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Brood of a New Age

113.

Lexington forgot about the more than embarrassing - but to AMP more than funny - conversation the two had just had via their chat when he saw Nashville frustratedly trying to play Gameboy while buried between Bronx and Broadway, one of Bronx's massive paws on his head. Angela, in turn, was lying crosswise on top of all three of them. As all the gargoyles had quickly realized, it made them all sleepy just doing nothing in the rookery. So the gargoyles fell asleep here, even though they didn't really need to.

"Hey Beaked Wonder," Lex whispered and crouched down in front of him, grinning broadly. He had a normal skin color again - normal for him. And he could now move every part of his body again, albeit a little clumsily and with that frightening but much quieter crunching sound in all his joints. Two or three nights and he would be back to normal.

Nash's eyes lit up with joy when he saw him. He switched off the Gameboy and held out his arms to him.

"Save me!" he whispered a little hoarsely, making Lex giggle.

Bronx grumbled and rubbed his head against Nashville's torso, making the hatchling sigh unhappily. At the same time, Broadway turned his head, opened his mouth and let out a piercing rattling sound accompanied by so much wind that Nashville's hair swayed. Lex hadn't even known gargoyles could snore.

Lex pressed his knuckles against his brow ridge with affection - and a bit of a gloat. "I think -" he stretched his back like a cat - "I think I'll join you for the rest of the night. Looks cozy."

"No, Lex, please," Nash hissed. Anxious not to wake anyone because they'd stuff him full of food again - something Broadway AND Angela apparently found helpful in recovering from a near-death experience.

"What are you complaining about? You four look cute together," Lexington teased, getting stabbed by his nephew's gaze.

"If I wasn't already traumatized, it would screw me up to lie here with my uncle spooning all night," he said in his father's (a younger Brooklyn's) sassy tone so much that Lexington snorted. "Pull me out of here or I'll go crazy! Please!"

Finally heeding the plea, Lex grabbed his hands and pulled. With a groan from the child and crunching of stone upon stone from his body, he was able to free him. Bronx growled and Broadway grumbled sleepily, but by the time all three woke up, sensing that their charge was gone, they were already several meters away. "Hey," Angela called out.

"He has to do his exercises," Lex called over his shoulder, his voice echoing in the rookery.

"Don't bring him late for dinner later," Broadway said in the fatherly tone he had begun practicing sometimes.

"Are Brooklyn and Goliath back?" Nashville asked, stretching one arm and leg and wing at a time so that it creaked again before he started crawling toward the stairs.

"They'll be back in the morning."

Lexington was a little stung that Nashville didn't call Brooklyn Dad anymore. He had last called him that when Brooklyn and he had reunited under the rubble. Later, it had shocked everyone that his last address to his father under the rubble had been "My Second". His brain had already stopped working properly due to a lack of blood and the fact that this was the last way he had spoken to his father hurt. And it ... was profound. Lex didn't know when Nashville would call him Dad again. He no longer denied him his father's title out of spite or because he was angry about being locked up in the rookery before - everyone realized that. He just didn't say it anymore ... because he didn't think about calling him Dad. Maybe in a moment of anger or affection it would cross his lips again. Maybe Brooklyn was already OK. Better than Second, at least. When they got to the stairs, Nashville looked up the steps.

"On two legs today?" he asked.

"As agreed. But you can hold on to the walls."

"Okay," said his little warrior, straightening up and beginning the climb - leaning forward like an old man, tail swinging back and forth as he struggled for balance.

"What does it look like out there?" Nashville asked. The same question every night. Lexington was running out of phrases.

"Good. At least none of us have been held responsible for anything. Although I think once Yale crawls out of her rat hole, she's going to sue us for saving her."

Nashville chuckled.

"She can't sue gargoyles like humans. Without human rights. She'd make quite a fool of herself."

Lexington laughed with him, trying not to let on what he was really thinking. The world out there was spinning too fast even for him right now. He was pleased, he was excited, even happy about the flood of approval for gargoyles and for each and every one of them. He had outed himself in the chat that TINMAN really was Lexington the Gargoyle. Some hadn't believed him, others had gone crazy with happiness. Suddenly there were ten more people in the chat, all of whom were pestering him with questions. He didn't doubt that if he showed up in this chat again, the forum would collapse under new visitors who "just happened" to be there when he logged in. That was cool - but it had a strange aftertaste. And that was just the reaction in the petri dish of the PIT group chat.

