***Author's note: Hey guys! I'm soooo sorry that it took me forever to get back into the fanfic world! First off- I did the math wrong; I actually got back home in late June of 2016. Oops. Haha! Second- this chapter isn't new, but an edited version of the original chapter 4 (I was far too tired to be editing my writing. I did a poor job). I published the original Timedance chapter 4 at about 2 o'clock in the morning, backed up my external hard drive, shut down my computer, and then took off for 18 months! So I've been away from my home and family from 17 December 2014 - 30 June 2016. It's late July and I'm getting into the swing of real life stuff. More chapters of both Gargoyle stories are on their way, I will be publishing again soon! Thank you for being so patient (and also putting up with my novice writing skills. I'm still working hard on improving, haha!). Anyways, thank you all! I'll stop talking and let you get back to the story!
Ishimura, Japan 1461 A.D.
Brooklyn spread his wings just in time; Fu-Dog's paws had just begun to skim the surface of the water.
"Whoa, whoa, alrighty then!" The Timedancer exclaimed. He snapped his vision to the surrounding area, analyzing their environment. A new habit, as Brooklyn quickly learned that he could never be sure just how safe of an area the Phoenix would leave them. They seemed to be gliding over a grand, sparkling lake. About a hundred meters ahead, a muddy shore met lush fields and small hills.
"Not bad, huh, Fu-Dog? Whatever we're supposed to do here, I'll be sure to enjoy the view while doing it."
The canine gargoyle wagged his tail happily, also looking about excitedly. The duo landed on the grass, only turning back to the lake for a drink. Fu-Dog happily began to lap up the water, while Brooklyn inspected the water a bit further.
Looks clean. Smells clean. The stars reflect in it, nice bonus.
Satisfied, he put the tip of his beak into the water and drank slowly; savoring the crisp, cool sensation of the water. Once he had his fill, he stood up and began to remove his breastplate. Once that was gone, he slipped off his newly acquired metal cuffs. Essential safety pieces, they came as a package deal with the futuristic rifle that he now carried, a keepsake from his second visit to the distant future. He stripped away everything besides his belt and loincloth. Cupping the water in his hands, Brooklyn distributed the water over various areas of his body, rinsing himself.
"You know Fu-Dog, I'm still covered in sweat from that skirmish in the future. Darn Phoenix didn't give me a chance to sleep it off. Rude, am I right?" He turned to his gargoyle beast. Fu-Dog stated blankly at Brooklyn.
"I'm going crazy aren't I, buddy?"
Without responding, the beast sat and scratched beneath his newly acquired collar. The lightweight metal was a type of hybrid bronze, a gift from their comrades from the future.
Brooklyn began to slip his armor back onto his body, but took his time sheathing the weapons, particularly the broadsword. The crimson gargoyle studied his trusty blade, gazing into at the metallic shine. Noticing his own reflection, he studied further. The distinctions in his appearance weren't very noticeable, nevertheless, there they were. Maturation began to show in his face; his eye ridges were more prominent, his cheekbones were a bit more prominent and the blood vessels on his neck and beak were ever so slightly more salient. Not especially attractive features, but signs of maturation.
"You know, it's been five years since I left my clan. Weird, right?" He whispered to Fu-Dog, a mixture of grief and reverence filling his being.
"Five years..."
NO. Brook, quit it! Get to work! The sooner that you finish your assignment here, the sooner you can go back to Manhattan!
With new resolve, Brooklyn stood and examined their new environment. The nearby landscape was comprised of small hills, but in the distance stood a few mountains. Larger hills and a road lay at the base of the mountains.
"Fu-Dog, follow."
Determined and ready to get home, Brooklyn spread his wings and began to glide toward the hills, Fu-Dog sprinting along beneath him. They continued at this pace for nearly an hour before reaching the road, only slowing to look make sure that they were still together.
As they continued towards the mountains, Brooklyn noticed occasional signs of human life on the road. Bits of broken wood, some ash and a few arrows littered the roadway. Still gliding, he watched, as the trail of rubble seemed to grow as they drew close to the mountains.
Hmm. Looks like there was some conflict here. That's probably it! I need to assist battle!
