Brooklyn snorted and walked off. Cora had disappeared with Owen/Puck and left without a word to him. Not that he wanted her exactly to blurt out what they had just been up to in the woods alone. Thinking about that he felt the heat rise in his skin and towards his face. Gargoyles couldn't blush. But he could feel both embarrassed and turned on again. He seriously couldn't believe that he did that with her in the freaking woods. It wasn't necessarily out of the ordinary for a gargoyle. But Cora wasn't his mate. In fact she told him over and over again she wasn't looking for one. She wasn't even a gargoyle. Ugh he couldn't imagine what the rest of his clan was going to say. Or would say if they knew. Goliath had a human mate. Or mostly human if Cora was correct. And he absolutely couldn't see him and Elisa acting like that. But Brooklyn wasn't going to say a word about it until he talked to Cora. He got the idea she would be especially displeased with him if he did. A loud noise from the house made him turn and look. Laughter followed so he assumed it wasn't something awful. More laughter and another crashing noise made him turn and walk back.
Inside the Macnamara clan was telling the others about the evening.
"What do you mean the lad goes invisible?" Hudson asked. His voice tired and questioning.
Johnathan smiled and shifted. The shimmer and outline of his body more obvious in the house against the background of furniture and colors not always found in nature. Gasps from around the room made him laugh so hard he reappeared as visible and mostly human looking as normal. Save the forest green hair.
"That is basically a kind of illusion magic that Harker witches can do, hes still there, but you can't really see him. Not terribly dissimilar to what Puck and Cora will be doing to your castle in new york" Patrick explained.
"I'd love for you to explain what they are actually going to be doing to our home" Fox said as she came back down the stairs. Her end of pregnancy form making it harder and less comfortable for her to get around. Xanatos helped his wife to the couch by the fireplace and stood beside her.
"All our kind ward our homes. Either with one like this lodge, making it unplotable. Meaning if you aren't invited in specifically you will wander right past or through it and never know its here. Other places that were once very public, Like Wyvern castle have a slightly different kind of illusion magic. Those a demolished an abandoned looking shell is made. Any person, gargoyle or witch could walk right in and look around. And not see anything but the destroyed home and decay. But those who are invited in will walk through and see whats really inside." Patrick explained.
"Won't it be obvious though, to the hunters when they see all of us coming and going?" Xanatos asked.
"It will, If you head directly in and someone is following you then they will see you just vanish. And a witch is going to know you have a ward there. But Cora had said something about making you guys a few very short portals in and out. That way the Xanatoses can come and go from their other business buildings and the gargoyles can come and go from different roof tops unseen. The hunters and Orfeo will likely know its a vanishing portal of some kind. But hopefully none would ever be stupid enough to follow you through" Colin added. Grimacing as he said the last words.
"What would be so dangerous about the portals?" Goliath asked suspiciously.
"If its an invited being absolutely nothing. If its a hunter trying to chase and kill one of you? Yea the portal won't spit you out at the castle. I wouldn't put it past Cora to make it spit them out into a furnace. Or her personal favorite. The middle of the Atlantic. And given that a human can't swim that far and we've never seen an Orfeo of the aquatic variety. Its about the same end." Patrick answered.
All three of the Macnamara younglings winced when Patrick mentioned the words aquatic variety Brooklyn took notice. So Cora was right and their leader might not be thrilled with their choice in mates. According to her they didn't actually need his permission. Traditionally in a clan of gargoyles, or at least the Scottish ones the younglings in question would bring it up to the leader and the second in command. Katsumi had to ask her parents permission before hand, but she implied that it was more like any child asking permission to leave home. Her home clan no longer had the communal egg raising custom. And each set of parents had multiple children that knew their biological parents. More than the Manhattan and Wyvern clans ever did.
"Why is your second in command going to all this effort for us. Particularly when she has made it clear she is not a fan of my second in command." Goliath asked.
"Brooklyn has that affect on all females" Broadway interjected. Lexington breaking out in laughter before his mate elbowed him to cut him off.
Brooklyn snorted out loud. He had many things running through his head he wanted to say but was going to keep to himself.
"Cora is really the softest, kindest most protective person in the world. And she loves bambinos. But aside from that she has a duty in our culture to help Puck protect his wards, Alex and his sibling" Antoni said gesturing to Alex and Fox.