He was afraid that they would all have to learn to cope with the human world extremely quickly in order not to get lost in it. Nashville was still being kept away from all of this so as not to interfere with his recovery. No radio, no television. So far, he hadn't questioned this, probably because Xanatos - in an act of believable kindness - had had the television brought to the rookery with a pile of video tapes. But that wouldn't last much longer. Nashville's radius of movement increased exponentially the more agile he became. Yesterday he had already been allowed to glide around the castle with Angela and Hudson. It was only a matter of time before the "most popular boy in America" would have to step into the light. Until they all had to. This was the world of humans and hiding again now would be impossible and wouldn't really contribute to racial understanding if they pretended that so much human attention made them cringe. From one extreme to the other, Lex thought sullenly and hadn't even noticed that Nashville's pace had suddenly picked up. And got even faster. He was wheezing hard.

"Hey, slow down Beaked Wonder, this isn't a race." When Lex caught up again, he saw Nashville's dilated eyes, his twitching nose, his slightly open mouth twisted into a grin. He looked feverish, and yet Lexington knew whose scent he was picking up. They were already at the top of the stairs where he had left the rabbit. Nashville let out a childish, short whoop as he picked up the rabbit and rushed through the door. Panting, he stood in the hallway and looked around with a grin. Left and right along the corridor.

"Where is she?" he asked excitedly.

Lexington clutched his chest and rubbed the spot over his heart. No. It was still there. It wasn't bursting with grief to see Nashville like this. He hated that he had to break the news to him, but he knew he was the best person to do it. He would make him understand- like ripping off a band-aid. Quickly. He stood up on his hind legs and grabbed his nephew by the shoulder. "Nashville. Graziella's not here. She's not coming."

The kid looked at him, the rabbit - the shitty pathetic replacement for his bond mate - in his arms and the dropping expression on his face nearly brought tears to Lex's eyes.

"When is she coming?" he asked quietly.

"Not ... soon. She's probably in Italy by now. She was badly injured, Nash, but she'll recover. She's going back to Italy to heal and go to school there," Lexington said as gently as he could without crying himself. Nashville gasped as if he'd punched him in the stomach and staggered back two steps where he could thankfully lean against the wall. "It-Italy," Nashville stuttered, "Italy. Italy..."

Afraid to see Nashville snap under the painfully stretching bond at that moment, Lex pushed Nashville's head into the rabbit.

"Take a deep breath!" he ordered, and the child did. It was a strange sight. Terrifying, disgusting to human eyes. But Nashville's darting eyes calmed down as he used the bunny with the special stuffing like a hyperventilating person would use a paper bag to get down.

"Good. Good, my big little brother," Lexington purred, rubbing Nashvilles brow ridge with his thumb in encouragement.

"Now lift your head and take a deep breath. Really deep."

Again, Nashville obeyed, then leaned tiredly against the wall like a beaten dog.

"Did she say where she was going? Did she leave a phone number? When can I visit her?"

Lex shook his head. "It's a private school where you're not allowed to make phone calls. And the students aren't allowed to have visitors," Lexington prevaricated, having no idea that his white lies were true.

"Why. Why didn't she come to see me? Before she left?" he asked, hugging the rabbit to him and rubbing his heart. As if it was hurting him. As if an invisible hand were squeezing it.

"She was really injured. And I don't think she wanted you to see her like that."

"Did you talk to her?" he asked.

"Yes. She gave me the rabbit. She said - and I didn't get this - that you knew what it meant."

Nashville looked down at the rabbit in his hands. Thoughtful, puzzled. Slowly, he lifted his head. And he smiled. "I'll wait," he said.

Lex guessed he was looking puzzled. "What?"

"The rabbit. Grigio. Her favorite stuffed animal. He was her best friend. Before she had me, of course. And now she leaves him with me. She is injured now but she will heal and become stronger. For me. She loves me - she's still my friend. She will come back. She'll come back to me." Nashville grinned and hugged the cuddly toy, which was saturated with Graziella's scent - intensified by the stuffing in the bunny's belly.

"You - yes! Exactly, that's what she told me," Lexington said, and was SO relieved that Nashville seemed to be taking it quite well. Maybe it was true that the bond thing wasn't as destructive as the story led them to believe. But ... then again. Nashville had read exactly the message from the cuddly toy that Graziella had wanted to convey to him. Who read ALL THAT from a disgusting stuffed animal? It was almost ... like thought transference.

"It'll probably be a while before she comes back," Lexington said meekly, not wanting to make the child unhappy with the harsh reality. Who knew if Graziella would come back. Children were fickle and so were humans in general. What seemed important one month was - at a distance - just a footnote in memory by the next. And part of Lexington wished that if Nashville was fine without Graziella, she wouldn't come back at all. After all - despite everything - she was a Dracon. Who knew what kind of trouble that would cause in the future. How had it turned out with Romeo and Juliet?