Excited by the notion, Brooklyn increased his speed and was soon met by the familiar whine of a distressed Fu-Dog. He turned to find that the gargoyle beast had stopped far behind him, pacing. Brooklyn changed his course, returning to the loyal creature. As he approached Fu-Dog, he came to realize that the grass beneath him was not grass, but aquatic vegetation. He landed beside Fu-Dog and inspected the plants carefully. The plants were a rich shade of green, and stuck out of the water like hair on an infant's head.
Are these crops?
Brooklyn turned his gaze to the landscape, and discovered that the land alternated between different shades of green. Many of the patches seemed to be the same as this aquatic one.
"Let's keep going, buddy."
They returned their attention to the road. As they continued forward, the land began to fill with hills. In the far distance were some small mountains, and at the base of the mountains was a large hill.
Brooklyn paid it no mind at first, but then he realized that light was faintly glowing from behind the great knoll in the ground.
They soon crested the hill, and Brooklyn's felt his heart jump with excitement at the sight.
Behind the solitary hill laid a lit city, miles away from the base of the mountain. Despite the late hour, the city appeared to be alive within it's decorative walls.
Oh yeah, that's Asian architecture.
"Hey! Hey, get down here!" A male voice called. Brooklyn looked down and saw two dark colored gargoyles standing on the side of the hill, facing the city. Brooklyn's heart leapt with joy at the sight of other gargoyles and glided down to meet them. Their backs facing the city, the two gargoyles were stationed mere meters below the top of the hill, both of them armed. Brooklyn landed and eagerly approached.
"What were you doing out there? And what clan do you come from?" The grey gargoyle asked, his black hair secured in a topknot and two horns sticking directly out from his forehead. He wore an intricately wrapped robe of some sort and carried a long, curved sword.
"And why were you out there unaccompanied, friend? Surely you know of the recent dangers."
The bald, red gargoyle asked. He carried a metal rod with a chain swinging from one end, an ominous weapon.
"I am a traveler of sorts, I came to this land by a supernatural power. But more importantly, what do you mean by 'recent dangers'?" Brooklyn asked, still task-oriented.
"We have discovered spies in our land, and small groups of invaders scouting the area around Ishimura. The threat of an invasion is very real." The red one responded.
Ishimura. We're in Japan. Goliath mentioned that there was a clan here.
"So, then what year is it? And how can I be of assurance to your clan and city?" The Timedancer persisted.
"You must consult the clan leader for a task." The grey gargoyle responded.
"You'll likely need to undergo proper training if you wish to assist us in battle. And why do you not know the year?" The red one asked.
"It's... A very complicated situation. Could I see your clan leader now?"
"Chigiriki and I still have some time left before our watch shift is over, when we are done we can take you to our leader. In the meantime, please do explain how you came to us. I'm especially curious as to how you acquired such fascinating weapons."
Fu-Dog grew bored of the conversation after a few minutes, and he sauntered off to a flat spot to nap. Brooklyn explained to the gargoyles how the Phoenix Gate had taken him from his clan and time, how he acquired Fu-Dog, and about his quest that would hopefully lead him home. The red, bald gargoyle introduced himself as Chigiriki and the grey one as Tonto. After a thorough discussion of international calendars, recent wars and the newest inventions; Brooklyn hypothesized that the Phoenix had dropped him in Feudal Japan.
"So... You are not speaking Japanese, but this language called 'English'?" Tonto inquired.
"That's right. When I learn how to say something in Japanese, I hear that word being spoken in Japanese from then on. Until then, the Phoenix's translating powers help me communicate."
"Fascinating… And so you are seeking the task that the Phoenix Gate sent you to complete?"
"Yes."
"What task?" A new, female voice asked.
The three males turned about. Fu-Dog was already at his feet and dashing over to greet the newcomers.
A murky green gargoyle with a remarkably small beak approached, and at his side was a petite female of a jade hue. The beaked male dropped the two bows that he carried and crouched down to Fu-Dog, who was barking excitedly at the Ishimuran gargoyles. The female adjusted the four fans that hung from her the thick, black fabric around her midsection. She tilted her head abruptly as she eyed Brooklyn, caused her topknot to swing around.
"I thought we had only sent two gargoyles out on guard duty?" Curiosity and caution filled the brown irises of her eyes.
