Chapter 2 Parental Instincts

*****

Present Time

Demona rubbed the small hatchling's back and soothed him until his crying diminished to no more than a whimper. Apart from a few minor scrapes and bruises, he hadn't been seriously hurt, however she knew he'd be uneasy for quite some time yet. So she simply held and rocked him gently in one arm while using the other to stir the hot stew she was preparing. Gargoyle children are born with teeth and have stronger stomachs than human babies. They are able to eat solid foods within minutes after their birth. So what better way to warm the body during a storm than a hot bowl of stew? Needless to say it was the perfect image of a homemaker with her child.

Little Lex had soon looked up at the female gargoyle that held him. She had started humming an old hymn she had picked up long ago, in order to give the babe something to listen to other than the angry storm outside. This caregiver was certainly different from the other females that held him before. They had all played with him, of course, and had passed him around often and had even made funny faces to squeal at… but they also had made the scaring sounds a.k.a. roaring and/or yelling at other gargoyles… or the ringy thingy a.k.a. Elisa's phone. This one had only done the scaring roars to chase away the fuzzy monsters and she always kept him close by all the time. Now she was making something with a yummy smell instead of opening a tiny cup thingy. The tantalizing smell had made him hungry, yet being as young as he was, naturally he didn't understood the concept of his tummy speaking to him at that time.

"Hungry little one?" she had to chuckle at his confusion, as he looked around for the source of the sound he just heard, "Well our supper will be ready soon. Until then…" Without a second thought, she had lowered the winged babe under her wings more and turned him so that he faced her body. Sounds of cloth being adjusted under her self-made cape could be heard and after a few moments and a few curious squeaks, she felt and heard him suckling, "…you'll have to settle for some milk."

It had been the first time he had actually nursed off of a caregiver. The milk was thinker, richer, and warm… not at all like the odd, somewhat grainy, milk his other caregivers had given him. The hatchling decided he liked what he was drinking a lot more than the old stuff he got from the bottle. Not only that, but he got to stay warm and covered too!

'Hmmm it's been so long since I've nurtured a hatchling… I had forgotten what it was like.' Demona had thought as she tasted the stew, and made sure the vegetables were cooked to a soft pulp. 'If only I wasn't denied that chance with my own daughter…' The grip on the wooden spoon had suddenly increased to the point that it snapped like a twig within its owner's talons. Annoyed at the feebly made utensil, the gragress tossed the pieces into a wastebasket and took out another. 'Can't think of that now… I have to focus on the situation at hand. Once Lexington is fed he'll sleep for some time. I'll see if the spell will work while he's asleep then figure out what to do with him afterwards.'

*****

Back in the Storm

Goliath and the others had still been battling the storm as they continued the desperate search. The wind hadn't even come close to showing even the slightest sighs of calming down. In fact, it had been doing the opposite. It had come to the point where Xanatos regrouped with Goliath and motioned for him and the others to land. With a knowing nod, the huge lavender gargoyle went into a dive, which had signaled his clan to follow. They had a little trouble landing due to the powerful currents, however by David ordering his steel clan robot to land and having them act as anchors, they had managed. Elisa, having seen her friends landing, had stopped in front of the building and braved the storm with Matt to make their way to the roof. With the courtesy of a gentleman, Xanatos waited until all were present before speaking.

It took some time for the other two human members of the group to reach the others, however once were all present, only then did Goliath spoke. "Why did you have us stop the search, Xanatos?" The gargoyle leader asked as the wealthy human took off the helmet of his Exo-suite.

Giving his well-groomed manner, Xanatos replied in his off hand tone, as if they were all enjoying an afternoon in the park. "I figured we could all use a short break."

"We can be wasting time like this!" Brooklyn growled angrily at the implication of the infuriatingly calm businessman. Had he not realized exactly what was at stake? "Lex is still out there and…"

"And unless all of you suddenly gain muscles of steal you won't hold out much longer in the storm." Xanatos's response regrettably knocked some sense into the young gargoyle, "I know how important it is that we find Lexington as soon as possible, but apparently the forces of nature are not being very corporative." The rich businessman eyed Broadway as he rubbed his aching, folded wings, "Therefore I would like to make a suggestion. I could have more steel clan robots help with the search. Since they are able to maneuver in the gale with better ease it would give all of you a chance to rest and regain your strength."

