Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters herein.
A heavily cloaked figure swept silently down the dirtier alleys, while the Manhattan skyline glared threateningly in the background. She turned, checking behind her to make sure she hadn't been followed.
Elisa's cloak swayed in the wind around her feet, as a hazy rain started overhead, shading the city a deeper, more depressing gray than it usually was. Her long black hair, tinted now with strands of gray, was trying to fight its way out of her cloak in the steadily increasing wind that now whipped through the alleyways, creating a low, desperate moan that reflected the feelings of those who now traversed these dark paths. Elisa herself felt this same hopelessness. Things weren't like they used to be, when she was young, when her body was lithe and strong. Somewhere beneath the defeated face and the slightly crippled body was the young, lithe, lively, and independent woman that Goliath had loved. But impotent love wears down those who feel it, and it had certainly contributed to the current state of Elisa - even Goliath, who she was now on her way to visit.
She came to her destination, slowly, favoring her right leg heavily. She cracked the metal door and entered, slamming the door quickly behind her. She knew Goliath hated the light, even the grey light of the city that still poorly needed his protection. He blamed himself for it all, and this was his self-imposed punishment. He lived below ground now, in a hole, instead of in the open air where gargoyles belong. He refused to look upon light, or beauty of any king. But the worst punishment of all - he refused to protect the Manhattan that he had come to love. In this he had renounced everything he once believed in - everything he once was.
It pained Elisa to see him this way. She had once loved him as he loved her - powerlessly. Now he was a pitiful sight. He was not old, as gargoyles age much slower than humans, but age showed on him much more deeply than it did on Elisa. His face was drawn in, pronouncing his cheek bones and turning their once proud, hard lines into deep gashes of painful remembrance. His clothing was long ignored, unkempt and slowly rotting away. His wings, shriveled from lack of use, now stood out behind him more like cancerous growths than the powerful wings of the avenging night. But the most painful thing for Elisa to look upon was his eyes. Oh, how she had once gazed into those fiery, passionate eyes! She had seen his soul look out upon her from behind those deep, dark eyes. Now all that showed in them was a heavy gray mask, lifeless and limp.
As frightful as it was for her, however, she met his eyes. For an instant she felt that old flame light up inside her, but it was quickly quelled by the cold facing it, both within and without. She doubted that he felt any such remaining spark. He barely seemed to recognize her these days.
"Goliath," she said quietly, reaching her hand out towards him. He recoiled further into the corner.
"Why have you come here?" he asked sadly.
"I."she started. Why had she come here? She used to visit him often when he had first come to live here, but now she only came once a year, always on this same day.
"I thought that maybe today, of all days, you might need.someone." she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Goliath seemed to sink further into the floor as he buried his face in his hands, bringing his wings up around him to protect Elisa from the sight of his pitiful weeping.
"Why have you come here?" Goliath sobbed. Elisa heard the danger in his voice, as the last syllable turned up in anger. "All I need," he growled, "is to forget. So why do you return here, always on this day? Is it your aim to make forgetting impossible for me? Is it your intention that I should, every year on this day, be reminded of the events which I have tried to forget so hard? Do you think coming here will help me to be less alone? No, your coming here only reminds me of just how alone I am." He was standing now, tears streaming mercilessly down his face. Elisa was also weeping freely, crying for her friend, her love. "Go now, and please," Goliath began, barely able to compose himself, "if anything remains of the love you once felt for me, you will never come here again."
A heavily cloaked figure swept silently down the dirtier alleys, while the Manhattan skyline glared threateningly in the background. She turned, checking behind her to make sure she hadn't been followed.
Elisa's cloak swayed in the wind around her feet, as a hazy rain started overhead, shading the city a deeper, more depressing gray than it usually was. Her long black hair, tinted now with strands of gray, was trying to fight its way out of her cloak in the steadily increasing wind that now whipped through the alleyways, creating a low, desperate moan that reflected the feelings of those who now traversed these dark paths. Elisa herself felt this same hopelessness. Things weren't like they used to be, when she was young, when her body was lithe and strong. Somewhere beneath the defeated face and the slightly crippled body was the young, lithe, lively, and independent woman that Goliath had loved. But impotent love wears down those who feel it, and it had certainly contributed to the current state of Elisa - even Goliath, who she was now on her way to visit.
She came to her destination, slowly, favoring her right leg heavily. She cracked the metal door and entered, slamming the door quickly behind her. She knew Goliath hated the light, even the grey light of the city that still poorly needed his protection. He blamed himself for it all, and this was his self-imposed punishment. He lived below ground now, in a hole, instead of in the open air where gargoyles belong. He refused to look upon light, or beauty of any king. But the worst punishment of all - he refused to protect the Manhattan that he had come to love. In this he had renounced everything he once believed in - everything he once was.
It pained Elisa to see him this way. She had once loved him as he loved her - powerlessly. Now he was a pitiful sight. He was not old, as gargoyles age much slower than humans, but age showed on him much more deeply than it did on Elisa. His face was drawn in, pronouncing his cheek bones and turning their once proud, hard lines into deep gashes of painful remembrance. His clothing was long ignored, unkempt and slowly rotting away. His wings, shriveled from lack of use, now stood out behind him more like cancerous growths than the powerful wings of the avenging night. But the most painful thing for Elisa to look upon was his eyes. Oh, how she had once gazed into those fiery, passionate eyes! She had seen his soul look out upon her from behind those deep, dark eyes. Now all that showed in them was a heavy gray mask, lifeless and limp.
As frightful as it was for her, however, she met his eyes. For an instant she felt that old flame light up inside her, but it was quickly quelled by the cold facing it, both within and without. She doubted that he felt any such remaining spark. He barely seemed to recognize her these days.
"Goliath," she said quietly, reaching her hand out towards him. He recoiled further into the corner.
"Why have you come here?" he asked sadly.
"I."she started. Why had she come here? She used to visit him often when he had first come to live here, but now she only came once a year, always on this same day.
"I thought that maybe today, of all days, you might need.someone." she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Goliath seemed to sink further into the floor as he buried his face in his hands, bringing his wings up around him to protect Elisa from the sight of his pitiful weeping.
"Why have you come here?" Goliath sobbed. Elisa heard the danger in his voice, as the last syllable turned up in anger. "All I need," he growled, "is to forget. So why do you return here, always on this day? Is it your aim to make forgetting impossible for me? Is it your intention that I should, every year on this day, be reminded of the events which I have tried to forget so hard? Do you think coming here will help me to be less alone? No, your coming here only reminds me of just how alone I am." He was standing now, tears streaming mercilessly down his face. Elisa was also weeping freely, crying for her friend, her love. "Go now, and please," Goliath began, barely able to compose himself, "if anything remains of the love you once felt for me, you will never come here again."