"Why?" Fox blurted out.
The Macnamara clan and the sole Harker looked at each other. There was something obvious that they knew and hadn't said.
"Cora has more fae genetics than the rest of us, more fae kin. Its also why her magic is way stronger than any of ours. Her and Puck are... kin. But for his sake we never mention it" Patrick told them.
Rubbing her temples with her hands Fox knew exactly what Patrick meant.
"Because if Oberon found out that more of his children had recently had offspring with other races he would get really pissed. And Puck is in enough trouble with him to begin with" Fox said.
"Exactly. Cora went as far as to put the gag spell of all of us to prevent us from saying any more. And she would not be pleased if you told anyone" Patrick added.
"She isn't going to be pleased with you for spilling the beans either Patrick" Colin said gruffly.
Patricks reply was cut off by several ringing phones. The gargoyles, humans and witches alike all jumping at the sound. Elisa picking up first to hear her partner Matt yelling in panic into the phone. After assuring him that no one in fact was actually in the castle right now. She quickly turned on the tv to get the news. Immediately video footage of a massive aerial attack on the castle with the charred remains in a smoldering heap. The center caved in and destroyed.
"Wow. Umm. Puck and Cora really went for it didn't they?" Antoni said with a snort.
"Please tell me that my multi million dollar home isn't actually destroyed" Xanatos said. Stepping forward to look more closely at the destruction on the tv. Even Bronx creeped closer and whined at the sight of the smoldering wreck of castle Wyvern.
"No, its a shell, Almost like another dimension bubble around the actual castle. They just put some serious effort into making it look like its been destroyed. Note none of the police photos got a really good look at the aggressors. People are way harder to make illusions out of on that scale." Patrick said in an amused tone.
The news station then dropped to a interview. Puck as Owen being interviewed outside the building down at street level. Debris and chard chunks of stone everywhere. But miraculously it looked like not a single thing was damaged. Not so much as a parking meter was bent.
"The building and residence above have suffered a serious terrorist attack. But the only cautiously optimistic part is the Xanatos family and all the employees were either out of residence or in far low enough levels to remain uninjured" Owen stated smoothly.
Cora was no where to be seen. A reporter asked where Xanatose and family were.
"My employers had decided to take a long holiday through Europe at the moment. They were not scheduled to return for months. Though now with this vicious and uncalled for attack on their home and lively hood they may return briefly to oversee damages and any possible reconstruction. However as far as the structural engineers are telling us the Castle as a residence or place of business is a total loss. If any rebuilding is done it may be only possible to salvage some of the lower level offices." Owen again answered smoothly and devoid of any emotion.
"Owen is more sly than I take him for" Xanatos said smirking.
"I don't think they are going to be back for a while yet. Probably not till sometime during the day Cora is texting me. She says the ward illusion went great. But the new portals are going to take some time to work out." Colin told the others after checking his phone at the tink sound of a message.
"It is close to sunrise as it is. We should eat and then get some rest. Including you Harker. After they get back I expect the Manhattan clan all would like to go check out the castle." Patrick said. His face looked annoyed for a second before he turned to go into the kitchen. Broadway following him offering to help make food. Patrick's last attempt without Cora home was apparently pretty bad.
Brooklyn guessed that Patrick was annoyed that Cora was texting Colin and not him.
Sometime later after eating and waiting around everyone shifted to human with the incomming daylight. Most everyone. Bronx started whining and barking immediately. The shift to human was jarring for the rest of them and it took a second for them to notice that Hudson had not turned human in the daylight. But subtly shifted to stone as gargoyles usually do. Angela and Katsumi made it to him first. Touching his stone form in panic.
"Father!?" Angela yelled in fear.
"Why didn't he turn human like us? Does the potion wear off...he didn't pass away?" Goliath asked quickly. His voice had a hard and nervous edge to it.
Gio walked to him and set a hand on Hudson's shoulder. Holding it there and then breathing a sigh of relief.
"He's just sleeping. Was he injured in any way? Even Patrick or Colin will go to stone during the day if they need to heal" Gio said confidently.
"Are you sure? How can you tell?" Angela asked again. She looked worried and confused as the rest of them. She had also never seen a gargoyle die. Of old age or injury. So she was very upset.