Her companion was more at ease, and was busy rubbing Fu-Dog's belly.
"Tessen, you mustn't question a fellow warrior that brings such a delightful beast with him!" He chuckled at his joke, and then shifted his gaze to Brooklyn.
"What brings you to our humble city, brother? Are you here to learn our ways? Aid us in battle? Or perhaps you've come to tame one of the Seven!"
The female called 'Tessen' promptly removed one of the fans and cracked it over the top of her beaked brother's head. He didn't seem to mind though; in fact, he seemed to expect the blow.
The beaked one rubbed his head with a sheepish smile and the female stepped forward.
"Chigiriki, we have come to relieve you and Tonto of your assignment. Yumi and I shall keep watch for the rest of the night."
The female and the tall, red male bowed to each other.
"Thank you, sister" he responded, "Tonto and I shall bring this new friend to the elders, and help him find his niche here." She turned to Brooklyn and bowed her head formally.
"I wish you the best this evening, newcomer. And have you a name?"
"I have," he bowed his head as well, "I am called 'Brooklyn'."
She gave another quick head-bow and stepped past her rookery brothers and crouched into a hawk-like position, scanning the horizon.
The one called 'Yumi' picked up his weapon and scurried over to his sister. Tontō stretched forth an arm to usher Brooklyn, and Chigiriki followed after a moment of gazing back at his perching rookery siblings.
"Come, Brooklyn. Let us show you our home." Tantō spoke as they descended from the hill.
Fu-Dog panted happily as he trotted alongside his master. As they drew near to the city walls, Brooklyn noticed the sound of village life and the soft glow of lanterns emanating from within. Two human soldiers stood guard at the gate, and both gargoyles and humans bowed deeply to each other in greeting. As the gate swing open, Goliath's description of the modern Ishimura came to mind. Though most of the humans were surely in their homes and asleep, there was still a remarkable amount of humans in traditional Japanese attire strolling the lit streets, some even walked and chatted with gargoyles.
"Hey, Tantō, what do the humans call our kind?"
"Gargoyles." He responded with a bewildered tone of voice.
"Could you repeat that while looking at me, and concentrating?" His request deepened Tantō's confused expression, but the gargoyle tried.
"Gargoyle." He repeated, without avail.
"May I try, brother?" Chigiriki asked. His rookery brother nodded, and Chigiriki turned to Brooklyn with a look of focus.
"Tengu."
"Yes! I heard it in Japanese!" Brooklyn announced. "It was 'tengu'!"
"Your accent changed, but yes." Chigiriki observed.
The language lesson was interrupted by the appearance of a soldier. The man was no more than twenty, and donned medieval armor and two sheathed swords. He greeted the gargoyles with a deep bow, which they returned.
"Tantō-san, Chigiriki-san, I hope that you are both well this evening."
"We are, and we hope that you are as well." Tantō responded.
"I am well, thank you. I come with a message from my superiors. Tantō-san, they request your presence at a meeting. Other members of your generation and some elders are in attendance." He didn't even look at Brooklyn.
"I shall come immediately," he turned to Chigirki, "brother, would you be so kind..?"
"I shall give Brooklyn a tour. Do not let us be a hindrance to your duties, Tantō."
Tantō departed with the soldier, while Chigiriki and Brooklyn continued down the street.
"Hey, Chigiriki?"
"You have a question?" He stated, more than asked.
"Why didn't that soldier even acknowledge that I was there? And come to think of it, why didn't Tessen and Yumi bow to me like they did to you guys? Is this a cultural thing?"
"From the sound of it, things are very different where you come from."
So, it's gonna be Xanadu all over again.
"You're right. Enlighten me. I'd like to learn your ways."
"Where would you like me to begin?" The two gargoyles and Fu-Dog rounded a corner into a marketplace, which was still open and busy.
"Well, what did the soldier mean when he said 'san'? And what's the 'Seven' that Yumi was talking about? And why did Tessen smack him with a fan?" The questions began to spill out like water from a fountain.
"You've been raised to be abrupt and don't read the air."
Before Brooklyn could ask, Chigiriki nodded towards a young woman and a vender.
"You see those two humans? Read them, tell me what is happening."
