Chapter 2: The Clan
Life is definitely a journey, but not one that should be taken on alone. I've had the good fortune of having a very large family to take this journey with all my life. Whether they be human, gargoyle, or mutate (I'll explain later), my family...my clan has always been there for me. There are points in my life where I took that for granted; it happens sometimes. Admittedly it hasn't always been a smooth ride, heck, it's been downright weird, but you tend to get used to it. That's Clan for ya!
It's been one week since the incident with the truck and Troy could finally stretch his wings again, unfortunately it wasn't for fun, but business. It was his almost morning which meant two things, all the other gargoyles were getting ready for their daytime slumber, and Troy would be put on daytime patrol. Troy always hated having to wait all day to see the other gargoyles later that night. He's learned to deal with it for the most part, but that doesn't make waiting any easier. Some people would just sleep all day and that would fix the problem, but that doesn't really work when you only have to sleep for about 2 hours a day like Troy.
There was still about 20 minutes left until the sun rose and Troy had to begin his patrol, so he decided to mingle with the other castle-dwellers for the time being. He made his way into the main chamber of the castle (although for all intensive purposes it could be called a living room) where everyone was busy doing their own thing. Scanning the room, he could see his parents at the far end of the chamber talking to the Xanatos', his surrogate uncle Brooklyn and aunt Sata resting and pretty much just enjoying each other's company, his other surrogate uncle Broadway and his half-sister/aunt Angela (weird much?) doing pretty much the same thing, Alex hanging out with Brooklyn and Sata's daughter Ariana on the couch in front of the television, and finally, Bronx chilling out by the fire (just an expression). He decided to leave all the love birds alone right now and went to sit with Alex and Ariana.
"What's goin' on guys?" Troy greeted the two. "'Sup bro, not much just hangin' out." Alex answered in his usual laid-back demeanor. Alex was about 5'11, about 5 inches shorter than Troy, which lead to a lot of jokes between the two most of the time. His red hair, messy as was his preference, was definitely inherited from his mother, while his cold blue eyes were inherited from his father. He and Troy had been friends since Troy was old enough to walk. Though Alex was older than Troy by one year, you wouldn't guess it from their appearances.
Ariana then spoke up, "Hey Troy, sit down for a sec, I want you to settle an argument between me and Alex." Ariana was definitely her father's daughter, especially given her beak, horns and skin tone. Her beautiful face was matched perfectly by her body which though it was assuredly feminine, it was also as strong as an ox, though you figure it out from her size, she hid her strength well. Her brother Graeme found this out the hard way after breaking into her room to take a peak at her diary. Let's just say, it hurt to get punched, but it hurts even more to be punched through a wall. Upon her request, Troy sat down next to her.
"What's this argument about?" Troy asked curiously. "I wouldn't exactly call it an argument", Alex jumped in, "just and instance where she is wrong and I'm right." "How are you so sure you're right, you're not perfect you know", Ariana rebuked. "Hey, it's not my fault you don't know what you're talking about, so don't take it out on me" Alex joked, possibly a bad idea. "You are such an ass, you know that?" Troy decided to jump in to avoid having the two tear each other apart while at the same time pondering what could possibly have the two in such a disagreement. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, would one of you tell me what this is all about before you start making out with each other?" Troy joked to Ariana's disgust, "Thanks Troy, now I'm going to have nightmares tonight!" Alex took the opportunity to jump in and say, "Are they going to be nightmares or fantasies?" Ariana was about to punch him square in the jaw when Troy grabbed her arm. "Would one of you please just tell me what this is all about?" Ariana cooled down for a sec and said, "Well, we were just talking a minute ago and then this thing came up, it was just a funny little idea but now Alex has blown it up into this huge debate where I'm sure I'm right, but Alex is too stubborn to admit that he is wrong." "Look, I'm telling you I'm right, you just choose not to listen, is that a crime?" Alex butted in. "No, but that hideous "goatee" of yours is." "Hey, don't mess with the goatee!" Before the argument could go any further, Troy had had his fill and wanted to know what huge matter of worldly importance could possibly warrant this kind of argument. "PLEASE, just tell me what it is so I can help you two to settle this before someone gets hurt, namely me!"
Ariana exhaled and said, "OK, now I want you to think about this long and hard and tell us what you honestly think." "Alright what is it?" Troy asked her in near desperation to end this whole affair. Ariana looked at Troy for a second and finally asked, "Who would win in a fight, Harry Potter or Sabrina the teenage witch.
"...huh?" Troy replied as he pulled his jaw back up. Alex spoke up, "Yeah, you see we were flipping through the channels and flipped past Sabrina the teenage witch, I noticed her and said that Harry Potter could beat the crap out of her, then little miss tight panties over here said, 'No way, Sabrina would win because she's a girl and everyone knows girls are better than boys and blah blah blah blah blah!'" Alex imitated her annoyingly. "I didn't say that, and I don't talk like that!" "How would you know, have you ever listened to yourself talk before?" "No, but I am listening to you, and quite frankly, I'm glad I got my voice and not yours!"
