Daylight... Part 3: A Kiss Freely Given

Meanwhile, across town, Elisa pulled her car in to park on the street beside an honest-to-goodness mansion, one that took up an entire city block. A high wall surrounded the grounds, but Elisa could see trees over the wall. She turned to look over to Dominique in the passenger seat beside her, still worried that they might be attacked. "You're sure we're safe?" She asked.

Dominique met Elisa's eyes again and smiled reassuringly. "Quite sure." She answered. "Listen, Elisa... I, that is, I've been thinking about something." She admitted, gazing over at the mansion's gate as she spoke.

"Sounds serious." Elisa commented, wondering what it was.

"It is, I... I've never really offered this to anyone before, to a human I mean... I've considered it as an option in the past, but always concluded it to be too much of a chance to take. For my people. I've worked very hard to give us room and what security I can. It's much to put to trust..." She began, looking back to Elisa again. "Please, Elisa. Tell me I'm not making a mistake trusting you?"

"You... You aren't, Dominique. I promise." Elisa told her, covering one of Dominique's hands with one of hers, even more curious what this could be about.

Dominique looked down at their joined hands, at the bracelet on her own wrist that she saw there, and took a purposeful breath. She brought her hand up, Elisa's falling away as she did, a questioning look appearing on Elisa's face. "This bracelet, you... saw what it can do?" She asked.

"It's how you became human, right?" Elisa asked.

"Right... It was a gift, from Titania. I suppose it gives the one who wears it a little of a fae's changeling ability. From gargoyle to human with a kiss, from human... to gargoyle, also with a kiss." She offered.

"You're... Wait, are you saying that it could change me into one? Into a gargoyle, like you?" Elisa asked.

Dominique nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying, exactly what I'm offering in fact." She confirmed. "I... think it would make your introduction to my clan go more smoothly, and... it would also give you a good measure more physical prowess during the daylight hours that could be useful if we're attacked while human. It would be a permanent change though, Elisa. Even if you never wore the bracelet again, never became a gargoyle again, you would still gain sustenance from the sun—you would still be part gargoyle. It's how the bracelet's magic works." She told her, feeling that same small sense of unease she always felt when thinking or discussing this too deeply. When you could so easily change what you are, how do you keep your identity as a people? At what point did she, did her people, stop being gargoyles? Had the bracelets, to whatever extent, done that to them already? Had she done that to them? To herself?

Elisa looked at the bracelet on Dominique's wrist. Dominique had explained that while they'd been in bed together, how sunlight gave her more energy, strength, and stamina, even while human. She smiled. "I'm honored by the offer... and I accept." She told her, feeling both excited and apprehensive inside. But... She did want to do this—she wanted to, well, to take a chance on this she guessed. And more, she found that she wanted to be a part of Dominique's world. Magic, intrigue, high stakes, her... That's... what it really came down to, she supposed—who it came down to. She was just so drawn to this woman. She wanted to protect her, fight beside her, and to be her lover again... She still felt the echoes of their love making and she wanted that feeling back. She... didn't want to be alone anymore, and she was strangely very certain that Dominique felt the same way towards her.

Dominique let out a relieved breath, feeling a bit anxious as well in that moment. "Alright then..." She agreed, returning an encouraging smile to Elisa. "I'll just go say hello, and then we can go in." She explained, opening the passenger side door and stepping out.

"I'll be here." Elisa said, more to herself than to Dominique. She sat and watched the streets around them, still not entirely convinced that Xanatos wouldn't try something, even if, as Dominique had assured her, a sniper wouldn't be effective because of the mansion's magical defenses. It didn't mean they couldn't attack up close and personal.

Dominique, arriving at the gate, pressed the button to activate the intercom. "It's me." She spoke.

"You are not alone." Vercinix's voice replied.

"She's a... friend." Dominique replied. "Verify: Mi dhachaigh." She spoke their emergency passcode (Scott's Gaelic for I'm home) to let her clan know she wasn't an enemy using magic to disguise themselves and wasn't here under duress (they had a second passcode for under duress: Tha mi an seo, which meant I'm here).