Brooklyn looked them over, paying inordinate attention to small details. They both spoke, though he couldn't hear what they were saying. She pointed to the soup and he nodded insistently, she stopped speaking, taking a minute to think.
"Would you mind giving me a hint?" Brooklyn whispered.
"Look at their faces."
Again, he studied the humans. The young woman averted her gaze regularly, and the vender had something of a stern look in his eyes.
"She… she wants to buy from him, but she isn't winning the negotiation."
"Keep watching."
The woman spoke once more, her eyes lit up. The vender pressed his lips into a thin line, looked down at his nose in thought, and after a moment gave the smallest of smiles and responded. She returned a small smile and pulled out a few coins.
"So reading body language? That's 'reading the air'?" Brooklyn asked.
"That is one of the ways. It is a simple method to avoiding conflict, if you understand what the other is thinking." They began to walk down the street once more, and the Timedancer noticed that the villagers were eyeing him subtly as he walked by.
"Is it my mane?"
"Pardon?"
"Are they looking at my mane? I haven't seen any other gargoyles with white hair." Brooklyn insisted.
"Yes, I suppose that it is unusual." A group of young men passed them, glanced at Brooklyn and quickly looked away.
"So why don't they just look at me?"
"Because staring is rude."
The aroma of spices, soups and roasting poultry began to fade away as they left the market and entered a residential area. The chatter of people was gone, and they walked in near silence among the abodes of sleeping humans.
"As for your other questions; the soldier had no business with you, and seeing as how he was on duty, he had no reason to address you. Yumi… he's what one might call 'silly'. He may be childish and he makes far too many jokes, but he is skilled with many different varieties of bow. As for Tessen, she took offense to what he said, and since she is of the same rank as Yumi, she found it acceptable to give him a whack with her weapon."
"So those fans were her weapons?"
"Of course, why do you think she was named 'Tessen'?"
"So the gargoyles of this clan name themselves after their primary weapon?"
"Yes, the warriors do, but what is a 'gargoyle'?" Chigiriki asked, his tone revealed mild confusion.
"Oh, I mean tengu!"
The lines of buildings came to a stop, and they approached a wall.
"What about the soldier calling you 'Chigiriki-san'?"
"The tengu have traditions, some of which have been influenced by human traditions, both species learn from each other. He referred to me with a suffix that the humans use. It is simply how the humans address each other."
Fu-Dog ran ahead of them and began to sniff at a gate in the wall.
"So do the tengu use these same titles when addressing each other?"
"Not often. We do not need such titles to understand our rank within the clan."
Chigiriki took the giant, circular handles and pulled the gate doors open. Fu-Dog immediately rushed in and began to bark happily at what he saw. Brooklyn felt his beak open ever so slightly at the sight.
"Welcome to the Ishimura temple, Brooklyn."
Built of stone and with layers of curved roofs, the temple was without a doubt the jewel of Ishimura. Gargoyles walked about the garden at the temple entrance, and some chatted in the plaza within. Brooklyn was sure that Chigiriki was speaking to him, but he could scarcely hear, his thoughts were elsewhere. The description that Goliath had given of the Ishimuran temple didn't do it justice, and he gazed about with awe at the grand building.
They crossed into the open temple plaza, which was home to a sturdy platform of wood and the surrounding walls had several doors. Chigiriki explained which doors led upstairs, to the armory, the rookery, the counsel room, the storage chambers, etc. They passed through a large opening in the opposite wall, which led to an ornate garden. Open corridors in the walls allowed the inhabitants to view the grassy lawn within in the temple, and majestic mountains in the distance. Quite a few stone plates decorated the garden, and although Chigiriki was likely explaining what they were, Brooklyn focused on a different noise.
"Chigiriki, what's that sound?"
"The river? I told you that there was one close by."
"No, no, that whistling sound…"
Chigiriki paused to listen, and his face lit up when he recognized the sound.
"Ah! Come, and let me show you, we have time. But we'll have to cross the river." He nodded to Fu-Dog, who whined as Brooklyn took hold under his belly.
The bald gargoyle exited the garden through another ornate opening in the wall, and the Timedancing duo followed. From the back of the temple, the mountains and river were mere kilometers from Ishimura, and filled the expanse of Brooklyn's vision. But Chigiriki paid the view no heed, and began to glide away and across the river. They soared over a dirt road that began at the riverbank, and a small structure popped up behind a small hill. They landed a small distance from the structure; four stone pillars with a curved roof on top, the place from which the hollow whistling emanated.
