Demona glanced around the room and Christy watched the gargoyle consider and then dismiss the idea of sitting in her office chair for this. Given a few fantasies Christy had about high power office types, it was a relief to not deal with the chair and large desk for this. Still, Christy's eyes lingered on the chair longingly for just a moment, before she followed Demona to the couch.

"How do you normally do this?" Demona asked.

"It might seem like a massage, and I move the limb I'm trying to copy to feel how it moves." Christy glanced down at the feet. "What I have on now is the closest I've ever come to what you have and as you can see it isn't really close at all."

"So you're saying this could take a while?" Demona came to the conclusion Christy was hoping she would. "Well, I guess we should get started then. I have a time limit in my true form now." Demona sat down and Christy sat on the floor in front of her. Christy tilted her head down just a little and looked up through her eyelashes she gave a teasing nibble to her lower lip and watched Demona give her a strange look. Christy gently reached out to take the gargoyle's foot into her hand.

"The knee spurs do anything? Do I need those?" Christy asked while facing Demona with the foot in her lap. As she looked up she glanced at the loincloth and then into Demona's eyes with a small smile. "You wearing underwear?" She teased and watched a light blush cover the gargoyles' face.

"The spurs just are, but sometimes they are used in battle. Humans are soft, and if you get them in the stomach they are down forever. It is just disgusting to have to wash the blood off."

"Good to know." Christy lifted the foot and gently moved the toes while her other hand held the leg higher to feel how the muscles under the skin moved. She gently moved the ankle. "Are there other motions I haven't tried that you do?" Christy asked and looked up to see Demona watching her work with an odd look on her face.

"No, you seem to have it all." Demona said, and Christy gave her a small smile before moving her hands up the leg a little more.

"Can you slowly repeat those motions so I can feel how they translate to these muscles?"

Christy moved her hand placement up Demona's leg and felt for the muscle placement as Demona ran her foot through its motions. Demona was quiet and gave a measuring look that made Christy wonder when the last time someone touched Demona with any gentleness was.

"I'm going to repeat this with your other leg." Christy gently pulled her hands from one leg and shifted on the floor until she was placed for that other leg. One leg was enough, but she decided to give Demona some more touch. It wasn't sexual, but it was doing something.

Christy only went as far as Demona's knee, but this time she gently pressed around the knee spur. "Is this a vulnerability?" Christy asked.

"Don't slam it into anything hard, or you'll have trouble walking for a while." Demona told her, her voice slower than normal.

"Okay, let's see if I have it." Christy sat on the couch next to Demona and focused on the new feet and lower legs. She had her eyes closed as she visualized, because this was a larger shift than normal for her, so the hand on her new knee spur was a surprise.

"Can you move your feet?" Demona asked. Christy repeated the motions she'd seen the gargoyle do and the slight smile grew on Demona's face.

"Shall we fix your arms now?" Demona asked and Christy smiled at the hint of excitement in the gargoyle.

"I still haven't tried to walk." Christy reminded Demona.

"I'll teach you, but I just thought it might be best to fix your form completely first."

"Okay. I'm going to try and keep my fifth finger, so this is going to be trickier."

"Why keep it?" Demona asked, looking at Christy's hands.

"I use them all." Christy pouted when Demona chuckled.

"I have five during the day and that little one isn't worth the extra effort to keep it." Demona said. Christy let herself be mocked to keep the playful atmosphere.

Christy started to massage the hand in her own, and Demona stopped talking to watch as Christy ran fingers over talons slowly. "These can cut into stone, how do you keep from hurting yourself with them?"

"We just do." Demona sighed and Christy moved the fourth and last finger around carefully. "You have to hold the muscles tight to slash hard enough to cut stone."

Can you do that while I feel?" Christy asked. It made sense that something had to change so that the gargoyles could cut stone at one moment and caress a lover in the next. Demona's fingers spread and Christy felt how strong and taunt the muscles got. When Christy moved her grip to the wrist, Demona went through a range of motion without being asked, moving talons individually, clenching to cut stone. Christy kept moving her hands up Demona's arms to feel the muscles.

"You're very strong. We might need to compare so I know if I can measure up to what a gargoyle should be able to do." Christy spoke softly. "I can make myself stronger, up to a point." Her eyes stayed on the blue skin under her hands. "Do you have to work out to stay this strong?" Christy did her best not to smirk.