"...A human?" Vercinix asked, skeptical.

Dominique sighed. "Trust me on this, brother. I give you my word, she's on our side."

There was a pause. "Come in, Dominique." Una's voice came over intercom then. "It's good to have you home."

Dominique let out a breath as the gate slid open.

Opalia watched avidly as Sophia, still nude from their shower, finished toweling her hair dry and went over to investigate the small, softly humming electrical box on the floor. She'd be curious about the device, even if she wasn't enjoying watching Sophia herself, which she was. As she did sometimes, she tried to imagine what her lover would look like as a gargoyle. It was foolish to think about, and probably impossible. It was enough to hope for that she herself would return to the body she'd been born to, enough to hope that she'd be able to go home one day... but she couldn't help wishing that she could repay Sophia for what she'd done for her by taking her away from this dangerous world she lived in—by taking her home with her where she would be safe, where she wouldn't have to answer to, or be in danger from, vile humans like the one who had kept prisoner for so long. Sophia wasn't like the rest of them, she decided. Sophia had proven that she had a heart that was good and true.

Sophia stood then, having picked out a bottle of soda water from the humming box, opened the bottle, and set aside the lid on a nearby counter. She walked over to the bed where Opalia was sitting, also still nude from their shower.

It was a warm day, Opalia considered, and the sunlight through the window had her feeling strong, vital, a bit lazy, and warm throughout her entire body. She took the bottle from Sophia when offered and found it cold. "The box keeps things cold then?" She guessed idly, taking an appreciative sip. She'd gotten to like soda water at Xanadu. She liked the fizzing, but had never been able or willing to stomach the sickly sweet flavors humans put in other variations of the drink. It was nice that Sophia was thoughtful enough to remember, even now.

Sophia smiled fondly. "A refrigerator, yeah..." She said, tracing a finger down Opal's forearm down to the back of her hand before resting her hand over Opal's. They'd made love in the shower before, but the very focused way Opal was looking at her now, Sophia was more than willing to again.

Opalia took another sip of the soda and passed it back to Sophia, who drank some. "More?" Sophia asked softly.

Wordlessly, Opalia took the bottle and considered it, poring a little over one of her lover's breasts. Sophia gasped softly, but didn't move or cry out. Opalia moved in to lick some of the moisture away. As a lover, she'd been many things to Sophia over their time together, but, she'd realized, she'd never been... playful before... She was going to remedy that.

"Everything okay?" Elisa asked as Dominique got back into the car beside her.

"Fine." She told her, not entirely believing it. "Just... be penitent with them?"

Elisa smiled. "I'll be so patient they'll think I'm a saint." She told her, tying to lighten the mood a little.

Dominique chuckled a little. "Vercinix and Obsidiana probably won't even know what a saint is." She told her as Elisa put the car in gear and started to pull into the mansion's driveway. "For that matter, I only know it's a title that has something to do with a branch of human spiritual beliefs..."

They were silent a moment then, both lost in thoughts of what was going to happen next.

"I um, I'm going to need to borrow a phone when we get inside. I have to call a friend to take care of Cagney for me, you know, while all this is going on?" She asked. Becca still had a key to her place, and had helped her with Cagney a number of times.

"Of course." Dominique said, looking to her. "I'm sorry, by the way. Not... to have met you, only... to have put you in danger this way."

Elisa smiled to her. "Don't apologize. It is sort of my job, after all."

Dominique smiled fondly to her. "I suppose it is at that."

"Um, Dominique?" Elisa asked.

"Yes?" Dominique replied.

"I'm just... What's it like? To, um, to fly I mean?" Elisa asked as the gates started to close behind them.