Troy took this opportunity to get up and slowly walk away, "When did this place turn into Mystery Idiot Theater?" Having escaped the odd couple, he decided to walk over to talk with his parents. On the way over, he was stopped by Brooklyn, who was actually a lot older than he should have appeared around this time. It's a long story involving time travel, true love, and a lot of time spent building a family; in other words, that's a story for another time. "Hey Troy, what are Ariana and Alex fighting about?" he asked with Sata watching the two curiously. "Trust me, if you value your sanity, you don't want to know!" Troy replied, rubbing his eyes. "Hopefully the two will settle their little dispute before Ari decides to settle it in a completely different manner." Sata said jokingly, inciting Brooklyn to a slight chuckle.
Troy continued on his way and glanced over at Broadway and Angela, who were sitting close to one another looking down at Angela's obviously pregnant stomach and smiling. Troy decided to leave them to little nook of peace and happiness and moved on. His parents caught sight of him on his way over to the small sitting area where they were talking to the Xanatos'. Troy still couldn't believe that after all the things his parents had told him about their dealings with them that they now tolerated each other, even going so far as to be somewhat friendly. "Well now, it looks like the jailbird is ready to be re acclimated into society.", his mother joked.
"Funny..." Troy replied as he leaned on the wall nearest the group. "So, anything interesting happen on tonights patrol Pop?" He asked his father eagerly, desperate for some sort of exciting story after being cooped up in the castle for a week. His father answered, "Troy, I realize that your recent punishment has had you 'out of the loop' as you call it, but one should never hope that something criminal has happened for the sake of entertainment." Troy knew that his father was only trying to teach him something, but he couldn't help but mentally roll his eyes at the statement. In the end though, he looked at his father and said, "Sorry Dad, I didn't mean to make it sound like that."
"Ease up on the boy Goliath, he's simply recovering from his week-long stagnation and wants a little action." Mr. Xanatos interjected. Troy smiled at the comment, glad that someone understood his position. Looking Xanotos over, Troy couldn't help but mentally picture a photo he had seen of Xanatos in his earlier days just before Troy was born. He had definite signs of aging; nothing dramatic, just a few more gray hairs than he would have liked, some wrinkles here and there, but other than that, he looked exactly the same. The same could be said for his wife, minus the wrinkles and gray hair. Her aging had been somewhat slowed down by her magical bloodlines which Alex had inherited upon being born. Troy had often become somewhat distracted by how beautiful she still looked at her age, not to the extent of a crush, but just sheer fascination.
"There is a difference, Xanatos, between simple boredom and a lust for danger." Goliath immediately replied. "Yes, but what's the fun in life if you don't live dangerously once and a while? Boring." Fox countered coolly. Before another word could be uttered, the clock chimes began to sound signaling 5 minutes until sunrise. All the gargoyles took notice and began their daily walk to the battlements for their days sleep. Alex and Ariana promised each other to continue their 'discussion' later on and parted ways.
The gargoyles all took their places on the battlements and prepared for sunrise. Faint hints of the suns rays could be seen hovering up from beyond the horizon. Goliath took his place at the very highest tower, Elisa and Troy standing behind him. Goliath turned to his family and said, "I look forward to seeing you both again at sundown, my love, my son." Elisa kissed his cheek, "Same here, big guy." Troy smiled and replied, "Have a good days sleep Dad, see ya in the evening." Goliath walked over to his son and put his hand on his shoulder. "Remember what I said Troy, you may protect the city, but that doesn't mean you should hope for trouble. Understand?" "I don't really hope for trouble, it's just that when you get in our line of work, you come to expect it. But don't worry, I can handle myself." Goliath smiled at him proudly. "I know you can my son; you are fast becoming a strong warrior, one that I'm sure to be proud of." "Thanks Pop, goodnight...uh good day."
Goliath then turned from his family and stepped up the parapet and struck a fearsome pose. The sun now peeked over the horizon, signaling the beginning of the gargoyles' stone sleep. All at once, the gargoyles seemed to phase to stone, freezing in place like statues (irony abounds). Then just as quickly as it started, it was finished; all the gargoyles had been replaced by statuesque facsimiles. Troy and his mother walked back into the castle, Elisa making Troy some breakfast before his patrol. After finishing his meal, Troy gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek and proceeded for the courtyard.
"Now remember Troy, if there are any guns involved, you call the station. I don't want a repeat of last week." Elisa called out as Troy stepped to the edge of the castle and looked down at the bustling city below. He turned to his mother and replied, "You and me both. Don't worry Mom, I'll be careful. Love ya!" With that last sentence, he did a swan dive leap off the building and proceeded to free fall for a few seconds. Troy loved the sensation of the wind blowing against his face as he sped toward the earth, along with that tingly feeling everyone gets from falling. Just as he was about 100 feet above the ground, he unfurled his wings, caught an updraft of air and went from vertical to horizontal in no time. Soaring above the city streets, he took a deep breath of morning air. The day shift had begun.
Wow, how long has it been now, almost a year. Sorry 'bout that, certain issues have kept me from continuing my story. I hope to do better in future, until then, enjoy. R&R!