"We must be quiet, this place is sacred to the clan." The bald tour guide explained.
Brooklyn nodded, and even Fu-Dog quieted his breathing.
They stepped past the pillars and into another beautiful garden, but this one was vastly different. There was not a variety of plants, but rather a lawn of carefully manicured grass, save for one small tree on the far right. Formations of oval rocks sat about the tree, and a pristine pond sat in the opposite corner from the tree. Several gargoyles sat in the middle of the garden, facing the mountain. They breathed slowly and made no sound, the only noises were the distant babble of the river and the music played by one lone gargoyle in the corner to Brooklyn's left. A little gargoyle, about Tessen's size, played a calming tune on a long, wooden flute. His eyes were closed, and his little lavender stomach grew and shrank dramatically as he put all of his breath into the music.
The Timedancer felt a tap on his shoulder, and knew without looking that Chigiriki was signaling for them to leave. He turned and left the peaceful garden, and took hold of Fu-Dog, as Chigiriki was stretching his wings to glide.
"Where to now?" Brooklyn whispered.
"We're going to see if the counsel of elders is able to meet with you."
And with that, they took off, heading for the temple.
That was quite the tour.
As they landed at the temple's rear entrance, a new voice called out.
"Chigiriki!" The gargoyles turned to the voice, and saw three males land just behind them. At the front was an indigo gargoyle wearing a jet-black warrior kimono, wielding a wooden pole with a curved blade at one end.
His comrades behind him wore similar attire, but the beaked beige one carried a sword with a straight blade and the teal one a pole with a menacing array of metal prongs at the end.
"Brothers! You've returned! But where are our sisters?"
"They've decided to spend the remainder of their evening training." The indigo one explained, and he looked out in the opposite direction from the meditation garden, to a set of stone buildings and massive piles of straw.
"I see. And may I introduce our clan's guest, Brooklyn." He extended his palm to indicate to the white-haired gargoyle. Brooklyn and the gargoyles exchanged bows.
"Welcome to our clan, Brooklyn. I am Naginata," he extended his palm to the beaked brother, "this is Jokotō."
And he turned to the other, "and this is Sodegarami."
"And who is this?" A tittering female voice inquired. The Ishimuran males smiled with recognition, and turned about. Just inside of the temple garden, stood five female gargoyles. Each had pastel colored skin and raven manes, common in the Ishimura clan. They each wore a practical, yet decorative kimono, much unlike Tessen's plain attire. They bowed politely to their rookery brothers, and Brooklyn found himself staring a little too much at the rookery sisters. However, Chigiriki cut the encounter short.
"Sisters, do you know if the counsel is available for a brief meeting?"
"Mother is speaking with them, but she should be done shortly," a beaked sister responded.
"Kama is in a good mood tonight, surely he can get you in." An orange female responded, and pulled a decorative fan from the material around her midsection.
Brooklyn began to notice that a couple of the females began to glance at him, perhaps not so inconspicuously as they had hoped.
"Thank you sisters, we shall be on our way now." Chigiriki responded with a bow. And with that, the gargoyles and beast left the females to chat with the newly arrived males.
"Chigiriki? Why were the females waiting in a group? And you greeted Naginata is if he had been gone."
"…Do you remember Yumi's remark about 'The Seven'?"
"I do." They were halfway through the garden, and Brooklyn could hear friendly chatter behind them.
"The first heat of our generation will be upon us in a few years, and there are seven females that still have not taken a mate. They're simply not impressed with the males, although none of us really know why. But they're quite friendly and greet Naginata and his warriors when they return from training sessions in the mountains. Naginata is the best warrior of our generation."
"But there were only five females back there, where are the other two?"
"Tessen is one of them, which is why she took offense to Yumi's remark. Two of the females are among Naginata's best warriors."
That makes sense why she hit him… But it sounds weird for females to avoid finding mates, cultural differences aside.
They were passing the platform and saw Tantō up ahead, returning from the village.
Tantō approached them and looked to an oddly small door in the temple wall.
"I trust that you've been teaching Brooklyn?" He inquired of his brother.