"You shouldn't just wait for her," Lex said carefully, searching for any emotional fluctuations in Nashville's face while he smiled blissfully and rubbed his cheek against Grigio as if he wasn't much too old for a cuddly toy. "You keep the rabbit in your room and only cuddle him when you're sad. If you drag him around all the time, he'll just wear out and fall apart after a few months. You should try to find other friends. Brooklyn promised you he'd let you out on Halloween. You can make friends then."

Nashville lifted his head and stared at him. God- Lex wasn't good at this. He was such a lousy liar. But he held the kid's gaze. He had to manipulate him somewhere into functioning - for an indefinite amount of time or forever. And without him dragging the scent therapy bunny around like a nutcase from now on. God, it was so awkward to see Nash with the rabbit. Like giving a diabetic a lollipop even though he needed insulin in the long run.

"Right," Nashville said after a few seconds. "For the time being."

Lexington nodded in encouragement and bit his tongue to keep from blurting out that the Eyriebuilding's postal department was currently flooded with letters and 80 percent of them were from kids all over the country who wanted to be Nashville's friend. Of course, the clan would choose a few suitable children for Nash to "pass the time" with. But that wasn't his job to teach him today.

"Still up for your exercises?"

Nash smiled as they started moving again. "Sure. She'll be fine in Italy. And I need to be fit too when she comes back. Then I can take her on gliding flights again."

Together they set off again. "But you can do other things to pass the waiting time. Internet. Or a hobby," Lexington babbled. "My projects always help me to distract myself. You find outlets to tolerate being alone. But I'm older than you. I had two dozen rookery siblings until three years ago. So many brothers and sisters that I often slipped away because it just got too much, too loud, too hectic."

"But Brooklyn and Broadway made you their third in the trio."

"I'll let you in on a secret, Nashville."

He leaned towards Nashville as they walked and the latter perked up his ears.

"They didn't make me their friend. I made them both my friends. I chose them."

Nashville leaned slightly away from him again and they both grinned.

"Like me and Graziella," Nash said, and though Lex wished he didn't keep mentioning her, his gaze was more lively now, his walk more steady. His joints barely crunched anymore. As if his faith in her return alone would aid his recovery. Besides, it was nice that he could concentrate on his story.

"Why did you choose Brooklyn and Broadway? You were and are so different."

"For one thing, because there was no other Hatchling like me. I was small and although I was the fastest and most agile in gliding, I struggled in combat training - with those wings. And then there was my interest in everything to do with technology."

"Not that there was much of that in the tenth century."

He nudged Nashville teasingly and the child giggled as she had before this whole nightmare.

"Ohhh, don't say that. There was a lot of stuff. Pulleys, plowshares. I was very interested in physical things. Snow turning to water and steam - the word aggregate states didn't exist yet but - I was fascinated by a lot of things. Once, when the castle was under siege, I sneaked into the enemy camp and removed the bolts from the trebuchets. Do you know what those are?"

"They're-" Nashville rummaged through his memory for the tenth century history lesson. "They're siege weapons, aren't they?"

"They're catapults. Something like that. They would have shelled the castle with them. During the day. When the adult Gargoyles were sleeping on the battlements."

"So you saved the lives of most of the clan?"

Lexington shrugged his narrow shoulders under Nashville's wide eyes. A no-big-deal gesture. "Probably even all of them - and the humans. If the enemies had gotten into the not-quite-finished castle, they wouldn't have taken any prisoners."

"Dad never told me about that."

"Because he doesn't know. No one knew."

"Why didn't you tell anyone? You would have been a hero."

"I would have been a hero with everlasting rookery arrest. I was a hatchling who stole into the enemy camp against orders and without the knowledge of an elder. I could have been discovered at any time. They could have killed me."

Nashville looked rather sheepishly at the ground. The parallels to his story were obvious. Although, of course, Nash hadn't gotten off so lightly.

"Lex?" he asked quietly. And Lexington already suspected what was coming.

"Yes."

"When things get back to normal. Will I still be grounded? Because I ran off and really put the whole clan in danger?"

"Brooklyn knows he can't treat you like that anymore. He really wants to change. They'll probably just let you train until you drop. And you'd probably get out of the rookery the same way you got out the first time," Lexington said, not meaning it as a reproach. He really hoped to unravel the mystery at some point, but he knew now wasn't the time to dig into it.

"I - I know I messed up. Gigantic mess. But ... I can't be chained up at home like a naughty watchbeast anymore."

