Brooklyn's claws and talons stabbed into the brick face of a nameless skyscraper, his quivering limbs scrambling up to the roof so frantically that he was sending chunks of mortar down to the street below. He didn't know where he was or where he was going; honestly, he had no idea how he even got here. Goliath had cast him out and struck him with a purpose; where was even supposed to go?
His wings wobbled in the wind as he clumsily leapt from the roof, his hands grasping at dead space "W-Whoa." he stuttered out audibly, the ground suddenly seemed MUCH farther below than before. He had to cover his eyes and steady his breathing just to keep his churning stomach from purging "E-easy, easy-" he commanded "Calm down. Just c-calm down. You have to come up with a plan. Think of something."
He felt very numb all over, and everything in front of him looked fake, TV-like, as if Coldsteel had taken control of him yet again. He couldn't feel the coarseness of buildings he had climbed; he couldn't feel the wind whipping his hair back, and the bustle of the City That Never Sleeps seemed less than white noise.
He couldn't feel anything
What happened just... just didn't happen. He would never get into a fight with Goliath, Brooklyn would never have said such things about Angela, Goliath would have NEVER struck him! It just... It just couldn't happen! It would never happen! Just a fever dream he was having during stone sleep!
Goliath's voice rang in his ears on repeat "Do you think the 'trends' in your shortcomings have gone unnoticed?"
Brooklyn slapped his hands over his ears
"Do you honestly believe I don't know of what you tried to do?"
"Shut up." he half commanded, half begged his thoughts
"YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF ANYONE'S LOVE!"
"PLEASE." he croaked.
One sentence hit him like a bolt of lightning
"...She told me."
"Oh Dragon... ANGELA." his revelation coming all too late "...Lexington. Broadway!"
Numbness was replaced with suffocating guilt. The bleeding gargoyle snapped a hard left turn at the next intersection and hoped sheer willpower would carry him faster. Castle Wyvern: all divine powers above, let him get there before Goliath did!
Broadway laughed heartily as he clanked the two empty mugs into the kitchen sink "I don't know! I mean... did ALL people talk like that when we were asleep? Or like, are all new writers just kooks?"
Angela interlocked her fingers beneath her chin, resting her elbows upon the island "Well you don't get remembered by doing what everyone else does." she giggled "And they're rebuilding a perfect replica of Globe Theatre in London in honor of him, from what I understand it will be open within a year."
Angela had gotten a more than welcomed surprise earlier in the form of Broadway dropping into the library with two mugs of tea, eager for another impromptu lesson of reading from his now personal tutor... at least, that was his voiced intention. Still! Who was she to say no to having a large, cuddle-worthy reading buddy?
"Though if the great Shakespeare's language REALLY irks you so, perhaps we can put a pin in our reading and catch the rest of the film version with Hudson." she said, standing up from her stool to exit the room. With a sly grin she hummed "I remember him mentioning he saw in the TV guide Macbeth would be on tonight."
She had to work hard to suppress a laugh when she saw Broadway instantly spin around from his dishwashing to yelp out a sharp "NO!"
With an embarrassing silence hanging in the air, Broadway's abnormally muscular arm scratched the back of his neck "I-I mean... You're helping me make such strides in my reading, I'd hate to lose the hot streak I'm on! I need to outpace Hudson at least on SOMETHING!" he forced a laugh.
Angela hadn't really left her seat before she cupped her chin with an open palm "So, this is really your first time learning to read?" she said inquisitively, on familiar enough terms with him for it not to be a touchy subject.
"Oh yeah, Hudson and I both." he nodded as he dried out one of the mugs "To be honest, reading was in the minority back in Castle Wyvern. Almost NONE of the humans could read and to be honest our clan wasn't much better. Goliath read cause well, leadership. Lexington was always the smart one, so he picked up reading like you pick up gliding and Brooklyn? Well... anything Goliath did, Brooklyn almost always tried to copy."
That caught her attention "Oh~?"
"Ho-ho-oooooh yeah!" Broadway beamed with a fond grin "Brooklyn was Goliath's shadow ever since he could walk, he followed him everywhere; castle patrols, banquets, hunts. He followed him into the library so much that Goliath caved and taught him to read and write both English AND Gaelic...!" he scratched his chin "though I guess it's 'Ancient Gaelic' now..."
She couldn't help but envision the idea of the swaggering Brooklyn as a hatchling timidly peaking his head over Goliath's massive shoulder "How sweet! I should have guessed that he had a good connection with my father." too lost in thought to catch the slight tensing of Broadway's jaw when she said, 'HER father'.
Broadway cleared his throat "And Lexington took it even a step further, he became fluent in English, Gaelic, AND Latin before he was 30!" he praised "Brooklyn's been livid and trying to catch up ever since."
Angela pressed her fingertips against her cheeks "So did you ever follow Goliath into the library to try and get a lesson too~?"
"Me? Oh no, not really." he waved it off "I don't know why, but I always found myself taking after Hudson really; body shape aside, I always felt even more of a connection with him. He was never much of a reader... and with Brooklyn's ability to retell a story better than I could ever read one, I never really saw much of a need." he admitted.