"Of course. We just took a moment to enjoy the shakuhachi music."
"Naturally. That's always been your favorite spot!" Tantō smiled.
Brooklyn stayed quiet and looked at the small door as the rookery brothers exchanged information. The door didn't look much out of the ordinary, besides the fact that it was smaller. Finally, Tantō showed Brooklyn through the doorway, leaving Chigiriki and Fu-Dog behind.
The door didn't lead to a room, but a dimly lit corridor. A few lanterns hung from the ceiling, illuminating the short path ahead. They walked to the end of the hall, where they encountered another door and a small gargoyle.
This gargoyle was clearly small due to old age, as his skin had grown soft and wrinkly, and his hair was dark grey. He sat beside the door, holding a short wood handle with a sickle-like blade at the end. Despite his relatively non-threatening appearance, he reminded Brooklyn a great deal of the Grim Reaper.
"Kama, good evening, most honored one." Tantō bowed deeply to the elderly gargoyle, and Brooklyn followed his example.
"Ah! Don't tell me," Kama spoke in a strangely whimsical tone for his age, "you seek counsel with the elders!"
"That is correct."
"Well, Mother is reaching the end of her rant," he said with an odd smile and nodding at the door, from which the sound of an arguing female came, "so I daresay that I can get you in for a brief session."
Not a moment later, the door swung open and a female stormed out. She was beaked, beige in color, and apparently furious. She strode angrily down the hallway and exited, slamming the door behind her.
"Your turn!" Kama stood up and eagerly pushed Tantō and Brooklyn inside, carefully shutting the door behind them. Brooklyn had seen gargoyle counsels before, but not quite like this. Nine mats sat in a semi-circle about the little room, and two lanterns illuminated the aged faces of the gargoyles. Each one sat on their mat with perfect posture, their eyes scanning Brooklyn.
"Most honored elders," Tantō got to his knees and bowed respectfully, as did the Timedancer. Tantō then bowed once more to the grey male that sat in the center, with four gargoyles on either side of him.
"Leader, my brother and I were watching for intruders, and we discovered this gargoyle and his beast." He raised his head to look at the clan leader.
"He wishes to aid ust."
The leader stared at the kneeling, white-haired stranger. Brooklyn felts as if the old gargoyle was probing him with his very eyes. The male's heavy jowls trembled slightly as he breathed, and a few strands of grey hair fell from his mostly-black topknot. But his eyes were alive, active and the brown irises seemed to siphon information from Brooklyn that couldn't be told by appearances alone. After a few moments, he finally spoke.
"What do we call you?" His voice was raspy.
"Brooklyn, sir."
"Would you accept the invitation to defend our home, as a warrior?"
YES! This is exactly what I came here for!
"Yes sir," he responded calmly. The clan leader moved on to another topic.
"Your hair color makes it difficult for me to ascertain your age. What has caused this abnormality in your coloring?"
"M-my hair color? I was hatched in the West, it is not uncommon there for a clan to have many members with this hair color."
"So you are a traveler?"
"I am."
"What is your age?"
"Forty-four years, sir."
The leader did not respond for a moment, and then turned to Tantō.
"He is the same age as you and your siblings, Tantō. Naginata is preoccupied with teaching the younger generation, and you have too many military responsibilities. Have the third greatest among you teach him the ways of Bushido, and another teach him the ways of our culture. You are dismissed."
Tantō and Brooklyn bowed again, and left the room quickly. Kama chuckled for no apparent reason as they left, and Tantō explained to Brooklyn what would happen.
"Naginata, as the most skilled warrior of our generation, has the responsibility of teaching the young ones. I am the second most skilled, and I have many responsibilities in working with the human military. So the third most skilled warrior will do her best to teach you Bushido quickly and efficiently. I shall have Chigiriki teach you our culture and language."
"Wait, 'she'?" Brooklyn pushed the door open and saw no Chigiriki or Fu-Dog.
"Yes, she is training in the abandoned grounds outside of the temple. Chigiriki may have taken your beast to see our clan's beasts. I shall find them and bring them to the grounds." Tantō turned and departed through another door.
He's awful militant. Not exactly a barrel of laughs…
Brooklyn waited a moment, and then was struck with an idea.