"I don't think any of us would ever think of chaining up a watchbeast," Lexington said deadpan, making Nashville laugh. He could still laugh. The kid could laugh. He would be fine. He didn't need Graziella Dracon to live. He just needed clan - and friends. Lexington told himself all that internally. He wanted to believe all that. They stepped out into the courtyard and Nashville let his eyes wander over the surroundings as if he were seeing them for the first time. And he seemed ... disappointed. He sighed and stroked his new cuddly toy, lost in thought. God, Lex wanted to cry. Dante had been right. It was a curse. It changed the people it affected. At least the gargoyle it affected. Lex wanted Amp in this situation. He wanted to escape into his arms - soft and snow-white and pristine. Or Dante - strong scarred arms and a biting tongue that didn't spare on insults and kisses because he was a tease and Italian. Lexington shook his head violently to clear his thoughts and cursed Dante for planting these fantasies in his head. That damn son of a bitch. He needed to clear his head. Nashville needed to, too. They needed air and distance and wind. They needed to get airborne.

Lex patted him on the shoulder. "We're gliding now. No more distractions. Put the rabbit down here." He pointed to a bench. Nashville looked at him as if he had gone mad. Like he didn't realize he'd ever have to put the rabbit down again until the real deal was back with him.

"I'll give it back to her when she gets here," Nash said uncertainly. Lexington took a deep breath and stood up straight. Almost at eye level with Nash. In a few years, the kid would be taller than him. He felt so disgusting to say the following. "Nash, you're twenty years old. You're big. You can't carry that rabbit around with you. The others would think you're crazy. And you can't keep talking about Graziella. You'd hurt the others. They're worried about you. You have to pull yourself together even if you're unhappy," he said seriously, staring at his nephew as if he wanted to scrape Graziella Dracon and the bond out of Nashville's head with his gaze alone.

Of course he knew he was playing very dirty right now. He was blackmailing him with his love for the clan - forcing him to block out his other half who had left him. What would a therapist say about that? Nashville wasn't "unhappy" or "sad" - it was so much more, so painful, so soul-crushing that it was a wonder the kid could think and walk and talk without howling like a wolf for his bondmate. But Lexington had to convince him that it was just sadness at losing a friend. That it would only hurt temporarily. That it was "nothing" to talk about or act weird about. Fuckfuckfuck- he hated that. Part of him hated Graziella Dracon for making Nash suffer like this without realizing it and probably without feeling a hint of it herself. And worst of all, he couldn't tell the others about it - couldn't share his burden because they would probably have made it worse.

He told himself that Brooklyn and Katana (and maybe even Nashville) also had information from the past or future that involved him or the clan that they couldn't share. This fantasy helped. When everyone was agonizing over different things, it somehow seemed ... normal. On the other hand, who could say now what of the future the Timedancers had seen would come to pass. He would have to explain that to Nashville the day after tomorrow, when everyone in the clan was together again and what they were secretly afraid of, or at least dreading, was about to happen. But Fox and Xanatos had been working on it for days. It could no longer be rescheduled.

"You need to act normal. You have to glide and fight and act with others and smile even though it hurts. Can you do that?" Lex asked, pressing his claws into Nashville's shoulders. Not that it was really painful for a gargoyle or that blood would have come - but forcefully.

Nashville blinked at him, gulping, his shoulders that Lexington had gripped shaking.

"I ... don't want them to worry," he managed to say.

"Smile," Lex ordered almost desperately. "Show me you can."

The corners of Nashville's mouth lifted. Tense. But ... it looked ... credible. The others, who knew nothing of the bond, would buy it.

Lexington hugged him and Nashville put his arms around his neck because, of course, he couldn't get around his waist.

"You'll be happy. Even without ... "

Lex didn't finish the sentence, blinking away tears. He was an asshole, a bastard, a manipulative psycho. More ones and zeros, logic and reason than simple empathy and heart. He thought of Amp. He didn't deserve a mate if he denied Nashville his. And he didn't even have that kind of bond with Staghart. He ... could ... hijack one of Xanatos' private jets and fly Nash to Italy. He and Nash could - dunno - take up station near that stupid school and Nash could -

No, no. If Graziella didn't want that, it would be worse than the separation.

"You're not alone. You have your clan. And the whole world will want to be your friend." You don't need her, he wanted to add. The biggest lie in the universe. But he bit his tongue and didn't say it. Instead, he detached himself from Nash - patted him on the cheek like a patronizing but well-meaning person and was once again the pleasant, so accommodating uncle.

"We're gliding now," he declared, leaping over the parapet of the inner bailey with Nash by the hand. The child joined in his whooop and his thrilling, carried away by the wind. And he had no doubt that it was as fake with Nash as it was with him.

Well ... I began with a story in which Nash struggled to keep his time travel and what he thought he knew about Lexington from the future a secret. Perhaps it's poetic justice that this story now ends with a secret that Lexington is struggling to keep.

Thanks for reading, Q.T.