"All warriors should work out, but once the spell was put on me I was returned to my prime and it takes little effort to maintain." Demona answered her seriously. "You know the spell I'm talking about, don't you?"

"Yeah, I saw some of that being cast." Christy stopped her movements and looked into Demona's eyes. "I guess it would be fair to tell you I haven't aged since I 'changed' a little over ten years ago. I know I said I was not just like other shapeshifters, but my teacher hasn't aged in maybe sixty years." Demona study her face, so Christy spoke more softly. "I'm in my mid-forties."

"You think this will continue." Demona said. "You look a little younger than my human form, not much though."

"I was a little older than thirty when I changed, so I stay thirty. I expect in another hundred years I'll still look thirty." Demona's eyes widen. "I'm also not immortal, but I'm damned hard to kill."

"Could you be Fey? They don't age after a certain point and they are hard to kill, nearly impossible as far as I can tell." Demona asked after a long silence.

"I don't think so. I have no magic." Christy knew what she was, or at least thought she knew, but she wanted more time before saying that to Demona. Christy was a mutant, a very powerful one, but a mutant. Her mother had given birth to her. She expected the comparison to the Fey from Demona, because that was what this world had. Mutants weren't really something Demona would consider.

Christy returned her attention to the arms she was working with, and the elbow spur as well. "If you decide you might like to have a relationship with me," Christy spoke softly, quietly, "I am capable of living much longer than a human or gargoyle. And I'm a shapeshifter, so if we needed to spice things up I'm more than capable of it." Christy gave Demona a small smile.

…..

Demona had to remember to clench her fist and release it. Christy was uniquely qualified for a relationship with Demona, or she would be, if she'd been a he. Long life, hard to kill, an understanding of the dangers of the world, Christy could even be a gargoyle. Demona found herself enjoying her time with the shapeshifter, and they shared so many goals. For a moment Demona almost wished it could happen, but there was a major flaw that Christy wasn't acknowledging and Demona wasn't going to destroy her hope by uttering it now. Demona was not gay. She'd only ever been with males before, and never entertained the idea of being with her clan sisters.

Males that always let her down Demona thought and her fist clenched harder than needed to give Christy a sense of how the muscles works.

When Christy held her own arms out and Demona watched the green flesh change and shift into a gargoyle arm, complete with the four talons, she watched it move and clench. "Do you want wings like mine?" Demona asked softly, unsure if she was ready for that much intimacy. What Christy was doing was already more touching, nice, caring, exploring touch than she'd had in a thousand years. Thailog had never been this gentle or sweet with her, never this interested in what made her tick, or how she was put together in any way. She was not going to tell Christy and make it even more awkward.

"I think I need to stick with what I have for now. I have to relearn to walk, new limbs aren't a good idea on top of that." Christy said but then her new talons moved to her forehead. "Should I have bumps?"

"It's called a browridge." Demona smiled at the ignorance. "You can do without it." Demona told her, because Christy really shouldn't be touching anyone's browridge, and Demona was not willing to go that far to make Christy more authentic.

Christy's arms, legs, hands and feet all looked right. The tail was still far too thin and stringy, but it had enough usefulness to leave it alone. Demona took in the pointed ears, much like a gargoyles but since Christy came here with them were likely modeled after something else. The slightly longer canines looked right, but then her face still held human looking eyes and the smooth forehead. Christy was starting to really come together, and Demona could see the female was going to earn some unwanted attention from the young males once they saw her. Christy needed some work still, but her form was that of an attractive female gargoyle now.

"We are still on for tomorrow, right?" Christy asked even as Demona led the now more gargoyle looking female to the roof for more gliding practice, and landing, lots of landing practice.

"The apartment is relatively spacious for a place in downtown New York." Demona started to talk about the place. She needed the female away from the clan before things could really take off with their plans, and getting her away from Fox seemed like a good idea as well.

….

Christy was not really graceful yet, but she was feeling like she could at least get from place to place in the air now. If she had to dodge anything she'd be out of luck, but she could turn and move up or down, she could maintain a straight course as well.

"Get up as high as you can as soon as you can." Demona was telling her as they started in the direction of the castle. "I wish I could see their face when you land." Demona had a mischievous grin.