Wait, I know where she is! I'll just go and start training right away, the others can meet me there!
He eagerly scaled the temple, careful not to leave any mark on the walls. Once he stood on the curved roof, he stretched his wings and began to glide. He hastened over the temple and fields of the Japanese countryside, heading towards the area that Naginata had pointed to earlier. The wind gave him a swift journey, and he landed just outside of the crumbling stone building.
Oddly enough, he heard no noise.
Maybe they're all mediating in there…
Brooklyn decided to walk inside and investigate. Sacks filled with straw sat about and hung from ropes, apparent makeshift dummies. The walls were covered in claw and blade marks, and a few holes from when a gargoyle had scaled the walls. But there were still no gargoyles in sight. The Timedancer peeked back outside at the sky.
Well, maybe they all decided to head back-. He looked to the temple in the distance, and then back inside. Brooklyn turned to leave, but the faintest of sounds reached his ear; a creaking noise.
Did one of those sacks move?
He turned back to the building's interior. One of the sacks hanging from a rope was swinging gently. The gargoyle took a step forward to investigate, but before he could go further, a force pushed him backwards and pinned him against a wall. The attacker had been a blur due to sheer speed, and he tightened his muscles to fight against it. But the ominous sensation of cold metal against his throat stopped him.
"Why have you come here?" An angry alto voice hissed.
Brooklyn's vision had focused once more, and he carefully looked down his beak at the aggressor. To his surprise, it was a female gargoyle. She wore a battle kimono of light yellow and the top half of her long, raven hair was pulled into a ponytail. Her beak was slightly open, lip curled back to reveal her menacing teeth and her eyes glowed red.
"Well? Are you deaf? Answer me!" She persisted.
Once Brooklyn fully realized what was going on, his eyes lit up in response.
"Hey, I'm just here to find my teacher, alright?" He snarled back.
"And so you think that that makes it safe to enter a training area unannounced?"
"No, he is simply uninformed." A familiar voice answered.
Both of the beaked gargoyles turned to the building entrance. Tantō had brought Chigiriki and Fu-Dog, just as he said. Fu-Dog growled, and cautiously approached the two. The female removed her weapon from the soft flesh of Brooklyn's throat.
"And who is this?" She asked Tantō, her voice harsh.
"Sister, all of the other warriors have returned to the temple. Dawn will be upon us within the hour, let us explain all of this to you on the glide home." Tantō stated with a meek undertone to his voice.
"Very well," she agreed, and slid her sword into the sheath on her back. Brooklyn, still bristling with irritation, hoisted up Fu-Dog and followed the others back to the temple. The first half of the glide was silent. But soon the two gargoyles began to mutter occasionally to each other, and a full conversation ensued.
"He is a newcomer. I told him that I would bring him to the training area," Tantō have Brooklyn a brief glare, "but I suppose that he deemed my assistance unnecessary."
Brooklyn showed no physical signs of remorse, but his stomach twisted.
It's Xanadu all over again. You've screwed up once again, Brook.
"He was not told that warriors must announce themselves when entering," Chigiriki elaborated, and turned to Brooklyn, "in order to prevent other training warriors from launching into attack."
"Wait, so you guys are seriously so 'in the zone' when you're training, that you attack anyone that shows up unannounced?" Brooklyn asked, dumbfounded.
The slightest shade of pink appeared on the horizon, and they drew near to the temple. Other gargoyles were taking their places along the garden walls.
"He clearly isn't from around here." she muttered to Tantō, as if Brooklyn were absent. "I'm going to the East wall with my sisters, I will see you all tomorrow night." And with that, she swooped away to join the other females. Brooklyn, Fu-Dog, Tantō and Chigiriki landed on the garden wall, and faced inward toward the temple.
Goliath said that these guys face inward during the day. I guess that the tradition started pretty far back.
As the sun's rays began to slide over the landscape, Brooklyn turned to Chigiriki.
"Who exactly was that?"
"That, Brooklyn, is Katana. She is well-learned in the ways of Bushido, a ferocious opponent in battle, one of The Seven," he turned to Brooklyn and gave the slightest of pitiful smiles, "and she is to be your teacher."
And before the Timedancer could utter protest, the sun rose and all of the tengu were sealed away in their stone slumber.