"And it's not long till sunrise." Though this didn't sit well with everyone, Goliath had to take it into thought. The robots did indeed have an advantage over them with those build in thrusters and could easily fly in these harsh winds. "Xanatos is right. The way this storm is brewing there is no chance for us to continue the search until it stops."

"Matt and I can still search on the ground in the car, Goliath." Elisa stated quickly, not wanting to give up that easily yet. As bad as the storm was getting they could still walk in it with the cover of the surrounding buildings. They could still check the allies. "We can keep looking until this storm blows over."

"Not a bad idea," Xanatos nodded as if in agreement. He didn't have to have his exo-suite's sensors to know that it would be long before not even people should be out in this gale. "However with all this debris blowing around you might have trouble."

The brunette detective only glared back at their once sworn, enemy turned, yet still suspicious, ally. "We can handle ourselves."

"Alright, if you insist." Knowing better than to argue with the stubborn woman, the wealthy human replaced the helmet back on. Then as an after thought turned to the gargoyles, "If you prefer to head back to the castle, I'll have my robots escort you back."

"Perhaps that may be a good idea, lad." Hudson advised as he glanced over the horizon of rooftops that lead in the direction of their high altitude home. "It would give us a chance to see if there are any places we might have missed along the way."

"Hmm, very well then," Goliath sighed deeply as he had reluctantly agreed. The decision was not one he fully agreed with, but with the conditions being what they were; to further continue would have been to risk the welfare of the rest of his clan.

Once everything had been said and done, the group had split up again. The Manhattan detectives had gone back down to the empty streets, the clan along with the robots made in the image of their leader went off on sort flights from rooftop to rooftop, while the billionaire stayed for a moment longer to watch them all leave. Xanatos had suggested that 'hopping' from roof to roof might help conserve the use of the gargoyles' wings. Once the two robots that had came with him had begun to escort the gargoyles back to the safety of the castle, Xanatos sent a message to Fox to put more robots online.

*****

In the Living Room of Demona's House

The storm had increased in strength through the long hours of the night. The rain had been coming down in sheets to the point that it had made things very difficult to see. No living thing could be seen out anywhere outside, not even stray animals were out and about in this large gale. Which had been the complete opposite mood within the bright, warm, and safe household of the two story, red brick building belonging to a one strong career woman by the name of Dominique Destin.

"Aaaammm! Numm numm!" The little hatchling had cried happily as he had been served another spoonful of stew from his caregiver. He lay comfortably within the arm of his caregiver happily chewing on his little mouthful of yummy. Occasionally the sliver utensil would swoop on in and gently scraped off the gravy dripping from his tiny little mouth. "Aaaammm!"

"My, aren't we a hungry little one," Demona couldn't help but laugh as the babe before her squealed happily at the next spoonful coming his way. "There now, all done," the redheaded female gargoyle stated as she wiped his mouth clean of gravy. "Oh, looks like a certain little youngling is tiered," the baby's eyes had begun to droop and had his mouth wide open in a big squeaky yawn, "Come along then."

She gathered the tiny being in her arms and took him back towards the kitchen. With his tummy full and feeling safe and warm, baby Lexington had easily fallen asleep along the way. With the gentleness, now a days rarely shown by this particular gargress, Demona had soon settle the sleeping babe back in the basket and had tucked the cloths around him. She had to smile with affection when she saw how he had curled up in his sleep. His appearance seemed smaller when he did that… more peaceful… and so innocent… Catching herself she shook off the feeling and turned away.

"Now to see to that spell," She told herself to ignore the somewhat unnerved moment. It had been ridiculous. She couldn't be wasting time cooing for a sleeping infant. There where things that had needed to be done while she still had the time to do them. "The sun will rise in a few hours. It'd be the perfect time to test the spell."

For the next hour she had poured through the scroll she had obtain earlier and had gone over what ingredients she had and what she might be missing for the spell… she hadn't truly registered a written word. Try as she might to stay focused on her goal, she simply had not been able to stop thinking about the little hatchling in her kitchen. Many times, every ten or so minutes to be exact, she had found herself at the doorway glancing back at the basket on the table and the little sleeping figure just inside. As odd as it had sounded, with the babe sleeping there… so small, frail, and dependant… needing someone to protect and care for him… for that someone being her… strangely enough for the first time in over a millennium… she had felt… comforted... She had felt… happy.