Demona was making sure she got home okay and Christy smiled over at the blue female when she thought about that. "There is a current over here that is moving up steep. Follow me."

Christy did and the air current did push her up faster than she'd expected as she followed Demona to higher air. The castle was the highest point in the city, and so Christy needed to go higher than she'd been before. Looking down it was a little intimidating. Christy had fallen out of the air before, had some good jumps too, but she didn't want to fall that far.

"I think I should leave you now. If I get closer there is a chance this will turn into a battle." Demona sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Looking forward to it. Maybe we could get some Italian for lunch." Christy offered as she continued on to the building.

Christy focused on her ascent and approach to the castle, making sure she had the right elevation in time. Brooklyn approached her fast looking ready for battle, but Christy could tell the moment he recognized her because his beak opened in shock. She got around him easily to come in and land in the castle courtyard.

"Jalapena" Lex said. Christy turned to see she had nearly the entire clan staring at her in shock. Christy smirked.

"Yeah, that's right, I'm a shapeshifter." She teased and winked at a curious looking Angela as she made her way towards the doorway.

"Looking good." Angela spoke up with a hint of surprise. Christy stopped and noticed that Angela was checking on the changes in her form with a cautious expression on her face. Angela knew what it would have taken to make those changes. Christy just gave the female a mysterious smile when Angela looked back at her face. Things were at least going well enough that Demona was letting Christy touch her for this.

"Thanks, I'm working on it."

"Those are like my wings." Lex said and moved a little closer.

"You're green now." Broadway moved in closer as well.

In just a moment Christy was surrounded by the younger gargoyles who were studying her new form. "Your tail is a bit thin," Brooklyn said.

"It's an improvement on the original design. My tail does tricks." She lifted it up and wrapped it around Angela's arm jerking the poor girl forward and catching her with her arms. Christy was careful with the new talons though, not wanting to hurt her. "I can use it to catch girls." She teased as Angela blushed and Lex chuckled.

Angela stepped back once she was steady again and rolled her eyes, but Christy thought she saw some amusement there.

"Why did you pick my wing design?" Lex asked.

"I didn't grow up with seven limbs, so it's harder to control that many. I grew up with four and now I have five." Christy wiggled her tail in the air to point out the addition. "I wanted to stay in the air, and going right to seven seemed a bad idea."

"You look like a real gargoyle." Broadway told her with a smile.

"Almost, I need to do more tweaking." Christy rubbed her forehead. "What's considered attractive in those browridges?" She still wanted to tweak the form for that third date and she did want to be attractive.

It looked like the boys were blushing, and when Christy glanced at Angela she was blushing too.

"Well, um, prominent is good." Lex stammered.

"Yeah, and if you can get a few," Broadway touched a few more prominent lumps on his own. "A few of those are good."

"Some horns might work." Brooklyn added.

"Yeah, horns are good." Broadway agreed.

"Ugh, horns I might get caught up in trees or something until I get used to those." Christy glanced at Brooklyn's horns. "Do women like horns?"

"Not that you could tell by Brooklyn, but yeah." Lex laughed.

"Can I touch?" Christy asked, moving closer to Brooklyn, while studying how his horns curved up over his head.

"Whoa, whoa," Brooklyn stepped back with wide eyes.

"Um, Christy," Angela spoke more softly. "You don't just touch someone's browridge. It's a little… Well, it's a little intimate for a casual touch. It's like a kiss."

"Oh," Christy glanced around at the embarrassed looking males around here. "Well, that complicates things." Browridges were a part of attractiveness. She was going to need to add one. "Still, I'm game if anyone else is?" She grinned wickedly. It wasn't like she hadn't kissed anyone for a mission.

Based on the shocked looks, perhaps there was more to it than she realized. Christy lost the grin and spoke more gently, so she wouldn't be thought of as a complete slut. "I'm trying to make myself look right and I just thought I should feel a browridge before trying to make one. What do they feel like?" The boys were swallowing hard and Christy thought she saw a loincloth move on its own.

"Come on, let's get you out of here before you put your new foot any further in your mouth." Angela sighed and took Christy's hand. "I guess mother didn't explain about browridges." Angela asked quietly as they made their way into the castle properly.

"No, not really. She just told me I didn't need one when I asked to copy hers." Christy admitted and noticed Angela's eyes widen at her words. "Did I ask to feel her up? Is that what I did? Did I just do that out there too?"