"We... don't fly, Elisa. Only glide on wind currents. Before the humans, that's why we would make our homes in the high places. Manhattan, in a way, actually feels more like one of those places than I would have expected of a human city." Dominique explained, closing her eyes. "It's... a beautiful feeling though. I'd... very much like to show you one day." She told her, putting a hand on Elisa's arm as her lover parked the car and turned it off.

Elisa smiled. "I'd call that a date then."

Dominique smiled back to her warmly. "I look forward to it." She agreed, looking out at the lawn. "So, shall we get this awkwardness over with then?" She asked as she opened her door and stepped out into the sunlight.

"I guess we shall." Elisa answered to herself, it all seeming just that much more real a prospect as she opened her door and set foot on the cobblestones of Dominique's driveway. Despite the bit of sudden nervousness though, she wasn't about to back down. As she stood up, she looked around in a little bit of wonder. It was like a park in miniature, with its own small forest besides. The house itself was likewise impressive as she looked up at it. The air smelled sweet and clean somehow, like you'd find on a mountainside in spring. It was unusually quiet too, she was just noticing—less of the ever-present background hum of the city than she was used to. More magic? It had to be. She heard the sound of a door opening and her gaze was drawn to the mansion's front door. She gasped softly in renewed wonder at the woman who emerged. She looked like the gargoyle version of a winged unicorn, dove-like wings and all. The twelve year old girl inside of her wanted to go over and ask if she could touch her wings, or her horn, or... something.

"That's Una." Dominique told Elisa as she finished walking around the car to stand beside her, having transformed into her true self along the way. Elisa hadn't been paying attention to her when she'd gone through her transformation though, and Dominique was gratified to see a sense of appreciative joy and even a little wonderment in Elisa's eyes regarding Una as she turned to her, rather than any sort fear, distrust, or reservations. It made her all the more sure she was doing the right thing.

Elisa was struck anew by the sight of Dominique as she'd first met her—as a gargoyle. When they'd met though, it had been in the dark of night. Here? Now, in the daylight? Elisa took her in. The sunlight seemed to subtly play about her dusky blue skin. She looked up and met her eyes, Dominique a little taller than her in this form.

"Are you ready?" Dominique asked her softly, brushing the knuckle of one of her taloned fingers through Elisa's hair in a fond way.

Elisa nodded that she was and looked down, her eyes following as Dominique took off her bracelet and made to hand it to her. Elisa held her breath. She felt a little apprehensive, that was true, but she stubbornly ignored it and took the bracelet. "What next?" Elisa asked.

"Simply put it on. After that, a kiss freely given is all that it will take." Dominique explained, watching as Elisa slipped the bracelet around her wrist.

From across the way, Una had been heading towards her friend and the unknown human she'd brought with her, Griff having come out behind her to accompany her, when she saw and realized what was happening. Gasping in shock, she halted where she stood, Griff putting a hand to her shoulder, also not saying a thing. They watched on as the human brought the bracelet to her lips and sealed it's magic upon her with a kiss ...Surely not, Una told herself as she watched the transformation take hold. Surely this stranger was one of the Guatemalan clan that Dominique had brought here for some reason, or... but no, if that were so, Dominique would have said as much when Vercinix had been questioning her on the matter when she'd been at the gate. She hadn't though. Vercinix had referred to the woman as human, and Dominique had let it stand...

Dominique watched the transformation, Elisa's lithe body swirling with the bracelet's magic. Her heart raced with mixed emotions. She was watching something that could, and probably would, have profound implications for both her own future and that of her clan—possibly even for her entire race. She only hoped she'd learned enough wisdom in her long history of its lack to have made the right decision. So much had changed in the last two decades. So much new...

Elisa blinked, her eyes coming into focus again. She tensed her body and felt her wings, felt the talons of her feet dig slightly into the lawn. She looked down at them, at her feet and hands, and saw that her skin was now a dusky golden color... something like her coloring as a human, except deeper, richer, more vivid. Looking at her feet, it then occurred to her to wonder what had happened to her shoes? She saw the spikes coming from her knees and noted how her jeans had somehow been retailored to accommodate them, then saw the black bands around her ankles and figured that the magic had transformed her clothes too, while it had been transforming her. She looked down at her hands then, looked around her... Everything seemed so alive with light and life. Dominique was... amazing to look at, even more amazing than she'd seemed before. Her sight was different now, richer somehow... Something drew her gaze upward though, and then she saw the sun. She stared, transfixed, as a vista of light seemed to fill the entire world. She had... no words...

