Greg Weisman is the genius behind Gargoyles, not me.

Expanded version of some drabbles written for challenge100 LJ community's challenge #53, "Nothing But Words" (using the word "shadows").

Rejection
Chapter 1
by Zzilly14


The golden-haired young woman walked slowly down the street, staring at the littered sidewalk. Her brown slacks covered unshaven legs and she was wearing a simple red blouse that buttoned down the middle.

She had been living in a New York apartment for five months and still couldn't greet the faces she passed. She hid herself from the world, afraid of being hurt again.

Her heart ached for someone, someone who would respect her and love her and never leave her. But each time she thought she found a decent guy, he turned out to be a cheater or just a stupid jackass. Maybe New York wasn't the best place to find Mr. Right.

"Hey Blondie. Wanna play?"

She looked up cautiously to see a gang of three men surrounding her, holding bats and maces.

"Um... no thanks," she stuttered. "I... must be going."

She spun around and quickly ran away from them, not noticing the shadows hovering over her.

She could hear the footsteps behind her, but she continued running faster and faster. How did she get herself into these situations?

Suddenly she heard one of the men screaming. The other two gang members yelled and she was relieved to hear their steps scurrying the other direction.

She stopped and hunched over, out of breath. It was then she realized the shadows of her heroes.

She turned around and was shocked to see two winged creatures unlike any she had ever seen.

"What are... You have... You're not..." She fainted, falling into the crimson gargoyle's arms.

...

"Let's go back to the tower," Brooklyn told his friend Lexington. "We can't leave her alone out here with those thugs around."

Minutes later the two gargoyles arrived back at clocktower. They brought the unconscious woman inside and forced Hudson out of his recliner before laying her delicately on it.

"Where's Elisa?" Lexington asked the older gargoyle.

"She had to... uh... use the facilities? She said she'd be back soon."

"Hey guys!" Elisa smiled, walking up the stairs. She looked at the woman and gasped. "Oh my... what happened?"

"I think she fainted," stated Lexington. "Will she be okay?"

She felt the woman's forehead and nodded. "She should be fine. You probably just scared her, that's all."

"That's all we ever do," Brooklyn spat. "Scare people. Sometimes I really hate being a gargoyle." He punched the wall angrily and stormed out of the room.

Lexington sighed and followed him outside, finding his friend staring at the city sadly.

"Brook? It's not the end of the world. We'll be accepted by humans again. Someday."

"But not today," he replied bitterly.

...

The woman found herself in a castle of some sorts. Is this a dream? she thought. She looked to her right and saw a raven-haired woman sitting, reading a book.

"Hello?"

She looked up from the novel and smiled. "Hey there. How you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess... how long was I out?"

"About two hours," she said as she glanced at her watch. "Something must've spooked you pretty bad."

She shuddered. "It was terrible and unreal. They were..."

"Real live gargoyles?"

"Yes... how did you...?"

"They're my friends," she smiled. "They saved you from a bunch of goons, right?"

"I think so," she replied, scratching her head. "But they looked so... evil."

The woman laughed. "Actually, quite the opposite. The gargoyles are like... protective shadows. They watch your back, but they do it secretively."

She pondered this new information as Elisa told her all about these interesting creatures.

...

The crimson gargoyle felt powerless. True, he could scare the bad guys away. But he didn't want to scare the good guys, the people he saved. He felt disgusted with himself as he observed the city life of Manhattan.

"You're Brooklyn, right?"

He turned around from his despair and was surprised to see the shy young woman.

"That's me," he smiled awkwardly. "Uh... what's your name?"

"Sarah." She brushed a few strands of blonde hair behind her ear. "Elisa told me about you... gargoyles. And I'm sorry for fainting on you. I just never realized mythical creatures could really exist."

"Hey, it's okay," he lied. "Don't worry about it."

She smiled softly, almost forgetting the tragedy that was her life.

Brooklyn thought for a moment. "Would you like a tour of the city?"

"I kind of live here," she laughed.

"But I bet you haven't had the aerial tour," he grinned.

All of the sudden he grabbed her and he took to the air, gliding happily for the first time in weeks.

"Wow!" Sarah exclaimed. "This is amazing!"

Brooklyn held her warmly against his chest as he glided above the bright lights of the city.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"I never thought it could be... beautiful..." she uttered almost sadly.

After a half hour Brooklyn headed for a nearby rooftop and landed gently, letting Sarah escape his embrace.

"I need to... uh... rest my wings for a few minutes. Is that okay?"

"Sure," she nodded, turning away from him. She stared at the shadows cast by the buildings, thinking about Elisa's stories. "Why are you afraid?"

"What?"

"You're afraid of something. I can sense it."

"I'm not scared of anything, Sarah," he said almost angrily.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

Sarah faced him curiously. "If you're not afraid, then why do you hide?"

"Because you humans are afraid of us!" Brooklyn screamed. Then he sighed heavily, letting his voice quiet. "To you, we're scary monsters. But we're not. Our job is to protect humans. And unless we're doing that..."

"You lurk in the shadows," Sarah finished.

"I just hate this world sometimes. I hate it that I scare people. I hate being rejected." He observed the city sadly. "I hate being a gargoyle. Maybe if I were human, it wouldn't be so bad..."

"Rejection isn't limited to gargoyles," she informed him.

Brooklyn gazed at the blonde-haired woman, whose tears had started to fall.

"I've been rejected all my life. I never had many friends, and the ones I have now are too busy traveling around the world. They don't have time for me anymore.

"And guys? I should probably just forget them. The only ones that give me a chance only want one thing. When they realize they won't get it, they dump me like a piece of trash."

"I'm sorry," the gargoyle uttered empathetically. "I'm sorry no one sees you for the great person you are."

"I'm not a great person," Sarah uttered solemnly. "I judged you before I knew you."

"Shrek fan?" Brooklyn mused.

She laughed. "Yeah. One of my favorite movies. I've seen it so many times. You'd think I'd learn a thing or two from it..." She sat down on the edge, letting her legs dangle over the city.

"Sarah," he encouraged as he stood on the ledge next to her. "Don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes. We all do stupid things. Especially me..."

"You? Now it's my turn to say don't be hard on yourself."

The gargoyle looked down at a couple getting out of taxi and watched them as they headed inside an apartment building.

"I haven't had much luck in the romance department either, Sarah. The only females I've liked... they rejected me. I always go for the wrong ones, I guess. And it's hard. See, there aren't many gargoyles around today. The only one here in Manhattan already has a mate. Sometimes I think I'll never find the right gargoyle."

Sarah put her hand on Brooklyn's arm. "Maybe it's because your match isn't a gargoyle."

He stared into her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," she replied with a smile. "What I mean is... you never know where you'll find that special someone."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Brooklyn cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So... um... I should get you back to the clocktower. I need to patrol... and, uh, it's almost sunrise anyway."

"The stone sleep thing," she remembered. "Can I see you again?"

"You mean, hang out?" he asked nervously.

"I'd like that a lot," she beamed.

TO BE CONTINUED...