"Pretty much." Angela grimaced, but then there was a hint of amusement in the growing smile. "Touching a browridge is a pretty strong sign of affection, and if it isn't family doing it, well, then it's kind of like asking to rub between someone's wings, not really appropriate."

Christy absorbed that as they walked. "I was going to ask you if I could feel your wings when I was ready for seven limbs." Angela's head jerked around to stare at her. Christy just shrugged. "I wanted them to be a surprise to Demona, but I guess that's out huh?" Christy gave Angela a teasing smirk, "Or are you willing to help me out here?"

"Ugh, look, if you want to copy anything off of anyone ask me first. I think if you'd asked one of the boys alone to touch their browridge they might have let you do it and never told you why you shouldn't. I'll tell you if you're making a mistake."

"Watching out for my virtue are you?" Christy teased.

"I can't believe you asked to touch Brooklyn's horns?" Angela shook her head and smiled. "He might follow you around for a few days to see if you're still interested."

"Do you think horns are the way I should go?" Christy asked, ignoring the rest of the comment.

"You might look good with some smaller ones." Angela admitted. "Don't have them stick straight out though, because couples will rub their browridges together and you want that to still be possible, if you, well, if you mate with a gargoyle." Angela stammered over her last words.

"Thanks." Christy stopped at her door still in gargoyle form. "Okay." She debated about inviting Angela in, but the hour was enough reason not to. "Have a good sleep." Christy smiled and slipped inside.

An hour later Christy snuck back out onto the castle walls and stared at the stone forms of the clan. She climbed up the turret that Brooklyn had perched on with her new talons and carefully pulled herself up beside him to get a better look at those horns.

She reached out slowly to see what they felt like, even though they were stone. "What are you doing?" Fox's voice interrupted her.

"Any chance you could never say anything about this?" Christy blushed and moved to sit on the turret and look down at Fox.

"I don't know. It looks kind of interesting."

"Seems that Brooklyn has the best browridge in the clan. It's considered sexy," Christy admitted. "I'm working on looking like a gargoyle and I want the best." She gave a guilty grin to the redhead who looked like she could start laughing at any moment. "oh shut up, just don't tell anyone I tried this." Christy stood up, spread her arms and dived off the turret.

She glided down to the courtyard next to Fox. The redhead stared at her with wide eyes. "You're gliding now."

"I have one more date with Demona and I'm trying to work up a good gargoyle form, because she's not responding to my human form." Christy sighed heavily as she admitted that. "I want her to ask for a fourth date, and I'm running out of chances to intrigue her. I want to feel a browridge, so I can try and copy it authentically. The problem is that asking to touch one is like walking up to a woman and asking to feel up her breasts."

"I'd say yes to that." Fox said.

"Yeah, but you're a bit more worldly than these guys." Christy smirked and shifted to a fully human form again. "When I asked the group if anyone wanted to help me out I'm sure I saw at least one loincloth tent."

"Who had the tent?" Fox asked.

"Brooklyn." Christy admitted and watched Fox's eyebrow raise. "Yes I know, it would be easy but I'm not sure it wouldn't be cruel. I don't see it as intimate, but they do."

"Tell him you're gay and doing it to attract Demona. If after that he's willing to play, well, you laid all your cards on the table and he's a big boy." Fox told her. "I don't know a human teen that would turn down a hand job from a pretty girl, even with that kind information, so I can't imagine he'll turn you down for this."

"I'll think about it."

"I'm surprised Brooklyn's the one with the sexy browridge. Horns are in I guess."

"That's what they said." Christy turned to look at the castle turrets. "I should get some sleep. I have an apartment to check out at noon."

"You could stay here," Fox said.

"Thanks for the offer, but I really think it's time to spread my wings." Christy nodded goodnight and made her way inside.

…..

Demona walked along the street she was meeting Christy she spotted the female she crossed the street to approach her. Christy was staring up at the building they were going to enter with her head tilted back to get a good view of the height.

Demona stood beside her. "Let's go inside."

"It looks like a nice place. Italian restaurant over there any good?" Christy pointed down the street.

"I find the lasagna is rather good." Demona said. She felt confident the apartment would finish the job for her.