"But you're such a fantastic cook!" she praised "I would imagine you'd need at least ONE or two cookbooks to learn from!"
Standing up a little straighter, Broadway proudly flicked his thumb against his nostrils "Ha! When you have a nose like mine, you learn a lot through trial and error! And besides-" he knocked a fist against the side of his noggin "A skull this thick doesn't let a single thing out, once I got a recipe memorized, it goes nowhere!"
Broadway flicked open one of the cabinets and slapped his hand onto a shelf holding enough flour to feed a small tribe "Aaaaaand, if I do make a mistake, Xanatos Enterprises keeps the building stocked with enough ingredients to have plenty of more attempts."
Angela laughed softly and shook her head "I guess you're just more of a natural at things than you give yourself credit for." she said sweetly
Broadway scratched his cheek shyly "I g-guess... Or maybe all I ever really needed was a good teacher."
Angela couldn't keep her body from sending a rush of blood to her ears "O-Oh! Well, it all comes down to having an even better student!"
Broadway laughed nervously.
Angela laughed nervously.
Then came a painfully awkward silence, both gargoyles looking down at the floor and away from each other while unable to find a sentence.
That was until
**KR-ACK! SNAP! **
Forgetting his own strength and grip, a flustered Broadway had accidentally ripped the shelf his hand was on straight out of the cabinet.
"CRUD!" The blue heavyweight barked out as restaurant's kitchen worth of flour came freefalling to the countertop and tile floor. Angela instinctively dove across the island with hands outstretched to Broadway, but a nuclear plume of white exploded over the two of them.
Broadway coughed out with a loud "PLEH!" tongue out and eyes blinking. His pupils quickly shrunk in embarrassment "O-Oh jeez! I'm so sorry, Angela! I-" *POMF*
Angela playfully tossed a hand full of flour into his face "Let your guard down~" she sung devilishly.
The gargoyle's mortified expression curled into a competitive grin "Ooooooh you're payin' for that one!" he laughed, talons scooping off a fist full of flour.
They ended up in a flour fight, tossing handfuls of it at each other before Angela slipped backwards and Broadway fell forwards onto her. She squealed in laughter "Ah! Alright! Alright! Uncle! Uncle!" she surrendered "You win! Youuuu win!"
Broadway laughed in mock triumph "Haha! You shouldn't have faced me on my home turf!" he barked, grinning ear to ear "...Oh man... Owen's gonna have my head when he sees this." he groaned with a white palm covering his face
"C'mon I'll help clean up." Angela offered with a smile. Cleaning up the ivory white kitchen wasn't TOO big of a task, fortunately. 10 minutes with a broom and dish rag and it was pretty much scrubbed of evidence, repairing the woodwork? That was another story.
Broadway frowned as he cupped his chin "Crud..." inspecting the cabinet he had ripped open "Well, Lex is a wizard at all things engineering, hopefully he can do the same with woodworking."
She playfully bumped into him "I think you just need to watch your strength, Broadway." she teased, holding out the dishrag "Come here, you still got a little stuck behind your ear."
"Right, you still got a little on your nose too..." he said brushing his thumb across her nose, before his voice trailed off.
She hadn't meant to do it, but her other hand had managed to find its way onto his chest. The contact didn't mean much, but it did when she unconsciously decided to keep it there. It reminded her of the night of the ColdSteel incident... even if she wasn't the one in control of her body, she still felt everything.
The feeling of Broadway's warm body... the thick layers of hard, powerful muscle that he kept hidden beneath a teddy bear's build. She often found it easy to forget that a heavyweight like him was probably just a few years away from matching or even surpassing her father in terms of raw strength; it was easy to do so when he was always so kind and gentle.
She dropped the dishrag she held at his ear, her fingertips slowly and cautiously holding his face, her eyes seeming to ask him if it was okay. The equally stunned male could only respond in kind by matching her action by moving his hand from her nose to hold her face just the same.
The gargoyle who could be a brave, fearless protector one second... yet a shy, jubilant softie who looked after a friend's kitten the next.
She leaned forward as she felt Broadway's massive forearm wrap around her back, both of their eyelids drifting shut as their lips found one another.
Just as the kitchen door opened.
"Ugggghhhhh." Lexington groaned "I mean... did ALL people talk like that when we were asleep? Or like, are all new writers just kooks?"
"Shh." Hudson hushed.
"I thought the books Goliath suggested were dramatic, but THIS is overkill."
"SHH." Hudson repeated.
Lexington sat upside down on the couch alongside Hudson, the pits of his knees hanging over the headrest while his knuckles swung limply just above the floor. He thought finally sitting down to watch MacBeth by that new writer Shakespeare would be enlightening; yeah, it was enlightening, writers needed to learn how to cut fluff from their stories! Who the heck talked like this?
He had already thumbed through the NES manual at least a hundred times by now, the black and white booklet now laying on his face as he waited for Brooklyn to finally get back home.
"Ya know, lad, you don't HAVE to stay here and watch this with me." the husky voiced Hudson chuckled, rustling the boy by his knee "I have my fine connoisseur of the arts right here with me already to enjoy the film." he said, reaching down to scratch Bronx's ears – said GarDog looked just as ready for death as Lexington was.
