged her shoulder's.

"I haven't said a single word about you and your children coming with me, Darlene." she informed her daughter.

Baff

Darlene felt the second beat, near being knocked out.

"What?" she nearly whispered, looking into the cold green eyes of the gargess in front of her?

"You told me already that you felt alone by being just with me," Demona said, reminding her daughter of the first talk they had had six months ago, "that I am not enough and I don't think your children see this otherwise. So the best thing is that you and your family stay here."

Baff

Okay, I'm K.O. Darlene thought unbelieving.

"Why?" Darlene asked weakly.

"It is obvious," Demona noted. "I don't fit in here, like you surely have noticed."

Darlene was definitely not going to accept this.

"Then change yourself!" she demanded from her mother, barely suppressing her anger.

Demona shook her head.

"I am the way I am, daughter." she replied. "You know this."

For some seconds, Darlene could just stare on her mother, wanting to get absolutely sure that she meant what she had said.

"Do you want to tell me that your goddamned stubbornness and your idiotic pride mean more to you than we?" Darlene asked disbelieving. "Are you mad?"

Darlene realized too late that maybe, on some questions, she didn't want an answer.

"Have you thought just once about me or Angela, or Connor? Or Jarred and Lana???" she demanded to know while Demona stayed cool.

"You have proven that you came along well by yourself, Darlene." Demona pointed out. "As has Angela, and Connor has more rookery mothers than me and your children will get over it."

The coldness in her mother's voice made Darlene even more angry.

"My children, your grandchildren, love you!" she snarled, not caring for who might listen on that. "As do I, Angela and Connor, for reasons I cannot begin to guess."

Darlene pointed with a single claw on her mother.

"Just think of Jarred!" she tried. "He relies on you to teach him how to become a sorcerer!"

"I thought of him." Demona replied. "I will lend you some magic books and other useful tools here. You can teach him as good as I can."

"YOU THOUGHT OF HIM?!" Darlene screamed, her eyes turning red and when she continued, her voice was as icy as her mothers. "No, mother. You think of nobody other than yourself and I was a fool to think otherwise at any time."

Since Demona didn't respond, but merely looked on her daughter icily, Darlene continued.

"But you were always so selfish, weren't you mother?" Darlene noted. "The only reason why you have taken me and the children with you was that you wanted company, nothing else, and now you have had seemingly enough of us and decided to drop us."

Demona's eyes began shining red now.

"I took you with me because the situation here was still... unstable." she told her daughter. "But this has changed and so there is no reason for this anymore."

"So this is your pretext now." Darlene noticed sarcastically "What will it be next time, mother?"

Demona didn't reply anything, but held her arms crossed, looking almost defiantly on her daughter.

"Oh, and what will you tell Angela?" Darlene asked. "Or more accurately… when? Maybe one hour before or after you pack your bags?"

"In time, Darlene." Demona explained, the hellfire banned out of her eyes again. "Let this be my problem."

With this, Demona went back to her chair and sat in it, but before she could revive, Darlene began to speak anew.

"Then you might have one problem less, mother." Darlene noticed and on the surprised look of her mother, she continued. "I made an invitation to anyone who wanted to visit us tomorrow night to dinner. Angela and your caramel skinned sister agreed..."

"WHAT?!" Demona screamed, raising up again. "How dare you… "

"Don't worry, mother," Darlene replied coolly. "You'll have no work since I'll cook."

"I won't speak about this!" Demona snarled. "You have to inform me before you invite someone into my house."

Your house, mother? Darlene thought cynically while clenching her claws to fists. I once dared to believe it would be ours.

"If I would have asked you, you would have either said no, or found a reason for not being here." Darlene replied, her blue eyes cold as ice.

Mother and daughter looked in each other's eyes and didn't even blink for some seconds until Demona finally shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll be there." she explained, as if this would be natural. "Why not?"

I'm asking this myself, mother. Darlene thought, but kept silent since she didn't want to loose this little victory she had achieved over her mother.

Her mother did not say anything more, but once again took up the book she had stopped reading when her daughter had come in.

Darlene understood the message clearly, but decided to add a point.

"I won't tell Jarred or Lana about your plans, mother." she told her. "You'll have to do this by yourself. I hope you'll see how much pain you cause them."

Demona showed no reaction and instead opened the book, continuing to read where she had stopped.

"Damn you, mother." Darlene snarled and turned around, heading up to the stairs.