"Yup, incubus here. I can still feel his life force. He's just sleeping. If Cora was here she could tell you exactly what was wrong. In fact she probably would have warned him before it happened." he replied.
Suspiciously Katsumi narrowed her eyes at him.
"Why can Cora tell more than you?" She asked coolly. She had hear stories of just what Cora and the boys kind could do. And she was not a fan.
"Females are always more gifted magically than the males. Cora can tell what a being is, even cloaked, by the way their life force feels. She can tell if someone is injured, who has a mate, who is having a baby before they even know. Hell Cora and her mom could tell us what gender a baby or egg would be before it was born or hatched. However she keeps those kind of things to herself unless asked for their own privacy" Patrick told her proudly.
Colin started texting again quickly before snapping his phone shut and turning back to everyone.
"Cora and Puck will be here in a little while. Though they know she needs to check on Hudson. Ill take first watch and let the rest of you get some sleep and Gio and Antoni were gonna take Johnathan home quick. But they'll probably be back before Cora and Puck are" Colin said calmly.
With a pop Puck and Cora landed spinning. Setting Cora down first Puck then spun fast until he was once again in the shape of Owen.
"Speak of the devil and she appears" Patrick snapped as Cora sipped a take out cup of coffee and help a paper bag in her other hand. "You stopped for food?"
"I do that much magic and I get hungry. Sue me Jersey Devil" Cora said between bites of what looked like a glazed doughnut before adding "Sto morendo di fame, vuoi che mangi uno dei tuoi ospiti? No? Quindi smetti di lamentarti."
Walking directly to Hudson she paused. Setting the coffee and food down on the table Cora placed one hand very gently on his stone shoulder. With a roll of her own shoulders she shifted to her actual Succubus form. As hauntingly beautiful as ever. Causing Katsumi to hiss and step closer at the sight of her darkened eyes. With another roll Cora snapped right back and ignoring Katsumi she plopped onto the couch beside Fox.
"Your Hudson is literally just sleeping. He is exhausted. Has anyone noticed if he actually sleeps at all during the day as a human? I would guess he has not. I would also guess hes not comfortable enough to sleep as a human, not being at home. Not with all his clan's younglings up and about and not in their usual forms. The potion is only working well enough to make you human ish to avoid the sun. If he needs to go to stone he is going to. Angela and Katsumi probably would as well in the future. In addition to the rest of you if you are injured." Cora said.
"Why?" Angela asked in alarm.
Cora stopped feeding herself and Bronx bites of doughnut. Looking up she smiled at the young gargoyle turned human.
"If you choose to have hatchlings pregnancy is very tireing. Aside from napping at night you may also go to stone during the day. That is if you want hatchlings, not everyone does" Cora answered her matter of factly.
Angela smiled and seemed satisfied with that answer. And would have questioned Cora more if Owen hadn't walked back into the room. Carrying a laptop, Briefcase and paperwork.
"I would suggesting going back to the castle during daylight. As no one else knows the Gargoyles turn human during the day they will not be expecting them to return. And they assume the Xanatoses are still in Europe" Owen said coolly.
"I do not disagree. But I wouldn't want to leave Hudson here alone. He would be rather short with us this evening I think" Xanatose said. His usual smirk returning at the thought of returning to his own home. No matter how gracious the Macnamaras were he was still wanting his wife and son home and safe.
Cora yawned before replying.
"My younglings are going to see their cousin home and probably be there for a few days. I want nothing more than to take a nap. Ill watch over him and then take him back tonight" Cora said tiredly.
Bronx whined and curled up closer to Hudsons form. He didn't usually go far from his friend now.
"One of the trio can stay back and fly home with Hudson." Goliath ordered.
"Fly to one of the office building rooftops you mean. The portal is always going to be on the side of the brickwork facing south, usually next to the ac units." Owen interjected.
"Ill stay, before my brothers can get into a rageing not it fight" Brooklen added. He wanted to stay specifically to talk to Cora, but he was not going to tell Goloath that.
"Very well, Bronx can stay here as well if he likes." Goliath added.
The Manhatten clan readied themselves and took off in one of the larger helicopters. Leaving the Macnamara clan behind and the lodge quiet and still for a moment. Then scrambling and laughing as the four younglings grabbed things and bags and went careening out the door.
"You don't get to bug off that easily Patrick" Cora said quickly.