Dominique shook her and Elisa blinked. "I... what... What just happened?" She asked confused.

Dominique smiled fondly, touching her cheek. "We call it a sun trance. You'll have to be careful of it for the first few months or so until you get used to being as you are now... Even as a human, you'll find your gaze drawn skyward at times. Gargoyles aren't naturally meant to be awake during the day, you see." She confessed something she normally wouldn't have ever considered confessing to a human—but then, Elisa wasn't, strictly speaking, human any longer, was she? Biologically, at least, they were of a kind now. "The bracelet's magic gives us the ability to stay awake throughout the days. Absorbing sunlight while we're conscious to experience it in this way, it can take some acclimation on our parts, and we absorb sunlight most strongly, most quickly through our eyes. We can... tend to get lost in the experience, if we do not learn to guard against it." She told her.

"Yeah... I can see why. It's beautiful..." Human beings couldn't look at the sun without damaging their eyes, couldn't see it (at least, not without a filter). But Elisa just had, and it hadn't hurt at all—it had been wonderful. She had to stop herself from looking again, actually. Gazing at the sun like that, it had been... She couldn't quite think of a way to describe it, even to herself. The closest thing she'd felt was when she and Beth had gone to their father's reservation one summer and an elder of the tribe, a woman who'd only named herself grandmother, had guided them on a vision question. Maybe some things just weren't meant to be explained though? After the fact though, she was definitely feeling... like she'd just had a bite of chocolate or that ever-infamous just one potato chip, she supposed. With the sunlight, there hadn't been a taste exactly, like there would be with chocolate or potato chips, but the sensation was definitely one of being nourished. She felt it still, warm and comforting and completely right...

"A part of you wants to surrender to the trance again, even now, doesn't it?" Dominique asked softly.

"I, yeah, I kind of do actually, and just... wow..." She shook her hands out. "I feel like I could run a marathon and not break a sweat. How... How strong am I right now?" She asked.

"At this moment? I would guess that you'd be able to throw an automobile as far as you could have a cellular phone when you were human. In an hour or two, once your body has absorbed more light, that will change to a large truck." Dominique told her.

"A large truck, huh? Somehow I think that's going to take some getting used to." She admitted, handing Dominique back her bracelet. Her gaze falling on Una then as the other gargoyle came up to them. Elisa realized she'd just about forgotten all about her being there. "Um, hi. I'm Elisa. Elisa Maza." Elisa greeted her.

"Una. And this is Griff, my... brother." Una introduced the male gargoyle that had, apparently, exited the mansion after Una had and thus completely escaped Elisa's notice.

Una watched as Elisa's gaze turned to Griff. "Hi there." She greeted him, immediately understanding where he'd gotten the name Griff from—he looked like one, like a griffin, just like Una resembled a unicorn. "It's good to meet you, Griff."

"Right, uh, a pleasure to meet you as well, Elisa..." Griff replied, somewhat apprehensively offering the woman his hand. Griff had seen what had happened, same as his sister, but damned if he knew what to make of it. "You from the Guatemalan bunch, then?" He asked.

Elisa tilted her head to the side a little then. "No, I'm afraid not." She answered. "Manhattan native, through and through."

"Right, well, then... If... you wouldn't mind my asking, Elisa... Just who are you?" Griff asked.

"I think that's a question we'd all appreciate having answered, Dominique." Una added, Dominique meeting her gaze as she spoke.