"Oooooh no." lex snickered, flicking the manual up slightly off his face to flash a grin "We had a deal, Hudson: the second Brooklyn gets back, him and I get the TV for the rest of the night."
This only earned a bemused eyeroll from his elder "Aye, you boys and your games. I never understand it... You LIVE the adventures you live on those things! And if you're so set on playing your 'Comma' Game, why, I can take up Brooklyn's place until he returns."
Lex's grin instantly vanished into an unamused stare "...What's the jump button?"
Hudson didn't respond.
Lex nodded "Uh huh" dropping the booklet back onto his face "And it's CONTRA, not Comma."
Bronx's feet skittered up with a scratch as he snapped to his feet, barking out happily while his little nub of a tail wagged.
"Well, lad." Hudson gestured to the window "Looks like your partner in crime is back."
Lex flicked the manual off his face "HA!" rolling backwards onto his feet with renewed spirit as he barely caught the silhouette of a gargoyle in the moonlight.
His gleeful face suddenly went tense "Wait... where's Goliath and Elisa?"
The junior and senior exchanged a glance "Uhhhhh, I'm gonna go check." Lex trotted out.
Brooklyn's heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest yet shut down at the same time. What did his clan think of him? Had he just become a covetous, self-serving freak in their eyes?
All the things he had brushed off before now ate him up from within. Had Angela ASKED Goliath to take him on the missions alone to keep him away from her? Had Hudson, Broadway, and Lexington agreed with him in secret?
Sure, he could be a little pushy at times, but the clan knew that didn't define him, right? Angela and the others didn't think he would actually- that we would ever- NO. Brooklyn shook his head. The reason why Goliath was keeping him away from everyone was just because Goliath and ONLY GOLIATH had a problem with him! It's not like the whole clan was disgusted in him! All these paranoid thoughts in his head had to be explainable! It's not like Broadway and Brooklyn were letting a girl come in between their 40 years of brotherhood! It's not like Lexington was suddenly spending so much time with Alex as a way to avoid him! And Hudson stopping his mentorship to him so suddenly had to have some explanation!
Brooklyn gagged slightly, thinking he was about to puke from the sheer nausea these revelations were having. He was their second in command! He was a leader they trusted, right? They trusted him! Not just morally but practically!
Oh who was he kidding!? Brooklyn slapped a hand over his face. How could he let things get this bad? How could he let things go so far?
If his calm, collected father, Goliath, had been pushed to the point of striking him, then how repulsed by him was everyone else?
He felt his heart drop into his gut when the lights of Castle Wyvern finally came into view, the distress and nerves only getting worse. He had to make things right, but where did he even begin? How did he talk to? How much time did he have before Goliath showed up? He was no doubt just a few minutes behind him.
He thought of the terrible words he had just lashed out in anger a few minutes ago
"THAT BITCH SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN!"
"Angela..." he whispered.
How could he say something so awful?
It wasn't Angela he hated; it was the hole that was left behind. It was Goliath's absence. It was easy to merge the two. Goliath could have EASILY kept being a father to her as well as to him and his brothers. That was something that she shouldered none of the blame for.
Brooklyn's feet stumbled onto the hard stonework of Castle Wyvern.
Angela. That's who he would start with.
He knew he'd find her in the library alone right now. He'd find her and then he'd fall on his knees BEGGING for her forgiveness and confessing what a fool he had been. If he could just earn her forgiveness, he knew her loving nature would have her pick him up and accompany him to face Broadway and Lexington. She'd give him the strength he needed to apologize and reconcile with the brothers that he had so callously neglected... Maybe Goliath would even go easy on him when he returned.
His legs seemed to forget how to work as he fumbled into the castle's interior, why did he feel so lightheaded? As he hurried as fast as his unstable stride could carry him to the library, his stomach tied itself into knots. Fear contorted in his stomach; what did she think of him? What could he possibly say? Did he even have the guts to face her?
Too late to worry now, he was already at his destination all too soon. He slapped a hand onto the door frame and tripped in "ANGELA!" he rasped to no response. The library was empty.
"Oh no... no no no no..." he panicked, stepping in and looking in every direction. What if the entire clan was altogether right now? He didn't think he could handle all four of them after what had happened tonight.
He caught a whiff of tea in the air. Maybe she would be coming back from the kitchen, maybe all he had to do was wait for her to come to him? No, Goliath would be back any second now; hell, Goliath could be landing right now!
He didn't have the luxury of waiting around, he stumbled out of the library, crashing into the stone wall as he tripped over his own two feet. He clutched his head, why did his skull feel like it was splitting in two for the last ten minutes?
"Angela, just find Angela." he ordered himself, galloping forward in an unequal stride. Navigating the maze of his refurbished home, he saw the glow of a light underneath and alongside the cracks of the kitchen door... someone was in there. In all honesty, he wouldn't care if she could tame Goliath's wrath... he just desperately needed her kind nature, someone to acknowledge he existed.
His hands came onto the wood door and weakly pushed it open.
Shock. Denial. Betrayal. Agony. Horror. They all struck him at once.
"...No..."