"Why?" He asked uneasily.
"I have a stack of business work and you have three meetings in the city to get to. Have fun with that. I'm tired, I'm not doing it" Cora said.
Huffing as Patrick walked off and headed to another part of the house before leaving. The sound of crunching gravel telling both Patrick and Cora that he had left a short time later. Bronx had already curled up and was sleeping soundly next to Hudson's sleeping form. Cora smiled at that and went to head to her room. She got to about halfway up the steps before Brooklyns voice stopped her.
"Cora... I think we need to talk" Brooklyn said quietly.
Without a sound she turned and sat down on the wooden steps. Funnily enough this put her at face height to Brooklyn in his human form still.
"You know you really don't pass for human well" She said in observation.
"Wait what?" Brooklyn stuttered. Looking at his very human shaped hands.
"Humans our approximate age don't have silver hair. Are rarely as tall and muscular as you. And most frigging defiantly do not have pointed ear tips" Cora said in amusement.
Brooklyn's hands shot up and he felt his ear though his hair. Dam she was right.
"It's either a side affect of using your own gargoyle hair for the spell, or very much like me you have a mix of genetics. Almost all kinds of fae have tipped ears" Cora explained.
"I am not a fucking fairy women" Brooklyn snapped at her. His irritation growing as quickly as the sun was rising in the sky.
"What the hell would be wrong if you were? My whole family is mixed. I'm mixed. My ears are tipped as well when I don't hide it" Cora asked in confusion.
"I am a gargoyle. Not some sort of..." Brooklyn hissed while gesturing with his hands. He didn't know how to explain what he was saying and it sure as hell was not coming out in any way that Cora appreciated.
Standing up Cora now was about a head taller than him. Her expression dark and angry.
"Some sort of what? Monster? Freak?" She snarled low.
Eyeing Brooklyn and then Bronx further into the large main living room she turned and started stomping up the steps and down a hallway. Turning sharply to the right and then up another hallway.
"Will you wait?!" Brooklyn called after her.
All but flying up the steps after her. For all her human form she could move fast. In return Cora gave him the finger over her shoulder and kept walking away from him. With a growl Brooklyn jumped foreword and grabbed her. Knocking her into the steps with a thud. It sounded like he knocked the wind out of her. She went to spin and face him. But Brooklyn snatched her arms in one hand and then her waist in the other. Pinning her to the carpeted stairs with his weight.
"That hurt and your still heavy" Cora snarled.
The thought of hurting her made Brooklyn release her arms and quickly turn her in his. Partially kneeling so he could pull her to a leaned back sitting position under him.
"Im sorry, I don't know why I did that." Brooklyn started to say.
"Or why you decided to call me a freak?" Cora said acidly.
"I did not call you anything! I just don't appreciate being called a fairy. Or fae. Only they can do magic. And well Demona. And she is a raging bitch most of the time" Brooklyn stammered out.
"Exactly. Only fae can do magic. And gargoyles in your clan obviously can. Its probably generations and generations back. But none of you even keep track of your own children so how would you know" Cora said rolling her eyes.
"We do keep track of our children. We just raise them communally. Or or clan use to" Brooklyn added.
"That would never fly in a million years for my kind. Try and tell a witch her baby belongs to everyone in that sense and she will. freak. out." Cora told him. Punctuating the last few words. "Its also a pretty bad idea going forward considering how few gargoyles there are left. If you don't keep track you are all going to end up inbred."
Huffing Brooklyn was going to let her up. And thought better of it. He wanted to talk to her about last night and letting her run off wouldn't be helpful.
"Listen about last night. We... are you and I?" Brooklyn started out. Not sure how to say what he was thinking.
"Are we what?" Cora asked. Her face as confused as his was now embarrassed.
He felt blood rush to his face and cheeks and felt his body temp start to rise. It felt weird.
"Mates? Are we" He gritted out.
Cora's face went blank and then paled before going bright pink.
"NO! No, that does not make us mates according to my kind. Oh my god!" she said looking panicked. "That's not how your kind?" She didn't finish the sentence.
"No, we have a ceremony. Either private or in front of the whole clan. We just usually wait to mate with our mates till after that" Brooklyn told her. Not feeling any less uncomfortable.
She breathe out deeply and looked like she relaxed tenfold.
