Chapter One: Dancing in the Dark
Use your voice,
when you have to choose!
Don't blame me,
if you don't get it!
The ones who get it,
will get it.
You've got to fight
just to make it through!
Say it if it's worth saving me...
Tonight was a normal night for Brooklyn. There was nothing going on and he was bored just sitting around and watching Bronx run around in circles as he and Lexington were out patrolling the docks. Elisa had told the clan of rumors about a creature swimming in the waters around and had the captians and their men on edge. It wasn't like their was much to do with crime slow tonight. However, the threat of local hoodlums wasn't their only problem, the Quarrymen also had it out for them as well. It made things especially difficult for them to venture out into the world like they normally did.
Brooklyn came out of his thoughts when he saw Lexington rushing up towards him with Bronx hot on his trial. Brooklyn knew the two were playing out near the docks, but he couldn't figure out why they were running towards him now. Well, that may be, but once Lexington regained his breath, he looked up at his older brother with excited eyes.
"There's a girl out on the docks singing!" The smaller gargoyle called out in a delightful tone; hoping up and down with excitement."She's sounds so amazing! You've got to hear her!"
Brooklyn chuckled and got up on his feet. "Alright, 'll check it out, but then we need to be heading on home." He conceded as they made their way towards the trees. He watched Lexington dash up the tree and took off. He looked down at Bronx with a friendly smile. "I'll scoop you up when I get into the air, okay, Bronx?" He asked in a lightened tone as he made his own way up the side of the building.
And with that, Brooklyn jumped off the side of a building and scooped Bronx up and carried him off across the warehouses. Lexington led the older male towards the site where he saw the girl sitting out on an empty port; singing out loud to no one.
The song started out with just a kind of sad tone; singing a haunting tune as she looked out to the ocean. It seemed to really make Lexington happy because he was smiling and swaying with the lyrics. Bronx seemed to enjoy the song as well because when the second in command looked down at him, he could see his little nub wagging quickly. The girl in question was a natural at the instrument, but Brooklyn really wasn't interested in the song that was being sung, he was more into the singer. He was amazed at how well she was singing. She couldn't be any older than 17 or 18!
The girl was most likely albino with hair as white as Brooklyn's and skin that was so pale it was nearly transparent. Her clothes were black which contrasted against her pale features. He caught a second of a glance at her face and saw that she bore an unruly scar on the side of her face and when her eyes opened ever so slightly, he saw that she had red eyes; making her albino appearance even more authentic.
Lexington tilted his head in confusion. "This wasn't the same song she was singing earlier." He said in a disappointed tone; watching the girlkicking her legs back and forth over the edge of the port.
"It sounds almost sad..." Brooklyn replied in a sad tone; not taking his eyes off the girl.
'There's a low rock wall,
by the cliffs of Mohar.
Runs from down on the ground,
right up to the sea air.
As a child, I would climb,
to the top of those stairs,
and wish on the fog,
I was anywhere else...'
Brooklyn gasped at the song and his guess was confirmed. It was a sad was almost as if she were putting all her sadness and pain into that song. It was clear that something was bothering her, but there could be any number of things that could make her mso upset. Even though the girl was talented, Brooklyn had to hand it to her for being out late at night singing to the ocean where people could easily take it from her, and judging from the scar Brooklyn found on her face, he'd have to say that it looked like someone had already tried to mess with her... and won.
'The farms and the valleys are ringed with the stones,
of the men who built walls,
so's to be more alone.
All that's left of them now,
are their fears and their bones.
But the rocks they'd pull up,
were all I ever known... '
"She's incredible!" Lexington said in an excited tone; looking up at Brooklyn for an approval. "I'll bet she makes it big in the music business!"
Brooklyn chuckled at the youngest member of his clan. "I'm sure she will, Lex. But I think it's time we had back to the castle before she spots us." He said in a brotherly tone; making a move to leave.
Bronx whined but didn't make a move to follow Brooklyn. Lexington grabbed
Brooklyn's wing; stopping him from moving. "Wait a minute, Brooklyn! Let's stay till the song ends. Please? I- I really want to hear the rest of the song."
Brooklyn looked over at the smaller gargoyle and back at their watch dog before he sighed and turned back towards the girl. "Alright. But after the song ends, we're leaving. Got it?" He said in a firm reasoning tone.
Lexington smiled and cheered quietly with Bronx as they continued to enjoy the music being played. "I really like this song. I think it should be our theme song!" He said happily; causing the second in command to chuckle and fold his arms over his chest.
'The rock forged my spirit!
The rock fed my anger!
The rock broke my heart,
like the waves of the sea!
I tried hard to fight, but it still grew inside me!