Una's voice had been guarded, but mainly merely inquisitive, Dominique was relieved to note. "She's... a new friend." She temporized, closing her eyes a moment to gather her thoughts. She had to say more though, and if she could count on anyone to understand and support her about Elisa, she knew it would be Una, who had always been the most supportive of her growing friendship with Robyn Correy. She opened her eyes and met Una's and Griff's gazes in turn. Elisa hadn't spoken, giving her the lead, for which Dominique was grateful. "As I told you, David laid a snare for me. Elisa is a police detective. Human... at least originally." She allowed. "She came to my rescue, fought my attackers at risk of her own life, helped me escape, and even offered me sanctuary within her home..." She trailed off.

"So you... I didn't know those bracelets of yours even worked on the humans?" Griff looked from Elisa to Dominique.

Una sighed. "I knew." There was much, in fact, she knew, that Dominique confided to her that she might not choose to tell the others. In this case, Dominique hadn't wanted the knowledge widely disseminated for fear that one of the others might take it upon themselves to attempt doing it. Dominique had always judged that to be too much of a risk to them. So then, she had to wonder, how much of a striking impression must Elisa Maza have made on her to have her reverse that decision now? "I have to confess I... am surprised you've actually gone so far as to use it for the purpose." She looked to Elisa. "And, you accepted the offer freely?" She asked in curiosity. "You... really did fight for her so fiercely? Never even having encountered one of our kind before?" She asked softly, in a little wonder.

"Well, yeah... I did." Elisa told her.

"Hardly typical for a human, is it?" Griff asked, wary.

"I'd like to hope it's more common than you'd think it is." Elisa told him. "Or, at least that the potential is. I can't imagine many would ever get the chance to prove what they'd do in my shoes, one way or the other."

"So... an optimist, are you? Good on you then." He told her, clasping her shoulder momentarily.

Elisa smiled. Maybe this wouldn't go so badly after all? She hoped so anyway.

"...Thank you." Una finally said. "For protecting her." She wasn't so sure she was ready to believe in this (now former) human's good intentions on face value quite yet, but Dominique trusted her, or seemed to... where she'd never done that before for a human, not in the time since she'd known her at least. Though, admittedly, she had been recently hoping that Robyn Correy might do for her friend what Elisa Maza seemingly had, and convince her once and for all that humans might not all as bad as she'd come to dread them to be. Right now, with the mugging she and her husband had nearly fallen victim to and with David Xanatos's attack on Dominique, she had to admit she wasn't at her most hopeful where humans were concerned either, but... still and all, she couldn't help but hope this was a good thing. Maybe a bit of hope, a bit of moonlight breaking through the clouds on a dark night. Humans had good, had love and worth in them. She'd seen that at the concert she and Leo had attended, just as she'd seen the stark opposite directly afterwards. It wasn't enough, not by any means, but it wasn't nothing either.

"You're welcome." Elisa replied.

Dominique smiled to herself, relieved. But, she knew, Una and Griff had been easy compared to the rest. Leo would likely be hostile, but reserve judgement. Vercinix, she wasn't sure of—he hadn't been taking the modern world as well as could be hoped, and she'd seen a bitterness take hold in him that that she could understand and empathize with all too well. He blamed the humans for his fate, for the death of their clan, for the ruin of their kind... The trouble was, of course, that the humans, in aggregate, were far from underserving of such feelings. And then there was Obsidiana...

"Shall we... go introduce you around then?" Griff asked.

"Sure. Just, tell them to go easy on me, okay?" Elisa asked.

Griff smiled. "Maybe I will at that." She looked so much like—actually was now, he supposed—a gargoyle. More than that though, there was just something about her that made him want to give her the benefit of the doubt. Some openness and trust or belief in the world that, to his experience, most humans lacked.

Dominique sighed in relief that Elisa had seemingly won Griff to her side.

Una gave her a look that offered support, but also encouraged wisdom.

Dominique gave her a confident smile and a hug hello now that the tension had mostly passed. She offered a hug to Griff as well next, before going to take Elisa's hand in hers to go inside.

( to be continued )

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