Demona handed the keys to Christy while they waited for the elevator. She rarely saw this part of the place, as when she used it she came and went via air. She pressed the button for the penthouse, which she'd purchased the year construction on the castle began. She'd selected it because she'd have a rooftop garden to spend her days in stone. As they got out on the top floor Demona stepped out into the hall that led only to her door. "No neighbors." Demona pointed out and liked the approving nod Christy gave. "Top floor, easy gliding in and out."

"Well, shall we see what we have?" Christy used the key Demona had given her to open the door. Christy took a step into the apartment and smiled as she looked around. The place had a full sized kitchen, and a sunken main room that held a dining table and a sofa and recliner. The tv was merely adequate, but the way Christy barely glanced at it made Demona feel it wasn't a problem. There was a wall of windows that opened up to rooftop garden. Christy took another step into the place still looking around and spoke softly, "Sold."

Demona smiled. She'd keep a connection to Christy through this place. This cemented their alliance in a tangible way. Demona would provide for Christy's mundane needs so she wouldn't have to work and Christy would help Demona with bastards like Castaway. "Well, good. I thought I might actually have to show you around." Demona teased and closed the front door behind her.

"I wouldn't turn down a tour." Christy smiled at her over her shoulder. Demona liked the playful happiness in her eyes.

"Well, as you can see the kitchen is completely modern." She pointed it out. "Half bath." She pointed to a door on their left, before they moved down the step to the main room. "The bedroom is this way." She added as she noticed Christy's eyes lingering on the rooftop garden.

"Oh, that sounds like a pick up line. Not this month dear, we have a deal," Christy said. Demona cursed her fair skin as she blushed.

"I purchased a bed for you. It didn't need one the last time I lived here." Demona spoke as if she hadn't been embarrassed. She opened the double doors to the master suite.

"Damn." Christy whispered from behind her. "This place cost you a fortune, didn't it?"

Demona pointed out the master bathroom. "Not so secret hedonist?" Christy smiled when she noticed the large soaking tub.

Demona did like how Christy was studying that tub. "The hot water tank is more than adequate to fill that." Christy may have given a flippant 'sold' comment, but Demona was positive she had her.

"This place is amazing, but let's check out my landing pad."

This time Demona followed Christy out to the rooftop garden. The plants were in sad shape and they may need to replace a few. Still, Christy seemed impressed as she walked around.

"Even you should be able to land on this." Demona teased. Christy's landings had gotten better, but she was still clearly a novice. "Shall I order lunch delivered?"

"Sounds good. I'll try that lasagna you were talking about." Christy glanced over the wall to see the city beyond the plants. "This is going to work out well. We aren't too far from your work, you can visit me all the time." Christy was still looking out at the city when she said that and Demona was surprised at how good it felt to have someone want her to visit.

They sat down in the living room to wait for delivery. "Do you have to go back to work after this?"

"No, I cleared the afternoon schedule." She said.

"After lunch I think we should talk a little more about where I came from." Christy sounded resigned.

After lunch Christy started talking, her voice cracking at times, about the end of the world. Demona moved closer and grasped Christy's hand as the female shared her pain at learning that her world was going to die. Demona gritted her teeth and endured the strong grip that proved that Christy was stronger than Demona's human form. Eventually the grip loosened, but Christy didn't let go.

Christy's story brought back memories of her own horror at walking through the castle and around the grounds seeing the remains of her clan after the Viking attack. Christy spoke of months or years of loss, and every time a death came up Demona saw the ruined remains of her clan in that story. She was stunned that Christy had even this in common with her.

"I found food when there was none." Christy's voice cracked. "It was a desperate time and I was willing to do anything to stop burying people, children, every day." Christy turned haunted eyes to Demona. "I hunted the people who were hoarding the supplies and killing us. I hunted humans for food, Demona, and I fed that to my people without telling them what I'd done."

"You ate humans?" She asked sure she had heard that wrong.

"I did."

Demona felt sick, and her lunch was not sitting well with her. She hated humans, but to eat them seemed so wrong. "If it was just me I would have welcomed death instead, but I had a tribe, a clan, to watch out for and I couldn't make myself give up on them. I turned us into cannibals to live long enough to see the end of the world. I expected to die with everyone else. My change, the hints that I wasn't human, I was so distracted by the end of the world I never noticed."