"One that's weird that you don't make sure you are physically compatible first. And two no. Witches only marry or take a mate as you would say at a clan gathering. The male, either point blank asks the female to be his wife, mate, spouse...whatever you want to call it. Or he asks her to dance in front of the rest of the clan, or clans. Whomevers there. If she says yes then they are together forever. If she says no, but then immediately asks him to dance that means not yet ask me again later. It's a whole dam thing" Cora explained. Gesturing broadly with her hands.
"Asking a female to dance at a party is the same as a whole commitment ceremony?" Brooklyn asked. Both confused and intrigued.
"Yup. Occasionally some clans have actual weddings later on. But that is frequently for the parents. Especially if its a witch marrying a human. Or say its two females becoming mates. Actually not a rarity in some of the clans that are almost entirely female. So while its not my thing. It's their thing and I am happy for them. I take it that is not something you are very familiar with?" Core said questioning him.
"Ah no. I grew up in medieval christian scotland. It was not a thing at that point. But I also wasn't very interested or involved in anybody's love lives at that point. We were pretty young before the mage cast the spell on us" Brooklyn told her.
"It's usually included in the talk parents give their younglings. Umm. I had to pretty much awkwardly wing it with our clans younglings. But I am fairly sure they have it solidly figured out now." Cora said.
Kneeling over her Brooklyn looked down at her. When she wasn't pissed at him she was exquisitely beautiful. And she could be kind and caring and compassionate when she wasn't being so dam stubborn. Her lips very deep pink and inviting. Her body radiated warmth up at his through her clothing. He could feel it on his exposed human skin. The room air cool in comparison. Maybe asking her to be.. Brooklyns thoughts trailed off as his lost his focus thinking. He quickly put an arm under her hips. Scooting her onto the tops of his thighs and pushing his hips into hers. Feeling his heart pound and his chest and other things tighten. Leaning his head down to kiss her she abruptly stopped him.
"NO. No, no, no, no. That is just too weird." Cora said scrambling out of his arms.
"What?" Brooklyn couldn't get any other clear and logical thoughts going. Pulling her back under him and taking her on the steps was the only think going through his head.
"I am not kissing you when you look like that right now. Its too weird" Cora said as she pushed herself a few steps up and away from him.
Breathing deeply Brooklyn tried to pull himself together. And not reach and pull Cora right back into his arms. Thinking about how warm and tight her body was. And they fit together made him growl softly. About how incredibly soft and silky her skin is and how it squeezed in his claws in a way that gargoyle skin just didn't. He wondered if her skin would taste any different and his eyes threatened to glow white even in his human face.
"Hey you!" Cora snapped. "I said not right now. I am not kissing human you right after Gargoyle you and I just" Her face turning a brilliant shade of red and she looked like she was going to break out sweating.
Cora quickly stood and got to the top of the steps. Brooklyn crouched and then jumped and landed right beside her. Pulling her into his arms immediately. Briefly he wondered which bedroom was hers. But then not caring. The softly carpeted floor would be just as good as the pine needles in the forest. He went to turn her chin up to his and made a noise when she burried it in his chest instead and pushed his face and chin up and away so he couldnt so much as reach the top of her head to kiss it.
"We can not do that right now. No matter what our hormones are telling us. I am already slightly sore. Trying to do that again right away and I'll end up very very sore" Cora told him.
"I hurt you?" Slight panic running through his veins was as effective as a cold bucket of water.
"No, I've just never done that before. And no matter what kind of female its probably best to give that a bit of a break" Cora explained.
Brooklyn could swear he could feel how embarrassed Cora was threw his skin.
"I'm going to go to my room and sleep. You should head downstairs and try and get some sleep on the couch" Cora said gently.
"You don't want me to sleep with you?" Brooklyn asked softly.
"Would we sleep?" Cora asked in return. Pushing back and out of his arms.
Now Brooklyn could see that while her cheeks were bright pick her eyes had gone a shiny black. With that she turned and headed to the farthest room on the right. He noted where she was in case he needed to come back to protect her. Or he thought wryly if he really couldn't control his thoughts and hormones at some later time. Also noting that her room was the only one on this end of the house. Rubbing his face in his hands took a little bit of the edge off. Human fingers felt strange with no claws at the tips. With that he headed back downstairs.