The Long Game (Part 2?) (IY x Gargoyles; gen)

It was while she was concentrating on pouring her reiki into the stone, reinforcing what was already there, furthering her protection on the ancient building, that she felt it—that nervous energy that she hadn't felt from this particular gargoyle since she met him. Through the established pattern of chores—castle protection, patrol, special assignments with Elisa, or, occasionally, a night off—and her own patterns, she had ended up spending the most time with Lexington. Though wingless and needing to be carried by one of the other clan members when she decided to join them on patrol, she often chose to stay in the castle at night; and though Goliath tried to be fair, it was Lexington who was most often left at the castle to babysit. Not that he minded in the least. Being fond of children herself, they would often find each other wherever Alex was, and had quickly formed a friendship.

**Need more here**

This was the first time he was truly nervous to approach her. She continued on as she was, allowing him to gather himself enough to approach her. When she finally got to a good stopping point, she closed the ward for this part of the building and turned to him.

Now, he was distracted from his nerves. "What are you doing?"

"I'm re-laying my wards. Have you ever wondered how your castle stayed in such excellent condition, when others in this day and age are in complete disrepair, or have been recycled stone by stone? When I first found this castle—and all of you—I laid down wards of protection, both to protect the stones from breaking and to be alerted should something happen within the perimeter of their protection. David was the only one capable of breaking the spell because he was the only one I allowed to penetrate so far into my wards, to allow him to even move the castle, stone by stone, above the clouds. But once he broke the spell, so too did my wards break. I'm re-laying them now as an extra layer of protection (at least until the Quarrymen matter has been resolved). Though I'd rather not set the wards over you and the others, as I have no idea how they will behave while you're not in spelled sleep, I can at least guarantee that you will not die from a fall, or stray rubble, during the daytime; and should I sense malevolence near my barriers, I will come running, and those who dare harm me or mine will regret it. But that isn't what you came here to ask."

"I…finished the last book a couple days ago."

"Was the ending not to your liking?"

"It's not that. I'm happy with how it ended but…that's not the end, is it? If you were so happy with him…Where's Inuyasha now?"

"He's dead, Lexington."

"What? But you said Sesshoumaru and others are still alive, and he's half demon, so how—"

"It wasn't the demon blood that was the problem, but the human blood. He died of old age, Lex. We had always thought that it was his mating mark that was keeping me alive and unaging, but in reality it was the Shikon. We had spent a century together when I'd begun to suspect. He was growing older…and I wasn't.

"How long ago did he…"

"He passed on two centuries ago. We had three children—two boys and a girl—but, with more human blood in them, their lives were even shorter than his; the Shikon's power is not passed down. They followed him not a century later."

"After that loss, how could you…"

"One thousand years ago, nearly your entire clan was destroyed," she began abruptly. "Six of you were put into enchanted sleep, and when you awoke, the world had changed completely, and there were few you could trust. How did you manage to move on?"

"We made the city our castle. We found new allies."

"You found a new purpose in life." She paused. "I grieved. I grieved for such a long time. Then, one day, Sesshoumaru offered me a job. It wasn't so different from what Inuyasha and I, and our children, had been doing all along. The youkai community has shrunk over the years, and as such those who remain have either gathered close or scattered. Sesshoumaru, with hints from me, had built a business empire. He told me that he would give me unlimited funds to travel the world and seek out and help those youkai and hanyou and others in the community who had grown distant, and to also look out for his business interests, generally natural resource conservation. It may surprise you, but youkai were the first to begin the environmentalist movements around the world. They are wild, they need nature. He gave me a purpose in life, a way to spend my days until the Shikon loses its power. And then one day in Scotland, I was tracking down a family of banshees when I ran across the ruins of a castle, guarded by six gargoyles…" She smiled wryly.