With this, Demona's daughter left, leaving her mother seemingly reading in the book she held in one claw... while the other scraped wood from the very expensive desk.

07.08.98; 2:23; Demona's Mansion, Lana's room:

Lana sat in her chair, the Walkman about her ears, and surfed through the net on the PC in front of her. She had put the music on a lower level since, thanks to her new pointed ears, she had much better hearing.

Pointed ears! She thought depressed. God I'm a freak.

She didn't understand how Jarred could enjoy this, not to speak of her mother.

Gem seemingly even so didn't mind the new body since she played happily with the ball in her playpen, being unusually satisfied with just sitting in this little cage.

At least all is quiet. Lana thought happily Thank God that Jarred is out with mom training...

She didn't get to end her thoughts since at this moment, the door to her room burst open.

"HA!" a very excited hatchling screamed when he stormed in and playfully held his sword, as though he was going to attack his sister. "Surrender mighty dragon!"

Lana had been, much to her anger, a bit scared in the first few seconds, turned off the Walkman and glared on her younger brother.

What would I give on being an only child. She thought.

"You wouldn't even win against a bat, shrimp!" Lana pointed out.

"But one day I will!" Jarred declared proudly. "Deborah said I learn very fast."

Lana just shrugged her shoulders.

"If you like playing warrior..." she replied.

"It is not playing!" Jarred told her angrily. "One day I will be a true warrior and fighting bad guys..." he got an idea. "Hey, I can even protect you then!"

Lana giggled by this thought.

"I feel much safer already." she replied.

"You'll see," Jarred, challenged by his sister's laughter, explained and rose his wooden sword over his head. "If someone attacks us, I..."

He didn't come further since someone grabbed the dull blade of the sword, too weakly held by the hatchling, and pulled it out of Jarred's claw.

In shock, the hatchling turned around... finding Shade sitting on the ground, his cherished sword in her mouth.

Shade looked up to the hatchling. She had never been very keen in playing with hatchlings and couldn't understand how other gargbeasts could spend the whole night in doing so, but playing with this one was definitely better than just sitting around.

Her eyes showed that she was happy about showing the wanna-be warrior, who was the best fighter in the room.

"Hey, give that back!" Jarred demanded angrily, grabbing the sword's handle with both claws and trying to take it back. "This is no fun!"

Gem watched this nice game curiously in her playpen, absently chewing on a dice.

Finally, Shade had enough of the game and gave in, letting Jarred, who wasn't prepared on that, fall down on his back.

"Good going, knight." Lana giggled and even Gem laughed up, applauding with her little claws.

Jarred was going to say something when the three children saw their mother storming past the door without even looking in. This was something that Jarred and Lana was thankful for, since none of them wanted to get in the focus of these eyes now.

"Uhh, what made mom get up so?" Jarred asked his sister while standing up and checking his sword for any signs of Shade's teeth, luckily finding none... Deborah made clear that she wanted him to take care of this sword and he definitely didn't want to disappoint her.

"She and grandma had an argument I guess." Lana told him, not really interested in this, as long as she wouldn't get in trouble because of it.

"About what?" Jarred asked, starring on her.

"Can I read minds, shrimp?" Lana asked him irritated. "About any stuff I thing, maybe because of the clan."

Jarred looked worriedly on his sister. He didn't want his mother and his grandmother to be angry on each other... They were family!

But finally the hatchling shrugged his shoulders.

Probably nothing. He guessed.

07.08.98; 2:41; Demona's Mansion, Darlene's room:

Darlene had to control herself not to scream when she had entered her room and had slammed the door behind herself.

Mother you are such a... such a... she lacked the words to describe her.

Her mother seemingly cared not a bit for her feelings, not just Jarred's. By the dragon she had believed that her mother actually had learned to care for her grandson and Jarred believed so too and now...

"Damn you!" Darlene cursed, remembering all the others that her mother would bring pain by moving away again.

Was her mother truly so heartless?

Slowly, a part of the anger vanished out of Darlene's heart.

No, she didn't believe so, but maybe, she thought that they didn't care for her enough or that they weren't giving her a reason to stay. She hoped Angela and her mother's caramel skinned sister, whom she had been seemingly close to, could show her otherwise.

Then another thought passed Darlene's brain.

"You're not the only one who can surprise, mother!" she whispered and allowed herself a little smile.