It was slow going on the flight back, with the extra weight of the unconscious Gargoyle dragging them down. They had to stop four times to switch off when their wings got tired but they eventually made it back to their clan just as the sun started coming up over the trees. They dropped gently in front of the Hummel house and set the stranger on his side, on the ground.

"Mom, Dad!" Finn yelled even as he moved toward the house. Their mom popped her head out before he reached her.

"What's wrong Finny?"

"We need your help," he pointed back to where Sam stood and Kurt kneeled beside the unconscious stranger. "We found him by the lake."

"Don't get too close boys," Carole hurried toward them, gliding to her knees, wings folding into her back so she had room to move. "He's a rogue," she confirmed Kurt's earlier suspicions. "Looks like he used to be in Schuester's clan. There's still a bit of his clan mark left from when they tried to remove it. Whatever reason they had for banning him from their clan, it must have been bad for them to cause this much damage."

Kurt nodded. Their clan didn't beat its members for their wrongdoings but he knew that some did, especially if a member was banned. There had been reports of Gargoyles dying after being beaten and left by their clan but to Kurt's knowledge, there had been no deaths in their area. The stranger they'd found could have been the first if the hadn't stopped at the lake.

Every Gargoyle, at birth, was given the insignia of their clan, placed on their back just above their left wing. If, for some reason, they were ever banished from their clan, they were forced to undergo a painful process to remove the mark. His parents had told him and Finn that it felt like someone was trying to burn their wings one by one and each burnt feather was more painful. The pain lasted for hours, long after the clan had carried them off their property. It was enough for him and Finn to behave.

"Is he going to die?" Finn asked in a tone Kurt hadn't heard since Rory had been hurt by a hunter when he'd lost control of his cloaking abilities and his wings had been exposed. Rory had been bed-ridden for a month while he healed and every day for a week Finn asked if his young friend was going to live in the same tone he was using now.

"He'll be fine," Carole assured them. "It's mostly just bruises and it feels like a few broken ribs. I'll try to get him to absorb some tea and we'll find a place for him to rest."

"Thanks Mom," Kurt kissed her cheek. Some, probably most, leaders would have punished him, Finn, and Sam for bringing a rogue Gargoyles, even though he was injured, into their village but his parents had always been more open-minded. One of their clan was a healer and brewed healing teas and soothing lotions, something that other clans didn't believe in but Kurt had seen them work. He trusted Dr Jones, Mercedes' Mom, to know what was best for him when he was hurt.

Kurt stood back and let his mom fuss over the rogue until she was satisfied that she's assessed his injuries to the best of her knowledge. Other than Dr Jones, Carole Hudson was the best in the clan when it came to diagnosis injuries.

"Alright boys, let's move him to a bed."

"Where do you want us to go?" Finn asked as he carefully lifted the rogue's upper body and Sam took the lower body. They followed Kurt, who followed his mom, to one of the empty homes in the village and the unconscious Gargoyle was placed on the bed. "Someone should stay with him."

"Kurt, would you mind?" his mom turned to look at him. Kurt just nodded. Even if she hadn't asked, he probably would have stayed. There was something about the rogue that made him want to stay nearby.

Carole ushered the other two out, insisting that the injured rogue needed his rest and they could visit once he woke. Kurt sank into a chair near the foot of the bed, listening to the sounds of the young Gargoyles playing outside in the village square. It was peaceful. The only time he was interrupted was when Carole returned with some healing tea to coat the rogue's wings. Since their power came from their wings, swallowing any kind of healing aid wouldn't work. It had to be absorbed by the feathers of their wings to have any effect.

Once she left, he was alone again. He spent what seemed like hours memorizing every detail of the rogue's body down to the different swirls in the feathers of his dark wings. His eyes racked back to the rogue's face and he gasped. The stranger was awake.

Kurt knew he should move, go get his mom and tell her that her patient had regained consciousness, but he couldn't move. The rogue's eyes were locked on his and Kurt felt frozen to his chair. He couldn't move but he wasn't afraid. Somehow he knew this rogue didn't want to hurt him, that he could be trusted. Kurt let himself relax into the feeling and the more he did, the more he was able to free himself from his invisible chains.

"Hi," he said to the rogue now that he could move. "My name's Kurt. Me and some friends found you and brought you to our village because you were hurt."

"I'm Puck."