"I will not judge you for wanting your clan to live." Demona whispered and watched tears streak down Christy's face. Christy took a few shaky breaths as Demona struggled to accept that no matter what kind of monster the others thought Demona was Christy was ten times that, and yet so vulnerable.

It was a horrible story with few happy moments. Hearing how Christy came to be the woman in front of her was heartbreaking. Demona pulled Christy closer to hold her. No one had been there to hold Demona after her own painful losses.

"I found out that I feed on death. I take in energy that's returned to the universe when someone dies." Christy spoke so quietly, and Demona pulled back from her enough to look into her face again. Christy started staring at Demona's hand in her own, rather than looking up. "The asteroid was beautiful, and so deadly and by the time it was coming in to hit I welcomed my death, and the end to the nightmare that had become my life, but that isn't what I got. It landed to the east of us. Waves of energy, of death, hit me before the shockwave and I was transformed. I screamed and a portal to my second world appeared. I was tossed into a world that was still alive, one that I thought was just fiction, and my body was altered to be what it is now."

There was a moment of silence that Demona felt needed to be respected and she let Christy hold her hand as she struggled with what she was learning. Demona knew of no creatures that ate death like Christy said she did, at least none that were real.

"I became the last survivor of a world." Christy shook her head. "It took time to realize that I had powers, and that I wasn't what I was looking at in the mirror. I was something else underneath all of that. I tried creating another little clan of my own, from children that the world wasn't treating right, mutants that society hated, and in that I ended up joining forces with the people fighting to protect mutants from the humans. I joined another war for survival, because I understood what it was to lose and I didn't want other people to feel loss like that."

Demona could see that Christy was still living by that, because Christy was inserting herself into Demona's war. Christy just moved from battle to battle, and Demona may have been fighting a thousand years, off and on, but she felt like a hatchling compared to the battles Christy must have seen.

Demona respected Christy so much more now. She also was a bit wary of her as well. Christy really was willing to do anything, and it was a bit horrifying to imagine it. Demona thought she had no limits to what she'd do for her people, but hearing Christy, it made her think she just hadn't found those limits yet.

Christy spoke after another long silence. "I'm a bit of a monster, I hear. I lived in that last world a little over ten years. I fought for them for nearly all that time, I fought beside them, I killed for them, I sacrificed for them, I slept with the enemy for them. Any of my remaining "I'll nevers" died in that world. I know that I really will do anything, anything at all, for people I care about. I won that battle for survival for them. And in the end, when some kid with an odd power was able to show them the monster I used to be, almost everyone turned on me. I was able to count my real friends on my hands, after I'd saved thousands, perhaps millions of lives, in the end I could only trust my teacher, two of my students, and Annie's lovers."

Demona did her best to ignore the tears in her own eyes, and she was surprised at how much it hurt to hear this. Christy was betrayed, it was obvious, of course she would have been. "My teacher, the shapeshifter, she did what she could to draw the government away from where I was. She almost got captured pretending to be me, but she got away, and I left there safe because I pretended to be her as I said my goodbyes. Someone had realized I was meeting up with her and we switched identities to buy me time to run. My students, god, they were just kids when I met them. Erik was taken into custody by the people I used to work with, who were now hunting me. Someone had realized I visited him, and so they were checking to see if he knew where I was. He did, he knew the plan and yet we managed to get so far before Annie's girlfriends told us that they could sense people coming for me while we were preparing. He had to have fought so hard to give us that time. Annie helped arrange a public escape for me, so that everyone would know I left. I did that so they wouldn't go after the few people who had stood by my side, thinking I was still there. Annie found a way to give me the luck spell I told you about, it was an experiment, but she wanted me safe and she did what she could for me. I had to leave them behind, because the people hunting me were catching on. All they would have had to do to catch me was hold onto Erik, and threaten him. I would have had to go back then, knowing they were likely going to lock me up forever or kill me, I would have had to go back. You don't turn your back on someone that was willing to go through hell for you, I was never going to do that."

"Even though they had done that to you, the others." Demona asked softly and watched Christy's face crumble in pain. "You gave them everything, and as soon as they didn't need you anymore, as soon as they realized your skills were so hard won, they betrayed you."

Christy's eyes closed, and her voice was a whisper. "I knew you would understand."

"I do, I do." Demona whispered back.