This island, my Ireland!
The rock is in me...
Heeee- heeee- heeee...'
Lexington smiled proudly as her accent came out as the song progressed. She seemed like a mixture of anger and sadness just made him want to stay and listen to her forever. It was fun for him to be out with Bronx and Brooklyn when they were finished with their duties. It reminded him of his own time having fun together when there wasn't an attack on the castle. He remembered having such a great time then, even in their early years as New Yorkers! He had those times when he just wanted to go back and enjoy the simple life again, but now it a time when he was glad to be in the present.
Bronx seemed to enjoy the girl's presence as well. They he wagged his little nub excitedly and lying down with his head between his frontal sound seemed to make him happy. Out of the lot of them, Brooklyn, however, was the one who enjoyed the most. Of course he and his rookery brothers had went to concerts and what not, but he had never been this close to an actual musician before. He had probably saved one in his time, but it was hard to ask them about themselves when they went screaming in the other direction.
"I never pegged her for being Irish." Lexington whispered to himself as he watched the girl play wildly on the guitar. "She doesn't have an accent or anything when she talks."
Brooklyn shrugged his shoulders, and kept his eyes trained on the girl in the open. "Maybe it's just her heritage. We're Scottish and we don't have accents." He suggested in an honest tone; ending the conversation so they both could enjoy the song.
'Hard was the ground in which this child grew,
Unforgiving, cold,
was the home that I knew...
But knowin' the soil holds no 'arbor for you,
makes pullin' up roots that much easier to do...'
"Man, I wish Goliath and Hudson were here to hear this song. they would've really liked to hear a great song like this." Lexington said to Brooklyn when the girl took a moment for a pause before she started singing again. "It almost takes you back to our time!"
Brooklyn nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's almost like she been singing for a long time." He said in a flat tone; looking at Lexington with a surprised stare and seeing Lexington return the stare with one of his own.
The girl looked slightly angry when she sang that part of the song. It was like she was singing either about herself or someone very close to her. Either way, Brooklyn couldn't shake her lilthe form from his mind. He knew that girl would be haunting him for a few nights after this, but he could always blame his dear little brother for bringing him there. Not that he was bothered by it, he just hated to see others (even if most of them were strangers) upset. It was times like these when he wished he was human.
The song became a little creepy when the girl sang the bridge. She was doing a great job, and she put her own emotion into the song. From the clothes on her back, she didn't look like she needed any money. Her clothes were neat and clean enough to make her look like everyone else.
'Set sail, young pilgrims!
Set said to a new land!
Set sail, our future,
is out there to find!
Bye, ma! Bye, da! '
This time, the female musician looked darker than normal as she sang. Her head hung low except for the last line of the song. She looked like she was glaring evilly at an invisible standing before her; singing with all she could at the wind. Brooklyn knew the girl had to be angry about something. The girl had a lot of emotion while she sang, and that was what made her different from all the rest of the humans in his eyes.
Brooklyn noticed that Lexington was also enjoying the performance before him. He had a bright smile on his face and his tail swished back and forth.
'The rock forged my spirit!
The rock fed my anger!
The rock broke my heart,
like the waves of the sea!
I tried hard to fight, but it still grew inside me!
This island, my Ireland!
The rock is in me!'
By the time the song was coming to a close, the girl had calmed down greatly and begun to hang her head slightly again. This time, a defeated look was shown on her face, and she looked like she had given up her fight. She looked so alive while the song progressed and shown so much energy, but now she looks worn out and even more sad when she played. She was totally into the song, and now that it's coming to a close, she was more calmed down and mellowed out. Brooklyn was a little sad to hear the ending of the song, and figured it was for a close friend back home or a loved one who passed away, but he didn't want to assume anything, and knew Lexington was feeling the same way. Even Bronx whined in protest.
'Now it's been years since I've been in that place!
And the winds of my life,
have all weathered my face.
But it's only with distance,
and the comin' of grace.
That I see in you beauty,
I can ne'er replace...'
The girl seemed to have lifted her head up to look at the moon; as if she were singing. She struck the three peeping gargoyles as a ghost or guardian watching over the sea. There was no real telling exactly how long she had been there, but she looked almost lonely; like she was waiting for someone or something to happen.
'The rock forged my spirit!
The rock was my anchor!
The rock held me fast through the storms of my youth!
Now, you'll never die 'cause you'll live on inside me!
Unillin sha mer heien fein!
Nie-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie!'
Once she was done; Bronx had made it a point to go and greet the young girl. He darted out of their hiding place, and made a mad dash for the girl sitting out on the docks. He made it over to her before the other two gargoyles could catch him and stop him from reaching her.