It took a little time, but Christy calmed down. Demona waited for that before asking any questions, not wanting to push now. If she'd known how hard this story really was, she'd like to think she would have given Christy more time to get comfortable with her before telling it, but Demona knew that without hearing she never would have understood the pain involved.

"What is a mutant?" Demona asked and noticed that Christy seemed reluctant to answer.

"Evolution, a mutant is the result of evolution. They can be born from human parents, but their genetics are on the next level and they are born with powers. Telepaths, healers, telekinetics, shifters, so many different powers." Christy looked up at Demona.

"Humans have the ability to evolve like that?" Demona asked, horrified by the thought of that much power in human hands.

"Humans shunned my kind and tried to kill us." Christy spoke firmly. "In my last world we had to fight to be allowed life, because people feared difference that much. Just like here, it wasn't all the humans, but it only took a few in the right places to make it dangerous."

Demona could sense that this was not a welcome line of questions, and for once she let it go. Christy had shed enough pain for her today. When she looked up Demona found she was surprised to see that it was nearly nightfall. "I'm going to have to change here." She spoke suddenly and Christy looked at her quickly, before following her attention to see the fading sunlight.

"Get out of what you can, I didn't see any clothes here." Christy said even as Demona was kicking off her shoes. Demona was not pleased, she had not wanted to show Christy this part, but she managed to toss the suit jacket off before it hit. The shirt would be a lost cause.

The pain of her body enduring the change was impossible not to scream at and Demona did. Her shirt ripped to let her wings out and her hands and feet always hurt the most for some reason. She stood panting in the main room with a serious looking Christy once the pain stopped. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was keeping you so late."

Demona gave her a disbelieving look. "I think I can forgive that." She managed, still shocked at the apology at all. She took a few steps as she looked for her briefcase. It had a spare set of night clothes in it.

"Your browridge is the same shape as your crown thing." Christy said and Demona paused in opening the briefcase to look up at her. "Why do you wear that crown?"

"I like it." Demona muttered and looked back into her briefcase. The crown highlighted her browridge nicely, made it stick out. It also kept anyone from getting too close to it. Demona grabbed her clothes and moved to the bedroom to change.

"When do you think you'll move in?" Demona asked as she came back out more comfortably dressed.

"Maybe another week, maybe less." Christy's words surprised her. She had expected the answer to be tomorrow. "I think I need to have another hard conversation with the clan before I leave. I've just been waiting for them to absorb the last lesson I had Elisa teach them. Maybe I'll start that tonight."

"I've tried to talk to them." Demona sighed with the frustration that had caused.

"I think you were too extreme for them to accept. I'm a bit more middle of the track. I've loved humans in the past, and I'm not saying they all have to go. That should be easier for them to accept. They seem to be doing better with that." Christy was still sitting, her arms stretched out along the top of the couch as she stared at Demona. "Can you accept that? I believe some people will need to die, some will need to be stopped in other ways, and some we can just leave alone. If we can find the right mix of action we won't have as much opposition and we can succeed in what we need to do."

Demona frowned, but she nodded. She'd give this a chance and if it didn't work Christy was smart enough to see it wasn't working. Demona could push at that point. Given everything else Christy was willing to do to protect those she cared about, Demona just needed to make sure Christy cared about gargoyles, and perhaps limit her contact with humans so that the caring doesn't backfire by going the other way.

Demona moved to stand behind the couch, behind Christy, and she moved her talons gently through Christy's hair. "You've had a rather hard day." Demona spoke softly, gently. "A rather hard life." She whispered as she moved her hands to rest on Christy's shoulders. "But you aren't alone anymore." Perhaps for her own people, Demona would break one of her 'I'll nevers' as Christy had called them. She needed this female on her side, and Demona would need to do anything she could to get her, because Christy succeeds in what she sets out to do, and Demona was so very tired of failing.

Christy understood as well, and no one had ever done that before. No crime Demona had ever committed would be too much for Christy to accept, no history too horrifying for her to look past. Christy understood so much, and Demona wanted to want her, and wasn't that at least something? Demona wanted to keep her, make her the best gargoyle she could be and have a clan with her, to be not alone anymore seemed a foreign idea after all these years. Wanting to want, she was going to work with that, she was going to make that enough, because she did not want to lose this.

Demona hugged Christy before gliding off, and she held her tight when she did it.